Shifty's Favorite Albums of 2015

Shifty's Favorite Albums From The Year 2015!!!! Hey That Was This Year!!!!!! 

This was a great year for music. Probably the best year since 2012. I listened to more than 300 (maybe 400?) albums that came out this year, and I made a list of the 50 that I liked the most. This isn't a list of the best albums that came out this year. This is a list of my favorite albums that came out this year.

My Top 15 Albums of 2015 

1. Ought - Sun Coming Down
2. Viet Cong - Viet Cong
3. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
4. Vince Staples - Summertime '06
5. Jimmy Whispers - Summer in Pain
6. Tobias Jesso Jr. - Goon
7. Jamie XX - In Colour
8. Protomartyr - The Agent Intellect
9. Pinkshinyultrablast - Everything Else Matters
10. Deafheaven - New Bermuda
11. Deerhunter- Fading Frontier
12. Lightning Bolt - Fantasy Empire
13. Panda Bear - Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
14. Waxahatchee - Ivy Tripp
15. Majical Cloudz - Are You Alone?

Honorable Mentions (Alphabetical Order)

• Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color
• Arca - Mutant
• A$AP Rocky - At.Long.Last.A$AP
• Baroness - Purple
• Beach House - Depression Cherry
• Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars
• Blur - The Magic Whip
• Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Style
• Cloakroom - Further Out
• Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
• Czarface - Every Hero Needs a Villain
• Death Grips - The Powers That B
• Destroyer - Poison Season
• FKA Twigs - M3LL155X
• Freddie Gibbs - Shadow of a Doubt
• Girlpool - Before the World Was Big
• Grimes - Art Angels
• Hop Along - Painted Shut
• Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free
• Joey Bada$$ - B4.da.$$
• Julio Bashmore - Knockin' Boots
• Krallice - Ygg huur
• Krill - A Distant Fist Unclenching
• Kurt Vile - b'lieve i'm goin down
• Leon Bridges - Coming Home
• METZ - II
• Royal Headache - High
• Sleater Kinney - No Cities to Love
• Speedy Ortiz - Foil Deer
• Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
• Sun Kil Moon - Universal Themes
• Tame Impala - Currents
• Titus Andronicus - The Most Lamentable Tragedy
• Tribulation - The Children of the Night
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Multi-Love
• The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die - Harmlessness

How many of these albums have you listened to? Did you have a favorite album this year?

Shifty's Monthly Album Overview List: June Strikes Back :')

Hey remember when when I personally challenged June to come up with some good music? Well, June came through and embarrassed me. Shifty: 0, June: 1. Shifty is still feeling like a proud dad right now, cause I think that it's my fault that the music in June was so good. You're welcome. Shifty also feels like personally attacking months of the year isn't really a great idea, because months take those attacks seriously. This is a list of the bands that put out some really good music in June. The albums that I #liked get one seal of approval and the albums that I #likedliked get two seals of approval. This month's seal of approval is particularly fantastic.

#KissFromASeal

#thingsiliked

Bully- Feels Like
-Some of them rocks and rolls that your parents talk about. When I listen to this album, it FEELS LIKE (I rarely feel) this album is a good album.
#ISeeWhatIDidThere
#;)

Girlpool- Before the World Was Big
-This album really pulls me in. It feels really small, and it just makes me smile (I rarely smile). It kind of feels like the bass and the guitar are kinda dueling each other or something. And the dual vocals are just fantastic. Very sweet and syrupy.
#OneHundredOneMillionBillionTrillionTimes

Sun Kil Moon- Universal Themes
-Mark Kozelek comes through with another wonderful and personal album. He threw in some electric guitar, Steve Shelley on the drums, and some extra shouty lyrics and in the end it really worked out. Most of the songs are over 7 minutes, and it really takes a focused listen in order to catch all of the lyrics and themes of the album. In the end I enjoyed this album a lot, but not as much as Benji or the first half of Among the Leaves (which is his best work in my opinion).
#IfYouAreLookingForFantasticLyricsThenThisIsYourAlbum

Thundercat- The Beyond/ Where the Giants Roam
-The whole Brainfeeder crew has been on point lately. Flying Lotus's album last year, Kamasi Washington's album earlier this year, and they handled a lot of the instrumentation on To Pimp a Butterfly as well. Thundercat is striking while the fire is hot, and he delivers a quality ep.
#ForAllOfThemLostSouls

Wavves x Cloud Nothings- No Life For Me
-Oh hey look, two of my favorite bands made a collaborative album. Is any good? Yes it is son. Yes it is. Also, I like how both bands kind of went back to their roots for this. I was kind of expecting it to be a lot more influenced by Cloud Nothings' recent output, but this is a pleasant surprise.
#YesLifeForMe


               

#thingsilikedliked

Czarface- Every Hero Needs a Villain
-Czarface is a collaboration Wu Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck and the duo of 7L & Esoteric. This is the second album made by the trio, and this one does exactly what it's predecessor(Czarface) didn't. It is actually good. It's production is like a mix between RZA and MF DOOM production. It's got some of the best punchlines of the year (I rarely laugh) and a really great cast of features. DOOM's verse is his best in a long time.......... and it's villainous as can be. This is seriously like my favorite Inspectah Deck release ever.
#ForVillainsOnly

Jamie XX- In Colour
-This is a fantastic electronic album that is very varied. Jamie blends a lot of different components and it ends up being like a mix between house music and garage music. Jamie goes all the way in. So far, this is my favorite electronic album this year. Lately I've been asking myself, "What makes a good album?" The answer for me, I guess is that it's gotta have bangers. Oh boy does this album have bangers. All 11 of the songs on this album are bangers. So naturally, this album is gonna be #likedliked.
#NoAcousticInstrumentsUsed
#IOnceAccidentallyDownloadedALumineersSong
#IHadToThrowAwayMyWholeComputerJustToBeSafe

Vince Staples- Summertime '06
-This is a great album. A lot of people complain that Vince has a kind of monotone voice. I don't really think that takes away from how great he is. This album has fantastic production and the beats really play to Vince's strengths. It's very catchy and it also has a lot of substance. I'm not sure why he separated the album and made it a double album. Back in my day, 60 minutes of music didn't warrant a double album......
#NorfNorfForDays
#SummerInPain