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gaylortruther · 5 years

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(many) tag games

saw someone else do this so i figured i’d go through all my tag games in one looong post instead of spamming you all with a bunch of separate posts!

i’m gonna tag everyone now and yall can choose which tag games you want to do or whether you want to do them all (or whether you want to do any)!!

thanks to everyone who tagged me in all of these! i LOVE being tagged in tag games and i am always up for more! <3

tagging THE SANCTION (including ppl that i haven’t gotten up on the page yet im sorry abfjffsdhsjbjsdf it will happen SOON): @newdivinities @wolvesofarcadia @maskedlady @victoiirres @sancta-silje @bumblebeesonpaper @wasting-ink-not-youth @horrorspell @ya-lady-tauriel @awritinglen @purpleshadows1989 @ivonoris @theforgottencoolkid @the-ichor-of-ruination @grotesqu-e @lucacangettathisass @tea-ndi @hazeywrites @lunar895 @thewordsinthesky-andstars

[LAST LINE TAG]

TAGGED BY @melwrotethat AND @hazeywrites

thank you both for the tags! these are the last few lines of the prologue-excerpt-thing i wrote for the page i’m working on for WHERE THE CELLAR MEETS THE SKY

Somehow, Collin hears them. Silently, she rolls up her sleeve, and Rowan feels the Collin Sutherland they knew is somewhere far, far away. The tattoos are black, geometric in design, two on each arm, and eerily similar to the ones Rowan has just discovered on their own left arm. They're sure if they were to roll up their right sleeve, they would find more.

"I should have told you a long time ago," Collin whispers. "I didn't know you were a part of it, but I should have guessed. I didn't want to put you in danger."

"I'm not- I don't- in danger of what?"

The waves crash onto the shore, and in the distance, a seagull cries, sending Collin into action. She grabs Rowan's hand and starts pulling, dragging them back behind the house.

"Come on. We don't have a lot of time, we have to get going. I can tell you everything on the way. I don't know why he brought me here instead of straight to the veil, damn it-,"

"Wait!," they say, wrenching their hand out of her grasp. "Just- stop! Where are we going?!"

Collin's eyes flash bright, despite the lack of sunlight. "Home."

yeah, a bit long, a bit unedited, but *shrugs*

[SPELL OUT UR URL USING SONG TITLES]

TAGGED BY @tea-ndi

thank you sage!!! <3

hard feelings/loveless | lorde

another one of those days | cavetown

let’s fall in love for the night | FINNEAS

ocean eyes | billie eilish

honey and milk | flower face

i know | king princess ft fiona apple

dreamz | sara king

iloveyou | BETWEEN FRIENDS

nobody’s home | gnash

greek god | conan gray

sycamore girl | rex orange county

and there you have a small sample of my music taste! add in literally every taylor swift song (dont judge me), some lo-fi tunes without ANY words whatsoever, and the occasional fall out boy or panic at the disco goddamn absolute banger, and you have my XANDERS JAMS playlist on spotify. ENJOY

[11/11/11 TAG]

TAGGED BY @awritinglen <333333333333333333333333

thank you for tagging me len!!! your questions were so fun!! i’m doing this for WHERE THE CELLAR MEETS THE SKY

Name all OCs in your WIP

OMFG okay,,, wait do you mean full names?? POV characters as of rn are Collin Aisling Sutherland, Rowan Tilley (doesn’t have a middle name) and Avery Bristol Charter. then the next most important one is Isaac Michael Rosewell, even though he’s the antagonist. then the side characters that are still very featured are Noah Rosalyn Pratten, Reese Iseul Radley, and Sage Emarosa Delgado. THEN we get into the very very side characters, Willa Robinson and her son August Robinson. then we have Avery’s parents, Alaric and the late Octavia Charter. and thennnnn we have Beldane Moreno, Avery’s uncle and Collin’s grandfather (undecided abt that last name but going w it for now). i promise it all makes sense. i promise anfnfsjnfdjsfd

Name at least one hobby your Main character love

i’ll give this one to Collin, she is a musician! Avery’s mother always taught her music before The Accident (dun dun dunnn) and after Collin was abandoned in the Nigh she threw herself into music. she plays guitar mostly, but she secretly loves piano the best out of every instrument she knows

3 sentences about your current WIP

OOF. im so bad at summaries why would you do this to meee abfhshjbsbshfjsbf. “A determined believer wants to return to a home that never wanted her. Almost 4000 miles away, an incisive, intellectual outcast of a dreamer muses over getting out of their hometown. And infinities away from them both, a teenage revolutionary disappears into thin air, on his way to bring back his past and fix his (and everyone’s) future.”

Is there a romance in your WIP and did you plan it from the beginning?

yes! there are three! they are definitely a main focus of the plot, but not THE main focus. Reese and Rowan were definitely planned from the beginning. Collin and Noah were, too, but they weren’t originally enemies to lovers, and they are now (hehehehehe). and Isaac and Avery were DEFINITELY not planned from the beginning. in fact, Avery was originally paired up with Sage, but it’s literally so much better this way and i’m so glad it’s been changed. Isaac and Avery has been planned since about when Isaac’s character was thought up, one year into planning WTCMTS.

What genre(s) is it?

a mix of dystopia and urban fantasy. and it’s YA, borderline NA because some of the characters are 19-20, but i still think YA is appropriate because of the style of writing.

What’s the aesthetic of two of your characters?

fun question! Collin’s aesthetic is very emo-punk, with a splash of yellow towards the end of the series. piercings, blue hair, rips on clothing, dirty converse, smudged eyeliner, safety pins. the yellow comes in as part of her character arc, as she learns to accept that her childhood memories are tainted and not actually perfect utopia. Rowan is way more minimalist (sometimes). they’re into the bookstagram type aesthetic, and mom jeans with sneakers, jean jackets, plants against a white wall, colorblocked windbreakers, rain against a car window.

When did you start your current WIP?

WTCMTS was started in august of 2017

How far along are you in the process (i.e 1st/2nd/3rd draft, worldbuilding)

still worldbuilding, unfortunately, for personal reasons

Who’s the hardest character for you to write?

OOOOOOF. sage or rowan?

What music genre best decribes your main character(s) and whats their favorite?

Collin - alternative (favorite band would be like twenty one pilots, p!atd)

Rowan - ichillwave (clario, rex orange county)

Avery - emo (fall out boy, all time low)

Isaac - indie alternative OR instrumental lofi (jaymes young, birdy)

Noah - electropop (lorde, halsey, charlie xcx)

Reese - folk rock (the head and the heart, of monsters and men)

Sage - indie pop (lana del ray, florence + the machine)

Are you working on more than one WIP?

yes! i have four currently but only two are important lol, ILLUNIUS and WHERE THE CELLAR MEETS THE SKY (this one). WIP PAGE

MY QUESTIONS

how did you come up with the title for your WIP?

is there anything you want to change about your WIP but you are hesitating on?

do you have a favorite character? a character that is your baby?

write a tinder bio for one of your characters.

how do you feel about epilogues? does your wip include an epilogue?

what changes does your MC go through over the course of the story?

what is the most significant insignificant thing that happens in your story? don’t explain why it is significant if it spoils things ;)

do you know what will happen after the ending of your wip, or would you rather not picture it?

how long does your wip span? is it a novel? a series? does it have prequels or spin-off wips?

what is a major internal conflict for your MC?

do you include flashbacks in your wip? do you like writing flashbacks?

