The 100 best albums of 2015: 100-91

For the next 10 days, we’re counting down the best albums of the year, as recommended by the people at TeamRock, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog and Blues. Let’s start from 100 to 91…

100. WIRE – Wire (Pink Flag)
Classic Rock said: “Wire’s self-titled 14th album is a catalogue of the 21st-century cyber-malaise, taut with a sedated post-rock tension and ennui but still built on the proud melodic bedrock of new wave, New Order and Beatledelia. While their descendants scramble to wring every unheard skronk, gurgle and electro-gibbon out of their laptops with tunes tossed on as an afterthought, Wire face this age of confusion as a monument to catchy, coherent invention.”

99. THE SONICS – This Is The Sonics (Revox)
Classic Rock said: “Featuring three members of the original line-up, it’s a down and dirty follow-up to their last album, 1966’s Boom… Recorded in mono (what else?) with garage-rock guru Jim Diamond, this album will lift the spirits of those still convinced they’re 17, even if the mirror tells them otherwise.”

98. ATARI TEENAGE RIOT – Reset (Digital Hardcore)
We said: “Atari Teenage Riot’s mash-up of metal, gabba, punk and rave is not for everyone. But if it was then it wouldn’t be so brazening, potent, and downright dangerous. Two decades after their first album, 1995, the Berlin digital hardcore outfit continue to infiltrate the mainstream with provocative and politically-driven slabs of noise. Prepare to be blown away.”

97. DAN PATLANSKY – Dear Silence Thieves (Dan Patlansky)
Classic Rock said: “ Opener Backbite is near as dammit perfect. Built on a killer, funky blues rock hook, with the husky soul of Lenny Kravitz, it’s a ‘HELL YEAH!’-inducing winner. The difficulty of starting with such a bang, is of course sustaining it. Happily, Dan seems aware of this, so follows with an attractive spread of blues rock both chipper and melancholy, contemporary and trad...”

96. NAD SYLVAN – Courting The Widow (Century Media)
Prog said: “Structurally, these theatrical songs amaze. From the opening fillip Carry Me Home through the mesmerising, meandering title song, from the gently rising Where The Martyr Carves His Name to the archly affecting, Kate Bush-influenced Ship’s Cat, this is sumptuous sailing. Stunning centrepiece To Turn The Other Side is about four years long, with never a wasted moment. Go mad for Nad.“

95. VINTAGE TROUBLE – 1 Hopeful Rd. (Blue Note)
Classic Rock said: “These songs ooze passionate vim and vigour, whether they be uptempo hip-shakers or heart-aching ballads. We half wonder if we’ve stumbled into a Mississippi juke joint as the bluesy shake, rattle and slide of Run Like The River starts us off, before From My Arms turns down to sultry, bedroom-eyes R&B. Old ground, yes, but viewed through bright, fresh eyes. You want the real vintage rock’n’soul deal? Look this way, and then make sure you catch them live.”

94. FEAR FACTORY – Genexus (Nuclear Blast)
Metal Hammer said: “The machine marches on, having survived not only a nu metal phase but deconstruction, lynchpin members Burton C Bell and Dino Cazares finally resolving their differences for a lethally triumphant return in the form of 2010’s Mechanize. Genexus may well sound like it was assembled on a production line, but it emerges heavily armoured and capable of devastating without pity, or remorse.”

93. MIKE ZITO – Keep Coming Back (RUF)
Blues said: “…Girl From Liberty showcases his talents as a storyteller, his vivid lyrical imagery matched by a fierce, muscular roots-rock sound with a bluesy undercurrent… and that’s the way it is with Keep Coming Back, the album a brilliant mix of rock, blues and edgy country that takes Mike Zito down new and exciting roads.”

92. MUSE – Drones (Warner Bros)
Prog said: ”For their seventh sojourn, they’ve teamed up in Vancouver with uber-producer Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange (AC/DC, Def Leppard). Drones, like a palate refresher, cuts straight to the riffs: Matt Bellamy blasts into staccato shocks early on and rarely lets up… Proof that a band can be both big and bold.”

91. DAVID GILMOUR – Rattle That Lock (Columbia)
Prog said: “Decades of globe-straddling eminence, as a guitarist and instigator of transcendental moments of inspiration, will tend to heap unreasonable demands on any latter-day project. But if the famed jewels of Gilmour’s chronicles may, over time, see off these newly-minted creations, and if no central motif navigates the way, Rattle That Lock comes to reward repeated visits, with a sagacious heft that only seven decades of living will bring…”