Best Songs of the Year 2015: 25-1

And here it is! Ladies & gentlemen, it's our immense pleasure to present you the Top 25, the Best Songs of 2015, always in our modest opinion, of course. It's been a wonderful (but tough) music ride, that we hope you have enjoyed as much as we do. Not much more to add, it's better to let the music do the talking instead, so we encourage you to listen the whole list. You'll find a mind-blowing soundtrack (as always, check our Souncloud to find the majority of tunes on the list). We're taking a short break, so see you next year!

25.  River of longing- Blank Realm
24. My Arms, They Feel Like Nothing
- The School
23. A poet walks- Robert Forster
22. Running Late- Flyying Colours
21. Sleeping in the Backseat- Tigercats
20. Back to You- Twerps
19. Beautiful Blue Sky- Ought
18. Continental Shelf- Viet Cong
17. A beginning song- The Decemberists
16.  Ting the posters down- Dick Diver
15. Watch your back- The Coathangers
14. Chateau Lobby #4- Father John Misty
13. Land gone- Novella 
12. What part of me- Low
11. Northern highway- Martin Courtney
10. El cielo protestó- Hazte Lapón
9. Joke- Chastity Belt
8. Return to the moon- El Vy
7. 
7. Dope Cloud- Protomartyr
6. Should Have Known Better- Sufjan Stevens
5. Surface Envy- Sleater-Kinney
4.  Depreston- Courtney Barnett
3. Like a statue- Line & Circle
2. Heel turn 2- The Mountain Goats
1. Courage- Villagers

Best Songs of the Year 2015: 50-26

As promised yesterday, here's the third round of our Best Songs of 2015, this time comprising songs between positions 50 to 26. As we approach the end of the lists, you''re going to see some artists/groups "repeating" their apparitions (just one tune per round) in both lists, something logical considering some of them have been the responsible of the EPs and Records of the year, in our opinion. Remember the playlist below is available at our Soundcloud. Stay tuned, the Top 25 arriving shortly!


50. Strange Hellos- Torres
49. Been in the wars- New Politicians 
48. Creep Me Out- Ghost Transmission
47. Stars- The Treasures of Mexico
46. Ahora que hace bueno- Reina Republicana
45. Waste the alphabet- Dick Diver
44. What went down- Foals
43. Swept Away- Star Tropics
42. Desencuentros- The New Raemon
41. Dream date- Salad Boys
40. Stranger – Twerps
39. Fourth of July - Sufjan Stevens
38.  Lake song- The Decemberists
37. Blo
37. Blood- Algiers
36. Blue swallow- Novella
35. Silhouettes- Viet Cong
34. Saw the light- Seapony
33. Burn masculinity- The Spook School
32. Again- Faith Healer
31. Out of metaphors- Line & Circle
30. Wasting time- Young Romance
29. O- Desperate Journalist
28. A 
28. A New Wave- Sleater-Kinney
27. Odiar
27. Odiar- Hazte Lapón
26. The Legend of Chavo Guerrero- The Mountain Goats

Best Songs of the Year 2015: 75-51

No time to waste, so here's the second chapter of our Favourite Songs of the Year, now unveiling positions comprised between 75 to 51. As with the first list, you'll find the playlist at our Soundcloud. Stay tuned, Very soon we will bring you the last two rounds of this fantastic music countdown of this last twelve months. Have fun and enjoy the music!

75.  NO - YAK
74. Cutting my fingers off- Turnover
73. Academic- New Order
72.Football
72.Football- Trust Fund
71.  Souvenirs - The Birkins
70. Warm waveform- The Chills
69. Illuminations- Lusts
68. Marte 
68. Marte - Tigres Leones
67. The House- Le Volume Courbe
66. Shiny gun- Fraser A. Gorman
65. Waiting for the sun- The Shifting Sands
64. Young Girls- PINS
63. Hate to see you go- The Mantles
62. Actual Alien - American Culture
61. Un mundo feliz- Grushenka
60. Tom on the boulevard- The Innocence Mission
59. Hollow Veins- Surf City
58. New England Cross- Hamilton Leithauser & Paul Maroon
57. Fool- Nadine Shah
56. Guess work- The Ocean Party
55. When he calls- Seconds
54. Scene Sick- Diet Cig
53. Why does it shake?- Protomartyr
52. High- Royal Headache
51. Never learn- Young Romance

Best Songs of the Year 2015: 100-76

After Concerts, Books, EPs and Records, it's time for the final list: the 5th edition of the Bloodbuzzed's Best Songs of the Year. Here are our 100 favourite songs of the last twelve months. As the Blog aims to give a modest space for as many bands as possible, and luckily the amount of exciting music keeps increasing we have limited the songs the same group/artist can have in the list to just two. As usual, we have divided the selected tunes in four different posts of 25 songs each, packed in a soundcloud playlist (also available at our Souncloud page). So, to begin with, here's the first round with tunes from 100 to 76. Please don't take the order's list too seriously. At the end, it's just an excuse to celebrate another year of great music! Next round coming very soon!

