Albums of 2017

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Bruno
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Albums of 2017

Post by Bruno »

Post here your best album of the year.

:music-listening:
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

Here's what's on my radar:

The Flaming Lips- Oczy Mlody- January 13th
The xx- I See You- January 13th
Foxygen- Hang- January 20th
Cloud Nothings- Life Without Sound- January 27th
Japandroids- Near to the Wild Heart of Life- January 27th
Sun Kil Moon- Common As Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood- February 28th
The Shins- Heartworms- March 10th
Julia Holter- In the Same Room- March 31st

Beck- TBA- TBA
Chromatics- Dear Tommy- TBA
Coldplay- Kaleidoscope (EP)- TBA
Fleet Foxes- TBA- TBA
Flying Lotus- TBA- TBA
Gorillaz- TBA- TBA
LCD Soundsystem- TBA- TBA
MGMT- TBA- TBA
Real Estate- TBA- TBA
Spiritualized- TBA- TBA
Vampire Weekend- TBA- TBA
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

David Bowie- No Plan (EP)

Released on what would have been his 70th birthday (today), "No Plan" is a collection of 4 songs, 3 of them from the cutting room floor of "Blackstar" (the other one being "Lazarus"). The other songs here are "No Plan" (which was released as a stand alone song late last year), "Killing a Little Time", and "When I Met You". The moods of these 3 songs vary quite a bit, though they all stick roughly to the jazzy, experimental rock sound of "Blackstar". "No Plan" is a lost, desolate ballad, while "When I Met You" is full of hope. "Killing a Little Time" is actually downright heavy metal at times, giving the EP some raucous energy. "No Plan" shows just how great Bowie was, that even these scraps from "Blackstar" are still amazing is a testament to his greatness.

Verdict: Very Good
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by mowino »

RTJ3 will dominate the year end lists, bookmark me
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by acroamor »

Nick wrote:Here's what's on my radar:

Foxygen- Hang- January 20th
I don't know if you'd be into this, but Hang leaked online already and it is spectacular.
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

acroamor wrote:
Nick wrote:Here's what's on my radar:

Foxygen- Hang- January 20th
I don't know if you'd be into this, but Hang leaked online already and it is spectacular.
Thanks! I don't really tend to search out leaks unless it's something I've been obsessing over and really can't wait to hear it. In this case, I'm okay with waiting (though the pre release singles from Hang sound fantastic!).
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by notbrianeno »

Some upcoming releases that will be of note to some forum members:
Laura Marling | Semper Femina
Ryan Adams | Prisoner
Japandroids | Near to the Wild Heart of Life
Ariel Pink & Weyes Blood | Myths 002 EP
Peter Silberman (of The Antlers) | Impermanence
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Jirin »

I'm really liking the new Flaming Lips album. They've backed away from the noisy approach of Embryonic and Terror.

New XX album is impressing me. I haven't cared for them much in the past.
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by JohnnyBGoode »

The xx 'I See You'
Been really excited about The xx's album. Loved their debut and after the relative dip with a similar formula for the 2nd I was raving (literally) about Jamie xx's solo album. After the 2 singles I was hoping that it would bring the best from both worlds. Early impressions (still to have a proper listen without distractions) are that while it captures both, I'm still not sure if it's as good as either. Maybe I'm being fussy having loved other stuff, but still good enough to want another proper listen or 2, so maybe it will grow on me.

Edit: Now had a proper listen and verdict is I really like it. How good it is only time will tell.
Last edited by JohnnyBGoode on Tue Jan 17, 2017 7:04 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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notbrianeno
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by notbrianeno »

Pleasantly surprised by the new XX and Flaming Lips as well, especially loving the ambient synth textures on Oczy Mlody
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by PlasticRam »

Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody 8.3
Foxygen - Hang 7.7
Brian Eno - Reflection 6.6
The xx - I See You 6.5
I feel like that
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

The xx- I See You

After 5 years between albums, The xx are back with their latest LP, "I See You". During that 5 year sabbatical, de facto group leader Jamie xx released his highly acclaimed album "In Colour", an excursion into the world of electronica, downtempo, garage, dancehall, and all things danceable. It was only natural that after the good but safe "Coexist" that his band would realize that a change of pace was needed, and after the lead single "On Hold" was released back in November, it became clear that the "In Colour" aesthetic would reign supreme.

