Not quite as groundbreaking as its more breathless proponents insist (Boris already did the pink album cover, Envy and Alcest heavily informed their sound) but there’s no denying the raw emotional punch of Deafheaven’s grounded breakout. Gazing at their shoes instead of the welkin at dusk while simultaneously slow diving under a funeral moon, they combined the best parts of two completely disparate genres in a way that spoke to music fans of all stripes – impressive when your frontman’s primary mode of speaking is a Nazgul shriek. Passionate communiqués like “Dream House” and “Vertigo” united sad, pale dudes from a multitude of scenes.

– Jeff Treppel