Topic: RAWK Album of the Year 2015 RESULTS THREAD

[jooneyisdagod]

1. Viet Cong - Viet Cong - Don't think anyone pushed the boundaries quite as much as these guys. Sprawling in ambition and delivered fully well. Or perhaps many people did, but none caught my ear quite as much as these guys. There is always a risk in trying to be avant-garde in that ultimately it takes the pleasure out of listening to it. No risk of that with this album.


2. Metz - II - Set out to do one thing and did it supremely. Acerbic as anything, fast as fuck and wholly entertaining.


3. Ought - Sun coming down - This is a cracking listen. Grooves, pumps, kicks and does a whole lot more. Feels loose at times and just when one thinks it might fall apart, it turns out, everything was actually a part of a tight whole.


4. Father John Misty - I love you honeybear - Ultimately got in simply because how incredibly well crafted and detailed it is. The persona can feel contrived at times, but I managed to overlook it and enjoy the bits of honesty that are spread across the album. Very precisely constructed though. Some genuinely laugh out loud moments on the album. Some genuinely sweet moments too. I've written previously about how the persona gets in the way of the honest elements, which is where this record soars. Nonetheless, when it soars, it soars high.


5. Julia Holter - Have you in my wilderness - Dreamy, abstract and surreal at times. And yet its easy to fall in love with the character that sings. The voice soars, the arrangements are spectacular and incredibly well crafted as is the case with the previous album. Pipped by Father John Misty because of the wider range of experiences in I love you honeybear.


6. Kendrick Lamar - To pimp a butterfly - Again I didn't connect with it fully, but there are genuinely outstanding bits in there that transports you to places. Those moments drag an otherwise heavy and frankly cumbersome album into the top 10 because when it peaks, its incredible. The second half of the album drags hugely although that's where the political heavyweights apparently are. But on the strength of the first half and songs like alright and i, I think this makes it through.


7. Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I sit and think, Sometimes I just think - Not quite as charming as the Sea of split peas EP, but perhaps a more accomplished effort. I loved the takes on the mundane and the ability to craft stories around it is a great skill that she weaves majestically throughout. Unlike the other albums, I think this album is highly consistent throughout, but perhaps doesn't have the high points that make you cling onto them the way some of the others did.


8. Ty Segall - Ty Rex - I'm a big fan of Ty. I think he's consistently produced cracking records and such is the nature of his prolificacy that its hard to keep up with them. This album seemed to be a shift in direction a little. There is still some punk energy but it is tempered. There are some great hooks. The production is just the right amount of lo-fi. A solid effort through out.


9. Deerhunter - Fading Frontier - Solid effort, but not exceptional. No great moments on the album by my reckoning though easy to put on and listen through the whole way. Simply didn't grab and shake me the way Halcyon Digest did.


10. Destroyer - Poison Season - Another totally different sounding album. Some great moments on this one though perhaps not as consistently delivered. All the times square songs are brilliant. Some forgettable bits though, which make it hard to engage with it throughout.

[FlashingBlade]

Cheers. I believe Cassiel somewhere earlier in the thread also picked Turnover as first. I think it's strength is the melodic flow from track to track that seems to meld them all together without becoming monotonous, boring or repetitive.

Eleania is just brilliant to read to.

I bought Turnover on the basis of Cassiels recommendation ( having got me onto the wonderful Capitol Cities CD a while back)...however I found it a bit meh!...some good tracks though...reminded me of the Lotus Eaters..Pop-y wimpyness..but hey ho! each to their own, even if 'their own' is not like my own therefore they a clearly wrong!

[just Riggins?]

Two pages down, three to go.  Should be up tonight. 

Interesting leader at the moment.  Think I know who'll end up on top though.  Probably a five way race at the moment.

[FlashingBlade]

Two pages down, three to go.  Should be up tonight. 

Interesting leader at the moment.  Think I know who'll end up on top though.  Probably a five way race at the moment.

God , its like when the first 'The Force Awakens' trailers came out....the anticipation is bearable!!

Yeah we all know who will end up on top....bloody Adele!

[just Riggins?]

Well well well.  Late drama provided by Jooney there, as his list moved Father John Misty a point ahead of Kendrick before, further down his list, Kendrick nudged back again to take top honours.

Wolf Alice held the lead for the first couple of pages before Sufjan, FJM and Kendrick emerged as the contenders.  Whilst Sufjan dropped off, it only would've taken a couple more top spots to help him claim it.  Alas it wasn't to be. 

The likes of Courtney Barnett seemed to appear frequently if mid ranked, where's Kendrick seemed to be 1st choice for a few rather than frequently in there.

[MichaelA]

Many thanks for taking the time and making the effort! Looking forward to seeing the full list; I suppose I should go and listen to the Kendrick album now.

[just Riggins?]

