{"id":1993,"date":"2016-01-12T00:36:51","date_gmt":"2016-01-12T05:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/?p=1993"},"modified":"2016-01-17T19:10:31","modified_gmt":"2016-01-18T00:10:31","slug":"best-albums-of-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/?p=1993","title":{"rendered":"Best Albums of 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Andy
\nAndy Human and the Reptoids <\/b>– Andy Human and the Reptoids <\/i>(S-S)<\/p>\n

No other album had the ability to get under your skin quite like this debut from the Bay Area\u2019s finest export. With a timeless sound that draws inspiration from, but doesn\u2019t directly ape the gurgling glops of glam and protopunk (Brian Eno, Pere Ubu, Devo) that spouted them, this band\u2019s exceptional songcraft has given this LP a high rate of return and listenability. Soon all the references to classics will fade as this records has all the indicators of a classic in and of itself.<\/p>\n


\n\"The
\nThe Chewers – <\/b>Dead Dads <\/i>(Self Released)<\/p>\n

There are weirdos and then there are people trying to be weirdos. These freaks from Nashville couldn\u2019t be normal if they tried and their musical output benefits from this tragic anomaly in that they\u2019ve been able to create a truly unique body of work that allows more adventurous listeners a glimpse into a world that\u2019s more fascinating, frightening, and funny than nearly any other band you\u2019ll hear. Truly unique and truly weird. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n\"Dan
\nDan Melchior\u2019s Broke Revue – <\/b>Lords of the Manor <\/i>(In The Red)<\/p>\n

Dan\u2019s prolific discography of solo records and records with Das Menace have been a steady source of brilliant ramshackle rock n\u2019 roll on par with other masters of the form, like Billy Childish, Jay Reatard or Jon Dwyer. As great as that gravy train has been with multiple releases hitting the vinyl bins year after year, I have to admit that when I heard the Broke Revue moniker was being tossed out for a new record, the first since the band\u2019s last recordings in 2004, I was more than a little amped, being that Oldtime-Futureshock, Heavy Dirt<\/i> and Bitterness, Spite, Rage, & Scorn<\/i> still sit high on my list of all-time favorites. Lord of the Manor<\/i> has all the rickety hooks and stomp of those earlier records, but now wraps it in a detached psychedelic swirl that darkly spins off into fractured Chrome solos or relentlessly heads down krautrock. The new Broke Revue is an entirely new beast and one I hope rears its ugly head again sometime soon.<\/p>\n


\n\"Killing
\nKilling Joke<\/b> – Pylon<\/i> 2xLP (Spinefarm)<\/p>\n

After 35 years, you might expect the legendary UK postpunk pounders to loose a little steam and\/or piss and vinegar, but so far they\u2019ve kept right at it and have continued to make killer records decade after decade. From the masterpiece of their eponymous debut LP through 1983\u2019s percussive Fire Dances<\/i>, even through their weaker new-wavy late \u201880s records on to the more metallic Pandemonium<\/i> in 1994 and through the 2000s, there\u2019s been enough trace amounts of their original fire in all their releases to make \u2018em worth paying attention to. And this double whopper again shows how malleable their sound can be by pleasing not only lovers of metal, industrial, dub, EDM, punk, and all points in between, but by demonstration how their unique vision has influenced underground music overall. The tracks on Pylon<\/i> span from drifting hypnotic anthems to bombastic marches, all roaring or at least gurgling with layers of texture and Geordie Walker\u2019s unrivaled minor key guitar swells. Needless to say, Pylon<\/i> is an epic addition to an already epic discography.<\/p>\n


\n\"Male
\nMale Gaze<\/b> – Gale Maze<\/i> LP (Castle Face)<\/p>\n

Delivering on the promise of their 7\u201d, Gale Maze<\/i> reels in the noise a wee bit and serves up a cool slab of postpunk built with commanding gothy vocals and thick fuzzy bass-driven songs that channel the frenetic dark energy of Tones on Tail or the coldwave songcraft of Total Control. It\u2019s instantly catchy and will wrap itself deep into the folds of your brain as it also rumbles in your gut. Body music for the brain or brain music for the body?<\/p>\n


\n\"Mick
\nMick Futures<\/b> – Banned from the Future<\/i> (Telephone Explosion)<\/p>\n

Only the Andy Human record earlier this year got as many plays as this surprise treat from Canada\u2019s Mitch Houle. Endlessly listenable pop damage for mutants of all ages, Banned from the Future<\/i> pulls you in with hooks in the form of synthetically-enhanced punk so catchy that you\u2019ll finally be able to put something new between all those classic Chrome, Devo, and Roxy Music records you\u2019ve spun into oblivion.<\/p>\n


\n\"Shadow
\nShadow in the Cracks <\/b>– Shadow in the Cracks<\/i> (Goner)<\/p>\n

What could be seen as a side project of Minneapolis\u2019 The Blind Shake, this 9-song convulsive devotional deserves some credit for discovering a new space in the well travelled garage punk sound continuum. They exist in a plane where tranced out shamanistic krautrock mingles in the open, singular spaces Wire discovered on Pink Flag<\/i>, while getting scorched by the burning, grizzled fire of Dead Moon. One of the freshest records the garage canon has seen in a long time.<\/p>\n


\n\"Sleaford
\nSleaford Mods <\/b>– Key Markets <\/i>(Harbinger Sound)<\/p>\n

If you consider the mountains of halfwit shitass punk bands out there clogging the bins and clubs with formulaic and conventional tripe, you have to wonder how it is that two Brits armed with nothing more than minimal beats and primitive bass lines can lay waste to all of it with 12 cuts of spittin\u2019 working class rage. Key Markets<\/i> is what the The Fall would\u2019ve sounded like if Mark E. Smith grew up listening to Crass and Wu Tang Clan instead of Can and The Seeds.<\/p>\n


\n\"The
\nThe Soupcans<\/b> – Soft Party<\/i> (Telephone Explosion)<\/p>\n

Toronto spazzoids The Soupcans are back with 13 hits of Grade A ass-whooping garage punk jolts. Their tantalizing 7\u201d EP, Parasite Brain<\/i>, from 2013 left a thirst for these lads brand of huh that can finally be quenched, with pleasantly deranged bangers like \u201cHairicide\u201d and \u201cRazorface\u201d, full of tales about who the fuck knows what. They even put up a splash of quasi black metal blast beats and howls with the punishing track \u201cMurder Parade\u201c that shows a wild new angle on the Soupcans sound. They\u2019ve managed to both hone their sound and push it even further too. Absolutely as essential as their previous LP.<\/p>\n


\n\"Ufomammut
\nUfomammut<\/b> – Ecate<\/i> (Neurot)<\/p>\n

As the various branches of metal continue to mutate and push into new territory, it\u2019s always rewarding to slog through a few tons of tedious metal clones to find records as remarkable as this monster from Italy\u2019s finest metal trio. The riffs on Ecate<\/i> are unforgivingly heavy and relentless, textured with mysterious samples, buried vocals, and vicious electronics that pound you into putty while also giving what\u2019s left of your brain a psychedelic treat on a trajectory as convoluted as its retina frying cover art. It\u2019s a sublime sludge stew to fuel 45 minutes of infinite astrological exploration.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andy Human and the Reptoids – Andy Human and the Reptoids (S-S) No other album had the ability to get under your skin quite like this debut from the Bay Area\u2019s finest export. With a timeless sound that draws inspiration from, but doesn\u2019t directly ape the gurgling glops of glam and protopunk (Brian Eno, Pere […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1993"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1993"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2024,"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1993\/revisions\/2024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}