My Favorite Music of 2017
Most years I try to put my list together based on what I think were the best overall albums, but invariably this becomes an exercise in futility as so many great records come out every year and I haven't enough hours to digest everything I'm interested in, never mind all the year-end lists that are making me realize all that I missed out on. So this year, instead of scrambling to try and evaluate everything I didn't spend enough time listening to, I decided focus on the things I actually did listen to, and simply pick out things to highlight. In the hope that I'll share some great music that more people will actually want to check out, I placed greater emphasis on music that has a wider appeal than (admittedly) most of what I listen to.
Most of my listening this year was dedicated to exploring older releases. I listened to an awful lot of classic jazz, soul, and singer/songwriters. It was also a serious year for getting back into my old passion, prog rock. A couple of Facebook groups have led me to a ton of obscure European releases from the 70's that I'd never heard before, as well at several high quality new releases. Top of that heap for me was "Oceanarium" by Deluge Grander, an album of instrumental prog played on a wide variety of instrumentation reminiscent of Frank Zappa's more ambitious 70's work like "The Grand Wazoo," that occasionally drifts into spacey Pink Floyd territory. This is definitely an album I'll be coming back to again and again over the coming years.
Myrkur continued to develop as an artist with new album Mareridt, which found her moving away from the shoegaze and Ulver worship that defined her earlier work, diving deeper into the Scandinavian folk that forms the foundation of her music. She even tossed us a few fist-raising choruses to boot. Chelsea Wolfe contributed vocals to a couple of tracks, and you can hear Myrkur bending towards Chelsea's sound in a few places, notably "The Serpent", which I'd often think was from Chelsea's new album ("Hiss Spun", also excellent) when it came up randomly in my headphones
It was a great year for doom metal, with Electric Wizard, Paradise Lost, Hallatar, and Pallbearer all putting out excellent records. Ides of Gemini, with their gothy vocals reminiscent of Souxie Soux was a favorite, and I played "Sacred" by The Obsessed to death, but I'm going to put the spotlight on a cover tune. I wouldn't have thought that re-imagining Mayhem's classic black metal dirge De Mysteriis Dom Sanathas as a doomy traditional metal anthem would ever work, but it's glorious, and impressively true to the original.
Philadelphia's Crypt Sermon: "De Mysteriis DOOM Sathanas"!
Steven Wilson, master of modern prog rock, put out what could surprisingly be considered a pop record this year with "To The Bone". It still contained some longer spacey sections but overall it's an album of tight, sophisticated pop-rock, well worth a listen.
Steven had some guest vocalists on the record, including Ninet Tayeb, and he featured her song "Paper Parachute" on his Spotify Playlist "Headphone Dust" which was a constant source of new listening for me this year.
I can't say enough good things about Oxbow's "The Thin Black Duke" It's a beautifully crafted record that manages an overall traditional rock sound but takes odd unexpected turns thanks to tight composition and Eugene Robinson's masterful abuse of melody.
After years of putting out album after album ranging from mediocre to utter garbage, Cradle of Filth began what can now be considered a streak of good records with 2015's impressive "Hammer of the Witches". This year's "Cryptoriana - The Seductiveness of Decay" is another fine effort, full of meaty riffs and excellent orchestral and choral arrangements. As good as the record is, I've got to share the bonus track, a filthy reinterpretation of Annihilator's neck-snapping "Allison Hell".
Most of my listening this year was dedicated to exploring older releases. I listened to an awful lot of classic jazz, soul, and singer/songwriters. It was also a serious year for getting back into my old passion, prog rock. A couple of Facebook groups have led me to a ton of obscure European releases from the 70's that I'd never heard before, as well at several high quality new releases. Top of that heap for me was "Oceanarium" by Deluge Grander, an album of instrumental prog played on a wide variety of instrumentation reminiscent of Frank Zappa's more ambitious 70's work like "The Grand Wazoo," that occasionally drifts into spacey Pink Floyd territory. This is definitely an album I'll be coming back to again and again over the coming years.
Myrkur continued to develop as an artist with new album Mareridt, which found her moving away from the shoegaze and Ulver worship that defined her earlier work, diving deeper into the Scandinavian folk that forms the foundation of her music. She even tossed us a few fist-raising choruses to boot. Chelsea Wolfe contributed vocals to a couple of tracks, and you can hear Myrkur bending towards Chelsea's sound in a few places, notably "The Serpent", which I'd often think was from Chelsea's new album ("Hiss Spun", also excellent) when it came up randomly in my headphones
It was a great year for doom metal, with Electric Wizard, Paradise Lost, Hallatar, and Pallbearer all putting out excellent records. Ides of Gemini, with their gothy vocals reminiscent of Souxie Soux was a favorite, and I played "Sacred" by The Obsessed to death, but I'm going to put the spotlight on a cover tune. I wouldn't have thought that re-imagining Mayhem's classic black metal dirge De Mysteriis Dom Sanathas as a doomy traditional metal anthem would ever work, but it's glorious, and impressively true to the original.
