The Top 10 Pop Albums of 2024 ...so far

That time of year again. These lists serve as a decent snapshot of where the year is heading in terms of music. I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they are really going to need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. When it comes to pop what you are not going to see much of are big mainstream radio artists that are part of the music industry machine that spits bullshit out on an assembly line with two dozen producers and even more songwriters making a product for the sheep to consume. Only two artists on this list come from that machine and both have risen above it, unlike the bulk of their peers. 

What I want from my pop is catchy songs that have actual instruments being played, rather than just empty calories being pumped into my ears. My people refer to this sort of thing as their guilty pleasures, and I do not use that term as anyone on this list is better than vapid shit kids on Tik Tok are dancing to. Hip Hop has pretty much been garbage this year, so don't hold your breath for much of that to appear, there are links to full reviews if you want to check these out and with all that said here are the top 10 pop albums of 2024 so far. 

10-Nadine Shah -"Filthy Underneath" 

Shah's voice her voice still sounds great and overall everything typically works certainly better than most of the pop music on the radio, this is comparable to her other albums.  

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/nadine-shah-filthy-underneath.html

9-St. Vincent - "All Born Screaming" 

You never know what to expect from her,  Clark who produced this album herself calls it post-plague pop. That makes more sense than not. Not her hookiest album, but it does have something to say and covers a great deal of stylistic ground while staying true to a theme. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/st-vincent-all-born-screaming.html

8-$uicideboy$ : "New World Depression" 

This is the fourth album by the New Orleans-based duo. The production value of their albums continues to improve, now finding the raw lo-fi quality that marked their early days as the first wave of Soundcloud rappers gone and it's not unlike when Bone Thugs N Harmony was at their peak in the 90s.I am happy to hear a hip-hop album with this mood and mindset coming out it's a relief. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/uicideboy-new-world-depression.html

7-Allie X - "Girl With No Face" 

She has always created a more thoughtful take on pop music, however, once she thinks too deeply into things the more she drifts in a dark wave direction. This hint of the  80s can be heard throughout the album, as the 38-year-old singer continues to stay on brand even when it glides into more of a slick pop groove .

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/allie-x-girl-with-no-face.html

 

6-Faye Webster- "Underdressed at the Symphony" 

In the 70s there was a genre called adult contemporary. It was the kind of organic loungy music that was not the bubble gum of pop but found artists in the middle of country and jazz. There was none of the country twang, nor the complex excursions in jamming that jazz ventures off into. More produced than folk, but many former folk artists would cross over into this for radio play. Mellow is certainly a fitting word to describe it.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/faye-webster-underdressed-at-symphony.html

5-Snow Strippers - "Night Killaz Vol 2" 

This duo is the epitome of the Soundcloud generation, they are more experimental than your average pop album. It crosses over into electronica more often than not since the emphasis is on the beats and soundscapes being woven here. Tatiana is not the greatest singer, but the secret to this album lies in how her voice is presented. She works more off the charisma of her persona. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/snow-strippers-night-killaz-vol-2.html

 

4-Middle Kids-"Faith Crisis" 

This Australian band is moving in a poppier direction, which is still effective as they are writing pop songs with a great deal of heart and thought invested in them. Unlike most actual pop artists, they do not have a team of producers and songwriters but hash things out as a band, with the guitar still at the forefront of what they are doing, though the sugar-coated vocals of Hannah Joy are pushed further into the spotlight.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/middle-kids-faith-crisis.html

 3-DEHD - "Poetry" 

This album continued to grow on me thanks to infectious songs like "Mood Ring". The poppy indie rock jangle grooves better than most pop on the radio in 2024.  It feels like the days of  California punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/dehd-poetry.html

2- Charli XCX- "Brat" 

On her 6th album, there are 12 co-writers on 15 tracks and only 4 additional producers, which means she is doing better than the bulk of artists on the radio, though she falls on the more fringe side of pop, with only one foot on the mainstream despite having shared the bill on some high profile tours. This album is so good, that it had me wrestling with whether this should take the number one spot, as it has more infectious energy than the more reflective album that took the number one spot, the only thing holding her back is the fact she uses her voice to form a relentless stream of club hooks but does not have the depth to her vocal lines here that can be heard on the number one album, but this is a ton of fun, and who knows by the time I make my end of the year spot it might mange to knock the queen from her throne. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/charli-xcx-brat.html