100. Home- Tomiji
99.  So Long- Anomie
98.  Heart attack- Hideous Towns
97.  Oh me!- The Swapsies
96.  Laura- Wildhoney
95. Los líderes africanos- El Lado Oscuro de la Broca
94. Dream on, bably blue- Chorusgirl
93. Alligator- Nevski
92. Carbon- Tuff Love
91. Terrible- Knife Pleats
90.  Broken necks- Eskimeaux
89. Love won’t save you- Crayon Fields
88. Herman- Sleepy Seeds
87. 1000 years- Dianas
86. Hey Joan- The Stammer
85. Lottery- Oh, Rose
84. Umi - Pinkshinyultrablast
83. Let You Know- The Fireworks
82. Religion of mine- Summer Fiction
81. The scene between- The Go! Team
80. Breaking- Soft Science
79. 6000 dias- Boogarins
78. Take a little time- Kathryn Calder
77. Made my mind up- Mikal Cronin
76.  Can’t you feel –Bruising

Best Books of (My) Year 2015

More lists. After concerts of the year, then EPs and Records, now it's time for books. Again, thanks to my duty at Indienauta and the support shown of many publishers and editors (always thankful), 2015 has been an incredible year of reads, one in which, I have to say, there has been a most welcomed bunch of exciting works dealing with social reality. Needless to say this list has been extremely challenging. Here are my top 10 reads in the last 365 days. Hope you like it!

10. Redeployment - Phil Klay (Random House)
Add Phil Klay to a short but pretty impressive list including Tim O’Brien’s ‘The thing they carried’. The short stories by Tobias Wolff. Norman Mailer and ‘The Naked and the death’. 'Company K' by William March. ‘Slaughterhouse-five’ by Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller’s ‘Catch-22’. ‘Paths of glory’ by Humphrey Cobb or Frederic Manning’s ‘The favours of fortune’. He’s right there among the “must-reads of war literature”. His collection of 12 stories on the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan shook you up completely, relentlessly, without flaws or any quarter for the reader. A parade of wounded, beaten (in every sense) guys, forever marked. A terrifying and despairing “fauna”, although Klay never sells the drama, writing in a dry, straightforward manner. Former soldiers exposed to death & destruction, but also to boredom, numb, “Playstation” young kids facing an undefined and goalless “normal life”. The terror awaiting on the desert roads. The terror awaiting back home.

9. Making nice- Matt Summell (Turner)
An extremely brilliant approach to real life thanks to an extraordinary main character, whose first-person narration results in one of the most astonishing and memorable literary voices this humble blogger has read in recent years. Alby, mainly an asshole, an immature, unstable adult with serious problems of rage control is also someone who has built himself an image of a bully —a teenager and, later on, adult version of Nelson Muntz— to hide his huge fragility, his paralysing fear of the future, of looking back to the painful past, panicking inside because he doesn’t know what to do with his life. Still trying to assimilate the death of his mother. Do not miss the unforgettable stories of this captivating brute named Alby.

8. When the game was ours - Jackie Mcmullan (Contra)
The best basketball always meant fantasy, surprise, illusion, EMOTION. And that’s exactly what this book offers. A trip back to the time when the spell was put and the years on which the STORY became LEGEND. Basketball lovers already know about the story –lazier readers have the worth watching documentary 'A Courtship of Rivals', based on the book– but doesn’t matter: it’s still glorious. And Jackie MacMullan, the veteran sports journalist is aware too, so she wisely opts for letting it flow, adding little more than the precise and flammable adjective stressing the perfect shooting night of the green 33 or the incredible repertoire of passes by the golden and purple 32. Besides, she has the two stars with her, sharing their view, reinforcing the arguments, adding some “colour” to the anecdotes and revealing the core of the book. Than Bird & Magic careers and myths, are inseparable, the same as human bound between both players. And with that, the golden age of NBA. A hundred smiles await the fan.

