Album of the Year : 2017

Well, another year has come and gone ladies and gentlemen.  It's been easily my most productive year yet, and let's finish it off with my favorite albums of the year.  Of course, as always, this is all opinion.  Let's chat about these albums, and here's to a bigger and better 2018!




Honorable Mentions:

The XX - "I See You"
Jens Lekman - "Life Will See You Now"
King Woman - "Created In An Image of Suffering"
Charli XCX - "Number 1 Angel"
Show Me The Body - "Corpus I"
White Reaper - "The World's Best American Band" 
Full Of Hell - "Trumpeting Ecstasy" 
Beach Fossils - "Somersault"
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - "The Nashville Sound"
Toro Y Moi - "Boo Boo"
Waxahatchee - "Out In The Storm"
Queens of the Stone Age - "Villians"
Mount Kimbie - "Love What Survives"
Alvvays - Antisociallites"
Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - "Lotta Sea Lice"
All Pigs Must Die - "Hostage Animal"
Converge - "The Dusk In Us"
OCS - "Memory Of A Cut Off Head"
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - "Polygondwanaland"
Baths - "Romaplasm"
The Body & Full of Hell - "Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light"
Miguel - "War & Leisure"

Top 25 Albums of the Year

25. Wavves - “You’re Welcome” - This is an album that I really was excited about every since I heard Wavves were back in the studio.  Nathan Williams and the rest of Wavves on this album go for a much glitzier sound with some of the most polished production that the band has ever touched.  Of course, that’s going to piss off longtime fans who grew up with the scratchy sounds of Wavves tunes that were most likely performed in Nathan’s bathroom.  But I think the much more glamorous production on this one really adds a lot to what makes this album so great.  But outside of that, Nathan really brings out some of his best songwriting chops.  “No Shade” is upbeat and catchy enough to be an early Wavves tune, and “Million Enemies” is one of the catchiest Rock tunes I’ve heard all year.  If you can handle the much more glamorous production, this album may just be for you. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdI6i4_PCN8

24. Cormorant - "Diaspora" - The absolutely crushing and gigantic Black Metal album that I absolutely needed in my life this year.  First things first, this album is absolutely massive, with only four tracks making for over an hour of crushing music.  So obviously, if you're not A big fan of Black Metal with a very Progressive twist, this is going to be hell for you.  But if you like you Metal very grand and visual, this is an album that you have to listen to.  Now, Cormorant do pull out all the stops here.  There are exciting and intense Black Metal passages here, but there are also some incredibly beautiful and serene Folk Metal passages.  There are wretched Black Metal howls and also some seriously beautiful sung vocals as well.  That being said, Cormorant here do bring in a little something for everything when it comes to Metal.  But most importantly they pull it together in such a grand fashion that even though you're dealing with 10-15 minute tracks, it's all digestible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AfdrE4K320

23. Father John Misty - “Pure Comedy” - When I originally heard that Father John Misty’s followup to the tremendous “I Love You, Honeybear” would be an album with no love songs on it, I was mighty skeptical.   But Josh Tilman came through with an album massively more ambitious without letting any of his unbelievable songwriting go.  It’s a protest album, but not the sort of protest album you would think.  It’s more of a thinking man’s protest album, one that’s unbelievably well thought out and delivered with deadpan wit and an apathetic attitude.  But somehow, even with all of that going on, Father John Misty continues to have an abundance of personality.  The sheer amount of detail he goes into on “Ballad of a Dying Man” or the seemingly never-ending “Leaving L.A.” is extraordinary.  It’s not a fun album, and at the end of the day will really have you questioning what the Human race has become.  But even with all of that, Father John Misty remains just as charming as ever, and “Pure Comedy” will go down as his grandest and most cinematic album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIsT3dJ60Uk

22.  The Mountain Goats - “Goths”  - I think I was just about as unbelievably skeptical of this album when I first heard about it being worked on as everyone else.  For those of you late to the party, The Mountain Goats are a legendary Indie Folk band, and “Goths” is an album without any guitars in sight.  John Darnielle has a way of making things work.  Whether it be Folk ballads to Death Metal bands or entire albums dedicated to Wrestling, John makes it all come together nicely.  The same can be said for “Goths”, which as John promised doesn’t have any guitars anywhere.  In their place are dramatic pianos, woozy synths occasionally, luscious strings, and sweet horns.  But as with every other Mountain Goats album, the lyrics are indeed the star here, and this album is about, you guessed it, Goths.  It’s an hour long endearing collection of songs dedicated to Cure album’s and Black Makeup, and it’s brilliant.  I think what makes this work the most, however, is just how close John seems to the culture.  Like, hearing just how passionate he gets on “The Grey King and the Silver Flame Attunement” and just how unbelievably epic things get on “Rain In Soho”, you can tell that these are all subjects close to John’s heart.  I can easily say, it’s one of the most epic folk album’s you’re going to hear this year, especially with no guitars. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYgTkl1JOO0

21. The World Is A Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - “Always Foreign” - I feel like TWIABP are constantly getting bigger and more gigantic in their sound.  But I really wasn’t expecting how incredible this album was going to be.  This is by far the vastest, beautiful, and gigantic album TWIABP have ever put together.  But when I say that, I don’t just mean we’re dealing with some bigger guitars and more harmonies.  “Always Foreign” at the end of the day is the most mature and well thought out album that TWIABP has come up with.  Sure, we’ve had some mature tunes from these Progressive Emo pioneers in the past.  But on “Always Foreign”, TWIABP” bring in a slew of thought-provoking lyrics and real-world horrors, and intertwine that with an interesting narrative for a quite frankly stunning album.  Tracks like “Marine Tigers” are so vast and epic, while tracks like “Dillon And Her Son” keep it short and sweet and are just catchy punk tunes.  This is an album that simply proves that these guys are here to stay in the Emo/Pop Punk world, and shows they’re only going to get bigger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VgfM-MVjkw

20.  Blanck Mass - “World Eater” - Electronic album of the year right here!  Benjamin John Power has for years not been shy about writing crushing and intense electronic music.  “World Eater” however is by far his most destructive and overpowering release yet.  This isn’t an album for the weak of heart because quite frankly Blanck Mass here is curating the soundtrack to the end of the world.  From the strangely calm and icy opening track “John Doe's Carnival of Error”, to final freakish moments of “Hive Mind”, this album is a trip.  For years, I feel like Power could have been darker and more heavy with the music he was producing.  Obviously, we’ve gotten that with this album. There aren’t any dance grooves on this album, and the grinding and almost industrial nature of these beats do make a lot of this hard to swallow the first time.  But trust me, it’s worth it, with everything culminating in the near 8 minute epic “Silent Treatment”.  Choral vocals, blasting synths, the end of the world has really never sounded better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYxjO0LXZqE

19. Julien Baker - “Turn Out The Lights” -  This one really came out of nowhere for me.  Julien’s music I casually had heard a few years ago, but not enough to go absolutely crazy over.  But Julien really knocked it out of the park with her followup.  This is just the sort of incredibly emotional and direct Singer/Songwriter album that I could really dive into this year.  It’s an incredibly personal Indie record, one that requires a lot of patience.   A lot of these tunes are rather quiet and slow, but end up growing into massive and introspective tunes that really make you think.  Now, while Julien may be a rather quiet and seemingly shy young girl, she really lets you into her life on this album, and time and time again her incredibly delicate delivery makes you feel like you’re catching up with an old friend letting them vent a little.  “Turn Out The Lights” is a heartbreaking album brimming with emotion, but the rewards are actually really incredible. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdBu21i9aEE

18. Lana Del Rey - “Lust For Life” - People have criticized Lana Del Rey since her debut so many years ago.  And I’m going to come out and say it if you haven’t liked her music in the past this isn’t going to be much easier for you to swallow.  However, if you CAN enjoy her music, I think you’ll agree this is probably the best thing that Lana has done as a whole.  There are still tracks like “Love” and “16 Beaches” that are airy and sweet Baroque Pop tunes.  But as a whole on this album, Lana seems to have really matured and seems to be on her best behavior.  Tracks like “Get Free” and “When the World Was at War We Kept Dancing” are tasteful and current tunes, and the production throughout is slick and shows Lana embracing her Hip Hop roots a little more.  Hell, she even has some solid guests on that really end up clicking with her style wonderfully (A$AP Rocky, The Weeknd, Sean Ono Lennon).  Like I said, if you haven't dug Lana’s stuff in the past, this is gonna be more of the same.  But if you dig Lana’s material, you’ll find that this is her most expansive and most mature album yet. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP4eqhWc7sI