1- Taylor Swift - "Dead Poets Department" 

While other pop artists have to grab your attention by putting on cowboy cats or trying on new personas their record labels want to convince you are breaking new ground, Taylor Swift has less to prove and is content just being herself. She captured the top spot despite artists like Charli XCX  delivering some of their best work, because at this point even when Swift comes closer to dialing it in she writes with more sonic breadth, and lyrical depth than what other artists are doing on their best day. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department.html

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Nadine Shah : "Filthy Underneath"

 

This marks the 4th album we have reviewed by Nadine Shah. Her first is our favorite so far. She has progressed past the point of being post-punk. There is a stark mood that still lingers around the smoother grooves she continues to polish.  On the lead single "Topless Mother" her voice feels like it is taking the role a horn section would normally occupy in the arrangement. It is not the hook fest you might imagine a single to be. "Food For Fuel' feels more interesting with its snake-charming bass line. Though the first three songs are all very effective at what they do, they just do three very different things. 

Shah does have a great voice, but her main strength as a singer is knowing where to put her voice that best serves the song which is a skill she continues to sharpen on songs like "You Drive, I Shoot". The beat is minimalist, but she makes the most of it. However, this skill alone is not enough when the instrumentation is not aiding her with an attempt to groove, which can be heard in "Keeping Score" . Sure it is better than most of what you hear on the radio these days, Taylor Swift excluded, but we have heard better from her, and that is the bar we are measuring this album by. 

"Sad LadsAnonymous" is spoken word over a bass groove, that feels like a Tricky b-side. Lyrically there is more attention to detail in the bitting commentaries she has built this album around. This is much less of a rock record than what we have heard from her in the past, as is more beat-reliant in a manner that puts this closer to pop music, just without the commercialized aspirations. She allows the moods to drone and speculate. "French Exit" has a slightly darker touch to it, that reminds me as a whole this album has not been all that darker. The mood is more of a skeptical hope. It works off a tension that never climaxes. Still her voice sounds great and overall everything typically works certainly better than most of the pop music on the radio, I will give it a 9, which puts it alongside her other albums. 

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The Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2017

So Indie rock is a category I am throwing anything too aloof to be rock and not loud enough to be punk. So this is where some of the post-punk that is not exceptionally dark is going, along with shoe-gaze. Music is going in a weird place and circling the 90s without admitting their is a 90 retro thing going on cus they want to be too cool for Gen X. It was a weird year for indie rock, and one key thing to note is there had to be band to rock it, many blogs like Noisy threw all kinds of other things into their indie rock lists, like hip hop or electronica. I say fuck that there has to be some sort of band dynamic going on. Like many of these lists I am finding that the veterans are beating out their younger competition. To help ease the debate, despite the fact you can't argue about what I listened to the most since I have the numbers on it, I also added why each album beat the one ranked lower than it.

10- Cloakroom- Time

 Well Even with the burly guitar tone there is no denying that the opener of  Cloakroom's new album is shoe-gaze. The drumming is very tasteful and the guitar tone shifts with fluid grace. I guess it could be grunge tinged at times if we are calling early Smashing Pumpkins grunge. The vocals sound like they are very depressed stoned and falling asleep. But that works for the mood they have created.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/08/cloakroom-time-well.html

9-Hundredth- "Rare"

  While I like these guys, I think before you are quick to throw the post-punk label on them and start comparing them to The Smiths or Joy Division, know that they have much more in common with Silversun Pickups. The cooed androgynous yawn of the vocals begin to start sounding the same come the second song. This also reminds me of many of the post Pumpkins bands that came out of Britain in the late 90s - early 00s. They some times pack a little more of a metallic punch. Word on the street is these guys used to be a hard core band. They stay in the middle of the road shoe-gaze inspired flavor of alternative rock .

