UPDATED December 18
Overeem’s End-of-Year Best-of-2015
“Guaranteed Interesting” (at least)
Not all of the below are 2015 releases–some were released earlier but are just now breaking the cyber-surface. But the thing is, for those who argue good music is dead (ho-fucking-hum), here’s 121 slabs that have given me pleasure this year. Not all are perfect, but I stand behind this statement: it’s all good. Also, if you’ve looked at the list and are thinking, “Where’s x? What about y?” and it’s not Taylor Swift, I probably haven’t listened to it yet–like you, probably, I follow my nose, and it’s attuned to certain, um, scents. Note: These are in alphabetical order, obviously. The grading scheme is borrowed from master critics Bob Christgau and Tom Hull. The asterisks next to each B+ indicate how close that record is to excellent. Fascinating, isn’t it? Note 2: See my official Top 20 in meaningful order, plus a list of great reissues, also in order, here.
Rock and Roll and Such
- Laurie Anderson: Heart of a Dog (Nonesuch) A-
- Aram Bajakian: There Were Flowers Also in Hell(Dalava) A-
- Courtney Barnett: Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit(Mom & Pop) A
- Alex Chilton: Ocean Club ’77(Norton) B+ (***)
- The Close Readers: The Lines Are Open(Austin) A-
- Coneheads: aka “14 Year Old High School PC–Fascist Hype Lords Rip Off Devo for the Sake of Extorting $$$ from Helpless Impressionable Midwestern Internet Peoplepunks L.P.”(Erste Theke Tontraeger) A-
- Continental Drifters: Drifting—In the Beginning and Beyond(Omnivore) B+
- Dead Moon: Live at Satyricon (Voodoo Doughnut) A
- Dead Weather: Dodge and Burn(Third Man) B+ (*)
- Drive-By Truckers: It’s Great to Be Alive! (ATO) A
- Bob Dylan: 1965-1966–The Cutting Edge: The Bootleg Series, Volume 12(Sony) B+ (*)
- Bob Dylan: Shadows in the Night(Sony) B+ (***)
- Robert Forster: Songs to Play(Tapete) B+**
- Girlpool: Girlpool(Wichita) A-
- Hop Along: Painted Shut(Saddle Creek) A-
- The Horribly Wrong: C’Mon and Bleed…with The Horribly Wrong(Shitcan) A-
- John Kruth: The Drunken Wind of Life—The Poem/Songs of Tin Ujevic(Smiling Fez) A-
- John Kruth: Splitsville(Gern Blandsten) B+ (***)
- Jinx Lennon: 30 BEACONS OF LIGHT FOR A LAND FULL OF SPITE THUGS DRUG SLUGS AND ENERGY VAMPIRES(Septic Tiger) B+ (**)
- Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts: Manhattan(Rough Trade) A
- Los Lobos: Gates of Gold(429) A-
- Low-Cut Connie: Hi Honey (Ardent) B+ (***)
- Mountain Goats: Beat the Champ(Merge) B+ (***)
- Natural Child: Live at The End—Freakin’ Weekend V(self-released cassette) B+ (**)
- Nots: We Are Nots(Goner) A-
- Obnox: Boogalou Reed(12XU) B+ (**)
- Obnox: Know America(Ever/Never) B+ (***)
- Obnox: Wiglet(Ever/Never) A-
- The Paranoid Style: Rock and Roll Just Can’t Recall (self-released) B+ (***)
- Public Image Limited: What the World Needs Now Is… (PiL Official) B+ (**)
- Pussy Riot: Kill the Sexist(self-released) B+ (***)
- Reactionaries: 1979(Water Under the Bridge) B+ (*)
- Rocket From the Tombs: Black Record(Fire) B+ (**)
- Boz Scaggs: I’m a Fool to Care(429) B+ (*)
- Ty Segall: Ty Rex(Goner) B+ (***)
- Sleater-Kinney: No Cities to Love(Sub Pop) B+ (***)
- The Sonics: This is The Sonics(Revox) B+ (**)
- Sufjan Stevens: Carrie & Lowell(Asthmatic Kitty) (A-)
- Kate Tempest: Everybody Down (Big Dada) (A-)
- Richard Thompson: Still(Fantasy) B+ (*)
- Titus Andronicus: The Most Lamentable Tragedy(Merge) B+ (*)
- Various Artists: Burn, Rubber City, Burn(Soul Jazz) A-
- Various Artists: Ork Records–New York, New York(Numero) A-
- Various Artists: Oxford American Georgia Music Issue CD Companion (OxfordAmerican.org) A-
- Various Artists: The Red Line Comp(self-released) B+ (*)
- The Velvet Underground: The Complete Matrix Tapes(Polygram) A
- Viet Cong: Viet Cong(Flemish Eye/Jagjaguwar) B+ (*)
- Wreckless Eric: amERICa(Fire) A-
- x_x: Albert Ayler’s Ghosts Live at The Yellow Ghetto(Smog Veil) A-
- Yo La Tengo: Stuff Like That There(Matador) B+ (**)
R&B, Soul, and Blues
- 79rs Gang: Fire on the Bayou(Sinking City) A
- Erykah Badu: But You Cain’t Use My Phone(self-released) A-
