Board 8 > I need to tell you about my favourite songs and albums of 2017.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I really just need to start a fucking blog already, but I'll settle for this for now. I've been wanting to put a list together for weeks now and I couldn't settle on the number of songs I wanted to include in each list, or the even the order of the content featured. The year is nearly over and I'm going to be quite busy with Christmas and family stuff in the coming weeks so I've decided to just blurt out semi-random thoughts about all this music when the feeling hits me. No order, no filter, no edits.

To shake things up a bit I'm going to reveal all the artists I plan to talk about first, rather than a bottom to top, reveal style list. I won't however mention whether it's a song or album I plan on speaking about. As always, comments and predictions are both welcome and appreciated.

The artists:

Blondie
Brand New
Calvin Harris
Creeper
Everything Everything
Foster the People
Halsey
Harry Styles
Hippo Campus
Kesha
Lights
Lorde
The M Machine
Manchester Orchestra
Mura Masa
Nothing But Thieves
ODESZA
Paramore
Royal Blood
Slowdive
St. Vincent
SZA
Tove Lo
The xx
Violents & Monica Martin

First entry is coming right up as I'm listening to the album right now and getting angry. Really angry.
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iooadlpl
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Album #1

Violents & Monica Martin - Awake and Pretty Much Sober

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR3ScSUCWOM

I don't fucking get it. I listened to this album the week it was released and instantly knew it would stand up as being one of the best of the year. Months later and it seems like I'm still the only one that has even heard it. It's not that I can't find enough glowing reviews of it online... I can't find anyone reviewing it and it makes no goddamn sense. The blend of classical arrangements with electronic production, Monica Martin's flawless voice and the strength of the lyrics and concept held throughout the album... it's fucking sublime. It's as well produced and emotionally affecting as anything released by a major label artist this year and it somehow flew under the radar of every music blog out there? It's unacceptable and I won't stand for it. Go listen to this album. Now.
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Songs #1 and #2

ODESZA - Line of Sight feat. WYNNE & Mansionair

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ayH60ET4U0

ODESZA - Across the Room feat. Leon Bridges

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEW_n1922vk

I've got some complex feelings about the newest ODESZA record. I don't think I've ever come across an album I dislike so strongly, that includes songs that I enjoy this much. I would consider their previous album In Return to be a masterpiece of electronic dance music and one of my favourite albums of any genre. It feels as though with their latest release they aimed to transcend dance music altogether and create something far more grand... wherein lies the rub. In listening to the album it is obvious they aimed to create the most profound electronic album ever, resulting in an incredibly grueling listen with merely a few moments of reprieve along the way. Believe it or not these two tracks are some of the least dramatic offerings to be found on the album, and while still overblown in some moments they demonstrate that the duo are still capable of producing stunningly beautiful music when they're not focused on trying to make you feel every possible emotion at once.
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Tag. It's been a busy busy year, so I haven't listened to as much music in 2017 as I would have liked. Hopefully I'll find some good new stuff in this topic.
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mcflubbin posted...

Tag. It's been a busy busy year, so I haven't listened to as much music in 2017 as I would have liked. Hopefully I'll find some good new stuff in this topic.

You definitely provided some of my favourites of the year (or at least things I discovered this year) so I'm hoping I can return the favour.

Album #2

Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile to the Surface

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71U_qjHLM58

Though I've been listening to this album for months already, I still feel like I'm just beginning to understand the themes in each track and how they connect to one another. It's a concept album dealing with topics like love, suicide, murder and the wonder of childbirth and parenthood, shifting perspectives between a fictional narrative set in a South Dakota mining town and the lead singer Andy Hull's own real life and family. Somehow this album manages to move between all these characters and viewpoints while still being the most cohesive listening experience I've had this year.

It sounds cliche, but this album really does feel like you're listening to a story. There is a captivating earnestness to the lyrics and the verses are filled with such specificity that it's possible to forget you're listening to actual songs rather than tales of someone's life, or death. That's not to say the music is forgettable either, just that it's so well-fitting it almost serves as a soundtrack to the storytelling.