Philadelphia's Crypt Sermon: "De Mysteriis DOOM Sathanas"!
Steven Wilson, master of modern prog rock, put out what could surprisingly be considered a pop record this year with "To The Bone". It still contained some longer spacey sections but overall it's an album of tight, sophisticated pop-rock, well worth a listen.
Steven had some guest vocalists on the record, including Ninet Tayeb, and he featured her song "Paper Parachute" on his Spotify Playlist "Headphone Dust" which was a constant source of new listening for me this year.
I can't say enough good things about Oxbow's "The Thin Black Duke" It's a beautifully crafted record that manages an overall traditional rock sound but takes odd unexpected turns thanks to tight composition and Eugene Robinson's masterful abuse of melody.
After years of putting out album after album ranging from mediocre to utter garbage, Cradle of Filth began what can now be considered a streak of good records with 2015's impressive "Hammer of the Witches". This year's "Cryptoriana - The Seductiveness of Decay" is another fine effort, full of meaty riffs and excellent orchestral and choral arrangements. As good as the record is, I've got to share the bonus track, a filthy reinterpretation of Annihilator's neck-snapping "Allison Hell".
Updated link:
https://youtu.be/5p3mElrq5kY?si=IyjXBYLoxuctan_s
My go-to album for when I needed to really concentrate on work for the past several months has been Tamara Stefanovich's "Bach Partitas No. 1 & 2; Bartók Bagatelles Sz. 38 and Burlesques Sz. 47". I love Bartok, but he can be a bit oppressive, so the juxtaposition with Bach is absolutely brilliant.
GWAR's new record, "The Blood of Gods" is a ridiculously fun listen I've returned to again and again since its release. I was concerned that they wouldn't be able to pull it off after the death of leader Dave Brockie a couple of years back, but they really came through with an album chock full of earworms that also satisfy lyrically as genuinely funny, astute social satire. They perfectly ride the line between thrash and punk, and their "scumdogs of the universe" shtick plays beautifully as they deride the humans with tracks like "Swarm" and "El Presidente".
Bjork is one of my very favorites, and the her new record "Utopia" is intriguing. It's only been out a few weeks, and as usual it's going to take some time to digest.
On "Deus Salutis Meae," France's Blut Aus Nord return to the dirg-y industrial black metal with which they originally grabbed my attention and I couldn't be more pleased at the results.
Finland's Circle return with "Terminal", another dose of turbocharged krautrock. Record label Southern Lord calls it a "Searing platter of krautrock with scorching doses of The Stooges & Judas Priest. Another ripper from this legendary Finnish horde!" I call it a great record start to finish.
Newcomers Succumb deliver super tight death metal with vocals that actually hold my interest.
Sparks: "Hippopotamus"
Its SPARKS! It's awesome!
Ulver: "The Assassination of Julius Caesar"
An album of dark 80's synth-pop that's probably better than the new Depeche Mode record.
Body Count: "No Lives Matter"
'Nuff said.
I'm always excited for new Enslaved, and "E" is a satisfying listen. They've got a new man on keyboards/clean vocals and he seems to have brought a lot more vintage keyboards into the mix, which is great. I'm looking forward to giving this album a lot of spins over the next year.
I was a bit disappointed by The Darkest of The Hillside Thickets new record "The Dukes of Al Hazred" because it didn't hold the high water mark of their last one, "The Shadow out of Tim", but the Thickets are so much fun to listen to that I'm just happy to have more to add to my "Thickets Shuffle" playlist! "You Fool! Warren is Dead!" is a great tune that evokes late night viewings of classic 80's Lovecraft films.
Living Colour: "Shade". Their best since "Time's Up".
King Crimson: "Live in Chicago"
An exceptional performance from what has become a well-oiled machine over three years of touring.
Akercocke: "Renaissance in Extremis"
The masters return with an album of intricate rock and metal. Another one that will demand my attention for years to come.
Nik Turner: "Life in Space"
Uncle Nik is on a roll lately with album after album of spacey jazz-rock, accompanied by a stellar cast of guest musicians.
Hällas' "Excerpts from a Future Past" is a great record that sounds like it was lifted directly from 1977. Shades of the Alan Parsons project with a twin lead guitar attack. The single "Star Rider", a slick and mellow tune reminiscent of late 70's AOR (think Christopher Cross or Peter Schilling) is a perfect tune for mellowing out with friends.
