The ATH Top 50 Albums of 2015

Albums ListYear-end lists are everywhere…and I can see why they’re important to people. But, seeing as we generally walk off the beaten path more often than not, our list of the Top 50 Albums of 2015 is in no particular order, save alphabetically. It seems pointless to rank one piece of art higher than another, especially when the four of us at ATH all have varying tastes. We just put this list together of the albums we loved the most this year. Are we saying they’re better than records by Grimes or Kendrick Lamar? No, we’re just saying that these are the records we loved more than others. So, you can read on for what we thought was hot.

Also…put links to individual stores where you can buy the albums from the bands…as that’s how we all survive in this music world.
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The Latest from The Woolen Men

427246_476717059042868_337800856_nOkay, so this isn’t exactly the latest, but this tune from The Woolen Men slid in towards the end of the year, and for some reason, even though I noticed it, I hadn’t written a thing about it…so I had to continue with our tradition of including the band in our January coverage (every January since 13′).  This new track, or recent tune, comes from the band’s Rain Shapes EP, which is being tossed out by Loglady Records. There’s a blend of jangling indiepop, but it also has some Americana notes; it’s sort of a Northwest version of the Feelies.

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New Music from The Woolen Men

It’s always interesting when you can see a geographical stamp in a band’s sound, so it’s no surprise that new music from The Woolen Men bares some homage to the Pacific Northwest.  Sure, this most comes through in the bands vocal stylings, with hints of woodsmen, though the aesthetic of recording and running things on your own has also played a huge part in the region’s output.  The band just signed on with Woodsist to release their brand new self-titled LP, which will be in stores officially on March 5th.  I have a feeling a lot of you are going to find this release something you can really get behind.

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