2015: A Year in Music - The Albums
Une année en musique / Un año en Música / Um Ano na música
A Twitter skirmish over at CBC and their 'ethnically cleansed' list of the "50 Best Canadian Albums of 2015" and a list that - despite the largest percentage of releases emanating from the predominantly French-speaking Province of Québec (36.3%) - only included one artist (Cœur de pirate) who was predominantly recognised as Francophone (and even then her album was bilingual), led me to rethink this Blog's End of Year retrospective.
Previously I'd categorised the year lists as either Franco or Anglo, but given my 'contribution' to the spat - not to mention an article in L’Animateur Culturel! that I'd referenced elsewhere (and which correctly observed that "La musique en français c’est n’est pas un style de musique. Y’a de tout en français!" / "Music in French is not a style of music. They are all in French!") - my neat compartmentalisation of this Blog's music was obviously somewhat flawed...
2015 was another bumper year of album releases; with releases from old favourites, stunning debuts that confirmed major talents as well as some new found friends. This year - seeing this Blog is somewhat eclectic and because ultimately I'm a man of many musical moods - I've hit upon a new method of pigeonholing 2015's music.
"Jangly guitars and female vocals..." I've been hooked on this particular style ever since I clapped eyes and ears on Debsey, Hester and Rachel and the musical goddesses and gods once again didn't disappoint...
Every now and again I like my albums to let rip with rapid fire "twofreefours", loud, fast and fuzzy, shredded guitars, amphetamine-powered drums and rasping vocals that spit out words like a machine gun might bullets. And while at a cursory listen "Brutal" might appear to hit you with wave after wave of distorted guitars and it becomes quite apparent that the girls are quite partial to adding a cacophony of howling, wailing feedback where a chord change might usually suffice, a closer examination reveals knock-out riffs a plenty and incredibly detailed and cleverly constructed melodies, subtle nuances and more than enough depth and texture to suggest that The Beverleys are in it for the long-haul.
As soon as Bobb Bruno's trademark fuzzed-up lo-fi, surfed guitar and Bethany Cosentino's oh-so-right vocals lit up a never ending cycle of eminently enjoyable songs all bout boy troubles, cat troubles and wondering whether there is more to life than there seems, I consulted my checklist: Wall of jangling guitars? Tick; the most perfect of vocals? Tick; nigh-on faultless west-coast indie-vibe pop-songs? Tick... Best Coast's "California Nights" was bigger, bolder and effortlessly consistent. The album - one which made listening to Best Coast probably the most legally enjoyably thing you can do with the top down while blasting along the PCH - was the defining indie soundtrack for a lazy Californian summer.
Los Bonsáis are Helena and Nel from the Asturias region of Spain. They make the most ridiculously F-U-N and addictive mezcla of lo-fi, shoegazey, punky indie-pop wondrousness known to this man. "Nordeste" churns out unforgettable indie gems that all feature pounding percussion, distorted shoegazed guitars, melodious swirling keys and Helena's gorgeous vocals. Everything is then exquisitely wrapped into a series of increasingly infectious tunes that while a throw-back to the heady New Wave days of yesteryear, come with a freshness and vitality of the here and now... Oh and everything whizzes by in the blink of an eye, as all the while this pair sing everything cien por cientos in Spanish. You got a problem with that?
And as Los Bonsáis ably demonstrate, Jangly guitars aren't the sole provenance of Anglophone artists. "Débridée" saw Franco-Ontarian and self-confessed 'indie-spaghetti-western-surf-folk-cabaret' artist Mélanie Brulée take on 'traditionally' English musical genres - rock, the country and folk roots of 'Americana' and by adding copious lashings of guitar, mélange and a dash of je ne sais quoi to create a sound that while a little bit retro, felt most definitely fresh and very assuredly French. Alt-Country (and if you ever wondered how Portishead might have sounded had they ever have tried their hand here, check out the seductive "Naked"), sat alongside sixties surf and tremeloed guitars, gorgeous rasping vocals and a killer version of Vanessa Paradis' "Marilyn et John." Ultimately there aren't any compelling reasons why you shouldn't own this album.