That being said, although I loved "In Colour" for being able to break down all of those aforementioned genres in a way that left their core aesthetic intact, while marrying them with a strong pop sensibility, the music on "I See You" never really reaches the diversity that "In Colour" had, nor does it reach the captivating levels of pure pop pleasure. "I See You" is adept at what it does, and the "two teenagers in love whispering quietly to each other in the middle of the night" style singing that is now trademark xx manages to retain much of its power even while losing some of its intimacy due to the change in music backing it.

"I See You" is a strong album, an album that changes things up in the xx formula enough so that nothing is ever stale. But the group could've pushed the aesthetic much further.

Verdict: Good
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

The Flaming Lips- Oczy Mlody

The album chugs along at a steady pace, one where the songs just flow into each other without any sort of details that makes differentiating them easy. "Oczy Mlody" is a serviceable nocturnal chillout sort of album, but one desperately short on tunes. The lyrics here are something that are better left without much attention paid to them, and as the lyrics were never really the point of this album and a frequently overwhelmed by the instruments, this is easy enough to do. Other than that, I have nothing much more to say on the album. It's the sort of thing that's very "in one ear out the other". Come on boys, I know you all have at least one more "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" left in you.

Verdict: Decent
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by veganvalentine »

acroamor wrote:
Nick wrote:Here's what's on my radar:

Foxygen- Hang- January 20th
I don't know if you'd be into this, but Hang leaked online already and it is spectacular.
Random fact: My girlfriend's cousin is dating Sam France from Foxygen.
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Bruno »

The xx - I See You 7.9
The Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody 7.4
Brian Eno - Reflection 7.0

Next listenings:
Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness
Foxygen - Hang
Last edited by Bruno on Wed Jan 18, 2017 9:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by notbrianeno »

Great:
Xiu Xiu | FORGET

Good:
The Flaming Lips | Oczy Mlody
The XX | I See You

Decent:
Foxygen | Hang
Brian Eno | Reflection
Dryjacket | For Posterity
SOHN | Rennen

Mediocre:
Cloud Nothings | Life Without Sound
Bonobo | Migration
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Bruno »

I really like the Julie Byrne's new album!

The xx - I See You 7.9
The Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody 7.4
Brian Eno - Reflection 7.0
Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness 7.9
Bonobo - Migration 7.3

Next listenings:

Foxygen - Hang
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notbrianeno
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by notbrianeno »

New Japandroids album streaming below:
http://www.npr.org/2017/01/19/510416955 ... rt-of-life
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

Japandroids- Near to the Wild Heart of Life

On their 2009 debut, Japandroids reveled in raucous garage punk energy that was at times a little too loose and lo-fi for its own good. Still, it was a hell of a good listen. Their followup album, 2012's "Celebration Rock", took that same energy but cleaned up the production, and in the process made the songs bigger, louder, punchier, catchier, and overall better. "Near to the Wild Heart of Life" is where they take that cleaned production too far, resulting in limp songs that completely lack the energy that made "Younger Us" and "The House That Heaven Built" so fantastic. The worst offender here is Brian King's vocals, which used to sound like the embodiment of youthful spirit but now sound a little whiny, and I'm talking borderline generic pop punk levels of whine.

"Near to the Wild Heart of Life" has enough of the old Japandroids aesthetic to at least be passable, but in all ways is pale immitation of past glories.

Verdict: Decent
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Bruno »

The xx - I See You 7.9
The Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody 7.4
Brian Eno - Reflection 7.0
Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness 7.9
Bonobo - Migration 7.3
Sohn - Rennen 6.7
Foxygen - Hang 7.3

Next listenings:

Japandroids
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Jirin »

Not feeling Hang at all. Feels like a heap of sarcastic schmaltz and uncomfortable tempo changes.

I am liking Austra - Future Politics.
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

Foxygen- Hang

Add in equal parts Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, The Kinks, Love, and Van Dyke Parks into a blender and you've got a pretty decent approximation of the latest Foxygen effort. Saying this album wears its influences on its sleeve is an understatement, but Foxygen bring a few tricks here and there that prevent the songs from becoming little more than just bland revivalism.