7. Vampires in the lemon grove - Karen Russell (Tusquets)
Reputation preceded Miami-born Karen Russell, praised as one of the more relevant younger writers in America, Pulitzer Prize finalist with her debut novel ‘Swamplandia’. And after enjoying this short collection of eight stories, she deserves all the credit. Each story is a fascinating outpouring of imagination, surprise and originality, with a disturbing halo of darkness and mystery —a couple of them flirting with terror—, and foremost, a strikingly powerful narrative ability.


6. The gospel singer - Harry Crews 
(Acuarela & Antonio Machado)
Crews debut is a breathtaking journey to the heart of the southern myth, transformed into a terrible nightmare. Welcome to the town of Enigma, origin and end of the route. The place that you want to escape, forget, deny. But you can’t. Except for the characters of Gerd and the Gospel Singer’s mother there aren’t any handles to where the reader can hold on this novel, there’s no one to empathize with or situations that give us a break. Only a pleiad of vile creatures, mean, ignorant devotees prone to the religious fanaticism, without hope or courage to build a future, accustomed to their lives in a sewer, waiting for a miracle. And as it doesn’t arrive, ready to convert in their last resort a young that thanks to a privileged voice made his fortune singing religious hymns around America. Without knowing that his deified singer, whom were conferred healing powers, has his feet as muddy as them. The reader doesn’t need many pages to know that the novel will end badly, but when the end comes, the blow equally leaves you breathless. Harrowing, crazy, sick, visceral ...

5. Fridays at Erico's - Don Carpenter 
(Sexto Piso) 
‘Friday at Enrico’s’ is more than just a novel about literature. It might be one of the NOVELS about literature. About writers, their books and their disastrous private lives. About artists struggling against the blank page while systematically succumb to the unique work of irreversible and binding end: its own existence. It’s also about the success, the failure, the artist independence, the ego. About the value of art, the discussion between high literature and their commercial nemesis?, and the role of the artist. About counterculture and literary generations. About bar and bistro tables, their endless discussions and recurrent drunkenness to hide mistakes, depression and vital emptiness. Written with something that I'm only able to define as melancholic wisdom, Carpenter's prose is sublime, like a scalpel in the hands of the best surgeon, pushing firmly, without delay nor artifice, revealing the human soul in a definitive dialogue, a final drink or a moment of doubt in front of the typewriter. For all who love literature and this happy and, hopefully, eternal anachronism called book, reading Carpenter is a gift. What are you waiting for?. I’m waiting you at Enrico's ...

4. Zeroville - Steve Erickson (Pálido Fuego) 
Structured as a series of short scenes, Steve Erickson builds a novel of prodigious rhythm that entertains you greatly thanks to, at the surface level, a freak protagonist getting into an industry that fascinates us, that we are used to glorify and admire. Anyone who name himself as a movie lover will enjoy the talks about cinema, where Vikar founds his meaning of life; discovering or speculating about the side characters with whom Vikar interacts, from Viking, a clear transcript of John Milius, to Robert De Niro about to become Travis Bickle; not to mention the directors whose Vikar’s fledgling career is connected to, like Otto Preminger or Vincent Minnelli, to the point of carving himself out a strange reputation as a gifted editor with an unusual talent: the ability of arming and disarming a story ... to mount a different one with the same material. Is in that rare gift for mounting where the striking backdrop of 'Zeroville' is revealed. While Vikar’s progresses within Hollywood, his poor head discovers something. In one frame. In all frames. Is not that the film explains life, or that is actually the only language Vikar’s understand. It’s much bigger than that. Cinema IS life. And his obsession vampirizes him. Who and why is filming and mounting our own film? Tremendous.

3. The Taqwacores - Michael Muhammed (Ginger Ape) 
The so-called foundational novel of Islamic punk, has a touch, or two, or three, or twenty, of madness, a healthy dose of irreverence, a ton of ideas about culture, society and, without any fear, religion. And if that wasn’t enough, it also has a lot of music. Literally speaking, ‘The Taqwacores’ is the squaring of the circle. How to fit the pieces of a puzzle where there’s plenty of diverse characters, with very different points of view, often extreme, about religion, the future, sex, and life? Knight has no qualms about expressing existential doubts of a bunch of young people, in discussing the human and the divine. But the novel doesn’t suffer. The author introduces hundreds of musical references, and these are interspersed in an astonishingly natural way between comments about Imams, precepts of Sufism, Suras or interpretations of the Koran. Does it sound confusing? Of course it is. That's exactly what Knight wants to show. The confusion of young people in their students home’ microcosm, an Islamic version of the 'Ship of Fools', in their collective chaos of concerns, frustrations, tensions and blames. It couldn’t be more painfully believable. And fascinating. And explosive.