 Why they beat out Cloakroom ? ...more interesting and infectious guitar work.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/06/hundredth-rare.html

8-Cherry Glazerr- "Apocalypstick" 

Here is a wacky indie rock band that works best off best clever, though they can build into a more punk infused punch on the opener "Told You I'd Be With the Guys".Overall this album is sonic and compelling indie rock that's familiar in some ways , but they are very much their own person. Why they beat out Hundredth ? There was a wide margin between 8 and 9, truth be told "Told You I'd Be With the Guys" could have beat out Hundredth's entire album by itself.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/03/cherry-glazerr-apocalipstick.html

7- Bully- "Losing"

 Found the first song off this album during my research for the top 50 songs of the year list Treblezine was doing. The second song is noisy and not as hooky as the first song, but over all they cruise along the kind of detached indie rock that bands like Sebadoh made popular in the 90s. More organic and less focused on the atmosphere created by bands like Sonic Youth. The guitar parts are more interesting and melodic than punk.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/11/bully-losing.html

6- Torres - "3 Futures"


Mackenzie Scott's third album finds her going in a more experimental direction. Not in terms of arrangements in song structure or instrumentation used , but how she forms her melodies against the web of electronics woven beneath her voice. It takes a minute for song to click with me. There is an angular and almost atonal aspect that keeps you on guard. The further you get into the song it becomes apparent this album is going to be much more layered and nuance than her last, "Skim" even rattles my ear bud. It bumps in a more restrained manner than say a new Taylor Swift song. Guitar is used in a manner that has more common with St. Vincent.

 Why it beat out Bully? ...a more unique sound and marginally darker.

5- Gold -"Optimist" 

 This Dutch band is back, this time with more introspection to their gloom.They kick the shadow fest off with "You Too Must Die" which carries more of a Chelsea Wolfe flavored drone than what I remember these guys having.The emphasis is more on rock than indie as it has balls and is not just space jangle.


 Why it beat out Torres- see above "more balls less space jangle"

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/05/gold-optimist.html

4- Morrissey - "Low In High school" 

 I am sure it's surprising that Moz did not rank higher. This album has grown on me. He doesn't give a shit and makes the music he feels like now. Sometimes this free reign allows him to take too many chances and experiment to the point of certain things being weird for him. But this is Morrissey and he still has his song writing chops even if his voice is not in it's prime. 

 Why he beat out Gold...this is Morrissey we are talking about.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/11/morrissey-low-in-high-school.html

 

3- Nadine Shah- "Holiday Destination" 

 Well it's clear writing for a few different blogs makes me not always remember who I reviewed for what as it was not until right now that I realized I had not covered this one for Abysmal Hymns ( in case you forgot what site you are on as well). This album is not as dark as the previous , but finds her covering a wider range of sound. This is perhaps a little more of a rock album as the guitar goes more places. Why she beat out Morrissey...This album came out before "Low In High School" which factored into why I listened to it more, but it is also the case of two artists at different places in their career and Nadine has a clearer vision of what she set out to do here.

2 -Minus the Bear- "Voids" 

 Glad to have these guys back in fine form as I felt with "Planet of Ice" that the song writing was not as focused as the first album. Things have changed and there is a better balance. The opening song sets the tone for the rest of the albums with one of the albums most lyrically powerfully songs while retaining their normal cool, calm and collected detachment. It's a apathetic take on a break up song and most of the other songs fall in line as being hard looks at the human condition with a upbeat and sometimes electronically tinged backdrop.

 Why it beat out Nadine Shah? More upbeat and catchy while giving me lyrics that smoothed over the sting of 2017.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/05/minus-bear-voids.html

1- Ride- "Weather Diaries "

 Robert Smith once refused to play a festival unless this band was added to the bill, so that has to factor into why they took the number one spot. I mean lets face it they are one of the forefathers of shoe gaze, they proved to be more versatile than other bands in the genre.The guitar tones on this album are incredible. The breathy vocals you are used to hearing on shoe gaze albums, come in but stronger than some of the breathy moans as they are able to harmonize and ride the groove with confidence. While it might seem patronizing for them to take the number one spot, they did earn more repeat listens to they put themselves here and why they beat out everyone else.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/07/ride-weather-diaries.html

Nadine Shah : "Holiday Destination"

It's not until we get to the title track that we get to the kind of soulful yet dark grooves that propelled her last album. It opens with something that is quirky, but doesn't feel like it has the emotional depth I expect from her. So it is good to hear that she knows how to get back to that place. It feels more like indie rock than post punk this time around. Her voice sounds great on "2016". She is up on the mic and forward in the mix. I don't have to have the post-punk tension if she is singing like this in her sensuous alto. They song throws some punches and has coats of atmosphere splattered about. You could compare her to what a band like the Yeah Yeah Yeah's does or even PJ Harvey, when the album shuffles it's way into "Out of the Way" . A harder synth bass line casts a shadow over the song. Midway into this song and I am still impressed how good this album sounds. Every thing is crisp and sits right where it needs to even when they start to bring in weird instruments like saxophones.

