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These are the albums that didn't quite make the main list but were brilliant nonetheless...

Hiatus Kaiyote
Choose Your Weapon
If there was ever a band to not only recognise the rule book for genre conventions, but to then throw said book deftly into the wind, Hiatus Kaiyote would surely be at the fore. The Melbourne act’s sophomore outing Choose Your Weapon improves strongly on the foundations laid by their debut, faultlessly moulding jazz, soul, funk and a splash of electronica into an exhilarating and uncompromising 70 minute adventure. Never prone to incorporate half measures, the record is constantly changing with deep bass reigning supreme on the jittery Laputa, Nai Palm’s sultry jazz-infused vocals soothing on Breathing Underwater, and Atari receiving a breakneck tempo and 8-bit electronic treatment. Hiatus Kaiyote’s Choose Your Weapon is an incredible achievement by a band who fully deserve your attention. - Ben Kyi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gang Of Youths
The Positions
The Positions came to fruition over the space of a two year period and tells of the tumultuous relationship between Gang of Youths’ frontman David Leaupepe and a woman diagnosed with terminal cancer. An album birthed out of sheer necessity, The Positions manages to maintain an uplifting air of defiance while painting a sprawling picture of grief, loss and ultimately hope. It is one thing to delve into such a heavy subject matter on your debut long player, but it is another entirely when the kind of precision and finesse displayed in the execution reflects that of an act far beyond their mere years would suggest. Anchored by the incredible vocal range delivered by Leaupepe, from the rollicking Poison Drum and the triumphant Magnolia, to the heartbreak of Kansas and Sjamboksa, The Positions is beautiful, raw, honest and far reaching indie rock where risk pays off in hefty rewards. - Ben Kyi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alison Wonderland
Run
There was no need for Alison Wonderland to release a full album. Before Run she was already playing some of the world’s biggest stages and had released a steady handful of stellar tracks including I Want U. She could’ve gone on releasing singles and had a huge year but instead she applied herself to an album and thank goodness she did. Run is by far the biggest Australian electronic album of the year - a conglomeration of huge drops, room-shattering synths and howling vocals that soundtrack hazy late nights. Opener Run is a swelling, behemoth of a song but tracks like Games prove she knows how to craft a perfect pop song. It’s an ambitious and honest project that establishes AW as the person most well-equipped to change the face of Australian electronic music. Listening to it now, it feels like a triumphant victory lap. - Sam Murphy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sampa The Great
The Great Mixtape
If you were asked to name an Australian female rapper right, you’d say Iggy Azalea. It’s nothing to be ashamed of but you would. Sampa may have been born and raised in Africa but she’s living in Sydney now and she’s the female voice in hip-hop we so desperately need. The Great Mixtape, as the name suggests, is just a mixtape but it’s still one of the best local releases of the year. It’s a vibrant trip through experimental, jazz-infused beats with verses that set her well on the way to being recognised among the likes of Lauryn Hill, Kendrick Lamar and Chance The Rapper. She traverses topics of identity, feminism and race all the while laughing in between tracks. “I’m an F E M A L E from the ghetto,” she raps on F E M A L E simultaneously announcing to us all the she’s an absolute boss. No new artist in this country was as exciting as Sampa in 2015 and that’s because there was no other record worldwide that sounded like this. - Sam Murphy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Samo Sound Boy
Begging Please
People too often write club records off as not having heart. It may be because of the atmosphere that they’re consumed in and because they often lack lyrics but Samo Sound Boy’s emotional Begging Please disapproved that this year. The album is a story of heartbreak told through built up climaxes that are then scattered like dust and swelling vocal samples that are interlaced with isolated synths. He may only use vocals in the form of repetitive samples but he uses them to swell emotion. What Can I Do is full of desperation, Got It Bad is love drunk while Save Wait Time brims with hope. As dark as it gets, it still feels like he’s getting over the heartbreak with every song particularly when it ends with the nostalgic but euphoric You Come For Me. - Sam Murphy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dawn Richard
Blackheart