For one, the songs have a fair amount of complexity to them. Tempo changes abound here, as do random digressions in style, jumping from 60s pop/rock into showtunes style ditties in the matter of seconds. In addition to the complex song structures here (the best example of which is probably the sprawling suite "America"), the band packs a music store's worth of instruments into the album (Matthew E. White provided a 40 piece orchestra arrangement for "Hang"). The only real complaint here is that lead singer Sam France's Bowie aping singing sometimes gets a little too over the top for its own good, frequently turning more to melodrama than actual drama. Well, that and it's not all too original of an album. The bag of tricks that Foxygen pull out to make "Hang" a unique listening experience only go so far, after all.

Verdict: Good
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by notbrianeno »

Real Estate | In Mind (March 17th)

Father John Misty | Pure Comedy (March 31st)
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by JohnnyBGoode »

Really Like:
The xx - I See You
Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness
Loyle Carner - Yesterday's Gone

Need to spend more time with:
Foxygen - Hang

Think our relationship may be over:
The Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody

Next:
Bonobo: Migration
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

Neil Cicierega- Mouth Moods

If you're an American between the ages of 16 and 30 then you've probably run into the works of Neil Cicierega without even realizing it. If the name doesn't sound familiar to you, perhaps some of his projects will. Potter Puppet Pals, The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny, and his work under the moniker Lemon Demon. And if you're wondering why on earth Smash Mouth are a meme now, blame him. His 2014 album "Mouth Sounds" mashed up "All Star" and "Walking on the Sun" with the most unlikely of bedfellows, Nine Inch Nails, Daft Punk, and more. Shortly after releasing "Mouth Sounds" Cicierega released his magnum opus, "Mouth Silence", an album that (mostly) ditched the Smash Mouth theme in favor of hilarious sonic collages. His song "Pokemon" layers the instrumental track for The Jackson Five's hit "I Want You Back" over dozens of news reports about Pokemon. In a post-Girl Talk world, this sort of humor and irreverence is badly needed.

So that brings us to the third album in his "mouth" series, "Mouth Moods". Like his previous two albums, "Mouth Moods" is an album of unlikely mashups and a fair amount of Smash Mouth. His song "AC/VC" is probably the best here, taking the unaltered instrumental track of Vanessa Carlton's "A 1000 Miles" and placing the unaltered vocal track of AC/DC/'s "Back in Black" over it. The effect is jarring, to say the least, and also hilarious. Elsewhere, Cicierega remixes the "Ghostbusters" theme into a song about the joys of ejaculating. Take it from me, this is sophomoric humor at its finest.

But most of the album never really reaches the heights of these two songs, nor does it reach the heights of his previous albums. Take "T.I.M.E." for example, a song that juxtaposes the exuberant vocals from the Village People's "Y.M.C.A." over the morose piece of film score known as "Time" (composed by Hans Zimmer, featured in the movie "Inception"). The joke is funny for the first minute or two, but then there are another three to follow.

Overall "Mouth Moods" is a decent collection of whimsical remixes and mashups. But you're better off sticking to the other two "mouth" albums.

Verdict: Decent/Good
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

Cloud Nothings- Life Without Sound

Cloud Nothings follow up "Here and Nowhere Else" with an album of the same indie/punk aesthetic, "Life Without Sound". Here, the album is a bit slower than their previous one, but is still quite the rocker, with loud guitars and powerful drums set to Dylan Baldi's characteristically angst-filled lyrics. There isn't anything here quite as catchy as "I'm Not Part of Me", the closing song on their "Here and Nowhere Else", but the songs here are amazingly consistent in quality, at no point is there any real lull in the album as it glides effortlessly from one song to the next. A satisfying album.

Verdict: Good
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Jirin »

Liking Japandroids.

It keeps the tone and noisiness of their previous work but as opposed to lyrics being a series of short statements they tell more of a pop structured story.

Not liking Cloud Nothings. So many songs end up in excessive grating repetition.

Liking Julie Byrne.
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Maschine_Man »

I desperately want to start writing more lengthy reviews of albums, as I have enjoy reading Nicks posts recently. I haven't started quite yet, so I'll just post a summery of the year so far:

I absolutely adore the new Foxygen album, which is little surprise. The xx and Flo Morrissey/Matthew E. White collaborations were both lovely, but not outstanding.

On rotation at the moment: Bonobo, SOHN, Austra, Delicate Steve, RTJ3 and Flaming Lips. Nothing really standing out though.

