10. Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun
Released: September 22
Genres: Doom Metal, Gothic Rock
Chelsea Wolfe's fifth studio album, Hiss Spun, sounds like the soundtrack to winter-time pagan rituals and witchcraft, and that's honestly the most precise way I can describe it (appropriate, as the album was recorded in Salem). Across this album, Chelsea Wolfe builds a tense, chilling atmosphere generated through slow, doomy guitar churning and her haunting vocal performances. This album is a haunting, spine-tingling listen that generates such a strong sense of tension and dread that I can't help but love it. Despite the heavy nature of the instrumentation and the uncomfortable tone, Hiss Spun still finds ways to make itself darkly beautiful, earning it's place on this list.
Highlights: Spun, 16 Psyche, Twin Faun
9. N.E.R.D. - No_One Ever Really Dies
Released: December 15, 2017
Genres: Pop, Hip-Hop
No_One Ever Really Dies by the musical project of production duo the Neptunes (Pharell Williams and Chad Hugo), N.E.R.D., was an unexpected and last minute addition to this list for me. I have never been hugely familiar nor interested in Pharell's work, but this album grabbed my attention. No_One Ever Really Dies is a collection of eleven frenzied pop tracks, with heavy influence from hip-hop. Across the album Pharell's frenzied vocal delivery is joined by a variety of guests from Rihanna to Kendrick Lamar to Andre 3000, all of which put in fantastic performances. This album feels like the pop music to play over a post-apocalyptic wasteland: it's high energy, but there's a panicked undercurrent that leaves everything feeling off in the best possible way. Coupled with the politicized lyrics that don't try too hard to be profound, and it feels like the perfect kind of album for the end of 2017. The simple beats and high energy of this album, combined with a blend of genre influences, leaves it sounding like few other albums to come out this year, or at all. I think the fact that this is the only album I've listened to this year with an Ed Sheeran feature I've enjoyed says quite a lot.
Highlights: Deep Down Body Thurst, Don't Don't Do It, Secret Life of Tigers
8. Idles - Brutalism
Released: March 10, 2017
Genres: Alternative Punk, Post-Punk
Idles' debut album is one of the best punk albums to be released in recent years. Brutalism is raw, it's dirty, and it's furious. From the opener "Heel", this album builds up an energy of outrage and frustration that doesn't let up until the closing track. The rhythm section here is relentless, with the aggressive teamwork of their drums and bass building a fierce backbone to the entire tracklist. Across the album, Idles criticize modern culture, touching on economic, politics, gender relations, and the circle-jerk of post-modern art ("Stendhal Syndrome"). The vocal work behind these lyrics matches the tone perfectly; a gruff, half-shouted half-growled performance that makes me feel just as outraged as the band must feel. Brutalism is a political punk album in the tradition of the genre's origins, and fully lives up to that legacy.
Highlights: Well Done, Heel, 1049 Gotho
7. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Polygondwanaland
Released: November 17, 2017
Genres: Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Rock
On Polygondwanaland, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's fourth album of 2017, the band finally refines their sound into what I believe is the best work they've done. The Australian psych rock outfit's flair for gimmicks can either pay of or fall flat, even going each way throughout their releases this year. Polygondwanaland, however, proves to be their biggest success for me. Building on their obsession with winding, extended compositions they've worked on their entire careers, most of this album plays out like separate suites of a single song, with some more progressive song structures than they've previously utilized. The ten-minute opener, "Crumbling Castle", is one of the most satisfying songs they've ever crafted. Most importantly, Polygondwanaland is the King Gizzard album I've had the most fun with. While other albums have been bogged down by overly long tracks, an overabundance of spoken word passages, or just sounding, well, boring, Polygondwanaland escapes these issues. Instead, it's the exciting, sometimes goofy but always entertaining psych-prog crossover that King Gizzard has always had in them.
Highlights: Crumbling Castle, The Fourth Colour, Tetrachromacy
6. Converge - The Dusk in Us
Released: November 3, 2017
Genre: Metalcore
If you want your albums to be technically proficient but still bursting at the seams with pure, extreme emotion, Converge's The Dusk in Us is the album for you. This album is perfectly paced, beginning with searing emotion over some precise guitar work, before slowing its pace down midway for some more sludgy sounds. Here, Converge has aged gracefully, averting the tendency towards becoming corny and remaining immature that plagues many anger-ridden aging metal groups. Instead, they continue to sound tight and powerful, and have evolved their sound in such a way that allows them to slow down but still hit hard in moments like the album's title track. The Dusk in Us combines excellent musicianship with an energy that few of this year's metal or rock releases can even try to match, resulting in one of 2017's best albums.
Highlights: A Single Tear, The Dusk In Us, Arkhipov Calm
5. Code Orange - Forver
Released: January 13, 2017
Genres: Metalcore, Alternative Metal
Forever by Pittsburgh outfit Code Orange is the only metal album of 2017 that could personally top The Dusk in Us. Forever too champions the fury of rapid-fire metalcore, but in a much more blunt and aggressive fashion throughout much of its tracklisting. Several of the songs here are some of the fastest and most aggressive of the year (such as "Real" and "Kill the Creator") without allowing that to be the only justification for their existence. The unexpected, sudden and at times experimental detours many of the tracks on Forever take helps enhance a feeling of unease and paranoia; tracks may suddenly cut off partway to be replaced by synths, or an overwhelming wall of noise can cut off the end of the track. Adding some variety on top of this with tracks like the outstanding "Bleeding in the Blur", which draws on 90s grunge and alternative metal influences for a slow dirge, show the amount of talent in Code Orange, and the potential they have to eventually release a true masterwork. Instead, for now, they'll tide us over with Forever: a damn good substitute.
