PJ's Top 50 of 2017
My reviewing chops are rusted and decayed, but I won't expect much slack. Let me know what you think! |
| 50 |  | Paramore
After Laughter
pop / alt
To begin, here are my top songs of 2017 (not ordered):
Ulver - So Falls the World
Citizen - In the Middle of It All
Being as an Ocean - Dissolve
Oddisee - You Grew Up
Kendrick Lamar - FEAR.
Lorde - The Louvre
The Used - For You
Pallbearer - I Saw the End
Chelsea Wolfe - 16 Psyche
Glassjaw - strange hours
Big K.R.I.T. - Drinking Sessions
Queens of the Stone Age - Fortress
Incendiary - Hanging From the Family Tree
glaswegians - duress |
| 49 |  | Feared
Svart
death / thrash metal |
| 48 |  | Shadow of Intent
Reclaimer
progressive deathcore |
| 47 |  | Fit for an Autopsy
The Great Collapse
progressive deathcore |
| 46 |  | Royal Blood
How Did We Get So Dark?
rock / fat n tasty bass licks |
| 45 |  | Soen
Lykaia
progressive rock / progressive metal |
| 44 |  | Code Orange
Forever
hardcore / sludge metal |
| 43 |  | Incendiary
Thousand Mile Stare
hardcore |
| 42 |  | Stolas
Stolas
progressive rock / post hardcore |
| 41 |  | Pallbearer
Heartless
doom metal / psychadelic |
| 40 |  | '68
Two Parts Viper
beer slammin' rock 'n roll / Scogincore |
| 39 |  | 1476
Our Season Draws Near
post punk / post rock |
| 38 |  | The Used
The Canyon
alternative rock / post hardcore |
| 37 |  | Mastodon
Emperor of Sand
sludge metal / progressive metal |
| 36 |  | Converge
The Dusk in Us
hardcore |
| 35 |  | At the Drive-In
in•ter a•li•a
post hardcore / progressive rock |
| 34 |  | Darkest Hour
Godless Prophets and The Migrant Flora
melodic death metal |
| 33 |  | Rapsody
Laila's Wisdom
hip-hop / soul |
| 32 |  | Ne Obliviscaris
Urn
progressive metal / death metal / black metal |
| 31 |  | Power Trip
Nightmare Logic
crossover thrash metal |
| 30 |  | Counterparts
You're Not You Anymore
hardcore / metalcore |
| 29 |  | Glassjaw
Material Control
post hardcore / hardcore |
| 28 |  | Mutoid Man
War Moans
sludge metal / thrash metal / beer chuggin' riffs |
| 27 |  | Propagandhi
Victory Lap
punk / hardcore |
| 26 |  | Vince Staples
Big Fish Theory
hip-hop |
| 25 |  | Redshift Pilots
Moonlight Synthesis
progressive post hardcore / blackgaze |
| 24 |  | Persefone
Aathma
progressive death metal |
| 23 |  | Brockhampton
SATURATION III
hip-hop
(accounting for I, II, & III) |
| 22 |  | Krallice
Go Be Forgotten
black metal / progressive metal |
| 21 |  | Falls of Rauros
Vigilance Perennial
black metal / shoegaze |
| 20 |  | Fen
Winter
black metal / post rock / folk |
| 19 |  | glaswegians
severance
progressive rock / post rock |
| 18 |  | Ulver
The Assassination of Julius Caesar
dark pop / electronic |
| 17 |  | Fever Ray
Plunge
dark pop / experimental |
| 16 |  | Der Weg Einer Freiheit
Finisterre
black metal |
| 15 |  | Queens of the Stone Age
Villains
stoner rock / alt rock |
| 14 |  | Cormorant
Diaspora
black metal / death metal |
| 13 |  | Brand New
Science Fiction
indie rock / alt rock / emo |
| 12 |  | Citizen
As You Please
emo / grunge |
| 11 |  | Kendrick Lamar
DAMN.
hip-hop |
| 10 |  | Big K.R.I.T.