I'm most excited for: Goldfrapp, Sylvan Esso, Laura Marling, Jamiroquai and Magnetic Fields. I cringed at the new FJM tracks to be honest, the clunky lyrics to be more specific. I expect the indie crowd will squeal with smug delight though.

A special mention to Karen Elson and her new album Double Rose, I saw her perform many of the new songs off her album, and the material was very promising (and entirely about her breakup with Jack White) considering her, let's be honest, amateurish debut. Funnily enough she performed with Jackson Smith (son of Patti and ex-husband of Meg White) which was quite surreal, seeing a duet by the former spouses of my favorite band singing about my favorite band.
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by prosecutorgodot »

Posting my top 20 anticipated/desired musical releases (not necessarily albums) of 2017, just so you know what I'm mostly looking forward to. Many of them, very likely won't happen at all, but I can dream.
20. SZA
19. Daft Punk
18. LCD Soundsystem
17. Bosnian Rainbows
16. Sky Ferreira
15. Gorillaz
14. Kendrick Lamar / J. Cole (collaboration)
13. Pusha T
12. FKA twigs
11. Paramore

10. Air
9. Fever Ray
8. St. Vincent
7. Kate Bush
6. Tears for Fears

5. ABBA (supposedly some super-special release is going to happen, though the chances it is a new full-length album are tiny)
4. Janelle Monae (praying!)
3. Haim
2. Lorde
1. Fleet Foxes
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by spiritualized »

Just started listening to the Most Acclaimed of 2017 - thanks Otisredding ! - and I am blown away by RTJ3
I thought RTJ2 was very good, but their third instalment goes way beyond. Almost flawless and VERY consistent.
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by JohnnyBGoode »

Maschine_Man wrote:I cringed at the new FJM tracks to be honest, the clunky lyrics to be more specific. I expect the indie crowd will squeal with smug delight though.
'Loving it', he squeals smugly, while listening to latest one :whistle:

http://www.stereogum.com/1922444/father ... m_campaign
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Romain »

Bonobo - Migration 5 I give a note here but the album is not for me. Break Apart and Ontario are the only songs I really like here.
Foxygen - Hang 5,5 I'm afraid I don't really like this album while knowing that it is not bad. I don't understand what they try to do… the mix between Elton John, Rufus Wainwright and The Divine Comedy should have pleased me…but no !
The Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody 6,5 After two …experimental albums…The Flaming Lips returned with a melodic and dreamy albums, better but not enought.




The Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody 6,5
Foxygen - Hang 5,5
Bonobo - Migration 5
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by spiritualized »

I'm going to do a Romain Style review/blog of my listening experiences during 2017. These won't be a "best-of", as I will listen to bad albums, I am sure of it. Although my first album of the year (RTJ3) is a bomb.

Run the Jewels - Run The Jewels 3 (9.0) - see impressions above

Arovane & Porya Hatami - Organism (5.0) - a collaboration between the German IDM master Arovane and the relatively unknown underground Iranian artist Hatami. This work represents the epitomy of ambient. Virtually beatless, you'll be hard done by even finding musical notes. More a collection of found sounds and field recordings, I don't get it. More ambient than Eno, it hardly qualifies as background "stuff".

The xx - I See You (5.0) At the risk of being contrary, I am not fussed about The xx. Great production, good balance between the female and male songs, the melodies are not really catchy, just average. No risk taking, this is lounge music with a good ear for pop sensibilities.

Wiley - Godfather (6.0) Grime. Never really got into it and started listening to Wiley's new release with heavy pre-judgments on the genre. I listened to his debut without much interest. This however, is better (13 years down the line...). I liked the raw energy that permeated through the entire album. Some songs are actually quite entertaining. Better than anticipated !

Kid Koala w/ Emiliana Torrini - Music to Draw To : Satellite (7.0) A very good surprise. Kid Koala eschews the samples / turntablism of his previous records and teams up with Icelandic Emialana to give birth to a stunning slow, quiet record. It really lends itself to music you can work / read / draw to. It's gentle and melodic and Emiliana Torrini's voice is like a Bjork taking Valium. Recommended.
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

Priests- Nothing Feels Natural

"Nothing Feels Natural" is the first album from Washington, DC based punk band Priests. The fact that they make an aggressive form of punk/post-punk might draw them comparisons with another female-lead punk group, Savages. But theses comparisons, while not exactly wrong, are somewhat superficial, as Priests approach their music with a little more humor than Savages do. Case in point? One of the songs here is about naming your band "Burger King". And on what is probably the album's best song, "No Big Bang", the lead singer goes on a monologue about how her mind is like a rocket ship.