To circle back to the cohesiveness of the whole thing, if you're even remotely interested in hearing the album I'd implore you not to listen to any of the other singles first and just start from the beginning of the album. This thing is mixed better than most DJ compilations I've heard. The transitions are seamless and I don't believe I've ever stopped listening halfway or picked out single tracks to listen to. It's just a complete work of art and I find it just as amazing today as I did during my first exposure.
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I've really been surprised at the lack of buzz Black Mile seemed to get. I've never been much of a Manchester Orchestra fan but that was easily a top 3 AOTY for me. The transition from The Sunshine to The Grocery is one of my favorite music moments from this year.
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gat
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Song #3

Foster the People - SHC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUTcLuxiN5w

I can already see a running theme in my favourite songs of the year, and it's the fact that many of them can be found in albums I considered to be thoroughly disappointing. There are certainly some great songs to be found on Foster's third LP, even though much of the album features the band doing merely passable impersonations of their favourite influences... But what really soured me on the album was the fact that it's strongest and most unique songs were already featured on the III EP released a few months previous. Case in point--SHC. It feels both fresh and familiar, exactly what you would want a Foster the People track to sound like in 2017. More of an evolution of their Torches era sound than anything from Supermodel but distinctly Foster nonetheless. Great vocals, attractive melodies and oh my god that guitar. It may be the greatest guitar tone I've ever heard. It's about as bright and shiny as you can get without getting into the reaches that cause fatigue. It's bliss, and you owe it to yourself to heard this song on great headphones through a quality DAC. Youtube does not do it justice. I don't even have words for 3:30-3:40... it's just... the best.
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Bump.

I'd post one now if I wasn't on mobile...
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Album #3

Calvin Harris - Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME9x1mSNv-w

Was anyone expecting Calvin Harris to release his best album in 2017? After perfecting the David Guetta formula with 2012's 18 Months, his previous album Motion felt like a serious regression and I honestly thought he was due to become a parody of himself... but this is really one of the last things I expected from him. I found that his signature for the last two albums was producing music fir for the featured artists rather than the album itself, this lead to some great music and hype vehicles for new artists, but also created albums that truly sounded like a collection of singles each aiming for the top of the charts. This time around he's created an actual album of music that is not only perfect for the summer or days at the beach... but also devoid of any tropical house. It's kind of a big deal.

Tracks like "Heatstroke" really exemplify how much fun this album is with their silly bars, easy-going grooves and beautiful guest vocals on the hook. This album makes me love so many artists I can't stand to listen to on their own, and that is the genius of great producers. What makes this album even better is the fact that the last two songs are actually kind of serious. The quality of lyrics found in tracks like "Faking It" and "Hard to Love" shouldn't be found in dance music, yet they appear here... and the songs still don't sound out of place on an album full of frivolous fun, they just elevate it.

I'm trying not to get myself too hyped up, but it's hard not to think about Vol. 2 already... this album is good.
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Bump. I really like that Calvin Harris song. I generally like his singles, but I've never really listened to anything more from him. Maybe it's time to change that!
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definitely an eunexpectedly great album
Cash Out is probably in my top 10 tracks for the year
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Album #4

Nothing But Thieves - Broken Machine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9_BsjMi4bM

It was really hard to find the right video to use for this album, but I decided to go with "Sorry" in order to show off the strength of their songwriting. Make no mistake, this is a ROCK album, and these guys can really tear it down (check out "Live Like Animals" if you're curious) but what I find equally impressive is how they can build up the energy in a slower track like this and cause you to feel like you're still rocking out despite the fact you're listening to a ballad of regret. Outside of the songs about relationships some more complex themes are discussed as well, with the band questioning faith, organized religion and even their place in the universe as conscious beings.Despite the music not sounding all that similar, it's this type of content that makes it easy to draw parallels between Nothing But Thieves and a band like Muse. I often feel that this is what Muse could have sounded like if they didn't start to... suck, almost 10 years ago.

