Best of 2015: Albums

Unlike 2014, I did buy enough albums this year to pick out a decent list. 2015 felt pretty good overall with a lot of bands I like releasing strong records. It was similar to 2013 in some ways. I pretty much had my top five for the year by June, thanks to Container, Drainolith, Sightings, White Poppy, and Zaïmph. I went back to buying CDs a little more out of the convenience of the format. As always any album had to be released in the calendar year and I had to listen to it a lot. And if you are one of those types who needs a definitive album of the year, then that honor goes to Lightning Bolt's Fantasy Empire.

The list goes band/album/label for those with questions of that nature.

01. Lea Bertucci & Leila Bordreuil - L'Onde Souterraine - Telegraph Harp
02. Bitchin Bajas & Natural Information Society - Automaginary - Drag City
03. Dave Borden - Music for Amplified Keyboard Instruments - Spectrum Spools
04. Container - LP - Spectrum Spools
05. Drainolith - Hysteria - NNA
06. Flying Saucer Attack - Instrumentals 2015 - Drag City
07. Steve Hauschildt - Where All Is Fled - Kranky
08. Helen - The Original Faces - Kranky
09. Lightning Bolt - Fantasy Empire - Thrill Jockey
10. Night Court - Law & Order - Not Not Fun
11. People Of The North - Era Of Manifestations - Thrill Jockey
12. Positive No - Glossa - Little Black Cloud
13. Quarterbacks - Quarterbacks - Team Love
14. Sightings - Amusers & Puzzlers - Dais
15. Sleater-Kinney - No Cities To Love - Sub Pop
16. U.S. Girls - Half Free - 4AD
17. White Poppy - Natural Phenomena - Not Not Fun
18. Wolf Eyes - I Am A Problem: Mind In Pieces - Third Man
19. Yarn/Wire & Pete Swanson - Eliminated Artist - Distributed Objects
20. Zaïmph - Two Aspects Divided - Yew

Best of 2015: Cassettes

2015 continued my trend of listening to more music on cassette than on any other format. I dig tapes and all the bands I like often only release tunes on cassette so I'm going to continue support them. I kept my list at one tape per label, although I think next year I'm going to relax that a little. Chondritic Sound, Hausu Mountain, Not Not Fun, and Refulgent Sepulchre all made it hard to pick out a single release. As always any tape had to be released in the calendar year and I had to listen to it a lot. And if you are one of those types who needs a definitive cassette of the year, then that honor goes to the Adderall Canyonly and Yves Malone split on 905 Tapes.

The list goes band/album/label for those with questions of that nature.

01. Adderall Canyonly & Yves Malone - split - 905 Tapes
02. David Burraston - T.H. Cycle - Cassauna
03. Chapels - Night Thoughts - Obsolete Units
04. D.Å.R.F.D.H.S. - Killing Is No Murder! - Opal Tapes
05. Drainolith - Moskos Reads The Zonal Poets Vol. 1 - NNA Tapes
06. Rachel Evans - Cradle Songs - Adversary
07. Forest Management - Dusk Memory - Mistake By The Lake
08. Form A Log - At A Festival - Wobble Heist
09. Gnawed & Velvet Curtain - split - Maniacal Hatred
10. Head Dress & Wether - split - Phinery
11. Hunnie Bunnies - The Milk Album - Refulgent Sepulchre
12. Immortal Beings - Mars 1266 - Dub Ditch Picnic
13. Inferior Passions - Any Day - Chondritic Sound
14. Jupiter Jax - Visitors - 100% Silk
15. Jake Meginsky - Kasper Struabe Stencil Cycles - Mantize
16. Mister Matthews - Eyebrows & Collarbones - 2:00 AM Tapes
17. Opaline - Memory Drain - Constellation Tatsu
18. PCRV & Brown Piss - split - Chaotic Noise Productions
19. Pod Blotz - Human Division - Nostilevo
20. Prostitues - Mandarin Siblings - Centre Tapes
21. Skullcaster - Revaluation - Holodeck Records
22. Some Pepper - Nightshades - Decoherence Records
23. TALsounds - All The Way - Hausu Mountain
24. various artists - Chrysanthemum Maps Vol. I-III - Vaald
25. X.Y.R. - Mental Journey To B.C. - Not Not Fun