Jennie Vee is the most learned scholar of UK Eighties post-punk new wave and so it was no surprise that her debut album "Spying" hit you with such a heady mix of The Cure and Echo and The Bunnymen inspired goodness - all resplendent guitar riffs and throbbing bass - you'd swear the two bands were there in the studio. A consummate guitarist - accomplished songwriter and lyricist, "Spying" saw her craft the most perfect of multi-textural and dreamy guitar-fuelled indie-pop. Effortlessly knocking out killer hooks and catchy melodies blind-folded, the album felt like a seamless continuation from her earlier two EPs that have earned her legions of fans the world over. Coupled with an uncanny knack of distilling the essence of that Eighties post-punk era into a sound that was both contemporary and fresh, "Spying" perfectly encapsulated the musical ethos of Jennie Vee on what was undoubtedly the indie-guitar pop album of the year.
There were also a number of excellent dreamy electro and synth-pop / synth rock releases last year. Here are a few that left a lasting impression.
When Dee Dee Penny recommends an album, you'd be crazy to ignore her advice. Such is the case with "Remain", the debut album from Kennedy Ashlyn Wenning and Cash Askew, the multi-talented duo who comprise Them Are Us Too. Kennedy actually possesses one of the most operatic and crystalline of voices I've heard for a while and who possesses a vocal range and clarity that immediately draws comparison with Elizabeth Fraser, it truly is mesmerisingly beautiful. However, while there were definite hints of the dreamy soundscapes of the Cocteau Twins, you can add a whole plethora of textural 4AD bands - think Dead Can Dance, Clan of Xymox - as well as elements of Shoegaze and the harsher tones of Act such as Bauhaus to a mix that arguably augers well for the band's future...
Again though, it's not just Anglophone artists who can craft effortless dreamy synth-pop. Navert are the siren-like chanteuse Annie-Claude Navert and multi-instrumentalist Guillaume Chartrain. Their debut album "Temps bipolaire" was the most rewarding journey into a world of dark and addictive eighties influenced electro-pop. The songs were a captivating mix that ranged from drawn-out monotonic synth-beats married to lyrics dripping with a wanton desire, upbeat rhythm and deliciously retro-eighties euro-pop influenced style that had also adopted and adapted by fellow Québecois Fanny Bloom's and Ariane Moffatt. Every song elicited a frisson of anticipation which coupled to the holy trinity of sympathetic vocals, poetic lyrics and dreamy compositions which made this album such a compelling listen.
I have a theory that in fact Montréal is the epicentre of contemporary North American electro-pop and as proof I offer "Little Mourning" by Milk & Bone - the project of the Montréalaise duo Laurence Lafond-Beaulne and Camille Poliquin - and which was perhaps one of my most anticipated releases of last year. Allowing myself to surrender to the duo's sensual and atmospheric pop "Little Mourning" immersed the listener in the most lush of symphonies which mixed melancholic trip-hop synths and beats together with piano and haunting orchestral strings. With every song topped-off by the most gorgeous and hypnotic of vocal harmonies since a certain pair of sisters from Gaspésie, this rapidly became my go-to album whenever I needed to destress and unwind.
Another eagerly awaited release, Smart Antipodean Tamaryn's "Cranekiss" erupted in a symphony of synths, loops and beats, and which offered us a masterclass of a contemporary synth-pop / rock that - while incorporating elements of goth, shoegaze and industrial-pop / rock - never strayed too far from it's glorious dream-pop manifesto. There are elements of the Cure, New Order as well as the Cocteau Twins woven throughout the fabric of this album, which when crafted by Tamaryn's sensuous and ethereal vocals - aided and abetted by Shaun Durkan and producer Jorge Elbrecht - created an album full of timeless songs that will more than stand the test of time.
An album whose title came from the time of the day where Ariane - balancing parenthood, family and work - felt she could allow her artistic creativity free rein, "22h22" was full of fuzzy analogue synths and abrupt silences - a metaphor for the sensory overload and chaos of day-to-day life - stand-out electro-pop dance-floor fillers and au-point minimalist synth-pop that sat side-by-side alongside haunting piano keys. Throw in Fanny Bloom-ish choruses that managed to out do Fanny Bloom (which is some compliment - trust me), the hopelessly romantic "Les deux cheminées" - a song that justified the admission price alone - and "22h22" saw Ariane return with what was the most stunning example of contemporary - adult - dreamy synth-pop that was released last year.