Much like Muse they're not afraid to incorporate electronics in their production, and their vocalist has an absolutely beautiful falsetto with an impressive range to go along with it. As a whole their production is immaculate and for my money this is one of the best mixed albums of the year and a current favourite of mine when testing out new headphones or speakers. There is a serious attention to detail placed on atmosphere and dynamics here, making it an incredibly fun and engaging listening experience. I don't know if anyone can save rock and roll at this point, but my money's on these guys.
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Honorable Mention

Blondie - Pollinator

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaL-G9zVxzk

Expectations are everything. I'm a pretty big Blondie fan, but nobody is eagerly anticipating a Blondie album in 2017. I think my exact thoughts when playing it for the first time were "Well, it might not be terrible", and that turned out to be a huge understatement. Debbie Harry is 72 and this album is good. It's not one of the best of the year, but it's good. This album shouldn't work. We have a 72 year old woman singing in the same style and genre as she did in the 70's and it somehow sounds great. This is genuine new-wave music and even the themes haven't matured. She's still singing about having fun and hooking up and it just sounds right. There is something about people their age doing what they love and actually being great at it that makes me so fucking happy. It's the most unexpectedly inspirational album I've heard... well, there are some competitors this year, but it's still hella inspirational. Rock on sister.
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i stopped caring about calvin harris after 18 months, but most of the funk wav bounces vol. 1 songs i've heard were great. definitely want to check this album out.
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Holidays have way too many obligations. I just want to talk about Harry Styles.
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Live?
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Bump.
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tag for the handful of ones i've heard

Album #5

Kesha - Rainbow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Dur3uXXCQ

I think the hardest part of being a pop-apologist is containing my rage when people try to dismiss an album like Rainbow based on Kesha's image over the last few years. I can't blame anyone for thinking she's a dumb party girl that makes disposable chart-pop because some of her best songs in the past were exactly that... but holy fucking shit is this album a departure. If you've been following the accusations and court battles between her, Sony and Dr. Luke it's remarkable enough that she planned to release a studio album this year at all, the fact that this album ended up the best of her career and easily one of the strongest in the genre this year is awe-inspiring. "Praying" on its own would have been enough of a statement. She deserves all of the accolades for turning an experience that painful into a song that powerful... but what makes this album so special is that she does not only take her worst memories and use them to make incredible, moving music... she also performs some of the most fun music she's ever recorded. It's not a somber album about surviving sexual assault, it's a triumphant album about thriving, even after going through the unimaginable.

I honestly get emotional just thinking about this album, never mind actually listening to it. If you've been sleeping on Kesha until now, it might be time to give her a shot.
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Glad to see Blondie here even if it's just an honorable mention.
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Album #6

Royal Blood - How Did We Get So Dark?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSznpyG9CHY

Welcome to Riff City
Population: Me

Yes, I live here now. I don't think any single album has ever been responsible for so much air guitar (or should I say air bass?) in my entire life... and I actually own a guitar now. I discovered this band by complete chance while browsing the BBC's coverage of Reading and Leeds, or possible Glastonbury this year and I'm pretty sure they're what reignited my love for hard rock earlier this year. This is the kind of music that makes me want to damage my ears. I'm listening as I type right now and I'm barely resisting the urge to turn the volume up 10 levels higher than my default setting. It's the kind of music I literally cannot sit still while listening to. If my hands weren't on the keyboard I'd be drumming right along. If my ass weren't in the seat I'd be jumping around doing windmills. If there weren't a bunch of people in the house I'd be screaming the lyrics at the top of my... you get it. This music is really fucking fun. When they're not melting faces with the chunkiest riffs you'll ever hear, they can set one hell of a groove, as evidenced in tracks like "She's Creeping".

I will admit that I was a little bit late in discovering Royal Blood and that all this gushing is likely due to the fact that I wasn't paying attention when they released their debut album. Even so, I can't deny that this album contains some of the best hard rock I've heard. Of any era.
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I definitely need to take these down as recs

The kesha album sounds excellent
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Song #4

The M Machine - Blind (feat. Luisa Gerstein)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw5EEmpgxRs

I'm still not quite sure what it is about this song that resonates with me... but outside the context of an album, it's probably my favourite track of the year (and also a Rainy Mood all-star for anyone who rolls that way). I would consider The M Machine masters of production and sound design, but this isn't a track I would use as an example of either of those things. It feels quite simple in it's construction, and even the lyrics while above typical EDM fare, aren't anything entirely special. If anything, the song's greatest achievement was getting me overhyped for an album I didn't even enjoy all that much.

