New Music – January 2015 – A Top 5 List
January started slow as usual, but the end of the month saw a bunch of great releases. It was difficult to shittle it down to five, but these albums rise to the top for January 2015, and will certainly be in heavy rotation for a while.
#5 | Hanni El Khatib - Moonlight
San Francisco multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter immediately draws you in with a warm and welcoming vibe – a beautiful mix of blues, folk, and garage rock that reminds us of The Black Keys and Jack White.
#4 | Menace Beach - Ratworld
Leeds-based indie rockers Menace Beach comes in strong with their debut full-length, packed with hooks, driving bass lines, and fuzzed out guitars. If you’re into My Bloody Valentine, the Pixies, or anything in between, you’re going to dig this band.
#3 | Doomtree - All Hands
What’s in the water up there in Minneapolis anyway? Whatever it is, the city is a hotbed for underground hip hop, and the Doomtree collective is toward the top of heap with All Hands, another impressive, hard-hitting outing featuring Cecil Otter, Dessa, Lazerbeak, Mike Mictlan, Paper Tiger, P.O.S, and Sims.
#2 | Disappears - Irreal
Sparse, shoegazy collection of songs on this Chicago group’s excellent fifth studio release.
#1 | Viet Cong - Viet Cong
Calgary based Viet Cong, formed in 2012 by two ex members of the defuct beloved indie outfit Women, tops our January list with their self-titled debut that weaves effortlessly between post-punk noise, drum loops, and guitar fuzz.