17. Protomartyr - “Relatives In Descent” - Protomartyr never cease to amaze me.  40 seconds into this album and they had already created one of the densest and most truly haunting atmospheres of the entire year.  This album is intense, with Protomartyr taking their already very chilling sound, but bringing it up to date for 2017.  Frontman Joe Case for about 95% of this album sounds like an Insane Asylum patient ranting and raving like a deranged lunatic amongst these very tense and tight instrumentals that never give you much room to breathe.  The playing on this album is absolutely fierce, with tracks like “Up The Tower” and “Male Plague” being some of the heaviest tunes I’ve heard in any genre all year.  But Joe’s unbelievable chemistry with the rest of the band makes this album one of the best rock album’s of the entire year by far.  The progression on “A Private Understanding” is dazzling, Joe’s manic performance on “Here Is The Thing” is absolutely wild, and the atmosphere on tracks like “Corpses In Regalia” is truly unnerving”.  Protomartyr with “Relatives In Descent” have officially put themselves on top of the Post Punk world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgvAgWFrC0g

16. The Horrors - “V” - I’ve been a casual fan of The Horrors for years, and I know I’m one of like 20 people who really loved their early Horror Punk phase.  But with this album, The Horrors have taken their hazy and dark blend of Shoegaze and blend in some Electronic and Dance elements.  Yes I know, the horror!!!  To be honest, though, The Horrors pull it off massively and made what I think, is their best album in years.  I feel like with the band’s last release or so, they were just trying to hard to make this big culmination of Shoegaze, Gothic Rock, and plenty of other genres.  But on “V”, The Horrors just sound refreshed and comfortable.  And while yes, there have been synths in The Horrors’ music since day 1, it’s never been this prominent.  The result, quite frankly shouldn’t work, but it does.   The Horrors here, take their Gothic Vibes and elements of Shoegaze and send them right to the dance floor.   The hooks end up being ridiculously catchy, the grooves are ridiculous, and the atmospheres are as starry-eyed as ever.  So yes, there may be some Horrors purists that may just think this album is a little too much and that The Horrors have sold out.  But at the end of the day, The Horrors are just continuing to write Goth songs for a new generation.  If you’re into The Horrors trying something new. give this a listen. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR3ehgQsAVE

15. (Sandy) Alex G - “Rocket” -  Alex G has done A LOT over the years.  This master of Low-Fi has released tons of albums with all sorts of different sounds here and there, wrote for some big names, and tackled a lot of ground.  But through it all, I felt like there was a little more than meets the eye when it came to Alex's unique brand of Low-Fi Singer/Songwriter Rock.  “Rocket” seems to me though, to be the end result of the first leg of his career.  You get a little bit of every sound here that Alex has ever toyed with, and none of them have ever sounded this good.  "Rocket" is by far Alex's most diverse album yet, as Alex brings in charming Southern-Fried ballads ("Bobby"). chaotic experimental music ("Brick"), to somber folk tunes, that Elliot Smith himself would have shed a tear for ("Judge").  But strangely enough, Alex makes this all flow together so wonderfully.  Nothing about this album, as varied as it is, comes off as a compilation.  Alex strings these tracks together and makes "Rocket" an increasingly easy album to take in.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMQXwTXld1I


14. The War On Drugs - "A Deeper Understanding" - Now, I had the feeling from hearing some of the opening singles on this one that The War on Drugs was going to pull something together that was special.  But the overall Pristine end result is stunning and really special.  I'm not going to sit here and compare it to the band's last album, cause I'm still really not sure which one I prefer.  But The War on Drugs come through with an album that's for the most part just as charming and timeless in feel.  Tracks like "Holding On" continue to blur the lines between numerous sub-genres of Alternative rock, combining elements of old and new.  But it's the meticulous crafting on tunes like "Pain" which are the real show and keep me coming back for numerous listens.  Now, most of the tracks here are 6-8 minutes long, so there is certainly some patience testers here.  But it's just as shimmering and well thought out as you would expect.

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

13. Tyler The Creator - “Flower Boy” - I think deep down we all sort of knew that eventually, this was going to happen to Tyler the Creator.  On “Flower Boy”, Tyler after years of establishing this ruthless character who fantasizes about rape, and talks openly about which celebrities he would like to “stab in their god damn esophagus”, has let that all go.  Tyler on “Flower Boy”, is 100% human.  He’s no demon, he’s no serial killer, he’s a young man who quite frankly has years of emotions and feelings bubbling up inside him.  And the result is charming, sweet, and incredibly endearing.  He goes through numerous tales of some of his first loves, being a shy young man afraid to make the first move a lot of the time.  Also, he goes deep into fame and it’s effect on his life on the incredible “Forward”, as well as thoughts on friendship and other topics he really hasn’t touched. Tyler strings a lot of these thoughts together in a colorful strand of Neo-Soul and Alternative R&B.  The animalistic side of Tyler does occasionally come out on tracks like “Who Dat Boy” and “I Ain’t Got Time”.  At the end of the day, this truly is a side to Tyler I really thought we would never hear, especially not this fleshed out. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VgLwAjz4oA

12.  Algiers - “The Under Side of Power” - Once again, I sort of had a feeling that this album was going to be great.  But I had no Idea how much I was going to end up obsessing over this one.  Algiers have an indescribable sound, taking a Post Punk sound and bringing in elements of Gothic Rock, Gospel, Industrial, Punk Rock, and seemingly endless other genres.  Frontman Franklin James Fisher's performances are stunning and often exhausting (In the best way).  Not to mention, the lyrics and the message behind this album does really make "The Under Side of Power".  It's an album that in a lot of ways is hard to put into words, but it's absolutely dazzling. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGZXzmM1smM 

11. Foxygen - “Hang” - Foxygen with this one quite frankly went back to what they do best, and the result is absolutely wonderful.  On their last album “…And Star Power”, while it did have its moments, Foxygen spent way too much time on the plot of the concept album, so much so that none of the rest of it actually made sense.  “Hang” though is incredibly concise, with Foxygen dishing out some of their most flamboyant and artsy jams yet.  The Psych-Funk of “Follow The Leader” and the Fleetwood Mac sounding “On Lankershim” are just the beginning.  No, it’s when we get to tracks like the grandiose “Mrs. Adams” and the progressive and wild “America” that things really get special. Sam France and Jonathan Rado have a true knack for songwriting.  And while part of me does wish that maybe a few more tunes here clicked as far as song themes went, this is a concise collection of some of the bands best tracks yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-tZ1gbc2pQ

10.  Kelela - “Take Me Apart” - OK, so the Alternative R&B field is mighty crowded at the moment yes.  Artists like Frank Ocean and The Weeknd have become mega-stars, but for my liking it’s been so long since an album that came along that really blew my mind.  Sort of like the first time I listened to FKA Twigs “LP1”, an album that really questioned where the genre is going.   That, my friends, is where Kelela comes in.  This album is a bold and beautiful testament to exactly what can be done with Alternative R&B.  Kelela here takes tales of late night escapades and fuses them with intergalactic beats and rhythms.  She’ll take very old school elements, dating back to the days of Quiet Storm R&B, and pushes them to the absolute limits with some incredible production.  When I first heard her “Hallucinogen” EP a few years ago, I knew she was onto something.  But I had no idea that “something” would be this huge.  The beats are often hulking, Kelela’s vocals are stunning, and Kelela packages it all together in a way that R&B fans of any era can identify with.  “Take Me Apart” is an exciting and adventurous look at just how far the Alternative R&B genre can go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjq7x2d_s1w

9. Vince Staples - “Big Fish Theory” - Going into this, Vince Staples was already one of the freshest and most interesting voices in rap.  His way of creating an atmosphere is uncanny, and while his verses contain a whole lot of topics we’ve chatted about for years, Vince’s very brash personality makes it come off so new sounding.  He brings in everyone from guests who really complement his style (Kilo Kish, Kendrick Lamar, even freakin’ Ty Dolla Sign who I usually can give a shit less about) to producers who end up taking the beats here to ridiculous new levels (Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, SOPHIE, Flume).  Now, I wasn’t blown away by some of the singles leading up to this one at first.  They sort of seemed to lack the heavy atmosphere and dark subject matter that attracted me to Vince in the first place.  But in the end, I certainly got plenty of that dark, depressed nature on tracks like “Crabs In A Bucket”, as well as plenty of bangers like “Yea Right” and Party People”.  But Vince himself continues to be one of the sharpest MC’s in the game lyrically, and more importantly fearless.  He says what he thinks, he works with artists and producers that work wonderfully with his style and wraps it all up with plenty of fiery attitude.  “Big Fish Theory” is insanely good, and Vince Staples continues to be one of Alternative Hip Hop’s freshest faces and intriguing personalities. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa4vBlzMaeQ