[HOW TO KNOW YOU’RE IN A ______ NOVEL TAG]

TAGGED BY @writevevo AND @wolvesofarcadia

thank you both for this tag! it’s so much fun and both of your novels sound like novels that would be very interesting to be stuck in :D

inspired by this post

HOW TO KNOW YOU’RE IN A HALOHIDINGS NOVEL

you’re an older sibling and you have a younger sibling. you’re extremely bitter towards your younger sibling for stealing opportunities from you, damning you to a life you never truly wanted. your younger sibling adores you and just wants to please you. they never meant to do it.

you’re stuck in constant, wistful wanderlust, never feeling like you truly belong, never fitting in anywhere, not with friends, not with family, and when you finally find the place you’ve been looking for, you realize it’s nothing like you dreamed or remembered.

you’re not heterosexual. no one around you is. no one is cisgender either. where are they? no one knows.

you have a peculiar capability dancing under your skin. it trickles from your pores and muddles with your mind. maybe you asked for it, maybe it was predestined, maybe you never wanted anything to do with it. whatever the reason, it’s there, and you don’t know what’s you and what’s it. maybe you’re not meant to ask. maybe you’re meant to succumb.

your memories are as fickle as the rain, coming and going and breaking through the clouds, shattering the fog and disappearing with the sun. you can’t recall what you’re doing here, or where you’re meant to be instead. what’s your name?, they ask. you don’t know.

there are two worlds. one world is blissfully unaware of this, or at least, as unaware as any world of millions and millions of people can be. no secret can be kept forever, they tell you. you are desperately trying to keep the secret.

the one closest to you, despite your abhorrent denial of this fact, the one you would trust with your life, will betray you. because of their decision, their selfishness, you will either lose them, or lose yourself.

THOSE WERE SO FUN OMG. they all mostly apply to both of my major wips, which is probably bad. oh well LMAO

SORRY THAT WAS SOOOOOOOO LONG hope at least someone does one of these tag games lol <3

xander out

#taggedin

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andrewberkowitz · 7 years

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2017 - A Year In Review

I’m not a pessimist, but it sure is hard to find the positives in 2017. We’ve lived through almost a full year of a sexual predator as our President, seen thousands lose their lives to senseless gun violence, and have had our racial tensions soar to impossibly new heights. Changes are happening every day and sometimes it’s hard to tell if we’re even heading in the right direction. The world is scary for everyone right now, and while it’s important to stay vigilant, everyone also deserves a distraction every now and again. Some people sweat out their stress by running marathons, others through hot-yoga, and others through leaving our country all together and traveling the world. My decompression, as it always has been, is through totally immersing myself in the endless abundance that is New Music and dissecting it until the late hours of the night. This year, I was slightly disappointed by the lack of consistency from bands and songwriters. There was no Lemonade to inspire us, no Blonde to lullaby us, and no Life of Pablo to wake us the fuck up. In fact, 2017 feels like the year mainstream rap and pop just took a year off. DAMN. was alright, but overall, I wasn’t compelled by anything that made its way to the Top 50 Charts. So, where does that leave us? With an obscure collection of mostly sad, but beautiful songs that I don’t recommend playing at parties. Grab some tissues, and enjoy. Best Songs of 2017 25. “In Chains” – The War on Drugs Truly almost any song from The War on Drug’s fourth and best album A Deeper Understanding could’ve made the Top 25 list of the year, and I chose “In Chains,” sort of arbitrarily. “Chains” is classic The War on Drugs. A repetitive piano line, grazing synth, and straight-forward percussion chugs the song along until screeching guitars whip us into an incredible chorus that would make Bruce Springsteen diehards sprint down the nearest turnpike at blistering speed. Also, on the topic of The Boss, if the piano solo at the very end is not a blatant ode to “Jungleland,” than I don’t know what is.

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24. “The Grocery” – Manchester Orchestra

It’s really hard to include this song by itself because it really belongs as a companion piece to the two-minute “The Sunshine” that proceeds it. In fact, the entire album of A Black Mile To the Surface is such a cohesive album from front to back that it’s hard to appreciate the parts of its sum and not just the whole itself. Alas, if Black Mile is a cohesive narrative, than the “The Grocery” is its epic chapter. After a near death (“you squeeze on the trigger / but all it does is click”), the song builds into an impossibly gorgeous wall of sound, a mix of multiple layers of pitched up vocals, guitars, pianos, and drums. It’s everything, all at once, and it’s freaking awesome.

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23. “Through The Roses” – Future Islands Arguably the hardest working person in the business, Sam Herring, frontman of Future Island brings all the emotions to the front on “Through The Roses,” a deep-cut off the AOTY contender The Far Field. Somehow Future Islands always finds a way to make singing about pain so danceable and this is no different. “Through The Roses,” is one of the most emotionally affecting (“it’s not easy being human”) and lyrically vivid (“the cut is waiting / the cut is waxing and it’s cold) songs in his entire catalog, but it will also the one that will get stuck in your head the longest.

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22. “Tonite” – LCD Soundsytem

When I first heard this song, I really wanted to hate it. From the jump, we are greeted with a cheesy 80s house beat, SNL-inspired cowbell, and the hyper-processed vocals we're used to hearing in Daft Punk songs. "Tonite" chugs along for four minutes, gradually adding tension with the help of a gorgeous synth line, anxious guitar plucking, and a choir of echo-ing vocal harmonies. In the song's final two minutes, Murphy substitutes his talking for singing and the pay-off is incredible. With lines like “you hate the idea that you’re wasting your youth" and "terrible people know better than you / the use and abuse of the wants of dear listener," you'll be mad at yourself for questioning this incredible song in the first place.

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21. “Losing All Sense” – Grizzly Bear

A standout single of the new record, Painted Ruins, “Losing All Sense,” is one of Grizzly Bear’s most accessible songs ever recorded. A bouncy guitar riff pushes along the up-tempo song until a kaleidoscopic chorus takes over, slowing the song down to a crawl as Ed Droste anchors the moment with the thoughtful lyric, “could I ask of you / not to cut into me?” It’s such a great juxtaposition of jingling, upbeat instrumentation and dark lyricism. Not since “Two Weeks” have we seen a Grizzly Bear song this replayable, which is such a nice reprieve from the dense tracks that cover the rest of the album.

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20. “Proud” - (Sandy) Alex G

Alex Giannascoli, the prolific Philadelphia singer-songwriter refuses to put himself in a box. In the past half decade, Alex has shown us a multitude of different sides to him, from straightforward lo-fi bedroom folk-rock (Tricks, DSU), to dark, weird indie-rock (Beach Music). On his latest though, Rocket, Alex takes all of his influences, and then some, and throws them into an album that has as many abrasive, screaming experimental-rock songs as it does simple, cozy, alt-country songs. It’s a terrifically weird juxtaposition to hear, but one song that really stands out on the latter side of that spectrum is “Proud,” an incredibly warm, Americana-style song that has Alex strumming cleanly on an acoustic guitar overtop a dancing piano line and a tambourine. It’s such a simple and classic tune you’re going to swear you’ve heard it before. It’s definitely not even close to the most interesting song on Rocket (Check out “Horse” or “Brick” for that), but it’s definitely the most beautiful and replayable, and those are the ones that tend to find their way into my year-end lists.

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19. “Supermodel” – SZA

SZA, who absolutely deserves the award for Breakout Artist of the Year, is a co-writer for Rihanna, and on first listen to “Supermodel,” not to mention the rest of the stellar Ctrl, it’s easy to see why. “Supermodel” kicks the album off with a bang, as her vocals carry the song throughout the entire track, twisting and turning in gorgeous fashion, not unlike the cadence one comes to expect with the flows of Young Thug or Frank Ocean. SZA’s lyrics are at the forefront as she sings, clear as day, “I’ve been secretly banging your homeboy,” atop nothing but a few pillow-y guitar chords. Well, shit.

