My Favorite Albums of 2017

What a drag of a year, huh? As it should be apparent since this is the first post since my 2016 year-end list, I didn’t spend a lot of time with music in 2017. My appetite for it seems to be disappearing. Every Friday I’d half-heartedly listen to the new releases, but most of them didn’t grab me. I’ve put together a list of only 10 for the first time in a while*. There are some other good records that came out this year, but if I’m honest, I’d never buy them myself so it seems disingenuous to recommend that someone else should.

Either I’m getting old and losing heart or the music that’s coming out isn’t delivering what I want. What do I want? I often say that I want something with teeth, but what does that mean? I’ve always understood it to be a vague characteristic implying something with bite either in the sense of anger or attack, or a sharpness or keenness. I think I’ve finally articulated what “having teeth” means to me.

When I was little (maybe four or five) my family had these vinyl-covered kitchen chairs. I used to stand behind them and bite into the cushioned backs really hard. The feeling of tension pushing back on my jaw as my teeth sunk into the fleshy material was a kind of pleasurable pain. That’s the feeling I want when I listen to music. I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone else, but in short, I’m looking for a rush of violent hardness. A feeling like you might pass out from the strain of trying to squeeze the life out of something. That doesn’t always translate to loud or fast; Either/Or fits the bill for me, for instance. Here, in my opinion, are the records that had teeth to them from 2017. Don’t sweat the order too much.
 

1. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.: In all honesty I’m not that big of a hip hop fan. This guy’s just doing what he does better than anyone else right now. I think it’s one of the few things from this year that will last. Whether you play it frontward or backwards, it’s surprising and challenging. It’s musically diverse (a bit of doo wop, dub, trap) and it’s organized into a cohesive concept. “Duckworth” is a stunning piece of storytelling and mythmaking. “Humble” is a great brag track. “DNA” sounds like Muslimgauze. “Loyalty” makes me even like Rihanna. More children were probably conceived to “Love” than any other song this year. For now, he’s on top.

 

2. Alvvays - Antisocialites: This could probably be my number one. It had better melodies than any
other record this year which, for me, counts for nearly everything. Their shimmering, reverb-heavy production makes can make you nostalgic for the unfulfilled promise of each last passing moment. The first three songs make for a great rushing statement of intent, but the highlight of the album for me might be the cello break in the middle of “Not My Baby.” There’s a bitterness to these songs that burns through to the end which makes the melodies even more sweet.
 

3. Peter Perrett - How the West Was Won: Thanks to Mike at Barely Bros. for turning me on to this one. If you’re an Only Ones fan (which I am), you’re sure to dig this. Perrett’s reedy voice is in great form and the songs are taut and funny and the band is a great Stiff Records-era approximation. It’s got to bum Kanye out (pun intended) that he hasn’t written the best line about his wife in a song. Not that you needed a peek into Perrett’s sexual fantasies. They don’t make enough records like this anymore, but it’s a welcome anachronism.


 

4. Queens of the Stone Age - Villains: I think Josh Homme is better at making rock records than
other modern rock dudes of the same mold (Jack White, Dan Auerbach, Dave Grohl, etc.). At a time when most male-driven rock is horrible, Homme actually delivers a group of tunes that rolls as much as it rocks. Homme’s vocals and searing guitar lines are the feature here, but I like the new keyboard sounds on this one too. Very Zep.


 
 

5. Austra - Future Politics: I didn’t like this one as much as their last two at first, at least on the whole. It slowly grew on me though. “Utopia” is a pretty perfect song and was an immediate favorite of the year. Singer, Katie Stelmanis, still thrills with those bird-like high notes, and this album is about personal politics as much as state politics. The whole record is like a Big Brother/Handmaid’s Tale type of dystopian call to arms. I can relate.

6. Fever Ray - Plunge: Remember how I talked about wanting music with teeth? This album has all the teeth you could want and then some. I don’t think I’ve caught up with it yet. If the current administration wants to hunt those who they deem monsters, then Karin Dreijer will make them come to her. Then she’ll hunt them. Tempo and beat-wise this one is more dance-oriented than anything she’s done since The Knife’s Silent Shout. The subject matter is also unflinchingly direct. Kill ‘em all, Karin.

7. Chastity Belt - I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone: They used to call this college rock. This group is the spiritual and musical stepchild of Unrest, Yo La Tengo, Sebadoh, and early Liz Phair. The production is close and warm like a blanket on a cold day spent in the attic reading your older sibling’s diary. How’s that for a pretentious description? There’s an emotional hardness to these songs that I appreciate.

8. Mark Lanegan - Gargoyle: Here’s a secret: I’ve never been much of a Lanegan fan. He’s always been fine to my mind, but most of his music sounds like some bartender grumbling into a dirty ashtray. A lot of people go for that kind of thing, but it never moved me to buy any of his records. This new one actually sounds kind of fun and upbeat. If I didn’t know how ridiculous it would sound to suggest it, I'd say like it sounds like he’s been listening to Stephen Merritt. I dig it.

 

9. Tony Allen - The Source: My favorite jazz record of the year. It’s fitting this came out on Blue Note in that it reminds me of an afrobeat version of those great early-to-mid-60s albums from Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, or Stanley Turrentine with really funky, accessible rhythms. It’s more straight-ahead than you might expect, but it still moves with a definite Nigerian swing as you would assume coming from Fela’s stick man.

10. Robert Plant - Carry Fire: This one isn’t terribly different than his past few (which I’ve also liked), but it feels like the culmination of everything he’s done in recent years. Which – if you want to be cynical about it – is a stew of vague American roots influences drenched in Nag Champa and patchouli. Snotty comments aside, there’s something calming and reassuring in these songs and in Plant’s voice that feels like wisdom. Not much teeth to this one, but it’s good anyway.

 

Here are a few of the “new” old records I liked from this past year.

Lal & Mike Waterson - Bright Phoebus

The Creation - Action Painting

The Replacements - For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s Kansas City 1986

Alice Coltrane - World Spirituality Classics 1: The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane

*A Coward’s List of Leftovers:

These didn’t make the cut. Some of them have a couple really great songs on them. Others I haven’t listened to enough. They’re worth a listen. I’d probably pick most of them up used. Maybe I'll kick myself for not putting them on in a couple months. Listed alphabetically.

Arcade Fire - Everything Now

Blondie - Pollinator

Broken Social Scene - Hug of Thunder

Ray Davies - Americana

The Feelies - In Between

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest

LCD Soundsystem - american dream

Laura Marling - Semper Femina

Meat Wave - The Incessant

Kevin Morby - City Music

Myrkur - Mareridt

Randy Newman - Dark Matter

Offa Rex - Queen of Hearts (Except for the songs Colin Meloy sings on. Yuck.)

Priests - Nothing Feels Natural

Slowdive - Slowdive

Sneaks - It’s a Myth

Harry Styles - Harry Styles

Thundercat - Drunk

Colter Wall - Colter Wall

Jane Weaver - Modern Kosmology