Ten for 2015

This year, I have mostly been listening to...

So let's get to it, my musical highlight of 2015 without much of a contest was finally, after 20 years thinking and assuming there was no chance of it ever happening, getting to see my beloved Ride play live. The songs sounded so fresh, they may well as well have been being played for the first time – in the case of Black Nite Crash, the song from which my band took its name, this tour was indeed its first live outing. Reunions aren't always 100% successful, but this one was an absolute triumph, a truly special and emotional experience for me.

On to new music, then. Defying expectations that they'd be too tired and, well, pointless, three of my favourite albums of the year actually came from other 90s stalwarts – Blur, The Chemical Brothers and The Charlatans all producing strong efforts. Honourable mention too to Tom Jones who narrowly missed out on this list with a stonking cover of Billy Boy Arnold's I Wish You Would; age really is just a number. Younger pups who made nice noises this year but I haven't picked out a song from were Farao, The Lake Poets, Galants and Menace Beach.

Here then are the first 10 songs that jumped out at me as my favourites from this year. A lot of returners from the previous two years' lists, so there remains the nagging feeling that I need to be out there discovering more new folks. As always, in no particular order, because in music we're all winners, aren't we? Yes, we are.

Guy Garvey – Juggernaut

The more than occasionally annoying 6 Music name dropper and lead singer from Elbow (has he told you he's the lead singer from Elbow?) went solo this year and it seemed to be really rather good. This one is simply beautiful.

Ringo Deathstarr – Stare At The Sun

There's obviously something in the more deserty states of the USA that makes people go all shoegazey and psychedelic, which obviously is never a bad thing. These Texans are up there with my favourites. The Levitation festival is up there on my music event bucket list.

Tess Parks and Anton Newcombe – Cocaine Cat

Old Anton was pretty prolific this year, with a few BrianJonestown Massacre releases and also this intriguing album with Tess Parks, owner of one of the most unique and somehow terrifying voices I've heard in a while.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds – The Ballad Of The Mighty I

The Chief. He's old, he's a gobshite, he's not the most original, but he's also still one of my heroes. The new record was ace, and I bloody love this song. So there.

Marika Hackman – Ophelia

One of my favourite discoveries of recent years, I think We Slept At Last gets my nod for album of the year, a truly magical work which I could have just filled this list with. Skin, the duet with Sivu which is the dictionary definition of 'haunting', was almost my choice for this, but I've plumped with Ophelia instead. Just go and buy the album. Now.

Ghostpoet – Off Peak Dreams

Super talented and seemingly a bloody nice bloke; sickening. This is a great song to open a great album. Well worth seeing live too if you can.

Gaz Coombes – To The Wire

Another Britpop veteran with a wonderful solo offering. Again, a work to listen to in entirety, proving that the album is not the lost art that people would have you believe. The title track Buffalo was on my 2013 list; after much deliberation, this is my pick of the rest.

DMA'S – The Plan

There should probably be some rule about Australians being on this list, but there isn't so here are DMA'S. This might be my most listened to single song of the year… so simple, so beautiful… reach for that repeat button.

Cheatahs – Freak Waves

If Marika is my favourite new artist of recent years, then I reckon Cheatahs are my favourite band. With several EPs, an album, and several tours, it's been a very busy year for this multi-national crew. I saw them twice; they were mint. This is off the album.

Blossoms – Charlemagne

One of the more outrageously catchy efforts of the year, this is another that I often have to listen to more than once at a time. These lads from Stockport will be out and about in the first half of next year; go and see them if you can.

So there we have it, another year is done. No matter what Simon Cowell and the like throw at us, music is still strong; great new music is still popping up out there, so go to a gig, go to a record shop, find it, buy it, listen to it, love it.