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10. Dance Gavin Dance – Instant Gratification



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Holy shit. Hooooooooooooooooooly shit, you guys. Just picture me, sitting here, profound grin across my face as I read every single comment about Bring Me The Horizon coming in at #42…

Let’s just say I’m truly thankful to be able to join you today, all of us together again for another holiday season and the yearly Sputnikmusic Staff Top Ten. First up is… waiiiit. Album art with like, lots of overly-detailed small stuff happening inside a much, much larger frame? Do a double-take, if you want (search your feelings, you know it to be true…). What you’re looking at is unmistakably Dance Gavin Dance album artwork, and Instant Gratification, now a certified ‘Best of 2015’ record, is unmistakably a Dance Gavin Dance album (let the comments flow, guys… really, don’t hold back).

Over the past eight years, and despite all the (astounding) drama that has befallen the band, Dance Gavin Dance have managed to release an impressive six LPs: one that was okay, two that were great, one that was awesome (this one), and two that changed the game forever. Based on my recollection, the first five never even sniffed our Top 50, and yet, behold! In 2015, Instant Gratification lands right here, in our Top Ten. Hell, even its position (top of the page, first blurb to read, most overall views, etc.) is cause to celebrate. Consider this my bright, shiny ‘fuck you’ to Carrie and Lowell. Score one for high pitched clean vocals and their screamed counterparts. Score one for lyrics like “I came to show you my sack.” Score one for Jacob Royal Ocean.

What makes Dance Gavin Dance so special is the band’s intense commitment to its own irreverence. Over its (still reasonably short) timeline, and especially during this Tillian-era renaissance, we are all witnesses to a vision of a world without vision. There are those out there who would fault artists for this — for making music visceral first, meaningful second. Those people are the worst. Instant Gratification is, as its name would suggest, an effortless masterpiece. –theacademy

9. We Lost The Sea – Departure Songs



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We Lost the Sea couldn’t have written a better eulogy for Chris Torpy than Departure Songs. While none of the movements contained within explicitly pay homage to their former frontman, the collection of moving tributes feel every inch like a nod to their fallen friend. Continuing the band without replacing Torpy was a risky move on the surface, but there can be no question of whether it was the right move or not now. Departure Songs tips its hat to acts of great self-sacrifice and valour; acts committed by almost inconceivably brave men and women who did what they believed to be right in the face of catastrophe or the great unknown. The swirling delay on “A Gallant Gentlemen” provides the perfect backdrop to Captain Oates of the Arctic’s last moments; the Eastern European vibe which permeates “Bogatyri” pays homage to the three heroes of Chernobyl; and the crushing volleys and stirring samples of “Challenger” paint vivid pictures of fire, disaster and loss. Departure Songs is always about more than just the music. The stories spring into life, and along with the accompanying artwork for each song, a rich tapestry emerges, fully immersing you in the experience. Whether you imagine yourself to be in their shoes or simply watching from afar, it’s a genuinely moving experience, and it’s one of the finest post-rock albums of recent times. –Dan H.

8. Jamie XX – In Colour



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What allowed me to truly enjoy In Colour was when I eventually came to hear it not as a singular aesthetic statement, but rather as a diverse collection of pop-oriented dance tunes. Songs like “Girl” are based in such traditional melodic structures, but are packaged with such a glossy sheen and sidechained to the core in a way that brings to mind what Neon Indian’s been up to this year. Perception can change a whole lot, and it can even turn one of the otherwise cheesiest albums of 2015 into one of the slickest pop records, no problem. “Seesaw” is surely the best example of the kind of warmth Jamie XX is capable of sharing through song: brilliant, steady sunlight diffracted from a nearby windowpane. My favorite thing about this song is how its introduction steals the spotlight from “Sleep Sound” — snatches it, even.

And as any true color palette, In Colour offers hues of faded indigos and radiant oranges in tandem. “Good Times” makes phenomenal use of Young Thug’s charismatic fire behind the mic, and crosses the threshold of mainstream pop-rap with ease. And to this listener at least, “The Rest Is Noise” feels like the grandest song here – the kind of emotional journey that could take place on a long train ride, tranquil between steam engine huffs. It’s nice to hear possible influences here from the sonic dynamism of Jon Hopkins, who has an incredible grasp for flow and pacing within his own music. Jamie XX approaches pop here in the same way Hopkins and Coldplay do in “Viva La Vida” – waiting for the gift at hand to be boxed before wrapping it in brilliant, sequined gold ribbon. And this kind of “bigness” within pop music surely will be well-remembered throughout the years, which is why we’ll still be talking about Jamie XX in 2019 – his music gives off the impression that it’s just now beginning to undergo a change, subtle but worth paying attention to. In Colour suggests hints as to where his career will lead next, but the album never gifts us anything more than such ambiguities. –Jacob Royal

7. Sleater-Kinney – No Cities To Love



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The Olympia, Washington trio’s career arc has been a continuous ascent thus far, with every new album elaborating on the energy and intelligence of the previous one. No Cities To Love is no exception, the rare reunion record that captures the essence of the band, pointing at the possibility of vital future after an 8-year-long hiatus. Age has not made Sleater-Kinney’s sound any less ferocious. This is a 32-minute scorcher of an album that brims with fierce intensity. The album’s raging opener “Price Tag” condemns a culture dominated by consumerism amid a punchy noise rock arrangement, while “Surface Envy” is the trio’s statement of strength: “We win, we lose, only together do we break the rules.”

Every song boasts an irresistibly sweet melodic center that’s in stark contrast with sharp angular guitar riffs. The vocal interplay between Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein is in a class of its own, often recalling the trio’s riot grrrl beginnings. Drummer Janet Weiss blends into whatever style each song requires, which is not an easy feat considering how diverse the songwriting is. Whether it is the playful dance punk of “Fangless”, the summery pop of “A New Wave” or the blistering post-hardcore of “No Anthems”, the women sound rejuvenated exploring different styles with verve and brash rock swagger. No Cities To Love is a testament to their ongoing friendship, but also a reminder of how essential they are to the current rock scene. –Greg Fisher

6. Julia Holter – Have You In My Wilderness



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It’s the review format we all fear: a unique and well-loved artist “goes accessible” and the reader immediately jumps to the worst conclusion. Not only that, but we’re talking about Julia Holter – star of 2013 and long-time darling of the experimental pop sphere – and she’s singing love songs! You could even say she’s singing ballads! How could we ask for a greater set-up for catastrophe?

But this isn’t a disaster or a cynical attempt to translate critical adoration for more lucrative fame. Instead, Have You In My Wilderness marks another period of steady progression for an artist who has had every bohemian wrapped ’round her finger since 2012. Where Julia’s previous album, the typically erudite Loud City Song, toyed with a more dramatic pop sensibility, Have You In My Wilderness embraces it completely. What is lead-single “Feel You” but a stellar example of art pop done so deliciously right? Julia swoons over a chamber orchestra with well-known sensitivity and newly-revealed confidence – that anathematic cry of “Figures pass so quickly…” kicking off one of the most immediately affective choruses of 2015.

Julia approaches this expressionistic display with familiar eclecticism, so don’t expect an endless list of personal troubles because she has always been one to make full use of a storyteller’s license. From the saxophone solo in “Sea Calls Me Home” to “Everytime Boots”‘s jauntier strut, Have You In My Wilderness represents a bewildering array of characters individually crying out for another. By the time the title track rolls round to tie the album off, you can only be impressed by the sheer variation of Julia’s attempts to convey passion. “How Long?” is deep, yearning passion; “Night Song” is more contemplative passion; “Betsy On The Roof” is utterly unadulterated ballad passion. We might be completely passion-ed out were it not for the fantastic orchestral backing, tight production and new prominence of Julia’s voice all offering up a soundscape possible to drown in. With the heavy inclusion of strings, harpsichord and vocal/synthesiser washes, Have You In My Wilderness‘ charm is well earned.

This poppier sound has been a long time coming. Loud City Song was already a huge leap towards increased accessibility, and producer Cole M. Greif-Neil has continually helped to bring out the best of her want for “big-ness”. On paper it could have gone awfully, but what matters is what we’re left with: Have You In My Wilderness pays homage to her more experimental past while opening the gates even wider for more to join the cult of Julia Holter. –Jonny Hunter

5. Viet Cong – Viet Cong



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There have been two main narrative arcs in Viet Cong’s extremely eventful year, the first of which revolves around their desperately naïve choice of band name. As recently as the first week of December there were sizable sit-ins and protests outside venues where the four-piece were playing. This is completely understandable: the sight of white men appropriating and subsequently profiting off something which they have no visible physical or socio-political connection to seems like a relic of an era gone by. As their fellow Canadian Justin Trudeau might say: it’s 2015.