2015’s most underrated release comes courtesy of former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard who's making genre-defying music at a rapid rate. Blackheart effortlessly melds together eccentric electronica with R&B moving from instrumental epics like Calypso to stomping bangers like Blow. At times her voice sounds superhuman and manipulated within an inch of its life but that’s because it’s treated like an instrument rather than a vessel for words. You never get the sense she’s forcing the verse/chorus structure rather moving with the music wherever it demands her. She goes on tribal, tropical and club-inspired detours but nothing ever feels out of place. Rather it's just all part of her experimental journey. - Sam Murphy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lana Del Rey
Honeymoon
Lana Del Rey’s career was almost over before it even began. Label involvement and the wrong producers turned her debut Born To Die into a glossy, manicured missfire but inch by inch she’s showed her artistry with Ultraviolence and this year the even better Honeymoon. Honeymoon trades the rock roughness of Ultraviolence for vintage Hollywood glamour that’s often more heartbreaking than glamorous a la the life of Marilyn Monroe. Terrence Loves You is a gorgeous jazz-influenced number, the title track is an infatuated ballad and Music To Watch Boys To is a creeping tale of lust. She never sounds in a rush, consistently choosing style over an immediate hit which realises her vision of bringing together the past and the vintage more than ever before. When she sings, “all I wanna do is get high by the beach,” you know that Lana finally gives zero fucks and that’s her greatest weapon right now. - Sam Murphy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Justin Bieber
Purpose
2015 was the year that it became ok to like Justin Bieber. Not because he stopped being a twat or because we all got to see his penis but because the music was just too good to deny. With lead-singles What Do You Mean and Sorry, key-producer Skrillex found a sound that nurtured Bieber’s smooth but limited voice and pulled him back from the far less accessible R&B world of Journals. Purpose is self-obsessed particularly when it ventures into ballad territory but that’s kind of what we’ve come to love about Bieber. Any other popstar singing, “What about the children?” would sound ridiculous but somehow Bieber turns it into a banger on Children. It seems he can do no wrong and it’s because Purpose is the biggest guilty pleasure of the year. So much so that everyone has set out to make excuses as to why it’s ok to like it. It’s ok to like it because it’s full of bloody good tunes and that’s the only explanation necessary. - Sam Murphy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julio Bashmore
Knockin’ Boots
Julio Bashmore had a big hand in the house revolution that shot Disclosure to fame with their debut album Settle but even though he was riding with a trend he didn’t rush his debut album. Knockin’ Boots came just as Disclosure were releasing their second album which pales in comparison to this record. It’s a joyous, euphoric and dance-ready exploration of deep house and all the different influences that have impacted it from disco to the ‘90s. The vocal sample on the opening title track is “we danced and danced ‘til we fell in love,” which is basically the mantra of the whole album. From the soulful seduction of For Your Love to the giddy flirtation of Let Me Be Your Weakness, it’s all about falling in love on the dancefloor. Bashmore’s had a very successful relationship with the dancefloor and it only seems to be getting stronger. - Sam Murphy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adele
25
Adele’s 21 was a huge, earth-shattering record but given the sheer size of it, it’s a testament to Adele that she actually managed to disappear. When she returned with the now iconic line, “hello, it’s me,” it felt as if we were hearing from a long lost friend. The voice was back and so was the forthright honesty. Sound-wise there’s nothing shocking about 25. She may try some bigger notes but it’s still a cross between soulful ditties and big ballads. What’s so special about Adele is everyone actually cares about the lyrics. We know she’s moved on from the man that broke her heart for 21 and on 25 she’s dealing with new love, a baby and fame while saying goodbye to her youth. “I’m so mad about getting old it makes me restless,” she sings on album highlight When We Were Young. It’s one of the album’s select goosebump moments because she shrieks vocally. Worrying about getting old is not a new sensation but no one says anything quite as succinctly and honestly as Adele. That’s why she’s breaking records, because she’s able to write about universal emotions in a way everybody can relate too. She may make it sound easy but it’s not. - Sam Murphy

Adele's 25 is not available on Spotify.

