As well as our Top 50, The Punk Archive’s team compiled their own album lists. We've listed those records not already included in our overall chart below, as well as our team's own words…
Adam DT
Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress
In my mind GY!BE don't release bad albums. When listening through their discography it is hard to fault anything really: they are just so adept at exploring their unique corner of post rock to beautiful conclusions.
This, their fifth studio album, grabs you by the ear canals with unusually aggressive opener Peasantry or ‘Light! Inside of light!’. It sets up an almost triumphant eastern feel that builds slowly into an epic, cacophonous peak and back down again over its ten minute running time. In fact the album is bookended with a long, beautiful, swelling pieces whose layer-upon-layer of violin, guitars and percussion create typically hypnotic and emotional highs and lows.
Fragile, unnerving drone soundscapes and sweeping effect laden feedback make up the majority of the middle third of the record, proving that GY!BE are just as skilful and far from the mainstream as ever. With every release they further secure their place in cult music history.
Helm: Olympic Mess
I first came across Helm when he was a last minute, stand-in support act for Godspeed You! Black Emperor. I didn't know who he was and, to be honest, I wasn't aware of ever really listening to music like his before. It can perhaps be described as an avantgarde stream of musical consciousness through a stunning array of tone-warming analogue equipment. Layers of strange samples and unidentifiable noises create fascinating, twisted drones, all the while punctured by any number of found sounds and the occasional barely intelligible speech sample.
Sometimes beautiful, sometimes terrifying and always bewilderingly hypnotic, this record might sound to some like a load of rubbish thrown together in an afternoon. But if you are an ambient music lover, a fan of nerdy music without form or you just like cool sounds, this record might be one of the most interesting and innovative collections of music this year.
Whether this is a good or bad thing is up to you, but Olympic Mess is, essentially, the opposite of Adele.
Lightning Bolt: Fantasy Empire
Lightning Bold have always been very much of the opinion that if you want to record an album, you point some mics at the instruments, hit record and play the album (loudly). It is an approach that has unquestionably worked for them in the past and is just one contribution to a sound that literally no-one has yet managed to re-create. Frantic noise core at it most minimal, raucous, raw and…erm… noisy.
For this, their much anticipated seventh album however, they have decided to embrace the studio, to use it as the third band member. It is a bold move but it works beautifully. It is still so unmistakably a Lightning Bolt record, and a strong one at that, but with a very slightly cleaner overall sound and thicker bass tones. The interesting difference is in the parts that have been overdubbed or added later: the occasional second guitar part, the vocal effects, the ominous soundscape of background noises (usually sitting behind one of the plethora of thundering riffs on the record).
There is no bad song on this album, but if you want a taste you could try frantic opener The Metal East, the mind bending and fuzztastic King Of My World or the hypnotic drive and insane chatter of Runaway Train.
Nubiyan Twist: Nubiyan Twist (S/T)
This is probably my most-played record of the year. It is a little unclear whether this is a fairly short album or a very long EP, comprising as it does of six tracks and one remix that amount to forty-one minutes of material. Either way, the Afrobeat/Funk/Soul/Dub/Jazz twelve-piece from Leeds have put together one of the strongest debut releases I have ever heard.
Each song on this album has so many ideas, so many harmonies, vocal approaches, solos, quirks and interlocking melodic and rhythmic directions to pull you in that I find it hard not to lose myself in it.
This album is so full of grooves and hooks it's hard to recommend any single track. But if pushed, two just about stand out: Hypnotised for its unbelievably cool vocal performance and because it ends with one of my all-time favourite horn lines; or the eight-and-a-half minute closing track Shake Me Down, for its beyond-infectious groove and 70s cop show vibes.
Essentially this album is for everyone who likes their music groovy and off beat with spectacular arrangements. If you like the Fela Kuti, Snarky Puppy, Demon Fuzz, Fat Freddie's Drop, The Skints or Santana there is a decent chance there will be something in here for you. What's more, the musicality on show on this record makes Nubiyan Twist one of the most exciting bands around right now: well worth getting on board early.