'Chanson' is a generally thought of as a most particularly French genre - lyric-driven songs that are performed by great and distinctive vocalists; Chanteurs and - seeing as this is my Blog, more pertinently, of Chanteuses. Of course, the genre tends to get a bit blurred or categorised still further; there's 'Modern Chanson' - which despite it's title appears to have originated in the 19th Century - not to mention 'Nouvelle Chanson', which I like to think of as from the here and now... For me Chanson is not only a song that features powerful or poetic lyrics that convey a story, but also the most compelling of vocals. If there's a haunting melody then it's a bonus - but here it really is all about the bass words and the voice...
The more astute amongst you will have probably surmised that Nadine Shah isn't actually French. However, she is first and foremost an outstanding singer-songwriter-composer who possesses a haunting and unique voice - which has drawn comparison with Siouxsie, PJ Harvey and Nick Cave - for which the phrase "worth walking over hot coals for" is most definitely appropriate. "Fast Food" is undoubtedly a chanteuse's album; bold and at times intensely personal lyrics are a perfect vehicle for hypnotically enthralling vocals on an album full of songs about love, or more accurately of love turned sour, of weakness, jealousy and angst. The album proved that the immense talent displayed on 2013's "Love Your Dum and Mad" was no flash in the pan.
Julie Blanche's eponymous debut album comprised ten haunting and melancholy bitter-sweet vignettes that were so intensely personal and semi-biographical that it felt as if the listener was intruding into Julie's private thoughts and memories. Every song told a story, an episode imbued with love, hope, despair or contempt; all were perfectly framed by the stillness of Julie's voice, beautifully counterpoised by a rich orchestral orchestral accompaniment. Indeed, this richness lent an underlying warmth to proceedings and which prevented the album from ever becoming over-sentimental or maudlin. If I were forced to compare Julie to any of her contemporaries, Salomé Leclerc would be the artist who springs immediately to mind. There's the same assuredness and eye for detail, the same emotion conveyed in her voice.
The fusion of poésie and storytelling set to music, all coupled to the most beguiling of vocals is the hallmark of Maude Audet's stunning album. Effortlessly straddling both the Québecois style of contemporary folk as well as Nouvelle Chanson, the album conveyed emotions that ranged from melancholy to barely suppressed rage. Sympathetically produced by Jean-Philippe Fréchette - aka Navet Confit - the combination of Maude's voice, her poetic lyricism and the most subtle of musical touches, ensured that "Nous sommes le feu" was one of 2015's finest collection of timeless Chansons.
...And then there are those albums that could only originate from Québec and Francophone Canada...
Lisbonne Télégramme is the brain-child of vocalist Maritza Bossé-Pelchat and François Dufault of Montréal's The Blue Seeds. The band's debut alum Miroir d'automne" was an incredibly textural affair. Each of the nine tracks offering a tale of love - or more accurately - hurt, fear, hope. Incredibly melancholy, deeply atmospheric and hypnotically spellbinding songs, were heightened by the seductively hypnotic voice of Maritza. Rich analogue synths, sombre piano and haunting violins revisited textures woven by fellow Québec-based artists Fôret and the much missed Hôtel Morphée, and which marked Lisbonne Télégramme as one of the most innovative discoveries of 2015...
"Partir avant" was an album born out of break-up and heartache; of conversations that never took place; of closure and finally being able to move-on. It was a collection of intensely personal songs, that are wrung through with emotion for the most part there's an overwhelming air of melancholy, the atmosphere is sombre. But it was also incredibly cathartic, there is always hope and salvation, and by the end of this album you knew that Rosie had emerged unbowed and stronger. "Partir Avant" confirmed the exceptional song-writing talent of Rosie Valland and highlighted the seemingly effortless manner in which she married her distinctive guitar style and so-impassioned voice to create one of the albums of the 2015.
My Francophone album of the year, the sisters' sophomore outing welcomed the return of the most silky and delicate - gossamer - vocals and delightful note-perfect harmonies of Gaspésie's Mélanie and Stéphanie Boulay. The album demonstrated how far the the sisters have matured as songwriters; while the songs are still semi-autobiographical and about love, boys, voyages and experiences, and while there might still have been a heart or two broken along the way, the songs are no longer written from the perspective of two shy, young girls from the Gaspé Peninsula. Adding astute social commentary to their repertoire as well as a more expansive sound - their debut album was effectively an acoustic outing - here electric guitars, drums, percussion, bass synths, trombone, even a Kalimba and butter knife(!); added texture and depth to a faultless collection of songs written from the viewpoint of confident young women and which reflected their growing maturity. The song "Maison" perfectly encapsulated Les sœurs Boulay - deceptively simple yet totally enchanting melody married to their angelic harmonious vocals - the romantic in me doubts he'll have heard a more touching love song last year. "4488 de l'Armour" saw Les sœurs Boulay expand their musical horizons without ever losing touch of their musical identity or any of the reasons why I'm so hopelessly in love with them...
