Best music of 2015...so far

We're six months into 2015, and it is already shaping up to be one of the best.years. ever. for music. Classic albums in almost every genre are being released on the regular, and even the quiet weeks present some great music for our pleasure.

There have been so many solid releases in just half-a-year, I don't know how the second half can match it, but there are already signs that it could happen – Kanye! Frank Ocean! Tame Impala! Titus Andronicus! Carly Rae Jepsen! Disclosure!

I didn't think it would be this difficult to narrow down my list of the best albums thus far to 25, but that's a great reflection of the year we've had. Here's hoping the rest of the year keeps the streak alive.

Best albums so far (arranged alphabetically)

1. At.Long.Last.A$AP – A$AP Rocky

Rocky gets woozy and weird, and even sings to great effect on "L$D."

2. Coming Home – Leon Bridges

Click here to read my full review. 

3. Kintsugi – Death Cab for Cutie

Click here to read my full review. 

4. What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World – The Decemberists

Click here to read my full review. 

5. Surf – Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment

Click here to read my full review. 

6. If You're Reading This It's Too Late – Drake

Click here to read my full review. 

7. I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside – Earl Sweatshirt

Easily my favorite album name of the year, if not ever. A lonely, dark and engaging listen. 

8. I Love You, Honeybear – Father John Misty

Click here to read my full review. 

9. Tetsuo & Youth – Lupe Fiasco

Lupe's best album in a long while, it shows his lyrical dexterity and sonic risk-taking. 

10. Goon – Tobias Jesso Jr. 

Click here to read my full review. 

11. To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar

Click here to read my full review. 

12. Strange Trails – Lord Huron

Absolutely lovely apocalyptic folk music, with a serious undercurrent of early rock. 

13. Dreams Worth More than Money – Meek Mill

The most cinematic and escapist hip-hop album of 2015 so far. It also benefits greatly from being buckets of fun.  

14. Wildheart – Miguel

Miguel injects psychedelia into his baby-making soul, and comes up with his most adventurous album yet.  

15. Pageant Material – Kacey Musgraves

Musgraves' second album is quieter than her debut, but no less stellar. Probably the loveliest album of the year. 

16. The Waterfall – My Morning Jacket

Click here to read my full review. 

17. QUARTERBACKS – QUARTERBACKS

Twee-punk done right. An album about love that gets under your skin in 22 minutes flat.

18. Uptown Special – Mark Ronson

My favorite album of the year for night driving. Sounds great with city lights flying by the window. 

19. Ratchet – Shamir

Click here to read my full review. 

20. Summertime '06 – Vince Staples

Click here to read my full review. 

21. Traveler – Chris Stapleton

Could well be the best country album of the year. This guy has a voice that'll just rock you back. 

22. The Epic – Kamasi Washington

The best jazz album I've heard in years. A three-disc monster that fully lives up to the name. 

23. Ivy Tripp – Waxahatchee

Click here to read my full review. 

24. In Colour – Jamie xx

Click here to read my full review. 

25. Second Hand Heart – Dwight Yoakam

Click here to read my full review.

Album of the Week: Jamie xx In Colour

It is tricky to write about something when you're not fluent in the vocabulary of the subject you're writing about. When I wrote about Dwight Yoakam's great new album the other month, I detailed my growing appreciation for country music, which was relatively easy to do, because I know the vocabulary of country music. I (for the most part) am familiar with the important eras, artists and the instruments they use in that genre.

It's a little trickier for me this time around, with Jamie xx's glorious debut solo album, In Colour, because I don't know a whole hell of a lot about electronic music. I've been a casual fan for a handful of years, and I know Daft Punk (thanks to Kanye West) and LCD Soundsystem, as well as a few modern artists like Avicii and Porter Robinson, but I certainly can't write with any authority on the genre's history. Which is a shame, because there have been some really well-written pieces on In Colour, pieces that cover the many references and throwbacks Jamie makes to the early days of English techno throughout the album.

However, you don't have to be any kind of electronic music expert to appreciate how incredibly beautiful In Colour is in every way, from the album art and production to samples and recording. It just sounds marvelous. Especially at night. In your car. Or at home. Anywhere, really.

Jamie is one third of The xx, a fantastic electronic-pop group out of England that really blew up a few years ago. They're working on their third album currently, and I'll be interested to see how In Colour informs that album. This album still sounds a lot like The xx, particularly since bandmates Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim both show up on a song or two. Croft's voice is still a fucking stunner, particularly when she coos, "I go to loud places/to search for someone/to be quiet with/who will take me home," on "Loud Places." Her delivery comes off like a whisper, but the way Jamie builds her voice up through backing vocals and some seriously gorgeous guitar lines makes the lyrics hit you in the sweetest possible way.

I dig electronic that is a bit more chill – stuff that you can dance to if you really wanted, but is more for swaying. And while I am by no means saying In Colour is a somber album, I'd characterize it more as subdued. Jack Ü this isn't, but there are some great builds and beats for those who are fans – see "Hold Tight" and "Just Saying," to get a sense of what I mean.

I mentioned it above, but I really have to dive in a little more on the recording and production, which is just luminous. Every instrument, beat, sample and vocal sounds like they were recorded on the highest quality equipment imaginable. The clarity improves every facet of the album's sounds. I have no idea how Jamie managed it, but I have a hard time believing there will be an album this year that will just sound anywhere as good as this.

In Colour is very much a cohesive album, in the spirit of electronic music, and flows together seamlessly. I've heard (and made) all kinds of jokes about the electronic music that gets played in the club and how it all sounds like one song, but Jamie provides a through-line that unites everything, while allowing each track to have its own spirit and sound.

The highlight of the album (and now my leading contender for song of the year) is "I KnowThere's Gonna Be (Good Times)" an absolute stunner of soul, electronic, reggae and hip-hop that completely burrows into your mind and stays there. It features Young Thug and Popcaan – two of the most exciting voices in hip hop and reggae, respectively - and they just go in over a Persuasions sample. Thug is back on his silly rap shit, and he's untouchable when he's in the zone, even when he's delivering batshit crazy lines like, "I'ma ride in that pussy like a stroller/I'll survive in a mothafuckin' gutter." I have no idea what that first line even means, but he makes me grin like an idiot every time. You can see why hip-hop artists like Drake tap Jamie for producing when they can – the guy can deliver on the hooks like nobody's business. I fully expect to listen to "Good Times" almost incessantly this summer, and I know I won't be the only one.

It's reductive and dismissive to say In Colour is an electronic album for those who don't like (or don't know) they like that music – instead, it's an album open to all, with plenty to dig through for purists and appreciators alike. It gives listeners a thrilling chance to see the world through one captivating artist's eyes – in brilliant color.

In Colour is out on Young Turks.