All Them Witches: Dying Surfer Meets His Maker
I discovered All Them Witches, a Nashville stoner/psych rock outfit, about a year ago. I was blown away by their first two albums. Their bluesy, grooving stoner sounds are just so… cool. I'm a big stoner rock fan, and for me ATW fast got put on almost the same pedestal as Colour Haze or Kyuss.
Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, their third studio album, stands up to their own high standards. The fuzzy wash of distorted guitars and organ in the likes of El Centro will be pleasingly familiar to fans of stoner rock, but much of the album features a much more carefully arranged approach. For example, Open Passageways is just one of the songs on the record that features acoustic guitars, more pronounced dynamics and a genuinely interesting harmonic palette.
That isn't to say that this isn't a stoner album. If anything, the maturing of ATW's sound has brought them further "into their own" in the desert rock scene. I can't recommend this album highly enough, especially if you find yourself in a smoky room…
Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm: Loon
This is the only record in my list that could be called peaceful. The Icelandic and German pair (respectively) have produced many recordings of truly beautiful electronic/ambient music that I've been enjoying for some time now. The warm, ebbing calm that is so prevalent throughout this record washes over you, decorating time with beautiful shimmering soundwaves.
There isn't much to say here, other than this is perhaps the most elegantly judged, subtle and relaxing music in my record collection.
It is music to meditate to.
It is music to reflect to.
It is the music you need when your mate has taken too much MDMA and thinks the little man on the tin of Christmas chocolate is staring at him so could we throw him out of the window please?
AWOLNATION: Run
Even if you don't know it, you might know AWOLNATION: the band responsible for the infectious track Sail that was used on every advert and TV show for about two years. That sort of exposure can be a mixed blessing, often shining a light on how irritating music can be if overplayed. Fortunately I wasn't put off, and though it took some getting used to I was a fan of much of the first album.
Run, the band's second release, resembles its predecessor in being a right old hodge-podge of styles and genres. With a primarily electronic/rock sound Aaron Bruno (formerly of Hometown Hero) creates a second weird and wonderful piece of pop that I can't help listening to over and over again. It is just so interesting. From the sparse and crunching title and opening track Run to the melancholy hook laden brilliance of Jailbreak or the most danceable track of the year KOOKSEVERYWHERE!! it is a hugely pleasing mix of styles. It feels safe and well produced but without squashing the surprisingly industrial vein that runs through AWOLNATION's core.
Girl Band: Holding Hands With Jamie
A few years ago I stumbled onto a cover of Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage by Techno artist Blawan. The cover was by an Irish noise outfit, amusingly called Girl Band. It was then, and is now, one of the coolest covers in existence.
That was a couple of years ago and it has been a long wait for a proper release. But honestly, I don't think I've listened to this album enough to properly write about it. I mean, I've listened to it a bunch, but it is such a deeply involved mixture of noises that I just have no idea where to start describing it. I suppose there is a bit of noisecore in there, but Christ knows what else. I fucking love it though. I barely understand how any of these totally insane, largely atonal, utterly mesmerising songs make enough sense to work. But holy shit do they work, that I am sure of.
What song should you go to? No idea. Too weird. Too different. Just stick the album on: it really is great.
Also highly commended:
Murdock: Dead Lung
Benjamin Clementine: At Least For Now
Low: Ones and Sixes
Ryan Adams: 1989
Wo Fat: Live Juju: Wo Fat At Freak Valley
Gallows: Desolation Sounds
D'Angelo & The Vanguard: Black Messiah
Seasick Steve: Sonic Soul Surfer
Make Them Suffer: Old Souls
Will Bright
Wolf Alice: My Love Is Cool
I know I'm not alone in loving Wolf Alice's debut: along with Slaves, they were up for the Mercury award for My Love Is Cool, as well as an absurd amount of great reviews. It's well deserved: their blend of of folk, grunge, alt rock, and a certain something else makes this not only a beautiful record, but one that manages to contain an impressive diversity while not losing musical coherence.
