Top 89 Staff Picks: Sadie Bell, college contributor
by Sadie Bell
December 01, 2015
Top albums of 2015
South - Hippo Campus
Okay, I know it is an EP, but South is by far my favorite compilation released this year. Hippo Campus largely defined my 2015 as I embraced the spontaneity of my youth and traveled across the country to see them — taking trips to Colorado, Illinois, and Wisconsin from my home in Minneapolis, and to Pennsylvania from my home in Brooklyn. I have never loved a band so much in their entirety — their lyrics, guitar riffs, drum beats, and bass lines — as much as I love Hippo Campus, and I feel the music they released this year proves without a doubt their genuine talent. For me, every one of the tracks on South embodies my present and because of them, I built myself a home. We are all the halocline.
I Love You, Honeybear - Father John Misty
Many a night I have laid on my apartment floor whilst spinning this vinyl, transfixed my Josh Tillman's honesty, cynicism, and tenderness.
Savage Hills Ballroom - Youth Lagoon
Though a sensitive soul, Trevor Power's thoughtful lyricism, along with his powerful vocals and beats, proves that he is far from weak. Like Youth Lagoon's two previous albums, Savage Hills Ballroom takes me to a vulnerable place, while instilling a sense of security, and few other artists can do that so beautifully.
Currents - Tame Impala
This album takes me to a new world. Kevin Parker expresses his anxieties in the most innovative way possible by taking the psychedelic into a pop realm and he does so to perfection.
Kintsugi - Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab is an old friend of mine, one whose hand I hold dearly. I have grown up with them and when I saw them play Madison Square Garden earlier this year, I couldn't help but cry out of happiness to see one of the most genuine indie bands from Bellingham, Washington greet platinum success. Kintsugi, I feel, showcases exactly this. Though founding member Chris Walla departed from the band, this album still carries with it all that the band embodies — their honesty and sincerity. It may be ambiguous where they are headed, but I'm still just as connected to them as I always have been.
Chronovision - Oberhofer
This album composed of bittersweet memories and New Wave and symphony-grandiose sounds illustrates just how talented front-man, writer, and producer Brad Oberhofer is.
Mothers - Swim Deep
After departing from the sweet indie-pop sound of their debut album, Swim Deep decided to produce one of the weirdest, most mind-altering psychedelic albums of the year. With "One Great Song," these British rockers might just change the world
Wellness - Last Dinosaurs
Australian indie-rockers Last Dinosaurs are coming of age, and so am I. The lyrics on their second album are just as youthful and naive as their first album In a Million Years and their sound is just as crisp. Though it's impossible not to dance to the buoyant tracks on Wellness, it's also hard not to ignore the depth of its tracks, making it resonate with where I am in my life, too.
Harmlessness - The World Is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die
This album might just change your life. It builds and crashes, but it does so gracefully. Though the album takes you to a dark place, it pulls you right back out, too, and that is power.
Twelvefour - The Paper Kites
The Paper Kites took a risk and it had a beautiful result. Though still holding onto their acoustic, folky sound, the band also upped their electricity, creating the dreamy, conceptual album that is Twelvefour.
Sadie Bell, of Wayzata, is a college student at The New School in New York City.