8. Zola Jesus - “Okovi” - In every way, this is everything that I've ever wanted to hear from Zola.  For years, all I wanted to hear from Zola was to branch out a little bit, really let loose with her singing, and take advantage of some much bigger atmospheres.  And that's exactly what we got from "Okovi".  From the opening intense strings on "Exhumed", to the pulsating and looming "Soak", Zola really does bring in a much more theatrical and epic sound that I had no idea she had in her.  There are booming industrial blasts, gigantic string sections, and I'd be lying if I said that Zola sounded anything but incredible.  Not to mention, Zola brings in a real personal edge to the lyrics on here, which strangely makes this darker and hit home even harder.  I don't think there's any question, this is Zola's biggest and best album by far.  If you're into dark music and love big performances and bigger choruses, Zola here is writing Arena sized ballads for Goth kids. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVtwUxQ1TeA

7. Ariel Pink - "Dedicated to Bobby Jameson" - Ariel Pink reminds us on this one that he's the absolute king of Quirky, Low-Fi pop.  One of Pop's most dangerous minds, this album has some of Ariel's most freakish concepts yet and shows him venturing out into more Sub-Genres then ever.  However, I think what makes this work is just how focused Ariel is sounding these days.  Bobby Jameson was a serious influence on Ariel, and you can tell that from the sheer amount of sincere moments in some of these tunes.  Even tracks like "Feels Like Heaven" come off so sweet and tender.  But of course, there are also countless completely absurd and ridiculous concepts on here that make this album truly hilarious at times.  Whether it be on "Santa's In The Closet" where it's Ariel describes Santa's adventures not in a regular closet but a Water Closet, or on "Bubblegum Dreams" where Ariel's ode to Bubblegum turns into an all-out Mentos commercial by the end of it, there's some seriously Off The Wall stuff here. Ariel Pink after all these years remains completely fearless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEN4qmE8QYY

6. Fleet Foxes - "Crack-Up" - OK, so let's just get this out in the open, there may be one or two more hiccups on this album compared to their last album.  But after the few years its been since we've heard from Fleet Foxes, this is still something incredibly special.  "Crack-Up" is by far the most instrumentally diverse and atmospheric Fleet Foxes to date.  All of the classic elements are all here on display, from the warm melodies of "If You Need to, Keep Time on Me" to the angelic vocal solos of "Kept Woman".  Now, like I said, there are a few moments that are maybe a little too far out for my liking.  But overall, I think just how progressive and overpowering some of these tunes make this an absolute knock out.  The sheer power behind "Fool's Errand" to the absolutely epic "Third of May / Ōdaigahara", Fleet Foxes are still on top of the world of Indie Folk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFVe892acjA

5. Chelsea Wolfe - “Hiss Spun” - Over the years, Chelsea Wolfe has slowly teased that she’s going to release an album that’s Metal to its core.  And with each release, it seems like Chelsea has gotten closer to that.  With “Hiss Spun”, Chelsea has made that album a reality.  This album is straightforward, no bullshit, and certainly doesn’t have a gimmick in sight.  There are elements of grimy Sludge Metal, dreamy Gothic Folk, patience-testing Doom Metal, and of course, some the most demonic and soul-crushing Black Metal you’ll hear this year.  However, none of it ever seems truly outside of Chelsea’s comfort zone.  As a matter of fact, most of this album just comes off as Chelsea being herself.  Each track here has it’s own personality, whether it be nightmarish “Vex” or the looming and patient “Offering”, Chelsea hits a whole lot of different styles of Metal throughout “Hiss Spun”.  But even when things are at their most brutal, Chelsea has a way of making it strangely beautiful as well.  Chelsea Wolfe with “Hiss-Spun” has made her finest album yet.

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

4. Power Trip - “Nightmare Logic” - So we’re at a point in modern Metal where almost every band no matter how “brutal” they seem to have sort of a gimmick or a “Sub-Genre” that they fit into.  But sometimes things are just so unbelievably simple, so straightforward, so incredibly obvious.  So much so to the point where you’ll sit there thinking “This is almost too easy, why hasn’t anyone else done this recently?”.   Power Trip has simplified the Modern Metal sound so much but in the best way possible.  On “Nightmare Logic” Power Trip come at you absolutely full force, with no gimmicks and no tricks.  It’s nothing short of 8 tracks filled with attitude, raw power, making for one of this year's most perfect Metal albums.  Hell, one of the perfect albums in general.  Even some of the weaker tunes here have countless elements to it that I absolutely can’t get enough of, and there isn’t a single performance here that isn’t vicious.  Do these guys sound like Metallica at their peak?  Hell yes, they do.  But that doesn’t take anything away from it, making “Nightmare Logic” the most unforgiving yet “must listen” Metal album of the year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al7rzFSjdgs

3. Perfume Genius - “No Shape” - I’ve been a fan of Mike Hadreas for a very, VERY long time.  Now, I was expecting a lot of things from this album.  I was expecting it to be personal, lavish, and BIG.  But the one thing that I wasn’t expecting was from Perfume Genius here, was to completely blow away everything he’s ever done.  But that’s exactly what Mike Hadreas has done.  He’s compiled an incredibly lush and gorgeous Indie Pop album, filled with stunning instrumentals and pristine production.  Everything from shimmering synths to explosive Production fills up these incredible tracks.  But on top of that, Mike has come such a long way with showing us his personality, and lyric-wise has become more open with us than ever.  I remember listening to Mike’s early recordings, with each track quieter than the last almost coming off as Diary entries he didn’t want anyone else to hear.  But then I hear the explosive Baroque and Indie Pop here.  I hear the lyrics showing Mike just how comfortable he is with himself and promoting loving yourself, and it’s dazzling.  Altogether, this is the most engaging and interesting set of Perfume Genius songs yet, while being the most important album Mike Hadreas has made for himself. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hbfUSRRbd4

2. Kendrick Lamar - “ DAMN.” - Now, going into this album, I honestly had my doubts on Kendrick, and if he could really pull it off again.  These were slight doubts obviously, but there were doubts nonetheless.  I thought to myself, these past few years, Kendrick has given us so much, but still seems to be constantly keeping things fresh and exciting.  How the hell is he going to remain relevant.  As a matter of fact, where DOES an artist go after releasing two of the most critically acclaimed Hip-Hop albums ever?  Well, my friends, the answer is to up the stakes.  Kendrick on “DAMN.” goes fiercer than ever, hitting out at everyone from Fox News to MC’s who remain nameless.  The result is absolutely wild, with Kendrick literally putting everything on the table, and it’s clear that Kendrick has once again completely outdone himself.  Kendrick remains lyrically head and shoulders above everyone else in Rap right now, with killer tunes like “ELEMENT.” and of course “HUMBLE.”.  But it goes just so much further from that.  As far as an album goes, conceptually, Kendrick may as well be a damn God of rap right now, which I don’t want to dive too deep into because I don’t have 3 hours to chat about THAT.  But I digress.  After releasing a collection of Hip Hop’s most cherished albums, Kendrick has done the unthinkable and released quite possibly his best yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlh-dzB2U4Y

1. Mount Eerie - “A Crow Looked At Me” - So if you know even a sliver of the backstory of this one, you know you’re going to have to brace yourself sitting down to listen to this.  I’ve been a fan of Phil Elverum for years, and you know just how incredibly dense and heavy and quite frankly tragic so much of his music is.  So when I originally heard of his wife Genevieve’s cancer and eventual death, I knew that this album was going to be absolutely crushing.  Not exactly heavy musically, clearly, as Phil’s trademark whisper quiet vocals are present constantly usually alongside one acoustic guitar.  So that being said, let’s talk about some of these emotions here.  Phil doesn’t sugarcoat anything, starting this album off with the simple yet incredibly powerful statement “Death is Real”.  What follows is a series of tracks that go into a day by day almost diary of what Phil Elverum went through alongside his young daughter.  Whatever Phil felt, whatever he saw, whatever absolutely crushing thought passed through his mind, we felt too.  As this album goes on, Phil goes deep into detail of each stage of coping with the loss of a loved one, bringing in details that quite frankly you would never expect to hear from any artist in any genre.  Phil however, brings in all of these themes masterfully though and puts his feeling and thoughts into words that we as humans often try to but can’t.  This is easily the most emotionally heavy album I’ve listened to all year.  From the moments of “Seaweed” and “Ravens’ where Phil is desperate for a sign from his recently passed away wife, or moments on “Crow” or “Swims” where some of the dialogue between Phil and his daughter is absolutely tear-jerking.  This is not an easy album to listen to, by any means.  But whether he knows it or not, Phil Elverum has made his most flawless and work under the Mount Eerie name, and one of the most devastating and real albums about Death ever recorded. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2R2Ck8qKWM

Top 50 Singles of 2017!