Motion City Soundtrack: Panic Stations
Panic Stations is probably the album on here by the most established artist: Motion City Soundtrack have, after all, been around for a bloody long time, and many of us have been following them for a decade or so. Since 2012's Go, which I still defend as a solid record, there's been some worry about whether they've lost their special touch. The decision to release Panic Stations’ two duds, TKO and Lose Control, ahead of the album itself didn't help, but don't worry, the album is full of proper MCS bangers from start to finish. A great listen, and hopefully a great band back on form.
Foxing: Dealer
I wrote about Dealer elsewhere, but I had heard a bit of Foxing before. I never really got into them, but Dealer is an album that rewards repeat listens. It's haunting, atmospheric and beautiful, perfect alternative mood listening for when you're up late at night or baked off your nut. There's something magical about it, something that transports you to a little cabin in the middle of the American wilderness: which, as it turns out, is where it was written.
Muskets: Spin
The Brighton quartet dropped this sophomore EP in August and it just explodes out the door, a fantastic burst of grungey energy from the get-go. That same energy is there in last year's debut, the three-track Pollyseed, but Spin takes their musicianship and songwriting to another level altogether. These boys deserve to do brilliantly, and if they keep putting out music of this quality they shouldn't find it hard to succeed.
The Mad Dalton: The Little Belfry
A bit of a weird one, this. The Mad Dalton contacted me on Twitter, months before this EP dropped, to chat about some work I was doing in London all about alternative music and Arthur Rimbaud. We spoke on Skype, he sent me a demo (now the title track, The Little Belfry) and I was impressed. When I heard the full EP, the blend of Americana, dark folk and that subtle ghost of Nick Cave left me stunned.
The Big Moon: Sucker
This was a tricky one to choose. Not because I don't think The Big Moon deserve a spot here, quite the opposite; but because their inaugural year has seen them release two two-track EPs. Sucker was the first, but I would heartily recommend checking out The Road/Nothing Without You on Spotify as well. The four-piece girl group have been causing a decent amount of hype this past year, and they've deserved every bit - their alt-rocky, grungey, poppy tunes just don't get old.
Also highly commended:
Shit Present - Shit Present
Broadcaster - Spin
Idlewood - Waiting For Something
Rania Watts
Kill The Ideal: Heritage
The minute I heard Heritage by Kill The Ideal, I was completely hooked. It has found a place in my personal soundtrack during moments of self-doubt, where inspiration is essential to whatever it is I am doing at the time. In fact, Kill The Ideal was the first band who made me genuinely appreciate distortion. The layering of this EP is completely brilliant: at certain times, it is almost as though the instrument and vocal tracks are engaged in conversation. My favourite aspect of this EP is the lush and frenetically rich paradiddles played by Jordan Bell: so many times, I found myself playing the drum solos over and over again.
Scott Laudati: Hawaiian Shirts In The Electric Chair
I never thought, on any level that poetry would ever makes its way into my reviews here at TPA. However, much to my delight Scott's found its way into my inbox and oh boy was I doing back flips! I still have Hawaiian Shirts In The Electric Chair on my computer desktop and on my phone. It's almost needless to say the writing is just not good but utterly fabulous. A poet's end goal, much like a Singer/Songwriter's, is to authentically move an individual through their artistic impressions. Hawaiian Shirts In The Electric Chair offers a body of work where fear is placed to the side, as each and every piece beautifully layers the good, bad and ugly of the human condition. If you are someone who is undecided about poetry, I would recommend that you give this book a try... it's so worth it!
