SOUND BITES

As our look back on the year that was catches up to the present (and peeks ever so slightly into the future), it becomes clear that the vast majority of rock artists preferred to avoid the last two months of the year; though it's typically the stronghold time of year for pop superstar stocking stuffers, I still find it just a bit odd to see that two month gap emerge after mid-October with no nominated songs. In fact, that's almost as odd as two established bands deciding to release their albums one week before Christmas. Regardless, our last batch of nominees runs the gamut: here we find new artists to look out for, home grown Maritime talent hitting its stride, and no less than three bands with multiple Album of the Year nominations. Song of the Year nominees #41-50 are:

Surprising turns from established heavy bands. New heights for critical darlings. Up and coming artists making strong first impressions. The back half of summer saw all of this and more, as even the dog days saw some worthwhile releases that begged our attention. The fourth collection of Song of the Year nominees are:

Usually, as spring gives way to summer album releases dry up. In 2015, however, it didn't really feel like the case. Sure, there were less albums released than in the spring but pretty much every week in June and July saw something worthwhile hit the shelves. Plus, there are a couple from July 10th, which is the date all new releases shifted from Tuesdays to Fridays. This batch of nominees also represents a nice cross section of new and emerging bands, established acts and long dormant bands breaking long silences. Our third set of Song of the Year Nominees are:

Spring 2015 saw some big albums released that were kind of disappointing (isn't that right, Mumford & Sons?), but it also saw some really good work by bands that typically fly under the radar. Some of this batch of nominees have been around for a long time, some are relative newcomers, and a couple of them made welcome returns from very long absences. The next group of Song of the Year nominees are:

Typically a chance to take a breather from the year that had just passed and resolve to get through the winter while looking forward to some great albums in the spring, 2015 bucked that trend in grand fashion. From established artists releasing highly anticipated albums that met or exceeded expectations to hungry new artists looking to make their mark, the first quarter of 2015 provided an abnormally high amount of quality songs and albums. The tone was also set early with female-fronted projects that hit with force and built momentum for women in rock that carried through the rest of the year (I wrote about that here in April). The first batch of Song of the Year nominees are: