Stereo Brain // Album Of The Year Longlist

Andy Hull & Robert McDowell // Swiss Army Man Soundtrack
Genre: Soundtrack
Label: Lakeshore Records
Released: 24th June
Verdict: Something that's just a bit different - interesting and inventive musically while still capturing the essence of a movie of the same irk.

Architects // All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us

Genre: Metalcore

Label: Epitaph Records

Released: 27th May

Verdict: Loud, in your face and yet incredibly intricate. Certainly Architects best work to date.

Black Foxxes // I'm Not Well
Genre: Alternative
Label: Spinefarm Records
Released: 19th August
Verdict: An album that demonstrates the potential that Black Foxxes showed from early on. Emotional, guitar driven and a must for any list.

Black Peaks // Statues

Genre: Rock

Label: Sony

Released: 8th April

Verdict: Seen by most as the most exciting rock album for years and I couldn't agree more. Anthemic and interesting - it was once described to me as "the math rock early Foals meets the heaviness of Deftones". Incidentally this album is the reason Deftones' record didn't make it on the list

Blossoms // Blossoms
Genre: Indie-Pop
Label: Virgin EMI
Released: 5th August
Verdict: Modern day indie-pop meets 80's in Blossoms' debut album. This album was a hit and made it to UK number 1 for two weeks.

Biffy Clyro // Ellipsis

Genre: Rock

Label: 14th Floor Records

Released: 8th July

Verdict: It's been a big year for Biffy and this album showed what they're still capable of. 'Wolves of Winter'' was one of the songs of the year and it's backed up by a brilliant album.

Daughter // Not To Dissapear
Genre: Indie
Label: Glassnote Records
Released: 15th January
Verdict: Delicate, quiet and thoughtful are words that spring to mind when you listen to Daughter's latest outing. It's pleasant and comfortable listening all the way.

Frightened Rabbit // Painting Of A Panic Attack

Genre: Indie

Label: Atlantic Records

Released: 8th April

Verdict: After making fans wait over 3 years for album number five, scottish indie rock powerhouses Frightened Rabbit did not disappoint. Their latest album shows a new side to the band while maintaining their distinctive style.

FULL REVIEW

The Hunna // 100
Genre: Indie Rock
Label: High Time Records
Released: 26th August
Verdict: A band that only began in October 2015, they've taken social media by storm and created a large fan base of young music fans. The release of their debut album demonstrates how they've managed it - catchy songs, meaningful lyrics and dancy riffs all carried a long with persona of rock stars.

Joyce Manor // Cody

Genre: Emo-Grunge

Label: Epitaph Records

Released: 7th October

Verdict: Joyce Manor's latest outing is that little bit less grunge and a bit more emo than their previous records. This is nothing but a good thing however - it's an album that feels much more open and inviting while maintaining the bands recognisable sound.

FULL REVIEW

The Lion & The Wolf // The Cardiac Hotel
Genre: Indie

Label: Xtra Mile

Released: 7th October

Verdict: After his beautiful debut, The Lion & The Wolf develops his sound on this new record. With more depth and more emotion this one hits right in the feelings.

Modern Baseball // Holy Ghost

Genre: Emo

Label: Run For Cover/Big Scary Monsters

Released: 13th May

Verdict: Their best record to date, on 'Holy Ghost' Mobo look at so much more than bad luck with girls and go much deeper into their own lives in a truly personal album.

FULL REVIEW

PUP // The Dream Is Over

Genre: Punk Rock

Label: Royal Mountain Records

Released: 27th May

Verdict: Listening to this album is like an angry jolt back to reality.

Panic! At The Disco // Death Of A Bachelor

Genre: Alternative

Label: Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen

Released: 15th January

Verdict: I initially described this album as 'pop punk meets Michael Buble' - this was meant as a bad thing but overtime this record has really grown on me and shown what it's really about to become one of my favourites from this year.

