Top Music Albums of 2017, Part 1
As always, I believe in the quirky and inventive. One of the things I’ve become interested in is how music creates (and reinforces) cultural reference points, both in a sociological sense and in terms of today’s musical canon — hopefully my ramblings reflect that somehow. I’ve tried to write these reviews in a way that doesn’t necessarily assume prior knowledge of the artist and their work, and to contextualise how their work relates to genres and their musical contemporaries.
Cutting Room Floor
12. Fazerdaze — Morningside
Shoegaze done well from Wellington, New Zealand. For fans of Melody’s Echo Chamber and Best Coast.
11. Niia- I
Hot off the heels of Jessie Ware’s brand of schmaltz-pop, Niia teams up with Rhye’s producer to craft a slick, self-assured ‘this is me now’ debut statement. Audiophiles and trip-hop/nu-jazz enthusiasts will love this! Also features a fantastic collab with Jazmine Sullivan.
10. Moses Sumney — Aromanticism
There’s hints of Jose Gonzalez, and a bit of Corinne Bailey Rae in there — but Moses’ voice is in a swoonworthy league of its own. Clocking at 34 minutes, this album manages to be both dense and dreamy at the same time.
9. Dirty Projectors — Dirty Projectors
The Dirty Projectors have always been a staunchly art-rock band, but this album sees Dave Longstreth (sans his longtime collaborator and partner, Amber Coffman) move into a more electronic, R&B direction. The music here is full of the same melodic twists and turns from their earlier material, but being the breakup album that this is, the element of playfulness that is usually present lyrically has been subsumed under their most elaborate production arrangements to date. Vacillating between hopelessness and optimism, the tension here is palpably lightweight.
8. Daniele Luppi & Parquet Courts — MILANO
This concept album is the follow up to 2011’s magnificent ‘Rome’, which featured Jack White and Norah Jones. Gone is the hazy nostalgia — here comes unruly hedonism. While the music here is not unlike today’s perhaps overdone 80s-revivalist indie rock, it’s really Karen O’s titillating vocal performances that take the cake here, making this an absolute joyride.
7. Mura Masa — Mura Masa
Probably my ‘party’ album of the year. While it’s heavy on the samples, a lot of the sounds have an organic quality to it. Good vibes only.
6. Toro y Moi — Boo Boo
This aficionado of ‘80s pop moves away from the rock feel of his previous album into a more ambient statement. Always a huge delight to listen to.
5. Tennis — We Can Die Happy (EP)
Tennis do this style of throwback pop very convincingly. They seem to know this too — there’s no holding back on the 70s schtick with all the visuals.
4. Wolf Alice — Visions of a Life
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I discovered Wolf Alice through their collaborations with alt-J. Their music covers a whole range of styles — there’s lots of Arctic Monkeys/Blur influences, but also a bit of a Sleater-Kinney vibe. Fans of The Jezabels or Savages will love this album.
3. The Drums — Abysmal Thoughts
You can probably tell a lot about the aesthetic sense of a person who listens to The Drums. (This video might shed some light.) It doesn’t really matter, but it’s part of their appeal. The tension between sexuality and religion is a big part of this band’s history. In their previous lineups, there have been an ex-Mormon, a Quaker and an ex-ex-gay (i.e. post-gay-conversion-therapy) Pentacostal fundamentalist. I’ve slowly grown to love their haphazard, jaunty music, particularly with the emotionally provocative lyrics of their second album, Portamento. This album, their fourth, is filled more catchy hooks than usual, and sees lead singer Jonny Pierce at his most confident and most energetic.
2. Benjamin Clementine — I Tell a Fly
Benjamin’s music is a force: artful, poignant and unique. While his first album was confessional and piano-centred, each song a blockbuster moment (which reminds me somewhat of Tori Amos’ Little Earthquakes), this album relies less on Benjamin’s raw, expressive voice for dramatism, instead incorporating melodic twists and big instrumental flourishes throughout. The extensive use of the harpsichord is a real treat! The lyrical content here is less personal, more layered, but nonetheless poetic and intriguing. Watching this space very closely.
