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Last Active 12-03-22 11:37 pm
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| Top 10 Local Albums of 2017 (LI + NYC)
Every year, in addition to a Top 10 Albums and a Top 20 Songs list, I publish a specialized list for the Top 10 Local Albums of the Long Island/New York City area. I try to keep a fairly loose definition of the word "local". For the purposes of picking a Top 10 Local Albums list, here's what I consider "local": 1. Long Island, for sure; 2. The 5 boroughs of NY (especially Brooklyn, where a lot of Long Island bands have run off to) 3. Sometimes Jersey or a little ways upstate, if the mood takes me. (I'm not giving away money or anything, so I kind of get to make up the rules as I go along). Also, if a band or artist spent a decent amount of time living on and playing on Long Island, they get to qualify, even if they've moved to another area of the country. | | 1 |  | The Magnetic Fields
50 Song Memoir
As I said yesterday, great comeback for The Magnetic Fields. It's been a while since they released anything this good. Other key tracks (besides those on yesterday's list): "A Serious Mistake"; "Be True to Your Bar"; "Hustle 76", "The Blizzard of 78"; "Come Back As a Cockroach"; "Lovers' Lies". God (or whomever - insert your own deity here) bless Stephin Merritt. | | 2 |  | Matisyahu
Undercurrent
If you're unsettled by listening to the Brand New album, this one will help center you again. You might not hear much about the "Reggae Rabbi" (as he used to be known) on the national scene anymore, but it doesn't mean that Matisyahu has stopped creating beautiful music. His last LP, 2014's "Akeda", was excellent as well. | | 3 |  | Brand New
Science Fiction
Their last album, 2009's "Daisy", came in at #2 on my Top 10 Albums list of that year. That one felt like being inside the mind of a serial killer. This one is more like "Alien Autopsy". Musically, this was a great swan song for this band. | | 4 |  | Neil Cavanagh
City of the Sun, Valley of the Moon
I talked about "The Gates of Crocheron Park" yesterday, but I'd be remiss if I didn't throw a mention of the equally lovely "On a Sunday Afternoon", and the instrumental version of that same song, "Sunday Evening". Cavanagh makes me proud to be a fellow Queens boy. | | 5 |  | Torres
Three Futures
Torres' 2015 album "Sprinter" made my Top 10 Local Albums list from that year. Her music is often quiet but intense. She doesn't fit into the traditional singer/songwriter mold mostly because of the prominent amount of synth included in her songs. My favorite track on here is a passionate-yet-restrained number called "Righteous Woman". | | 6 |  | Stevens / Dessner / Muhly / McAlister
Planetarium
I know this is a minority opinion, but I actually liked this better than Stevens' "Carrie and Lowell". The music here is very low-key and atmospheric. My favorite track here is "Saturn". | | 7 |  | The Movielife
Cities In Search Of A Heart
This is a welcome return for these guys after a 14-year absence. Normally I lean towards melodic voices rather than gruff ones, but somehow the projects of lead singer Vinny Caruano (who's also the lead singer for I Am the Avalanche) always seem to end up on my Top 10 lists. My favorite song here is a track called "Lake Superior". | | 8 |  | The Nancy Atlas Project
Cut and Run
This is an Amercana/Country Rock band from the East End of Long Island, but they mix in a bunch of other styles on this album, including Hawaiian on one track. The best song here, though, is a seven-minute-long sea shanty that tells a true story about the search for a missing fisherman, called "The Tale of Johnny Load". | | 9 |  | Gogol Bordello
Seekers And Finders
This is the tenth studio album for this gypsy punk band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan. As always, there's a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor in their music. My favorite track is the somewhat manic "Saboteur Blues". | | 10 |  | Pete Mancini
Foothill Freeway
Mancini is the lead singer/songwriter for the Long Island Americana band Butchers Blind. This is his first solo album. He's a strong songwriter with a great voice. He's got some terrific tracks on here, the best of them being the song that leads off the album, "Sweethearts of the Rodeo". | |
Divaman
01.31.18 | This is a complement to the "Top 10 Albums of 2017" list posted yesterday. |
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