2. Exodus - DJ Stalingrad (Automática) 
Exodus is a terrifying look at the Russia of the new millennium. A corrupt country, desolate, sick to the core. A place where violence seems a valid response for the a collective of young people for which life seems to have no significance. A scenario of war between neo-Nazis and left-wing groups, young people going from town to town in search of the next battle. Music and/or politics are there, but after getting into these pages, one needs very little to realise that both factors are really excuses. Fight, destroy, attack, defend ... because there is much more to do and, above all, nothing to lose. Stalingrad gets beyond the circumstantial, episodic narrative, to draw a devastating analysis of current Russia, crimping history with social commentary and giving us innumerable fragments to remember along the way. Comparable to facing Anthony Burgess’ 'The Clockwork Orange' for the first time, Stalingrad pushes you, unceremoniously, to a rugged, virulent universe. But unlike the iconic work of the British writer, Stalingrad is not talking about a dystopian future, but a terrifying reality, with the face of Vladimir Putin in the background. Unsettling, disturbing, revealing and uncompromising.

1. Waiting for nothing - Tom Kromer (Sajalín)
'Waiting for nothing' is, in my opinion, one of the best books Sajalín has calved, which is a lot to say considering the great moments this publishing house has given to us. A cohesive series of episodes that can also be read as a collection of short stories, a creepy piece of life in the gutter transferred to paper. That terrifying existence that in sociology is defined as social exclusion. The sort of life that, 80 years after Kromer wrote these lines in the middle of the Great Depression, still means nothing to “our morons” dressed in suits and ties in Madrid, Brussels and Washington DC while they speak of PIBs, VAT cuts or tax increases. The number of heartbreaking moments in just 200 pages is overwhelming. Food whose ingredients you’d rather not know. Desperate prostitution. Harassment and humiliation at the hands of those who supposedly should be looking after our security and the law enforcement. Prisons that further degrade the person but at least they provide temporary shelter, and ungrateful seedy lounge chairs that resemble prisons. Desperate feelings of committing suicide or having a violent burst of madness but being incapable to do anything. Frustrated picaresque frustrated. Flirtations with death in trains to nowhere. With just a couple of chapters where Kromer allows some light let in in the form of some emotional interaction with other human beings, 'Waiting for Nothing' might be one of the most poignants and hyperrealistic attempts literature has given us in portraying the living death.

I do HAVE to recommend another book that I just finished and it's an absolutely MUST, but due to time constraints I couldn't add to the list. I'm referring to '33 revolutions per minute' by Dorian Lynskey, published in Spain by Malpaso. An incredibly absorbing and in-depth work about protest songs, from 1940s to today. One of the most impressive works the so-called music books have given us: history, social conflicts transformations and its music.  Essential.

Want to check last year's books list? Click here
Or do you prefer checking 2013?
And 2012'? Then click here
or  2011's? Check here

Best Records of the Year 2015

No time to rest. After EPs and Concerts, now it's the turn for the Best Records of 2015! As done on previous years, we have listed the 30 LPs most enjoyed this year. During 2015 we have had the chance to see some of them live, others have been exceptional discoveries (you'll find many at our 'Discoverer Section') or listed at our 'Bloodbuzzed Jukebox Series'. Even a few of them have been interviewed at the 'These Go to 11' series (zillions thanks!). Best Songs following shortly! Thanks to all of bands listed, you gave us a wonderful soundtrack this 2015!