List Month is just about done Y'all!   So let me preface this by saying, sorry this has taken so long! Yes, my top 25 albums list is coming out later today still, don't you worry. But first, I want to talk about my 50 singles of the year!  Now, the one thing I do have to point out is that we're talking Singles here.  There may be tunes here that I would much rather listen to a deeper cut on the album before this (Example, I would so much rather listen to Vince Staples' "Crabs In A Bucket" then "Big Fish" but that's just me).  Also, there are a lot of tunes on here that I ended up hating the album it came off of, so keep that in mind as well.  Outside of that, as always this is just my opinion!  Enjoy!

50. Charli XCX featuring CupcakKe - "Lipgloss"

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3wSBK6xiXs

49. Code Orange - "Forever"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ9JVxQVQy4

48.  The Shins - "Name For You"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbFhEUs6u1k

47. Cigarettes After Sex - "Each Time You Fall In Love"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caxGz3cs7-Y

46. Gorillaz Featuring Pusha T & Mavis Staples - "Let Me Out"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dONxX9rifs

45. Creeper - "Black Rain"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmDiNAIccW8

44. Protomartyr - "A Private Understanding"

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

43. Real Estate - "Darling"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUFr4SK1-l4

42. Xiu Xiu - "Wondering"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH9PKIZEoqU

41. (Sandy) Alex G - "Bobby"

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

40. Black Lips - "Squatting In Heaven"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80X_mjcoqhA

39. Alvvays - "Plimsoll Punks"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXZx19uN4MQ

38. Beach Fossils - "This Year"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39F2B-EW9ms

37. A Giant Dog - "Bendover"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_iHc_z-G8I

36. Washed Out - "Hard To Say Goodbye"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pLw0BDobFM

35. Toro Y Moi - "Girl Like You"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg7r4kQUbPw

34. Vince Staples - "Big Fish"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l9kzS_B7gg

33. Los Campesinos! - "5 Flucloxacillin"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoqs0PJ12zM

32. Danny L Harle - "1UL"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3E536KwvuY

31. The Killers - "Run For Cover"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO7JGfqPB0s

30. Full of Hell - "Crawling Back to God"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8YfL7iVdE4

29. Wavves - "Million Enemies"

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

28. Julien Baker - "Turn Out The Lights"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV1dMqeb4_U

27. SOPHIE - "It's OK To Cry"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_S0qCeA-pc

26. Zola Jesus - "Soak"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85mc1GiMexA

25.  Jens Lekman - "Evening Prayer"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgSC6Kh0N5s

24. Drake - "Passionfruit"

(IS THERE REALLY NO LINK ON YOUTUBE)

23. New Pornographers - "Whiteout Conditions"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2XvW38UKEI

22. Ariel Pink & Weyes Blood - "Tears On Fire"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai7iTqXjVI8

21. Alt-J - "In Cold Blood"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP0uuI80wuY

20. The War on Drugs - "Pain"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9LgHNf2Qy0

19. Feist - "Century"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xQoem0ApXc

18. Bleachers - "Don't Take The Money"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B06qqB7bp-w

17.  White Reaper - "Judy French"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahglrb_z7wQ

16. Waxahatchee - "Silver"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBpMXuzHR3I

15. Mount Eerie - "Real Death"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGESP0iePmQ

14. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - "The French Press"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvjsAIpNy6I

13. Father John Misty - "Total Entertainment Forever"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHpV08wI-bw

12. Kendrick Lamar - "HUMBLE."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvTRZJ-4EyI

11. Foxygen - "On Lankershim"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-DM0TThIhM

10. Blanck Mass - "Silent Treatment"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi8QMSMb-Bs

09. Chelsea Wolfe - "16 Psyche"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sb5TszDqYE

08. Kelela - "LMK"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePi5BLJogyA

07. The Mountain Goats - "Rain In Soho"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anS6bcPpvoQ

06. The Horrors - "Something To Remember Me By"

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

05.  Fleet Foxes - "Third of May / Ōdaigahara"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GqgNebPm50

04. Lana Del Rey - "Love"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-NTv0CdFCk

03. Power Trip - "Executioner's Tax (Swing of The Axe)"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOWf8uqGf8A

02.  Perfume Genius - "Slip Away"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPiiY4a1vf4

01.  Future Islands - "Ran"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlQunle406U

Top 10 Worst Albums of 2017

List month rages on Ladies and Gentlemen!  This is a list that obviously, I didn't want to do.  It's something that no one wants to think about, bad albums.  These are a collection of albums this year that were the hardest to sit through and even harder to chat about.  As always, this is all opinion folks.  Stay tuned Friday for my list of Honorable mentions for Album of the year!


Top 10 Worst Albums


10. The Flaming Lips - “Oczy Mlody” - Now, I’ve had a pretty off and on relationship with The Flaming Lips for years.  I feel like for every 3 or 4 albums they come out with I usually only really love one of them. I did have high hopes for this one though hearing just how interesting the production was on the opening singles.  Not to mention, the sort of downtrodden, gloomy, dystopic atmosphere of the opening tracks was actually to die for.  But it became apparent very quickly that this is more or less a Wayne Coyne solo project in some bizarre way.  The rest of The Flaming Lips are barely even present for the later moments here, and Wayne’s mostly lackluster performances really end up letting me down. 

9. Arcade Fire - “Everything Now” - Hearing the opening title track to this one, had me hyped beyond belief.  It was upbeat, catchy, and everything that I loved about Arcade Fire in the past.  But outside of that one tune and about 2 others, this album is almost completely lifeless.  Arcade Fire have been masters of the subtle, classy Protest song for years.  But in this case, it’s just so unbearably boring.  There are countless moments on here where quite frankly Arcade Fire don’t even sound like themselves, and their once deep and passionate performances come off incredibly watered down.  Sure, tracks like “Creature Comfort” are still solid, but the rest of this album compared to the rest of Arcade Fire’s discography is an absolute mess.

8. Temples - “Volcano” - Being a big ol’ fan of modern music with a retro twist, you think that I would just be obsessed with Temples.  Sadly, that’s far from the case.  Temples have once again given me an album that has like, one or two solid singles, followed by a series of tracks that are so incredibly boring.  Half of this album Temples try way too hard to be Tame Impala, and the other half just end up coming off so incredibly boring.  Now, I will say this, Temples do probably have something special with this new, more electronic sound.  But for now, they're just so unbelievably lost, not having a distinct sound at all.

7. Gone Is Gone - "Echolocation" - I mean, if you're interested hearing Mastodon incredibly watered down to a nearly depressing level, this is gonna be a real treat for you.  But for me, someone who grew up with Mastodon, this side project is absolute trash. Gone Is Gone is a Sludge Metal supergroup made up of Troy Sanders of Mastodon, Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens of the Stone Age, Alex Hajjar of At The Drive-In, and Mike Zarin.  Now, seeing that lineup you would think this would be a pretty decent sounding group.  But these 4 have absolutely no chemistry with one another.  While there are portions of songs here that I actually don't mind one bit, and there are a few good ideas here and there, this album is a chore to sit through. 

6. Dan Auerbach - "Waiting On A Song" - Oh Dan, where did it go so wrong?  Dan Auerbach while leading the Black Keys became the essence of cool.  Hell, his first solo album isn't bad at all, it's actually pretty darn solid.  But this new album is a truly bizarre twist for Dan.  Once a master of modern Blues, Dan here takes a swing at incredibly sun-shiny folk rock.  Which on paper doesn't sound THAT bad.  But I can assure you, I've heard ABBA songs in my life with more edge than this.  I always knew that Dan would eventually make some more Pop-centered material, but I didn't think it was going to be this nauseating. 

5. Baio -  “Man Of The World” - I’m going to make this one very short and simple.  Chris, I really don't give a shit about where you live.  I don't care about how much money you have.  There's a very good reason why you haven't been given more floor time in Vampire Weekend's music.  I don't want to hear about your Politics.  When is the new Vampire Weekend album coming out?

4. Drake - “More Life” - 2017 for me will go down as the year that I officially ran out of excuses.  I’ve been a massive fan of Drake for years, and even at his worst moments, I’ve been able to find something about his projects that I enjoy.  But then “More Life” happened, and every excuse I’ve ever had for Drake subsequently flew right out the window.  This album is incredibly long, tasteless, and worst of all boring.  Drake in the last few years has been criticized for ushering in this age of “Fake Dancehall”.  And if you’re one of the people that believe that, trust me, hearing this album will drive you over the edge.  “More Life” is painful, and I never want to hear Drake mumble in a fake British accent ever again.  However, “Passionfruit” is an AWESOME pop tune, end of story. 

