2015 Review: Top 10 Debut Albums of the Year

In the second half of December we are celebrating the best music that 2015 had to offer, which means you're going to see plenty of lists here for the next couple of weeks, as we do enjoy putting things in the "right" order. This order, of course, is changing almost daily, but we do feel that these lists are a fun and efficient way to capture the overall picture of the musical landscape we've been wandering in for the past twelve months.

So, let's get the ball rolling by reinstating the "Best Debuts of the Year" list. Last year we didn't feel like making one, perhaps for the first time since this blog started, as in our opinion 2014 was a rather unimpressive year for the rookies. Things did look up in 2015, although I still wouldn't call it a vintage year for debuts. However the following ten albums include one indisputable classic plus four or five more strong candidates for the year's Top 50. All of them deserve your attention if you're looking for promising new acts who inject fresh blood in guitar rock and pop music. 

Here's our Top 10 Debuts of 2015:

1. Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit - COURTNEY BARNETT

2. Viet Cong - VIET CONG

3. The Expanding Flower Planet - DERADOORIAN

4. Algiers - ALGIERS

5. My Love Is Cool - WOLF ALICE

6. Holding Hands With Jamie - GIRL BAND 

7. Me - EMPRESS OF

8. Hermits On Holiday - DRINKS

9. Feels Like - BULLY

10. Are You Satisfied? - SLAVES

Also recommended:

Before The World Was Big - GIRLPOOL

Switch Me On - THE FIREWORKS

Live: Viet Cong vs. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Viet Cong, live @ Six D.O.G.S (Athens, September 2, 2015)

The summer weather still holds well here in Athens but the fall live season has already kicked off with two very sweaty and very loud gigs in the first week of September.

For starters, on September 2, we headed downtown to the tiny Six D.O.G.S club where Canadian post-punks Viet Cong presented their excellent debut album under less than ideal circumstances, with support from local psych-rock act Chickn. I'm sure on another day, another place, Viet Cong could have given us much more, but under the problematic conditions of this night (extreme heat, sound problems and failing gear) only epic set-closer "Death" came close to representing the true potential of this band.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, live @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, September 6, 2015)

Four days later, it was time to revisit the Gagarin 205 club where the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion made their Athens live comeback, 11 whole years after their last visit here. Back then, on the same stage, they had given us a truly unforgettable performance which started with a "best of" set before playing their classic "Orange" LP in its entirety, in celebration of its 10th anniversary. This time the dynamic trio had a fine new album to present, "Freedom Tower - No Wave Dance Party 2015", their second full-length since ending their hiatus in 2011,  and they did so with excellent style (as usual) and without neglecting their formidable past. They even threw in the 90-minute explosive mix a cover of the Beastie Boys' early classic "She's On It", to make this New York No Wave dance party complete. As always, watching the Blues Explosion testifying on stage, was an absolute pleasure and a testimony to the transcendental power of rock 'n' roll!

BLML, live @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, September 6, 2015)

For the opening of this night we enjoyed an hour-long set by BLML, a.k.a. George Karanikolas' Blackmail, who presented his project's new album "Panopticon", a fine addition to 2015's local rock production from one of the most important players in the Greek scene of the last three decades, starting the count, of course, with his work with the legendary Last Drive.

Check out more photos from both gigs below as well as videos of Viet Cong's "Continental Shelf" and Blues Explosion's "Cooking For Television":

Viet Cong - Continental Shelf (live @ Six D.O.G.S, September 2, 2015)

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Cooking for Television (live @ Gagarin 205, September 6, 2015) 

 

Viet Cong with Chickn @ Six D.O.G.S:

Viet Cong

Chickn

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion with BLML @ Gagarin 205:

JSBX

BLML

PS: As it is obvious, the JSBX / BLML gig prevailed in the first, furious live clash of September. Join us again next week when we'll be comparing the on-stage prowess of Angel Olsen and Parquet Courts, both appearing at An Club in the coming days - our live entertainment is guaranteed!

New Releases: January 2015

Round-up of the most interesting new albums and singles released in January 2015:

Albums

No Cities To Love

SLEATER-KINNEY - No Cities To Love
VIET CONG - Viet Cong
THE DECEMBERISTS - What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World
GHOST CULTURE - Ghost Culture
PANDA BEAR - Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper
BJÖRK - Vulnicura
BELLE & SEBASTIAN - Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance
MENACE BEACH - Ratworld
CALIFORNIA X - Nights in the Dark
ERASE ERRATA - Lost Weekend
THE DODOS - Individ
THE MANHATTAN LOVE SUICIDES - More Heat! More Panic!
POND - Man it Feels Like Space Again
DISAPPEARS - Irreal
DIAGRAMS - Chromatics
TWERPS - Range Anxiety
HANNI EL KHATIB - Moonlight
ANDREW COMBS - All These Dreams
ALLISON CRUTCHFIELD - Lean In To It
JESSICA PRATT - On Your Own Love Again
NATALIE PRASS - Natalie Prass
LIAM HAYES - Slurrup
THE CHARLATANS - Modern Nature
GAZ COOMBES - Matador
LUPE FIASCO - Tetsuo & Youth
GHOSTFACE KILLAH - 36 Seasons
DOOMTREE - All Hands
DEATH GRIPS - Fashion Week
FUTURE - Beast Mode
PERCUSSIONS - 2011 until 2014
SISKIYOU - Nervous
ZUN ZUN EGUI - Shackles Gift

Singles & EPs

Begin Again

PURITY RING - Begin Again
HTRK - Body Lotion
APHEX TWIN - Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 EP
DJANGO DJANGO - First Light
TY SEGALL - Mr Face EP
GIRL ONE AND THE GREASE GUNS / JEN SCHANDE - Split
PETITE NOIR - The King of Anxiety EP
ENGINEERS - A Million Voices
EMMY THE GREAT - S EP
BONNIE PRINCE BILLY - Mindlessness / Blindnessless
DOUG PAISLEY featuring BONNIE PRINCE BILLY - Until I Find You 
INSPIRAL CARPETS featuring JOHN COOPER CLARKE - Let You Down
SLAVES - The Hunter
LOVE BUZZARD - EP
AMEN DUNES - Cowboy Worship EP
YOUNG EJECTA - The Planet EP
FAWN SPOTS - New Sense
FRASER A GORMAN - Book Of Love
HIPPIES VS GHOSTS - Wazo
MARCUS MARR - Brown Sauce
SCHIZO FUN ADDICT VS THE BORDELLOS - Schizo Fun Addict vs The Bordellos EP

Viet Cong - Continental Shelf off "Viet Cong"

Click to listen to our New Releases 01.2015 mix-tape.