- The Falcons:The World’s First Soul Group—The Complete Recordings (History of Soul) B+ (***)
- Kelela: Hallucinogen(Cherry Coffee) A-
- J. D. McPherson: Let the Good Times Roll(Rounder) B+ (**)
- Big Chief Juan Pardo and Golden Comanche: Spirit Food(self-released) B+ (*)
- Shamir: Rachet (XL) A-
- J. B. Smith: No More Good Time in the World For Me(Dust-To-Digital) B+ (**)
- Pop Staples: Don’t Lose This(Anti-) B+ (***)
- Swamp Dogg: The White Man Made Me Do It(S.D.E.G.) B+ (**)
- Various Artists: Beale Street Saturday Night(Omnivore) A-
- Various Artists: Blues Images Presents 20 Classic Blues Songs from the 1920s, Volume 13 (BluesImages.com) A-
- Leo Welch: I Don’t Prefer No Blues(Fat Possum) B+ (*)
Rap
- Aesop Rock and Homeboy Sandman: Lice(Stones Throw) A-
- Donnie Trumpet & Chance the Rapper: Surf(self-released) B+ (***)
- Doomtree: All Hands(Doomtree) B+ (***)
- Future: Monster(self-released) B+ (***)
- Heems: Eat Pray Thug(Megaforce) A-
- Kendrick Lamar: to pimp a butterfly(Aftermath) A
- Lyrics Born: Real People(Mobile Home) B+ (*)
- Paris: Pistol Politics (Guerilla Funk) B+ (***)
- Public Enemy: Man Plans, God Laughs(Spitdigital) B+ (*)
- Bobby Rush: Chicken Heads—50 Years (Omnivore) A-
- Scarface: Deeply Rooted(Facemob) B+ (**)
- Vince Staples: Summertime ’06(Def Jam) B+ (***)
- Various Artists: Khat Thaleth–Third Line: Initiative for the Elevation of Public Awareness(Stronghold Sound) A-
- Young Fathers: White Men are Black Men Too(Ninja Tune) B+ (**)
- Young Thug: Slime Season 1(self-released) B+ (*)
- Young Thug: Slime Season 2(self-released) B+ (***)
Country and Folk
- Iris DeMent: The Trackless Woods(Flariella) A-
- Kinky Friedman: The Loneliest Man I Ever Met(Avenue A) B+ (**)
- Brian Harnetty: Rawhead and Bloodybones(Dust-To-Digital) B+ (**)
- Jason Isbell: Something More Than Free(Southeastern) B+ (**)
- Jerry McGill: AKA Jerry McGill(Fat Possum) A-
- James McMurtry: Complicated Game(Complicated Game) B+ (***)
- Kasey Musgraves: Pageant Material(Mercury) (A-)
- Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard: Django & Jimmy(Legacy) B+ (***)
- Willie Nelson and Sister Bobbie: December Day(Legacy) A
- Mark Rubin: Southern Discomfort(CDBaby) A-
- Various Artists: Have Moicy 2–The Hoodoo Bash(Red Newt) A-
- Various Artists: The Year of Jubilo(Old Hat) A-
- Wussy: Public Domain, Volume 1(Shake It) B+ (***)
- Dwight Yoakam: Second Hand Heart(Warner Brothers) B+ (**)
International
- Africa Express: Terry Riley’s “In C”—Mali(Transgressive) A
- Ata Kak: Obaa Sima(Awesome Tapes from Africa) B+ (***)
- Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni: Ba Power(Glitterbeat) A-
- Bob Marley & The Wailers: Easy Skankin’ in Boston, 1978(Tuff Gong) A-
- Mbongwana Star: From Kinshasa(World Circuit) A-
- Mdou Moctar: Soundtrack to the film Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai(Sahel Sounds) A-
- Mammane Sani et son Orgue:La Musique Electronique du Niger(Sahel Sounds) B+ (***)
- Songhoy Blues: Music in Exile(Atlantic) A-
- Omar Souleyman: Bahdeni Nami(Monkeytown) A-
- Tal National: Kaani(Fat Cat) A-
- Tal National: Zoy Zoy(Fat Cat) A-
- Tamikrest: Taksera (Glitterbeat) B+ (**)
Jazz
- J. D. Allen: Graffiti (Savant) A-
- Jack DeJohnette: Made in Chicago (ECM) A
- Vijay Iyer: Break Stuff (ECM) B+ (***)
- Oliver Lake and William Parker:For Roy (Intakt) A-
- Matt Lavelle and John Pietaro: Harmolodic Monk (CDBaby) A-
- James Brandon Lewis: Days of FreeMan(Okeh) B+ (*)
- Allen Lowe: Where’s Robert Johnson?—The Man with the Guitar (Constant Sorrow) B+ (***)
- Allen Lowe with Hamiet Bluiett: We Will Gather When We Gather (Constant Sorrow) A-
- Makaya McCraven: In the Moment (International Anthem) B+ (***)
- Joe McPhee: Solos–The Lost Tapes 1981-1984 (Roaratorio) B+ (**)
- Charles McPherson: The Journey (Capri) A-
- Irene Schweizer, and Han Bennink: Welcome Back(Intakt) A
- Sonny Simmons and Moksha Samnyasin: Nomadic (Svart) B+ (***)
- Sun Ra: To Those of Earth…and Other Worlds–Gilles Peterson Presents Sun Ra And His Arkestra(Strut) A-
- Henry Threadgill & Zooid: In for a Penny, In for a Pound (Pi) A-
- Kamasi Washington: The Epic(Brainfeeder) B+ (**)
Living To Listen 