2015: THE ALBUMS
April/May 2026
THE HITS
Adele “25” 7
Justin Bieber “Purpose” 4
There are some strong tracks on here but I feel it is rather ‘flat’ as an album. 4
James Bay “Chaos And The Calm” 5
There are a few excellent tracks on here. And not just the obvious “Hold Back The River” and such. “Collide” is a great track, for example. But I feel, as an album, my mark is justified. 5
Little Mix “Get Weird” 6
One Direction “Made In The A.M.” 6
Very dull for much of the 1st half but then gets much better in the second. However, I will say........ please, people, don’t think ‘let’s write a track that does something a bit different’, and just rip-off an idea from “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” ..... and think I won’t notice🤣 (“End Of The Day” – listen to the track and you will see/hear https://youtu.be/AsmHz9JCU4M?is=ljMMPLptYn9rJtjw ) 6
THE ALTS
Clarence Clarity “NO NOW” 7
Ash Koosha “Guud” 7
Love this. Very mind-bendy. 7
Circuit des Yeux “In Plain Speech” 7
Very different. Love it.
Floating Points “Elaenia” 7
Jazz with a significant electronic element. Although there are various influences creeping in (it all goes very Latin at one point, for example) the compositional style is very minimalist. If you’re not into your jazz it is probably not for you. But I loved it, especially in its darker moments. 7
Lakker “Tundra” 6
This is also billiantly mind-bendy. That basically made it an automatic winner for me. My main criticism is the are some very long periods of little or no development (or even variation) and, given that its 55 mins long, this could (and arguably should) have been edited. 6
Albums I already knew:
Coldplay “A Head Full Of Dreams” 5
Enya “Dark Moon Island” 6
ANY CONCLUSIONS
Just that this was an OK but not massively exciting year. A little better than 2016 maybe? The non-hits seemed to be better than the hits (although that's not uncommon - it just struck me more than usual while looking at my mini-reviews above)
Marking key (in a nutshell)
10 – Perfect (only 3 albums in history)
9 – Basically 10/10 (I just don’t quite view them in the same way as the 3 albums)
8 – Outstanding (possible nit-picking criticisms)
7 – Brilliant
6 – Good
5 – Average
4 – Has potential but below average
3 – Some good points but not very good overall
2 – Poor (possibly a few good points)
1 – Abysmal
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