Every year I write up a quick "Best Films" list, yet I've always struggled to do the same with albums. Maybe because music is more subjective than film? Because it's harder to have a serious discussion about? Because, at the end of the day, musical taste is just too potent a spice in the stew of aesthetics? Perhaps. So, I'm just going to start doing a "favorite" albums of the year list. I tried to come at these with as much objectivity as possible, but I've probably failed regardless. Here are the EP's and the full-length albums that dominated my 2017.
10 Favorite EP's of 2017
10.)
The Mountain Has Fallen - DJ Shadow: DJ Shadow has some of the sickest beats, slickest productions, and smartest collaborations in the game. And here, he proves it all over again.
9.)
Steve Lacy's Demo - Steve Lacy: This is easily the year's most relaxing dollop of funk. It'll pour from your speakers and envelope your senses.
8.)
Herstory - Young M.A: Made for strobe lights and champagne bubbles, this EP is low-fi club-friendly rap delivered with maximum efficiency. It is effortlessly listenable.
7.)
Myths and Legends EP - The Score: This is vacuous-yet-fun pop at its most anthemic. The hit single, "Legends," is a perfect microcosm of pop in the 2010's.
6.)
A Tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - Tony Allen: A wonderfully made and carefully crafted homage to the eternal Art Blakey. For fans of jazz, this is mandatory listening.
5.)
Middle Kids EP - Middle Kids: Maybe it's a little too 2005 and takes a few too many cues from popular indie acts, but I don't care.
Middle Kids EP is simply wonderful.
4.)
No Plan - David Bowie: What a weepy, whimsical EP this turned out to be. The perfect airy meditation on which Bowie ends his stunning career.
3.)
Bishop Briggs EP - Bishop Briggs: A curiously alluring assortment of songs that blend pop, blues, and folk with almost perfect precision. Briggs's voice will draw you near and never let you go.
2.)
Cold Dark Place - Mastodon: Evokes shag carpets and stale smoke - psychedelic swirls and blustery winds. In the modern study of throwback rock, this EP is a doctoral thesis.
1.)
All Is as All Should Be - The Dear Hunter: The grand, cinematic strains of The Dear Hunter have been a recent obsession of mine. Here? They blast their pseudo-prog style into the stratosphere.
10 Favorite Albums of 2017
10.)
Funk Walker - Scary Pockets: A wacky, weird, wondrous assortment of covers, all thoroughly funkified. Few acts are as ambitious yet grounded as Scary Pockets.
9.)
From A Room: Volume 1 - Chris Stapleton: I've always been wary of country music, especially anything this side of 1975, but Stapleton is a virtuoso of the genre. Here he weaves authenticity with camp, and genuine emotion with genre tropes. (
Volume 2 is quite good, too.)
8.)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2 - Various Artists: I know it's practically cheating to include this soundtrack, but I couldn't resist. For the groovy and the hip, for those FM radio cruisers with the wind in their hair, you need to check this out.
7.)
Mr. Finish Line - Vulfpeck: Some of 2017's best songs, from composition to arrangement to performance. Sax solos and keyboard licks, soaring vocals and in-the-pocket percussion. What more could you ask for?
6.)
After Laughter - Paramore: The first time I flipped this album on, I simply couldn't believe my ears. Imagine Carly Rae Jepsen collaborated with Talking Heads and made a record produced by Paul Simon. Yeah. Sugary bubblegum afro-pop with an alternative bent. It's great.
5.)
Concrete and Gold - Foo Fighters: Kicking off with one of the band's slickest openers, and sustained by hits like "The Sky is a Neighborhood" and "Run," this is one of the Foo's best. It's an album very much owed to their influences - particularly Queen and The Beatles - which is great.
4.)
In Full Swing - Seth MacFarlane: The best big band pop album released this year (heck, maybe even this
decade), MacFarlane nails each nimble run and vibrato-soaked strain. The arrangements are sublime and his vocals, as always, are divine.
3.)
Amber Galactic - The Night Flight Orchestra: This is top-40 prog-rock made with such masterly attention to detail that it feels like it was released sometime in the Carter administration. Which, of course, encases its awesomeness in gold. Glittery guitar solos, machismo vocals, and dance-floor beats stretch from end to end. Love it.
2.)
Woodstock - Portugal. The Man: Listen to 60's-swinging "Feel It Still" just
once and try to argue with me on this. Still not convinced? How about the walloping sax-infused hook of "Tidal Wave" or the popcorn percussion of "Rich Friends." Are you initiated yet? Good.
1.)
The Storm - ZZ Ward:
"Baby, you're my bourbon honey / Baby, you're my Cherry Coke / My mystery man from Montgomery / My favorite licorice rope." These lyrics from the record's seventh track ("Bag of Bones") perfectly encapsulate my feelings about the entire thing. It's an album I didn't know I craved - blistering, bluesey, and beautiful. It's been on endless repeat since the start of summer with no signs of letting up. Get into it.
