The 40 Best Albums of 2015: Part One – 40 to 31

Earlier today we finished up the countdown of our 40 favourite songs of 2015, and now we commence our top 40 albums of 2015, showcasing an eclectic mix of music from all over the world – including plenty here at home… Here we go with 40 to 31:

40

40. Miguel – Wildheart

“This album is pure sex. From the album cover to “Coffee” and “NWA”, Miguel dials everything up to 11 on this album and makes every note ultra dulcet and undeniably smooth. “Simple Things” and “waves” are standouts for me, though I can’t go past Lenny Kravitz’s presence on “face the sun”.” – Sosefina Fuamoli

39

39. Royal Headache – High

“Loose, raw, jangly, catchy as all hell…” – Lauren Connelly

38

38. Saskwatch – Sorry I Let It Come Between Us

“Saskwatch always puts out incredible music and not to mention has one of the best accompanying live shows the country has ever seen. This album is absolutely no exception.” – Elliot Oakes

37

37. Ezra Furman – Perpetual Motion People

Perpetual Motion People is Furman’s fifth album, and his first on Bella Union. It’s probably the record I’ve gone back to the most since it’s release this year. It’s this great and wondrous mishmash of genres and styles, delivered with urgency and overflowing with dazzling hooks, guitar riffs and sax.” – Simon Clark

36

36. Teeth of the Sea – Highly Deadly Black Tarantula

Teeth of the Sea have been around for a while now and it wasn’t until this album that they caught my interest. Their sound covers so many different styles, including prog rock, krautrock, electronica and techno and they can seamlessly move in between these genres with ease. Highly Deadly Black Tarantula is a lot heavier than their previous releases and was the album I kept coming back to this year.” – Dan Turner

35

35. Frank Turner – Positive Songs for Negative People

Have not been able to go one day since its release in August without listening to this album. ” – Jennifer Quinlin

34

34. Chaos Divine – Colliding Skies

Perth prog-metallers Chaos Divine have put together a well crafted, good sounding album. The album is easy to get into with opening tracks like Landmines and Badge or Honour while other tracks like The Shepherd and Mara showcases the progression of the band sound from their last album.” – Stuart Sevastos

33

33. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love

‘Unknown Mortal Orchestra once again proved to be one of the more interesting acts releasing music at the moment in terms of their development and experimenting with sounds on Multi-Love. They cultivated such a layered and colourful atmosphere with this latest batch of material that you can tell yearns to be realised live and knowing how seriously UMO take the formation of their live productions, it’s clear that this album was always going to spawn some crowd favourites upon its release and circulation.” – Sosefina Fuamoli

32

32. You Am I – Porridge and Hotsauce

You Am I have kind of become like that uncle you never see. You know they’re there, you know they’re important but you can never really get it together to give them the time they deserve to learn about their lives and what makes them great. At least, that’s how I felt about them until I put some effort it. “Porridge and Hot Sauce” shows off some of their best songwriting to date, and proves why you should give them some time if you haven’t already. ” – Justine McNamara

31

31. Fanny Lumdsen – Small Town Big Shot

Small Town Big Shot is by far my favourite album of 2015 – Fanny Lumsden writes country music that is at once beautiful, moving and uplifting. I have, quite seriously, listened to this album on repeat on many a road trip.” – Lucy Inglis

Stay tuned to the AU as we bring you more from our countdown this week!

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Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.