X Ambassadors: VHS
The minute I heard the first track, Renegades, from X Ambassadors' debut album, I fell in love! The majority of the songs on VHS are upbeat, in-your-face music. More specifically, there seems to be an underlying sense of determination in their harmonies, contained within powerful lyrics and dominating percussion beats. You know when everything just gels?
Death Cab for Cutie: Kintsugi
I've been listening to Death Cab for Cutie for years now, when I first heard their new album I knew right away that it was going to be placed on this list. And, as in all Death Cab fashion their music is for day dreaming. Even some of their faster paced songs there always seems to be an aspect that is simultaneously intense and mellow. I find it weird, how they are able to constantly keep that specific attribute throughout their body of work. Especially since their sound is quite diverse from piece to piece. Lead singer Ben Gibbard's voice always leaves me standing in my own tracks, he sounds so wholesome and tear inducing... with a voice that reminds me of Don McLean... quite the lovely melodic timber.
Collective Soul: See What You Started By Continuing
I can't believe I am about to say this but, I've been listening to Collective Soul for decades now... Yes, that's right! I've loved Collective Soul since they released The World I Know... Now, that being said, you could imagine my schoolgirl-esque excitement upon the release of See What You Started By Continuing (a title I absolutely love, by the way). Collective Soul really did pick up where they left off, with a host of more intense guitar riffs and percussion engaging in a dialogue while lead singer Ed Roland makes it a three way conversation with his emotive vocals. Ed Roland's voice has that gravelly quality, similar to that of Michael Hutchence of INXS...especially when he gets into his whispered notes!
Also highly commended:
Courtney Barnett: Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
Strung Out: Transmission. Alpha. Delta
Fall Out Boy: American Beauty / American Psycho
Superheaven: Ours Is Chrome
Muse: Drones
Break Anchor: Van Down By The River
Jamie Kerr
Highly commended:
Fishtanks: Jane
You, Me, and Everyone We Know: Dogged EP
Stick To Your Guns: Disobedient
Tellison: Hope Fading Nightly
Four Year Strong: Four Year Strong (S/T)
Periphery: Omega
Lee Morton
MoCara: Twist My Mind
Ones to keep an eye on for sure. This debut album is an assured slice of ska/punk/reggae.
Fire In The Radio: Telemetry
Uplifting emo/post-hardcore with catchy tunes that take up squatters' rights in your ear. I'm really hoping they get over to the UK next year.
Frank Turner: Positive Songs for Negative People
Maybe not his greatest collection of songs, but in the live environment they excel.
Skindred: Volume
Another left-field pick but if you haven't heard the mighty 'Dred then you are missing out. Possibly the best live band in the UK at the moment.
Banquets: Spit At The Sun
A band leaving us with a parting gift. Filled with honest, emotive songs, this is a powerful swan song from Banquets.
Imperial Leisure: Lifestyle Brand
A record signalling a return to form for the notorious party band.
The Prodigy: The Day Is My Enemy
It's The Prodigy. 'Nuff said.
Fast Response: Homeless By Choice
Brilliant melodic skate-punk.
Great Cynics: I Feel Weird
The Kingston band have delivered life affirming, infectious pop-punk with their 2015 release.
Straightline: Final Redemption
Melodic, fast skatepunk with added thrash.
Choke Up: Black Coffee, Bad Habits
Emo-punk anthems richly deserving of a bigger stage.
Homer Kelly
Dirt Royal: Dr Weekend
Here we have the latest EP from Brighton based mod/pop-punk/classic punk band Dirt Royal: Dr. Weekend, containing two fantastic new entries to the band's already impressive set of ballsy transatlantic punk rock songs about hope, disappointment and the working week that both sound like they could be from the original 70s wave and apply to our modern lives. These guys have really mastered their blend of classic bands like The Jam, The Clash and '90s American punk rock (especially early Green Day) and they make some bloody top songs with it. These two are no exception. Check them out!
