Matt's Books and Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.]

Introduction

2014 was an all-time great year in pop music for me, so it’s not surprising 2015 was a bit of a letdown in comparison. But with powerhouses like Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift in off years of their production cycles, it opened up space for a more diverse group of artists to shine. So while there are ‘usual suspects’ like Carly Rae Jepsen and Adele in my top ten albums for the year, the list also includes less expected artists, like CHVRCHES, Marianas Trench, Years & Years, and Ellie Goulding.

Top 10 Albums

1. Every Open Eye (CHVRCHES): This is a case of the right band peaking at the right time. Synth-heavy pop was having its moment and CHVRCHES stepped into it in a big way with this album of lusciously-produced pop anthems.
2. E-mo-tion (Carly Rae Jepsen): Carly Rae Jepsen has built her career on songs that can only be described as pop confections. This album is probably her masterpiece in this vein. It’s absolutely syrupy sweet, but it goes down so good.
3. Astoria (Marianas Trench): You can’t get much more Millennial than a pop rock album inspired by the film Goonies. If you’re not convinced, check out the title track, plus “One Love,” “Wildfire,” and “Who Do You Love,” all of which made my year-end playlist.
4. Communion (Years & Years): Based on this brilliant dance pop debut album, you’d think this artist (who now releases music as Olly Alexander) would be the biggest popstar in the world. Sadly that hasn’t materialized, but this was an incredible beginning.
5. Delirium (Ellie Goulding): This album ended up this high in my rankings because of its depth more than its highs, but check out “Something in the Way You Move,” “Lost and Found,” and “Love Me Like You Do.”
6. No Place in Heaven (MIKA): This album uses MIKA’s pop queerdo superpowers to great effect. Highlights for me are “Boum boum boum” and “Talk about You.”
7. 25 (Adele): When I think of Adele, I think more of songs than albums. But I think this might be her most consistent album and it definitely deserves its spot in my top ten.
8. Strange Trails (Lord Huron): Folk rock’s moment had mostly passed by 2015, but I’m glad that didn’t stop this album from Lord Huron from breaking through. Led by tracks like, “Meet Me in the Woods” and “Fool for Love,” it’s a very good album.
9. Froot (Marina & the Diamonds): This is a polarizing album from Marina but I always have fun with it, especially tracks like “Forget” and “Savages.”
10. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (Florence + the Machine): Florence is an artist I really respect, but whose music doesn’t always resonate with me. So I’m always glad when it does.

Other Albums of Note

• Get Weird (Little Mix): I run hot and cold on Little Mix, but this is easily my favourite album of theirs, led by “Love Me Like You” and “Black Magic.”
• Room 93 (Halsey): In a world with a lot of soundalike pop (and hey, I’m as guilty as anyone in promoting that), I’m glad Halsey exists.
• What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (The Decemberists): With its perfect mixture of fresh and vintage production, this is my favourite album from The Decemberists.

Top 10 Songs

1. “Run Away With Me” (Carly Rae Jepsen): With its distorted saxophone riff, propulsive percussion, and soaring chorus, this is a brilliant pop song. (Favourite lyric: “I’ll be your sinner in secret”)
2. “HELLO” (Allie X): Allie X generally tends towards the weird end of pop, but I love this, her most accessible single. (Favourite lyric: “I lost my mind, my mind, life was a bitter pill to swallow”)
3. “Empty Threat” (CHVRCHES): It’s easy for synth pop to go off the rails, but that only makes tracks like this one — perfectly balanced between light and dark, sparkly and gritty — all the more impressive (Favourite lyric: “Set my sights high enough / So I see the turning tides are parting for you”)
4. “I Really Like You” (Carly Rae Jepsen): When I talk about Carly Rae Jepsen and pop confections, this is what I mean. (Favourite lyric: “Late night, watching television / How’d we get in this position?”)
5. “Shine” (Years and Years): I’ll always have a soft spot for melancholy bops. (Favourite lyric: “I’ll forget what I’ve done, I will be redefined”)
6. “Bow Down” (CHVRCHES): Everything I said about “Empty Threat” works for this track too (Favourite lyric: “We keep counting all the fresh starts we’ve had / I’ll fly another white flag over us”)
7. “SANCTUARY” (Allie X): There are a lot of songs about the desire to find a safe place in a loud and dangerous world in the public eye, but this is among the best. (Favourite lyric: “And the Saints all dance to the trumpet sounds / With apocalypse faces in the crowd”)
8. “Hello” (Adele): In a year of big production, the haunting simplicity of this song hit even harder and it became an instant classic. (Favourite lyric: “Hello, it’s me…”)
9. “When We Were Young” (Adele): As wonderful as Adele is when she belts, to me she’s even more effective in her lower register. Here she uses it to great effect in the verses, before letting loose in the chorus. (Favourite lyric: “You look like a move / You sound like a song”)
10. “West End Kids” (New Politics): Danish-American band New Politics rarely hit for me, but when they do, it’s a home run. (Favourite lyic: “Dead end streets became a drug”)

Other Songs of Note

• “Fade Away” (Susanne Sundfør): This artist rarely ventures into accessible pop, but this track shows just how effective she can be in the genre when she chooses to.
• “Keeping Your Head Up” (Birdy): In the mid-2010s few artists had as high a batting average as Birdy.
• “Suffocating” (Alyssa Reid): Canadian singer-songwriter Alyssa Reid’s vocals shine here.

Most Surprising Inclusion

• “Confused” (Yukon Blonde): When I went into my 2015 deep dive, I didn’t expect Canadian indie band Yukon Blonde to appear anywhere near the top, but this track took me by surprise in all the best ways.

Notable Song that Missed the Cut

• “Can’t Feel My Face” (The Weeknd): The Weeknd shows up a lot in this spot and I can’t really say why his music doesn’t do it for me.

[Note: It’s of course impossible to listen to everything, so while I’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible, omissions are inevitable. For consistency’s sake, I’ve gone with the year music was released, rather than when it became popular. Any ratings or rankings are my own and entirely subjective. This has nothing to do with objective quality but is simply reflective of my personal taste.]