Albums of the Year: Honorable Mention Edition

First of all, let me make it clear that these are not necessarily the best or most popular or most significant albums of 2015. These are my favorite albums that I have listened to more than once or twice. It's my list.

I'll link to the album spotlights and interviews from this blog. There won't be any commentary in this post.

The list would be shorter if I were genre specific or only listened to mainstream stuff. This is about good music that I like. And I don't listen to much of anything mainstream. I listed my favorite albums of 2015 and came up with 24. This honorable mention list will include the 14 that didn't make the top ten.

The artist's name will link to my posts, the album name will link to the artist's web site.

In no particular order:

Plastic Rhino - Recondition

Jonathan Tyler - Holy Smokes

Lindi Ortega - Faded Gloryville

Frankie Bourne - Californicana

Samantha Fish - Wild Heart

Koritni - Night Goes On For Days

Europe - War of Kings

Striking Matches - Nothing But The Silence

Allison Moorer - Down To Believing

Gretchen Peters - Blackbirds

Butch Walker - Afraid of Ghosts

Brandi Carlile - The Firewatcher's Daughter

honeyhoney - 3

Ray Wylie Hubbard - The Ruffian's Misfortune

Look for my top 10 coming out later this month.

Album Spotlight: Koritni: Night Goes On For Days

Koritni's latest record Night Goes On For Days could have come straight out of the 80's. And that's a good thing. This Australian band with a French guitarist sounds like they grew up on the Sunset Strip, or Indiana or Mississippi. Confused yet?

Koritni could have easily come out of the mid to late 80's LA sleaze rock scene. Or feel right at home with the Mississippi Delta blues inspired Southern Rock of the 70's. Even touches of American heartland sentiment a la John Mellencamp.

Whatever, they make it all work in a sound that I find refreshing. Mostly it's just good, fun, 80's style hard rock. If you're a fan of that era, these guys do it right.

And they self-aware of what they are doing. Enough to make fun of themselves as is evident in this track, "Rock'nRoll Ain't No Crime":

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving that so much good music has come out in 2015 and especially this month. And we're only halfway through April. Partly because of that, I've been inspired enough to post six times on this blog since last Wednesday.

I'm loving the new Halestorm album that came out Tuesday, Into The Wild Life. So much so that I haven't had a chance to check out any other new music that came out.

"Bad Girls World" is almost 70s R&B. And I can't help but thinking of Donna Summer when I listen to it.



I'm loving that there are new bands out there making 80s style hard rock. Two of which are going to have albums coming out soon.

Here is "Seal the Deal" by the Australian band Koritni.



It took a few spins, but I'm loving the new Will Hoge record Small Town Dreams. This one, "Middle of America". sounds like it could have right off a late 80s/early 90s John Mellencamp record. It's being marketed as country. I can see that, I guess.

What Music I Take From 2014 Into 2015

I've always been a lover of music. Guess I always will be. In the last 18 to 24 months I've really gotten into discovering new music. And I'm pretty pleased with what I have found.

Thanks to sites like Saving Country Music, Farce the Music and Bring Back Glam my interest in new music has been rekindled and I'm no longer just relying on the classic stuff.

There are plenty of lists about the best of 2014, the worst of 2014, etc. My take is a bit different. I'm going to give you the five albums that I discovered (not necessarily released) in the past year that I'll be listening to going into 2015 and beyond. Because that's what really matters.

I'm not saying they are the "best" records, but the one's that resonated with me that I will continue to listen to going forward. In no particular order:

Night Ranger - High Road
This is probably the best record of their career and will get no airplay or recognition. It's also the most diverse and heaviest record they've recorded. The guitar work by Brad Gillis and Joel Hoekstra is unbelievably good. The songs are good. It's the kind of record you listen to in your car with the windows down (top down, preferably) blasting for all nearby to hear. Good 80's-style hard rock.
Here's my favorite track from the album, as will be the case all the way down:



Whiskey Myers - Early Morning Shakes
If you like your Texas Country to sound like Southern Rock, Whiskey Myers delivers. Along with Blackberry Smoke, they are keeping the tradition of Southern Rock alive and well. They're not Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker, et al. They are Whiskey Myers. And they are good.



Orianthi - Heaven in this Hell
This was released in 2013. I discovered it in 2014, so it makes the list. This native Aussie is a guitar-playing genius. She was plucked to play on Michael Jackson's last tour that never happened. She has been in Alice Cooper's touring band. She has recently hooked up Richie Sambora. That's a good resume, but irrelevant to this discussion. The album rocks. So many textures and nuances in the guitar work. Plus the songs are good, which is paramount.



Koritni - Welcome to the Crossroads
Another Aussie entry, this one from 2012. This band sounds a lot like 80's hard rock. A lot. They have the chops and the hooks. I find myself going back to this record time and time again. It's an easy listen.



Sunny Sweeney - Provoked
Or maybe this album should be called Breaking up the Sausage Party. She had the first single to reach the top of the Texas Country charts by a female performer since, I don't know, a very long time. And the single that charted was not one of my favorites on the album. Poignant and sarcastic and at times funny, this record has something for everyone. Unless you just can't stand anything county, because it's definitely country.

Will There Ever Be a New Wave of Hard Rock?

I have been searching out new music that has in-your-face guitars, melodic vocals, good musicianship and is just a little over-the-top. Pretty much, 80's-style hard rock. I'm not talking about hair/glam/pop metal. Though I'm not dismissing that either. I'm talking about the hard rock that dominated the 80's with such acts as AC/DC, Scorpions, Motley Crue, the Cult, Guns 'N Roses, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Cinderella, etc.

There is some good stuff out there. And I have a theory as to why: Now is the first generation of musicians that have 80's hard rock as an influence. They are far enough removed from the atrocities that became of hard rock in general and hair metal specifically to be able to connect with the quality stuff that did exist. Also, they had parents who grew up with this music. And they have probably played with older musicians who played this type of music. It all rubs off.

I doubt there will ever be a new wave of hard rock, but for those of us that enjoy fun, loud guitar-driven rock, there is hope.

The members of Australia's Koritni, named after lead vocalist Lex Koritni (and let's just get this out of the way: horrible name) make no bones about naming Motley Crue, GnR, RHCP among others as influences. Listening to their most recent studio album Welcome to the Crossroads, the influences can't be denied. You can hear the Cult, Aerosmith, Tesla and the funk of RHCP or maybe more accurately, Extreme.

Million Dollar Reload, hailing from Northern Ireland, have definitely taken hold of the dirtier, sleazier side of the 80's rock scene. Reminiscent of Faster Pussycat, early GnR, L.A. Guns, but also holding onto an Aerosmith and AC/DC vibe. M$R knows how to write a hook as evidenced by songs such as "Wicked" and "Tatoos and Dirty Girls".

Unfortunately, I don't see this type of music taking hold in the United States anytime soon. But as long as there are thriving rock and metal communities in Europe and Australia, then we can at least get our hands on it.

Both of these bands bring the old sensibilities while not sounding dated, in my opinion. Judge for yourself.










Koritni on Amazon.

Million Dollar Reload on Amazon.

TheCheapSeats on Twitter.