Best of 2015, Hinds & Daughter.

So I haven't blogged in a while but I was still sad enough to post my top 10 tracks and albums of 2015 on social media. Here were my picks of 2015!

10) Grimes - Flesh Without Blood
9) Chvrches - Empty Threat
8) Alabama Shakes - Gimme All Your Love
7) Sufjan Stevens - Should Have Known Better
6) Wolf Alice - Your Loves Whore
5) Courtney Barnett - Depreston
4) Jamie xx - Sleep Sound
3) Lana Del Rey - Terrence Loves You
2) Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear
1) Tame Impala - The Less I Know The Better

It's worth noting I limited myself to one track per artist. Amazingly, if 'The Less I Know The Better' didn't exist, Tame Impala would still come out on top with 'Let It Happen'! No prizes for guessing album of the year then...

10) Waxahatchee - Ivy Tripp
9) Grimes - Art Angels
8) Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
7) Wolf Alice - My Love Is Cool
6) Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
5) Lana Del Rey - Honeymoon
4) Car Seat Headrest - Teens Of Style
3) Jamie xx - In Colour
2) Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear
1) Tame Impala - Currents

My favourite album since Alt J - An Awesome Wave. A coming of age album for Tame Impala. By far the best songwriting to date from Kevin Parker and the shift from guitar to keyboard taking centre stage worked wonders.

Overall, a strong year for music. Nice to see a few new names on the list. Let's hope they are around for plenty of years to come. It's notable to see that The Maccabees & Foals both don't make the list with both releasing pretty average albums. British rock music is not in a good state. Only Wolf Alice represent a British guitar band. Will they be around in 10 years?

So, leaving 2015 behind now... what does 2016 have for me to look forward to? Diiv, Radiohead, Vampire Weekend & Haim to name a few. However, this year has already started incredibly strongly.

Firstly, from Madrid are Hinds. A band I missed the opportunity to see at End Of The Road Festival in September. I regret that decision now, however I do have tickets to see them in two weeks time. They are a guitar based four-piece, playing incredibly catchy indie rock. Nothing is re-inventing the wheel with this album, but the enjoyment it brings forgives the lack of real innovation. The vocals especially really show a sense of fun that the girls had recording this album and I imagine they have similar fun playing it live. 'Easy' is my pick from the record, which is a strong example of the soothing tracks the album has to compliment the livelier songs. A strong first album of the year to get my attention for sure.

8/10

Now to a band I knew far more about. Ever since Daughter released 'If You Leave' a few years ago, I have been craving more music from them. Their gentle, atmospheric and extremely bleak and chilling style is one I adore. Their debut is one of the best by a British band for the last few years in my opinion. If you haven't heard it, I urge you to listen to it. Horribly overlooked by the British music press in my opinion. 'Youth' from that album was also my top track of 2013. This second album: 'Not To Disappear' is another beautiful piece of music. It's haunting qualities seem to strike a chord with me, much like their debut. It's fair to say they haven't taken giant leaps forward stylistically, but for that I am hugely thankful. Sometimes it's nice to stick to a winning formula and Daughter have done that here. I was lucky enough to seem them live a week ago. They were astonishingly good as I knew they would be. The lead single 'Doing The Right Thing' is one of the standouts from what is a very consistent album. 'How' is my personal favourite, with Eleanor's vocals being the perfect fit over a characteristically melodic riff which instantly feels as harrowing as you would expect from Daughter. They seamlessly create a feel to their music which is hugely emotive. Other highlights from this album include 'Mothers', with yet more depressing thoughts lingering. The experimental change of tempo on 'No Care' works well, with Eleanor testing out a different style of lyrical delivery we haven't seen before. The climax to 'Fossa' is extraordinary and testament to the all round capabilities of this band. An album that will make my end of year lists for sure.

9/10

And with that, I look forward to Diiv's new album on Friday. Another massively anticipated one!

Here is 'Doing The Right Thing' - Daughter.