But the Calgarians’ perfect self-titled debut album – indeed, the real catalyst to all this controversy – is also worth spilling some ink over. The seven songs that make up Viet Cong were born on the road and subsequently recorded in a barn-turned-studio in rural Ontario. Some of the attendant claustrophobia from having to work in such close quarters has visibly rubbed off on the album, resulting in the mostly-happy development that the boys no longer sound like a Deerhunter formed north of the 45th parallel. “Pointless Experience” is a harried yet atonal slab of labyrinthine post-punk that invites all kinds of perplexed analysis: “If we’re lucky we’ll get old and die!” cries vocalist Matt Flegel from the song’s epicenter, proving that he can still be trusted to keep his central theses lean and digestible in his own acerbic way. Then there’s the phenomenal “March of Progress”, a courageous, fleet-footed number that continually shifts gears and sonics before laying down a midsection that The Piper at the Gates of Dawn-era Pink Floyd would tip their hats to. Nothing beats “Continental Shelf”, though: “Ice on the horizon / The skyline folding in / Nothing is beginning / Edges falling off of themselves / And the water is draining / Off the continental shelf” wails Flegel amidst a storm consisting entirely of electrified melancholy, tortured drums, and nihilistic basslines. It’s a testament to the staying power of Viet Cong that it has managed to rank so highly despite having had a year and about fifty tons of hate mail to be buried and forgotten in. When it comes to the quality of their music, at least, Viet Cong have managed to remain non-controversial. –Irving Tan

4. The Dear Hunter – Act IV- Rebirth in Reprise



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Surprised to see The Dear Hunter ranked this highly? Don’t be. Frontman Casey Crescenzo is an absolute madman, which is of course meant as a compliment. Even when he wasn’t keeping himself busy by furthering the Act series, he up and decided to record a collection of nine EPs (36 tracks) centered around various shades of the color spectrum. The guy’s idiosyncrasies rival that of Colin Meloy [The Decemberists] or Claudio Sanchez [Coheed and Cambria], although his eccentric nature is channeled less towards convoluted storylines and more towards elaborately composed album structures. For as over-the-top as his ventures typically are, though, he possesses rare enough talent to make even the most wildly clashing concepts fit together in perfect, seamless harmony. In fact, a case could easily be made that his work with The Dear Hunter currently stands alone at the pinnacle of modern progressive rock – a notion that the brilliant Act IV does nothing to dispute.

As perhaps the final installment in The Dear Hunter’s Act series, IV brings everything to the table. Even throughout the full-blown orchestral movements, poignant strings, and grandiose hooks that border on pop, there isn’t a single track that feels contrived or obligatory. From the oceanic metaphors found on “Waves” all the way through the charmingly self-indulgent “King of Swords”, it’s just one effortless and cohesive progression through some of the best material that The Dear Hunter have ever written. Even less obvious cuts, like the serene “Is There Anybody Here?”, demand to be heard due simply to the strength of the melodies and the band’s commitment to make each song as engaging as possible. You can tell that this was a record written for the fans, and that makes it a worthy and fitting successor to the opening trifecta. Wholly original and endlessly entertaining, Act IV has become the calling card by which we may forever identify The Dear Hunter. Until Act V that is, should we be so fortunate. –SowingSeason

