Guitar rock in 2015 solidified two already growing trends: one, female and trans voices fronting more bands, bringing with them a fresh perspective rock really needed; and two, vibe over energy. The best rock this year moved from just being gnarly sounding to making you feel gnarly feelings.<\/p>\n
So yes, there were significantly less anthemic tunes this year compared to the ones on my list for 2014. This year\u2019s list illustrates this emotional side of rock music. Besides the first \u201cmust listen\u201d track, I\u2019ve assembled the back nine in no particular order, as well as an expanded list of honorable mentions that are still very worth your time.<\/p>\n
(For interested parties, this year\u2019s biggest disappointment was the general lack of Japandroids. Let\u2019s fix that in 2016, guys.)<\/p>\n
Courtney Barnett, \u201cPedestrian at Best\u201d (Mom + Pop Music)<\/strong> Beach Slang, \u201cThrowaways\u201d (Polyvinyl Records)<\/strong> Tame Impala, \u201cEventually\u201d (Interscope Records)<\/strong> Deafheaven, \u201cCome Back\u201d (Anti- Records)<\/strong> Titus Andronicus, \u201cDimed Out\u201d (Merge Records)<\/strong> Sheer Mag, \u201cFan the Flames\u201d (Wilsuns RC\/Katorga Works)<\/strong> Car Seat Headrest, \u201cSomething Soon\u201d (Matador Records)<\/strong> G.L.O.S.S. \u201cG.L.O.S.S. (We\u2019re From the Future)\u201d (self-relesed)<\/strong> Hop Along: \u201cWaitress\u201d (Saddle Creek Records)<\/strong> Sorority Noise, \u201cNolsey\u201d (Topshelf Records)<\/strong> Girlpool, \u201cCrowded Stranger\u201d (Wichita Recordings) Top 10 Guitar Rock Songs: 2015 Edition Guitar rock in 2015 solidified two already growing trends: one, female and trans voices fronting more bands, bringing with them a fresh perspective rock really needed; and two, vibe over energy. The best rock this year moved from just being gnarly sounding to making you feel gnarly feelings. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2479],"tags":[1049,1541,1099,1543,1540,1250,1542,1539,1393,1398],"class_list":["post-4186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-of-the-year","tag-beach-slang","tag-car-seat-headrest","tag-courtney-barnett","tag-deafheaven","tag-g-l-o-s-s","tag-hop-along","tag-sheer-mag","tag-sorority-noise","tag-tame-impala","tag-titus-andronicus"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nNothing like a little bit of quintessential \u201cfuck you\u201d to lead the genre this year. Barnett\u2019s lead single from her excellent Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit<\/i> has everything you need in a good rock song: loud, abrasive and otherwise unrelenting riffs and a target\u2014in this case, the music industry\u2014we can all agree is outrageous.<\/p>\nThe Rest<\/h4>\n
\nNo one\u2019s going to make a case for Beach Slang\u2019s The Things We Do to Find People Who Feel Like Us<\/i> as album of the year\u2014nor should they. This is a record of straightforward rock, after all. What the album and its opener \u201cThrowaways\u201d do, however, is set the scene for some of the most explosive and uplifting rock music heard since Japandroids\u2019 \u201cHouse That Heaven Built.\u201d It\u2019s clutch music for scum people.<\/p>\n
\nTame Impala\u2019s Currents<\/i> is the microcosm of the aforementioned vibe-rock trend, and \u201cEventually\u201d is the most representative sample. Its chorus is like the buzz from the first sip of coffee in the morning. Even if it feels like a break-up song, once frontman Kevin Parker is surrounded by the band\u2019s texture for his melismatic \u201cah,\u201d everything feels right.<\/p>\n
\nAt its most emotional peak, \u201cCome Back\u201d sounds an awful lot like My Chemical Romance\u2019s \u201cGhost of You\u201d (at least to me). This is not to discredit New Bermuda<\/i> or \u201cCome Back\u201d in any way; it actually makes the song all the more effective. Deafheaven\u2019s will to integrate striking melody into their cacophony is perfectly represented, allowing the song to also serve as an example of why Deafheaven is black metal\u2019s best black sheep.<\/p>\n
\nThe Most Lamentable Tragedy<\/i> is a bit heavy-handed, even by frontman Patrick Stickles\u2019 standards. But even if you don\u2019t wish to give the 90-minute album the time of day, there are some real standouts in its vast storyline. The best one is \u201cDimed Out,\u201d a real fist-pump mosher about experiencing everything at its most extreme. It\u2019s as Titus Andronicus as the band has been since \u201cTitus Andronicus.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMuch like Beach Slang, Sheer Mag has built its power-pop revivalist rep on two incredible EPs. The second one, the pragmatically titled II<\/i>, came out this year and sports \u201cFan the Flames,\u201d a straight groove that recalls Alex Chilton if he were on Goner Records. And like all solid power-pop, it\u2019s as unassuming as it is addictive.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cSomething Soon\u201d feels like the spiritual descendant of Wolf Parade\u2019s \u201cThis Heart\u2019s on Fire.\u201d Both are the kind of songs that make you sing-along until your throat cuts out. As Car Seat Headrest, Will Toledo has created a grandiose, bigger-than-yourself moment that requires you to scream its entire four-minute length to ensure you\u2019re still alive.<\/p>\n
\nThe introductory demo by Girls Living Outside Society\u2019s Shit might be the finest hardcore record to come out this year, and the leadoff track makes vocalist and transwoman Sadie Switchblade\u2019s intentions pretty clear: \u201cNow they tell us we aren\u2019t girls, our femininity doesn\u2019t fit. We\u2019re fucking future girls, living outside of society\u2019s shit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe best vocal performance on a rock song this year goes to Frances Quinlan. Before her every breath on \u201cWaitress,\u201d you never know where she\u2019s going. She might be on the verge of letting loose or releasing her distress with a breathy delivery. Quinlan\u2019s dynamic voice gives her an emotional tangibility that makes the listener not only empathize with her, but feel that the feeling is mutual. Not many songs can do that.<\/p>\n
\nOut of all the songs on Joy, Departed<\/i>, \u201cNolsey\u201d captures the Sorority Noise best. Over some Weezer-style guitar chugging and straight-up rock flourishes, we hear Cameron Boucher yearn for happiness and love. It\u2019s like a much drearier version of \u201cPerfect Situation.\u201d Sorority Noise\u2019s ability to rock out like this allows them to mask depression in a wave of catharsis. That\u2019s the magic (if you want to call it that) of Sorority Noise.<\/p>\nHonorable Mentions<\/h4>\n
\nAll Dogs, \u201cThat Kind of Girl\u201d (Salinas Records)
\nTwerps, \u201cI Don\u2019t Mind\u201d (Merge Records)
\nThe World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, \u201cJanuary 10th, 2014\u201d (Epitaph Records)
\nWhite Reaper, \u201cDon\u2019t You Think I Know\u201d
\nModern Baseball, \u201cThe Waterboy Returns\u201d
\nSpraynard, \u201cApplebee\u2019s Bar\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"