Note

In alphabetical order. These are the albums I enjoyed the most this year. Albums in bold are the ones that I like the most. I tend to prefer the albums that break out of musical traditions rather than stick closely to conventions. Your mileage may vary.

Favorite 2017 Albums

It remains impossible to keep up with music these days, but here's a sampling of the albums from last year that caught my ear.

  • Angels 9 - Disappeared Behind the Sun
  • All Them Witches - Sleeping Through the War
  • Bing and Ruth - No Home of Mind
  • Blanck Mass - World Eater
  • BNNT - Multiverse
  • Dutch Uncles - Big Balloon
  • Ex Eye - Ex Eye
  • GNOD - Just Say No To The Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine
  • Five Alarm Funk - Sweat
  • James Holden - The Animal Spirits
  • Konrad Spenger - Stack Music
  • Man Forever - Play What They Want
  • Meat Wave - The Incessant
  • Moonlandingz - Interplanetary Class Classics
  • Ohmme - s/t
  • Nadine Shah - Holiday Destination
  • The Necks - Unfold
  • Neil Cicierega - Mouth Moods
  • Noveller - A Pink Sunset for No One
  • Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - Ambient Black Magic
  • Re-Tros - Before the Applause
  • Saagara - 2
  • Schnellertollermeier - Rights
  • Snapped Ankles - Come Play the Trees
  • Teleplasmiste - Frequency Is The New Ecstasy
  • Thurston Moore - Rock N Roll Consciousness
  • Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy
  • Yossarians - Fabric Of Time

The spectacular Polish label Instant Classic continues to pump out release after fantastic release of mind-bending art-rock by groups like BNNT and Saagara.

From Beijing comes the throbbing, frenetic, synth-laced rock of Re-Tros. They sound like they'd fit somewhere neatly between Depeche Mode or Battles. If the rest of the Chinese rock scene is this half as vibrant it's going to be a pleasure to listen to whatever else emerges over the next few years.

On the other, more subdued side of the musical spectrum comes the new Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement album Ambient Black Magic. The hushed tones and steady sombre atmosphere here make for a masterpiece of dark ambient music. A great example of quiet music at its full force.

Perhaps the biggest surprise this year for me was the Yossarians' album Fabric of Time. This English rock ensemble makes tremendous psych-rock in the vein of Swans and the best of the 80s post-punk scene. They came out with an album that feels fresh and dripping with manic energy, and right now they're pretty much off the map. A band to look forward out for in the future for sure.