30. Goon- Tobias Jesso Jr.
29. No One's Coming to for Us - Trust Fund
28. Souvenirs- The Birkins
27. MCIII- Mikal Cronin
26. Songs to Play- Robert Forster
25. Silver Bullets- The Chills
24. Jekyll Island- Surf City
23. Oh, Rompehielos- The New Raemon
22. In my flat- The Hermit Crabs
21. Time to go home- Chastity Belt
20. El Despertar- Reina Republicana
19. Of love & other affections- Postal Blue
18. A vision- Seapony
17. Holding Pattern- The Treasures of Mexico
16. Apparitions- Ghost Transmission
15. All odds ends- The Mantles
14. Algiers- Algiers
13. Wasting away and wondering- The School
12. Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I sit- Courtney Barnett
11. I love you, honeybear- Father John Misty
10. Melbourne, Florida- Dick Diver
9. The agent intellect- Protomartyr
8. Range Anxiety- Twerps
7. No son tu marido- Hazte Lapón
6. Land- Novella
5. No cities to love- Sleater-Kinney
4. Beat the champ- The Mountain Goats
3. Desperate Journalist- Desperate Journalist
2. Split Figure- Line & Circle
1. Carrie and Lowell- Sufjan Stevens


Want to check last year's list? Then check here
Or do you prefer checking 2013?
And 2012's? Click here
And 2011's?

Best EPs of the Year 2015

After yesterday's list with our favourite concerts of 2015 list, now it's time for the EPs which, in this Blog's view, it's a regular source of music gems that doesn't get the attention it deserves. So, in order to make our humble contribution and highlight this wonderful format, here you have, in our opinion, the best 15 EPs of the year (no singles, 3 to 6 songs). Hope you enjoy!


15. High & Vibrate- The Persian Leaps 
14. CRUSHED- PONY
13. Lemonseeds- Morels
12. Dregs- Tuff Love
11. Headcase- Day Wave

10. Nevski- Nevski

9. When you need me the most- Alpaca Sports

8. Montaña, guía y milagros- Victoria Ford

7. Seconds- Seconds*

6. Bodyheat- Bodyheat

5. Murder Shoes - Murder Shoes

4. I don't want to let you down - Sharon Van Etten

3. Roygbiv- Flyying Colours

2. Over Easy - Diet Cig

1. Wild- Young Romance

*(Technically not an EP but a split LP with band Joya, but considering both bands have six songs, and the release consists of two separate EPs, each with their own artwork, we included Seconds on the list)

Want to check the best EPs of 2014? Click here
Or the ones selected in 2013? Click here
And 2012? Click here

The "Records List" coming shortly!

Best Concerts of the Year 2015

And the time has arrived. Let's begin our contribution to the best of the year lists' madness! So, ladies and gentleman we are more than happy to start, as we did on previous editions, with our favorite concerts of 2015. And what a top ten! Bands that we have been waiting to see for a long time, new and superb discoveries and much more! Hope you like it!

10. The Mountain Goats (Heliogàbal, Barcelona, November 23rd)

2015 has been a Mountain Goats’ year for us. We finally embraced their music, thanks to ‘Beat the champ’ (look for it among our best records of the year) after flirting with many of their songs for years. We enjoyed John Darnielle’s intriguing and absorbing first novel ‘Wolf in the white van’ and, out of the blue, he came to Barcelona to present his prose and also giving us a short but unforgettable gig in one of the most intimate venues of the city, Heliogàbal. A fascinating storyteller, among the best songwriters in the world, Darnielle is also a breathtaking performer, ready to blow you up with an instant of rage, a vocal tear or a gentle melody in which words and music merge becoming one. ‘There Will Be No Divorce’, ‘Woke Up New’, ‘Up the Wolves’, ‘No Children’… A brief but phenomenal dose of an immense song book. One full of songs that hurt. Songs that cure. Songs that remain with you.

The Mountain Goats - Heliogàbal - Photo: Bloodbuzzed

9. Sufjan Stevens (Auditori Fòrum - CCIB, Barcelona, October 29th)

It could had been the concert of the year, as almost every song of the heartbreaking 'Carrie & Lowell' was disarming live, with 'Death With Dignity', 'Should Have Known Better', 'Drawn to the Blood', 'John My Beloved', 'The Only Thing' shining... a stunning collection of tunes performed brilliantly, with Sufjan showing a fragility in his voice and gestures that added another piece of wonder to the gig and a terrific band leaded by multifaceted Dawn Landes. Vulnerability, naked feelings and honest intimacy for an audience of 3.000 souls. What a miracle. But it could had been the disappointment of 2015 too, as ‘Age of Adz’ tunes also appeared, breaking the unique atmosphere created. There was time still for a third transformation, with an encore devoted to “Sufjan folk classics" ending the gig in a lighter, cheerful way. So, despite not being our perfect setlist, one can't argue. We saw an immaculate performance, and a genuine, polyhedral, indispensable artist.

