My 17 Favorite Records of 2017
Hello, Internet. Yet another year has passed, and because Iāve made a habit of making year-end lists, this old man has gone and done it again.
I listened to a veritable buttload of music this year on my morning runs, which I decided to post about on Instagram most days in a concerted effort to keep myself accountable bore every last one of my followers to death. I think itās working.
What follows, is my list of favorites. Not ābestā. āFavoriteā. *My* favorite. So, spare me the āYour list sucks. WTF. I canāt believe āA Vest For Jeromeā by Turd Circus isnāt on there!ā comments. Iām sorry we donāt have the exact same taste in music. :)
As usual, I feel like the top 5 or 6 here are pretty carved in stone, but the last 12 and some of the honorable mentions could totally be flip-flopped depending on which side of the bed I woke up on. I actually fiddled with a few spots five minutes before posting this, which is either a testament to that or Exhibit 4,923 in my undiagnosed OCD case.
Anyways ... TL;DR. Hereās what I was into this year. I hope you find something you enjoy.
IMPORTANT: Please let me know what I might missed out on (as Iām sure thereās a ton of it), and share some of your favorites in the comments below. Thanks!
17) Japandroids - Near To The Wild Heart Of Life
This didnāt quite grab me the way Celebration Rock did, but itās got a good number of super infectious earworms that got stuck in my brain at the top of the year.Ā
16) Sorority Noise - Youāre Not As ____ You Think
Excellent āemoāwith that feels like it could very easily fit into Brand Newās discography (and I mean that in a very complimentary way). Highly recommended if youāre looking for something to fill that void.Ā
15) Queens of the Stone Age - Villains
This took a little while for this record to sink its teeth into me, but once it did, it didnāt let go. The arrangements are so nuanced that Iāve found little bits of ear candy each time Iāve listened to it, and while the mix is not my favorite, the songs are so brilliantly catchy and drumming so monstrous, Iām hooked. And Jon Theodore is the best drummer on Earth. Thatās not debatable either. Itās fact.
Itās no secret that Iām a sucker for anything and everything Bazan. His lyrics and the timbre of his voice cut to my core, and the songs on Care are no exception -- even when theyāre delivered over minimalist electronica (which is not my favorite vehicle by any stretch). Another Bazan masterpiece.
13) Glassjaw - Material Control
This record is perfect in that it is exactly what it needs to be. Itās Glassjaw doing what they do best -- intense, vibey, groovy, heavy post-hardcore that is a logical follow-up to Worship & Tribute, while flexing and pushing enough to make it feel fresh. A tremendous return to form, and a record that was well worth the wait.
12) Julien Baker - Turn Out The LightsĀ
Sprained Ankle blew me away and knocked me on my ass, and somehow, some way, Baker has leveled up and topped that. The stripped-down āartist + guitarā intimacy is still there, but the heavy moments hit even harder because of the additional orchestration on this record. Such a promising future for her.
11) The Life & Times - S/T
Another excellent record from some of one of Kansas Cityās best bands. There are few who do airy, melancholic, spacey, dynamic rock better than these guys. And Chris Metcalf is one of the best drummers on the planet right now -- so pockety, tasteful, and effortless. Highly recommended if you dig Failure, Shiner, Hum, Antenna-era Cave In, et al.Ā
This beast is 36 minutes of noisy, nasty, heavy post-punk with stellar guitar and bass tones, and badass drumming that sounds like the best parts of Nirvana and Young Widows had a perfect lovechild. I dare you to listen to this record and not have an overwhelming urge to play it as loud as you possibly can and headbang until your eyes fall out of your skull.
I really enjoyed this when it came out, but it wasnāt until we spent five weeks on tour with them and got to see them shred a handful of these songs on a nightly basis that it really grabbed ahold of me. This record is stellar. Sure there are a ton of notes, but theyāre all tasteful, never bogged down in painfully long prog opuses, and thereās so much feel here ... which is so rare in the new world of insanely chopped, gridded and sampled prog. The splashes of hip-hop and glitchy Prefuse 73 style electronica are a killer addition to the mix as well. This is the feel good record of the year for me.
8) Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
There really isnāt another rapper who holds a candle to Kendrick at the moment, and this might be the best work of his career. I havenāt had a hip-hop record hit me like this in at least a decade. I was hooked from the second the beat dropped in DNA., got roped in even more by the slow jam LOVE., and HUMBLE. sealed the deal. What a beast.
