Written by: Alex Green

Author Andrew Smith has always been a great friend of Stereo Embers.

A writer of tremendous sensitivity, muscle and nerve, Smith’s latest novel Stand-Off is the sequel to the ungraspably brilliant Winger. At once a guidebook to grief, a longing look at loss and a rousing resuscitation of a broken heart, Stand-Off is bold, hilarious and incredibly moving. Set against the backdrop of a private prep school, it’s the literary equivalent of an academy fight song.

We asked Andrew for his Top 10 albums of the year and he was gracious enough to give us this fabulous list.

Enjoy!

You can visit Andrew here:

Andrew Smith’s Top 10 Albums of 2015:

My Best Albums of 2015, with a note: This year, there were a lot of “was it worth the wait” moments–Beirut’s newest, for example, which I’d been waiting on for four years. I was torn because I love Beirut, but No No No couldn’t really hold up to the ramshackle jangling beauty of 2010’s The Rip Tide. Still, a great album. Tame Impala’s Currents got bumped out of the top ten for me because their departure from the style I had come to expect from them was a bit unsettling. Modest Mouse put out a great album, even though I was at first leery that their offerings were going to be a bunch of old unreleased material. And Sufjan Stevens is just amazing forever.

The top three, to me, are standouts, with two indie acts (Car Seat Headrest and Alex G) that are deliciously crusty and personal.

In the case of Car Seat Headrest, he reminds me a lot of Cloud Nothings when Dylan Baldi was pure and unmanipulated by the industry. I hope he stays that way. And Alex G reminds me of a time traveler Elliott Smith. But Courtney Barnett–oh my! I have loved her ever since her Australian EPs dropped a few years ago, and this album is so incredibly good.

So, there you go.