#Ash is holding her the same way I hold my backpack on the subway | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

morechunesforyourheadtop · 7 years

Text

Top 10 Albums of 2017

Not even halfway through 2017, and it seems like most major music based websites are pumping out their lists of what they choose to be the best music of the year. I’ve never understood the rush to get these released so quickly, but never one to not ride the wave, here are my top 10 albums of 2017 so far.

10. Gharly Bliss - Guppy

With only one song lasting longer than 3:30 and the entire album being under 30 minutes, guppy makes full use of it’s short run. Hailing from New York, New York, Gharly Bliss is cut from the same grain that the best sugar-coated indie rock groups were in the mid 90′s; like a sunflower on a penthouse windowsill, lead singer Eva Hendricks’ voice rides the tightrope of being sickly sweet and not having the panache necessary to front a band this sunny. Throwing this on in the background makes for a lighthearted short listen that would best be enjoyed beach/pool-side, but on a deeper listen the lyrics aren’t what would be expected on a first take; this album is filled with moments of shocking clarity, a sentence or three takes the listener to a crystal clear moment in time. For example, Eva in “Ruby”, describing both her love life and her fainting issues.

Guardrail, taking the stairs Passed out on the subway with blood in my hair I guess I need a ride I’ll check with my boyfriend and see if it’s fine

On standout track “Percolator”, we dive into the mindset that is becoming more and more of the defining characteristic of Generations Y and Z, and the same reasons that has made Lil Uzi Vert’s “Xo Tour Llif3″ a top 10 Billboard hit: the outward depressive nature that can’t be accurately pinned as completely true or extremely exaggerated.

Well, I think I’m still breathing While my parents are sleeping I am sick, but I’m speaking My boyfriend is freaking My conscious is fucked and my judgment is leaking and I’m gonna die in a getaway car I haven’t tried, but it sounds too hard

This album can be as deep and meaningful or as lighthearted and summery as the listener can want/handle. Depressive, romantic, and beaten down, all wrapped up in a sparkling box with a glittery bow. The debut album from Charly Bliss is a fantastic one, and one of the best of 2017.

9. Sampha - Process

The first time I heard Sampha’s voice on SBTRKT’s self-titled album. Always a fan of Future Garage, I was just settling in to this album when the second song, “Hold On”, started playing. The Mbira started, and Sampha arrived to the party along with a kick drum. Hearing him talk about a woman ashamed of the affair she’s having with him was ethereal, and had to be replayed as soon as it ended.

With a voice of an angel and a great choice in his lyrics, I went on an internet trip looking for everything he has gotten his hands on. He has been featured on electronic and hip-hop songs, but after years of waiting, his first album finally released.

Process is a very melancholic project, dealing with the death of his parents (His father passed when he was ten, his mother less than two years ago) just as much as his own fears and insecurities (finding a lump in his throat with no known cause). The scared, alone, confused feeling in this project is one that many, if not all, of listeners can empathize with.

In just four lines, we hear a verse, just four lines, that showcase a cornucopia of feelings about his mother’s passing

An angel by her side, all of the times I knew we couldn’t cope They said that it’s her time, no tears in sight, I kept the feelings close And you took hold of me and never, never, never let me go ‘Cause no one knows me like the piano in my mother’s home

In closing song “What Shouldn’t I Be”, Sampha is divided on what he is and what is wanted of him, by his family and by himself:

Family ties Put them 'round my neck I’m walkin’ 'round high A ghost by my side Challenges come

There are feelings of guilt, distrust, confusion, loneliness, and many others on this album. In 40 minutes, we are given a look into Sampha’s personal diary, and get the feeling like the surface is just being scratched.

8. Slowdive - Slowdive

22 years since Pygmalion released, Slowdive return with a new, self-titled album. It would’ve been easy to go the same route that earned them critical success and fame with another shoegaze album, but slowdive is much more inline with Beach House and Cocteau Twins than it is My Bloody Valentine. Don’t misunderstand; this is not a slight in the slightest. This is a fantastic dream pop album, with breathy vocals and fantastic guitar work.

