Brace yourselves, folks - I have a lot to say about the three hundred and sixty-five days that we have just left behind.
(Also, happy new year!)(Is it still acceptable to say happy new year on the 20th? Asking for a friend)

There will be a 2015 in music - the gig edition (which might be divided in two parts because ninety is A LOT of shows) but as for now, we are into 2015 in music - the album, EPs and songs edition (in other words, what did your girl dig the past year)

It's no secret to anyone that my favourite album released in 2015 is Brainwashed by Sheffield's very own While She Sleeps. I knew it would be something special as soon as they had released its biggest single, Four Walls, and I wasn't disappointed - I spun the little thing like there's no tomorrow. What disappointed me, though, is its absence from the vast majority of the year's reviews, which I don't understand. It is their finest material so far, the songwriting and musicianship is simply excellent, and coming back from your frontman undergoing two vocal chord surgeries with an album like this is nothing short of a triumph. Oh well. Only me, then.

Second up for me is Blurryface by American duo twenty one pilots. I had vaguely heard the name here and there before they released the album, and only decided to give them a serious listen when my friend Jon told me how much he loved them (oh, the miracles Slam Dunk brought). Since then, I've been listening to it on repeat - it's clever, brilliantly written, the concept of Blurry Face to depict vocalist Tyler Joseph's insecurities and what's eating him alive is incredibly interesting and if you don't want your significant other to think about you when they listen to Tear in My Heart or We Don't Believe What's on TV, I doubt you have a functioning heart.

In third position is Automatic by Don Broco, which I could only describe as banger central. It's poppy, it's funky, it's catchy as hell and it will, without the shadow of a doubt, make you want to get up and dance in the middle of public transportation. Every single one of the songs has the sneaky power of getting stuck in your head until the end of humanity (Superlove, guys, SUPERLOVE!) and in the midst of so much catchiness and dancing material, there are tear jerkers like Nerve or Further. It's no wonder why these guys sold out the mighty Brixton Academy following its release.

(PS : I am infinitely sorry for the use of the words "banger central")

Other brilliant albums released in 2015 : 

- The Story So Far, by The Story So Far. (If anyone had told me, last year, that I would classify The Story So Far in my favourite albums, I would have laughed in their face, but I've been proven wrong. This is pop punk gold)

- Ark by We Are The Ocean. (I've been waiting three entire years for the follow up to Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow, and I haven't been disappointed. It's so drastically different from everything they've done before but they have the talent to pull it off. Also, Good For You might be the sexiest thing released this year)

- That's The Spirit by Bring Me The Horizon (I know, it's every publication's favourite thing of all time, but it got gold for a reason. There is nü metal infused goodness (hello Throne or Happy Song) and more sensitive numbers like Doomed, and it's just really good)

- A Head Full of Dreams by Coldplay (It's become such a trend to hate Coldplay that everyone keeps forgetting how brilliant they are. Chris Martin has a voice of pure gold and they have the ability to create a different, unique and interesting universe with every release they make. Also, there's a song with Beyoncé)

- 1989 by Ryan Adams (I wish every band would do their own version of 1989 but the more I listen to Ryan Adams' take on it, the less I believe anyone could beat him at this game. It's the perfect soundtrack to a touching, yet slightly quirky 80s film à la Breakfast Club, and I am all over that kind of thing)

- Subliminal Criminals by Stray From The Path (there is hardcore goodness, there is a strong political message, there is Sam Carter, there is Rou Reynolds, there is the stand I wish everyone would take against the predators that pollute our scene - in other words, Stray From The Path have gone and done it again, the little perfection thing)

- Life's Not Out To Get You by Neck Deep (it took me a while to get around to it, but it's pop punk perfection from beginning to end. Also Gold Steps is everything and more)

There is only one I can think of, but I love it so, so much that I created an EP category just to celebrate how beautiful it is. (Yes, that is just how pathetic yours truly is) It is the Live Like This EP by The Xcerts. Why should you listen to it, you ask? It contains Live Like This, which is incredibly catchy pop rock and is provided with a lovely live music video. There are two songs that didn't make the album, Bored and Heaven, and the world would probably be a better place if every single band had potential B-sides like those. Also, you know how, sometimes, bands release the original demos of some of their songs, and they have completely different lyrics and they are entirely different songs, but it's oh so interesting to listen to them because you see how they went from one draft to the final cut? There's one of those for Kids on Drugs. (Spoiler alert : it's just as heartbreaking as the album version)

There is I Am by Australian outfit Hands Like Houses. I can't even begin to explain how much I love these guys, and considering how much I've adored Unimagine, I had the highest expectations when it came to new material. It's safe to say I haven't been let down in the slightest. I Am is raw and honest and catchy and slightly heavier than their previous record, and Trenton Woodley's voice sounds just as dreamy as ever. I am sold. Bring on February.

Yes, I am aware that I said songs that aren't part of an album that has been released in 2015, but I said albums, not EPs. And yes, this is just an excuse to include Bored by The Xcerts. When I first listened to it, I found it hard not to do a little dad-dance in my kitchen (and then I remembered that I share the kitchen with a lot of other people and it wouldn't really work out), and then I found it hard to stop listening to it, and then I found it hard to get it out of my head. Stupid perfect band.

Another Australian band, another era I have adored, more expectations - but now, this is Tonight Alive we're talking about. The Other Side is one of my all-time favourite albums and the impact it had on my life is impossible to put into words - how do you follow that? I suppose you just have to trust the band to do something just as inspiring, and then they go and release something empowering like To Be Free. I am in love with the nineties vibes that emanate from its every note and I just cannot wait to hear the entirety of Limitless.

I'm sure 2016 is going to be a brilliant year when it comes to music - there are new albums coming from Panic! At The Disco, Moose Blood, Tonight Alive, Hands Like Houses, (possibly?) The Xcerts, Architects, Bury Tomorrow, The Summer Set and Real Friends just to name a few. Bring it on.