RainyWoods
Croak-kay
2017 is now coming to a close. Lots of great releases this year. Much more so than last year, at least for me. What have been your favourite albums from 2017? What were the true highlights of your musical year? Have their been any disappointments even? Here are my favourites from what's been quite a good year for music....
1. Ariel Pink - Dedicated To Bobby Jameson
My favourite album this year. In fact, nothing else even comes close. This release takes Ariel's special brand of peculiar lo-fi pop strangeness back to his home, after his 2014 release Pom Pom found him recording a full record in a studio for the first time, after signing to 4AD. For Dedicated To Bobby Jameson, Ariel took things back to basics and I think it resulted in him creating the finest, most charming record of his career, with crazy songs like "Time To Live" existing besides weirdly poignant songs like "Another Weekend". It's instantly become a classic for me, and a record I know i'll always have with me.
2. The War On Drugs - A Deeper Understanding
This Philly bands fourth release I think is their very best to date. It follows on from the very well received 2014 release, Lost in the Dream. On A Deeper Understanding the band has shown tremendous growth. Songs either are full on eargasms, driving along on cruise control with the windows down in true The War On Drugs style, or they are beautiful slow burners that you just know are building to something, and they never disappoint (they get massive). There's still this aching beauty as well that penetrates through even the jolliest of The War On Drugs songs, in no short thanks to Adam Granduciel's beautiful and sincere vocal delivery. And that harmonica.. you can never get enough harmonica!
3. Sadistik - Altars
Dark, brutally honest release from my favourite hip hop artist. Sadistik has always been swimming in gloom, with an ever present melancholy that enveloped his work that has made it so singular. But on Altars Sadistik is angry. He's challenging things and people here, going to areas that I think most would be too frightened to visit in their art. Altars isn't the easiest listen, but it's the most cut throat critique put onto record that i've listened to this year. It's a journey into the psych of a very talented artist.
4. Kesha - Rainbow
If you told me last year that i'd be championing Kesha for having one of the best albums released in 2017, I probably wouldn't believe you, but I somehow became a Kesha fan this year, and well.. she released one of the best albums this year. The absolutely stunning single, "Praying", was all I needed to know that delving in could be worth the risk, and it certainly was. I got addicted to Rainbow, getting most of my pop fix from it this year. A beautiful record, that still kicks butt and has parts of the old $ sign Ke$ha there, but this different side we're also getting to experience for the first time is fascinating and strong.
5. Sorority Noise - You're Not As _____ As You Think
Emo music is something else I never would have guessed i'd be getting into this year, although the band themselves don't seem to want the tag attached to their music anymore. Anyway, the best way of describing this album I guess would just be to call it an awesome rock record. These songs are extremely dark, emotionally driven outbursts, but somehow I find you come away feeling better having listened to them. It's a cathartic experience. "No Halo" and "Second Letter From St. Julien" are humongous slices of emotional rock. Hard to get any bigger.
11. Nicole Atkins - Goodnight Rhonda Lee
12. Tim Bernardes - Recomeçar
13. Aimee Mann - Mental Illness
14. John Maus - Screen Memories
15. Charly Bliss - Guppy
Best of the rest:
The Unthanks - Diversions Vol 4: Songs and Poems of Molly Drake
Big Thief - Capacity
S
ders - Dangerous Jumps
Perfume Genius - No Shape
Ty Segall - Ty Segall (2017)
Aldous Harding - Party
Mount Eeirie - A Crow Looked At Me
MUNA - About U
CENDE - #1 Hit Single
Mac DeMarco - This Old Dog
Meatbodies - Alice
Tracy Bryant - A Place For Nothing And Everything In Its Place
Chrysta Bell - We Dissolve
Todd Rundgren - White Knight
Kristoff Krane - Kairos, Part 1
Next year i'm looking forward to new releases from Dessa, Marianne Faithfull, Part Time, Weyes Blood, Shannon and the Clams, Michael Rault. Also, hopefully *fingers crossed* Luluc, Soap&Skin, Loreena McKennitt and maybe it's finally time for Mikal Cronin to release "MCIV" (my body is ready).