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18. “May I Have This Dance” (Remix) – Francis and the Lights ft. Chance The Rapper

Before Chance added a verse to Francis Starlight's, “May I Have This Dance,” it just sounded liked a 80s cheese-pop ode to Peter Gabriel. On the remix, it still sounds like that, but with a much-needed upgrade to freshen it up. Easily one of the most (and only) danceable songs on this list, Francis’s lyrics of “can I say something crazy? / I love you” actually feel authentic and not overly saccharine, which make this song cut deep, if you let it. Chance ends the song with a characteristically fun (ex: “I love you more than you mother”) verse as we’ve come to expect, before the explosive final chorus brings the song to the end. Make sure you check this song out live – Chance and Francis have an adorable dance that goes with it.

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17. “Waving Through A Window” - Ben Platt

I’m just gonna say it. If you are not a fan of corny musicals, then go ahead and skip this song. Now that we have the haters gone, I can swoon over the standout hit from 2017’s biggest Broadway musical Dear, Evan Hanson, an incredibly powerful coming-of-age show about bullying, anxiety, suicide, and unrequited love. “Waving Through A Window,” is an immediate hit that may sound like a Top-20 Christian-Pop song (I know) on first listen, but when you really let go of your judgements you can enjoy the song for what is is - one of the catchiest songs of 2017. Just wait until the major-key change at the end – so amazing.

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16. “Follow My Voice” – Julie Byrne

There were a lot of solemn, introspective albums released by fearless women this year (Vagabon, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Big Thief, Palehound), and Not Even Happiness by singer-songwriter Julie Byrne is one of the best of the year. “Follow My Voice” is the opening track on the album and also the strongest. An absolutely gorgeous acoustic guitar flutters along as Julie shares what seems to be a moment of tension for her in a relationship (“to me this city is hell / but I know you call it home”). Around halfway through the song, strings are introduced and that’s when the waterworks begin. It’s an absolutely real song about personal sacrifice, insecurity, and love, and you can feel every emotion thanks to Julie’s soaring vocal range.

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15. “Cold Apartment” – Vagabon

There’s really no silver lining to this song. “Cold Apartment” is a song about the painful end of relationships and how nothing ever goes as planned. I love how vulnerable Laetitia Tamko is on this track, as she starts the song off with “I know it’s my fault. I gave up on everything.” From there, you are in for a ride of dark and brooding instrumentation and lyrics. While this song elicits the same emotions as Julie Byrne’s “Follow By Voice,” the roaring percussion of “Cold Apartment” at least allows you to take out your anger by punching a wall rather than crying softly into your pillow.

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14. “Haley” - Big Thief

“Haley,” a standout track from the Brooklyn quartet Big Thief, is a beautifully, intricate folk-rock song with enough tension and resolution to please the average classical music listener. Overlapping twinkling guitars carry the song as the song’s tempo swells and contracts back and forth, reminiscent of a 1970s Joni Mitchell.

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13. “Hunters Gun” – Palehound

“Hunters Gun,” the opening track from Ellen Palehound’s newest album, A Place I’ll Always Go stuck with me the second I heard it. While under two-minutes, “Gun,” packs quite the punch, as a lo-fi crunchy drum mix and simple electric guitar accompany Ellen Kempner’s desperate and painful vocals. As Kempner breath-sings “Don’t come near me, I don’t wanna see your face,” you can literally feel the goosebumps from the horrid scene she’s describing.

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12. “Ballad Of A Dying Man” - Father John Misty

Enough has been written on Father John Misty that I don’t feel like I need to give this man more credit than he already gets, but I’d be remiss to leave off a cut from Pure Comedy, the latest output from J. Tillman’s impressive catalog. Like many songs on Pure Comedy, “Ballad Of A Dying Man,” is a sardonic social commentary on modern-day culture, but this time from the perspective of someone who is about to die. “Eventually the dying man takes his final breath / but first checks his news feed to see what he’s about to miss” is classic Tillman, as he sings over a track that is brought together by acoustic guitar, piano and some background gospel singers. It may be easy to roll your eyes at this song but it’s even easier to admire its beauty and genius.

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11. “Chanel” - Frank Ocean

“My guy pretty like a girl / and he got fight stories to tell” may be my favorite lyric of the year, and it’s the opening line to Frank Ocean’s stand-alone single “Chanel,” released in March. One of the more braggadocious Frank tracks in recent memory, Ocean’s boasts about sex, money, and fame with a vocal performance that constantly shifts and turns with each new line, from tenor singing to a lower-register rap flow, sometimes even within the same bar. This is Frank at his best, flexing both his singing and rapping muscles while somehow still finding a way to make us to shed a tear while he sings about maxing out his Amex.

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10. “Mallwalkers - Fred Thomas

Fred Thomas writes stories and then creates music around them. The Michigan native has written over 20 albums under several different alias’s and all of them are just as raw and impressive as the next. “Mallwakers” is the final song of his latest record Closer and it’s vintage Fred Thomas. A distorted guitar riff and crashing drum beat carry us through a mostly spoken-word narrative that builds and builds as the instrumentation intensifies and progresses. Listening to this song, it appears Fred is not singing for anyone but himself, as he reflects on the boredom and torture of a younger, past life, questing and criticizing something new in every line. Almost every line is simultaneously genius, funny, and heartbreaking all at once, particularly when he calls his high-school peers “horrid hushed hall talkers” and “judge-gabled gawkers.” Fred’s art has always been just as enjoyable to read as it is to listen to it, and “Mallwalkers” is no different.

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9. “City of Roses” - Sufjan Stevens

In 2015, Sufjan released Carrie & Lowell, arguably my favorite album of all time. Since then, Sufjan has catapulted himself into a rare space of artists I believe can literally do no wrong (joining Justin Vernon and that’s about it). In 2017, he released the Planetarium LP, a Carrie & Lowell live album, contributed two songs to the fantastic Call Me By Your Name movie, and most recently, released The Greatest Gift, a Carrie & Lowell B-Side alum. Within the latest releases, we have been blessed with dozens of new Sufjan tracks that belong on this list, but the one I’m choosing to include is “City of Roses,” a short, addictive ode to one of Sufjan’s favorite cities, Portland. Unlike most of the sad, autobiographical tunes from Carrie, “City of Roses” is a refreshing reprieves of positivity, yet one that doesn’t sacrifice any beauty along the way. Reminiscent of Illinois-style folk rock, Sufjan admits, “I’ve had it enough with the east coast,” as he begins his trek to the beautiful Pacific Northwest. This song is short and sweet enough it will quickly reach it’s way to your most-played list before you know it.

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8. “Real Death” - Mount Eerie

On July 9, 2016, Phil Elvirum’s wife died from pancreatic cancer. On March 24, 2017, A Crow Looked At Me was released, an album that pretty much chronicles in real time the aftermath, mourning and pain that Phil went through and continues to go through following her death. There has truly never been an album quite like this. It’s a rare, rare inside look to the unspeakable truth of what it feels like to lose the one you love and be left alone to raise your two-year old daughter on your own. “Real Death” is the first song off Mount Eerie’s arguably unlistenable, yet Album of the Year A Crow Looked At Me. All metaphor is stripped away, as Phil leads the song with the immortal words, “Death is real / Someone’s there and then they’re not / And it’s not for singing about / It’s not for making into art. When real death enters the house all poetry is dumb.” The language alone to describe his loss (“crusted with tears / catatonic and raw”) is enough to make you cringe and threaten to press the skip button. There really is no reward to listening to this song. But it’s real and it makes me feel things. And it’s the 8th best song of the year.

