Snarch -17
Only 2017 stuff that hasn't been on my previous lists. List is based on the same intricate system as alwauys.
I listen to a lot of new releases - AMA. |
| 1 |  | Claudio PRC
Volumi Dinamici
4.0 [minimalist techno] Fantastic sense of detail displayed in this. |
| 2 |  | Werner Urban
Dworzec Towarowy
4.0 [some bleeps and bloops and atmosphere] when brokencycle recs you better listen. |
| 3 |  | Sol (USA)
Upheaval
4.0 [doom metal, post rock, so I guess post metal] recommended for fans of any doom. Highly. |
| 4 |  | Hymn
Perish
4.0 [doom, sludge] FFO: heaveee af riffs and last year’s Suma record. |
| 5 |  | Marcus Fjellstrom
Skelektikon
4.0 [dark ambient, classical sorta] this is a thing of beauty if you are patient enough. |
| 6 |  | Earthen Sea
An Act of Love
4.0 [ambient techno] you know I’m a sucker for these kind of records. |
| 7 |  | Angles 9
Disappeared Behind the Sun
4.0 [freeform jazz] vivid mix of improvisation and structure. With a large brass section and odd time signatures. |
| 8 |  | Converge
Jane Live
4.0 [jane doe played live] Bitter and Then Some is even more feral than in studio and Jacobs on fire here. |
| 9 |  | Fucked Up
Year Of The Snake
4.0-3.5 [psychedelic rock, I keep reading hardcore, a subtle hint of doom] this is fun af. Check immediately |
| 10 |  | Mount Eerie
A Crow Looked At Me
4.0-3.5 [indie folk] ouch and wow |
| 11 |  | Unearthly Trance
Stalking The Ghost
3.5-4 [sludge, doom] fuzz drenched party this one. Lion Strength could’ve been both a Neurosis song and a Black Sabbath song. Doom done right. |
| 12 |  | Blanck Mass
World Eater
3.5 [electronic drone pop // anatalier] production and songwriting is spot on for the most part. |
| 13 |  | Venenum
Trance of Death
3.5-4 [death metal] one of the finest death metal releases of this year. Probably still when the year rounds up. |
| 14 |  | Orthodox
Supreme
3.5 [doom metal, drone, jazz] sounds like sunn0))) played over Evan Parker played over the onslaught of Melvins |
| 15 |  | The Last Great American Rock Band
Subsequent History
3.5 [math rock] super energetic jazzy math rock. Check! |
| 16 |  | Harriet Tubman
Araminta
3.5 [noisy jazz] songwriting spot on besides that the noisier sections might get to overpowering from time to time. |
| 17 |  | MatthewFromAmsterdam
WauWauDefaCool
3.5 [experimental house] from Holland with a subtle beats influence. A bit overlong but it’ll make your feet tap no doubt |
| 18 |  | Sr. Langosta
El Experimento Caribeño
3.5 [jazz fusion and a lot of dance friendly genres therein] space fusion is cool. |
| 19 |  | Dedekind Cut
The Expanding Domain (ded005)
3.5 [ambient, collection of cool sounds] reasonable length. Worth a spin. |
| 20 |  | D. Glare
4 Oscillators & 130 Samples At 130 BPM
3.5-4 [idm, experimental, cacophony] some parts of this are downright impossible to listen to while other parts are like a sweet mixture of Autechre and The Future Sound of London and it all comes together quite nicely in the end. Heavy modulation going on here. So if you’ve got some 2 hours to spare and you feel like you’ve been way too sane and normal functioning lately. Try this! |
| 21 |  | High Plains
Cinderland
3.5 [ambient, classical, emotiunz] |
| 22 |  | Artefakt
Kinship
3.5 [techno] a fine effort. |
| 23 |  | Einar Stray Orchestra
Dear Bigotry
3.5 [indie pop/rock] this is great. + the “hidden” reference to Silver Mt. Zion is always a bonus. This is a little bit like The Drones but still not at all like The Drones. |
| 24 |  | Hexis
Tando Ashanti
3.5 [blackened hardcore] better than previous effort of theirs for sure. FFO: Celeste |
| 25 |  | Krokofant
Krokofant III
