Anyway, here are my five albums of 2015 I thought were worth my money…

Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color

This is the second album from the blues rock band. Their first felt so raw and vibrant because of how authentic their sound was to the genre. It was a classic example of what is now and old sound despite being a modern take on it.

Sound & Color however updates their vibe to a more complex, more sonic experience. It’s hard not to be taken aback by it at first as it’s a massive step-up even at the production level of their music but after a couple plays you start to see the threads of what drew you in to them in the first place. Soulful singing, lyrics of yearning and regret, and some great, dirty guitar beats.

There have been no big hits from this album but this live video is a great example of why, in my eyes, they’re both a vital part of the music scene and a band worth catching in concert.

Everything Everything – Get To Heaven

Get To Heaven is the third album from the English band and contains all the swagger of a band who have gone from strength to strength on the festival and live circuit. They have not experienced any kind of over-night success but a steady and sustained rise with critical adoration but relatively small public acknowledgment.

This holds slightly less of the energetic melody changes and urgency of their second release but much more bombastic songs with a shorter but to the point play time. Lyrically they’ve always been a bit all over the place and nothing really changes here with “Spring / Sun / Winter / Dread” having lines like; “Are those my people or are they barbarians all? I need a shoulder to talk to about it. Swing the hammer. The fragments. A skull exploding on you, on all you and showers on the infant’s bed”. You know. As you do.

They’ve a couple of mad-as-a-brush videos worth looking up online but here is my favourite from this album for “Regret”.

Fight Like Apes – Fight Like Apes

Another band that have seemingly matured their sound significantly are Fight Like Apes. They’re still having fun, they’re still naming songs with endless pop culture references (first song on the album “I’m Not A Merry Man” being a prime directive example). But after leaving their label, going it alone, and a couple line-up changes I think it was inevitable for them to move on in more ways than one.

This is their third album, which I’ve always believed define bands for better or worse. I was genuinely worried for after all the changes to their make-up in the past year or two that they would become another “remember them?” band like so many great Irish indie outfits a la The Chalets. Thankfully, this album has the confidence of a band determined not to be stopped.

“Crouching Bees”, below, was the first single and did quite well. If you ever get a chance to catch them live I can’t recommend it enough. There is an air of general chaos that spins around lead singer MayKay and heart-of-the-band Pockets when they play. They’re just as likely to break their instruments as they are to rugby tackle each other in the crowd. It’s a visceral experience.

Florence + The Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

Florence Welch specifically came out and said that she wanted to change the band’s perception of writing big, powerful ballads and decided to use this album to write more intimate sounding songs. For the main part she has accomplished that but what she’s also done is take away what made Florence + The Machine so special.

They cut a path through most of the “too cool to care” bands on the indie scene to present a much more artistic and flamboyant alternative. It was like when The Smiths’ Morrissey showed up with his blouse open swinging flowers in the middle of all the other Manchester bands around him trying to be as hard as possible. If you lose that, you may still keep the solid musical sensibilities but you lose the flair that lifts you above the crowd.

Florence excels on the big stage and there are very few bigger in this world than the main stage at Glastonbury. There are no stand-out tracks from the album but this is a good example of what’s there.

Seth Boyer – Get Rekt

Released this month, Get Rekt managed to squeeze in to this list but somehow got played more than any of the albums above on my iPod. In a year full of slightly disappointing releases from bands who are established and maturing, it took an album from an unsigned artist to really get me excited.

The album opens with the anthemic rock sound of “Totino’s Party Pizza (For One)” and sets the tone lyrically with the chorus “Who you gonna share your cool ass life with you lonely sack of shit?”. Maybe it’s because we’re seemingly in a similar place in our lives but Seth’s uncanny ability to make you tap your feet to a song about the fleeting nature of love or the futility of craving a better life is both uncanny and impressive. He has found a way to shine a light on modern life and how internet culture intersects feeds while simultaneously cripples our loneliness. But, you know, with guitars and stuff.

Get Rekt is definitely my album of 2015 and I really can’t recommend it enough. Because of it’s very recent release, no videos from the album yet but we’ll be posting an interview podcast with Seth in about two weeks so hang tight for more content!

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To listen to all the albums from this list in full, check out the Spotify playlist I made https://open.spotify.com/user/aaronfever/playlist/1toV11WzdfOLKQr09kNEeX

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Mosquito

Karen O and team don’t quite channel the same sort of raw energy that drips from their earlier offerings but what they lose in vitality they more than make up for in growling sneers.

Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City

More of the same from the painfully hip New Yorkers. If you like their previous efforts you’ll be happy but I can’t help but think that they’re either getting a little jaded or running out of things to say.

The Strokes – Comedown Machine

I couldn’t have been more disappointed in this album. A poor mish-mash of songs that feel thrown together in a hot-minute. Considering that releasing this album got them out of their contract with RCA, the motivations for such a poor release are clear.

Le Sexoflex – The Naughty Contest

I played their previous Mixxxtape an embarrassing amount of times so I was more than excited for their second release. It feels weird to say that this is a more mature, darker album when the song I’m putting here is called “Suck Dick, Eat Cheetos” but that’s the reality of it. And if you hadn’t gathered yet it’s probably NSFW.

Everything Everything – Arc

Everything Everything are one of those bands that sneak up on you. At first, they’ll seem hard to penetrate as their music is so dense with melody but god damn it you’ll be coming back for more like it’s crack.

Haim – Days Are Gone

Without a doubt, my album of the year. Played it obsessively. These three sisters know how to bury a catchy tune into your brain. Add that to their rocking beats and interchanging vocals and you’ll be smitten before you know it. It’s a shame their music videos are so bad.

Arctic Monkeys – AM

This one got a lot of praise from other quarters but I’m gonna put my neck on the line and say that I thought it was much more hit-and-miss. But I will give them credit for finally moving their sound on from the QotSA sound-a-like funk they were in.

Rizzle Kicks – Roaring 20s

Do you get it? Because they’re 21 now. No? Fine. Britain’s premier hip-hop outfit are back with their second album and they mean business. Taking pot shots at modern life and the hypocrisy of rap misogyny. My kinda guys.

The Strypes – Snapshot

The Strypes are teenage kids from Ireland who are scaring people with their ability to write catchy blues rock from the 60s. Their album is tough to listen to from start to finish due to a lot of similar sounding songs but they’re a welcome addition to a shuffled playlist.

Brothers or Not – Pioneer

Expert pedlars of whiskey-fuelled break-up songs, Brothers or Not return with their second EP of scorchers. Some of my favourite rock songs of the past couple years are from this band and if you miss the days when Dave Grohl was able to actually write a rock song and not just a pop song with guitars, then I think you need Brothers or Not in your life. Unfortunately they don’t have a full song from the EP online so check out this taster.