She treads similar ground to the Cure with the drone of "Yes Men" which balances melody with the hypnotic web it weaves. Lyrically she is pissed about the tone of politics. Perhaps this is what keeps this album from having the same emotional tangibility as the previous album. The shuffle to "Evil" has an almost 60's pop shuffle. "Ordinary" falls somewhere between feeling like 80's post-punk and and indie rock with poppy aspirations. "Relief" has a more tense and angular riff to it that is soothed out by the vocals. The Cure like sound returns on "Mother Father". This song is immaculate arranged and written and leaves her plenty of room for her voice to move around.

The album closes with the more atmospheric pulse of "Jolly Sailer" A lo-fi beat and a low throbbing bass pulse help to drive the song. I'll give this album a 9. I would not say there are problems that need to be addressed, this just might be the direction she is going in hear. It is not as dark, though lyrically it has a more angst ridden undercurrent.

the Top 10 Rock Albums of 2015

This year there is an eclectic mix ranging for folk rock to hard rock, some albums are darker than others. The inclusion of a pop category this year took anything to happy to rock with it. Most of these albums speak for themselves. A couple of these some lists have had as metal, but not every one knows what metal is...oh, well. Here are the Top 10 rocks albums of 2015.
 10 Cairo Pythian: "Touched"

 Cairo Pythian might have been the best kept secret of the Pacific North Wast. There have been enough post- punk band's worshipping Ian Curtis and friends so why no one at the alter of Love and Rockets. Often they weave a weird piece of dark wave that pulls out the rock n roll more than I anticipated. The synths are darker than the guitar solos that are more Brit pop. The singer can sing, on some songs he carries a seventies glam streak. But we are getting ahead of our selves because it starts of with a colder electro synth pop streak.The industrial elements are glamorized for the dance floor and not really for rivet heads throwing punches in latex. The genius in the production is the lo-fi indie rock distance the songs have to keep them from sounding like something on the oxymoron that is mainstream alternative radio.If you are tired of "cold wave" albums that sound like they were recorded on a four track in the bathroom and open to some genre defying drug crazed nonsense that is fun as all hell, do not waste another second of your life by not hearing this "band". I was able to just stop keeping score as I knew I was going to like each song.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/01/cairo-pythian-touched.html

9-Nostalgist:"Of Loves and Days Ago"

 It's hard to argue against this Seattle band. The baritone vocals are like if the singer from Bellicose Minds sang for a shoegaze band. They have an incredible guitar tone and have combined an interesting array of elements, I can hear touches of everything from Hum and Failure to the more shoe-gazing side of black metal. Not that they go anywhere near a blast beat but they have a similar atmosphere. Being a product of the 90s I enjoy any band that can use samples as a narrative in the songs and they really contribute here. Luckily with a little clicking, I found the band's "name your price" as life currently has me too broke to pay the 8 bucks, though it would have been worth every penny and one of the few albums I would have put on my forced-to-buy list. Good Job kids. 


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/07/nostalgist-of-loves-and-days-ago.html

8-King Dude:" Songs of Flesh & Blood -In the Key of Light"

 Being the Chelsea Wolfe that I am you would think I'd already be all over this considering he is one of the few artists she has collaborated with and midway into the first song I am not sure why I haven't been. It's more post- punk meets rockabilly than folk or the Johnny Cash singer-song writer thing I assumed it to be. There is more of a Rome like strum to "Deal With the Devil". The things I like about it that is remains dark. Sure Nick Cave is an obvious influence, but Cowgill doesn't get lost in the narrative and forget he is singing a song an not narrating a story. I prefer the fuller sounds and production on this album to some of his older work I heard a few years ago. If you are a long time fan then some of the more sparse and droning moments that didn't grab me off the bat will be more of you thing.
 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/07/king-dude-songs-of-flesh-blood-in-key.html