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7. “Hey K” - Passion Pit

If you didn’t know, Passion Pit secretly self-released an album this year in March called Tremendous Sea of Love and it’s actually one of my favorite albums of the year. Despite my enjoyment of being in the minority of people who have been exposed to this album, I think it’s worth sharing a piece of the magic from the album in the form of “Hey K,” the most beautiful arrangement Michael Angelakos has composed to date. Warm, dreamy ambient synthscapes that we’re used to hearing from Passion Pit glisten and swell with twinkly pianos as Angelako’s familiar, yet slightly processed tenor glides us through the track. While the track is directly aimed toward Michael’s ex Kristina Mucci, it is actually an exquisite love-song; a song of appreciation for what they had and will always have.

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6. “Pageant” - PWR BTTM

I know I shouldn’t be writing about PWR BTTM because of the allegations against frontman Ben Hopkins, but I can’t help myself and include “Pageant,” --- the centerpiece of the same-titled 2017 record that never even saw the light of the day --- on my list. This is one of those songs that just stuck with me the second I heard it. The way in which Ben’s voice awkwardly bends along with the off-tempo melody of the acoustic guitar, the way in which their voice feels like it’s on the verge of breaking apart at any moment, and the way in which it does break apart at the end, all before an electric guitar takes the song to its natural conclusion. To me, it’s a perfect song and it’s a shame the song never actually got to see the light of day. In fact, good luck even finding this song on the internet.

5. “The System Only Sleeps in Total Darkness” – The National

How long have National fans been waiting for a song like this? After just about two decades of subtle, textured, mellow, down-tempo rock songs, the National reward its fans with “The System Only Sleeps in Total Darkness,” an urgent, thunderous, accessible stand-alone single that fucking rips. “I can’t explain it any other way,” says Berninger, and I have to agree. This song --- along with Aaron Dessner’s gross guitar solo in the middle of the song --- is simply one of the most fun, aggressive, cathartic National songs ever recorded. It’s up there with “Mr. November” as one of the all-time best too, and that’s saying a lot.

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4. “Intrepid” – Pinegrove

Pinegrove know how to tangle your heart into a ball, play with it, and then give it back at the exact moment you’re about to curl over and die. “Intrepid,” the single off the supposedly titled Skylight supposedly out in March, is a call-back to the lo-fi days from Everything So Far. On the first couple listens to this song, it’s actually quite unassuming. Evan’s vocals are tucked neatly into the back of the mix, as clean guitars ring out over a tense percussive back. At times, Evan’s voice becomes more pronounced as he screams, “well the way I spent my winter / I wonder” but then almost immediately, he and the music pulls back, and leaves us wanting so much more. What feels like a frustrating tug and pull of tension with no real resolution during the lengthy and repetitive middle section soon makes sense when it transitions to its fateful conclusion. The tempo slows, then quickens, then slows, and then quickens again. Finally, the intensifying vocals and guitars swelter until they can’t take it anymore and we are greeted with a climatic, harmonious resolution all packed within a single chord. It’s a song that really takes a while to sink in, but once it does, you will not be able to stop hitting repeat.

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3. “Orange Colored Queen” - Ty Segall

Ty Segall is a legend. If you don’t know him, he’s a singer-songwriter who has released 10 albums in the past 10 years, and that’s just counting the ones under his own name. He is a naturally gifted songsmith, who, at his best, has a really classic sound whose influences range across The Beatles, The Kinks, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, to Queen. At his most interesting though, you can find Ty Segall crossdressing, wearing a mask and screaming nonsense into a microphone for five-minutes. “Orange Colored Queen” though, of literally the 200+ Ty Segall songs is probably the most straightforward and down-to-earth he has ever sounded. Starting with a beautiful and lazy guitar line, Ty eases us into the song before soon enough at the :50 second mark the track doubles in time, the drums kick in, and we are in paradise. I have a hard time describing this song because it’s such a simple and basic pop song that it really just needs to be heard, similar to any Beatles song you’d find on One. When a song is this good and this simple, you don’t ask questions – you just listen.

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2. Appointments” - Julien Baker

Ok, so first, if you know me, I tend to be attracted to certain songs that have a specific formula to them. One of my favorite formulas is this: Quiet, atmospheric piano-driven ballad with introspective lyrics slowly builds to an anthemic, explosive, and deeply cathartic (key word) climax and that leaves you stuck in your chair for a bit after it’s over. Some of my favorite songs of all time employ this formula of slow start → rising action → climax. “Exit Music (For A Film)” does this well, “Ultralight Beam” does this well,” “I Dreamed A Dream” does this well. “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” does this well. Well, Julien Baker, welcome to the club.

“Appointments” is that formula perfectly executed, with a twinkling guitar repeating throughout the song atop a timid piano line. As Julien reflects on a destructive relationship, the song slowly but surely starts to pick up pace, until eventually the music drops out altogether. After echoing and overlapping vocals fill up the instrumental void, the piano and guitar suddenly come back, this time with Julien belting the final refrain like it’s her final moments on earth, screaming, “maybe it’s all gonna turn out all right / oh, I know that it’s not, but I have to believe that it is.” It’s a powerful ending to a song that seems to bring as much healing to the listener as it does for Julien herself.

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1. “Blanket Me” – Hundred Waters

Like I said in the Julie Byrne review, this year was rich in providing deeply powerful introspective indie-ballads from extremely talented frontwomen. “Blanket Me” was a song I discovered this year at a time when I really needed comfort and it really provided me the warmth I longed for. Just like its name, “Blanket Me,” is the feeling of locking yourself in a room, lying on the floor, wrapping yourself like a burrito in blankets, and blasting your favorite song until you sink deep into the floor. And if you think I’m being dramatic, go ahead and press play. The lyrics literally read “gone under, capsized and sinking” before she screams, “blanket me” literally 81 times (I counted). On top of the repeating lyrics, you get absolutely smothered by noise, as you are met with waves of vibrating synths, explosive drum fills, and a choir of pitched-up electronic vocals. There is so much going on at once that it’s hard to separate one sound from the other. It’s totally immersive, visceral, and above all, comforting. “Blanket Me” is the best song of two thousand and seventeen.

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Full List:

1. “Blanket Me” - Hundred Waters 2. “Appointments” - Julien Baker 3. “Orange Colored Queen” - Ty Segall 4. “Intrepid” - Pinegrove 5. “The System Only Sleeps in Total Darkness" - The National 6. “Pageant” - PWR BTTM 7. “Hey K” - Passion Pit 8. “Real Death” - Mount Eerie 9. “City of Roses” - Sufjan Stevens 10. “Mallwalkers - Fred Thomas 11. “Chanel” - Frank Ocean 12. “Ballad Of A Dying Man” - Father John Misty 13. “Hunters Gun” - Palehound 14. “Haley” - Big Thief 15. “Cold Apartment” - Vagabon 16. “Follow My Voice” - Julie Byrne 17. “Waving Through A Window” - Ben Platt 18. “May I Have This Dance” - Francis and the Lights ft. Chance The Rapper 19. “Supermodel” - SZA 20. “Proud” - (Sandy) Alex G 21. “Tonite” - LCD Soundsystem 22. “Losing All Sense” - Grizzly Bear 23. “Through The Roses” - Future Islands 24. “The Grocery” - Manchester Orchestra 25. “In Chains” - The War on Drugs 26. “Motion Sickness” - Phoebe Bridgers 27. “Man of War” - Radiohead 28. “Guilty Party” - The National 29. “You Have The Right” - Passion Pit 30. “LOL” - PWR BTTM 31. “DNA” - Kendrick Lamar 32. “Evening Prayer” - Jens Lekman 33. “Charlie” - Alison Crutchfield 34. “Half A Million” - The Shins 35. “Reactionary” - Fred Thomas 36. “A Slow, Slow Death” - Los Campesinos 37. “Ran in Soho” - The Mountain Goats 38. “George Washington” - Why? 39. “Over Everything” - Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile 40. “Mercury” - Sufjan Stevens, James Mcallister, Aaron Dessner, Nico Muhley 41. “The Greatest Gift” - Sufjan Stevens 42. “Blood On Me” - Sampha 43. “Darkened Rings” - Cloud Nothings 44. “Third of May / Odaigahara" - Fleet Foxes 45. “Total Entertainment Forever” - Father John Misty 46. “Kill Jill” - Big Boy, Killer Mike, Jeezy 47. “What I Want” - Cende 48. “Radio” - Sylvan Esso 49. “American Dream” - LCD Soundsystem 50. “Take Care (To Comb Your Hair)” - Ty Segall 51. “Keep Your Name” - The Dirty Projectors 52. “Dogs” - Pile 53. “Say Something Loving” - The XX 54. “Gone Beyond” - Peter Silberman 55. “Creature Comfort” - The Arcade Fire 56. “How Do You Sleep?” - LCD Soundsystem 57. “Look At Your Hands” - tUnE-yArDs 58. “Tonya Harding (in Eb major)” - Sufjan Stevens 59. “Taste” – Rhye 60. “Sugar For The Pill” – Slowdive Best Albums of 2017 1. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked At Me 2. Julien Baker - Turn Out the Lights 3. The National - Sleep Well Beast 4. The War on Drugs - A Deeper Understanding 5. Passion Pit - Tremendous Sea of Love 6. Future Islands - The Far Field 7. Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile To The Sun 8. Father John Misty - Pure Comedy 9. Sylvan Esso - What Now 10. Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins 11. Los Campesinos - Sick Scenes 12. Fred Thomas - Changer 13. The Mountain Goats - Goths 14. James McAlister, Bryce Dessen, Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly - Planetarium 15. WHY? - Moh Lhean

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading. I hope you at least learned one new song or album that can bring deep emotion into your life. Below is a Spotify Playlist of every song except for PWR BTTM and Ty Segall. 2018, bring it on. Playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/andrewberkowitz/playlist/1v9fNU9V2foTnGu7LOjspO

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Exclaim!'s Top 29 Albums of 2017 So Far

As originally seen on Exclaim.ca.At this point last year, we’d already experienced massive album drops from the likes of Beyoncé, Kanye West, Radiohead, David Bowie and Drake; by the end of the year, we were left wondering just what was left to come out in 2017.

The answer is a swathe of albums by artists whose names might not adorn stadium marquees, but whose work shone brightly as beacons for another good year in music. Between long-awaited debut full-lengths, worldly, philosophical album statements and surprising genre crossovers, 2017 has seen a wealth of riches.

As the year’s halfway mark approaches, we’ve separated the great from the merely good in order to present the best albums released so far this year.

Click next to read through the albums one by one, or use the list below to skip ahead to your favourites.

Exclaim!’s Top 29 Albums of 2017 So Far:

1. Kendrick Lamar – DAMN. 2. Sampha – Process 3. Feist – Pleasure 4. Father John Misty – Pure Comedy 5. Mount Eerie – A Crow Looked at Me 6. Drake – More Life 7. Jay Som – Everybody Works 8. Mac DeMarco – This Old Dog 9. Joey Bada$$ – All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ 10. Slowdive – Slowdive 11. Power Trip – Nightmare Logic 12. The xx – I See You 13. Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 3 14. Thundercat – Drunk 15. Oddisee – The Iceberg 16. Code Orange – Forever 17. Kelly Lee Owens – Kelly Lee Owens 18. Full of Hell – Trumpeting Ecstasy 19. Cloud Nothings – Life Without Sound 20. Stormzy – Gang Signs & Prayer 21. Do Make Say Think – Stubborn Persistent Illusions 22. Incendiary – Thousand Mile Stare 23. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Flying Microtonal Banana 24. (Sandy) Alex G – Rocket 25. Future Islands – The Far Field 26. Timber Timbre – Sincerely, Future Pollution 27. GAS – Narkopop 28. Paramore – After Laughter 29. Ryuichi Sakamoto – async

29. Ryuichi Sakamoto async (Milan)

A good deal has been made of the possibly autobiographical nature of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s triumphant return, async. The disc landed a little less than three years after his throat cancer diagnosis, and is replete with mournful synth lines, scratchy noise (if ever there was a track that made you want to clear your throat, it’s “andata") and spoken word segments about mortality.

There’s much more than nostalgia at work here, though. The 65-year-old, who calls both Tokyo and New York City home, delivered us a complex, at times difficult listen. Yet async remains wholly accessible. It’s beautiful without being pretty, engaging and, at the same time, comforting.

Is the disc’s title short for asynchronous, which refers to events "not occurring at the same time"? Maybe reading his illness and subsequent recovery into that is a stretch, but Sakamoto’s pre-release materials describe his interest in "the blurred lines of life and artificiality/noise and music." The line between good and poor health is often similarly tough to distinguish, but its exploration would fit perfectly amidst the tender thoughtfulness evident here. Kevin Press

28. Paramore After Laughter (Fueled By Ramen)

Paramore have gone through their share of professional and personal turmoil and lineup changes since their chart-topping self-titled LP. Bassist Jeremy Davis left, drummer Zac Farro returned seven years after an acrimonious split and singer Hayley Williams admitted in pre-release interviews that she often doubted they would ever record another album. The trio address this adversity head-on on the startling, emotionally complex After Laughter, a tuneful, effervescent full-length on which Paramore mostly trade what was left of their punk and emo roots for New Wave synths, sinewy Afrobeat-influenced guitar riffs and percussive Technicolor pop that evokes Talking Heads, Paul Simon and Tango in the Night-era Fleetwood Mac.

In contrast with the soaring, ebullient melodies, the lyrics reflect the band’s tumultuous recent past, most prominently on the LP’s first single, the cathartic "Hard Times." Hitting rock bottom has rarely sounded better than on After Laughter, one of the year’s finest pop albums. Thierry Côté

27. GAS Narkopop (Kompakt)

Wolfgang Voigt has kept busy over the last 17 years through his various projects, but he’s been neglecting the one that earns him the most attention. Capitalizing on last year’s elaborate GAS box set, the 56-year-old returned with his fifth album under the moniker like no time had passed.

His new 75-minute opus, Narkopop, surveys different moods and pulses, filling in the vast space with a range of textures and styles: drone, ambient, neo-classical and minimal techno. The results can be mesmeric and beautiful, though he’s not averse to stirring up discomfiting moments to throw the listener’s meditation off, either.

Although it follows the GAS template in its design and structure, Narkopop, like its predecessors, is very much its own entity and an exciting next phase in the oeuvre of electronic music’s most intriguing characters. Cam Lindsay

26. Timber Timbre Sincerely, Future Pollution (Arts & Crafts)

The sinister synths that flood Timber Timbre’s sixth LP leave little doubt that the Canadian band’s latest record, Sincerely, Future Pollution, isn’t entirely optimistic about humanity’s course. The free-floating folk-noir ensemble, led by the haunting vocals of Taylor Kirk, reach new vibrancy on this record by harkening back to ’80s-era Bowie, drum machines and dystopian narratives to create an album that, like Pink Floyd’s The Wall, comprises a cinematic whole yet is approachable enough to enjoy in individual parts.