7) Cloud Nothings - Life Without Sound
This record rules, but Iām not sure I can put my finger on exactly why I like it so much. Itās got tiny elements of so many bands I love or used to love without being overly referential. Itās got a melancholic vibe but never lacks energy. And it is packed with really, really well written and catchy songs without full-blown pop circus. You know youāre listening to a great record when youāre playing a deep cut and uncontrollably blurt,Ā āFuck, this song is good.āĀ
6) Converge - The Dusk In Us
Nobody does it better than these dudes, and itās been that way for the better part of two decades. The Dusk In Us is yet another record a discography full of bar-setting hardcore/metal/noise records that elevate the ceiling of the genre and make everyone else sound/look bland in comparison. This one slides right into the #3 or #4 spot in that storied discography. So great.
5) Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile To The Surface
This is one of those rare records that blows you away on first listen, and gets better with each subsequent listen. The former happens when the songs --stripped to their bones -- are stellar, and the latter happens when the arrangements and mix are somehow even more stellar. ABMTTS checks the shit outta both of those boxes and then some. Aaaand it was made with multiple producers, but doesnāt sound disjointed in the slightest, which seems damn near impossible. Itās the perfect Manchester Orchestra record ...Ā āThe Goldā was stuck pleasantly in my head for a majority of the year.Ā Ā
4) Pile - A Hairshirt Of Purpose
Disclaimer: I am a late adopter of the majesty of Pile, but I am happy to announce that I am hopelessly hooked on their soulful, noisy, schizophrenic, (occasionally) dreamy, fusion of post-punk, blues, and all sorts of other good things. My entry point was Dripping, but A Hairshirt ... cemented my love for this band. Itās weird, itās beautiful, itās energetic, itās heavy, itās ethereal, and the musicianship is frustratingly good. If you know, you know ... if you donāt, just trust me. Spin it with an open mind and meet one of your new favorite bands.
3) Propagandhi - Victory Lap
I grew up on Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords punk rock in the 90s, and these guys (and gal) are legitimately the only band of that era that continue to excite and inspire me. I look forward to every release, and they manage to deliver every. single. time. Itās not a nostalgia thing with Propagandhi. Chris Hannahās lyrics, melodies, and guitar playing continue to push the boundaries of what can be done in that genre. You might expect a group of 40-year-old punks to decline or at least plateau, but theyāre still on an upward trajectory and itāsĀ inspiring as hell. Bonus points if youāre a parent and can listen to āAdventures In Zoochosisā without tearing up.Ā Victory Lap is outstanding -- one of their three best records without question.Ā
If youāve been following me here, on Twitter, or Instagram, itās no secret that Iāve got a massive soft spot in my heart for bummer jams -- especially bummer jams of the heavy variety. Time Well is a damn near perfect in those regards. Itās shoegazey without being tired or overly jangly, mildly doomy without being mind-numbingly boring, and fuzzy without sounding like it was recorded inside a sleeping bag. Iām pretty sure I listened to this record more than anything else this year, and after probably a hundred spins, it hasnāt lost any of its luster. Itās outstanding (and itās got some damn tasty drumming on it too).
1) Elder - Reflections Of A Floating World
My buddy Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City vocalist/guitarist, Antisleep recording engineer/producer, multi-talented human, generally outstanding dude, recommender of many amazing bands) turned me on to these guys earlier this year by sharing 2015ā²s Lore with me. That record f-ingĀ floored me. Riffs for days. Heaviness. Prog vibes. Stoner rock goodness. Dynamics. Space. Sabbath-y vocals. It checked all of the boxes. Needless to say, I couldnāt wait to hear Reflections Of A Floating World.Ā
ROAFW dropped in June, and itās even better than I could have imagined. Iād wager that there are more sick riffs on this record than your favorite band has in their entire discography. I dare you to listen to this and not get a twitch to start a play air guitar. Also: How the shit do you write 15-minute songs that donāt bore people into catatonia? This is how. Just like this. Parts never drag, parts never feel like theyāre just filler, and there isnāt a wasted moment in 64 minutes of music. Thatās a remarkable feat in and of itself. This is a goddamn timeless record, and thereās no doubt Iāll have it in heavy rotation for the rest of my life.
The Effects - Eyes To The Light
Nate Smith - KINFOLK: Postcards From The Edge
Employed To Serve - Warmth of A Dying Sun
Slowdive - Sugar For The Pill
Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins
Death From Above - Outrage! Is Now
Power Trip - Nightmare Logic
Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory
All Them Witches - Sleeping Through The War
Less Art - Strangled Light ;)
MY FAVORITE RECORD OF 2015 THAT I DIDNāT HEAR UNTIL 2017
Town Portal - The Occident
MY FAVORITE RECORD OF 2004 THAT I DIDNāT HEAR UNTIL 2017
The Stella Link - Mystic Jaguar... Attack!!!
Chapo Trap House (Grey Wolf Feed)
Slateās Hang Up & Listen
