Modest Mouse at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield on July 10, 2010. Photo by Joe McCabe, heyreverb.com.
Leading the pack of indie releases in 2015 is the return of a beloved indie rock trio, the debut of the brother of a frontman and the first album in eight years for one of the genre’s best. Here are the 10 most anticipated indie albums of 2015.
10) Sleater-Kinney, “No Cities to Love”
Release Date: Jan. 20.
The announcement of the return of Sleater-Kinney caused a huge stir among indie rock fans. The beloved trio — singer/guitarist Corin Tucker, guitarist Carrie Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss — embodies rock. Calling it punk seems like a pointless pigeonhole, even if it’s accurate, and don’t you dare call it (or anything) chick rock. From 1996-2006, Sleater-Kinney carved out a place in rock history and our hearts. Comebacks are dangerous territory, but what we’ve heard of “No Cities To Love” — the nervy “Bury Our Friends” and the anthemic battle cry “Surface Envy” — so far has been excellent. If they were going to come back, of course it had to be by kicking in the doors.
9) Will Butler, “Policy”
Release Date: March 10
When the frontman of a famous band goes solo, it’s an emotionally-loaded situation for the musician and the fans. And when it’s Will Butler striking out from the collective family vibe of Arcade Fire, it feels like a very big deal. We expect it to be different from Arcade Fire, if he needed to do it alone, but we don’t always want it to be like we’re hearing a totally different person. Early tastes of “Policy” indicate a deeper dive into the disco pool, and the adorable trailer has eased the tension is a big way, assuring us that this will be the fun kind of solo debut, rather than the overly serious kind.
8) Panda Bear, “Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper”
Release Date: Jan. 13
We live in the age of the Big Album Release, in which artists are increasingly opting for surprise releases or creative hype stunts. It makes sense that the experimental and playful Panda Bear (aka Animal Collective’s Noah Benjamin Lennox) went with the latter and has begun debuting tracks one at a time on different radio stations. The first up was “Sequential Circuits” on BBC 6 Radio. You can figure out when and where the next track is coming with Domino Record’s handy map. Sorry, no stations anywhere near Denver are getting a premiere, but like the BBC.
7) Mount Eerie, “Sauna”
Release Date: Feb. 3
Phil Elverum has been been pretty prolific since he began working as Mount Eerie more than a decade ago, but he’s been relatively quiet since the great pair of records he released in 2012. His latest, “Sauna,” will be a 12-track double LP. So far, he’s released two tracks — “Dragon” and “Emptiness” — the former a contemplative acoustic guitar piece and the latter a somber, piano-driven hymn. There’s also a seemingly iPhone-shot trailer that tours a studio space filled with the droning of a keyboard, so maybe we can expect the rest to be a little less stripped-down.
6) Belle and Sebastian, “Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance”
Release Date: Jan. 20
No, you haven’t been oblivious. It really has been since 2010 that Belle and Sebastian released a new record (“Write About Love”). What we’ve heard of “Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance” fits the album title nicely. “The Party Line” and “Nobody’s Empire” are pretty, whimsical, fun and, yes, danceable. Check out the lovely trailer, in which the band works in the studio and gets haircuts.
5) Ty Segall, Mr. Face EP
Release Date: Jan. 13
“Manipulator” ripped its way into quite a few Best of 2014 lists, and Ty Segall followed-up just three months later with the equally-great EP, “$INGLE$ 2.” The man stays busy and somehow hardly seems to stumble — at least not hard enough to fall flat on his face. With such consistent output, it’s both hard and easy to get excited for a new Ty Segall album. He’s always good, but he’s also always there. It’s harder to take your eyes off him when he does things like announce an EP with “the world’s first pair of playable 3D glasses.” With two semi-transparent 7″ records, one blue and one red, you can hold “Mr. Face” up to your eyes to gaze at the 3D album art. (There will also be regular, lame, non-playable 3D glasses. BORING.)
4) The Dodos, “Individ”
Release Date: Jan. 27
The Dodos’ biggest problem is that their first album, “Visitor,” was so damn good. The next three albums were solid, but nothing ever really touched the exciting, erratic and strangely moving debut. Maybe “Individ” will mark the return of the magic. The first single, “Competition,” has an early-days Phoenix feel, which is either a sign that something is stale or that there are beautiful things to come.
3) Modest Mouse, “Strangers To Ourselves”
Release Date: March 3
Not everyone has loved the poppier, more radio-friendly direction Modest Mouse has taken over the years. Then again, it’s worked out great for them. Those who fell in love with the band at “Float On” and those who fell in love at “The Lonesome Crowded West” have different reasons for loving the band and different hopes for what comes next. If the first single, “Lampshades on Fire,” is any indication, we’d say Modest Mouse is still in “Float On” territory.
2) Of Montreal, “Aureate Gloom”
Release Date: March 3
Of Montreal’s discography is all over the map, quality-wise. The last record, “lousy with sylvianbriar,” was a good record after a not-so-great run. But the band tends to wander into good territory often, and with a bonkers board game and a film titled “The Past is a Grotesque Animal,” it’s hard to stop paying attention. It’s also hard to predict what we’ll hear on “Aureate Gloom.” Frontman Kevin Barnes said in a press release that it was written in a “stormy period” of his life, and the single “Bassem Sabry” is funky, odd and lyrically dark. All signs point to weird-sad.
1) Father John Misty, “I Love You, Honeybear”
Release Date: Feb. 10
The weird gospel of Father John Misty continues to gain followers. Take a peek at the kaleidoscopic trailer, which features some studio time, naked ladies and bits of “When You’re Smiling and Astride Me” and “Holy Shit,” or the extended kaleidoscopic vision in the video for “Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins).” His spiritual-ish freak folk can be a bit cheesy, but he endears us to him with sincerity. Even if “Bored in the USA” made you roll your eyes, it’s worth listening up to what Father John Misty does next.
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Ashley Dean is an editor and designer for YourHub at the Denver Post and a regular contributor to Reverb.
