Malcriada Music Top 10 Albums of 2017
1. Mt. Eddy, Chroma
My kid was going through a depression earlier this year, and I thought, hey, what used to un-depress me when I was 17? MUSIC. I heard there was an all ages show at the Irenic with 2 bands featuring the kids of Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day. Hmm, interesting, I’ll give them a spin on the ol’ Spotify. Catchy AF, both of ‘em, SWMRS and what at the time was just Jakob Danger as a solo artist. Then his band, Mt. Eddy, dropped their debut album, Chroma. The first time I heard this record, I thought “This is going to be my Top Album of the year, I already know it.” And approximately 5,387 listens later, here we are. The fact that this kid is NINETEEN freakin’ years old just makes it all the more amazing. Every song is so good, so tight, so fun, so awesome. I get sick of almost all the songs on my Spotify playlists and my general favorites list gives my skipping finger an incredible workout. But I never pass over any of these songs. “Doze Off”, “Orange”, “Metaphor”, “Lovely”, “The Whale Song”…I love them all like a sickness and my son and I patiently scour our Instagram for news of Mt. Eddy’s next stop in San Diego. We’ll be there with bells on.
2. Alexandra Savior, Belladonna of Sadness
My friend Karl posted one of Alexandra’s songs on Facebook with a comment about how “this out-Lana’s Lana del Rey”. I like Lana as much as the next gal, so off I went to click. Cut to 2 hours later and I came out of rabbit hole of Alexandra Savior stalking dazed and with smeary mascara and an appointment to go get my fringe done just like the “Mirage” video. I haven’t stopped listening since and that was like, 8 mos ago? Ooh, she goes steady with Alex Turner out of Arctic Monkeys. Ah, she dresses so cute I wanna die. That kind of Drew Barrymore-circa-1992 level of obsession. So yeah, thanks Karl.
3. No Parents, Still Thirsty
Another gem of a discovery from my let’s-take-Sean-to-all-ages-shows depression treatment, this band is SO FUCKING RAD and so messy and most of the songs are a minute apiece, so I’m all impressed when this mini-album (7 tracks only) came out just a while back and some of these songs are like THREE minutes and they are so fleshed out and grown up! I’m quite sure they do not want to be called out as grown folks punk rock, so let me assure you my ass was the oldest person at that show except for Halloran. Everyone else was still 12, so y’know, cred still intact. #skypong
4. Old 97’s, Graveyard Whistling
I’m a card-carrying member of Old 97s fan club (and I wish I could convey to you how true this is). Therefore, any year they release an album, it goes on my Top Ten list automatically. Not as fun as Most Messed Up, but I dig every song on this record (except “Irish Whiskey Pretty Girls” which is awful), esp. some “Jesus Loves You”, “Good with God” and “Nobody”. HOWEVER: I need more Murry-songs, please. We usually get 2 and there is only one and I am miffed, MIFFED I tell you.
5. Lydia Loveless, Boy Crazy and Single(s)
I girlcrush hard on Lydia’s badassery and her great strong no-shit-taking voice. She’s the best thing Bloodshot Records has got going since Old 97’s. What a heartbreakingly fabulous cover of Elvis Costello’s “Alison”, which is an untouchable, right? No one should ever cover Alison!! But she did! And it’s SO GOOD. That’s how you know Lydia Loveless is EVERYTHING.
6. SZA, Cntrl
Half of my year’s listening was generated by Issa Rae’s Insecure soundtrack, and that’s where I found SZA’s “Supermodel”. Then I find out my 12-year-old daughter also *hearts* SZA, and awkwardness ensued. Lola grapples with the existential angst of having a mom who likes a lot of the same shit she does, and wears the same size shoe now so we can share Vans. On the one hand, it’s cool to get playlists from your mom and you end up liking a bunch of the artists, but on the other hand, IT’S YA MOM. She’s like, “More Vans…but at what price?!” So that’s what we both think of when we hear SZA. We don’t say it out loud, but that’s what we’re both thinking.
7. Strand of Oaks, Hard Love*
I’ve been waiting for this dude to take his magical beard and recreate the bewitching alchemy that was “Goshen ‘97”, a song I wrote an entire blog post about back when I first heard it in 2014. I quickly found that the vast majority of dude’s back catalogue is of the Sad Bastard variety, which, OK, it’s really EXCELLENT CALIBER Sad Bastard, but still that’s not what I am trying to listen to unless I’m going to sleep soon. So imagine my giddiness to hear Hard Love, which is a full 50% NOT Sad Bastard!! Such uptempo! So guitar! Not acoustic! I jumped for joy.
(*And this has nothing to do with my really really strong bias toward beardos, OK)
8. Dirty Sweet, Once More Unto the Breach
Because I’m a homegirl, Pac Man, and you can’t expect me to make a Top 10 list without a San Diego band on it! (I don’t even really count Wavves anymore since they belong to the world now) Dirty Sweet are one of my all-time favorite local bands and their breakup in 2010 made me cry bitter tears. So color me STOKED that they did a redux and are back better than ever, complete with a triumphant comeback show at the Casbah in November which was ON SOME OTHER OVER THERE SHIT. I’m telling you people, their live show is unparalleled and if you get a chance to see them, please do yourself a favor!
9. Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, Sidelong
“For someone who hates country music, you sure listen to a shitload of country music.” -My boyfriend. And he ain’t lying. The shit I hate is what those aggressively mediocre dudes on The Voice sing. And basically anything on mainstream Nashville-origin country radio post-1970’s (and some 80’s for childhood nostalgia reasons). The actual basic genre of country music, and especially everything leaning toward that on Bloodshot Records, is a big ol’ HELL YES for me. And I loooooove Sarah Shook. She definitely doesn’t make me wish I still drank, but she sure does make me feel a little bit “awww” about the years I did. Like I wanna pinch their cheeks rather than sock ‘em in the face.
10. Wavves, You’re Welcome
Because it wouldn’t be complete without EVERY BAND ON THAT BILL from the show at the Irenic making the list. Also because I’m a rabid enough of a Wavves fan that they will always go on my list if they release something. It’s not as great as Afraid of Heights or King of the Beach, but enough solid tracks to make it a 1-2-3 repeater for me.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Jacuzzi Boys, Singles n’ Stuff 2007-2011
Ted Leo, The Hanged Man
Vic Mensa, Autobiography
White Reaper, The World’s Best American Band
The Bronx, V
Kelela, Take Me Apart
Miley Cyrus, Younger Now
Jake Bugg, Hearts That Strain
Shed Seven, Instant Pleasures
