A Night Out in 2015 - Best of 2015
(DISCLAIMER: Until 2020 all my "Best Of" lists were on Facebook in the Notes section. In 2020, when I hadn't used Facebook for 6 months, they decided to do away with Notes. I was still able to access some of them, such as this one, but the layouts are a little wonky.)
Alright, it’s that time again! I believe my mix gets bigger every year.....I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but it means more music for you =) I probably discovered more new music this year than any other, so I hope you enjoy!
Mix - A Night Out in 2015
- “Street Fight” - Smallpools
- “The World Will Begin Again” - Volunteer
- “Got to My Head” - WATERS
- “Irresistible” - Fall Out Boy
- “Fucked Up Kids” - Hit the Lights
- “Blindfold” - Sleeping Wolf
- “Contagious” - Night Riots
- “Birds of the Meadow” - Josh Ritter
- “Kings” - Tribe Society
- “Shine A Light” - Banners
- “Colors” - Halsey
- “4EVER!” - LANY
- “The Tide” - Pale Waves
- “Shine On” - Vinyl Theatre
- “I’m Good” - The Mowgli’s
- “Dreams Come True” - Brandon Flowers
- “Monster” - Jacob Banks
- “Loveless” - X Ambassadors
- “Intro” - NF
I started with my 2 favorite songs of the year. After that, I just try to group things close together genre-wise, though the end of a mix always gets a little sketchy hah Sadly there was no 5 or 6min long epic song to cross my path this year that I could end my mix with like usual, but that last song is epic in its own way.
There were some other contenders, so it could’ve been even longer, but I try to keep it somewhat contained.
Albums
My #1 album of the year comes as no surprise if you know me. They made my mix for an unprecedented 3rd year in a row, and almost this entire album is solid. They’re also just as good live and play with very few backing tracks, if none at all. I couldn’t recommend an album from this past year more.
Another great album to come out this past year. Having followed these guys since their 2nd EP back in early 2014, I’m very happy for them. Their previous efforts had them as a subdued, rhythm centric, indie/rock band. They still are, at their core, but their major label debut let them show what they’re capable of when writing some explosive pop songs.....still with their own indie flavor, but not as brooding or chill as their EPs.
Was fortunate enough to see half their set at RibFest 2014 here in Chicago, along with only a couple hundred people at most. Had a talk with the lead singer for at least 10min post-show about the music business and their rise to success, and about my own band at the time....definitely won’t be able to do that again since they’re selling out 1,000 seat venues and going on tour with huge acts hah Definitely check this album out. I will note that it is 19 tracks long, but 7 of those are short, in-between moments.
The last band that gets a photo feature from me is Volunteer. Technically it’s just one guy, but it’s not a DJ and he plays several instruments and has a band play with him live. This is also technically an EP, but it’s great. I honestly almost put 2 songs from this on my mix, it was super close. The first 3 songs on this album are all anthemic pop hits, in a very Nashville-esque indie/pop/rock style. The last song is a little longer and mid-tempo, not what I would blast driving in my car, but listening to it, you can just imagine the emotion and epic climax it can reach in a live setting. I envision great things to come for Volunteer in the future.....now only if I could get him to answer my email about if he needs a permanent bass player....
Quickies
Just a few more quick album recommendations from 2015.
“Sermon On the Rocks” - Josh Ritter - This guy knows how to write a song. I’ve only known of him because of his song “The Temptation of Adam,” so sadly I haven’t kept up with his releases. I’ll be going back and checking them now though! I really love his more chill stuff, which means I really like about half of this album. Give it a listen for yourself though, because the song of his that’s on my mix up there isn’t representative of what all his stuff sounds like.
“Badlands” - Halsey - I labeled her EP last year as something I didn’t listen to much but wanted to. After I finally did earlier THIS year, I was very excited for her full-length since she got picked up by a major label and is now doing huge tours. In doing so, of course, her dark/electronic-ish sound has been glammed up a bit and made more pop-friendly, but it’s still good. In my mind she’s in the same category as Lorde, but I like her stuff better than anything I’ve heard from Lorde.
“Lucid Dreams” - Tribe Society - This is a 5 song EP, but it’s decent and their future looks bright. Basically if you like “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons, you’ll like at least a couple songs by these guys hah I saw them live and they played a few new songs, all of which sounded promising. So look forward to hearing big things from them in 2016.
I would also obviously recommend listening to more of any of the bands that were a part of my mix. Some of them just had good singles, but overall most of them have more worth listening to.
Well, that’s all for 2015! It’s been a fun year and I will most likely remember it as the year Common Shiner broke up, but every year has some bittersweet taste to it. I raise my mixtape and toast to all of you and to 2016. That’s all she wrote!
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