Strange Wilds: Subjective Concepts
Noisy, trashy, messy grunge from Washington makes a hell of a sound: these guys are another favourite discovery of mine this year. Able to master the both the frantic and hypnotic sides of grunge with a hint of the darker skate punk in there, I really enjoyed this album, a definite top ten. Album Highlight is opening track Pronoia. It's just a massive tune.
Also highly commended:
Wolf Alice: My Love Is Cool
Success: Radio Recovery
Good Riddance: Peace In Our Time
Millencolin: True Brew
Quinn
Tom Delonge: To The Stars ... Demos, Odds, and Ends
Another record I reviewed when it was released. Put out in the wake of the news that Tom was (again) no longer a part of blink-182, the album is a mixed bag of emotions and music styles. Quite how much of it was demo material for blink and AVA and how much was written as a response to blink continuing without Tom we won't know. Either way, it's a great bunch of songs that demonstrate everything Tom is capable of and is the closest thing we got to the blink album they were planning on recording this year. You can read my full review here: http://thepunkarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/tom-delonge-to-starsdemos-odds-and-ends.html
The Regressives: The Regressives (S/T)
Another album from another musician that I was listening to in my more formative years. The Regressives is Joe from Stockyard Stoics and this album, giving his distinctive style, could well have been a Stockyard Stoics album. It's hard to know what to say about this without falling onto cliches. I liked it, so it's on my list.
Ben Chapman
Cal Banda: Another Minute Made Fiasco
An intense four-track EP, played with a living room-clearing zealousness, this ballsy, incantation-like blend of powerful noise rock thrashing with indie note-choices is a unique and repeatable listen. It's an energetic and shouty output with an incrementally mad and unpredictable approach. The wry vocals are given an aptly crazy delivery, working under cohesive efforts from the instruments towards their overwhelming rhythms, and as heard in Solid Gold and Cut the Kings, often accented for fully blatant heaviness through well-timed pauses or note-bends.
Menace Beach: Ratworld
The whining vocals follow along some brilliantly catchy melodic lines, whilst the band force wave after wave of fuzz, grunge, and pop influences through a shoegazey filter for a lazy, angry, psychedelic garage rock masterpiece, with some messy surf-rock inclinations for good measure. Fans of Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr, or My Bloody Valentine will find this a brilliant full-album debut from the 'indie-super group' lauded Menace Beach.
Tame Impala: Currents
Currents sees Tame Impala moving away from their usual guitar fuzz, opting for something a bit more synth-focused, a direction that, on paper, might not sound like it has the same strength as their previous releases. But something as explorative and head-screwy as Tame Impala has to go somewhere and to be fair the album does it brilliantly. Though there's more spacey sounds where there used be distortion, there's enough depth whilst still retaining the band's sunny feel, some abundantly psychedelic chords, and markedly chunky bass bestowing the album a huge radius of appeal. The result is a versatile listen for all sorts of situations.
Steak Number Eight: Kosmokoma
Drawn into its trippy album cover, the loose label of sludge metal that has been given to Kosmokoma would not normally be most people's go-to, but I'm glad I let my eyes judge by the cover and convince myself to sit through it on a whim. The prog-rock elements help it move away from traditional dark and damning forms of metal, containing a more improvised and experimental feel, littered with odd melodies, harmonised lead guitars, and an ever-shifting drum beat that keeps your ears interested. Despite the at times free form or seemingly random arrangements of notes, there's plenty of heaviness and groove-dominated thought that's been packaged into a shapeshifting, sprawling epic, which plays like out its distractedly fuzzy stoner-rock tinged metal in a rapid, trance-inducing flurry.
Sea Of Storms: Dead Weight
At first there was concern that I might be letting the sheer power of this release's title track affect my judgement here (right down to the perfectly executed feedback prior to its second chorus). Having had a re-listen, opening tracks Belly Full of Bones and Get Your Number confirm this record's skill at condensing several decades of musical highlights for a simultaneously grungy muddiness, slopping into an early post-hardcore affair, rinsed off with speedier pop-punk sensibilities. Complete with plenty of scratchy guitar underlining its sizeable choruses and vocal hooks screaming with a raw authenticity, this album is likely to cause the listener to have to double check that they're actually hearing a 2015 release.
