PSF's 2015 Writers' Poll
Our favorite things
(February 2016)
left to right: DJ Paypal, Microtub, Jenny Hval Bill Fay, Irmin Schmidt
Behold, our annual poll of PSF writers! We asked them for their fave albums from 2015 and here's what they came up with. Agree with them? Disagree with them? Maybe we're all wrong and crazy? See for yourself and let us know if we missed anything.
Daniel Barbiero
- Stefano Scodanibbio Incontri & Reuniones
- Pulsinger/Fennesz In Four Parts
- Dario Palermo Difference Engines
- Roger Reynolds The imagE/imAge Set
- Microtub Star Systems
- Else Marie Pade Electronic Works 1958-1995
- Dariusz Mazurowski Non Acoustic Symphony
- Alberto Novello & Flavio Zanuttini Le Retour des Oiseaux
- Alex Reviriego Els gats gardos també tenen problemes
- Morton Feldman Clarinet and String Quartet
- Gianni Mimmo and Daniel Levin Turbulent Flow
- The Palimpsest Trio Stanze
- Marcio Mattos SOL[OS]
- Franklin Cox The New Cello Volume 2
- American Modern Ensemble -Mavericks
Thomas Collins
- Container LP
- Deafheaven New Bermuda
- DJ Paypal Sold Out
- DJ Richard Grind
- Drake If You're Reading This It's Too Late
- Freddie Gibbs Shadow of a Doubt
- Future Dirty Sprite 2
- GABI Sympathy
- Grimes Art Angels
- Oneohtrix Point Never Garden of Delete
Pete CriglerWell this year was one of the most exciting when it came to music. We got a lot of older bands making superior comebacks and some new cats coming along to kick the ass of the status quo. Gene Simmons created some controversy this year by saying that ‘rock is dead.' Well the old geezer can shove that up his ass cause in this writer's opinion, rock is still living and breathing and still as heavy and vital as ever.
Top 5 Songs of the Year
- Lamb of God VII: Sturm und Drang
- Faith No More Sol Invictus
- Death Can for Cutie Kintsugi
- Blur The Magic Whip
- Therapy? Disquiet
- Radkey Dark Black Makeup
- Ron Funches The Funches of Us
- Teenage Time Killers Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
- Adele 25
- Act of Defiance-Birth and the Burial
- Lamb of God "Overlord"
- Death Cab for Cutie "Little Wanderer"
- Of Monsters and Men "Crystals"
- Act of Defiance "Throwback"
- Faith No More "Matador"
Ben Dyment
- Panda Bear Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper
- Self Defense Family Heaven Is Earth
- Jim O'Rourke Simple Songs
- Mount Eerie Sauna
- Cloakroom Further Out
- Unwound Empire
- Ylang Ylang Mutualism
- Head Dress Backwards
- Botany Dimming Awe, The Light Is Raw
- Low Ones And Sixes
Jack Gold-Molina
- Nik Turner Space Fusion Odyssey
- Yaga Sunet A Cut Through The Heart
- Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. Benzaiten
- Krankshaft Three
- Alan Davey Sputnik Stan Vol. 1: A Fistful Of Junk
- Daevid Allen Bananamoon Obscura 1 & 2
- Aquaserge A L'Amitie
- Gong Camembert Electrique (Remaster/Reissue)
- Guru Freakout Mothership
- Guru Guru Early Archives, Live 1969
- Radio Moscow Magical Dirt
- Space Invaders & Nik Turner Sonic.Noise.Opera
- Steve Bemand Hawking The Wind
- Chrome Feel It Like A Scientist
- Electric Moon Theory Of Mind
- Kawabatabata The Big Buddies From Brazil
- Les Amis Au Pakistan High Apotheose
- Autumn Electric Star Being Earth Child
- Beaulieu Porch We Are Beautiful
- Spider 72 Seven
Gary Gomes
- King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King
- King Crimson In the Wake of Poseidon *
- King Crimson Lizard *
- White Noise Electric Storm
- Albert Ayler Love Cry/The Last Album
- Comus Song to Comus: The Complete Collection
- Various Artists Pure Psychedelic Rock (any compilation that includes the United States of America, Captain Beefheart, and Las Vegas Tango from Robert Wyatt's End of An Ear gets my vote)...leading to
- Robert Wyatt End of an Ear (no songs, but therein lies its beauty and genius)
- H.P. Lovecraft Dreams in the Witch House
- Arzachel Arzachel
- Jack Bruce Songs for a Tailor
- Jack Bruce Harmony Row
- Jack Bruce Things We Like (just because he deserves to be remembered)
- Jazz Composers Orchestra Communications
- Yes Fragile (because Chris Squire deserves recognition for his amazing work on bass guitar)
- Wolfgang DaunerKnirsch (featuring Larry Coryell and Jon Hiseman and the most convincing emulation of quadrophonic sound I have ever heard on a CD) (a classic)
- Keith Tippett Dedicated to You but You Weren't Listening (another classic)
* Under appreciated when they were issued. Three albums in 2 years... with only two members of the original group. Yikes!
left to right: Coco Rosie, Cloakroom, Guru Freakout, Lamb of God, CalexicoJason Gross
See my full list at Ye Wei blog
- Sleater-Kinney No Cities To Love
- Miguel Wildheart
- Pops Staples Don't Lose This
- Lightning Bolt Fantasy Empire
- Lyrics Born Real People
- Bjork Tri Angle Records Birthday DJ Set
- Courtney Barnett Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
- The Go! Team The Scene Between
- Alchemist & Oh No Alchemist & Oh No Present Welcome to Los Santos
- Young Fathers White Men Are Black Men Too
- Shamir Rachet
- The Chills Silver Bullets
- Omar Souleyman Bahdeni Nami
- White Reaper White Reaper Does It Again
- Radical Dads Universal Coolers
- Seinabo Sey For Madeleine
- Battles La Di Da Di
- Tinariwen Live In Paris
- Boytoy Grackle
- Tal National Zoy Zoy
Billy Hell
The last 2 were released in 2014 but I only heard them last year
- Killing Joke Pylon (double CD version)
- Wore Wire
- White Hills Walks for Motorists
- The Pop Group Citizen Zombie (and remix 12")
- Carlton Melton Out to Sea
- Godspeed You Black Emperor asunder, SWEET AND OTHER DISTRESS
- David Heumann Here in the Deep
- The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Freedom Tower
- Loop Array 1
- Bardo Pond Is There a Heaven?
- Eleventh Dream Day Works For Tomorrow
- DBH Mood
- Locean tape
- Dead Sea Apes High Evolutionary
- Talons New Topographics
Andy Livingston
- Carly Rae Jepsen Emotion
- Anna von Hausswolff The Miraculous
- Angel Haze Back to the Woods
- Vince Staples Summertime 06
- Zeta One Dreamsnake II
- People of the North Era of Manifestations
- Jenny Hval Apocalypse, girl
- BC Gilbert & G Lewis 3R4 (reissue)
- Harmonia Complete Works (reissue)
- Brigitte Fontaine - self titled (reissue)
- Taylor Swift 1989
Kris Needs
- Magma Konzert Zund
- Otis Redding Soul Manifesto 1964-1970
- Keith Richards Crosseyed Heart
- Sun Ra To Those Of Earth…And Other Worlds
- Velvet Underground Loaded Reloaded
- Peter Hammill All That Might Have Been
- Miriam Down Today
- Magma Mekanik Destructiw Kommandoh reissue
- Michael Chapman Fish
- Carter Tutti Void F(X)
- Paul Butterfield Blues Band Complete Albums 1965-1980
- Lou Reed Complete Sire Albums
- Aretha Franklin The Aretha Franklin Collection
- Tav Falco's Panther Burns Command Performance
- Irmin Schmidt Electro Violet
- Tav Falco's Panther Burns Command Performance
- Dirty Streets White Horse
- Fleetwood Mac Tusk
- Rod Stewart Storyteller
- John Coltrane A Love Supreme: The Complete Masters
Robert Pally
- Datura 4 Demon Blues
- The Beckies The Beckies (Reissue)
- Bill Fay Who Is The Sender?