Sufjan Stevens - Auditori Fòrum - Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Torres - Primavera Sound Festival - Photo: Bloodbuzzed

8. Torres (Primavera Sound Festival, Barcelona, May 31st )
We didn’t stay very late on Saturday at Fòrum, because there was a mandatory gig to watch next day (and you usually are too tired to enjoy much music on Primavera Sound’s final day). Our first time watching Mackenzie Scott's live, finally. And she didn’t disappoint. On the very contrary, she excelled our expectations at BARTS, our only complaint is her performance didn’t last longer (only six tunes), but what an intensity! She left us wide mouthed several times, in complete awestruck while we watched her fighting against the threatening guitar lines, shouting and whispering her wounded lyrics, breaking and letting her voice disarm you. Superb artist.

7. U2 (Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, October 5th & 6th)
Being part of a U2 concert today is such a confrontation with the person you are now and who you were today. Tastes evolve and, most luckily, new and exciting bands and sounds occupy your head & heart. Your past heroes are no longer the ones releasing the record of the year. Even more important than that, there’s a sense that dimension & context are also very important too, making it clear, bigger doesn’t mean better. In what regards to music, it might as well be the contrary. But after years and years of dealing with small stages and terrible sounding, many bands that have more courage than talents, you find yourself at Palau Sant Jordi and all your hipster & let’s face it, cynical defences, crumble after hearing a stormy, intimidating rendition of ‘Electric Co.’. It’s just nostalgia channeling the younger you? It has to be more than that. A gigantic screen on which Bono recreates his teenager years got you completely. Sure it’s all a choreography fuelled by the highest technology but, for a while, it seems to point directly at you. ‘Iris’, not particularly your favourite tune on the new record, breaks you with the outstanding vocal performance of the aging, a bit weary, but still powerful singer. And so does ‘Raised by Wolves’, a glimpse of that primeval, raging urgency of their early days. Or hearing ‘October’ for the first time. Or seeing people surrounding you on a state of pure joy you don’t see (drunk people doesn’t count) at the coolest indie festivals or gigs (the rampant cynicism again), or collapsing, breaking down in tears as some of the classics arrive. Or sharing the gigs with two of the most important people of your life, and seeing your little brother get himself into the celebration that is now ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ while you think this is something that you have shared with him for more than two decades now. Sure, there are a couple of forgettable moments during the show, some lame performances that seem to be done ‘on autopilot’ and songs choices that are regrettable, in your opinion. But it doesn’t really matter, because they are still there, still meaning quite a lot to you...

U2 - Palau Sant Jordi - Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Algiers - Primavera Club - Photo: Bloodbuzzed

6. Algiers (Primavera Club, Barcelona, October 25th)

They were our discovery just before the Primavera Club arrived, so we were aware this wasn’t “just another band”. But we weren’t prepared for such a powerful performance. Each song a strike, a statement, a howl for the one that are struggling but haven’t been defeated yet. There’s something genuine in the flammable rage and passion with which each member of the band plays, in particular their front man Franklin James Fisher spitting each word, hitting the guitar, or writhing on the floor. An unleashed beast at Apolo, their mutant, combat music comes from somewhere very deep inside every human being. A very needed band.

5. Twerps (Primavera Sound Festival, Barcelona, May 28th)

It wouldn’t be this Blog without an Antipodean band on the list, don’t you think? Twerps have delivered one of our favourite records of the year without a doubt, so there were we, with a gigantic smile on our face, waiting at the first row way before their gig began at Pitchfork stage. It was a shiny, joyful, carefree and warm gig. An impeccable afternoon with indiepop gems like 'I Don't Mind', 'Back to You', 'Shoulders', ‘Conditional Report’, ‘Stranger’... 45 minutes of pure magic, as it is done down under, making your mind disappear for a gentle while into the jangly guitar lines.

Twerps - Primavera Sound - Photo: Bloodbuzzed

4. Novella (Primavera Club, Barcelona, October 23rd)
Speaking of making your mind disappear, here comes our biggest “live discovery” of 2015. We knew Novella was a band to follow (we featured them in 2012) and we love the album ‘Land’. But we didn’t know how overwhelming and irresistible they were live. Psych-pop, shoegaze with kraut hints, with a ton of floating guitars in space. Echoing Pale Saints, Neu! as well as the Dum Dum Girls, the gig was a stunning, incandescent trip, guided by the vocal harmonies of Hollie Warren and Sophy Hollington and leaded by gems like ‘Follow’, ‘Blue Swallow’ or ‘Land Gone’. Love at first guitar line.