...I thought I had more to say about this song.
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Rainbow is great but i'm also a fan of the old Kesha, the party girl Kesha, the trashy rep Kesha, the show me where your dick's at Kesha

Woman is probably my favorite track off that. that clip at the beginning just sets the tone for a fun ass time. and then it goes to Hymn which is great to follow up with.

kateee posted...

Rainbow is great but i'm also a fan of the old Kesha, the party girl Kesha, the trashy rep Kesha, the show me where your dick's at Kesha

Same here, I think Warrior is a great album as well. It's just harder to sell pop haters on old Kesha. I feel like this new album is undeniable, though that might just be because I've been a fan of hers for so long.
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More.
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Honorable Mention

Harry Styles - S/T

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvZMygu99uE

This is a really odd album for me. I don't think it's all that good and there might only be 2-3 tracks I actually like on it... yet it feels full of potential and I still find myself trying to convince people it's good every chance I get. Despite the fact that it seems like a scattered attempt at proving Harry's depth and range as an artist and vocalist after leaving One Direction (who I am completely unfamiliar with, for the record) I still find myself believing all of the hype as I listen to it. I hear one track and think to myself "he could have a career making psychedelic rock if he leaned more in this direction", another track makes me think he could be the next Billy Joel, or Billy Idol. Hell, he could probably be Billy Ocean if he tried hard enough. The experiment worked. I'm now paying attention to this kid and I cannot wait to see what he does next. I just hope it's more focused in a particular genre or sound rather than just showing everyone what he's capable of. I'm already impressed. I'm just waiting for him to blow me away.
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Album #7

Creeper - Eternity, In Your Arms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT83wjfs0lM

It goes against everything in me to enjoy a band this derivative, but something about Creeper both speaks to my nostalgia, and repackages it in a way I can respect, rather than dismiss as an inferior copy. I even hate it when journalists make reductive comparisons to other bands rather than describing the music itself, but Creeper is a band that has no qualms about wearing their influences on their sleeve. They are literally a blend of AFI, My Chemical Romance and Meat Loaf, with a dash of Alkaline Trio. And I mean literally. Yet somehow their music still feels fresh. It's kinda like that thing they say about cooking where it's not about the ingredients, but how you put them together? Someone said that, right? I didn't just make that up? Anyway, it seems true here.

I think my favourite aspect of this band are their theatrics. The music is so unabashedly dramatic, in a way I haven't seen or heard since... MCR. They're a band you know are having a ton of fun, as much as they try to look dark and brooding for their aesthetic. They make me wish I was 10 years younger so I could wear their stupid patch on a thrift store leather jacket. Weirdly enough, they're making me understand fandom and I'm oddly happy the Warped Tour kids are obsessing themselves with something I can actually consider "my generation". I knew things were moving faster, but it really is a sign of the times that a band can be considered a throwback to something popular just 10 years ago.

In closing, AFI, My Chemical Romance, Meat Loaf and Alkaline Trio. If that sounds good to you, you'll love this band.
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I'm just here to listen to you rave about Science Fiction
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the last time the chorus comes around and the drums kick in on Misery always gets me
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Wearing my Science Fiction shirt today.
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Today. Content.
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Album #8

Tove Lo - Blue Lips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iASe_veKR74

I'm not sure if Tove Lo is being marketed correctly. Yes, her music and image are intensely sexual and her lyrics forgo innuendo all together, instead discussing sexual activity with the same level of delicacy you'd expect from Khia. But in listening to her full-length albums (all of which are concept albums, of a sort) it doesn't take long to realize that her music is often supremely sad. Even in tracks that seem to celebrate free love and hookup culture there is an underlying theme that this type of behaviour is merely fun, rather than fulfilling.