The instrumentation on this album is fantastic, with each new listen unwrapping a new part of a song that went unnoticed on the last run-through. On the opener, the guitar riff is just seven notes, but the sixth goes up an entire octave, giving the song a completely different feeling than it would be without it, just in one note.

Perhaps the biggest sign of change is the last song on the album, “Falling Ashes”. One of the slowest, quietest songs in Slowdive’s arsenal, most of the 8 minutes is vocal-less, consisting of a piano in the forefront with a guitar barely audible in the background. Depending on a person’s viewpoint, it’s either a great end to an album that sends the band looking forwards, or a boring, end to a disappointing album. Slowdive doesn’t care which is the choice; after 22 years, they know exactly what they’re doing, and it’s working.

7. Laura Marling - Semper Femina

Semper Femina is unabashedly feminine-the title is Latin for “always a woman”- and there isn’t a male pronoun in sight, the only men being discussed in length are various fathers. This isn’t a one noted album because of it, however. Each song seems like a little personal story, some wrapped up more than others, each a window into a personal moment; a prime example is the end of “Always This Way”, where Laura has lost a close one, and has nothing to show for it.

Now she’s gone and I’m all alone And she will not be replaced Stare at the phone, try to carry on But I have made my mistake At the end of the day At least I can say I made my own way And my debts have been paid

At the end of Nouel, we see Marling tying the project’s name into a reoccurring situation in this album: loss and confusion

I do well to serve Nouel My only guiding star Fickle and changeable Semper femina

The instrumentation in this album are very simple and tame, consisting mostly of finger-picked folk guitar, violins and plucked double bass, contributing to the peaceful folk ambiance she has created. This album is the soothing and relaxing while being thoughtful at the same time, and Laura Marling hasn’t done better than this.

6. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked At Me

Let’s be blunt here; this is one of the most devastating albums in recent years. Phil Elverum, who records on his own under the moniker Mount Eerie, unwraps his feelings in a somber way that is on the same level as Sufjan Steven’s Carrie and Lowell and The Antler’s Hospice. His wife, Geneviève, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a disease that kills 80% of patients within a year. She died three months after her 35th, 1 ½ years after the birth of their daughter.

In the first 2 minutes, in the opening song “Real Death”, Elverum brings the reader to tears with a crushingly photo-realistic moment of realization of loss

Crusted with tears, catatonic and raw I go downstairs and outside and you still get mail A week after you died a package with your name on it came And inside was a gift for our daughter you had ordered in secret And collapsed there on the front steps I wailed A backpack for when she goes to school a couple years from now You were thinking ahead to a future you must have known deep down would not include you Though you clawed at the cliff you were sliding down Being swallowed into a silence that is bottomless and real

There is very little instrumental work in this album. Each breath, each strum of the guitar; this is just as much therapy and release for Phil as it is music for the listener.

In “Swims”, the anguish of the loss turns into fear of the unknown and loss in general, talking to his daughter:

We are all always so close to not existing at all Except in the confusion of our survived-bys grasping at the echoes Today our daughter asked me if mama swims I told her, “Yes, she does And that’s probably all she does Now.” What was you is now borne across waves Evaporating

This album is very, very tough to go through on the first listen without stopping. I definitely cried listening to this. It’s an experience, but an experience that’s as beautiful as it is crushing.

5. Jens Lekman - Life Will See You Now

Before getting into the depth of this write-up, I have to get something off my chest: this has to be the worst album art for an album I’ve loved in, well, probably ever.