Little bit of formatting and a few album names to complete, but you should be able to get the gist of it

Kendrick Lamar (To Pimp a Butterfly) – 210
Father John Misty – 203
Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell – 151
Jamie Xx – In Colour – 128
Courtney Barnett (Sometimes I Sit…) – 118
Wolf Alice - My Love Is Cool – 116
Tame Impala – Currents – 85
Joanna Newsom (Divers) – 81
Grime – Art Angels 70
Turnover – 66
Drenge – Undertow – 64
Kurt Vile – 62
Lord Huron (Strange Trails) – 58
Juliet Holter (Have You In My Wilderness) – 57
Sleaford Mods (Key Markets) – 57
Girl Band (Holding Hands with Jamie) – 56
Sleater Kinney – 55
Metz (II) – 54
Dr Dre – 48
Blur – 46
The Decemberists – 45
El Vy - Return To The Moon - 43
US Girls (Half Free) – 43
Everything Everything – 40
Susanne Sundfor (Ten Love Songs) – 40
Barna Howard (Quite a Feelin’) – 39
FFS (FFS) – 39
The Charlatans (Modern Nature) - 38
BC Camplight (How To Die In the North) - 39
New Order (Music Complete) – 37
Chvrches – 37
Ghost Culture (self-titled) – 37
Jim O’Rourke (Simple Songs) – 37
Belle and Sebastian (Girls In…) – 36
Viet Cong – 35
Pinkshinyultrablast (Everything Else Matters) – 35
Jason Isbell (Something More Than Free) – 35
Destroyer (Poison Season) – 34
Gaz Coombes (Matador) – 33
Matthew E White (Fresh Blood) – 32
Mew (+/-) – 30
Lana Del Rey (Honeymoon) – 28
Muse – 28
Lanterns on the Lake (Beings) - 26
John Grant (Grey Tickles, Black Pressure) – 26
Noel Gallagher – 26
Joey Badass (Badass) - 25
Stornoway (Bonxie) – 25
Coheed and Cambria (Color Before The Sun) – 25
Death Cab – 25
Amorphis - Under the Red Cloud - 25
Royal Headache – 25
Fall (Sub Lingual Tablet) - 25
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (self-titled) - 25
Sauna Youth (Distractions) - 25
Richard Thompson (Still) – 25
Buxton – (Half a Native) - 25
Tobias Jesso Jr (Goon) – 25
East India Youth – Culture of Volume – 24
Laura Marling – 24
Neon Indian (Vega Intl Night School) – 23
Kamasi Washington (The Epic) – 21
Songhoy Blues (Music In Exile) – 20
Kid Wave – Wonderlust - 20
Bill Ryder Jones (West Kirby County Primary) – 20
Swervedriver (I Wasn’t Born To Lose You) – 20
Mumford & Sons - Wilder Mind – 20
Floating Points (Elaenia) - 20
Trust Fund (Seems Unfair) – 18
Aha (Cast In Steel) – 18
Maribou State (Portraits) – 18
Thee Oh Sees (Mutilator Defeated At Last) – 18
Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat (The Most Important Place..) – 18
Hey Colossus (In Black & Gold) - 18
Emily Portman (Coracle) – 18
Ezra Furman (Perpetual Motion People) - 18
TWIAB (Harmlessness) – 18
UMO (Multi Love) – 18
Titus Andronicus – 18
Julien Baker – 18
Deerhunter (Fading Frontier) - 18
The Chills (Silver Bullett) – 18
Von Hertzen Brothers - New Day Rising - 18
Wilco – Star Wars - 17
Fuzz (II) – 16
One’s and Six’s (Low) – 16
Natalie Prass – Natalie Prass – 16
Richard Hawley (Hollow Meadows) – 16
Fairport Convention (Myths and Heroes) – 15
Adele (25) - 15
Holy Sons (Fall of Man) – 15
Cuz (Tamatebako) – 15
Soulsavers (Angels and Ghosts) - 15
Howling (Sacred Ground) – 15
Ought (Sun Coming Down) – 15
Dogs on Acid – 15
Kacey Musgraves (Pageant Material) - 15
Horsebeach (II) – 15
Panda Bear (Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper) - 15
Baroness (Purple) – 15
Beirut (No No No) - 15
The Cribs – 15
Five Finger Death Punch - Got Your Six - 15
Rats on Rafts (Tape Hiss) - 15
The Jimmy Cake (Master) – 15
Foals (What Went Down) – 14
Ryley Walker (Primrose Green) – 14
Boss De Nage (All Fours) – 12
Protomartyr (The Agent Intellect) – 12