3. Foster The People - “Sacred Hearts Club” - Now, when Foster The People exploded a few years ago, I was totally open to their style of Indie Pop.  Sure, it wasn’t gritty or wild or anything outrageous, but it was certainly sweet and more than anything catchy.  That time has left us however, because I have no honest to God idea what the hell happened on this album.  There are, no joke, EDM sounding tunes on here.  I don’t want to hear EDM from EDM artists, let alone Indie Pop bands.  Not to mention, the sleazy lyrics and steamy atmospheres are far from flattering.  I will give Foster The People this, these guys desperately needed an image change and I think a heavier sound IS the answer.  But the sound they give us here is quite frankly not that.  And not for nothing, “Loyal Like Sid and Nancy” is hands down the worst song I’ve heard all year. 

2. Morrissey - “Axe The Monarchy” - Morrissey is a legend, that’s for sure.  Morrissey also has a legendary ego, and that’s absolutely for sure.  On “Axe The Monarchy”, that ego gets out of control very fast.  The first few tunes on here, are actually really good, to the point where I would honestly say these are some of his best in years.  On the other hand, the final tracks on this album are a handful of his worst.  Things go from sweet and lovable to bloated and political instantly.  By the end of the album, it’s clear that this isn’t a classic Morrissey album, not even close.  No longer is it about the “Pissy” attitude, wonderfully crafted lyrics, and downtrodden love tunes.  No, this album is all about Morrissey, and his outlandish beliefs.  Not even that, his beliefs have just gotten so out of control.  They aren’t liberal or conservative, they’re completely off the map, and it’s tough to listen to.

1. Prophets of Rage - “Prophets of Rage” - Ladies and Gentlemen, the absolute worst thing I had to listen to (outside of that new Eminem, you sir are lucky I had this all written out).   And trust me, I saw it coming too.  As a matter of fact, if you gave me a list last January of everything coming out this year, I would have easily been able to tell you that this was going to be a mess.  But it’s much worse than you could ever imagine, it’s an absolute disaster.  For one, Chuck D, Tom Morello and B. Real have zero chemistry with one another.  Second of all, there’s no purpose to this album.  Public Enemy, Rage Against The Machine, all the acts that made up this supergroup always had purpose.  But most of all, the anger on this album is just so unfocused.  Now, I get it.  It’s 2017, and people are not happy, and want to protest through music.  But you see, artists like Father John Misty protested through their music, and made it classy and creative.  The pure, unadulterated anger on this album is almost laughable. The result is a series of tracks that go nowhere, and have each performing member sounding like they would rather be anywhere else in the world.  Stay clear of this one folks.

My Top 5 EP's of 2017

And list month rages on!  This time we're talking about some of my favorite EP's to come out this year.  Of course, once again this is all my opinion.  Enjoy guys!  And stay tuned later this week for my "Top 10 Worst Albums of 2017" countdown!

Honorable Mentions:

Of Montreal - "Rune Husk"
ANOHNI - "Paradise"
Bad Bearth - "Elephant In The Womb"
Tennis - "We Can Die Happy"
Nine Inch Nails - "Add Violence"


5. Moor Mother & Mental Jewelery - "Moor X Jewelery: Crime Wave" - Now, I got introduced to Moor Mother on her flooring performance on Show Me The Body's "Corpus I" mixtape.  But I was a little let down by her first full length album.  This EP on the other hand, changed everything.  This EP is noisy, brutal, and doesn't take any prisoners.  Moor Mother's performances are often manic and crazed.  But matched up with Mental Jewelery's very harsh and booming production, and you have one of the wildest and in-your-face Alternative Rap EP's of the year.  It's political, it's demanding, it's an awesome listen.

4. Danny L Harle - "1UL" - Now, there's a lot to love about the PC Music group.  But Danny L Harle continues to be a massive reason to keep coming back.  Danny on the "1UL" EP in a short few tunes, reminded us just as much of a "Huge" powerhouse he can be.  The production on these tracks are ridiculous, with the bass loud enough to blow out your headphones and the rest of the instrumentals are vibrant and colorful enough to keep you coming back for numerous listens.  Danny has a real way of taking these almost 90's sounding dance tunes and sending them on a bullet train into the future.  The result is a blast, my friends, and some of the catchiest Electronic music you'll hear all year.

3. Mastodon - "Cold Dark Place" - Being as indifferent as I was about Mastodon's "Emperor Of Sand", I wasn't expecting anything from this at all.  Maybe a few outtakes and demos or something, but nothing much more than that.  But to be honest, this EP sort of blew me away.  I feel like this is a much more raw Mastodon than we've gotten from them in so long.  Most of the tracks here are more somber in tone and sound a whole lot more stripped down.  But all of that I mean in the best way.  This EP isn't the soul-crushing Sludginess that you would expect from Mastodon, but it may just be the best collection of tracks they've thrown together since "Blood Mountain".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u44bs_Cwoms

2. Nine Inch Nails - "Not The Actual Events” - One of two EP’s Nine Inch Nails have released since late last December, this one took me majorly by surprise.  Nine Inch Nails since the late 90’s have been pushing further and further into the realm of Electronic music, which is something they’ve obviously always toyed with.  But recently it’s been much more prevalent.  People have criticized Trent Reznor for bringing in these electronics a little too much, and watering down his music.  This EP on the other hand will 100% change your mind.  This is by far the heaviest material Nine Inch Nails have released since “The Fragile”.  It’s not clean, it’s not pristine, there are no grooves in sight.  Just the dismal, in your face industrial Metal that Trent Reznor made popular in the early 90’s.  From the throttling and intense “The Idea Of You”, to the epic and grand “Burning Bright (Field On Fire)”, if you’re a fan of some of Nine Inch Nails’ classic albums, this is a must listen, and will get you excited for the future of one of Industrial’s finest.

1. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - "The French Press" - Sleeper EP of the year right here people.  I couldn't have been much more pleased with this EP.  When I first heard of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever last summer their debut album didn't hit me as hard as I was hoping.  While it was alright, I felt they hadn't really fleshed out their sound as much as they could.  Here, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever find their sound, and it's brilliant.  They bring in elements of Jangle Pop, Garage Rock, Surf Rock, Dream Pop, Alternative Country and more, in a brief set of tunes that really don't disappoint at all.  While there's nothing that completely rewrites any books on Indie,  the material here is nostalgic while looking hopefully towards the future, it's fantastic.

Belle & Sebastian - How to Solve Our Human Problems, Pt. 1

Belle And Sebastian have been around for seemingly forever, and up until now, I've always just sort of been a very casual fan of these Indie Pop legends.  When it comes to their 1996 debut "Tigermilk", I really don't have much bad to say at all.  The majority of these tunes here are charming, sweet, catchy and witty.   Not to mention, they're all just so damn likable at the end of the day.  Most of these tunes are instantaneous, and really don't require that much diving in.  Now, if I had to make one criticism, I really wasn't into some of the softer tunes like "Mary Jo" and "We Rule The School", or the experimental tune "Electronic Renaissance" which really didn't go over too well.  But still, "Tigermilk" is a brilliant opener to this band's discography.  With their next album, "If You're Feeling Sinister", Belle & Sebastian really fleshed out their sounds.  The storytelling lyrics were even more charming, and the instrumentals were just as fluffy and sweet.  Some of the band's most well-known tracks were on here, like "Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying" and "Seeing Other People".  Now, I still wasn't as into slower tunes like "The Fox In The Snow", but that's my only real complaint.  Overall, this album was just another seriously wonderful Indie Pop album.  But just when I thought that Belle and Sebastian were on a real hot streak, out came 1998's "The Boy With the Arab Strap".  Now, this album isn't terrible, with tracks like "Sleep the Clock Around" still being real standouts.  But the quality of the songs had taken a gigantic nosedive on this album. Plus, so many of these tunes were much slower and a little more boring sadly.  2000's "Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant" is a little more interesting, but only slightly.  Almost all of the tunes here were on the slower side sadly.  But, I do think that they were presented in a much classier way.  Tracks like "The Model" and "Don't Leave The Light on Baby" were cinematic and quite frankly, gorgeous.  But it was other tunes like "The Chalet Lines" and "Beyond the Sunrise" from really keeping me from enjoying this album. The next time we heard from Belle and Sebastian, it was for their all-instrumental soundtrack for the 2001 film "Storytelling".  Now, I'm not gonna completely destroy this album because it certainly is pleasant to listen to and all.  But that's really about it, it doesn't come off as a proper Belle and Sebastian release, and seems a little cheap.  So it had been a really long time since I really was 100% into a Belle and Sebastian project.  But 2003 showed the release of "Dear Catastrophe Waitress", and Belle and Sebastian instantly were household names again.  This album was everything I wanted to hear from the band, quaint songwriting, elegant instrumentals, and a seriously classy overall package.  We got this all in spades here with amazing tunes like "I'm a Cuckoo" and "Step Into My Office".  Just like that, Belle and Sebastian once again seemed seriously ready to take on the millennium and get some new fans.  In 2006 Belle and Sebastian returned with "The Life Pursuit".  This album was much more lively, bring in elements of glam and other genres, and showed Belle and Sebastian getting a little swagger.  The result though was so damn likable.  For so many years, Belle and Sebastian just seemed to underwhelm, but they were quickly reaching the top of their game once again.  2010's "Write About Love" continued to show Belle and Sebastian still had quite a bit to offer.  This album had a little bit of a Retro Pop tinge to it, but the group did wonderfully with it.  Tracks like "I Want The World To Stop", "Write About Love", and "I'm Not Living In The Real World" are honestly some of my favorite Belle and Sebastian tunes ever.  And while yes, I still had issues with softer tunes like "Read the Blessed Pages" and "Calculating Bimbo", this album was a great listen overall.  Belle and Sebastian, however, took a dark turn with their next album incorporating more dance music elements on 2015's "Girls In Peacetime Want to Dance".  It's not necessarily a bad album, with tracks like "Enter Sylvia Plath" and "The Party Line" being standouts.  But let's be honest, as catchy as some of these tunes were, this is far from a Belle and Sebastian album.  Now, one thing I didn't expect from this new EP, was for Belle and Sebastian to push further ahead with their more electronic sound.  But I do have to say, they sound full of energy!  So let's chat about the rest of this EP.