While both Queen of the Clouds and last year's Lady Wood explored the same concept in the journey of a relationship, her 2017 LP is the first that truly feels like a story from start to finish. Rather than starting with infatuation and limerence before transitioning into the conflict and eventual downfall of the relationship, Blue Lips begins with the conflict and details the struggle of trying to save something that is so clearly broken. It's hard to put into words just how sad this album is. It is still pop music in both production and arrangement, each track hovers around 3:30 in length and her hooks are as catchy as they've ever been, but there is an unsettling air of futility around everything that prevents me from enjoying it the same way as I have her previous albums. The story starts dark, and it just gets more depressing as the album goes on. Tove Lo has never sounded more vulnerable, and the understated electronic production allow you to truly focus on the most cutting and heartfelt lyrics she's ever written.

In short, this is by far the best music she's ever released and it feels like she has finally finished telling the story she began in 2014.
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I used to call Kesha my guilty pleasure. I loved her party girl dirty music. But I love her new music as well, so she's not really a "guilty" pleasure anymore.

I haven't heard any of Tove Lo's new music, but I loved her stuff that was popular a few years ago. I'll have to give that one a listen.
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i thought Lady Wood was some of the blandest stuff i've heard in a while. haven't heard this one. i only know her for taking her top off at like every concert anyway.

I've only listened to Queen of the Clouds but I'd definitely agree with "supremely sad" as the overall descriptor of her music. Even her more excitung songs like Time bomb were pretty depressing and of course, her big hit Habits emphasizes that more than anything.

I'm really interested in hearing more from her.
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Album #9

Mother Mother - No Culture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUPhK1y27AY

I really thought this record would take the country (Canada) by storm... but it really just came and went without much fanfare at all. Mother Mother have been gaining steam over the past few years as their sound has moved closer and closer to the mainstream and really started to embrace melody and pop sensibilities. In this album they've almost completely lost their edge in favor of a pop-rock sound and the results are... impressive? I could honestly describe this album as both their least interesting, and their most consistent. It's quite safe compared to their previous records, but so incredibly polished that it's easy to overlook the simplicity and just enjoy the sounds. Literally every track here is am earworm, in an obvious way as well, almost as if they were ghost-produced by a Max Martin protege. Given the general feeling about bands like Maroon 5 and Fallout Boy I'm not sure that there is much of a market for pop rock these days, but all I can say is that this album proves Mother Mother can do it better than anyone.
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Bump.
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Sunday Funday.

Might have to do some more HMs today, feeling in a funk.
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Honorable Mention

Everything Everything - A Fever Dream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrLfU45Gi2w

This could quite possibly be my favourite half-album of 2017. Somehow I absolutely fell in love with everything on this album up until "Run the Numbers" and then didn't care for anything that came after it. It's a weird feeling because I know every rock band is going to have slower and less chaotic songs in an album, it can't be turned up to 11 all the time... but I just can't connect with much in the latter half of the album, regardless of how well it may be written and performed. The only exception may be the short track/interlude "New Deep" which is just straight up weird in the way that I love. It's the kind of track that I would keep to myself for years, only to bring it out when I want to blow someone's mind during an acid trip.

It's definitely an album I will have to listen to more, as I still haven't really dug in to examine all of the lyrical themes, but on a purely sonic level it contains some of my favourite moments of the year such as the entire closing third of "Big Game" and the pre-chorus of "Can't Do". While those are some of the sequences I found myself playing in my head over and over again this year, the fact that I couldn't vibe with the second half at all earns this an HM rather than a spot on the list.
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Song #5

Halsey - 100 Letters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP4Yr8bGuDQ

I feel roughly the same about Halsey's album as I do about A Fever Dream. There are 4-5 tracks in the first half that I find decent, and then "Now or Never" begins a parade of garbage that spans the rest of the album... Still, I find myself in love with this track and it's the only one I keep returning to. Since hopeless fountain kingdom is a fairly by-the-numbers pop record, the production on this track is the first thing that immediately stands out, especially in terms of percussion. The lyrics contain both the trademark specificity and clever metaphors she became known for in her first album and her delivery sounds effortless in the good way, which can't be said for many other tracks on the album where it honestly just feels phoned in.

