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themarsupials · 7 years ago

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100 Best Albums of 2017, pt. 3

50. Sampa the Great – The Birds and the BEE9

Although it’s technically a mixtape, there was the sense that following song after song after song of gold, Sampa the Great had finally gifted us with a full-length album. That said, it feels more like an entrée, a promise of greater things to come, being such a subdued, smooth, organic exploration of femininity and Afro-Australian identity. She is, without doubt, one of the great Australian talents working today.

49. TV Haze – Scrap Museum

With an untamed, late-nights-on-Rage mood throughout, this Melbourne trio have promised big things to come with their debut; all grungey scuzz and lo-fi charm, they’ve proven themselves masters of noisy pop in just 28 minutes.

48. Bjork – Utopia

As Bjork’s career continues, she drifts ever further from “pop” music; for her tenth, she turns from the heartbreak of Vulnicura for newfound mindfulness and contentment. If anything, these flute-filled songs are too generous a gift; at an hour-plus, it can be a little much to digest in one hit.

47. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Flying Microtonal Banana

The first of The Gizz’s four (so far) albums of 2017, this is a more subdued affair than their usual frenetic approach, with the conceptual use of microtonal tunings giving the songs an otherworldly, vaguely Turkish sound.

46. Aimee Mann – Mental Illness

All you need to know about Aimee Mann’s ninth solo album is in the cover; the wry smile of the friendly monster, the elegant font and that couldn’t-be-blunter title; it’s the perfect representation of the beautiful music within – elegant music carrying dark and often painful lyrics.

45. Matt Martians – The Drum Chord Theory

The tracks here were supposedly intended to be part of The Internet’s next record; instead, the mishmash of old-school soul sounds proves to be an exhilarating funk odyssey all of its own.

44. Ibeyi – Ash

The French-Cuban Diaz twins deliver on the promises of their earlier releases, fusing traditional Cuban sounds with more contemporary soul and jazz, resulting in a beautiful set of meditative tunes.

43. The War on Drugs – A Deeper Understanding

It’s a case of it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it for the obsessively detailed ramblings of the indie rock band’s fourth album; a gorgeous, boundless record in which to lose yourself for an hour.

42. Tyler, the Creator – Flower Boy

Tyler, the Creator completely blows open his musical palette for this ambitious work, letting in strings, piano, and an all-star guest list for his most musically inviting work yet; lyrically, meanwhile, his work remains as compellingly bleak as ever, turning the focus of his bottomless disgust onto himself.

41. Jen Cloher – Jen Cloher

Jen Cloher is, of course, Courtney Barnett’s wife, and, although Cloher is by far the more experienced musician, it’s impossible to listen to her music without her more famous partner in mind. That said, the years in rock’s background have served her well, because here, Jen Cloher truly steps into the A-leagues of Australian songwriters, with an outstanding set of patient, measured, fastidiously detailed yet at time, raucous and bluesy songs.

40. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Polygondwanaland

Of their four records this year, Polygondwanaland is at once their least conceptually unified, the least showy, yet the most satisfying in terms of musicianship. The mood is intricately detailed psychedelic throughout; we can still bits of flute, spoken word, and synths, but overall, this album allows us to simply delight in the seemingly boundless talent of these seven musicians.

39. Sugar Fed Leopards – Take You Out Tonight

A revelation of pure caramel-y delight, this Melbourne sextet fuse disco, doo-wop and bubblegum girl-pop for a joyous romp. Lovely folks in person too, which doesn’t hurt a bit.

38. Wireheads – Lightning Ears

Hands down, Adelaide’s best band, Wireheads complete their hat-trick of three great albums in three years; on Lightning Ears, their ramshackle lo-fi country punk odyssey continues, whilst frontman Dom Trimboli’s seemingly nonsensical ramblings are rapidly becoming iconic in their own right.

37. The Magnetic Fields – 50 Song Memoir

The Magnetic Fields’ most ambitious – and successful – project since the classic 69 Love Songs, this record’s premise is almost as audacious; the autobiography of Stephen Merritt, with one song for each year of his life. Merritt supposedly played 100 different instruments on the record, and it shows in the lush, boundlessly inventive arrangements; lyrically, meanwhile, there’s a lifetime of treasures to digest in the songs’ thoughtfulness and self-deprecating humour.

36. SZA – CTRL

One of the most critically-adored albums of the year, the singer’s debut is a rich, pristine set of futurist soul and R&B, laden with laser-sharp lyrics taking on modern romance and nostalgia.

35. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Murder of the Universe

This is easily the most ridiculous of all King Gizzard albums – and that’s saying something. It’s a frantic metal concept album about a Frankenstein-inspired cyborg named Han-Tyumi, and yes, you just read that sentence right. More impressive than the concept, though, is just how instantly listentable and enjoyable the whole mad affair is.