This album starts out with “Sweet Dew Lee”.  It’s a slow start, which can really go either way with Belle and Sebastian.  Sadly, this track doesn’t end up working out for them.  I like just how quaint and sweet the lyrics are on this one.  As far as that goes, it’s rather charming.  But what in the hell is going on with these vocals?  Stuart Murdoch sounds fine when he eventually comes in.  But as far as Stevie Jackson goes, he really isn’t coming off very charming at all.  It just ends up being really awkward, and sadly I wish I didn’t hear from Stevie at all.  Stuart on the other hand does sound totally fine.  “Sweet Dew Lee” does have some nice elements, and I have to commend this one for continuing to be rather sweet.  But the instrumentals here are far from the ones that I fell in love with years ago.  Also, Belle and Sebastian are still clearly going for that more Electronic sound.  Which I guess does come off a little better here, but still, it’s bizarre.  For an intro, sadly this one really doesn’t do much for me and seems to go on practically forever.   On the other hand, “We Were Beautiful” as a more synth-heavy tune actually works really fantastic for Belle and Sebastian.  It’s smooth, and while it’s obviously much more synthetic, is still the same sort of Indie Pop I loved years ago.   I love the little details like that slide guitar playing throughout the background, as well as the gloriously harmonious chorus.  As a matter of fact, just about everything about this tune is a really solid sound for Belle and Sebastian.  No, this isn’t a carbon copy of the band that defined Indie Pop in the 90’s.  But if they’re going to progress their sound, this quite frankly really isn’t bad.  It’s sweet, charming, and incredibly catchy.  Up next though, we get another slow burner in the form of “Fickle Season”.  Sadly, this one really isn’t that much better than the album’s opener.  I’m down with the very airy and beautiful vocals on this one, that’s far from my issue.  Everything else about this track is quite frankly just so dead and lifeless.  The almost lounge inspired instrumental could be worse, but there’s no passion in sight.  Some of the little details are pleasant, like some of the distant xylophones.  But overall, I’m fighting the urge to fall asleep.

    Belle and Sebastian, however, haven’t completely lost their songwriting knack, as proven with “The Girl Doesn’t Get It”.  This tune is like getting slapped in the face in the best way.  Where has THIS  sound been for Belle and Sebastian been lately?  It’s so catchy and sweet, and it really doesn’t have any moments that are hard to stomach.  It takes the classic Indie Pop sound that Belle and Sebastian worked with for years, but it brings it up to date just enough.  There are some wonderful harmonies, and the playful synths are nothing short of a blast.  I can’t remember the last time I heard the band so full of life, and it’s wonderful to hear.  This EP ends us off with “Everything Is Now”.  All I have to ask is why the hell does they continue to come back to these incredibly dreary tunes.  I mean, this is certainly much better than any of the other slow tunes here, mostly due to some actually emotional playing.  But that’s really not saying too much because everything else about this one was thrown together very quickly.  I don’t know, it’s an alright finale.  But for a 6 minute instrumental from a band whose witty lyrics I’ve always loved so much, it just seems a little cheap, but that’s just me.  But it is a pleasant finale to listen to, and I do love a lot of the jazzy playing.

Rating: 6.2/10

Give A Listen To: “We Were Beautiful”, “The Girl Doesn’t Get It”

Genre: Indie Pop / Synth Pop

Overall Thoughts:  Going into this EP I really wasn’t expecting too much sadly.  The fact of the matter is, this EP really isn’t a good one at all sadly.  It has a song or two that will remind you that Belle and Sebastian still can write an incredible Indie Pop tune.  But the rest of the songs here will remind you of just how far they’ve fallen, which makes this short EP that much more disappointing.

Visible Cloaks - Lex EP

Over the past few years Portland duo have been taking the Ambient world by storm the past few years.  Now, I honestly have never really thought much of their first few recordings.  But, I did think their early 2017 release "Reassemblage".  This album was absolutely mesmerizing and beautiful from start to finish.  There were some Vaporwave, Ambient, Modern Classical, and fuses them all very well together with elements of world music.  It's a tough listen in parts, but Visible Cloaks do a good job of presenting it.  Now, let's be real, there were a few underwhelming tunes on here.  But Visible Cloaks are looking to make up for that with their second release of the year.  So yea, Visible Cloaks are back.  And this teaser track is pretty enjoyable, so let's talk about this new EP!

This EP starts off with “Wheel”, and it’s just as colorful and massively vibrant as the rest of this duo’s material.  There are a lot of very strange and foreign, almost alien sounding vocal snippets amongst the very breathtaking flutes and atmospheres.  It’s very sweet and incredibly pleasant to listen to.  But I do still feel at the same time how I felt with a lot of the tracks on the album Visible Cloaks released earlier this year.  The duo’s ideas are charming and enjoyable, but not pushed nearly as far enough as they could be.  And sadly, quite frankly things get a little repetitive.  However, “Wheel” is still mighty pleasant to listen to.  Now “Frame” on the other hand, while it’s just as airy and pleasant to listen to, comes off just so much more adventurous.  I love just how fun and bouncy these rhythms are, and the vocal samples that pop in are just as alien but much more haunting.  This is much more of what I wanted to hear from Visible Cloaks, to be honest.  Here, they start off with a truly eerie and mysterious idea and flesh it out over its two and a half minute run-time.  But most importantly, this one comes off so alive and constantly shifting so it doesn’t come off repetitive.  “Frame” is exactly where I want to hear this duo.  Then we have “Transient”, which is by far the most far out and most bizarre track here.  I love the layered vocal effects and just how alien everything comes off.  The instrumentals that follow are sweet and airy, and for the most part, are along the same lines as everything else we’ve seen here.  But then we get this rather angelic release towards the end that leaves me stunned.  “Transient” instantly goes from strange and other-worldly to immensely beautiful.  Visible Cloaks are certainly on to something, and I love those strange, almost Tim Hecker sounding piano’s towards the end.  

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

    But sadly, because this EP is so short, a lot of these sounds sort of blend together a little.  A few of the songs here actually get to the point where it’s tough to determine which one is which.  For example, “Keys” sounds very similar to the opening track here “Wheel”.  That’s not to say it’s bad though, and I do commend Visible Cloaks for remaining consistent and continuing to get more colorful and adventurous.  But I just sort of can’t shake the feeling that these are all just leftovers from “Reassemblage”.  There are some really cool moments, however, like that majestic release towards the end of this track.  Now, on the other hand, “Lex” is the sort of looping, whirring electronic tune I wanted to hear right about now.  This track, while it’s very strange and experimental, shows Visible Cloaks really mixing it up and coming off with this very mysterious and dark sound.  I would love to hear more of this sound to be honest, with everything coming off so much more ominous.  Towards the end of the tune, it sort of bounces back to the sounds of other tunes here.  But still, “Lex” mixes up things really nicely.   This EP finishes off with the massive “World”.  It’s got a pretty icy, synthetic intro, but that’s to be expected.  World music continues to be an absolutely massive influence on this duo, I would honestly love to hear them branch out into other regions of the world for ideas int he future.  The ambient portions on this one, however, alongside the sound effects make “World” a very gratifying finale.  Some of the other tunes here have been relaxing and sweet, but this is almost therapeutic and serene.  It’s also easily the vastest tune here, seeming practically endless, and that’s not just because it’s 14 minutes long.  It’s just so animated and without boundaries, and most importantly it’s constantly shifting and changing.  “World” is easily one of the more interesting tunes here, and Visible Cloaks do a wonderful job of making it seem fresh in its entirety.  I honestly wouldn’t mind them going for more tunes like this in the future.  

