Looking Forward to the Rest of 2015

This whole week has been dedicated to The Album Wall's 2015 Halftime Report. I've already shared my favourite songs and albums of the year so far; now it's time to look to the future.

Here are five albums (not including the Iron Maiden album and the potential Tindersticks album that I discussed last week) that I'm looking forward to hearing in the latter months of 2015:

The Most Lamentable Tragedy by Titus Andronicus

Out July 28

If there's one band I from whom I really, really want to hear a five-act, multi-disc rock opera, it's Titus Andronicus. They already proved their ability to make untedious long albums with The Monitor, and early signs suggest that they'll be able to do the pretentious concept album thing (lot's of fun) without actually making over-pretentious music (less fun). Case in point: lead single Dimed Out, a body-blow of a punk rock song that's probably more enjoyable than anything that's ever been tagged 'rock opera' in the past.

My Favourite Albums of 2015 (So Far)

Following on from Monday's blog - a list of my 15 favourite songs from the first half of 2015 - today I'd like to look at some of the best albums from that same six-month period.

Detailed below are the five current top contenders for my own personal 'Album of the Year' award; like the songs on Monday, they're listed in random order, just in case I don't hear anything better before Christmas and my current frontrunner actually turns out to be my favourite of 2015. Gotta keep some semblance of suspense, right?

My Love is Cool - Wolf Alice

This album only came out about a fortnight ago, but it's already given my ears many a roughing-up. My Love is Cool is a superb 'hello' album; not only does it establish Wolf Alice as a cool, dangerous outfit that you wish you could be a part of ("You can join us if you think you're wild, you can join us if you're a feral child"), it also demonstrates that this is a band with many an arrow in their quiver. There's a really great range of styles on show here: between sirenic synth numbers, crank-it-up rawk, and slow-building Slowdive homages, there's really no room to get bored.

Standout Track: You're a Germ

My Favourite Songs of 2015 (So Far)

We have now entered the second half of 2015. In recognition of that fact, this entire week will be dedicated to The Album Wall's 2015 Halftime Report - later in the week, I'll be selecting some of my favourite albums of the year so far, as well as highlighting some forthcoming releases that will hopefully be rocking my world between now and New Year's Eve.

Today, though, is all about the songs. Here - in no particular order, are 15 of my favourite tracks from the first 182 days of 2015.

Disclaimer #1 - Not included in this list are songs from albums that have not yet been released, e.g. Dimed Out by Titus Andronicus. That song will undoubtedly prove to be one of the year's best, but as The Most Lamentable Tragedy isn't out until late July, it's not eligible for this halftime list.

Disclaimer #2 - I'm only one person, and while I do get sent a few albums here and there, I do buy most of the music I listen to myself. This does rather limit the number of CDs I'm capable of taking in; if your favourite song doesn't feature in the list below, it may well be because I haven't heard its parent album yet. Feel free to recommend anything I might have missed!

Foreign Object - The Mountain Goats

(from Beat the Champ)

One of the most straightforward songs on both this list and Beat the Champ itself, but that simplicity is very much an asset for Foreign Object, a tight little horn-led thing that's sung from the POV of a wrestler who doesn't care about winning as long as he can "make 'em bleed like pigs".

New Year Wishes: Progress Report

Today - the 3rd of July - is the first day of the second half of 2015. The whole of next week will be dedicated to a halftime report, which means that I'll be looking back at some of my favourite songs and albums of the year so far, as well as highlighting a few records that I'm excited to hear in the latter half of 2015.

As for today's blog, well, now seems like a good time for a progress check. Back at the very, very end of 2014, I named five artists who I fervently hoped would release new albums in 2015. Those artists were:

• The Magnetic Fields
• Tindersticks
• Iron Maiden
• Tilly and the Wall
• Guillemots

So, now that half a year has elapsed...how are those new albums coming along, folks?

The Magnetic Fields

There's been no sign of a proper follow-up to 2012's Love at the Bottom of the Sea, although Stephin Merritt did play a couple of never-before-heard "micro-songs" to a small dog named Lola. That may well be it for this year, I fear.

June Playlist: Set the Silverware Shaking

Another month has come and gone, which means that it's time for another monthly digest playlist thing! Here are ten of the songs that kept me boppin' last month...

1. The Stranger Fair - Jack Hayter and Ralegh Long

(from Songs About Albums: Volume 1)

I could have chosen any of the ten tracks from Songs About Albums for this month's playlist, but this beautiful tribute to Richard and Linda Thompson's Shoot Out the Lights seemed like a wonderful way to kick things off. If you haven't downloaded the compilation yet, go here now - it's free!