User blog:Mister.. E./Mr. E's Favorite Albums of 2015 - Honorable Mentions

Hello everyone it's me Mr. E and I'm about to present something probably too ambitious for me to finish. Since Jax is making his top five albums of 2015 I decided to become the true alternative to Jax and make my top five albums of 2015 blogs too. First though I'm gonna make this blog to dedicate a bit of time to some albums I really liked but didn't make the cut. These albums are all basically 7/10 or 8/10 for me.

The Albums
 Aureate Gloom by of Montreal An interesting lo-fi funk album, of Montreal keeps doing what they do best on this record which is somewhat over the top yet visceral lo-fi music with Kevin Barnes’s recognizable voice sneering over it. The band also recovers from their somewhat lackluster releases following their (second) defining album, Hissing Fauna Are You The Destroyer?. Highlights: Bassen Sabry, Last Rites at the Jane Hotel, Empyrean Abattoir



Honeymoon by Lana del Rey I’m surprised by this too. Honestly this album is actually very good. Lana is easily at her vocal peak on this album, pretty much nailing all of the tracks with her best performances to date. The instrumentals are basically a combination of the best aspects of both Ultraviolence and Born to Die. This album feels like a showing of success for Lana. She’s learned from the mistakes and put out a solidly enjoyable album. Highlights: Music to Watch Boys To, Terrence Loves You, Swan Song



My Love is Cool by Wolf Alice This album is a great throwback to 90s alt rock, with genres from dream pop to grunge. It covers all the bases of the decade with great accuracy and a modern twist to it. The dynamics in the band on the album are also great with the vocalist sounding pretty good on each track. Highlights: Bros, Moaning Lisa Smile, Giant Peach



Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens This album is a return to the quiet, sparse folk of his earlier career after more grand projects like Illinois and The Age of Adz. The album is based upon the death of his mother and stepfather, as well as the incredibly complicated and strained relationships with both of them. The album is very pained, emotional, and subtle with its musical arrangements and its lyrical despair. The album’s intimacy and subtlety makes it a great addition to Stevens’ discography. Highlights: Death With Dignity, Should Have Known Better, Carrie & Lowell



M3LL155X by FKA twigs An incredibly complicated and off the wall pop EP, its off kilter melodies and vocals combined with the odd lyrics make it a great follow-up to LP1 and a great EP, probably the best I’ve heard all year. Highlights: Figure 8, I'm Your Doll, In Time



Emotion by Carly Rae Jepsen lol Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s another shocker but honestly this album is pretty infectious and catchy. I like the throwback elements of it without it becoming too overbearing and gimmicky. The vocals on this are pretty good as are the instrumentals. It is a step up from Carly Rae Jepsen’s other works so I am interested in seeing where she takes things from here. Highlights: E-MO-TION, All That, Let's Get Lost



Glean by They Might Be Giants I mean this is still a Mr. E ranking so this of course was gonna be here. Anyways, They Might Be Giants has created another fun to listen to alternative rock album with lots of eclectic tendencies. This album goes from conventional alt rock to jazz. It’s odd, but this compilation works and is another great addition to their discography. Highlights: Erase, Music Jail Pt 1 & 2, Aaa



<p style="text-align: center;">Live from the Dentist Office by Injury Reserve This debut which is available for free online is well worth the listen. The great flows and nonchalant attitudes as well as the somewhat lo-fi old school vibes with the instrumentals make this an impressively well realized debut. Highlights: Yo, Washed Up, Whatever Dude

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<p style="text-align: center;">Sometimes I Sit, and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett The full length debut by Australian alt rock artist Courtney Barnett is full of personality and interesting lyricism. The album typically is a bit more tame than some of the more out there songs on the album but the lyrics typically run the same route of depression, indifference, hatred (self-hatred or otherwise), and loneliness. The instrumentals aren’t exactly one note either, some songs being large rockers and others being simply intimate acoustic moments. All in all it is a great album from a budding artist. Highlights: Elevator Operator, Pedestrian At Best, Kim's Caravan

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<p style="text-align: center;">Art Angels by Grimes This album really takes what she's done in the previous albums and has brought it to both a peak in terms of accessibility and it's out of left field nature. The album plays like it could almost fit on any mainstream station yet has a somewhat dark nature underneath it. It's an electronic album with bite. Highlights: Kill vs Maim, REALiTi, Venus Fly

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<p style="text-align: center;">I Love You, Honeybear by Father John Misty This album by Father John Misty takes catchy jangly folk music and uses it to broadcast clever, earnest, and sometimes cynical lyricism. The experimentation and lyricism on this album alone makes it worth the listen. Highlights: I Love You Honeybear, Chateau Lobby #4 (In C for Two Virgins), The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment

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<p style="text-align: center;">Viet Cong by Viet Cong This debut by Canadian post-punk/noise group Viet Cong (created from the ashes of another group Women) create a very dark, grim atmosphere with cavernous guitars, loud drums, and screeching vocals. It's not for everyone, but for fans of abrasive music definitely check this out. Highlights: Pointless Experience, Continental Shelf, Death

Summary
<p style="text-align: center;">Well those are my honorable mentions, see you next time for #5!