It might be tempting to think that the band's loud and fast style of rock and rolling might grow a little stale for a full album, but Priests are smart enough to tweak the formula enough to keep things interesting. For example, "Jj" contains prominent elements of surf rock, and closing track "Suck" is essentially dance-punk. "Nothing Feels Natural" is fun, personable, and full of life.

Verdict: Good
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

Sampha- Process

You might recognize Sampha's name from his features on songs like Drake's "Too Much" and Solange's "Don't Touch My Hair", but it's likely that that's all you know him for. It's certainly all I knew him for before he released his fantastic debut album, "Process", a couple of days ago.

Process is another stellar R&B album in a decade that is loaded with stellar R&B albums. First there's the matter of Sampha's voice, which sounds somewhat like James Blake, right down to the way that Sampha carefully layers his voice on top of multiple tracks of him singing, creating harmonies that are oftentimes beautiful and unsettling. But Sampha is far from a Blake clone, as the music here on "Process" is much more R&B and soul focused than Blake's more electronica focused music is. On what is the album's best track, "(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano", Sampha is paired solely with the titular instrument, and in the process is able to craft a touching ballad. And for all of the angst filled lyrics and other touching moments on this album, it's something of a marvel that the whole thing so skillfully avoids the trap of turning into sentimental mush.

But moments like the stripped back "...Piano" are rare. Elsewhere on the album, twinkling synths and propulsive beats provide the instrumental flourishes to complement Sampha's voice. "Process" is a work of catharsis and human warmth.

Verdict: Very Good
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by JohnnyBGoode »

Nick wrote:Sampha- Process

Verdict: Very Good
My AOTY so far, though already a lot of albums to catch up on/listen to again:

1. Sampha- Process
2. The xx - I See You
3. Loyle Carner - Yesterday's Gone
4. Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness
5. Elbow – Little Fictions
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Bruno »

Sampha!

What a album!!!
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by notbrianeno »

Great:
Japandroids | Near to the Wild Heart of Life
Xiu Xiu | FORGET

Good:
Sampha | Process
Priests | Nothing Feels Natural
Gabriel Garzón-Montano | Jardín
Allison Crutchfield | Tourist in This Town
The Flaming Lips | Oczy Mlody
Migos | Culture
Wiley | Godfather
Julie Byrne | Not Even Happiness
The XX | I See You

Decent:
Austra | Future Politics
Grandaddy | Last Place
Porcelain Raft | Microclimate
Brian Eno | Reflection
Foxygen | Hang
Dryjacket | For Posterity
SOHN | Rennen

Mediocre:
Ty Segall | Ty Segall
Cloud Nothings | Life Without Sound
Bonobo | Migration

Bad:
Big Sean | I Decided
Neil Cicierega | Mouth Moods
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by letmeintomyzone »

notbrianeno wrote:Bad:

Neil Cicierega | Mouth Moods
:cry:
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

letmeintomyzone wrote:
notbrianeno wrote:Bad:

Neil Cicierega | Mouth Moods
:cry:
I wasn't that into the album (I love "Mouth Sounds" and "Mouth Silence" though), but "AC/VC" is legitimately one of the funniest things I have ever heard in music.
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by prosecutorgodot »

Nick wrote: I wasn't that into the album (I love "Mouth Sounds" and "Mouth Silence" though), but "AC/VC" is legitimately one of the funniest things I have ever heard in music.
You Didn't Like The Skit About 64kb computers Or The Ymca interpolation?
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

prosecutorgodot wrote:
Nick wrote: I wasn't that into the album (I love "Mouth Sounds" and "Mouth Silence" though), but "AC/VC" is legitimately one of the funniest things I have ever heard in music.
You Didn't Like The Skit About 64kb computers Or The Ymca interpolation?
"300MB" was pretty funny to me, but not outrageously so. And the YMCA interpolation was a solid, funny idea, but it just went on too long. That being said, I'm liking the album a little more than when I first heard it. It's growing on me.

To me, the best songs by far are "AC/VC" and "Bustin".
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PlasticRam
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by PlasticRam »

New ratings in bold.