3.5 [jazz, progressive rock] is this their best one yet, I’d say so. sax of fire. |
| 26 |  | Blame Kandinsky
Spotting Elegance In Chaos
3.5 [hardcore, mathcore and hard rock groove] FFO: Every Time I Die type’a’stuff. Latter part of the album is where the real action is. |
| 27 |  | Gaffe of a Lifetime
Mansa, and the Far End of the Death Spectrum
3.5 [house with a touch of grime and a array of other electronic genres] from the label who brought you Lonefront and Gods Drugs |
| 28 |  | Zavoloka
Syngonia
3.5 [techno with a splash of ambient] fair outing nothing that stands out seen in genre. |
| 29 |  | Tomb Mold
Primordial Malignity
3.5 [death metal] Finnish death metal sounding. This is done right but nothing to excite the masses. |
| 30 |  | Elegi
Bånsull
3.5 [ambient, experimental] sounds a lot like a composition for a movie from time to time. This is a cool journey through dark ambient soundscapes. |
| 31 |  | Planning for Burial
Below the House
3.5 [post punk, drone] FFO: Have a Nice Life |
| 32 |  | Sarah Davachi
All My Circles Run
3.5 [drone, modern classical, electroacoustic] pretty soundscapes but I recommend last years Vergers over this |
| 33 |  | Hurray For The Riff Raff
The Navigator
3.5 [indie pop, americana, folk] Coziest album of the year so far. Nothings gonna change that girl is a wonderful track |
| 34 |  | Fange
Pourrissoir
3.5 [sludge] maximvm filth with worthwhile riffs. |
| 35 |  | Nikakoi
Raise Your Head and Smell the Air
3.5 [ambient and slow moving techno] off to an awful slow start but the albums grows as it progresses. |
| 36 |  | Thomas William Hill
Asylum For Eve
3.5 [classical, some post rock maybe] sleepy time jams for sleepy time friends |
| 37 |  | Chihei Hatakeyama
Void XI
3.5 [ambient] plods along nicely |
| 38 |  | Chihei Hatakeyama
Void X
3.5 [ambient] mods along nicelier (is too a word) |
| 39 |  | Noveller
A Pink Sunset For No One
3.5 [drone, ambient, post rock] easiest to categorize as post rock without percussion maybe? The mood change in the piano in the first song is a good example of why this is a good record. |
| 40 |  | Gorephilia
Severed Monolith
3.5 [death metal] sounds very Finnish. Death metal like you’ve heard before. The closing 10 minute track is such a drag and keeps this from getting a higher score than 3.5. |
| 41 |  | Daedelus
Baker's Dozen: Daedelus
3.5 [trip hop, instrumental hip hop] production of top quality. |
| 42 |  | Nate Smith
Kinfolk: Postcards From Everywhere
3.5 [jazz, folk-ish] a mixed bag of everything jazzy and some hidden folk influences. A fine offering. |
| 43 |  | Siberian (SWE)
Through Ages of Sleep
3.5 [sludge, post metal] Mastodon meets post metal from the north |
| 44 |  | Talaboman
The Night Land
3.5 [house] is this a supergroup? Anyways this is mighty fine and rather accessible house music. |
| 45 |  | Kitsune
Uninvited
3.5 [math rock, alternative rock] instrumentally super fun but my love/hate relationship with the vocals hold this back from being a 4. |
| 46 |  | Brian Eno
Sisters
3.5 [ambient] honestly a lot better than Reflection but it’s based on the same algorithm so ye, could be because of my mood at the time of listening. I guess we’ll never know. |
| 47 |  | ASC
Internal Software
3.5 [techno] more techno leaning side of ASC. Last two tracks are fly! |
| 48 |  | Sleepmakeswaves
Made Of Breath Only
3.5 [post rock, crescendocore] just like much of their albums this misses the mark a bit and get to tangled up in itself albeit really pretty sounding and with sufficient songwriting behind it. |
| 49 |  | bansheebeat
Techo Deluxe
3.5 [chiptune right?] happy fun times with anime vibes |
| 50 |  | Pallbearer
Heartless
