Attitude’s Album of the Year Award: ‘Communion’ by Years & Years

It’s been hard to go anywhere in 2015 without hearing Years & Years’ debut UK Number One album Communion. It’s been constantly streaming in the Attitude office, whether we put on a major radio station or a random iPod playlist, and you’re just as likely to hear it at a club, or a house party as you are in the Uber home (and then again on Sunday Brunch in the morning).

From belters like Desire and the number one smash King, to the lighter moments like Take Shelter and new single Eyes Shut, Years & Years defined the pop music landscape this year, straddling the line between pure breakout pop and what many would consider to be the ‘credible’ alternative. The proof is in the pudding. Just three months after Communion’s release, it’s already been certified Gold.

Naturally, we’ve also been more than taken by front man Olly Alexander who is redrawing the lines for what it means to be a gay pop star. In an industry that has still been known to muffle the sexuality of artists until they’ve sold big or at the very least ‘broken America’, it really does matter that Olly has been openly out from the get go, happily discussing his boyfriend (an fellow popstar) Neil Milan, and championing LGBT causes; and all the while their music transcends the boundaries of every demographic. All that said, we couldn’t be happier to name Years & Years Communion as Attitude’s Album of the Year.

You can read more about Years & Years – and the rest of winners from the 2015 Attitude Awards, presented in association with Virgin Holidays – in our special Attitude Awards issue, available to download from 11pm tonight at attitudedigital.co.uk and in shops tomorrow (Thursday October 15).