Ryan Adams - Prisoner 8.6
Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody 8.3
Foxygen - Hang 7.7
Japandroids - Near To The Wild Heart Of Life 7.1
Big Sean - I Decided 6.9
Brian Eno - Reflection 6.6
The xx - I See You 6.5
Sampha - Process 6.4
Migos - Culture 5.9

------------------------------------------------------------------------

My all-time list at 550 albums:

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/galfond/ ... -albums-1/
I feel like that
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spiritualized
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by spiritualized »

Nick wrote:Priests- Nothing Feels Natural

"Nothing Feels Natural" is the first album from Washington, DC based punk band Priests. The fact that they make an aggressive form of punk/post-punk might draw them comparisons with another female-lead punk group, Savages. But theses comparisons, while not exactly wrong, are somewhat superficial, as Priests approach their music with a little more humor than Savages do. Case in point? One of the songs here is about naming your band "Burger King". And on what is probably the album's best song, "No Big Bang", the lead singer goes on a monologue about how her mind is like a rocket ship.

It might be tempting to think that the band's loud and fast style of rock and rolling might grow a little stale for a full album, but Priests are smart enough to tweak the formula enough to keep things interesting. For example, "Jj" contains prominent elements of surf rock, and closing track "Suck" is essentially dance-punk. "Nothing Feels Natural" is fun, personable, and full of life.

Verdict: Good
I just listened to "Suck" and am shocked (shocked !) at its uncanny resemblance to X-Ray Spex "OH Bondage ! Up Yours !"
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

spiritualized wrote:
Nick wrote:Priests- Nothing Feels Natural

"Nothing Feels Natural" is the first album from Washington, DC based punk band Priests. The fact that they make an aggressive form of punk/post-punk might draw them comparisons with another female-lead punk group, Savages. But theses comparisons, while not exactly wrong, are somewhat superficial, as Priests approach their music with a little more humor than Savages do. Case in point? One of the songs here is about naming your band "Burger King". And on what is probably the album's best song, "No Big Bang", the lead singer goes on a monologue about how her mind is like a rocket ship.

It might be tempting to think that the band's loud and fast style of rock and rolling might grow a little stale for a full album, but Priests are smart enough to tweak the formula enough to keep things interesting. For example, "Jj" contains prominent elements of surf rock, and closing track "Suck" is essentially dance-punk. "Nothing Feels Natural" is fun, personable, and full of life.

Verdict: Good
I just listened to "Suck" and am shocked (shocked !) at its uncanny resemblance to X-Ray Spex "OH Bondage ! Up Yours !"

I was actually thinking all throughout my listen "wow, these guys sound a lot like the X-Ray Spex" but I totally forgot to mention it in the review. Good catch!
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by StevieFan13 »

Gotta play catch-up - I like Japandroids, heard a great song called "Elementary School Dropout" that i really like, and I have an easier time thinking of the albums I'm looking forward to than ones I'm currently obsessed with (Arcade Fire, Gorillaz, Sky Ferreira, Stevie Wonder/Aretha Franklin).
Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand - Sir Duke (1976)
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Jirin »

Sampha - Process is wonderful. Either that or Japandroids is my #1 so far.

When I typed in Sampha it got autocorrected to Damon's.

I guess those keys are close to each other on the keyboatd but I wonder what I have been typing to make it think Damon is a common word for me.
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spiritualized
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by spiritualized »

A few rock releases give me hope for this year...although not much !

Ty Segall - Ty Segall (9.0) - The VERY prolific Segall (16 albums in 10 years...) releases his best ever and seems to have found his muse with Steve Albini at the producing helm. It rocks but the sound has garnered considerable quality. The treble/bass balances are back to normal with this eponymous album. Definitely top-tier for 2017

Mark Eitzel - Hey Mr Ferryman (7.0) Another solo outing from the frontman of defunct American Music Club. His voice is unmistakable. Hey Mr Ferryman seems a little below par but is less mellow. Mr Eitzel seems to have found some energy and it transpires in this album.

Cloud Nothings: Life Without Sound (9.0) I adored Attack on Memory, I love Life Without Sound. Relentless, short, to the point, the album doesn't let up and barely allows you to take your breath in the 30-odd minutes it lasts.