The Residents new record, "The Ghost of Hope" is a concept album about train crashes. It's the best thing I've heard from them in years. Buy or die!
You know it wouldn't be one of my lists without something truly bizarre on it. This year Norway's legendary masters of experimental black metal, Fleurety, returned with their first full-length album since 2000, and it's a deep listen with lots of fascinating twists and turns to keep me coming back for more. I love the robotic guitars on "Trauma" which remind me of Snakefinger's work with The Residents.
If you've made it this far then I guess you can handle this last one. My list wouldn't be complete without something that embodies cosmic horror on an epic scale, and for me this year it was Tchornobog. Enjoy it before it drives you insane.
If you want more I've created playlists of all this year's favorites on Spotify and Google Play Music!!
My go-to album for when I needed to really concentrate on work for the past several months has been Tamara Stefanovich's "Bach Partitas No. 1 & 2; Bartók Bagatelles Sz. 38 and Burlesques Sz. 47". I love Bartok, but he can be a bit oppressive, so the juxtaposition with Bach is absolutely brilliant.
GWAR's new record, "The Blood of Gods" is a ridiculously fun listen I've returned to again and again since its release. I was concerned that they wouldn't be able to pull it off after the death of leader Dave Brockie a couple of years back, but they really came through with an album chock full of earworms that also satisfy lyrically as genuinely funny, astute social satire. They perfectly ride the line between thrash and punk, and their "scumdogs of the universe" shtick plays beautifully as they deride the humans with tracks like "Swarm" and "El Presidente".
Bjork is one of my very favorites, and the her new record "Utopia" is intriguing. It's only been out a few weeks, and as usual it's going to take some time to digest.
On "Deus Salutis Meae," France's Blut Aus Nord return to the dirg-y industrial black metal with which they originally grabbed my attention and I couldn't be more pleased at the results.
Finland's Circle return with "Terminal", another dose of turbocharged krautrock. Record label Southern Lord calls it a "Searing platter of krautrock with scorching doses of The Stooges & Judas Priest. Another ripper from this legendary Finnish horde!" I call it a great record start to finish.
Newcomers Succumb deliver super tight death metal with vocals that actually hold my interest.
Sparks: "Hippopotamus"
Its SPARKS! It's awesome!
Ulver: "The Assassination of Julius Caesar"
An album of dark 80's synth-pop that's probably better than the new Depeche Mode record.
Body Count: "No Lives Matter"
'Nuff said.
I'm always excited for new Enslaved, and "E" is a satisfying listen. They've got a new man on keyboards/clean vocals and he seems to have brought a lot more vintage keyboards into the mix, which is great. I'm looking forward to giving this album a lot of spins over the next year.
I was a bit disappointed by The Darkest of The Hillside Thickets new record "The Dukes of Al Hazred" because it didn't hold the high water mark of their last one, "The Shadow out of Tim", but the Thickets are so much fun to listen to that I'm just happy to have more to add to my "Thickets Shuffle" playlist! "You Fool! Warren is Dead!" is a great tune that evokes late night viewings of classic 80's Lovecraft films.
Living Colour: "Shade". Their best since "Time's Up".
King Crimson: "Live in Chicago"
An exceptional performance from what has become a well-oiled machine over three years of touring.
Akercocke: "Renaissance in Extremis"
The masters return with an album of intricate rock and metal. Another one that will demand my attention for years to come.
Nik Turner: "Life in Space"
Uncle Nik is on a roll lately with album after album of spacey jazz-rock, accompanied by a stellar cast of guest musicians.
Hällas' "Excerpts from a Future Past" is a great record that sounds like it was lifted directly from 1977. Shades of the Alan Parsons project with a twin lead guitar attack. The single "Star Rider", a slick and mellow tune reminiscent of late 70's AOR (think Christopher Cross or Peter Schilling) is a perfect tune for mellowing out with friends.
The Residents new record, "The Ghost of Hope" is a concept album about train crashes. It's the best thing I've heard from them in years. Buy or die!
You know it wouldn't be one of my lists without something truly bizarre on it. This year Norway's legendary masters of experimental black metal, Fleurety, returned with their first full-length album since 2000, and it's a deep listen with lots of fascinating twists and turns to keep me coming back for more. I love the robotic guitars on "Trauma" which remind me of Snakefinger's work with The Residents.
If you've made it this far then I guess you can handle this last one. My list wouldn't be complete without something that embodies cosmic horror on an epic scale, and for me this year it was Tchornobog. Enjoy it before it drives you insane.
If you want more I've created playlists of all this year's favorites on Spotify and Google Play Music!!
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