7- No Joy :"More Faithful"

   I was anticipating  this new full length from No Joy. Having liked the glimpses I got from this project in the past , but have never gotten a solid taste of what the band could really do  so now we get the big picture. The show you many side right from the first song which has the driving post-punk bass pumping under dreamy vocals. The guitar doesn't come into clearer focus until the second song, which conforms to more indie rock standards than the opener. The vocals smooth out and glide over their brand of dream pop, that comes across more vocal more in the forefront than their previous work. Not quite dancey and shaded with equal dabs of My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth.Sure they can gleam like fragile crystal, but can also rock out when they feel like it.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/06/no-joy-more-faithful.html

6- The Decemberists: "What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World"

 What do I want from a new Decemberists album ? Why am I even asking that question aren't they out of place among the typical fare.You might not have guessed that I would be a huge fan of the Decemberists, having listened to the for over a decade and seen them four times live during that time. Their last album the "King is Dead" was a quaint stab at radio airplay, a gamble that paid off for them. So what do a think would be a perfect Decemberists album, well I would like to see the lyrics darken back up...of course and get back to the murder balladry of the past.  A cross between the Hazards of Love with Picaresque.I get this in doses, but not completely.Colin Meloy's voice has improved over the years.This can be heard in the tonal quality of it on "Lake Song". Strummed folk with a jazz like under current it works a familiar magic for the band. Other songs find bands classic sound minus and pirate shanty elements with "Till the Water is Gone". There are moments when You really get a good picture of how good of a guitarist Chris Funk. This is followed with "the Wrong Year" a pop song that is written in the classic world folk sound the band excels. It carries a hook with all the intention that they wrote the last album with, but draped in  sounds long time fans should feel more comfortable with.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-decemberists-what-terrible-world.html

5- Algiers: "S/T"

 Matador records is released this, but not doing much else to promote it. Good thing for the band they have a unique sound that should set them apart.  They formed in Atlanta, but like most other good music Atlanta doesn't know what to think of it so they relocated to varied parts of the world meeting up again in New York. They do take string synths that are slightly goth and set them as a backdrop to the gospel dirge. The singer's husky soulful voice has more rawness to it than I expected and it sits in a bizarre juxtaposition to the noisy industrial clanging that it emotes over. Sometimes it sounds like the rest of the band is going to go along with him and start busting out some 60s soul from within the din. fitting comparison to this band would be they fuse dark electronica to gospel in the same way Chelsea Wolfe has done it with folk. Lyrically I think any religious imagery is being used as a metaphor. If you have any inkling in regards to my spiritual path based on my writing for Cvlt Nation then it should be clear that if this was a christian band I would not give them the time of day. Without a doubt this is an excellent piece of work that was well worth the searching it took to hunt this down.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/06/algiers-st.html

4- Nadine Shah: "Fast Food"

 So many of these new post-punk revival bands are jacking from Siouxsie, but they are only latching onto one element of what  she does.  Nadine might be jacking from Siouxsie, but at least it's a different aspect of Siouxsie that is a path less travelled. The album opens up in a more straight forward manner than I suspected. It still has air-tight song writing.There is an interesting tone to album that juggles an androgynous longing in the lyrics and their delivery. I have no problem just keeping this album on and letting it play.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/04/nadine-shah-fast-food.html

3-Marriages: "Salome "

This trio spawned off of the Red Sparrows and have been killing the stage opening for the likes of Chelsea Wolfe after releasing the impressive "Kitsune". The first thing that grabs your attention this go around is their singer. Her singing gets the most improved award for the album. Not that she was a bad singer before, her vocals have really stepped up to the next level and given the space to be used as an instrument just as impressive as the guitar, bass or drums. She was a more purring alto, which she flexes into some vocal lines that are more aggressive that the guitar that has taken on an even more dreamy quality time time around. At times this gives them more in common with A Perfect Circle or Tori Amos then the Russian Circles post-rock they brewed before. Sure some of the melodies are more radio friendly, but this is a far cry from selling out. You can't blame a girl for wanting to sing. They deserve all the praise they might get for not being afraid to shed some of the pretense of post-rock and just focus on writing good vocal driven songs. Emma has stepped up to the mic with a vocal performance few albums are going to be able to beat this year.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/marriages-salome.html