Radiohead // A Moon Shaped Pool

Genre: Indie

Label: XL Recordings

Released: 8th May

Verdict: Delicate and experimental. This was Radiohead at their finest. AN utterly beautiful album

Rusty Shackle // Dusk

Genre: Alt Folk

Label: Get Folked Records

Released: 25th March

Verdict: A mix of bouncy fun folk and serious musical talent comes together on the welsh bands finest record to date.

FULL REVIEW

Slaves // Take Control
Genre: Punk
Label: Virgin EMI
Released: Slaves
Verdict: Last years winners come back with a punk-ier and less apologetic follow up to Are You Satisfied?. The record screams potential and the future if Slaves' sound.
FULL REVIEW

Spring King // Tell Me If You Like To

Genre: Indie Rock

Label: Island Records

Released: 10th June

Verdict: One of the best debut records of the year and also features one of the catchiest alternative tunes of they year - 'Demons'

Tigercub // Abstract Figures In The Dark
Genre: Rock
Label: Alcopop!
Released: 11th November
Verdict: Imagine a darker and grungier Queens Of The Stoneage and you have this record. It's musically brilliant and a really great listen.

Viola Beach // Viola Beach

Genre: Indie Rock

Label: Fuller Beans Records

Released: 29th July

Verdict: A posthumous inclusion for one of the UK's most promising bands. Released shortly after their and their managers deaths to commemorate them. Coldplay even covered their song as they headlined Glastonbury.

YAK // Alas Salvation
Genre: Rock
Label: Octopus Electrical
Released: 13th May
Verdict: Loud, unapologetic and grungy. Yak burst onto the scene this year with 2 tours plus a stint supporting The Last Shadow Puppets - all in all it's been a great year for them.

Review: Joyce Manor // Cody

Recently a new brand of emo has been emerging. Gone is the emo influenced by rock & metal - the kind that launched My Chemical Romance to fame - and in is a new brand fronted by American bands like Modern Baseball  and Into It. Over It in a style that reflects influences from 90's and 00's pop punk and grunge. Joyce Manor are one of the latest crop of bands that fit that template.

'Cody', their 4th LP and second on Epitaph Records, is out October 7th and with it the band have taken a slight musical turn. Their first 3 albums demonstrate the bands' ability to propuce lo-fi grungy emo with fuzzy guitars, meaningful lyrics and a lack of a serious melody. This latest outing doesn't ditch these ideas but develops them to create a much more musically diverse Joyce Manor.

'Fake I.D.' - the first song and single on the album - demonstrates this evolution at it's best; with a bouncing melody running through the song, it has the feel of a tune that could define the new side of the band. However as soon as that short 2 minutes is over, the album drops into 'Eighteen'. A song which tackles their previous sound but sounds much more mature and though out. It reflects the theme of the album - not only musically but within the lyrics - of maturing. After the song examines the thought of looking back at a foolish, young and worried eighteen year-old self lead singer Barry Johnson let's out "I feel old today" in a way that isn't jaded but instead almost triumphant.

A couple of songs later you the second single from the record - 'Last You Heard Of Me' - bursts on the scene which, at just over 3 minutes, is one of the longest tracks on the record. This song follows the grungier style template of the bands earlier work but approached with a renewed maturity. Rather than a barrage of sound, the song feels more structured and musically strong, a theme that seems to run through the whole album. As a band Joyce Manor have never spent more than 10 days in a recording studio until this release, and you can really tell. Having spent 2 months plugging away in the search of 'Cody' it appears that this new approach has really payed off.

Nothing sums this up more than the closing tune on the record. 'This Song Is A Mess' is anything but a mess, it bounces along with a renewed youthfulness which echoes of their contemporaries in Modern Baseball. This song is a refreshing and playful end to a mature and, at times, serious album about growing up not just in life but within the bands music. It is by far Joyce Manor's most accomplished and complete work to date and leaves the listener itching to hear the next chapter in this evolving bands story.

(8.5/10)

-Luke