Hopefully the artwork doesn’t turn you off of giving this a chance, because underneath this terrible interesting artwork is an album bursting with diverse instrumentals and dense lyrics. This album brings to mind a less wild Sufjan Stevens, but is still a clear standout from the indie pop crowd. The way Jens is able to turn his voice into this warbling, dynamic device takes songs from picturesque to cinema-quality. The most remarkable part of this album is that it knows exactly when to bring something new into a song when it is needed most. For example, in “What’s That Perfume You Wear”,

Got a miniature shampoo bottle on my shelf From when we stayed at a hotel And one whiff of that and I’m back there with her Coming out of the shower, she’s still in bed fixing her hair Says, “Let’s go somewhere” I can smell her sun lotion From the window the jasmine And the salt from the ocean

Lekman start speeding up, almost rapping for the first three lines, and right when he slows down a clapping background comes into play.

For such an upbeat, almost tropical sounding album, these lyrics can pack a punch, and will need to be unwrapped with multiple listens. In the beginning of the next song, “Our First Fight”, we hear a couple’s first fight:

We just had our first fight Unresolved, we head back out into the night Putting my face back on as we drive Not a word is spoken, not a blink of an eye And in my head my thoughts go nuts Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut Maybe our love was hanging by a thread Shouldn’t have showed you how I really felt

In eight lines, so much information is unveiled: an unresolved fight, the head-swimming feeling that so many of us have felt in a relationship, and an image of what’s to come next. Jens Lekman packs so much of this into a 41 minute project that it’s a bit overwhelming. There are topics of lost loves, confusion about expressing love between two male friends, and many more. Each listen brings something new to the party, and I haven’t felt any reason to turn this project off on each listen. This album is truly as good as it’s cover art is bad.

4. Perfume Genius - No Shape

Mike Hadreas’ new album starts off in an unexpected manner; the first sound we here is a simple piano. Those familiar with Mike’s work expect bigger, more flourishing backdrops, so this is a change. “Otherside” is a hymn at it’s core, and after this chorus

Rocking you to sleep From the Otherside

is when the album unfolds. An explosion of noise follows suit, and the listener is strapped in for the best album Hadreas has ever released.

On the last Perfume Genius album, Too Bright, sexuality and bodies were painted in a negative, decaying light, thrown into a basement of depression and fear. In No Shape, Mike’s sexuality is unabashed, beautiful and proud. The best example would be on “Slip Away”:

Don’t look back, I want to break free If you’ll never see 'em coming You’ll never have to hide Take my hand, take my everything If we only got a moment Give it to me now

This album is art-pop at it’s finest: instrumentation in the beginning of “Sides” compliments Mike discussing his Crohn’s disease in a very fast manner, a less graceful singer would stumble over their own tongue, but here it is effortless manner.

Burn off every trace I wanna hover with no shape I wanna feel the days go by Not stack up Running up that hill I’m gonna call out every name Until the one I’m meant to take Sends her dove

For every breathy vocal and emotion belted out on this album, the closer, “Alan”, dedicated to his lover Alan Wyffals, is otherworldly. An unusually low voice starts the song off, but the chorus of

You need me Rest easy I’m here How weird

showcases Mike’s jaw-dropping vocal talents; the light touch on “you need me” shifts the change from deep to high, and “how weird” has so much emotion, so much feeling in just two words that it’s a true tearjerker.

Every album released under the Perfume Genius moniker seems to be unbeatable-until the next one releases. This project is simply a beautiful piece of work, and is seemingly un-toppable. Until Mike one-ups himself again, this audio masterpiece deserves to be listened to hundreds of times.

3. The xx - I See You

The xx’s self titled album in 2009 was one of the biggest moments in music in recently history. The extremely minimalist instrumentals and breathy, barely-there vocals quickly launched The xx into stardom, critically receiving praise and becoming a commercial hit. Since then, the group released a follow-up project in 2012, Coexist, that wasn’t treated as well, mainly citing that there wasn’t enough risks taken, more a doubling down on what worked on the self titled album without the same highs.

During this time, the man responsible for the drum machine and samples Jamie Smith (better known as Jamie xx) was getting very well known for his solo work. First a reworking of spoken word artist Gil-Scott Heron’s I’m New Here, and in 2015 a solo debut titled In Colour, both received very well. His work is a sharp turn from The xx’s usual sound, filled with a cornucopia of different noises, be it old school drum ‘n’ bass to dancehall influences to even a Young Thug feature.