Wolf Alice
My Love Is Cool
The debut album from London four piece Wolf Alice is one of contrasts. Chaotic and grungy one moment, refined and delicate the next. Despite its tonal variations and genre bending, My Love is Cool remains an engaging, fully coherent and cohesive body of work. Your Loves Whore and Bros are incredibly catchy and heartfelt, while the hectic duo of Lisbon and Giant Peach show a band not afraid in the slightest to get their hands dirty. Frontwoman Ellie Rowsell oozes charisma and uses a fantastic set of lungs to full potential, as the musical backdrop shifts between the light and dark with ease. My Love Is Cool showcases a true sense of both wonder and a certain familiarity with dazzling results. - Ben Kyi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Multi-Love
The subject matter of someone's album can be a crucial part of its rendering - think about The Streets' A Grand Don't Come For Free.  That is a story told throughout multiple songs, an aural journey of British slang and everyday life. Multi-Love is a story on a whole another level. A story not told by many, a story of a love triangle practically unheard of in the musical world, a story told with lo fi funk from a front man who boasts some of the best guitar work you'll see or hear. This album is about so much more than just music, and that's what is so exciting about it. - Jack Cain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foals
What Went Down
This latest creative effort seems to channel the varying styles of previous albums and does so in the most satisfying and successful way. What Went Down also includes several tracks that follow what seems to be a growing trend for the group towards a slower, more introspective style of song. After getting dark and emotional on such tracks like London Thunder, which references the musical journey they have taken over time, the album then starts to get into the luminous funk that those who’ve been listening since Antidotes have come to expect from Yannis, Jack and co. Night Swimmers throws back to the gorgeously light guitar countermelodies that caught the ears of many back in 2008. Those expecting some proper British rock are treated to a couple of tracks that involve some seriously heavy basslines and much more intense vocal, through tracks like Snake Oil. In short summary, It’s not a record that is necessarily enhanced by being listened to as a whole, and perhaps that’s not what they were aiming for. What Went Down is exactly what it intends to be. - Zanda Wilson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click through to page 2 for staff lists.

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These are the albums that didn't quite make the main list but were brilliant nonetheless...

Hiatus Kaiyote
Choose Your Weapon
If there was ever a band to not only recognise the rule book for genre conventions, but to then throw said book deftly into the wind, Hiatus Kaiyote would surely be at the fore. The Melbourne act’s sophomore outing Choose Your Weapon improves strongly on the foundations laid by their debut, faultlessly moulding jazz, soul, funk and a splash of electronica into an exhilarating and uncompromising 70 minute adventure. Never prone to incorporate half measures, the record is constantly changing with deep bass reigning supreme on the jittery Laputa, Nai Palm’s sultry jazz-infused vocals soothing on Breathing Underwater, and Atari receiving a breakneck tempo and 8-bit electronic treatment. Hiatus Kaiyote’s Choose Your Weapon is an incredible achievement by a band who fully deserve your attention. - Ben Kyi

Gang Of Youths
The Positions
The Positions came to fruition over the space of a two year period and tells of the tumultuous relationship between Gang of Youths’ frontman David Leaupepe and a woman diagnosed with terminal cancer. An album birthed out of sheer necessity, The Positions manages to maintain an uplifting air of defiance while painting a sprawling picture of grief, loss and ultimately hope. It is one thing to delve into such a heavy subject matter on your debut long player, but it is another entirely when the kind of precision and finesse displayed in the execution reflects that of an act far beyond their mere years would suggest. Anchored by the incredible vocal range delivered by Leaupepe, from the rollicking Poison Drum and the triumphant Magnolia, to the heartbreak of Kansas and Sjamboksa, The Positions is beautiful, raw, honest and far reaching indie rock where risk pays off in hefty rewards. - Ben Kyi