Completely unrelated: The fact that this is Song #5 just reminded me of HAIM and the fact that they released an album this year. Talk about a let down. I remember discovering HAIM and Lorde around the same time and listening to them both nonstop for all of 2013... Funny enough they both came out with 2017 albums, yet the results were so, so different.
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Album #10

Hippo Campus - Landmark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3TQKEUne5Q

As I've said at least 18 times on this board now, it was a real matter of chance that I discovered this band in the first place. Me and my girlfriend were at a bar on vacation wondering what we should do that night. Deciding to look for live music within walking distance we decided on Hippo Campus and the rest... well I'll tell you the rest.

It was a rock bar in a seedier part of town so we really had no idea what type of music to expect or the crowd that type of music would bring in. Lucky for us everyone was extremely friendly and surprisingly trustworthy. I distinctly remember people just leaving their bags/backpacks in the dark corner of the room where we were standing, rather than just checking them in at the front. Extremely positive vibes as the kids say. The same could be said for the music and their performance. There's a curious optimism to this album and it quickly became one of my favourite feelgood albums of the year. It's an album filled with bright, infectious melodies yet the compositions are unique and varied enough to prevent the music from sounding frivolous, no matter how happy and carefree the timbres are.

The album also contains a couple of my favourite moments of the year (which I now realize could be a separate and much more interesting list) in both it's intro and false ending. The track I posted has a heavily processed intro called "Sun Veins" that leads beautifully into "Way It Goes" and I mean beautifully. It's the kind of stuff seamless playback was invented for. The false ending is more of an album quirk and I just love that it fools me every time. Two slow tracks are played back-to-back "Poems" and "Monsoon" and the latter just has the exact feel of an album closer. No matter how many times I listen to the album I get to the end of Monsoon and reflect on how good it was, only to remember there are still 4 tracks left. It's kind of like thinking you left only one piece of pizza in the box and then finding out there are actually two... or five?

Anyway it's a great indie rock record with some pop sensibilities and it turns out I might actually be seeing them again next week as we return to Vancouver... how serendipitous.
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Album #11

Lights - Skin & Earth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyM8pMH2OF0

I think Lights may be Canada's best kept secret (FTR Daniel Caesar is already blowing up, not eligible). She's just been up here producing and recording some of the tightest pop music of the decade to very little fanfare. While she stayed within the confines of synth/electropop for her first few albums, Skin & Earth is a testament to her range as a producer as the album is an eclectic mix of many pop genres that remains incredibly cohesive and flows brilliantly from start to finish. You have tracks like "Savage" which may be her heaviest to date, featuring hard rock guitar riffs and some truly gripping lyrics about being blindsided in a relationship she's completely poured herself into. There are songs like "We Were Here" and featuring more of a hip-hop/R&B flavour with their pitched down ad-libs and sexy bass grooves, all the way to tracks like "Until the Light" which is literally a tropical house song or "Fight Club" which is... I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I hear a steel drum in there. All the bases are covered and nothing sounds even remotely out of place.

I'll admit that I haven't even looked at the comic book that this ties into, but I can assume that this dual-focus is responsible for why this album is so dynamic and cohesive at the same time. Serving as a soundtrack as well as an album in its own right it has the ups and downs you'd expect while reading a compelling narrative as well as a neat resolution tying everything up at the end. The album is nearly flawless. Nearly. The lead single "Giants" is kind of trash.
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That Hippo Campus album is a lot of fun. Buttercup is probably one of my favorite songs of the year, I've had it in my head for a few days now. I haven't listened to any of their other stuff though, is it worth looking into?

I'll listen to some of these other albums soon. Keep up the great work!
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Bump.
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mcflubbin posted...

I haven't listened to any of their other stuff though, is it worth looking into?

I actually haven't gone back and listened to their earlier stuff yet, but the newer Ep warm glow is pretty good. More of the same, but pretty good.

I can't stop listening to Vince Staples right now. I'm not talking about Big Fish Theory either, I just can't stop listening to all his interviews and stuff. I love hearing this man speak.
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Moving sucks.
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