Try Something New: Five Albums from 2015...

Here are five albums that I have been listening to from 2015. This is not a best of list, but more an excuse to expose my readers to new music that has been running in the background while I plug along...

Frank Turner: Positive Songs for Negative People
Mumford & Sons: Wilder Mind
Cage the Elephant: Tell Me I'm Pretty
Elle King: Love Stuff
Alabama Shakes: Sound & Color

Frank Turner: Positive Songs for Negative People

Frank Turner is a 30-something former British punk turned Folk Singer who has released his 6th album in 2015. Both this and his last have been extremely popular in the UK which paved the road to an American audience. The deluxe version of his recent album has acoustic versions of most of the songs and they are haunting echoes of the originals. I can't decide if I like them better, or merely because they remind me of the more "plugged-in" versions, but nonetheless I find myself listening to the second half of the album more than the first.




Mumford & Sons: Wilder Mind

Indie/folk/alternative band Mumford & Sons has been hot since Little Lion Man exploded onto the charts in 2009. The band seemed to be better received commercially in the US than in their country of origin, the UK, but managed to gain immense popularity in both countries as well as beyond to Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Belgium, etc.  Although Wilder Mind lacks the pop of their earlier efforts, Mumford & Sons have written another excellent album. If new to the band, try their albums in order, Sigh No More (2009), Babel (2012), and then Wilder Mind (2015). If you love the sound of their first efforts, you are sure to like the follow-up, and then, obviously, all three should be in your collection.




Cage the Elephant: Tell Me I'm Pretty

Dan Auerbach (who has an amazing solo album, Keep It Hid) of the Black Keys produced this brand new album by Cage the Elephant. Mess Around has been on the radio since October, but the full album hit stores and the internet two days ago (Dec. 18). What I am hearing is pretty good. As is so often true for albums that follow up commercial success, this album seems to lack the instant punch of killer singles, but promises a more subtle and perhaps mature sound. I can hear Auerbach's influence which is a great thing for the traditionally acidy sound of Cage the Elephant. Sweetie Little Jean, Cry Baby, Cold Cold Cold, and Too Late to Say Goodbye are all grabbing my interest already. The video single for Mess Around is comprised of clips from Georges Melies silent films that were the backdrop of the story Hugo by Martin Scorsese, cool!




Elle King: Love Stuff

Like so many people I was brought to Elle King by her song Ex's & Oh's, a catchy southern rock/alternative single with an upbeat tempo that has shades of a bluesy sound similar to the Black Keys. The rest of the album is more straight southern rock and does not have the same instant appeal to me as her lead single. That said, there are still quite a few excellent songs, Where the Devil Don't Go, Song of Sorrow. The content of her work is naughty, nasty, hard, and sometimes just rough. Elle King has attitude to spare  and shows little or no restraint in offering her opinions and energy in her music. Take it with a grain of salt, it's just rock and roll, baby.




Alabama Shakes: Sound & Color

The south rises again with this gem of a band from Athens, Alabama. Having cut their teeth in the southeast and self produced their first album in the mecca of southern music, Nashville, Alabama Shakes has put in the hard work and is now starting to reap the benefits they so rightfully deserve. Supposedly the band got its first major break when a popular music blogger  for SirusXM posted one of their songs on the internet. Offers, deals, national recognition all began to pour in. There is a soulful feel to their sound that has shades of R&B and a clear 70s influence with the clean recording technology of the 21st century. On top of well developed rhythms, catchy riffs, and a heavy use of backing vocals rests the cream of Alabama Shakes' sound, the unique vocals of Brittany Howard.