Rating: 7.7/10

Give A Listen To: "Frame", "Transient", "World", "Lex"

Genre: Vaporwave / Electronic / Ambient / Experimental

Overall Thoughts:  This is overall a solid EP from Visible Cloaks.  If you’re into a lot of the material from their “Reassemblage” album, you’re most likely going to be into this.  But at the same time, if you weren’t into that album, this isn’t going to make you a fan.  There are a few moments still where I feel like Visible Cloaks need to challenge themselves more, like they eventually do on they EP’s closer “World”.  But there are still a ton of really good ideas here, especially in some of those more ominous moments.  

Top 10 Disappointing Albums of 2017

Howdy y'all!  My end of the year lists continue.  Now let me just quicky preface this by saying, some of these album's may not be entirely bad.  On the contrary, a good handful of album's here actually had tracks on them that made my favorite Singles of the year list!  Keeping that in mind, these were the albums that really just dissapointed me in one way or another.  As always, this is allllll opionion folks, some of these album's you very well may have loved.  So let's chat about these album's that underwhelmed me this year. 



10. Rostam - "Half-Light" - So I'm going to sum this one up in one sentence.  What the hell took so long, and what have you been doing this whole time?  Half of the singles that came out of this album have been out for a few years now. But that's not even the worst part.  Rostam kept us waiting all this time for quite frankly a series of sloppy tracks that sounded like rejected Vampire Weekend cuts.  There are some pleasant instrumentals here and there, and Rostam certainly has some tricks up his sleeve as far as the production goes.  Also, some of the very biographical themes of the lyrics were really nice.  But that's just about where my compliments have to stop.  For an album that's been in the works for years and is well over an hour, it's 90% filler, and I really can't see myself ever listening to it again. 

09 Cloud Nothings - "Life Without Sound" - And the downward spiral for this band continues to get more and more out of control with each passing day.  A few years ago, I thought I had found my new favorite current artist when I stumbled upon Cloud Nothings and their "Attack on Memory" album.  They had a slick, heavy Post-Hardcore sound and they just seemed so focused.  Their output since then has been the exact opposite.  "Life Without Sound" shows that Cloud Nothings are far from the focused, Post-Hardcore band they once sounded like.  Here, they juggle between Indie Rock, Noise Rock, watered down Punk Rock and more, with none of it coming off good.  Why Cloud Nothings continue to switch around their sound is beyond me, but it's getting really hard to be a fan of theirs. 

08. Day Wave - "The Days We Had" - Ok, OK, so this album wasn't necessarily a TERRIBLE album.  But I just expected so much more from this album.  When I first heard Day Wave's first few EP's, there honestly wasn't a bad song around, and I really thought this electronic project was going to be my next obsession when it came to electronic music.  This album to me just seemed so damn safe though.  Sure, tracks like "Something Here" are actually incredible modern Electronic tunes.  But almost none of this album held a candle to some of the project's early singles and EP, and so much of the album just had no lasting power.  I still think Day Wave could knock it out of the park one day, but until then, I'm on the fence.

07. The Shins - "Heartworms" - Oh James Mercer, what the hell happened.  The Shins at one point in my life meant so much to me, with albums like "Oh Inverted World" and "Chutes Too Narrow' being absolute classics.  And with the release of 2012's "Port Of Morrow", I felt like The Shins with their new found Space Rock appreciation were ready to take on new life.  But "Heartworms" is one of the most bizarre Shins albums I've ever heard.  I still think "Name For You" is one of the best Indie tunes of the year.  But the rest of this album sounds like James splattered about 6 cans of paint on his wall and decided to record what he saw.  This album is an absolute mess, sounding like The Shins trying desperately to be Psychedelic or Experimental.  It's sort of like just how Of Montreal came off on their "Aureate Gloom" album.  This is an absolute mess of an album, and I'm telling you I'm really not too excited to see where James Mercer takes the band next. 

06. Timber Timbre - “Sincerely, Future Pollution” - Oh boy, this was a more than just a small disappointment.  Timber Timbre in the last few years has always impressed me with their very gloomy, almost Gothic folk with elements of Noire and so much more.  Not to mention, Timber Timbre came off as the most tortured folk band around, which was straight up cool.  So of course, hearing they had an album coming out this year got me all pumped up.  What we got though, is the farthest thing from a Timber Timbre album.  The once moody, gloomy mood is almost completely switched out for some woozy synths and some hit and miss atmospheres.  I think that eventually, Timber Timbre could really do something cool with a more electronic sound, but this is the farthest thing from it.  Also, why in the world are some tracks here sounding like honest to God ZZ Top covers?

05. Japandroids - “Near To The Wild Heart of Life” - This album is really freakin’ bizarre, to be honest.  Like, completely out there.  Japandroids in the past few years has made names for themselves as being one of the more exciting Punk bands on the market today.  They were writing these incredibly anthemic, youthful, and truly exciting tunes, and stringing together into unforgettable albums like “Celebration Rock” and “Post Nothing”.  Now, I understand that bands change over time, it’s just a fact of life.  But hearing this new album from Japandroids was baffling.  They’ve traded in their incredibly wild and noisy punk jams for upbeat and much more mature Americana.  Now, hearing the title track to this album, I thought Japandroids could make it work.  But newsflash, they didn’t.  This album sounds absolutely exhausted a mere two tracks in. The songwriting is still mighty passionate and commendable.  But while Japandroids have only been gone a few years, they sound absolutely ancient sadly.  The excitement is gone, the electricity is gone, and the rest of this album just crumbles quickly.

04. Ride - “Weather Diaries” - Heres a situation, let me know if you’ve heard this one before.  Legendary Shoegaze band disappears for over 20+ years only to return with a stunning album.  It’s not as crazy as it sounds, bands like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive made it look easy.  But Ride, on the other hand, made me sort of wish they never came back.  This album’s just so mediocre at the end of the day.  When Slowdive returned, it was beautiful.  When MBV returned, it was exciting and wild.  In Ride’s case though, they just seemed like they sort of half-assed this.  There are some great tunes here and there that I absolutely love.  But so many of these deep cuts are just so over-indulged and unbearably flat.  This wasn’t the vibrant and colorful Ride that left us 20 years ago, this was a bunch of dudes that quite frankly seemed like they were doing this for no reason whatsoever. 

03. Washed Out - “Mister Mellow” - Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  I’ve been waiting years for another Washed Out project.  I’ve been a diehard fan of Ernest Greene’s Washed Out project for years, even though his releases are often few and far between.  Not to mention, when I heard that he was releasing this on Stones Throw Records of all labels, my mouth was watering like crazy.  But what I got was about 30 minutes, only about 20 minutes of which was new material.  There was potential everywhere, with tracks like “Hard to Say Goodbye” being unbelievable standouts.  But why the hell is there just so much filler here?  You’ve been gone for 3-4 years, only to come back with about 22 minutes of actual material?  Don’t get me wrong, the material here IS good.  But there’s so many skits and bogus tracks that didn’t need to be there. 

02. Drake  - “More Life” - Let me start this off by saying that for years, I have proudly backed Drake and time and time again defended him and his projects.  But this project is quite simply too much.  This album is filled to the brim with awful features, questionable production, and worst of all Drake doing his awful fake British accent (I swear if I have to hear him say “Ting” one more time I’ve going to break something).  Now, once again, I think that Drake’s strengths lie in him writing Pop tunes, “Passionfruit” is a wonderful tune.  But this “Playlist” (fuck you, Drake, it’s an album and you know that) is just so long.  And once again the interludes and skits are just so bad.  “More Life” is dreadful, and for once in my life leaves me with no excuse for Drake. 

01. Gorillaz  - “Humanz” - Holy hell.  Ok so let me start this off by saying, this album barely sounds like a Gorillaz album.  For the most part, this is a Who’s Who lineup of Alternative Rap’s finest mixed in with some veterans.  And as far as that goes, it’s totally fine.  But if you’re going to sit here and tell me that Damon Albarn put as much effort into this as any other Gorillaz album, I’m gonna call ya a liar, my friend.  Gorillaz was once a celebration of numerous genres coming together succinctly with some clever social commentary thrown in nicely too.  There’s really none of that in site on “Humanz”.  Don’t get me wrong, Vince Staples, Danny Brown, and most importantly Pusha T do incredible as featured artists.  But Damon Albarn’s presence is barely felt most of the time.  Not to mention, there are just some really incredibly poor choices as far as some of the other features go (I’m looking directly at Savages frontwoman Jehnny Beth). This album is truly the most disappointing album I’ve heard all year. 

