Year In Review 2015- Top Ten Albums Part 3

Another great year is finishing up for @RockBodElec and we wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE Presents the Best of 2015 Top Ten Albums numbers 5-1:

Gameday Indeed!

In the instance that RtBE has reviewed the album either on the site or somewhere else we will link to that review and just give a quick summation, just click on the name and title and you can read it.  RtBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on their Top 20 so expect some overlap. 

Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but full releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle or singles for us. Personally we released an acoustic based EP this year, but we will graciously remove ourselves from the rankings however, you can gave it a listen or download it for free.

Today we finish our top ten, in retrospect it was a year with a lot of good albums but few great ones, sorta like 2011 which overall was the weakest year of releases since we started this site. Last year we had a dog fight at the top and honestly any in the 2014 top five would have been in the peak slot this go around. (If you missed them, Part 1 and Part 2)

Our top ten for 2015 is filled with pop, acoustic, cover songs, noise, punk and a very healthy sprinkling of female artists so click the Read More to dive into things
5. The Dead Weather- Dodge and Burn

The Dead Weather just do what they do very very well at this point and Dodge and Burn just continues the trend. Their best songs on here are some of the best they've ever produced ("I Feel Love" and "Mile Markers") and Allison Mossheart creates their most pop influenced number "Impossible Winner" which shows they may be branching out even more next go around, if there even is another album (we hope there is, but after The Raconteurs get after it)


4. Sleater-Kinney- No Cities To Love 

The comeback was a damn good one. SK returned to the fold with the most accessible album of their career and it ends up being one of the best of the year. While I am sure it will top a lot of lists in 2015, but I found myself reaching for the top three more often then I did this disk.


3. Father John Misty- I Love You, Honeybear

The album we thought about the most in 2015 was Father John Misty's. It is really an engaging piece of art, from the cover which we talked about, to the self centered, possible, honesty it contains. The more we listen, the less sarcastic it becomes and that is fascinating. We are suckers for full length's that work as a complete listens and this certainly does as it's last three songs really up the importance of it all, wrapping up the tale of love. Only a few musical missteps (to our ears) kept it out of the top spot. We would love to get others opinion on this disk....


2. Screaming Females- Rose Mountain

The album that surprised us the most this year was easily this one. We have loved the SF's since we first caught them, but as of late we figured they would never leave the punk/noise/groove home they have deftly created on the stage when moving to the studio. Rose Mountain is a "song" album and quite frankly we didn't think they had it in them, and are happy to be proved wrong. In our review we ended with this:

Rose Mountain never feels false or soft, and while it is an obvious break with their past style, it is more confident than a simple transition album. For the first time the studio has become a place where the Screaming Females have evolved beyond just trying to replicate their barn burning live act; at once delivering, and still promising, more to come

We stick by that and will continue to enjoy this disk. 


1. Bop English- Constant Bop

This was damn good year for full length pop rock disks as Father John Misty and Bop English both crafted gems. Bop English is the code name of James Petralli whose main act White Denim has done some fun things, but to these ears never come close to this release. It is just a joy to listen to. From the perfect production, layering tons of instrumentation, but never feeling crowded, to the easy rolling songs which all seem to contain that familiar something that instantly draws you to them. The more I listened to it, the more I liked it, and the lyrics grew on us, but sometimes the music just does the speaking for you. This is a great disk that you can actually stream/buy it at James's bandcamp site, do yourself a favor and do that now.




Another year wrapping up, here is a recap of our list:
1. Bop English- Constant Bop
2. Screaming Females- Rose Mountain
3. Father John Misty- I Love You, Honeybear!
4. Sleater-Kinney- No Cities To Love
5. The Dead Weather- Dodge and Burn
6. Built To Spill- Untethered Moon
7. Jason Isbell- Something More Than Free
8. Ruby Amanfu- Standing Still
9. Warren Haynes- Ashes and Dust
10. La Luz- Weirdo Shrine

Feel free to let us know about any we missed and voice your opinions in the comments. As always thanks for reading.