Brunel: Smash On
With a right-on-the-nose approach, athletic instrumental delivery, and unique vocal battering, Brunel's taking-to-task take on punk rock is rounded by a heavy bass sound and more than an echo of Drive Like Jehu influences. There's a lot of energy and probably more than a bit of saliva expended in this record, the production boasting the rare feel of a live performance, adding credence to the song structures' tendency for powerful build ups and large riffs.
Also highly commended:
Cribs: For All My Sisters
Foals: What Went Down
Cross Wires: Interaction : Dislocation
Cheatahs: Mythologies
Battles: La Di Da Di
Toby Walkley
Sweater-Kinney: No Cities To Love
A decade-long hiatus followed by an announcement of a new album can sometimes be a worrying thing for music fans to hear, especially when they're as passionate as Sleater-Kinney fans are. The band didn't allay such fears here; they blasted them out of the water with a rocket launcher, delivering a joyful album packed with hooks, harmonies and jump-out-of-your-seat energy.
John Grant: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
Whenever I try to describe John Grant to people, my words seem to fall so very, very short. This is a dark and beautiful album from an artist who seems to know exactly what he wants to do musically even it makes us stare into the blackest reaches of our souls. Simply stunning.
Faith No More: Sol Invictus
Proving exactly why their fans patiently waited for a new album for such a very long time, FNM's newest offering has a timeless quality to it. Some songs sound like the classic Angel Dust-era while others try something new, never sounding out of place for a second. It's great to have them back in such stunning form.
Turbowolf: Two Hands
Riotous, psychedelic and crazed are just a few of the words that could be used to describe the second full length outing from the Bristol-based band. With a furious live sound to back it up, Turbowolf are going from strength to strength and this album never fails to get your blood flowing and your feet stomping.
Wire: Wire (S/T)
This fourteenth album from the post-punk stalwarts perfectly fits with their stunning back catalogue of work, gently nodding to the past sounds of classic albums like Chairs Missing while adding new and interesting ideas to the formula.
Bjork: Vulnicura
A beautiful and stirring breakup album, filled with the artsy flair and healthy pinch of weird that we've come to expect from Bjork. You have to be in a certain mood for this one: party music it's not, but if you need an album to guide you through a dark time you'll find few better.
Wilco: Star Wars
I was hooked from the opening notes of this album, that sound somewhere between mathcore and a raunchy German cabaret number. As usual, the guitar tones of Nels Cline are as majestic as they are dirty and uncomfortable and work as the perfect counter balance to Jeff Tweedy's timeless vocals.
Bob Dylan: Shadows In The Night
Here, the master gives us something special on an album of old standards given a smoky blues treatment perfectly keyed to his inimitably throaty voice, and perhaps reflecting the songs he heard growing up. This is something a little different but undoubtedly brilliant from the one known as Uncle Bob.
Napalm Death: Apex Predator-Easy Meat
On this, their fifteenth album, the grindcore legends remain in unstoppable form. It's experimental in all the right ways and never easy to listen to, which is exactly the point they've always aimed for. If this kind of thing is your bag then you're in for a real treat.
Also highly commended:
Mountain Goats: Beat the Champ
Wreckless Eric: amERICa
mewihoutYou: Pale Horses
mewihoutYou: Pale Horses
Battles: La Di Da Di
Iron Maiden: The Book Of Souls
Katzenjammer: Rockland
Gaz Coombes: Matador
Jeff Bridges: Sleeping Tapes
Tame Impala: Currents
Viet Cong: Viet Cong (S/T)
Ed's note: huge thanks as ever to our awesome team for their contributions!
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