Alison Wonderland
Run
There was no need for Alison Wonderland to release a full album. Before Run she was already playing some of the world’s biggest stages and had released a steady handful of stellar tracks including I Want U. She could’ve gone on releasing singles and had a huge year but instead she applied herself to an album and thank goodness she did. Run is by far the biggest Australian electronic album of the year - a conglomeration of huge drops, room-shattering synths and howling vocals that soundtrack hazy late nights. Opener Run is a swelling, behemoth of a song but tracks like Games prove she knows how to craft a perfect pop song. It’s an ambitious and honest project that establishes AW as the person most well-equipped to change the face of Australian electronic music. Listening to it now, it feels like a triumphant victory lap. - Sam Murphy

Sampa The Great
The Great Mixtape
If you were asked to name an Australian female rapper right, you’d say Iggy Azalea. It’s nothing to be ashamed of but you would. Sampa may have been born and raised in Africa but she’s living in Sydney now and she’s the female voice in hip-hop we so desperately need. The Great Mixtape, as the name suggests, is just a mixtape but it’s still one of the best local releases of the year. It’s a vibrant trip through experimental, jazz-infused beats with verses that set her well on the way to being recognised among the likes of Lauryn Hill, Kendrick Lamar and Chance The Rapper. She traverses topics of identity, feminism and race all the while laughing in between tracks. “I’m an F E M A L E from the ghetto,” she raps on F E M A L E simultaneously announcing to us all the she’s an absolute boss. No new artist in this country was as exciting as Sampa in 2015 and that’s because there was no other record worldwide that sounded like this. - Sam Murphy

Samo Sound Boy
Begging Please
People too often write club records off as not having heart. It may be because of the atmosphere that they’re consumed in and because they often lack lyrics but Samo Sound Boy’s emotional Begging Please disapproved that this year. The album is a story of heartbreak told through built up climaxes that are then scattered like dust and swelling vocal samples that are interlaced with isolated synths. He may only use vocals in the form of repetitive samples but he uses them to swell emotion. What Can I Do is full of desperation, Got It Bad is love drunk while Save Wait Time brims with hope. As dark as it gets, it still feels like he’s getting over the heartbreak with every song particularly when it ends with the nostalgic but euphoric You Come For Me. - Sam Murphy

Dawn Richard
Blackheart
2015’s most underrated release comes courtesy of former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard who's making genre-defying music at a rapid rate. Blackheart effortlessly melds together eccentric electronica with R&B moving from instrumental epics like Calypso to stomping bangers like Blow. At times her voice sounds superhuman and manipulated within an inch of its life but that’s because it’s treated like an instrument rather than a vessel for words. You never get the sense she’s forcing the verse/chorus structure rather moving with the music wherever it demands her. She goes on tribal, tropical and club-inspired detours but nothing ever feels out of place. Rather, it's just all part of her experimental journey. - Sam Murphy

Lana Del Rey
Honeymoon
Lana Del Rey’s career was almost over before it even began. Label involvement and the wrong producers turned her debut Born To Die into a glossy, manicured missfire but inch by inch she’s showed her artistry with Ultraviolence and this year the even better Honeymoon. Honeymoon trades the rock roughness of Ultraviolence for vintage Hollywood glamour that’s often more heartbreaking than glamorous a la the life of Marilyn Monroe. Terrence Loves You is a gorgeous jazz-influenced number, the title track is an infatuated ballad and Music To Watch Boys To is a creeping tale of lust. She never sounds in a rush, consistently choosing style over an immediate hit which realises her vision of bringing together the past and the vintage more than ever before. When she sings, “all I wanna do is get high by the beach,” you know that Lana finally gives zero fucks and that’s her greatest weapon right now. - Sam Murphy

Justin Bieber
Purpose
2015 was the year that it became ok to like Justin Bieber. Not because he stopped being a twat or because we all got to see his penis but because the music was just too good to deny. With lead-singles What Do You Mean and Sorry, key-producer Skrillex found a sound that nurtured Bieber’s smooth but limited voice and pulled him back from the far less accessible R&B world of Journals. Purpose is self-obsessed particularly when it ventures into ballad territory but that’s kind of what we’ve come to love about Bieber. Any other popstar singing, “What about the children?” would sound ridiculous but somehow Bieber turns it into a banger on Children. It seems he can do no wrong and it’s because Purpose is the biggest guilty pleasure of the year. So much so that everyone has set out to make excuses as to why it’s ok to like it. It’s ok to like it because it’s full of bloody good tunes and that’s the only explanation necessary. - Sam Murphy