3. Grimes – Art Angels



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While Carly Rae Jepsen might have the year’s most classic “pop” record, Kacey Musgraves the most old-fashioned, and Adele the most, uh, popular, nobody came as close to the sound of pop in 2015 than Grimes. If someone said they saw this coming, they were lying. While a song like “Oblivion” showed Claire Boucher’s hand as a pop songwriter at her heart, nothing in Grimes’ past catalogue indicated that she could be capable of the sort of maximalist, neon-lit electro-pop that Art Angels deals in spades. One could even call it mainstream-baiting – that synth hook on “Realiti” is straight out of the Calvin Harris-lite playbook – if it weren’t for the very Grimes-ian idiosyncrasies bubbling up throughout. If pop music is about dressing up your wounds and poisonous feelings into something that makes them easier to bear, like pressing the pus out of an infected wound, then Art Angels is the best, most cathartic disinfectant I heard this year. Consider the two-stepping jaunt of “California”, its almost blinding production sweetening up some truly poisonous, self-defeated lyrics, or “Flesh Without Blood” mourning the loss of a great friend with one of the most jubilant melodies of the year. I’m partial to the self-destructive love of “Pin”, propelled forward by a drum machine flurry, a guitar riff like an angry hornet and maybe the universal lyric on the record: “I was only looking for a human to reciprocate.”

What separates Grimes from her contemporaries and elevates Art Angels above the rest of the Hot 100 it so strongly makes a case for is Grimes’ total control over her own art. Taylor Swift gets plenty of (well-deserved) accolades for developing a distinct sound, but she has never written and produced an entire album like Grimes does here, confidently twisting and molding it just so, the result of months of painful do-overs and trashed sessions. That sort of discipline and vision makes the breadth of Art Angels feel so natural, from the soaring bubblegum of “Butterfly” and its resolute thesis – “if you’re looking for a dream girl / I’ll never be your dream girl” – to the absolutely batshit “Kill V. Maim”. In the hands of a less confident artist, that latter song would come off as grasping at straws; instead, Grimes effortlessly jumps through genres and tonal shifts as if a song about a time-travelling, gender-shifting Al Pacino-inspired vampire was a totally normal subject of a pop song in 2015. It’s a happy irony that a former champion of what could charitably be called a niche scene can put out such a decisively singular statement, with an aesthetic that walks hand-in-glove with modern pop music while pushing it ever so subversively somewhere new. She cemented herself as her a unique artist years ago – Art Angels is just the latest, best blueprint of Ms. Boucher’s idea of where pop music can go, what it can be. –Rudy K.

2. Sufjan Stevens – Carrie and Lowell



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Damn that Sufjan Stevens – he just always finds a way into our hearts, doesn’t he? Or maybe, more realistically, we’re always finding our way into his.

Carrie and Lowell follows a rich tradition of Sufjan ripping himself open and casting listeners into his hopes, doubts, fears, and joys. Though the pervasive electronic madness of The Age of Adz masked the pains of “articles of imminent death,” a maddened mantra of an unwell man’s unfulfilled desire “to be well,” and whatever beautiful psychosis “Impossible Soul” demanded as tribute for its generation, the album was about as personally intense a follow-up to Stevens’ brilliant footprints in Michigan and Illinois as could be made.

Yet Carrie and Lowell is as drastic as The Age of Adz, if not moreso, for shedding that mask (musically beautiful as it is) and tearing open the Sufjan of past and present at his most raw. Folk, the genre of choice for the multi-faceted Stevens, is the vehicle of this journey for the time-spanning experience, and the appropriate one, at that, for its naked, generational power. And, though Stevens allows rays of optimism to shine into the dilemmas surrounding his relationship with his mother, it is the correct vehicle for its power to accurately communicate and recall memory – most of it painful, or at least conflicted. And maybe even a little imperfect.

Perhaps the most powerful part of Sufjan’s storytelling on Carrie and Lowell – the dynamic that creates an empathetic link between listener and artist – is his way of pulling you into his own sense memories. So much that could be straightforward is instead conveyed through Faulknerian touch and taste and sound that “lemon yoghurt,” “Subaru,” “the video store,” et al. all become tangible experiences full of those conflicted emotions, ultimately culminating in the mourning of the loss of a should-be natural mother-son connection that was never truly forged.

