Listening Habits 2015 03-04

Every month we present the latest new releases that have piqued our interest, but what were those albums and songs that we've listened to the most and have rightly earned a place in C.M.C.'s record collection? This is the question we answer every other month in our Listening Habits posts and the time has come for the second one of the year, which is actually the first consisting entirely of 2015 releases.

The top of our March - April album list belongs to the excellent debut by Melbourne singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett, whose killer single "Pedestrian At Best" was also number one in our previous Top 20 Tracks list. The compilation "The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas" introduced us to her unique songwriting talents a couple of years ago and now her proper full-length debut "Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit" provides further proof that Barnett is able to transform her influences in witty, infectious songs that describe in a captivating manner intriguing characters and personal thoughts and insecurities.

"Untethered Moon", the eighth album by Built To Spill and their first since 2009, finds the Boise, Idaho, rockers in fine form, rocking out with the same passion as in their best records from the '90s and early '00s. They say that change is essential to survival, but sometimes it makes a lot of sense to stick to your winning ways and play to your strengths, and this is exactly what's going on here from the very first guitar riff to the last.

Other excellent records we've enjoyed in the last couple of months include "Escape From Evil", the third and best album so far by Lower Dens, "Ivy Tripp", also the third full-length by Waxahatchee who I'm looking forward to seeing live in the upcoming Plisskën Festival in Athens, "Foil Deer" by the increasingly wonderful Speedy Ortiz and the notable return to action by longtime favorites The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Modest Mouse and Blur with their first work in twelve years.

Here's the complete Top 20 list of highly recommended albums:

Top 20 Albums

1.  Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit - COURTNEY BARNETT
2.  Untethered Moon - BUILT TO SPILL
3.  Escape From Evil - LOWER DENS
4.  Ivy Tripp - WAXAHATCHEE
5.  Foil Deer - SPEEDY ORTIZ
6.  "Freedom Tower" No Wave Dance Party 2015 - THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION
7.  The Magic Whip - BLUR
8.  Strangers To Ourselves - MODEST MOUSE
9.  Hinterland - LONELADY
10. Another Eternity - PURITY RING
11. Short Movie - LAURA MARLING
12. Fast Food - NADINE SHAH
13. The Race For Space - PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING
14. I Want To Grow Up - COLLEEN GREEN
15. Kintsugi - DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
16. Shadow Of The Sun - MOON DUO
17. To Pimp A Butterfly - KENDRICK LAMAR
18. Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper - PANDA BEAR
19. Transfixiation - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
20. Edge Of The Sun - CALEXICO

Top 20 Tracks

1.  Lampshades On Fire - MODEST MOUSE
2.  Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go To The Party - COURTNEY BARNETT
3.  Raising The Skate - SPEEDY ORTIZ
4.  Fool - NADINE SHAH
5.  False Hope - LAURA MARLING
6.  Under A Rock - WAXAHATCHEE
7.  To Die in L.A. - LOWER DENS
8.  Straight - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
9.  Living Zoo - BUILT TO SPILL
10. Do The Get Down - THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION
11. Groove It Out - LONELADY
12. Go! - PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING
13. Push Pull - PURITY RING
14. Lonesome Street - BLUR
15. Black Sun - DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
16. Deeper Than Love - COLLEEN GREEN
17. Slow Down Low - MOON DUO
18. Boys Latin - PANDA BEAR
19. Cumbia de Donde - CALEXICO
20. Winter (Warpaint Remix) - DAUGHTER

Modest Mouse - Lampshades On Fire

You can listen to our Top 20 Tracks on Spotify here: