Pretty great so far, especially compared to the trainwreck that was 2014, where the only really interesting releases for me were
Lost in the Dream by The War on Drugs and
Three Love Songs by Ricky Eat Acid. In contrast, this is one of the better years that springs to mind in a while. Thoughts on some things I've been listening to, in no particular order:
Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens: Probably one of my favourite albums
ever. Sufjan took a complete u-turn from his previous album and went back to his old style but... in a word, better. His releases were always good but felt kind of thin and unfinished. This album is what he should have been years ago, and it's absolutely beautiful. A large part of me hopes he has no further releases for fear that they'd spoil this one, haha.
In Colour by Jamie xx: Caters to a bit of a niche audience I suppose (well, as far as those who will actually appreciate it go) but it's great if you're into it. A messy album though - Jamie explores all of his musical styles so far and it doesn't really flow that well, but it still manages to be quintessentially... well, him. Interesting and enjoyable, definitely, although not groundbreaking. Still better than anything he's put out yet, though.
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence + The Machine: Strong album, somewhat typical Florence but with some surprisingly special moments in comparison to her older stuff. I feel like this time she's gone for something much more... for lack of a better word, visual. Which is weird given that it's an album, but when you listen to it it just sounds like its name. Big, blue and beautiful; the whole thing feels enormous and theatrical, which is really rare in an album - and
especially in one as mainstream as this. Great for fans of Florence, fairly average-but-quite-pretty for everyone else - but I'm pleased to say that Florence is very much a guilty pleasure of mine and I've got a lot of time for this album.
Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance by Belle & Sebastian: Partly crap, but some really great and more adventurous stuff on here. While it's very hit-and-miss it's good to see B&S taking a bolder approach to their usually tried-and-tested musical style, although some of it is painfully commercialised and forced. Definitely a nice sight this year if nothing else.
To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar: This is absolutely great. I'm not majorly into this sort of thing so I've not really got much to say about it but I had a really fun time listening to it, and it's one of my highlights for this year so far.
Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper by Panda Bear: See above - really, really good fun. Musically not spectacular but I had a great time with it and that's largely all that matters. It'll not come close to his last release but for such a drastically different album it's done very, very well and in tandem with his work in Animal Collective it showcases Panda's ability to adapt to a range of styles and pull it off very well. Great effort here.
That's what springs to mind for now. I've probably missed some stuff out and there's a lot more that I need to listen to yet. I'm noticing now that this is a pretty poppy list, not too sure if that's representative of the year or not but if I was superstitious I'd say it's a sign of good things to come. Given that we're only half-way through the year it's looking pretty excellent so far.
Hikamaru said:
As for the new Mumford & Sons album Wilder Mind, I'm a little iffy on the lack of banjos this time around (I guess I was just so used to the damn banjos) but it is interesting to see they're trying new directions and it will at least give them more variety when it comes to live shows.
I'd argue that the banjos were all that Mumford & Sons had going for them. Imo their removal is giving them even less interest than before rather than more variety.