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Ανασκόπηση Α' Εξαμήνου 2015 - Albums - Δίσκοι

The Best Albums of 2015 So Far

Just before the end of July, the editors of Grill picked up the best albums they have heard in 2015 so far, the surprises, and the comebacks.
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Just before the end of July, the editors of Grill picked up the best albums they have heard in 2015 so far, the surprises, and the comebacks.

The editors that participated in the voting were: Christos Christopoulos, Dimitris Dimopoulos, Dimitris Orlis, DImitris Saklis, Panos Dionysopoulos, Leonidas Kalmoukos, Odysseas Pavlou, Orestis Kazasidis, Paraskevi Toma, Smaragda Nitsopoulou, Stella Skamneli and Giorgos Baliotis.

Let's see the albums from No 12 to 50:

12. FFS (Franz Ferdinand & Sparks) - FFS
13. Björk - Vulnicura
14. Calexico - Edge Of The Sun
15. Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear
-    Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
17. Monophonics - Sound Of Sinning
-    Paul Weller - Saturns Pattern
19. Nadine Shah - Fast Food
-    Natalie Prass - Natalie Prass
-    Will Butler - Policy
22. Laura Marling - Short Movie
23. Young Fathers - White Men Are Black Men Too
24. Built To Spill - Untethered Moon
25. Bill Fay - Who Is The Sender
26. East India Youth - Culture Of Volume
27. Kovacs - Shades Of Black
28. Rising Sun Systems - Oberheim Space
29. Boz Scaggs - A Fool To Care
30. Platform - Holly Herndon
31. Vakula - Voyage To Arcturus
32. Belle And Sebastian - Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance
33. Big Noble - First Light
-    Four Tet - Morning-Evening
-    Gaz Brookfiel - True And Fast
-    The Eye Of Time - ANTI
-    Waxahatchee - Ivy Tripp
38. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Multi-Love
39. Lower Dens - Escape From Evil
40. Viet Cong - Viet Cong
41. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
-    Sally Dige - Hard To Please
-    Sizarr - Nurture
44. Beach House - Depression Cherry
-    The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Freedom Tower No Wave Dance Party 2015
-    Jose Gonzales - Vestiges
-    Kamasi Washington - The Epic
-    Mad Professor - Dubbing With Anansi
-    The Vaccines - English Graffiti
-    Thee Oh Sees - Mutilator Defeated At Last

The first 11 albums of the first term of 2015 for Mix Grill are the following:

Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit

11. Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit

After several years of concerts and the release of three EPs, it was about time for the young songwriter from Melbourne to release her first album. At last! Her lyrical flair was obvious and could not be ignored, even if it is still rather raw. In this album she appears much more ready than most newcomers, singing stories inspired from the simplest things of everyday life. But she is not alone, because the musicians who accompany her, especially Dave Mudie on drums, often assist her stories to emerge.

Dimitris Orlis

Leon Bridges - Coming Home

10. Leon Bridges - Coming Home

If you belong to those that listening to "Coming Home", the first single of Leon Bridges, felt a wave of nostalgia for the authentic soul of the 60's and singers such as Sam Cooke, Otis Reading, and Marvin Gaye, I urge you to listen to his complete first album, released in June. The 25-year-old Texan artist recorded the 10 songs of Coming Home with the help of two members of White Denim and this is for me the best debut for 2015 so far. Among the tracks that make the difference are "Smooth Sailin'", "Better Man", "Brown Skin Girl" and "River", but this doesn’t mean that the other songs of the album are inferior. Leon Bridges is the new great hope of the soul, and we are already looking forward to listening to his next work.

Leonidas Kalmoukos

Sleater Kinney - No Cities To Love

9. Sleater-Kinney - No Cities To Love

Sleater-Kinney, the explosive female trio from Olympia (Washington), had been on hiatus for quite a long time. "We need a pause", they declared in 2006, and since then we didn’t hear much, except from some rumors. Only a small hint was given in 2010 for a possible re-union until 2015 and nothing more. Yet they kept their word! After a long break of 9 years they released on January 20 their new album entitled "No Cities to Love" by Sub Pop. As mature women now, and being no youthful torrents any more, they recorded a pithy disk, which owns their special identity: characteristic intense guitars, rushing drums and revolutionary vocals. They have been inspiration for many contemporary artists, see St. Vincent, and this record proves it out of any doubt. A female band in the male-dominated rock scene is rare, especially with such passion and talent. The artwork of the cover is one of the most remarkable of the year so far, completing one of the most significant returns of the year.