Pop. It's a bit of a dirty word, especially when Billboard, the RIAA and mainstream FM radio here in The States gets their grubby corporate mitts all over it to to force a diet of excruciatingly bland shit-on-a-stick that the never-ending stream of mindless commercials are veritable oasis of artistic integrity by comparison. Luckily there are still bands that still take the time hone and craft innovative pop music...
The poptastic world of the Windy City's Varsity and their eponymous debut album revealed a band that were well versed in just about every genre of guitar-pop music since the surf-pop era of Jan and Dean, but who obviously majored in C86 and Twee-pop, which they nailed to a tee. There's influences aplenty; glorious sixties girl-group, jangly post-punk, a homage to Morrissey as well as enough dreamy indie-pop to keep me happy for months. But ultimately Twee-pop sensibilities shuffled nervously around the edge of the dance floor before the achingly beautiful "Amanda" revealed itself to be the glacé cherry a top this most delightful cupcake of an album, which hinted at both an incredibly maturity as well as a band on top of their game.
Cardiff's The School's third album "Wasting Away and Wondering" was an album full of pitch perfect up-tempo soul-infused indie-pop songs that reflected upon love and loss and which paid homage to the Supremes and early Motown, those great American girl groups of the fifties and sixties such as The Shangri-Las, The Ronettes and Shirelles, and with more than a few touches of Phil Spector that I half expected a "Keep it in Mono" sticker to be affixed to the sleeve. There's also a solid Northern Soul beat that rippled throughout the album and which suggested the band (or at least their elder siblings) used to bunk off to Wigan Casino at the weekend. Every track on this immaculate album is topped off by Liz Hunt's honey-dripped and silky smooth vocals. Ultimately "Wasting Away and Wondering" was so laughably good as to be not true.
And because Olympia, WA is just a little bit like Montréal (without the cool French accents and socialised medicine...)
Olympia's hottest Freakyghostfolkpopdarkness quartet's debut album comprised - yes - seven songs that were a little bit indie, a little bit folk, a little eerie, definitely - and mesmerisingly - haunting and most certainly memorable. From genre-changing reworking of older material (this is what happens when a band invests in some serious studio time), knock-out classic indie-pop to frankly challenging and slightly disturbing melodies, everything on this album is tied together by the mystical lyricism and absolutely incomparable vocals of Olivia Rose - at times sweet and dulcet, albeit it with just a hint of mischief in her smile, to manic disembodied banshee wails - her voice was the focal point of this most assured of albums.
Ever since I first heard the home-spun psychedelic-folk of Elizabeth Lefey I've been totally enamoured by her singularly unique music. "The Orange Glow" featured a couple of noticeable firsts; a first studio album and the first on a record label (LA's Psychedelic Thriftstore). The album again allowed the listener to enter into her mysterious - at times introspective, at times extrovert - yet always intensely personal world. However, from the first few bars it was obvious as to how Elizabeth's lyricism and compositions had benefited from this studio time. While the beguiling lo-fi feel of her previous albums still shone though, the songs were given added depth and texture; the natural tremolo and fetching sibilance of her voice more pronounced. All of which enhanced Elizabeth's captivating storytelling and the innovative indie-psychedelic twist to the contemporary folk genre she creates.
Then there are those albums that defy pigeon-holing...
GRNDMS are Catherine DeGennaro and Suzy Jivotovski and "Capitol Mills" was the result of a challenge between the pair to each independently write and record a song - one per day - over five days. Oh and there was the small matter of them being separated by 400 miles at the time (which leads me to think how frighteningly good the pair could be should they ever decide to venture into the same studio, at the same time...) "Capitol Mills" was a little bit indie, a little bit lo-fi, a little bit folksy and featured a lot of punk DIY ethos. Borrowing from and influenced by artists as diverse as Simon & Garfunkel, the Marine Girls, Globelamp and Oh, Rose, and sonically managing to incorporate gently strummed folk guitar and deeply grungy, distorted bass, "Capitol Mill" effortlessly blended the distinctive and differing styles of the pair into one cohesive, complete and totally compelling album that was undoubtedly my little gem of the year...