34. Guerilla Toss – GT Ultra

Guerilla Toss’ last record was a breath of dance-punk fresh air, but GT Ultra goes even further; tearing loose from whatever may have anchored them (it’s hard to imagine a band like this being tied to anything), it’s a wild, bouncy, noisy ride, the sound of a thousand rubber bands snapping at once.

33. Mere Women – Big Skies

A classic post-punk record, this Sydney band’s sound is huge and spacious, full of tension, anxious energy, lashings of feedback and booming synths. More than anything else, though, it's the mastery of echo and negative space in their sound that truly gives this album its stadium-filling sound, cementing its place as a truly great record.

32. The Mountain Goats – Goths

John Darnielle famously stood on stage alone, acoustic guitar hoisted above his head, declaring “we’re the Mountain Goats.” It was a shock to fans, then, to see this record promoted with a “NO GUITARS” slogan. Instead, we were treated to a gorgeous set of baroque pop songs, rich with keys and woodwind, detailing the trials of a goth band in the 1980s. The music is not, of course, gothic in any way, but the honest, heartfelt detail in Darnielle’s writing hits the spot every time.

31. The Seven Ups – Drinking Water

2017’s best afrobeat record didn’t come from Lagos or Accra, it came from Melbourne. Drinking Water is a near-flawless odyssey of technicolour groove, all polyrhythmic funk and virtuosic brass.

30. Miguel – War & Leisure

On this album, Miguel turns away somewhat from the sultry, smoky, and downright sexy vibes of Wildheart for a much more open, lighter and crisper sound. Lifting the fog has a much brighter and bolder blend of soul and funk, cementing his place as a master of the genre.

29. Songhoy Blues – Resistance

For their second album, the desert blues boys from Timbuktu, Mali are taking on the world; bigger, bolder and brasher, the sound here is more punk than blues, and their growing confidence as performers is exhilarating to hear. Give them a couple more years, and the world will be theirs.

28. Grizzly Bear – Painted Ruins

2017 was the year of the indie-rock comeback; more often than not, those records missed their mark, but Grizzly Bear nailed it with their fifth LP. Featuring their knottiest, most tightly-wound and intricate compositions yet, there’s nothing even approaching a radio single, and it’ll take multiple listens to break its surface, but Painted Ruins confirms their position among the art-rock greats.

27. Moses Sumney – Aromanticism

To bind Moses Sumney to the label of a particular genre is a disservice to the uniqueness of his sound; gifted with a once-in-a-generation voice, his expansive sound, somewhere between soul, folk, ambient and Spiritualized-esque grandeur, explores solitude and intimacy in heartbreaking fashion.

26. Pierre Kwenders – MAKANDA at the End of Space, the Beginning of Time

It’s a case of Kinshasa moves to Montreal, as Pierre Kwenders blends traditional Conoglese rumba with contemporary funk and soul for an intercontinental, multilingual (he sings in five languages), multicoloured soul epic.

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themarsupials · 7 years ago

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100 Best Songs 2017, pt. 3

50. Slowdive – Star Roving

“The expansive dream-pop cut boasts layers of guitars drenched in reverb and chorus while a splashy and swift drum beat surges beneath. Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell's dual vocals, meanwhile, simmer in between.”

49. Broken Social Scene – Halfway Home

“A superconnected slab of feeling from de facto bandleader Kevin Drew, with too many guitar tracks to count”

48. [Thee] Oh Sees – The Static God

““The Static God” isn’t just another case of Oh Sees doing their motorik-maniac act, but rather a last-blast rocket ride to parts unknown, its stratosphere-breaching velocity eventually cooled by a cloud-parting organ drone that hints at the more patiently paced music to come.”

47. Kendrick Lamar – Humble

“With just two verses of lyrical invocation at his disposal, Kendrick makes the few hundred words feel like a manifesto. There’s absolutely no surprise at all that at the time of this writing, it’s the number one song people are looking up on Genius… [Lamar’s] cutting cadence paired with that insane piano riff, layers of booming percussion, and alarming synths all hit the sinister sweet spot and highlight his supernatural wordplay.”

46. Vagabon – Minneapolis

“Her jitters mirrored in the raucous guitars behind her… in “Minneapolis,” she concludes that home is never an address but, rather, a mental state.”

45. Fleet Foxes – Third of May / Odaigahara

“This track is greatly ambitious, featuring huge ensembles of marching drums, string sections, vocal harmonies and guitars. This instrumentation is made all the more interesting due to the band’s use of dynamics, which moves from loud, grand and soaring band sections to subtle and quiet folk instrumentation or even just solo vocals from Pecknold.”

44. Jessie Ware – Midnight

“A song of two parts: a dreamlike intro, with a circular piano line that falls gently as like moonlight on a pond, and a neo-soul belter that dissolves into mist almost as soon as it arrives.”

