Dóra’s Top 5 Albums of 2015
It’s that time of the year again, guys! Looking back, I cannot believe how fast 2015 has gone by –I mean, I’m still procrastinating to listen to that new Fall Out Boy record that came out in January. Yikes!
I listened to a ton of other music, though. Picking the TOP 5 wasn’t hard, but keeping the list this short was. I don’t work well with rules, not even with our own (haha!), so this is an effort made with heavy heart. The albums that made cut are the ones having a solid place on my playlist for months now, the ones I still keep on going back to, although I played them so many times I pretty much know all the beats and riffs to each song, and the ones that hold big surprises and even bigger musical experiences within.
The list is the most predictable ever (I mean, truly) and is in no particular order besides release date. It’s not my job to decide which is better than the rest. Can you even rank music when the genre varies so much within what you listens to these days?
The Maine – ‘American Candy‘
While ‘Forever Halloween’ was The Maine‘s darkest album to date, ‘American Candy‘ turned out to be a rather chilled out/go-with-the-flow/no pressure kind of follow-up. Actually its single dark part is also my favourite lyrically – the title song goes “What will you do on the weekends, when your best friends become your dead friends?” – so decadent. If there is one album that everyone quoted in some way this year yet was still quite underrated by media and publishing outlets during release, then this is it – same goes to the band. They don’t get much coverage, have no major label stuffing them with money but still keep going with endless passion and gratitude. And the free US tour they set up during the summer was the best thing an artist has ever done! Nothing but love for The Maine.
Read our review of American Candy here!
All Time Low – ‘Future Hearts‘
The huge success and accomplishments of 2015 finally made sure All Time Low will go down as pop-punk legends in history one day. Honestly, it didn’t cross my mind that ‘Future Hearts‘ would become big enough to top charts both in the US and UK but it did, and rightfully so. The power of the album lies within the mixture of heavy rock anthems and meaningful ballads – somehow both work with this band incredibly when they play live. I must mention ‘Missing You’, with its anti-suicide message, which had a really great impact on me emotionally. I’m not struggling, but I was on a summer road-trip listening to it when the realization of the beautiful heads up in this song hit me. I haven’t let it go ever since. If there is one song with the power to help someone then I hope this track is the one.
Read our review of Future Hearts here!
Twenty One Pilots – ‘Blurryface‘
My history with Twenty One Pilots is the following: when I first heard of them, they were on tour with Paramore. I briefly checked them out and thought the music was cool just not for me. Fast forward until songs off Blurryface started to surface and the summer I spent with the album on repeat – me going wild to the one okay song on the radio ‘Tear In My Heart’ has also became very common. What I’ve really grown to love is the lyrics (‘Goner‘ is the ultimate favourite) and the way they blend different types of genres – from EDM to reggae, you can find almost everything – that results in a very unique sound. Main goal for 2016 is to catch them live.
Halsey – ‘Badlands‘
My favourite debut of the year is definitely Halsey‘s. She literally blew up out of nowhere. To put it in perspective, I started following her at around 100-200K followers just during the summer (when she was already fairly known throughout certain groups) and she’s at over a million today! Amy (Founder-Editor) and I had a conversation about the phenomenon and couldn’t find better answer to go with the numbers than the power of the Internet. It’s mental. ‘Badlands‘ is a loose concept album and I am sucker for a theme so I was already sold in advance. I feel like I found a dark alt-pop soulmate in the album – lyrics in ‘Control‘ go like “I’m meaner than my demons”. That sums me up right there, everyone!
5 Seconds of Summer – ‘Sounds Good Feels Good‘
The fact John Feldmann worked on 80% of my most appreciated albums ever, made me give a chance to 5SOS in the first place early this year (I secretly liked them when they came on the radio but couldn’t really care more). I’m so glad I did. I felt/saw they had potential in them, and this album shows they’ve really got what it takes to be credible musicians. *Insert the I-told-you-so and smug face segment here* If you’ve ever heard their debut album, just forget it. Sounds Good Feels Good is musically and lyrically progressed grown-up material with a concept built around it…and interludes…and string orchestral input, which is my main concern about next year’s tour – there is no way certain songs can be played unless with a live orchestra. Just do it!
Well, this is my TOP 5 albums list. You’ve been warned in advance about how predictable it is but what can I do when these ruled my 2015? I still think they’re all awesome in their own way. I also want to know what have you all listened so don’t be afraid to share it with us!
Leave a comment below to tell us what you were listening to or, alternatively, if you want your Top 5 published just like Dóra’s then tweet @amyjosays (or email amyjo@altscribe.com) to get involved!