1.Beck — Colors
Colors is what Phoenix’s new album should have sounded like. Indeed, it’s his most overtly pop-sounding record to date, which probably disappoints fans who loved him for being experimental and avant-garde. But Beck still knows how to write those hooks. If this album is an indication of anything, it’s that he’s got a lot more energy where that came from.
Honourable Mentions
5. Arca — Arca
Arca is a DJ and producer who’s worked with Kanye West, Frank Ocean, FKA twigs and Björk. Despite being a teen pop star in Venezuela, this is his first album to feature his vocals (third in his oeuvre, six mixtapes/EPs notwithstanding). Because Arca’s work is so amorphous, crude and deliberately uncommercial, it’s difficult to get a sense of his art without considering his history, particularly his experiences of queerness. There’s a strong sense of the Freudian concept of the id mirrored in a lot of his work — those dark, unconscious psychological impulses — though these often only become manifest with the visual expressions of his music, the work of his longtime collaborator Jesse Kanda. (Notably, the videos for ‘Reverie’ and ‘Desafío’ seem to explore queerness directly, in confronting, challenging ways.) This album isn’t any less obtuse than his earlier material, but it continues to carry strong emotional impact, and serves as a useful backdrop to understanding the work that he does with so many artists in pop.
4. Goldfrapp — Silver Eye
There’s always been (mostly) two shades of Goldfrapp. The melancholy folk of Tales of Us or Seventh Tree, or the cheeky, industrial-chic of Supernature and Black Cherry. Silver Eye, their seventh album, sees Goldfrapp taking their electronic sound a different (darker) direction, with the help of producers John Congleton (St. Vincent) and The Haxan Cloak (Björk). While a lot of the sounds here aren’t immensely different from their earlier electronic work, the whimsy we tend to associate with Goldfrapp, even amongst their most eerie tracks, is noticeably absent. Singles ‘Systemagic’ and ‘Everything Is Never Enough’ are big enough to spawn dance parties of their own — but the album is also full of quieter, more contemplative moments like ‘Zodiac Black’ or ‘Tigerman’. The visuals (and videos) for Silver Eye, notably, were all done by Alison Goldfrapp herself — which, for a first go, are quite remarkable.
3. Real Estate — In Mind
Real Estate have a good thing going — five albums later and the jangle-pop formula still works. The squeaky-clean influence of Wilco producer, Tom Schnick, on their previous album has given way to a more plush-sounding, downtempo set of songs, with the input of Ariel Pink’s Cole M.G.N. This is their first album without their former lead guitarist, though it’s hard to tell amongst the warmer, fuller band arrangements. “Diamond Eyes” is the album’s surprising turn of events, bringing in a little country/bluegrass into the mix, but it’s the unorthodox time signatures of lead single “Darling” which really set the tone for a solidly pleasing album.
2. The Shins — Heartworms
The Shins are back again with yet another brand-new band lineup, helmed by James Mercer (he’s notorious for not getting along with his bandmates). The dense arrangements here are not dissimilar to the band’s third album, Wincing the Night Away — but there’s lots of electro-pop elements further forward in the mix, like the track below exemplifies. Heartworms might be The Shins’ most uptempo work yet! Tracks ‘Painting A Hole’ and ‘Cherry Hearts’ show the band changing up their usual sound for a summery feel-good rock-stomp; while ‘Mildenhall’ is straight-up ‘New Slang’ territory. Always enjoyable to listen to, despite the unwieldy first impression their music often tends to give. The album also features the soaring ‘So Now What’ from Zach Braff’s ‘Wish I Was Here’.
1.Sylvan Esso — What Now
Sylvan Esso’s vocalist, Amelia Meath, is formerly of Mountain Man, an Appalachian-folk acapella trio which supported Feist on her Metals tour. A reworked version of Mountain Man’s ‘Play It Right’ became Sylvan Esso’s first song to put the band on the radar, winning fans with their quirky, DIY-electro sound. They’ve really upped the ante with their sophomore record What Now — a thoroughly catchy, energetic collection of songs, perfect for that late-afternoon porch party with sangria in hand. The brilliant infectiousness of tracks like ‘Signal’ or ‘The Glow’, for instance, aren’t too far off from the likes of ALPINE, CHVRCHES and Kimbra. Smooth vocal harmonies also abound — there’s very little not to like here!
