So many great albums, so little time, right? And while news of the universal release date changing from Tuesday to Friday caught the music-lovin’ public a little unawares, here’s hoping it’ll be just like Daylight Savings Time and we’ll learn to love it in no time, because 2015’s musical offerings – so far – have been plentiful and well worth the wait. Here are some of the KXT crew’s favorite albums of the year, so far:
FATHER JOHN MISTY – I Love You, Honeybear (Andy Taylor, Gini Mascorro)
A jewel from start to finish. Josh Tillman’s vision of the world via the eyes of Father John Misty is always great for a giggle and horrified self-evaluation in the social me-me-media age.
LEON BRIDGES – Coming Home (Lauren Menking, Amy Miller, Gini Mascorro)
2015 is the year everyone will look back and remember as the year this Fort Worth native came along to stop us in our tracks with that voice. Today Montreux and Newport, tomorrow the world.
SOAK – Before We Forgot How To Dream (Gini Mascorro, Amy Miller)
Bridie Monds-Watson’s debut is A/C for the soul. Keep this Irish singer-songwriter on your radar, and prepare to fall under her spell.
FFS – FFS (Gini Mascorro)
Franz Ferdinand + Sparks + Dallas’ John Congleton in the producer’s chair = a collaboration sent from the heavens, and the most fun you will have listening to an album this summer. Guaranteed.
COURTNEY BARNETT – Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit (Joe Kozera, Amy Miller, Gini Mascorro)
Everyone’s favorite Australian import lays down the law of buzzsaw riffs and hilarity in her sonic sucker-punch of an official debut.
ALABAMA SHAKES – Sound & Color (Amy Miller)
Brittany Howard and the boys are back, ferocious as ever with a second album improving on the original formula, encompassing hooks galore and blood in its teeth for days.
MUMFORD & SONS – Wilder Mind (Amy Miller, Joe Kozera)
They’ve jettisoned the banjos for a richer, fuller sound – and a new album defying both expectations and the naysayers. Which is always a wonderful thing, in our opinion.
BRIGHT LIGHT SOCIAL HOUR – Space Is Still The Place (Lauren Menking)
Austin’s beloved psych-rock outfit shine brightly on their second studio full-length.
JOSE GONZALES – Vestiges And Claws (Lauren Menking)
Great things come to those who wait, and this Swedish singer-songwriter delivers beautifully on his first album in seven years.
BRIAN WILSON – No Pier Pressure (Joe Kozera)
One of the year’s most playful and intriguing offerings, featuring cameos from the likes of fun.’s Nate Ruess, Mineola native Kacey Musgraves, and She & Him.
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (Joe Kozera)
Let’s hear it for the mighty return of Florence Welch, armed with a powerhouse of an album featuring her most personal songs to date.
LAURA MARLING – Short Movie (Joe Kozera)
This UK songbird has moved beyond the Joni Mitchell comparisons to gift the world with her fifth studio album, her most accessible and fiercest to date.
THE DECEMBERISTS – What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World (Andy Taylor)
Colin Meloy & Co. continue to amaze, so much that Nick Offerman starred in the video for “Make You Better”. Even their hometown of Portland, Oregon officially declared January 20th as “Decemberists Day.”
How about you? What are your raves and faves for 2015, so far?
Gini.
XOXO