Top 10 Album’s that have Grown on Me in 2017

Howdy y'all!  It's that glorious time of year again, and in between my final reviews of the year, I wanted to give you guys some good ol' fashion lists.  We're going to start things off with album's that have grown on me in one way or another this year.  Obviously, this is all just my opinion.  Hope you guys enjoy!  And stay tuned this weekend for my "Top 10 Disappointments" list!

10. Liam Gallagher - "As You Were".  Now, you can have your own thoughts about this album, but I stand by my word that a whole lot of this album really isn't that bad at all.  Even some of the more ballad tunes on here since my initial review have really grown on me.  Now, Liam in every way on this album is so far from reinventing his sound it's not even funny.  Hell, you can argue that a lot of these tunes do sound a lot like Oasis songs that never got recorded.  And yes.  you can argue that a whole lot of this album is egotistical, pretentious, and marked with some ridiculous drama, which certainly made me think twice about this album at first.  But at its core, this is a really solid Pop Rock album, with plenty of nods to Oasis’s 90’s heyday.  Not to mention, for Liam’s debut solo album this far into his career, this certainly could have been a lot worse.

09. Blanck Mass - "World Eater".  Now, I gave this album a very positive review when I first chatter about it months ago.  But the fact of the matter is, the more I listen to it, the more I realize that this is by far the most important and wild Electronic music album of the year.  Some of the less intense tracks on this album like “The Rat” originally sort of didn’t hit me nearly as hard as tracks like the intense and striking “Silent Treatment”.  But over time, start to finish I really do feel like Benjamin John Power has released one of the most solid, most progressive and crushing electronic music album’s that I’ve heard since Oneohtrix Point Never’s “Garden of Delete”.  Obviously, this still is far from an easily dissectible electronic, but if you’re into the much more aggressive side of the genre this is an incredibly solid release. 

08. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - “Murder of The Universe”  - This was an album that I was seriously excited for listening to its opening singles.  Tracks like “The Lord of Lightning” showed King Gizzard playing with more intensity than ever, and they just seemed so out of control.  But numerous listens really had me scratching my head, well after my initial review.  This album as a whole is a very different beast than what we’ve come to expect from King Gizzard.  This entire album has much more of a narrative, with the kings of Australian Psych taking us through a bizarre, futuristic tale full of Gene Splicing and elemental overlords.  My initial feelings were mixed on this, because the album to me just uses so many spoken word tracks to sort of tie the story together, which is totally fine.  But it got to the point where these spoken word interludes just got to be so damn long that they would really mess up any excitement that the tracks were building.  However, eventually, I was able to look past that and just enjoy this album for what it is.  Also, I think a huge part of what makes this album so decent is the humor behind some of the story King Gizzard are telling, but I won’t spoil that any further. 

07. Beach Fossils - “Somersault” - Here we have another album that initially I gave a very positive review of.  But as this year has gone on I feel like this album has simply become one of my favorite rock albums of the year.  Beach Fossils in the past few years have been dying to break out of their very Dream Pop oriented sound, which is exactly what they do on “Somersault”.  This album shows Beach Fossils breaking out of their hazy guitar licks with some beautiful orchestrations and lush instrumentals.  Now obviously, this is a far cry from where they began.  But if you’re into Beach Fossils trying something VERY different from where they started, this album just continues to be such a blissful and sweet Rock album.  

06. Oh Sees - “Orc” - This new Oh Sees album took a while to really grow on me as it has.  On the surface, this is another unhinged, wild, intense and throttling Psychedelic Rock album.  There are tons of wild solos, and frontman John Dwyer is certainly at his weirdest on vocals.  However, I sort of had a problem with more of the Jam-oriented tracks.  I don’t think any of them really came off truly terrible.  But there were a handful of tracks on “Orc” that I simply felt would be so much more interesting in a live setting, where Oh Sees would be able to expand on a lot of these tunes with even longer solos.  Too much of this album to me just seemed like it could be much more experimental.  However, this album over time really grew on me in a lot of ways.  I just love how outlandish and gory the performances and lyrics are on here.  “Orc” to me just seems like the perfect soundtrack to some unbelievably violent animated film, which is basically where I love hearing them.  

05. Code Orange - “Forever” - So my initial thoughts on this album were pretty simple.  I felt like this was easily the best thing that Code Orange had done, and that this contained a slew of easily their best-crafted tracks yet.  And you’re damn right I still feel that way, but as I’ve listened to this album here and there throughout the rest of the year, I just have more and greater things to say about this one.  Code Orange have come so far from being just a crossover Hardcore Punk band.  They’ve become more or less THE Metalcore band on the market today, and tunes like “Forever” prove it time and time again.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ9JVxQVQy4

04. New Pornographers - “Whiteout Conditions” - Now, when I first listened to this album, yes I enjoyed it.  But I did have one very glaring problem when I was reviewing this one initially, and that was the departure of longtime singer and songwriter Dan Bejar.  As much as I listened to the unbelievably catchy tunes here, I couldn’t shake just how much I seriously missed Dan’s style of songwriting on this album, which eventually lead to me criticize a lot of this album in my initial review.  However, 6 months later I have a whole different perspective on this album, mostly because I realized that I was looking at this album completely wrong.  The fact of the matter is, the New Pornographers are just as on their game as ever.  The songs here are catchy, and sonically much more interesting than the tracks on their last album.  But I think Dan’s absence should still be talked about because if New Pornographers can still make this solid of an album without him, they can still make great albums for years to come.   

03. Cigarettes After Sex - “Cigarettes After Sex” - This is an album that I really thought I was never going to be sitting and reviewing like I did.  Cigarettes After Sex dropped an EP years ago and have been quiet ever since, to a point where I really didn’t think we’d ever hear from them again.  But low and behold, they dropped a seriously solid Dream Pop album this year.  While at first, I did like a lot about this album, over time I’ve thought about it more and more and have realized there is A LOT about this album that’s seriously underrated.  The Noire vibe that this band has is just so classy, and it’s something that a lot of bands have dropped recently or don’t go for anymore.  Also, Cigarettes After Sex bring in a steaminess and sexiness that I haven’t heard in Dream Pop probably ever.  Don’t let this one slip by!  

02. Real Estate - “In Mind” - Now, I’ve gotten a lot of heat with people over the years for not being a Real Estate fan.  I’ve always appreciated their atmospheres and sweet, blissful style.  But more times than not, I’ve felt like their style is just a little too breezy for my liking.  Sure, it's one thing to put their stuff on and just tune out.  But personally, I wanted something more engaging from Real Estate.  And that’s exactly what I got with this new album “In Mind”. My initial review of this album was pretty darn positive, as I felt that Real Estate’s added instrumentals made their tracks just heavier enough for me to really dig into.  As this year has gone on though, I feel like it’s just grown even more pleasant, sweeter, and easily my favorite thing that Real Estate has ever done.  Hell, I would even say that I wouldn’t mind them pushing this new, more instrumentally heavy sound even further in the future.  

01. Black Lips - “Satan’s Graffiti Or God’s Art?” - OK, so I have a lot to say about this one.  The Black Lips are easily one of my all-time favorite bands.  Their sleazy, greasy, and energetic brand of Garage Rock is just something that quite frankly you don’t hear anymore.  So of course, when I heard the singles leading up to this album, and I heard some of the Producers and collaborators the band was working with, I was seriously excited.  Then I listened to it, and I just had so many questions.  Why the hell is this album well over an hour long?  Why are there so many tracks?  Why is this a concept album?  What’s up with all of these absolutely dreadful interludes?  Since this is a concept album, why is it so ridiculously hard to follow?  All of these questions lead me eventually to review this album to be pretty darn poor.  But over the year, I’ve eventually come to terms with it.  Now, let's get some things straight.  As a concept album, this is dreadful.   Black Lips can barely tell a story, and when they do string some ideas together, they’re flimsy as hell.  The interludes on here win the award for the collection of most unnecessary tracks of the entire year.  But as far as the rest of this album goes, I’ll be damned if Black Lips don’t have one of the coolest sounds around.  The singles here like “Occidental Front” and “Squatting In Heaven” are among some of the best tracks the band has ever written.  So if I may give some advice, if you choose to listen to this album, skip over some of these dreadful interludes and treat this album as a rock album and nothing more.  Because let’s be honest, if this was trimmed down, this could have easily been one of the best albums of the year.