Braids (Deep In The Iris) – 12
Desaparecedos – Payola – 12
Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful - 12
Deafheaven (New Bermuda) – 12
JD McPherson (Let the Good Times Roll) - 12
Failure (The Heart is a Monster) – 12
Turnstile – 12
Lower Dens (Escape From Evil) – 12
Guassian Curve (Clouds) - 12
Steve Cobby (EVerliving) – 12
Jackie Oates (Spyglass and the Herringbone) – 12
Miguel (Wildheart) - 11
Marriages (Salome) – 10
Wand (Golem) – 10
Joshua Radin – 10
Fratellis (Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied) – 10
Milo (So The Flies Don’t Come) - 10
Colleen (Captain of None) – 10
Young Father (White Men Are Black Too) – 10
Young Husband (Dissolver) – 10
Nightwish (Endless Forms Most Beautiful) – 10
Torres (Sprinter) – 10
Joan Shelly (Over and Even) - 10
Disappears (irreal) – 10
Empress Of – Me – 10
Beach House (Depression Cherry) - 10
Woolfy v Projections (Stations) – 10
Scorpions - Return  to Forever – 10
Flaoting Points (Elaenia) – 10
Brandon Flowers - The Desired Effect - 10
Darren Hayman (Chants for Socialists) – 10
Jose Gonzalez – 8
Marilyn Manson – 8
The Go Team – 8
Coleen Green – 8
Tallest Man On Earth - Dark Bird Is Home - 8
Say Lou Lou (Lucid Dreaming) - 8
Lightning Bolt (Fantasy Empire) – 8
Summer Camp (Bad Love) – 8
PINS (Wild Nights) – 8
Benoit Pioulard (Sonnet) - 8
Zs (Xs) – 8
Villagers (Darling Arithmetic) - 8
Django Django – 8
Lightning Bolt (Fantasy Empire) – 8
Rozi Plain (Friend) – 8
Will Butler (Policy) - 8
The Libertines – 8
Godsized - Heavy Lies the Crow - 8
Robin Trower (Something’s About To Change) - 8
Summer Camp (Bad Love) – 8
Amason – Sky City - 6
Hurts (Surrender) – 6
CFCF (The Colours of Life) – 6
Tess Parks & Anton Newcombe (I Declare Nothing) - 6
Houndmouth (Little Neon Limelight) - 6
Bully (Feels Like) – 6
One Direction (Made In the AM) – 6
We Are Harlot - We Are Harlot - 6
Sonics (This Is Sonics) - 6
The Chemical Brothers (Born In The Echoes) – 6
The Unthanks (Mount the Air) – 6
Manhattan Love Suicides (More Heat! More Panic!) – 6
Israel Nash (Silver Seasons) - 6
Sweet Baboo (Boombox Ballads) – 6
While She Sleeps (Brainwashed) – 6
Majical Cloudz (Are You Alone?) – 5
Lupe Fiasco (Tetsuo & Youth) – 5
Enablers (The Rightful Pivot) – 4
Dick Diver (Melbourne, Florida) – 4
Pusha T (King Push) – 4
Juan Requena (Arroyo De Miel) - 4
Ghostpoet (Shedding Skin) - 4
Ty Segall (Ty Rex) - 4
Blanck Mass (Dumb Flesh) – 4
Justin Bieber – Purpose – 4
Thunder - Wonder Days - 4
Thundercat (The Beyond) - 4
Lilac Time (No Sad Songs) – 4
Killing Joke (Pylon) – 4
Gunship (Gunship) – 4
Mgla – Exercises in Futility – 4
Public Service Broadcasting (Race for Space) - 3
The Icarus Line (All Things Under Heaven) – 2
Bjork (Vulnicura) – 2
Leon Bridges (Coming Home) - 2
Hop Along (Painted Shut) – 2
Florence & The Machine (How Big…) – 2
Chorusgirl (self-titled) – 2
James Bay – 2
Europe - War of Kings – 2
Ultimate Painting (Green Lanes) - 2
Mbongwana Star (From Kinshasa) - 2
Slayer (Repentless) – 2
Roberet Forster (Songs to Play) – 2
Khruangbin (The Universe Smiles Upon You) - 2
Guapo (Obscure Knowledge) - 2
FKA Twigs (m3ll155x) - 2
Sarah Cracknell (Red Kite) – 2
Lapalux (Lustmore) - 1
Stephen Wilson – 1
Mount Eerie (Suana) - 1
Donnie Trumpet & Social Experiment (Surf) – 1
Dirty Youth - Gold Dust – 1
Milk Dick – 1
Darkstar (Foam Island) – 1
Agent Fresco (Destrier) - 1
Gavin Osborn (Share Your  Toys) - 1
Passion Pit - Kindred – 1
Sevendust (Kill the Flaw) - 1
City Calm Down (In a Restless House) - 1
Phil Cook (Southland Mission) - 1

