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Joy Merten (Into the Void) writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2015: Joy Merten
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Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2015. Our next list is from Music Director & DJ Joy Merten.
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#1 To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar (Top Dawg/Aftermath) |
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#2 Setter of Unseen Snares by Caïna (Broken Limbs Recordings) |
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#3 Spooks by ONO (Moniker) |
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#4 New Bermuda by Deafheaven (Anti-) |
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#5 Seasonal Hire by Steve Gunn & Black Twig Pickers (Thrill Jockey) |
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#6 Apocalypse, Girl by Jenny Hval (Sacred Bones) |
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#7 Restarter by Torche (Relapse) |
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#8 Valis by Mastery (The Flenser) |
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#9 Untitled by FALSE (Gilead Media) |
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#10 The Most Lamentable Tradgedy by Titus Andronicus (Merge) |
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In no real order, my honorable mentions:
Circuit Des Yeux, In Plain Speech (Thrill Jockey) |
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1/2 Decade of Wonder (2011-2015) |
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Here's six (sorry) of my favorite albums from 2011 to 2014: Tomboy by Panda Bear (Paw Tracks) / 2011 The Seer by Swans (Young God) / 2012 Yeezus by Kanye West (Def Jam) / 2013 Deafheaven by Sunbather (Deathwish, Inc.) / 2013 Yob by Clearing the Path to Ascend (Neurot) / 2014 Perfume Genius by Too Bright (Matador) / 2014 |
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To Pimp a Butterfly was an unexpected followup to the commercially successful good kid, m.A.A.d city - achieved not only by dropping the album on short notice, but also by pulling in funk and jazz influences into a thematically and lyrically complex record. Plus, To Pimp a Butterfly actually got me interested in listening to free jazz and funk. So thank you, Kendrick, not only for this record but for reintroducing me to its wider context.
From Caina, the solo project of Sussex, England’s Andy Curtis-Brignell, Setter of Unseen Snares is not only one of the best black metal albums of the year, it’s also a contender for best rock album of the year. It’s taut and succinct, revealing Curtis-Brignell’s roots in punk and hardcore. The album opens with a quote from the first season of True Detective, in which Matthew McConaughey's character laments the fact that humans have evolved to have consciousness. It’s a fitting intro to the rest of the album, which channels Curtis-Brignell’s personal feelings of depression, anxiety and pain. Closing track “Orphan” is the absolute centerpiece of the record, starting out with a clean-sung lament that transitions into a crushing symphony of tremolo-picked guitars, mournful yet triumphant at the same time.
Featuring contributions from Ministry's Al Jourgensen, Obnox's Lamont Thomas and a number of local musicians like Cooper Crain and Shannon Rose Riley, ONO's Spooks is not only a fascinating document of frontman Travis's personal experiences, it's also a look back at the often-forgotten history of Midwestern noise music. But while Spooks is informed by the past, it looks relentlessly forward, and that's why it stood out to me this year. Plus it didn't hurt that I saw a preview of CHIRP's upcoming Factory Session with ONO and helped interview the band.
Probably every review of this album asked the same question - Can Deafheaven write a worthy follow-up to 2013 Sunbather without rehashing the same formula? What we were really asking was whether the band could write an album that's as chest-poundingly epic as what they'd written before, or if they'd just be rehashing the same old formula. Well, seeing as New Bermuda is here on my top 10 of 2015 list, they went outside the box again for this one. The heavier sections are full of snarling anger and bite, the lighter sections are pillowy and soft, and yeah - this is a worthy follow up to Sunbather and a great album all on its own.
I spent a lot of 2015 making my way through the catalogues of Jack Rose, Pelt, John Fahey, The Black Twig Pickers, etc. so Seasonal Hire came around at just the right time for me. Like other records by those previously mentioned, Seasonal Hire incorporates avant-garde minimalism and drones with traditional folk music. The addition of Steve Gunn’s laid-back dad rock tendencies made this an album feel like one long evening on a back porch in the late summer. The final track makes the whole listen worth it, as it unfurls with tension and resolution over 16 minutes.
Think big, girl, like a king. Think kingsize. Did you learn nothing in America? That's the first line on Apocalypse, Girl and there are so many more like it, on songs that combine the personal and the political, that critique capitalism and embrace feminism. Hval brings up ideas like: Softness can be terrifying or at least deeply unsettling in a culture obsessed with toughness and masculinity, and wouldn't it be more horrifying if people just slowly accepted that the apocalypse was happening instead of freaking out about it? Hval's writing makes this album for me (I could probably write a thesis on her lyrics), but the way she delivers the lines in subtly catchy songs and chose people like Ben Frost and Thor Harris to work with helps a bit too.
Restarter is not an average sludge metal record. It's pop music, often the kind inspired by Robert Pollard, only played with down-tuned guitars. Restarter is clean, simple, and nice to sing along to. I may have played this one even more than my #1 pick of 2015, because it fit perfectly on playlists with everything from One Direction to Husker Du.
Without warning, the first track on Mastery’s Valis flings the listener straight into the midst of chaos. At the beginning of “V.A.L.I.S.V.E.S.S.E.L." there are about eight seconds of screeching violins that drop straight into frenetic riffing and mostly unintelligible growls. This dense noise continues for about six minutes, until the song drops into a brief acoustic section with drums pounding ominously in the background, until just as abruptly the song returns to its crazed-sounding turmoil. This first full-length from one-man act Mastery (a.k.a. Ephemeral Domignostika, also a member of Pale Chalice, Pandiscordian Necrogenesis and Horn of Dagoth) is extreme and exhausting, indebted not only to black metal but also to noise like Merzbow or Skullflower. It’s the kind of record that pummels you until you appreciate the silence when it’s over.![[ALBUMARTIST9] [ALBUMTITLE9]](https://chirpradio.org/_/files/blog/Best%20of%202015/false_untitled.jpg)
Kind of like Mastery, False's music is dense and noisy, whipping the traditionally sparse aesthetics of black metal into a keyboard-driven storm with frontwoman Rachel howling and screaming her way through it. But even though this record is dense and loud, melodies and drama still make their way out of the mix. The chanting on "Saturnalia" ("For from death, comes life/And with life comes sacrifice/From sacrifice comes our sorrow/And ever turns the Wheel over and over") and the chorus on the final few minutes of "The Deluge" are two of my favorites moments in music of this year. Also of note: False's live show is so good I drove to Minneapolis to see them this year.![[ALBUMARTIST10] [ALBUMTITLE10]](https://chirpradio.org/_/files/blog/Best%20of%202015/titus_andronicus_most.jpg)
I feel a little weird putting this album on my top 10 because I started really listening to it just a few weeks ago. When it first came out in July, a triple concept album with intermissions about Patrick Stickles' struggles with mental illness just seemed like too much to take in all at once. Getting through this record requires commitment, but I was finally won over by the band’s dual versions of “I Lost My Mind,” one a Daniel Johnston cover. This is maximalist indie rock at its finest. Titus are the true heirs to Bruce Springsteen’s legacy.Next entry: CHIRP Radio Best of 2015: Andy Weber
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