Monday, April 14 through Friday, April 18 is WYEP’s Decades Week. On Monday, all the music played from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. will be from 1975. On Tuesday, it’s all 1985. 1995 takes center stage on Wednesday. Relive 2005’s best music on Thursday. And wrap up the week with a journey back to 2015.
From the experimental rock and psychedelic sounds of new Cage the Elephant music to Kacey Musgraves’ iconic “Pageant Material” to a concept album from Father John Misty, 2015 was a time for artists to figure out who they were and celebrate their great songwriting.
Cage the Elephant dropped their fourth album, “Tell Me I’m Pretty,” in the final few weeks of 2015. The previous year found them out on the road with The Black Keys, and that relationship blossomed even further as Dan Auerbach produced the new album. They apparently had a great time making it, saying that they spent a lot of time just experimenting with different sounds and getting a bit psychedelic. Whatever it was, it worked because the album earned the group their first Grammy.
Father John Misty said “I Love You, Honeybear” is a concept album about himself. While that statement may be true in a roundabout way for many musicians who pour their hearts out in their songs, this one was a bit headier. Josh Tillman’s stories on the album are personal to the point that he was nervous about playing them live, and having to deal with the reactions of the people he was writing about.
Kacey Musgraves wrote one of the best country albums of the last 20 years, regardless of what country radio thinks about it. The sharp-witted trailer park survivor released “Pageant Material” at the beginning of the summer of 2015 and cemented her growing reputation as a songwriter’s songwriter who also had the looks, the chops, and the to-hell-with-you-if-you-don’t-like-me attitude that would propel her into full-fledged stardom just a few years later. While her sound has evolved considerably over the years, “Pageant Material” holds up as a record with a little something for everyone.
Ryley Walker came up in the Chicago music scene after moving from Rockford, Ill. in his early 20s. He got jazzier and more experimental along the way, getting some help from some other interesting Chicago players. Not all of Ryley’s music is easy to listen to (I can’t blame anyone for having a hard time with his full album avant-jazz tribute to Dave Matthews’ famed “Lillywhite Sessions”), but “Primrose Green” is easy, breezy, and a song you’ll come back to many times.
Florence + The Machine returned in 2015 after the band’s namesake singer came back from a year-long break from the music industry. She emerged refreshed and full of great ideas, like stripping down her big sound a bit. “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful” was the payoff and it earned the band five Grammy nominations, along with a shortlist mention for the 2015 Mercury Prize.