Evidenced by the cascading melodies of "Moment," the wide-swath guitar strums of "Sewer Blues" and the clavinet-bumping "Grifting," Sincerely, Future Pollution is much more concerned with world-building than 2014’s sensuous Hot Dreams in both theme and vision. As they have each release since 2006’s Cedar Shakes, Timber Timbre somehow manage to enhance their ever-evolving sound once again here; this time, they do so by borrowing from the past to craft an album as fresh as it is timeless. Mackenzie Herd

25. Future Islands The Far Field (4AD)

Less immediate than 2014’s Singles but ultimately more rewarding, the hooks on Future Islands’ The Far Field are subtler, the sound a little wearier. Anchored by the soulful, strange vocal stylings of Samuel T. Herring, the band still know how to write songs that will sound great at the outdoor festivals they’ve graduated to since the smash success of "Seasons (Waiting on You)" — and there are several of those here — but the real revelation is the bold steps they’re taking in the face of their success.

The woozy, weird "Candles" and the call-and-response Debbie Harry duet "Shadows" are proof that the band aren’t content to play it safe. By resisting the urge to go bigger, Future Islands have instead gone deeper, to devastating effect. Dave Mix

24. (Sandy) Alex G Rocket (Domino)

Eight albums in, the restless Alex Giannascoli — aka (Sandy) Alex G — refuses to be labeled simply as "indie rock." On Rocket, he tackles it all — bittersweet alt-country ("Bobby"), industrial pseudo-rap ("Brick"), auto-tuned R&B ("Sportstar"), weirdo psych-pop ("Witch"), ramshackle experimental noise ("Horse"), and the list could go on — yet it all still feels oddly cohesive, shrouded in a mysterious lo-fi intimacy narrated by Giannascoli’s melodic and dazed vocal style.

Hints of self-doubt, anger, sarcasm and bliss blend together effortlessly thanks to a strange and freaky concoction of plucky acoustic guitar, screeching synthesizers, dazzling violin, piano, saxophone and even random dogs barking. Rocket readily mutates around unsettling emotions using inventive fictional personas; it’s a curious approach, but it grounds the record to a quietly relatable content, and incites new feelings with each listen. Chris Gee

23. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Flying Microtonal Banana (ATO)

Like most of their previous efforts, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s latest project was tied to a concept from the outset — this time around, microtonality.

Flying Microtonal Banana might be the band’s most ambitious concept album so far, using a collection of microtonal instruments to weave unique melodies and Eastern-flavoured harmonies into the band’s usual frenetic grooves. That experimentation shines on tracks like "Open Water," with riffs that sound like an electrified snake-charmer, and "Billabong Valley," on which lead guitarist and singer Stu Mackenzie’s vocal lines mirror the eerie and hypnotic guitar melodies.

Rather than allowing themselves to be boxed in on Banana, though, the band run wild with the concept, transcending the chromatic scale to pull together one of the best psych-rock experiences of the year. Brandon Choghri

22. Incendiary Thousand Mile Stare (Closed Casket Activities)

Incendiary’s Thousand Mile Stare is a blistering return for the Long Island hardcore outfit. In the four years since their last record, Cost of Living, the music industry has seen some dramatic changes, particularly in relation to the current political climate. With these ten tracks, Incendiary prove that not only are they still relevant, but they’re on the forefront of their scene, leaders in an increasingly anxiety-ridden landscape.

The album’s eye-opening lyrics and gut-busting riffs are perfectly exemplified in "Front Toward Enemy," as frontman Brendan Garrone yells about "Fearing revolution": "They got their trigger fingers moving / The threat of oncoming war." Thousand Mile Stare’s unforgiving interpretation of a genre the band helped build, coupled with the passionate message they continue to spew, help make it one of hardcore’s most important release of 2017 thus far. Griffin Elliot

21. Do Make Say Think Stubborn Persistent Illusions (Constellation)

Do Make Say Think have never made a weak album, but nobody expected the legendary Torontonian instrumental octet to come back with such vital urgency after the longest recording gap in their lifespan. Perhaps it should’ve been clear though — they declare literal "War on Torpor" on Stubborn Persistent Illusions’ opening track. And to back the claim, this music is anything but lethargic or mentally lazy.

Everything we love about the band is present — the brash energy of punk rock, the rhythmic complexity of jazz and Afrobeat, the patient, bold dynamics of classical, and those epic, richly interwoven tapestries of guitar melodies and horn harmonies — but while these pieces share obvious genetic material with the band’s best work, none of it feels like an exercise in cloning. It’s like new sonic lifeforms are evolving from the band’s collective primordial soup to populate heretofore unexplored corners of their distinct sound world.

Beautifully realized with the utmost of love and respect for the act of co-creation and a work that may well be the new high water mark in post-rock, Stubborn Persistent Illusions is an absolute gift to fans of the ineffable magic of musical collaboration. Scott Gray

20. Stormzy Gang Signs & Prayer (#Merky)

For a decade-and-a-half, future-minded hip-hop heads and Anglophiles alike wondered how to get grime over to North American audiences. In the last two years, it’s finally happened, thanks in no small part to Skepta. But while he may have been the one to open the door, absurdly tall South London MC Stormzy has burst through it with enough force to remove hinge from frame.

On Gang Signs & Prayer, Stormzy serves up a perfect blend of crisp, rapid-fire delivery, aggro battle rap, heartbreaking introspection and surprising R&B sensibility. Stormzy is a perfect poster child for the new wave of clever, pop-savvy grime MCs. Chris Dart

19. Cloud Nothings Life Without Sound (Carpark)

Almost every year, an album is released that immediately stands out from the punk-leaning, guitar-slinging pack. It was Beach Slang a couple years ago, and now it’s Cloud Nothings’ turn with Life Without Sound, a record that sheds any of the extraneous influence of the past and find the band at their most cohesive and emotionally resonant yet.

The shift in sound from previous LP Here and Nowhere Else is noticeable. The guitars are a little less ragged, the hooks maybe not as prominent, but while the intensity has been dialled back, it ends up refocusing the group’s vision, and elevates Cloud Nothings’ sound to the next level. Marked by themes of self-evaluation, isolation and desperation, Dylan Baldi’s lyrics feel relatable, without being cliché. Those moments where Baldi’s emotionally driven lyrics hit hardest seem perfectly balanced against the band’s momentous riffs, which burst from every angle out of the speakers feeling alive and purposeful. Anthony Augustine

18. Full of Hell Trumpeting Ecstasy (Profound Lore)

Following a pair of collaborative albums with experimental noise artists the Body and Merzbow, Full of Hell stripped away a lot of the chaotic noise elements found on those releases for a more focused and cohesive record. In just a little over 20 minutes, Trumpeting Ecstasy finds the grindcore powerhouses launching a savage assault of blast beats and ear-piercing shrieks with just enough variation to let each song stand on its own.