43. Downtown Boys – Somos Chulas (No Somos Pendejas)

“It is, by far, the band's most aggressive track yet, a relentless ripper.”

42. Clipping – The Deep

“A five-and-a-half minute rumbling epic “based on the underwater mythology of the 90s Detroit electro band Drexciya.” Endlessly entrancing, the song gradually builds pressure, with Daveed Digs at times evoking the likes of Ka, ScHoolboy Q, and even Andre 3000 as he goes.”

41. Fever Ray – To the Moon and Back

“Turns out every last second of anticipation for new Fever Ray was worthwhile… ’To The Moon and Back’ grows a ferocious pair of fangs, and hits the murky depths of a strobe-flickered basement instead. Fever Ray makes all its all-out kinkiness and explicitness sound, well, very tender.”

40. Sheer Mag – Need To Feel Your Love

“Finds Niles Rodgers as much an inspiration on guitarist Kyle Sweeny as Angus Young while the band saunters and grooves over a feel-good summer jam.”

39. Mere Women – Eternally

“Looming over the flickering, guitar grind, the band’s rhythmic pulse — mathy precision, yet rarely trapped in predictable loops — palpitates with greater prominence; all anxious, always relentless.”

38. St Vincent - Pills

“Busy without ever feeling overcrowded, the song grooves along in search of the remedy to what ails just about everybody, making for a playful dissection of the pharmaceutical industry’s saturation into everyday life.”

37. Guerilla Toss – Betty Dreams of Green Men

“Roaring, rapid art-rock bliss; it stitches together lurching disco rhythms and giddy synth progressions, nodding to early ESG and even Grace Jones in its tropical hues.”

36. Helado Negro – Come Be Me

“…Emotional struggle is rendered in the gauziest pastel tones, with silvery synths dripping over cool, dry handclaps, and guitars and drums swirled to a soft, creamy consistency.”

35. Jay Som - Baybee

“On “Baybee,” the big-beat chorus encourages us to dance, but it doesn’t require it: “I’ll play a game or song/ If you don’t feel right.” That last line repeats as a refrain until we really hear its condition: “If you don’t feel right.””

34. The War on Drugs – Holding On

“While comparative to any track in the band’s past release, feels different in overall tone. The track screams with a new lightness, reminiscent of an upbeat summer drive rather than a reflective summer night.”

33. Wireheads – Technical Man

“…Approaches the trek through a single-minded four-bar riff, laced with snippets of burning-amp guitar solos, vocalist Dom Trimboli's rootsy rants about becoming one with the machines and the folly that ensues, and producer Johnson chiming in on backup vocals in his trademark baritone. Both work hard to toughen up the band's sound, creating the kind of tune you'd expect from the Pixies in their anything-can-happen early days.”

32. Kelela – LMK

“Primed for the dance floor, “LMK” goes in hard with its stunning blend of R&B and hip hop production underlying Kelela’s smoking vocals. Standing strong for those ladies who flip the script on traditional ideas of settling down, “LMK” props up those nights out where long-term relationships aren’t being sought, but fun times definitely are.”

31. Horror My Friend - DIYS

“Opening with aggression similar to any track on Violent Soho’s ‘WACO’, frontman Tom Gordon steadily transitions his voice from an angsty drone to all-out vocal attack on the microphone. The sporadic and explosive twin vocal and guitar parts are face-melting, making it the perfect track to trash your limbs along and to annoying any sh*tty neighbours or work colleagues.”

30. Oumou Sangare – Kamelemba

“Shines a bright light on what Mali has to offer… the gradual build up of the instrumentation has the ability to discreetly work its way through the system of each listener until they feel completely engulfed by the upbeat rhythm.”

29. Feist – Pleasure

“A stark intimacy that can suggest Kate & Anna McGarrigle if they'd been big fans of the Young Marble Giants' post-punk bedroom mumblings or PJ Harvey's blues-wrath epistle To Bring You My Love. "It's my pleasure and your pleasure," Feist sings, her voice low, raw-nerved and right in your ear against dank, stressed-out guitar roil.”

28. Cable Ties – The Producer

“McKechnie sings with almost operatic weight and fury that jackknifes into sudden razor-edged squeals, her lyrics slicing into some deeply toxic aspects of both the Australian psyche and the music industry.”

27. Moses Sumney – Quarrell

“A voice [this] golden poses its own compositional challenge in how to craft music that’s equally as multifaceted, without overpowering that showcase instrument. On “Quarrel,” he finds yet another elegant solution, singing over a backdrop of dimly lit jazz that grows ever-grander as it introduces one indulgent accompanying element after another.”

26. Julia Jacklin – Eastwick

“The song finds Jacklin cooing over lonely echoing guitars as she bemoans the concepts presented by “reality” television. “You are not in a garden, you are in a store,” she sings as the track picks up steam, “a single stemmed rose reaching out for more.””

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