But where a lesser man would deify or damn her, Sufjan presents Carrie as she was, or, at least, as she was to him. And instead we experience her as a person who has simply lived and acted, leaving the person we truly come to understand throughout the course of the album as none other than Sufjan Stevens – the genius musician, as human as any of us. –Thompson D. Gerhart

1. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly



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Section 80 was full of glaringly obvious indications that Kendrick was a talented newcomer. The beats were sonically rich and Kendrick’s rapping was poignant, fluid, and deeply enthralling. It wasn’t his blockbuster hit, but it ingrained his name in the minds of indie hip-hop fans. Then, of course, good kid, m.A.A.d city came out, and not only did he rise in rank, but you can’t even partake in a conversation ’bout who’s the best MC without hearing at least one person sing praises for Kendrick. With the inclusion of Dr. Dre working his magic behind the mixboard, good kid, m.A.A.d city toned down the eclectic beats in favour of a smoother, subtly atmospheric West-Coast sound. Kendrick’s writing also sounded more refined and romantic, yet ripe with commercial appeal. To Pimp a Butterfly is a beast of a relatively different nature, though. It lacks the immediate, ear-hooking tunes that cemented good kid, m.A.A.d city as a favourite in the hip-hop community, but it proves Kendrick has reached creative nirvana. This is his masterpiece. The music is more progressive, with producers borrowing influence from various eras in urban music and shaping sounds into striking and virtuosic beats that wouldn’t sound too foreign in an album tailored by the likes of Madlib or Organized Noize. His lyricism still retains its cleverness, poignancy, and fluidity. His rapping also continues to display the versatile flow and unique accentuations he’s become revered for (the raspy, pissed-off spitting in “The Blacker the Berry”, the funky flow in “King Kunta”, the drunken higher-pitch in the second-half of “u”).

What I love about Kendrick’s lyrics, though, is the emotion. good kid, m.A.A.d city sounded so raw because Kendrick spared no gut-wrenching or soulfully confessional detail. It told the story of an adolescent struggling to maintain his sense of morality in the midst of the hedonism and crime-infested chaos that befouls his hometown. To Pimp a Butterfly follows a similar, “conceptual trajectory” by checking in on that same kid a few years later, and like a “behind-the-scenes” documentary, depicts him as an artist struggling to maintain his peace of mind. In good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick dreamt of escaping the moral corrosion that plagues Compton, but in To Pimp a Butterfly he comes to the realization that the outside world isn’t any cleaner and people just as readily choose “Halle Berry” over “Hallelujah”. Racism, shallow materialism, spiritual malaise, music executives who treat artists like hos, Kendrick purges all concerns that emotionally exhaust him in this album and it’s not only moving, but makes for an unforgettable listen. –Hernan M. Campbell

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to our staff writers who participated in the voting and writing process: 204409, Athom, AtomicWaste, Brostep, Crysis, DaveyBoy, Greg., hernan, insomniac15, Irving, klap, Omaha, plane, SowingSeason, StrangerOfSorts, theacademy, VheissuCrisis, Voivod, Willie, Xenophanes, and yours truly. This feature requires an extraordinary amount of patience, dedication, and passion, and you all consistently deliver in spades. Thanks for not making me have a psychotic break.

As you can also tell, we greatly missed some of our colleagues and their input this year. I hope they return to us soon in good health and in good spirit.

Special thanks to Willie for the gorgeous album art and organizing everything on top of his intense ‘real world’ commitments. It’s oftentimes a thankless job, but this feature would fall apart without your guidance, attention to detail, and desire to do something worth doing and publishing something that is meaningful and aesthetically pleasing. To the reader: no matter your opinion on our Top 50, this feature – and the site as a whole – would be a colossal dumpster fire without Willie.

Kudos as well to 204409 for returning for the umpteenth year in a row to challenge us to utilize a methodology that truly showcased staff consensus. I also appreciate you volunteering your time to tabulate our results.

Thank you to our owner, mx, for paying the server bill and finding the time (when you can) to make the site experience an intuitive and pleasant one. We look forward to more site features next year, and as always, if you the reader have suggestions, feel free to drop us a line in the Community Forums.

I’d also like to acknowledge our contingent of contributing reviewers, whose expertise, energy, and commitment to opening new doors for our readers to explore cannot be understated.

Lastly: thank you to you as well. Whether you’re a longtime active participant, lurker, or stumbling upon our site for the first time through Google, Metacritic, reddit, or via some other delightful Interneting, we wouldn’t exist without your enthusiasm and love of music.

Stay tuned for more features, including the Users’ Top 50 Albums of 2015, in the coming days.

On behalf of all of us here at Sputnikmusic, I hope you have a delightful holiday season with friends and family, a Happy New Year, and that 2016 treats you with good luck, good health, and good spirit. –Jom

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