---
date: '2015-11-27'
title: 'A Cadillac for Your Thoughts (2015 in music)'
description: "2015 has been a genuinely fantastic year for music (both live and recorded). That's very much a personal assessment of the year but music is an inherently personal thing. There's been a number of albums released or that I've discovered that I see myself listening to for a long time to come, and I've attended a number of shows that left a lasting impression on me (for good reasons and bad)."
tags: ['music']
---

2015 has been a genuinely fantastic year for music (both live and recorded). That's very much a personal assessment of the year but music is an inherently personal thing. There's been a number of albums released or that I've discovered that I see myself listening to for a long time to come, and I've attended a number of shows that left a lasting impression on me (for good reasons and bad).<!-- excerpt -->

My wife and I saw EL VY play a beautifully rehearsed set at The Independent in front of what was, easily, the most obnoxious crowd we've been in (leave it to the other audience members from LA to earn that distinction). We saw our shared favorite band, The National, play a significant undersell for charity at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, and we saw Sufjan Stevens perform a devastating rendition of _[Carrie and Lowell](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/album/carrie-lowell/id955572616?uo=4&app=itunes&at=11lvuD)_ in downtown.

I spent the year taking deep dives in to EL VY's _[Return to the Moon](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/album/return-to-the-moon/id1020818018?uo=4&app=itunes&at=11lvuD)_, Turnover's _[Peripheral Vision](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/album/peripheral-vision/id980825405?uo=4&app=itunes&at=11lvuD)_, The Hotelier's _[Home, Like No Place Is There](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/album/home-like-noplace-is-there/id818552465?uo=4&app=itunes&at=11lvuD)_ and, strangely, Brand New's _[Deja Entendu](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/album/deja-entendu/id325226569?uo=4&app=itunes&at=11lvuD)_ (this was spurred by their stellar performance at Coachella more than anything). Seinabo Sey and Courtney Barnett both released exceptional albums as well (they're also both outstanding live performers).

I'm curious to see what 2016 holds for music but this year has been one of my favorite's in recent memory.