Throughout, the band manage to infuse their abrasive tracks and organized havoc with thoughtfulness and care, as evident on songs like "The Cosmic Vein" and the blisteringly fast onslaught of "Branches of Yew." And though they’ve dialled back the experimental noise here, the band still manage to fit those sounds into the delicate yet aggressive title track. Trumpeting Ecstasy is a slab of viciously hostile grindcore not meant for the faint of heart. Joe Smith-Engelhardt

17. Kelly Lee Owens Kelly Lee Owens (Smalltown Supersound)

Within its few seconds, Kelly Lee Owens’s self-titled debut evokes the familiarity of an old favourite. Her spacious, pop-inflected techno is both vivid and economical, wringing nuanced emotions from simple elements. "S.O" and "Lucid" show the patience of a seasoned pro, enchanting listeners with cozy ambience before introducing a beat, while "C.B.M." and "8" go straight for the throat, showcasing thumping bass and mind-bending drone, respectively.

Owens’ concise, focused lyrics feel naturally expressive, as soothing as a well-worn mantra. Yet she refuses to coddle her listeners, and both "Anxi." and "Throwing Lines" hint at internal discord without breaking the record’s placid surface. Kelly Lee Owens is as invigorating as it is inviting, and it only gets more welcoming with each repeated rotation. Matthew Blenkarn

16. Code Orange Forever (Roadrunner)

Leading up to the release of Forever, Code Orange’s third full-length album, many questions orbited the band and their future: Would the shift from Deathwish Inc. to Roadrunner Records dilute their unrelenting sound? Would Code Orange’s loyalty to producer Kurt Ballou begin to yield stagnant and predictable results? Having demonstrated much promise in the past, but never fully delivering on their potential, Forever had to be the band’s best effort yet.

Code Orange answered by punishing all scepticism with nauseatingly visceral riffs, behemoth breakdowns, jarring passages and concussion-inducing percussion. Forever is the band’s heaviest and most menacing album to date, while offering the most diversity, too. Having been released only two weeks into the year, the record will face much competition in the battle for 2017’s best heavy record, but it’s inarguably in the conversation; this shit is thoroughly, aggressively good. Lukas Wojcicki

15. Oddisee The Iceberg (Mello Music Group)

It’s an understatement to say that many of 2017’s headlines have inspired cultural malaise. But, as usual, tense political climates have led to some seriously reflective music. And Oddisee’s latest project, The Iceberg, recently joined the highest echelon of socially conscious rap albums.

The 12-track LP delivers a healthy dose of social commentary, discussing police brutality, immigration, gender inequality and, of course, Donald Trump’s presidency. In such an unpredictable era, an album like The Iceberg helps listeners make sense of the world while also disseminating an important message: You’re not alone.

But storytelling is only part of the battle when putting together a masterful rap project, and like only a handful of other hip-hop artists, Oddisee produces his own beats. Throughout The Iceberg, the 32-year-old pushes the boundaries of the genre by layering unorthodox instrumentation with dense synths and prominent percussion. Imagine a hip-hop track guided by an organ; Oddisee did, and he made it sound dope. Anya Zoledziowski

14. Thundercat Drunk (Brainfeeder)

Like a wild night out featuring several shots of tequila, Drunk is zany and random, an immensely entertaining journey through Thundercat’s colourful mind.

A blend of angelic vocals, quirky lyrics ("I think I left my wallet at the club," he croons) and dizzying bass lines that defy human logic, Drunk has anthems for every variation of inebriation. There’s the fun and fidgety "Tokyo" for the restless drunk, "Drink Dat" for the flirty lush among you and "Lava Lamp" for the more sombre imbiber. "Friend Zone" plays like the gratifying tipsy text you’ll later regret sending, while "Jethro" feels communal and deeply spiritual, like a heart-to-heart between two buzzed strangers at the bar. Featuring clever, full-bodied production from collaborators like Flying Lotus and Soundwave, Drunk is great at first and gets even richer over time, a merry indulgence without the hangover. A. Harmony

13. Run the Jewels Run the Jewels 3 (Independent)

The political ire of nonconformists El-P and Killer Mike has long been at the forefront of their music, and the same can be said of their latest, Run the Jewels 3, a finely executed confrontation of the ruling class and a perfect closer for their album trilogy.

On top of its gorgeous, hard-hitting production, RTJ3 features help from an impressive list of collaborators including Danny Brown, BOOTS, Trina and Kamasi Washington. Run the Jewels have crafted a sound and style that stands alone, and here, it’s sharpened enough to go for the throat. The duo’s ingenuity is recognizable almost immediately, and impossible to duplicate. If their first two records laid the groundwork for battle, RTJ3 finds the rap iconoclasts in the thick of it. Ashley Hampson

12. The xx I See You (Young Turks)

It seems almost contradictory to say that the xx expanding their sound could make their material more intimate — especially given the way they already wore their emotions on their sleeves — but that’s exactly the case with their third album, I See You.

On their first two records, the band matched lovelorn confessions with spare, reverb-heavy guitars, distant drums and the hushed vocal deliveries of Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft. This time around, producer Jamie Smith, fresh off his excellent solo record In Colour, infused the record with his signature sample-driven production style, adding a whole new level of character to the band’s signature sound without distracting from the emotional heft of the songs. The record is easily the band’s most ambitious, but also their most rewarding, featuring gems like Madley Croft’s heartbreaking vocals on "Performance" and the danceable "I Dare You."

Their sound palette has expanded considerably, but so has their conviction as a group, a fact that’s clear from I See You’s beginning to its end. Matt Yuyitung

11. Power Trip Nightmare Logic (Southern Lord)

The "crossover" in crossover thrash is on the continuum of metal to punk, but for Power Trip, there’s a whole other crossover happening — from hardcore underground to metal mainstream. With over 10,000 copies sold, Nightmare Logic is quickly becoming a phenomenon, and with good reason — it’s phenomenal.

While artists worry about a sophomore slump, Power Trip have delivered a sophomore slam dunk, outshining their previous material that is, itself, far from lacklustre. There’s new confidence here: Riley Gale’s powerful snarl is now less reverb-soaked; "Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)" and the title track manage to turn straight-ahead chugs into memorable, headbangable riffs; and the opening groove of "Soul Sacrifice" and the blaring thrash with which "Firing Squad" comes out of the gates are incredible. And that’s just the first half of the album.

Not since Municipal Waste blew "rethrash" open a decade ago with their penchant for partying has a band had a better shot at bringing thrash back to its one-time glory as one of the world’s biggest heavy genres. Bradley Zorgdrager

10. Slowdive Slowdive (Dead Oceans)

Releasing a record is a tricky proposition for any reunited band, let alone one as monumentally adored as Slowdive. Come back half-cocked and you’ll risk disappointing fans; refrain from making anything new, and you’ll leave listeners (and band members alike) wondering what could have been.

The British shoegazers deftly avoid both possibilities with their latest LP (and first in 22 years), a self-titled album filled with woozy atmospherics, ethereal vocals and reverb-drenched guitars that pack the same wallop as crumbling ice shelves.

Slowdive aren’t exactly reinventing themselves here, but with their core songwriters having spent the last two decades in the understated Mojave 3, and the whole band having toured together since 2014, Slowdive is a lean and impressive set of songs that improves upon what they do best. Hell, it might even be the best album of their career; it’s certainly the most fully realized. Matthew Ritchie

9. Joey Bada$$ All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ (Cinematic Music Group/Pro Era)

Joey Bada$$’s second studio LP, All-Amerikkkan Bada$$, was released early this year, debuting at #5 on the Billboard Hot 200. It marked a departure from his debut album; where that record served more as a showcase of his wordplay and an homage to the golden era of hip-hop, this time around, Joey packed his 12-song project with scorching political commentary that aimed to draw awareness from the younger generation of listeners that have come to hold the 22-year-old rapper in high regard.