Julio Bashmore
Knockin’ Boots
Julio Bashmore had a big hand in the house revolution that shot Disclosure to fame with their debut album Settle but even though he was riding with a trend he didn’t rush his debut album. Knockin’ Boots came just as Disclosure were releasing their second album which pales in comparison to this record. It’s a joyous, euphoric and dance-ready exploration of deep house and all the different influences that have impacted it from disco to the ‘90s. The vocal sample on the opening title track is “we danced and danced ‘til we fell in love,” which is basically the mantra of the whole album. From the soulful seduction of For Your Love to the giddy flirtation of Let Me Be Your Weakness, it’s all about falling in love on the dancefloor. Bashmore’s had a very successful relationship with the dancefloor and it only seems to be getting stronger. - Sam Murphy

Adele
25
Adele’s 21 was a huge, earth-shattering record but given the sheer size of it, it’s a testament to Adele that she actually managed to disappear. When she returned with the now iconic line, “hello, it’s me,” it felt as if we were hearing from a long lost friend. The voice was back and so was the forthright honesty. Sound-wise there’s nothing shocking about 25. She may try some bigger notes but it’s still a cross between soulful ditties and big ballads. What’s so special about Adele is everyone actually cares about the lyrics. We know she’s moved on from the man that broke her heart for 21 and on 25 she’s dealing with new love, a baby and fame while saying goodbye to her youth. “I’m so mad about getting old it makes me restless,” she sings on album highlight When We Were Young. It’s one of the album’s select goosebump moments because she shrieks vocally. Worrying about getting old is not a new sensation but no one says anything quite as succinctly and honestly as Adele. That’s why she’s breaking records, because she’s able to write about universal emotions in a way everybody can relate too. She may make it sound easy but it’s not. - Sam Murphy

Wolf Alice
My Love Is Cool
The debut album from London four piece Wolf Alice is one of contrasts. Chaotic and grungy one moment, refined and delicate the next. Despite its tonal variations and genre bending, My Love is Cool remains an engaging, fully coherent and cohesive body of work. Your Loves Whore and Bros are incredibly catchy and heartfelt, while the hectic duo of Lisbon and Giant Peach show a band not afraid in the slightest to get their hands dirty. Frontwoman Ellie Rowsell oozes charisma and uses a fantastic set of lungs to full potential, as the musical backdrop shifts between the light and dark with ease. My Love Is Cool showcases a true sense of both wonder and a certain familiarity with dazzling results. - Ben Kyi

Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Multi-Love
The subject matter of someone's album can be a crucial part of its rendering - think about The Streets' A Grand Don't Come For Free.  That is a story told throughout multiple songs, an aural journey of British slang and everyday life. Multi-Love is a story on a whole another level. A story not told by many, a story of a love triangle practically unheard of in the musical world, a story told with lo fi funk from a front man who boasts some of the best guitar work you'll see or hear. This album is about so much more than just music, and that's what is so exciting about it. - Jack Cain

Foals
What Went Down
This latest creative effort seems to channel the varying styles of previous albums and does so in the most satisfying and successful way. What Went Down also includes several tracks that follow what seems to be a growing trend for the group towards a slower, more introspective style of song. After getting dark and emotional on such tracks like London Thunder, which references the musical journey they have taken over time, the album then starts to get into the luminous funk that those who’ve been listening since Antidotes have come to expect from Yannis, Jack and co. Night Swimmers throws back to the gorgeously light guitar countermelodies that caught the ears of many back in 2008. Those expecting some proper British rock are treated to a couple of tracks that involve some seriously heavy basslines and much more intense vocal, through tracks like Snake Oil. In short summary, It’s not a record that is necessarily enhanced by being listened to as a whole, and perhaps that’s not what they were aiming for. What Went Down is exactly what it intends to be. - Zanda Wilson

Click through to page 2 for staff lists.