3.5 [doom metal] classic pallbearer sound slightly tweaked. I feel like if I did Foundations of Burden a bit more than this though. Classic 3.5 material this. Ending of Cruel Road is a not so obvious highlight. |
| 51 |  | Mastodon
Emperor of Sand
3.5 [progressive sludge metal] might be their best since Crack the Skye. Need more listens to confirm this. |
| 52 |  | Darkest Hour
Godless Prophets and The Migrant Flora
3.5 [melodic death metal, metalcore] this is the kind of music Kurt’s production fits. |
| 53 |  | Fink
Fink's Sunday Night Blues, Vol. 1
3.0-3.5 [blues] has almost a War on Drugs sound with the thick reverb on some tracks and a wovenhand vibe from time to time. A pleasant record. |
| 54 |  | The Bug and Earth
Concrete Desert
3.0-3.5 [drone, electronic, spacious] last song is great. Nothing bad across the 70 minute runtime but neither anything very special. |
| 55 |  | Goya
Harvester of Bongloads
3.0-3.5 [stoner, doom] sounds exactly like a record called Harvester of Bongloads is expected to sound. |
| 56 |  | Junius
Eternal Rituals For The Accretion of Light
3.0-3.5 [post metal, post rock, indie rock] never was a big fan of these guys. Decent enough record. |
| 57 |  | Bottenvikens Silverkyrka
Arken
3.0-3.5 [acid techno] an EP from a band from my hometown who has some serious sweet themes going but the “experimental” parts of this doesn’t work as well as the traditional approach to techno displayed on the last track. |
| 58 |  | Marshall Applewhite
Under a Pale Moon
3.0-3.5 [techno, dub, acid something] this is what it is. I’m not feeling it all the way which is a shame cos last year’s full length was great and beyond. |
| 59 |  | Jeff Mills
A Trip to the Moon
3.0 [techno, house, ambient, experimental] all over the place with way too many admittedly cool ideas thrown into the mix. |
| 60 |  | Miles Okazaki
Trickster
3.0 [jazz (kinda post bop I guess)] massively wanky with the guitar but especially the drummer ties this together and makes it listenable. Features piano shredding by Craig Taborn as well. |
| 61 |  | ADULT.
Detroit House Guests
3.0 [synthpop, darkwave] like Swans meats Suicide played in a synthpop manner |
| 62 |  | Without Waves
Lunar
3.0 [progressive metal] prog metal that is quite alright. Has the junz, the jazz and the flat vocals we all love. |
| 63 |  | Jamiroquai
Automaton
3.0 [mostly funk] features schexy bass. First two tracks are highlights. |
| 64 |  | DJ Seinfeld
Sunrise
3.0 [house] bandcamps loved one brings a pretty bland ep. |
| 65 |  | C418
Dief
3.0 [chillwave?] chill album for chill times. Gets a bit boring after a while. |
| 66 |  | Depeche Mode
Spirit
3.0 [post punk, electronic] when will it trickle down? |
| 67 |  | Louis La Roche
Sleepless Nights
3.0 [2017 disco bangers] with a touch of electro swing. Makes your feet move. |
| 68 |  | Dj Loser
Dj Loser
3.0 [techno, industrial, some kind of wave (retro)] not feeling it but it’s not bad. |
| 69 |  | Ben Frost
Music From Fortitude
3.0 [soundtrack] from the soundtrack to the series Fortitude. It sounds like you think it would. I tend to find soundtracks a bit boring and I find this is quite overlong but as an experimental, ambient album it has some fun ideas. |
| 70 |  | CFCF / Jean-Michel Blais
Cascades
3.0 [classical, ambient] fine offering but nothing special |
| 71 |  | Stay the Sea
Shimmer
3.0 [post rock] decent crescendo-core |
| 72 |  | Shunyata
Enso
3.0 [post metal, post rock] rather forgettable. |
| 73 |  | Hater (SWE)
You Tried
3.0 [indie pop, garage] average indie pop from youngsters with some potential. |
| 74 |  | Fatima Yamaha
Araya
3.0 [house, tech house] one of those EP’s to get your head bobbing. |