Novella - Primavera Club - Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Lambchop - Sala BARTS - Photo: Bloodbuzzed

3. Lambchop (Sala BARTS, Barcelona, July 17th)
Seeing Lambchop had become a pending, frustrating affair for many years but, luckily, we finally managed to solve it. And what a pleasure turned to be. Kurt Wagner and Co. have the rare ability to stop time while they are playing. Wagner telling us his stories in the form of gorgeous tunes, picking us up, carrying us to a place that’s light-years away from the maddening crowd, to an imaginary campfire with the rest of the band. A quiet, distant place, yet at the same time, so recognizable, so human and full of soul. A masterclass with too many highlights to choose among, like the impossible, poignant beauty of ‘Gone Tomorrow’, the jazzy atmosphere of ‘Sharing a Gibson with Martin Luther King Jr., the upbeat ‘Grumpus’ and ‘National talk like a pirate day’ or the great, arresting, ‘Up With People’ with the majestic finale of Wagner letting himself go vocally, unleashing something that can’t be faked: that there's a guy, well, a bunch of guys, enjoying what they do on stage. And giving us the time of our lives. Huge night.

Luna - Sala Bikini - Photo: Bloodbuzzed

2. Luna (Sala Bikini, Barcelona, April 23rd)
Celebrating Sant Jordi with a Luna gig seems like an unbeatable plan. Even more considering here’s a beloved band we never had the chance to see live. The night already started in a fantastic way with the lovely Flowers as their support act, so when Luna took the stage everything was set in its right place for a great show. And the group delivered. Fantastic, crystal clear sound, Dean Wareham and guitarist Sean Eden having and making fun with the audience, and a setlist including the majority of songs we hoped for Superfreaky Memories’, ‘Chinatown’, ‘23 Minutes in Brussels’, ‘Lost in Space’, plus the final renditions of Velvet’s ‘Ride Into the Sun’ and Beat Happening’s ‘Indian Summer’ . Nearly two house of haunting and hypnotic guitars, ethereal bass lines and moody drums. The best dreampop in Sant Jordi, not bad for a holiday, don’t you think?.

1. Sleater-Kinney (La Cigale, Paris, March 20th)

When the comeback was confirmed we knew it was one of these rare occasions when you do have to make an effort and watch them live, aside from a Festival slot where it’s much harder to see a band performing at their best. What a wise choice it proved to be. Mind-blowing from start to finish. La Cigale’s floor shaking (no, really) from the very beginning of ‘Price Tag’, 26 tunes with two encores, with ‘No Cities to Love’ tunes as celebrated as the old ones by a enthusiast crowd that was eager to let the performing trio (a quartet live) how happy they were to have them back. And the band was eager to give their 110% in return. Carrie Brownstein was electric. Janet Weiss thunderous but for us (consider we were just in front of her) the real star of the night was Corin Tucker, what an explosive, mesmerizing performance. To put it simply, one of the best bands we’ve seen live. One of the best bands out there. Welcome back.

Sleater-Kinney - La Cigale - Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Want to check last year's best concerts? Just click here
What about 2013? Click here 
And 2012? Click here
Or 2011? Then check here

The Bloodbuzzed Jukebox Week 83

Despite being the Star Wars weekend and also the weekend before Christmas, there's life out there, and to prove it, here's a new TOP TEN Jukebox, the last one of 2015 (time for Best-of-lists!). It's another clear bet for exciting new bands like Agent blå, Faith Healer or Valet, without forgetting some "old" bands that have already appeared at our blog like Kids On A Crime Spree or our beloved Soft Science. Remember, all these songs are available at our Soundcloud. Have fun and may the force (of music) be with you!

Direct links to 2015 Jukebox playlists
Week 36  Week 37  Week 38   Week 39  Week 40 
Week 41  Week 42 Week 43  Week 44    Week 45
Week 46  Week 47   Week 48  Week 49   Week 50  
Week 51   Week 52  Week 53  Week 54    Week 55  
Week 56   Week 57   Week 58  Week 59   Week 60 
Week 61   Week 62   Week 63  Week 64  Week 65 
Week 66   Week 67   Week 68  Week 69   Week 70 
Week 71   Week 72   Week 73  Week 74   Week 75
Week 76   Week 77   Week 78  Week 79   Week 80
Week 81   Week 82