And those that you should allow to challenge and intimate...
"The Great Sun" was an album that hits you with dark, anthemic melodies that straddled huge gulps of distorted and reverbed guitars, deeply textural analogue synths that conjured violent maelstrom of disturbingly melodic yet hard-hitting and darkly gothic industrial-pop and which were married to FX'd-vocals that rode across a turbulent aural canvas to create the most intense of cinematic soundscapes to a sepia-tinted movie - set in a dystopian future and played out in a landscape as desolate as the album's movie poster artwork - that looped not only in imagination of Vowws' Rizz and Matt's but also that of the listener.
And because every now and again my musical tastes seem to coincide with everybody else...
With her debut album again chock-full of the forensic detailing of the minutia of life and the emphasis on the extraordinariness of the mundane which made "The Double EP: A Sea of split Peas" one of the outstanding releases of 2013, Australia's poet-laureate channeled her inner rock goddess to create songs that married her delightful word-smithery to a glorious fuzzy carpet of guitars. But "Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit" is so much more than rhyming couplets and sharp lyrics over pounding rock and roll. Wryly observational, full of self-deprecating humour and with just a hint of the melancholy, the album cements Courtney's position as one of the most innovative and arguably articulate artists of her age. So much so that sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit and listen to Courtney Barnett...
Music - like a fine wine - improves with age, as Les Grandes Dames comprehensively demonstrated...
"Interstellaires" was Mylène Farmer - L'Ange Rouge's - tenth studio album and her most complete album since her 1995 opus "Anamorphosée." An album which once again amply demonstrated why Mylène Farmer is the most innovative artist of her generation and why even after a career that has spanned thirty years, there are few who can match her. From a duet with Sting to a reworking of Cheap Trick's "I want you to want me" into the most poignant of love songs... There were the most perfect of pop-songs, which in the case of "City of love" and "Un jour ou l'autre", were not only amongst the best she has arguably ever written but which demonstrated that when she is on her game, as here, Mylène has very few peers. "Interstellaires" was a truly immense - stellar - album and which suggested that even in her sixth decade, Mylène Farmer refuses to go quietly.
2015 saw one Sophie Huriaux - probably better known as La Grande Sophie - deliver arguably her best to date in the shape of "Nos histoires." Her seventh album, the songs that made up "Nos histoires" were based on a series of encounters (both real and imaginary) and the memories they left behind. With emotions ranging from melancholy and tristesse to barely contained anger, poignancy and resignation, to encounters with the legendary Russian piano virtuoso Maria Yudina and a homage to Hanoi, every song on this album is expertly and sympathetically crafted by Sophie and the same trio of musicians who've accompanied her since 2009. The album also included her first piano composition, "Tu dors" - with the immensely talented Jeanne Cherhal at the keyboard - was arguably highlight of a very, very good album indeed and which suggest that 'Sophie the Great' is a fairly apt description...
And although this list isn't really a countdown, there was one album that from the moment I first heard it, I already knew it was going to be this Blog's (i.e. my) album of the year...
Multitalented and multilingual singer, songwriter and cellist Dominique Pinto's - or Dom La Nena (Dominique the "little one") - sophomore album "Soyo" (a wordplay on "Soy Yo - I am !") was the most effortlessly evocative, atmospheric and moving of albums. Eleven melancholy-tinged compositions - sung not only in her native Portuguese but also Spanish, French and English - that were influenced by and reflected upon the transitory nature of the career of a touring musician. The album conveys a gentle latin vibe - aided by guitar, drums, percussion - with just a hint of a Brazilian samba rhythm; up-tempo yet relaxing rhythmic melodies that are soothed by Dom's sweet angelic vocals and a sympathetic cadence that perfectly marries rhythms to each song's lyrics. And don't worry if you don't understand French, Spanish or Portuguese - to quote the renowned economist and NY Times contributor Professor Paul Krugman "...you know what? Who cares? Awesome..." - "Soyo" is the worthy recipient of this Blog's Album of the Year for 2015.
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