| 75 |  | Anal Trump
If You Thought Six Million Jews Was A Lot Of Peopl
3.0 [grindcore] +7 for gimmick, -4 for actual quality of music. |
| 76 |  | Ambersmoke
Lay My Bones Beneath the Valley Oak
3.0 [cosmic shoegaze] sounds like space noise played through a depressive filter also reverb. |
| 77 |  | Cameron Graves
Planetary Prince
3.0 [jazz fusion funk (in feel) piano] fusion with extra everything. Not bad per se but the total abundance of wankery gives this a mighty soulless feel. Ronad Bruner is the highlight for me here. |
| 78 |  | Elucid
Valley of Grace
3.0 [rap] raw beats and he has got something to say. I’ll okay this. |
| 79 |  | Flesh of the Stars
Anhilla
3.0 [psych, doom, prog] leaning a bit too heavily on the prog (psych maybe) for me to really dig this even though I cant say there’s much wrong with this either. |
| 80 |  | Volcanic Queen
Fragments Gathered at the Garden
3.0 [static, ambient, loops] first track is where it’s at for realz. Usermade |
| 81 |  | Bungler
The Nature Of Being New
3.0 [metallic hardcore] you’ve heard it all before |
| 82 |  | Cioran
Bestiale Battito Divino
3.0 [death metal, black metal, punk] has some cool moments but nothing to keep you on the edge of your seat. |
| 83 |  | Skaphe
Untitled
3.0 [black metal] asphyxiating. Last years offering tops this to me. |
| 84 |  | Karriem Riggins
Headnod Suite
3.0 [beats] does a fine job in a sorta limited genre |
| 85 |  | Dreamdecay
YÚ
3.0 [post punk, noise rock] pretty standard for the genre |
| 86 |  | Laster
Ons Vrije Fatum
3.0 [black metal, post punk] this is good for black metal standards but unfortunately a bit overlong. |
| 87 |  | Nordvargr
The Secret Barbarous Names
3.0 [dark ambient, drone] relies heavily on chant like vocals. This gets a bit tiresome to me at least. But the nonetheless this is a good example of drone. |
| 88 |  | Baby Guru
IV
3.0 [psych pop] polished psych, is there such a thing? |
| 89 |  | Brandon Coleman Quartet
Infinite Loop
3.0 [jazz] pretty indifferent towards this. But it’s not bad but nothing special either. |
| 90 |  | Pan Daijing
A Satin Sight
3.0 [EBM, noisy EBM] nothing very special at all but not bad either. Quite filthy for fans of that stuff. |
| 91 |  | Booji Boys
Booji Boys
3.0 [punk] FFO: Dead Kennedys |
| 92 |  | Bardo Pond
Under The Pines
3.0 [shoegaze, psychedelic] probably goes well with drugs. Unfortunately I’m sober atm. |
| 93 |  | Moon Duo
Occult Architecture Vol. 1
3.0 [kraut/synth] has a cool flow to it but nothing to excite the masses. |
| 94 |  | Season of Arrows
Give it to the Mountain
3.0 [stoner, doom, heavy metal] kinda like every other doom band with soaring female vox but with a bit more heavy metal touch this time around. |
| 95 |  | Netra
Ingrats
3.0 [trip-hop/black metal/dark jazz] genre bending. +0.5 for the effort. He sounds a little like Tommy Wiseau when singing, I like. |
| 96 |  | Merzbow
Aodron
3.0 [noise] nothing like starting your day of with some coffee, swedish snus and merzbow. |
| 97 |  | Anohni
Paradise
3.0 [art pop] better than last years snooze |
| 98 |  | Dodecahedron
Kwintessens
3.0[dissonant black metal] honestly this is lacking in the songwriting department |
| 99 |  | Stromboli (ITA)
Volume Uno
3.0 [post punk, industrial techno, distortion] few glimpses of real engaging songwriting but this more or less blurs into obscurity. |
| 100 |  | Power Trip
Nightmare Logic
3.0 [thrash metal] sounds like every American thrash band ever thrown into a blender. |
| 101 |  | Xibalba
Diablo, Con Amor.. Adios
3.0 [hardcore, sludge] short EP of hardcore music. Nothing special but not bad either. |
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