- Shane Tutmarc Borrowed Trouble
- Firefly Burning Skeleton Hill
- FFS FFS
- Rhys Marsh The Black Sun Shining
- Tucker Zimmerman Ten Songs (Reissue)
- Motorpsycho Supersonic Scientists
- Willis Earl Beal Noctunes
- Tobias Jesso Jr Goon
Marc Phillips
- Janet Feder T H I S C L O S E
- Dean Martin Dream with Dean (Analogue Productions LP remaster)
- Wilco Star Wars
- Stale Kleiberg Mezzotints
- Julia Holter Have You in My Wilderness
- Sufjan Stevens Carrie & Lowell
- Redray Frazier Blood in the Water
- Iris DeMent Trackless Woods
- Cantus & Frode Fjellheim Spes
- Song Circus Anatomy of Sound
- Joanna Newsom Divers
- Tame Impala Currents
- Alabama Shakes Sound & Color
- Graham Parker & the Rumour Mystery Glue
Michael Pursley
- Judith Malina We Are All Holy
- Wolf Eyes I Am a Problem: Mind in Pieces
- Sufjan Stevens Carrie & Lowell
- Father John Misty I Love You, Honeybear
- Young Thug Slime Season
- Lord Huron Strange Trails
- Sun City Girls Torch of the Mystics
- CocoRosie Heartache City
- Grimes Art Angels
- Angus MacLise Tapes
Derek Pyle
- Grateful Dead 30 Trips Around the Sun
- Drive-By Truckers It's Great to Be Alive!
- Jason Isbell Something More Than Free
- Something and the Whatevers We Sold Our Souls For Wicked Lulz
- Father John Misty I Love You, Honeybear
Mark S. TuckerWell, after being credited a small "celebrity" amongst PR peeps and such for being the most prolific crit in America, my main outlet (F.A.M.E.) folded after an impressive 17-year run, and, like the Grecian economy, everything else came crashing down as well. Man, what a fucked-up year! Gosh, I sure hope Donald Duktrumppe gets in so we can continue like this, don't you? Yee-haw!!! Ya thought Bush Jr. was a Rightist moron? You ain'T seen nothin', pally. Meanwhile, here, in alphabetical order, is my 2015 '29', mainly taken from reviewed and unreviewed FAME submissions early in the year, plus a straggling set of others sent afterwards by the artists themselves (not otherwise procured 'cause, for me, money's been too tight to mention, knowhuddamean?).
- The Afrorockerz - same
- Balkan Clarinet Summit Many Languages, One Soul
- Georg Breinschmid Double Brein
- Alex Conde Descarga for Monk
- Francesco Di Fiore Pianosequenza
- Steve Earle & the Dukes Terraplane
- Pino Forastiere Deconstruction
- Glenious Alien Landscape - same
- Tom House Songs Like Dreams...More Like Blood
- Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road Country Grass
- Jerry Kalaf Welcome to Earth
- Kevin Kastning Otherworld
- Kevin Kastning / Mark Wingfield Eleven Rooms
- Calvin Keys Close Enough for Love
- Ligro Dictionary 3
- Paul Mark & The Van Dorens Stowaways
- Chris Moore Harmless Blues
- Keith Morris & The Crooked Numbers The Dirty Gospel
- David Lee Myers Noise Matrix Mantras
- Marco Oppedisano Resolute
- The Pop Group Citizen Zombie
- Raven Chercheur d'Orage
- Juan Maria Solare Acuarelas Junto al Rio Inmovil / Arnold Schoenberg: Sechs Klein Klavierstrucke
- Ralph Stanley & Friends Man of Constant Sorrow
- Rupert Wates & Bartosz Hadala The Nightwatcher
- Mark Wingfield Proof of Light
- Erling Wold Certitude and Joy
- Xadu Random Abstract
- Yagull Kia
Kurt WildermuthAlbums are so twentieth-century. Here are my top 10 recordings, concerts, and videos for 2015:
- Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited tribute – live in NYC, 8/8: Watkins Family Hour house band, Fiona Apple, Shawn Colvin, Pokey LaFarge, Aimee Mann & Ted Leo, Smokey Hormel, et al.
- Built to Spill Untethered Moon + live in NYC, 9/25
- Calexico Edge of the Sun + live in NYC, 6/8
- Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett, and Laura Jane Grace "Androgynous" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR6mM_zfxwE
- Miley Cyrus and Laura Jane Grace "True Trans Soul Rebel" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldWSMhu4CA4
- Bob Dylan Shadows in the Night + Bootleg Series, Vol. 12: The Best of the Cutting Edge
- Elle King "Ex's and Oh's" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uLI6BnVh6w
- Low Ones and Sixes
- Sleater-Kinney No Cities to Love + live in NYC, 2/27 + 12/14 (especially for a cover of the B-52's "Rock Lobster" with Fred Armisen doing a spot-on Fred Schneider)
- Stevie Wonder performing Songs in the Key of Life in NYC, 4/12
left to right: Albert Ayler, Something and the Whatevers, Bardo Pond, Red Ray Frazier, Paul Mark
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