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Sam Murphy
Editor
1. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
2. Jamie xx - In Colour
3. Grimes - Art Angels
4. Tame Impala - Currents
5. Empress Of - Me
6. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
7. Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit
8. Beach House - Depression Cherry
9. Dawn Richard - Wildheart
10. Carly Rae Jepsen - E.MO.TION

Bianca Bosso
Creative Director
1. Tame Impala - Currents
2. Jamie xx - In Colour
3. Grimes - Art Angels
4. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
5. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
6. Beach House - Depression Cherry
7. Miguel - Wildheart
8. Justin Bieber - Purpose
9. Christine & The Queens - Christine & The Queens
10. Lana Del Rey - Honeymoon

Zanda Wilson
Contributor
1. Tame Impala - Currents
2. CHVRCHES - Every Open Eye
3. Foals - What Went Down
4. Grimes - Art Angels
5. The Wombats - Glitterbug
6. Hermitude - Dark Night Sweet Light
7. Last Dinosaurs - Wellness
8. San Cisco - Gracetown
9. Jamie xx - In Colour
10. Alison Wonderland - Run

Ben Kyi
Contributor
1. Gang of Youths – The Positions
2. Grimes – Art Angels
3. Wolf Alice – My Love Is Cool
4. Hiatus Kaiyote – Choose Your Weapon
5. Enter Shikari – The Mindsweep
6. Jamie xx – In Colour
7. Fightstar – Behind The Devil’s Back
8. The Staves – If I Was
9. CHVRCHES – Every Open Eye
10. Blur – The Magic Whip

Meshell Webb
Contributor
Point Point - Contrastive Focus Reduplication
Björk - Vulnicura
Tyler, The Creator - Cherrybomb
Mew - +-
Daniel Johns - Talk
Jaga Jazzist - Starfire
Towkio - .Wav Theory
Battles - La Di Da Di
Alina Baraz & Galimatias - Urban Flora
Dillon Francis - This Mixtape is Fire

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[/notdevice]

[device]

Sam Murphy
Editor
1. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
2. Jamie xx - In Colour
3. Grimes - Art Angels
4. Tame Impala - Currents
5. Empress Of - Me
6. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
7. Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit
8. Beach House - Depression Cherry
9. Dawn Richard - Wildheart
10. Carly Rae Jepsen - E.MO.TION

Bianca Bosso
Creative Director
1. Tame Impala - Currents
2. Jamie xx - In Colour
3. Grimes - Art Angels
4. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
5. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
6. Beach House - Depression Cherry
7. Miguel - Wildheart
8. Justin Bieber - Purpose
9. Christine & The Queens - Christine & The Queens
10. Lana Del Rey - Honeymoon

Zanda Wilson
Contributor
1. Tame Impala - Currents
2. CHVRCHES - Every Open Eye
3. Foals - What Went Down
4. Grimes - Art Angels
5. The Wombats - Glitterbug
6. Hermitude - Dark Night Sweet Light
7. Last Dinosaurs - Wellness
8. San Cisco - Gracetown
9. Jamie xx - In Colour
10. Alison Wonderland - Run

Ben Kyi
Contributor
1. Gang of Youths – The Positions
2. Grimes – Art Angels
3. Wolf Alice – My Love Is Cool
4. Hiatus Kaiyote – Choose Your Weapon
5. Enter Shikari – The Mindsweep
6. Jamie xx – In Colour
7. Fightstar – Behind The Devil’s Back
8. The Staves – If I Was
9. CHVRCHES – Every Open Eye
10. Blur – The Magic Whip

Meshell Webb
Contributor
Point Point - Contrastive Focus Reduplication
Björk - Vulnicura
Tyler, The Creator - Cherrybomb
Mew - +-
Daniel Johns - Talk
Jaga Jazzist - Starfire
Towkio - .Wav Theory
Battles - La Di Da Di
Alina Baraz & Galimatias - Urban Flora
Dillon Francis - This Mixtape is Fire

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