2- Ryan Adams : "1989"

 This album served as the methadone for my Taylor Swift addiction. My wife doesn't like Taylor Swift, she is banned from being played in the car, but this album is totally acceptable. Ryan Adams who also must be a pretty big fan as well as a metal head...just look up his cover of "Holy Diver", made a bold move in covering Swift's "1989" in its entirety and the results are pretty great.He really makes these songs his own which is an impressive feat and colors them with more of a Bruce Springsteen feel.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/12/ryan-adams-989.html

1- Royal Thunder: " Crooked Doors"

 This band continues to evolve from the blues soaked stoner rock, they have put the Black Sabbath albums away and now have become more of an indie rock band that takes on a rough edged hard rock dynamic. On the opener "Time Machine" which the band premiered on Npr,  Parsonz puts some angry husk to her voice when the band begins to climax toward the end of the song. The band was never fully committed to being a metal band even they they had a fetish for playing with metal bands , but they have taken another step away from metal with this album. This is not a bad thing as the new direction lends it's self to a compelling array of sounds and emotive glimpses into who this band is.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/royal-thunder-crooked-doors.html

Top 10 Rock Albums of 2015...so far

Before we get into get lets get the shameless self promotion out of the way  and go "like" us on Facebook...https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns

It will make you feel good about your self. Now on to the rock

Rock is a broad word. There is only one album in here that straight up rocks it like AC/DC and even then there are some twists and turns. So here is where we are at so in 2015, when it comes to putting the foot up on the monitor.


10- Cairo Pythian - "Touched"

 This album came on strong when I first go it but turned out to be a little too weird for its own good. Glam rock from another dimension, the album is like a weird friend you can't invite to every party because they might wind up naked in the fish tank.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/01/cairo-pythian-touched.html

 9-the Refused- "Freedom"

 Haven't really listened to it much after the day I got it , but it is so well crafted that it needs to be on here. Nothing like "the Shape of Punk to Come' in case you were wondering.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-refused-freedom-review-dawkins.html

 8- King Dude- "Songs of Flesh and Blood In the Key of Light"

 Just got this today, but can tell I am going to get some pretty good mileage out of this album. It touches on many genres and could be argued that it should have been on the goth list since the Nick Cave leanings, but Nick Cave's last album wasn't on the goth list either so there.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/07/king-dude-songs-of-flesh-blood-in-key.html

7- No Joy- "More Faithful"

 Not as shoegaze this go around.There is more form and function. Need to give it a few more spins it has gotten lost in the shuffle.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/06/no-joy-more-faithful.html

 6-Strangeweather - s/t

 Almost metal, but not quiet. Like Agalloch if they were jamming with Rasputina and Fleetwood Mac and main lining dmt.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/strangeweather-st.html

 5- Brother / Ghost- "Buried"

Funny thing about this album when I first got it I thought one of the dudes who sings on it was a girl, so the band dropped me a message saying there are zero girls in the band. When I went back and listened to , I could hear it was dude with a whiny Death Cab for Cutie kind of voice. I still like this album despite these facts.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/06/brother-ghost-buried.html

4- Algiers- s/t

 These guys were originally from Atlanta, but they wised up and said to themselves " Hey, we want to make gospel post-punk, lets move to New York, because they will never get it in this city since they only understand music that is either part white trash or part punk rock and we are neither." Good move, next year hipsters in Atlanta will catch on since they are always a few years behind New York when it comes to music any way.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/06/algiers-st.html

 3-Nadine Shah- "Fast Food"

 Just enough balls to this album that it makes it on the list despite her Siouxsie influence.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/04/nadine-shah-fast-food.html

2- Marriages- Salome 

Tones the post-rock / math- rock down and let her focus more on singing and the results are pretty stunning.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/marriages-salome.html

1- Royal Thunder- Crooked Doors

 It was a pretty close race between these cats and Marriages, I have just gotten a tad more mileage out of this album than Marriages, in fact there was a good week or two where this was all I would listen to on my iPod when I left home.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/royal-thunder-crooked-doors.html