Sampha - Process (6.0) Yet another "Alternative R&B" release. I felt swamped by the sheer number of such releases last year. Sampha has merit though, the first third of the album is very good, upbeat - and has replay value. It falls quickly into the same bland territory that most of its 2016 peers fell into, though.
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notbrianeno
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by notbrianeno »

New Sun Kil Moon album, Common As Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood streaming below:

http://www.sunkilmoon.com/commonaslight/
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Re: Albums of 2017

Post by Nick »

Sun Kil Moon- Common as Light and Love are Red Valleys of Blood

Sun Kil Moon and I have something of a contentious relationship.

No, not in the way that Mark Kozelek and say, The War on Drugs or certain Pitchfork writers or just about anyone else who interacts with him have a contentious relationship. I've never met Kozelek, he has no idea I exist, and unless he's secretly been posting here under a nom de plum then it's safe to say that he'll never read this. No, what I mean when I say we have a contentious relationship is that I so often find his music to be either amazing or awful.

I was first introduced to Kozelek with his 2014 album "Benji", an album that garnered Kozelek a whole new set of fans due to its critical adoration. Much like the critics that heaped praise on it I was stunned at the heartfelt sincerity of the album's death-centric lyrics. Here's a middle aged white dude with a guitar singing about loving his mom and watch a Led Zeppelin documentary and family members that died in freak accidents and Panera Bread and the Newtown massacre and it all felt so genuine and human. But Kozelek's subsequent album, 2015's "Universal Themes", felt more like self-parody than anything else, and the murkiness of the instrumentation and production on the album was grating. 2016's collaborative album with experimental group Jesu was even worse, an 80 minute slog of meandering song after meandering song.

That's a pretty long way of saying that I went into the latest Sun Kil Moon album with low expectations. And it's somewhat amazing that I actually bothered to listen to this album (after two total stinkers the goodwill of "Benji" was wearing thin and I'd decided that if I didn't like this one I'd stop bothering to check out Kozelek's future releases).

So with that being said, I'm pleased to announce that "Common as Light and Love are Red Valleys of Blood" (which will henceforth be referred to as "CALALARVOB"...or on second thought, maybe just "Common as..." works better...) is actually a pretty good album.

The first hurdle standing in the way of this thing being a fantastic "Benji" level release is its length though. And boy, is this thing lengthy. "Common as..." is 16 songs, most of which cross the 7 minute mark, 3 of which cross the 10 minute mark. This thing is a two hour long beast of an album and that's not an easy hurdle to overcome.

The next issue is the fact that the instrumentation here, while crisp and clear and much more enjoyable than the murky sound of "Universal Themes", is never as consistently interesting as the music on "Benji". The music on "Benji" and "Common as..." both function as a background to Kozelek's lyrics. But on "Benji" there was something interesting to focus on in the music if you felt like it. That's not so much the case on "Common as...", and as such, all of the songs here start to bleed together. There are moments on the album where Kozelek suddenly shifts the tempo, as if launching into an entirely different song altogether, but while these moments are interesting when they occur, they're few and far between.

With that aside, the main draw to this album is (and if you've heard any Sun Kil Moon album what I'm about to say is going to be the least surprising thing you'll hear all day) the lyrics. There is absolutely no one in music who can write lyrics the way that Mark Kozelek does. The man's style of monotone talk singing is damn near iconic in the indie world at this point. As is his complete heart on sleeve devotion to his subject matter. The lyrical subject matter is a bit less focused than it was on "Benji", which was essentially a concept album about death, but that lack of focus does manage to keep you on your toes, if only to figure out what Kozelek will be singing about next (although, if I were given the choice, I suppose I'd go with focused Kozelek over unfocused).

On the album's first song, "God Bless Ohio", Kozelek sings about coming back to the declining post-industrial Rust Belt town that he managed to escape from thanks to his music career. The results aren't pretty. On "Vague Rock Song", he spends most of the song's beginning singing about how this is his vague rock song, before name-checking Biz Markie and Cypress Hill, and then going off on a tangent about a chlorine attack in Syria. Elsewhere on the album Kozelek also spends an inordinate amount of time singing the mysterious death of Elisa Lam, his love for Portugal, terrorist attacks, imaginary conversations with fans where he talks about being a part of the press and going to VIP after parties at SXSW, the death of David Bowie, Satanists taking over Detroit, and a whole lot more. This thing is a tough listen, but it's basically stream of consciousness as music lyrics. Joyce, Faulkner, Woolf...Kozelek? Maybe. Maybe not. But maybe.

Verdict: Good
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