Highlights: Bleeding in the Blur, Real, Kill the Creator
4. Tyler the Creator - Flower Boy
Released: July 21, 2017
Genre: West Coast Hip-Hop
All I knew about Tyler the Creator going into Flower Boy was that his funniest tweets occasionally showed up on my Facebook feed. Then I heard "Who Dat Boy", loved its aggressive beat, Flower Boy was released and subject to major hype, and I fell in love, even if very little of this album sounds like the single that piqued my interest. This album is Tyler's introspective look at himself, his fame, and most importantly, his happiness (or lack of it). Littered with guest features, Tyler tells that age-old story of fame not being all it's supposed to be, but with deft lyricism and a dramatic flair that feels fresh and new. Sometimes this album is quite beautiful, with serene instrumentals focused heavily on piano and bass, and other times it is decidedly not so, such as Tyler's warbly, somewhat tuneless "singing" that often accompanies his lyrics of insecurity and loneliness. Rarely has the picture of the life of a disenfranchised, wealthy super-star felt so complete, and so much like a relatable, quirky human.
Highlights: 9-11/Mr. Lonely, Who Dat Boy, Boredom
3. Father John Misty - Pure Comedy
Released: April 7, 2017
Genres: Indie Folk, Singer-Songwriter
Some people without a doubt hate Pure Comedy, Father John Misty's rumination on the human race. I really can't blame them: he dips in and out of a sarcastic caricature, pretentiously explains the nature of mankind, and enters levels of self-indulgence and self-reference rarely seen in music. Josh Tillman, here, has deeply entrenched his head up his own ass. And despite all of that, I can't help but deeply love this album. I laugh at most of Father John Misty's lyrics when he wants me to, and I think about the things he wants me to. Pure Comedy crafts this broken, ridiculous world filled with people that self-destruct constantly, but it isn't sad about it, nor is it above it. It sees the innate humor in it all, not laughing at it but with it. Father John Misty isn't above the stupid mistakes of us everyday people; he's a part of it. All he wants to do is say what he thinks about that, which may fairly annoy some. Me, though? I'm happy to be along for the ride.
Also the stripped down, stage musical-approach to the album's sound doesn't hurt.
Highlights: Leaving L.A., Pure Comedy, Things That Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution
2. Brockhampton - The SATURATION Trilogy
Released: June 9, August 25, and December 15, 2017
Genres: West Coast Hip-Hop, Pop Rap
I had to rank these albums together: they are too much of a landmark not to. Self-described "boy-band" Brockhampton managed to drop not only one, but three fantastic albums filled with hip-hop, pop-rap and even some dream pop and experimental leanings. The group's debut, Saturation, was filled to the brim with fantastic, high-energy tracks, and is my personal favorite of the trilogy. Saturation II followed that up with even stronger instrumentals and lyricism that delved even deeper into the lives and feelings of the groups seven (performing) members. Finally, Saturation III pushed the band in both a poppier and stranger direction than they had taken so far, with an equal amount of beautiful sung melodies and off-kilter, deranged beats. This trilogy is fun and full of personality: Kevin Abstract, Ameer Vann, Merlyn Wood, Matt Champion, Dom McLennon, JOBA and even Bearface all stand out as distinct, unique individuals, who flow around each other with remarkable energy. Nearly every one of my favourite singles from this year comes from these three albums, and I can't wait to see what direction Brockhampton takes in the future.
Highlights: BOOGIE, SWEET, HEAT, GOLD, SISTER/NATION
1. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked At Me
Released: March 24, 2017
Genre: Indie Folk
There is one experience universal to every single human being: death. Throughout our lives, every single person will experience loss, and eventually, every single one of them will die. Death is the only constant truth, the only condition of existence. Phil Elverum addresses this with the first line of Mount Eerie's A Crow Looked At Me; "Death is real". Elverum, in the summer of last year, lost his wife; mother of his young daughter. So he poured out his devastation into this album, filling it with beautiful thoughts and personal, specific passages, looking for a way to move on and find peace. Through this, however, he did more than create something personal: A Crow Looked At Me personifies grief, in a much more raw, honest and concise way than most other albums focused on death have. There isn't much to the music here, but that's the way it should be. Mount Eerie's minimalist, largely melody-free work here is still beautiful, and is the only kind of music that could properly accompany the train-of-thought lyrics that are the centerpiece of this album. A Crow Looked At Me is not only the album that has most profoundly affected me in 2017, lingering long after each listen, but it is also, in my opinion, the most important. Everyone should listen to it at least once, because everyone can connect and learn from it, from it's sense of catharsis and its raw emotional power. That is why A Crow Looked At Me is my favourite album of the year.