Alongside releasing political-minded singles "Devastated" and "Land of the Free," Joey claimed that "I was put here on this Earth not only to inspire but to wake people up" in the lead-up to AAB’s release. Having heard its entirety, that makes sense; the album is a defiant assertion of his status as a leader of millennials and a timely collection of (almost) entirely self-produced, anti-establishment anthems Riley Wallace

8. Mac DeMarco This Old Dog (Royal Mountain)

Mac DeMarco, a hero for the kids with his onstage antics and an inspiration to "keep it light" while wearing a pair of seen-better-days red Vans and an equally beatup baseball cap, has become synonymous with goofiness and good times. So when This Old Dog, his third studio album, was announced, it was easy to assume that he’d continue to bring the "jizz jazz" signature sound that he popularized — but he didn’t.

Instead, DeMarco proved to critics and fans alike (likely shocking both a tad) that not only can he pen a great tune, he’s equally capable of bringing the party and pulling at your heartstrings. He’s teased at this sort of softness before, with tracks like "Still Together" from 2 or Salad Days’ "Let My Baby Stay," but This Old Dog’s focuses on sweetly strummed guitars, melodies that provoke nostalgia and lyrics that address love and his estranged father, with a few surprises thrown in (the slinky "On The Level" and bouncy "Baby You’re Out"). It’s a wonderful surprise, and a sweet one, too. Cosette Schulz

7. Jay Som Everybody Works (Polyvinyl)

Melina Duterte has said that her debut album as Jay Som was inspired by Carly Rae Jepsen’s E•MO•TION, a talking point that has reverberated throughout all of her press. True, songs like "Remain" and "One More Time, Please" bear at least some similarity to Jepsen’s more slow-danceable heartbreak anthems, but reducing Everybody Works to this comparison ignores the album’s character and breadth.

"The Bus Song" is an absolutely timeless indie rock sing-along that makes a solid argument for the return of gang vocals, "1 Billion Dogs" is a fuzzed out alterna-banger and "(BedHead)" is ingenious slowcore. The Jepsen comparison is most on-point in that Everybody Works is so perfect that it sounds like it was laboured over by a team of songwriters and hip producers. But it wasn’t — it was recorded by Duterte, alone in her bedroom. Josiah Hughes

6. Drake More Life (Young Money/Cash Money/Republic)

If VIEWS was the angry rebuttable to Drake’s authenticity being challenged, More Life is the realization that introspective and peace-seeking is his most authentic artistic self. While its swollen "playlist" designation allows for a few unnecessary inclusions, the majority of Drake’s tenth full-length project finds him at his absolute finest.

The underlying theme is celebratory, including the sewn-in appraisal for an increasingly varied selection of global influences. For a brief moment a year ago, it looked as if Drake’s unchecked dominance may be coming to an end, a notion that seems ridiculous in retrospect. Emerging as a humble victor suits Drake best, and allows us all to reap the real spoils. Michael J. Warren

5. Mount Eerie A Crow Looked at Me (P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd.)

"Death is real."

In the past two decades that Phil Elverum has been singing about mortality, nothing he’s said before has been as hard-hitting, direct and heavy as these three words. Recorded during the months following the death of his wife, Geneviève Castrée, A Crow Looked at Me is a document of Elverum’s thoughts, fears and reality.

But what makes his eighth Mount Eerie LP so compelling is how it stands as an example of peerless art. Elverum couldn’t have been thinking of his fan base, record label or any musical scene while recording these songs; he was creating music out of pure necessity, as the 11 songs featured on this LP are bereft of choruses, bridges or even a proper rhyming structure. A Crow Looked at Me is an album Elverum almost certainly wishes he never had to make, but alas, death is real, and therefore it exists. This resulting meditation on grief is both stark and stunning. Daniel Sylvester

4. Father John Misty Pure Comedy (Sub Pop)

Father John Misty’s all-encompassing Pure Comedy finds Josh Tillman addressing the absurdity of human life, the effect of technology on the way we connect with others and the inherent meaninglessness of being here, but he does it all with shocking affection, in an Elton John-esque guise.

Far from a cynical polemic, Pure Comedy is a monster of a record that is never as hopeless as it may appear. It tries to shine a light on the possibility of a brighter, happier future by pointing out trivialities like the ridiculous weight we ascribe to our online presence ("Ballad of the Dying Man"), or by holding up a mirror to our strange human existence/experiment on its title track.

In its final moments, during "In Twenty Years or So," Tillman drives home just what we can learn from and do with meaninglessness: Find our own meaning. And as he sings, "I look at you as our second drinks arrive / the piano player’s playing ‘This Must Be The Place,’ and it’s a miracle to be alive," it’s clear that beauty and meaning and love are not so hard to find — even in a world that might suggest otherwise. Matt Williams

3. Feist Pleasure (Universal)

Leslie Feist’s first record in over half-a-decade might just be her best. Somewhere between the delicate sophistication of 2007’s The Reminder and the rougher bombast of 2011’s Metals, Pleasure finds Feist at her most dynamic, weaving timbres as seemingly contrary as woodwinds and gain-y blues guitar into songs that swing dramatically from placid to stormy in seconds — and that’s just in the first five minutes of it.

Even at their loudest, these songs are minimal: "I Wish I Didn’t Miss You" climaxes with Feist’s voice wailing through a watery delay effect over just her acoustic guitar; "Any Party" sounds like one when the gang vocals join her and her guitar for the chorus; and the propulsive "Century" is lent almost all of its urgency by a crackling layer of handclaps. They’re simple ingredients, but in Feist’s deft hands, they sound like pure Pleasure. Stephen Carlick

2. Sampha Process (Young Turks)

Though many listeners may have first become acquainted with Sampha through his guest features with Drake or SBTRKT, the UK native has firmly established himself as a solo artist with Process. It isn’t just his buttery tenor that makes his long-awaited debut LP a standout of this year so far, but his talent as both a writer and producer, too.

Drawing on the process of overcoming his mother’s passing and his own personal hurdles in music-making, emotional strength is a thematic constant across the record’s ten tracks, from the percussive drive of piano and drums on "Blood on Me" to the hushed keys and enveloping pads of closer "What Shouldn’t I Be?"

The most powerful moment of Sampha’s Process comes when he strips the electronic wizardry away, though; the breathtaking ballad "(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano" finds him seated at the ivories to lay bare his love for both his mother and music. Calum Slingerland

1. Kendrick Lamar DAMN. (Interscope/Top Dawg Entertainment)

Given music’s subjectivity, and Exclaim!’s long-standing policy of allowing writers to freely express their opinions, our original review of Kendrick Lamar’s latest caused some expected consternation. It’s an album that was praised by some, and fell short for others. After polling the Exclaim! writer’s pool, the overwhelming consensus was that DAMN. is the most beloved album released in 2017 so far.

Over sonically skeletal production, Lamar bares his truths and insecurities, fleshing out the songs with new layers and textures as he dramatizes the various characters he uses to speak on his behalf. He balances societal heartache and ferocious resilience, serving as a mouthpiece to tell the stories of his generation, as well as those before him and after us — and unapologetically, at that. The war chants of "DNA." and the introspective depth of "DUCKWORTH." offer jolting insights into the lives of young black Americans, while the animated "HUMBLE." and daunting "PRIDE." explore the waves of fear and acceptance that come with that day-to-day existence.

Whether you love DAMN. or not, for all that it stands for thematically, you have to admire Lamar for laying it all out on the table. Erin Lowers

View Full Article Here: Exclaim!’s Top 29 Albums of 2017 So Far

Exclaim!’s Top 29 Albums of 2017 So Far was originally published on CALM | We Drive The Calmest, Strive Regardless

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