Paraskevi Toma

The Charlatans - Modern Nature

8. The Charlatans - Modern Nature

Charlatans is the only band of the so-called Madchester scene that have stayed consistent with incessant releases over the 25 years since the beginning of the 90's. Also they have evolved musically since then, and they have not remained static like their compatriots Inspiral Carpets, who returned last year.
The first single "Talking In Tones" with trip hop introduction and the second single "Come Home Baby", which returns to the sound introduced in the 90's, stand out. Together with "Emilie", which dives in the psychedelia, and of course "Let The Good Times Be Never Ending", dedicated to Jon Brookes, their drummer, who died in 2013.

Leonidas Kalmoukos

Jamie Xx - In Colour

-   Jamie xx - In Colour

Perhaps the best album of electronic music I've heard in the first six months of 2015. The 26-year-old Londoner (member of The xx) released his first solo album entitled "In Colour" in late May. The synths of course prevail, but "In Colour" includes elements of African music, Caribou-like loops and reggae forms.

Giorgos Baliotis

Benjamin Clementine - At Least For Now

6. Benjamin Clementine - At Least For Now

"At Least For Now" is certainly the most interesting album of the year. I do not know if it's the best of all I have heard so far (comparing with which terms?), but it is certainly a breath after the boring and musically uninspiring 2014 and I am pretty sure that this is a reference album for 2015.

Dimitris Kampoyris

Florence + The Machine - How Big How Blue How Beautiful

5. Florence + The Machine - How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

The instrumentations in this album are rich in dynamic parts, but rich into their simplicity in calmer tracks, as well, based each time on different instruments. Sometimes on guitars, sometimes on brasses, and sometimes on percussion. But what stands out in all the tracks is the vocals, not only Florence's, but also the backing.

Anna Papadaki

Tame Impala - Currents

4. Tame Impala - Currents

It is true that "Currents" was released only on July 17 and we had just a few time to listen to it. I believe that this album will may be higher in the list of best albums of 2015. It may as well be at the top! After "Lonerism" of 2012, I think that the third album of Tame Impala is their best work. This is an atmospheric album, with special - unique melodies and "freshness" established on the appropriate sound forms of the past.

Giorgos Baliotis

Alabama Shakes - Sound And Color

3. Alabama Shakes - Sound And Color

After the great success of "Boys & Girls" in 2012, the second album of Alabama Shakes was one of the most anticipated releases of the year. Their main feature is the excellent voice and interpretation of Brittany Howard, who also plays guitar in most of the tracks. This is the only common reference of the two disks. While the first was full of elements of the music of the American south, soul and a dose of nostalgia, "Sound And Color" is a brave step, almost blindly, in a different direction with a few psychedelic, funk, and even punk moments.

Dimitris Orlis

Modest Mouse - Strangers To Ourselves

2. Modest Mouse - Strangers To Ourselves

This is the sixth album by the Americans from Washington. "Strangers to Ourselves" is not an album that aims for the charts, even though it ended up at No3 of Billboard. Modest Mouse relied on their known audio forms and, even if you cannot expect surprises, you get enchanted by the guitar solos in most songs and you have a feeling that this is a "full" album (15 songs!). I would say that the hip-hop "experiment" in Pistol is successful. "The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box" is one of the best rock songs I've heard this year, "Pumps to Dust" has such a sweet melody, and "Sugar Boats" beautifully puts trumpet and keys on the game. Definitely one of the best discs of Modest Mouse.

Giorgos Baliotis

Blur - The Magic Whip

1. Blur - The Magic Whip

The basis of "The Magic Whip" is certainly Blur's past, either as a band or the solo projects of its members. Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon remained active and productive the years that followed Blur's hiatus. The synthesis of the experimentation of these two musicians, together with the bonding and the experience of Alex James and Dave Rowntree, contributed to the final result, which in my opinion looks at the present, and possibly at the future.

Giorgos Baliotis
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