[Anywhichwayicant]

[bigal]

Great work Riggins, thank you for taking the time and making the effort to do this, always a great thread.

[SamAteTheRedAcid]

Great work Riggins, thank you for taking the time and making the effort to do this, always a great thread.

Echo this, nice one Riggins.

Also going to have to listen to Kendrick again, heard a few tracks and they were all good but I'm just not very good at hip-hop.

See Phil Cook down there at the foot of the list, just wanted to say very much enjoyed his '1922' song this year, proof that RAWK has pretty great taste from top to bottom...

[FlashingBlade]

Great work mate, thanks for putting the effort in.

[007.lankyguy]

Thanks for taking the time to do this, Riggins. 

[jooneyisdagod]

Cracking effort Riggins. The RAWK music aficionados seem to have agreed with music writers around the world this year.

[rafathegaffa83]

Thanks Riggins. Really surprised it ended up being Kendrick (I had it as my #2, but it could have easily been #1). Must have been more highly ranked in several lists than in the middle of the pack of most lists like Courtney Barnett.

[jooneyisdagod]

Thanks Riggins. Really surprised it ended up being Kendrick (I had it as my #2, but it could have easily been #1). Must have been more highly ranked in several lists than in the middle of the pack of most lists like Courtney Barnett.

And thus accurately reflecting my comments on the respective albums. Thank you RAWK.

[El Diablos]

Little bit of formatting and a few album names to complete, but you should be able to get the gist of it

John Grant (Grey Tickles, Black Pressure) – 26
Mbongwana Star (From Kinshasa) - 2

First, thanks for doing all the hard work counting up.
Is this the final tally? If so there maybe some missed counts e.g John Grant's Grey Tickles appears top in two lists plus 10th in another so it should have 51 points. I also picked Mbongwana Star at 5th place but its final total is only 2 points.
I doubt it will affect the overall ranking too much

[Chip Evans]

Nice one Riggins! Cheers for that.

[just Riggins?]

First, thanks for doing all the hard work counting up.
Is this the final tally? If so there maybe some missed counts e.g John Grant's Grey Tickles appears top in two lists plus 10th in another so it should have 51 points. I also picked Mbongwana Star at 5th place but its final total is only 2 points.
I doubt it will affect the overall ranking too much

Aye it's final but was going to say, there's every chance I've made a small mistake here or there.  For the top lot I made sure it was dead on but there's that many in the bottom half!  So yeah if there's anything glaringly obvious just let me know.  Gonna add in the titles and that when I get rid of a couple of assignments 

[telekon]

Thanks a lot Riggins for all the hard work, and thanks everyone for the lists.

[Caffeine]

Thanks Riggins.

I will take the time to listen to the final top 10 but it's safe to say my tastes do not usually align with the RAWK muso majority. That said, happy to see Jamie xx place so highly although I don't think it was the best dance album of the year.

Surprised to see so few votes for Young Fathers.

[telekon]

Thanks Riggins.

I will take the time to listen to the final top 10 but it's safe to say my tastes do not usually align with the RAWK muso majority. That said, happy to see Jamie xx place so highly although I don't think it was the best dance album of the year.

Surprised to see so few votes for Young Fathers.

Yeah, I only had 1 of my top 10 in this years RAWK top 10 (Courtney Barnett), and 2 more in my top 40 (Misty and Grimes). I was debating putting Misty in there just to knock down Sufjan. Turned out that would have knocked down Kendrick instead haha. Oh well, the main fun for me is looking at the individual top 10's, and the overall top 10 is more of a curiosity.

[Okkervil]

Top work Riggins.

Not a top 10 for me this year. Most of the gems sitting outside the top 15 for me.

[saoirse08]

Thanks a lot Riggins for all the hard work, and thanks everyone for the lists.

Same here. Thanks to all, especially Riggins. That's my homework sorted for the next 6 months! 

[Zeppelin]

Yeah, I only had 1 of my top 10 in this years RAWK top 10 (Courtney Barnett), and 2 more in my top 40 (Misty and Grimes). I was debating putting Misty in there just to knock down Sufjan. Turned out that would have knocked down Kendrick instead haha. Oh well, the main fun for me is looking at the individual top 10's, and the overall top 10 is more of a curiosity.

Not sure what it says about me, but I think I was the only person to vote for 9 of the 10 albums I listed!

[Caffeine]

2. Metz - II - Set out to do one thing and did it supremely. Acerbic as anything, fast as fuck and wholly entertaining.

This is brilliant. Listened on the commute to work. I realised during a rare moment of complete silence at the end of one track towards the end of the album that I'd had the impression that the band had barely drawn breath for half an hour.

[007.lankyguy]

Not sure what it says about me, but I think I was the only person to vote for 9 of the 10 albums I listed!

I think seven or eight of my top ten weren't even picked by anyone else on here.

[Titi Camara]

Shit am I too late to vote?

EDIT: Evidently...ahh well only wanted to vote for...

Jamie Xx – In Colour

Can't stop listening to it! Fabularse!