Starting today and continuing through Thursday, I’m counting down my 40 favorite albums of 2015. The usual caveat applies: I truly love all this music, but take the rankings with a grain of salt. And please bear in mind that I’m not trying to be definitive. (Also, I consider D’Angelo’s excellent Black Messiah to be a 2014 release, which is why you won’t see it here anywhere—due to a poorly timed move, though, I didn’t manage to make a list last year.)
Laura Cannell, Beneath Swooping Talons (Front & Follow) I never expected to fall for an album that leans so heavily on solo recorder, but this Brit bowled me over with bracing works for that beleaguered instrument (and more significant, for violin). These ten pieces blur the line between improvisation and composition, drawing inspiration from early-music composers Hildegard von Bingen and Guillaume de Machaut but transforming that source material with a folk-rooted sensibility and a ferocious attack. Stark, brutal, and beautiful.
Thee Oh Sees, Mutilator Defeated at Last (Castle Face) The latest from the current LA incarnation of John Dwyer’s mighty Thee Oh Sees sounds pretty slick compared to previous outings, but that just means every fuzzed-out tone and slashing lick comes through with more oomph. More notable than the relative depth of the recording is the fact that this material—whether it’s a blammo freak-out over a motorik groove or a creepy psych ballad—is as strong, consistent, and memorable as anything in the band’s oeuvre.
