Sound Obsession

We're midway through 2016 and already have a surplus of excellent music to enjoy.  In alphabetical order, the following fifteen albums are my favorite this year so far. . . . Autolux:   Pussy's Dead (30th Century - 4/1/16) Reclusive Silver Lake threesome Autolux drop their third album in a dozen years, moving even farther away from their shoegaze and noise-rock roots into Radiohead-style glitch IDM territory while showcasing Carla Azar's always-excellent drumming. David Bowie:   Blackstar   (ISO - 1/8/16) Music legend David Bowie caps off his unparalleled fifty-plus year career with a haunting 26th album released on his 69th birthday, just days before losing his battle with cancer.  An arresting and graceful blend of experimental jazz and trip-hop, Bowie confronts mortality and legacy head-on. Commodo:   How What Time (Black Acre - 4/8/16) Releasing over a dozen bangers on single and EP over the years via heavyweight dubstep la...

At The Drive-In, 9:30 Club, Washington DC - 6/14/16 Black Pistol Fire, U Street Music Hall, Washington DC - 6/6/16 The Kills, 9:30 Club, Washington DC - 5/14/16 Ghost, Hippodrome, Baltimore MD - 5/8/16 Ghost, Hippodrome, Baltimore MD - 5/8/16 Iggy Pop, Academy of Music, Philadelphia PA - 4/15/16 Iggy Pop, Academy of Music, Philadelphia PA - 4/15/16 Iggy Pop, Academy of Music, Philadelphia PA - 4/15/16 Iggy Pop, Academy of Music, Philadelphia PA - 4/15/16 Autolux, Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington DC - 4/1/16 Autolux, Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington DC - 4/1/16 Graveyard, 9:30 Club, Washington DC - 2/12/16 Muse, Verizon Center, Washington DC - 2/1/16 The Arcs, 9:30 Club, Washington DC - 12/14/15 Kvelertak, Oslo Hackney, London, UK - 11/29/15 Windhand, Metro Cafe, Baltimore MD - 11/14/15

2015 was an exceptional year for music.  Here are my top-ten favorite albums of 2015, and check out my ten runners-up and honorable mentions .  Hey, better late than never.  Enjoy. . . . 1. Ghost: Meliora (8.5/10) Meliora is Ghost's third LP, released in late summer of 2015. The title is a Latin adjective meaning "better" and so it is that the album continues an upward trajectory for the Swedish occult-metal band, adding to their mock-ecclesiastical mythos. Ghost's breakout debut Opus Eponymous mined a spooky mediaeval aesthetic exemplified by a traditional proto-metal sound, while their playful sophomore album Infetissumam (previously reviewed here ) skewed baroque, incorporating disparate elements like disco, surf-rock, and choral music. By contrast, Meliora is the band's take on 20th century modernity and futurism (its cover references Fritz Lang's 1927 sci-fi film Metropolis ) . Accordingly, on Meliora , the band's musical palette...

In alphabetical order. . . . The Arcs: Yours, Dreamily, (6.5/10) Dan Auerbach, front-man of blues rock duo The Black Keys, temporarily ditched his longtime drummer pal Patrick Carney and launched a new collaborative side-project last year - The Arcs. The band's debut Yours, Dreamly, bests the Keys' recent material, exploring more soulful textures. It doesn't all work, but its lush slow jams and vintage aesthetic make the journey worthwhile. Artificial Intelligence: Timeline (7/10) North London drum & bass duo Artificial Intelligence released their second LP, Timeline , last year - their first for revered label Metalheadz. Timeline shifts easily between sunny liquid rollers and dank breakbeat workouts and though it doesn't shatter many molds stylistically, the album is superbly consistent and stirring from start to finish. Easily one of Metalheadz's best artist albums since Goldie's Timeless . The Atomic Bitchwax: Gravit...