1. Ariel Pink - Dedicated To Bobby Jameson
My favourite album this year. In fact, nothing else even comes close. This release takes Ariel's special brand of peculiar lo-fi pop strangeness back to his home, after his 2014 release Pom Pom found him recording a full record in a studio for the first time, after signing to 4AD. For Dedicated To Bobby Jameson, Ariel took things back to basics and I think it resulted in him creating the finest, most charming record of his career, with crazy songs like "Time To Live" existing besides weirdly poignant songs like "Another Weekend". It's instantly become a classic for me, and a record I know i'll always have with me.
2. The War On Drugs - A Deeper Understanding
This Philly bands fourth release I think is their very best to date. It follows on from the very well received 2014 release, Lost in the Dream. On A Deeper Understanding the band has shown tremendous growth. Songs either are full on eargasms, driving along on cruise control with the windows down in true The War On Drugs style, or they are beautiful slow burners that you just know are building to something, and they never disappoint (they get massive). There's still this aching beauty as well that penetrates through even the jolliest of The War On Drugs songs, in no short thanks to Adam Granduciel's beautiful and sincere vocal delivery. And that harmonica.. you can never get enough harmonica!
3. Sadistik - Altars
Dark, brutally honest release from my favourite hip hop artist. Sadistik has always been swimming in gloom, with an ever present melancholy that enveloped his work that has made it so singular. But on Altars Sadistik is angry. He's challenging things and people here, going to areas that I think most would be too frightened to visit in their art. Altars isn't the easiest listen, but it's the most cut throat critique put onto record that i've listened to this year. It's a journey into the psych of a very talented artist.
4. Kesha - Rainbow
If you told me last year that i'd be championing Kesha for having one of the best albums released in 2017, I probably wouldn't believe you, but I somehow became a Kesha fan this year, and well.. she released one of the best albums this year. The absolutely stunning single, "Praying", was all I needed to know that delving in could be worth the risk, and it certainly was. I got addicted to Rainbow, getting most of my pop fix from it this year. A beautiful record, that still kicks butt and has parts of the old $ sign Ke$ha there, but this different side we're also getting to experience for the first time is fascinating and strong.
Emo music is something else I never would have guessed i'd be getting into this year, although the band themselves don't seem to want the tag attached to their music anymore. Anyway, the best way of describing this album I guess would just be to call it an awesome rock record. These songs are extremely dark, emotionally driven outbursts, but somehow I find you come away feeling better having listened to them. It's a cathartic experience. "No Halo" and "Second Letter From St. Julien" are humongous slices of emotional rock. Hard to get any bigger.
6. Linda Perhacs - I'm A Harmony
7. Poppy - Poppy.Computer
8. Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice
9. The Orwells - Terrible Human Beings
10. Sir Sly - Don't You Worry, Honey
7. Poppy - Poppy.Computer
8. Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice
9. The Orwells - Terrible Human Beings
10. Sir Sly - Don't You Worry, Honey
11. Nicole Atkins - Goodnight Rhonda Lee
12. Tim Bernardes - Recomeçar
13. Aimee Mann - Mental Illness
14. John Maus - Screen Memories
15. Charly Bliss - Guppy
Best of the rest:
The Unthanks - Diversions Vol 4: Songs and Poems of Molly Drake
Big Thief - Capacity
S
ders - Dangerous JumpsPerfume Genius - No Shape
Ty Segall - Ty Segall (2017)
Aldous Harding - Party
Mount Eeirie - A Crow Looked At Me
MUNA - About U
CENDE - #1 Hit Single
Mac DeMarco - This Old Dog
Meatbodies - Alice
Tracy Bryant - A Place For Nothing And Everything In Its Place
Chrysta Bell - We Dissolve
Todd Rundgren - White Knight
Kristoff Krane - Kairos, Part 1
Next year i'm looking forward to new releases from Dessa, Marianne Faithfull, Part Time, Weyes Blood, Shannon and the Clams, Michael Rault. Also, hopefully *fingers crossed* Luluc, Soap&Skin, Loreena McKennitt and maybe it's finally time for Mikal Cronin to release "MCIV" (my body is ready).
Bless Charli XCX going for two releases in a year as well. I like the psychedelic album art for your album of the year. I'm sure there's a hip surprise waiting inside though, rather than a psych album.