4eva Is a Mighty Long Time
hip-hop
We begin the top 10 with an artist that I luckily stumbled upon in my late-year cramming this year. KRIT hits hard (pun completely intended) with a double LP smothered in Southern charm and wonderfully and unapologetically itself. Songs like "Mixed Messages" and "Keep the Devil Off" showcase his artful hooks and tracks like "Drinking Sessions" display a deeper message in KRIT's music. I found it hard to put this one down to lay out this list, and I'm picking it right back up. |
| 9 |  | The National
Sleep Well Beast
indie rock / post punk
Nat'l returns with their newest album that I did not for a moment want to believe could stand up next to a string of incredible records over the last decade. So few bands for such a span as they have, and this is nothing more than a continuation of the impeccable resume that they've so far built. |
| 8 |  | Immolation
Atonement
death metal
I sorely didn't want to think that a straightforward death metal album could be such a stalwart inclusion in the 2017 binder, but I found myself visiting and revisiting this record again and again. Pummeling riffs coupled with endlessly entertaining drum play from Steve Shalaty enable the record to trounce its way to a gargantuan conclusion with the conveniently titled "Immolation". |
| 7 |  | Oddisee
The Iceberg
hip-hop
Oddisee has always been the unstoppable force reminding us of the dire straits minorities face on a day-to-day basis. The Iceberg sheds a bit more light beneath the waters of Khalifa's thoughts and experiences with powerful tracks "Like Really" and "You Grew Up", and the whole album rolls on the back of his masterful flow. A man this talented almost doesn't even need a beat. |
| 6 |  | The Great Old Ones
EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy
black metal / post metal / sludge metal
If I took a shot for every time I read someone describing TGOO as Lovecraftian, well, I'd probably have my stomach pumped by now. This is not to discount the titanic soundscapes that TGOO has crafted yet again. Careening uncontrollably through the story of Innsmouth loaded with malicious riffs and beautiful sections, each portraying an aspect of the melancholy story, EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy has presented itself as a viable inclusion in any AOTY list from anyone who enjoys black metal. I am not an avid reader of H.P. Lovecraft, but there's nothing like one of the best black metal albums of the decade to spurn one's interest. |
| 5 |  | Chelsea Wolfe
Hiss Spun
gothic rock / industrial
Grimy, nasty, dark, and brooding, Chelsea Wolfe has yet again outdone herself as the queen of darkness. Hiss Spun has an infectious feel to it, creeping and crawling its way through it's twelve menacing tracks. |
| 4 |  | Being As An Ocean
Waiting For Morning To Come
post hardcore / post rock
BAAO has always somewhat teetered on greatness; showing great potential with their debut release "Dear G-d" and flirting with irresistable choruses coupled with highly enjoyable musicianship with the subsequent two albums, but never quite being able to capture lightning in a bottle, and now they've finally arrived. Taking queues from the post hardcore greats, Underoath, "Waiting for Morning to Come' has eerie comparisons to that of "The Changing of Times" with melancholy electronic sections and big choruses. They've created more memorable moments in this album than the rest of their previous albums combined, and might have a magnum opus on their hands when it's all said and done for them. Bravo, boys. You finally made it. |
| 3 |  | Tyler, the Creator
Flower Boy
hip-hop
Tyler has always been unapologetically himself, and it's finally paid off. In previous efforts, Tyler never quite impressed me with his dark, heart-on-his-sleeve delivery, but Flower Boy portrays a man who has come to grips with his struggles enough to share them with the rest of us. The result is a timeless masterpiece. A story of love and hate of the self, and a form of entertainment that I will fully admit that I never expected to get from Tyler. |
| 2 |  | Elder (USA-MA)
Reflections of a Floating World
stoner rock / progressive rock / doom metal
Another late addition in my annual December-cramming, I've been beating myself up for missing out on this album for as long as I did. Elder flawlessly melds stoner rock, sludge, doom, and prog into a beast that already holds massive esteem in all of my favorite albums ever made. I only have the well-versed users of Sputnik to thank for suggesting such a grand experience to me as this album has been, so thank you! |
| 1 |  | Lorde
Melodrama
indie pop / dream pop
And here we have it, the album of the year! Lorde stormed onto the scene in 2013 with Pure Heroine. Little did she know that her sophomore effort would prove far more addicting. Melodrama is a story of a young woman's mind growing into true adulthood during a time of turmoil, yet somehow magically finding herself trapped in her own head. She speaks for a generation of people with the landmark track "Liability", and you'll find that it is just an excerpt of an album that will be played on repeat for generations to come. |
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