When The xx announced a new album and released the first single in early November of last year, it was clear what direction was taking: with Jamie xx layering flickering hummingbird drums with synths, they were pushing this album into their breakout star and letting him set the stage.

This isn’t to say the other two members, Romy Madley Croft (vocals, guitar), Oliver Sim (bass, vocals), were thrown to the side. The lyrics work seamlessly with the uplifted production;

My name on your lips Your air in my lungs Drowned in oxygen Now you’ve set the scene High on intimacy Drawing me above

The way Romy is able to turn ‘lips’ into three breathy syllables works fantastically with the David Lang sample.

Like “Our Song” off of Coexist, the final song on I See You, “Test Me” is also about the relationship Oliver and Romy have together. A gloomy, sparse, spacey production sets the stage for a bend-but-don’t-break conversation;

Just take it out on me It’s easier than saying what you mean Test me, see if I break Tell me this time you’ve changed I’ll take it out on you It’s easier than talking it through Test me, see if I stay How could I walk the other way?

After this second verse, the last two minutes on the album is reserved for Jamie: a warped sample with a looped drum play, with almost alien sounding vocals from Oliver coming in sporadically. The last song seems to almost sum up the past few years of this group: rough, almost shattering, but beautiful and always brutally honest and sincere.

2. (sandy) Alex G - Rocket

The cover of (sandy) Alex G’s newest record Rocket, at a glance, is unassuming and relatively banal. A goat stands in a pasture with candy cane balloon letters hovering overhead. Much like (sandy) Alex G’s music, the quirks of this cover become more apparent the longer you inspect it. You first might notice the two sets of horns: one straight and pointy, traditionally expected from a standard goat. Another set menacingly furls behind like a ram, and points directly at the viewer. Next, your gaze drifts down to meet the goat’s eyes. They are misshapen, unlevel, and weird looking even by goat standards. Its ears are even misshapen and unsymmetrical. What is this all about? Why is a goat in the middle of a field, and what does it have to do with Rocket?

Every part of an album can be twisted and given different meanings, but my take on it is this: this album is probably the most collaborative Alex has released, which is represented in the odd goat above. Different backing vocals accompany the first handful of songs, giving this a different sound. Alex G has been known for a very lo-fi type of sound, but for most of this album that is not the case. This album takes a more folks-y turn compared to past efforts, and that works out fantastically. In the third verse of “Bobby”, guest singer Emily Yacina sings delicately while Alex takes the front, illustrating a sadness bleeding over into his art, over a simple guitar strum:

I paint pictures of my heart The colors blue and purple start To bleed into an endless dark It’s only you it’s only you

The best part of this album is the fact it isn’t possible to group the entirety of it in one box. “Brick” wouldn’t be out of place in a Sonic Youth album, a wall of noise rock crashing into the listener, with Alex screaming about being sick of the lies his friends tell him:

You think I don’t but I always fucking do Every time you tell me something untrue Puts a brick in the wall between me and you

the song immediately after, “Sportstar”, an autotuned ballad in the same vein of Frank Ocean’s “Nikes”, who Alex G worked with on Ocean’s Blonde. This song is parallel to “Bobby”, in another song dealing with wanting someone desperately and not feeling reciprocated.

My dream Let me play on your team I’m clean Let me tie your Nikes Holding on for sport star Let me wear your jersey If you want to hurt me Hurt me

This album is all over the place, and normally most people don’t have the talent to make all of these puzzle pieces fit. (sandy) Alex G does it, and makes it seem effortless at the same time.

1. Sorority Noise - You’re Not As _____ As You Think

Emo music is a very diverse genre; a lot of people are stuck in the mindet of Hot Topic bands, stereotypical ‘woe is me’ bands that don’t say anything of value, just that their life sucks. Being honest, Emo isn’t my favorite genre, a lot of it is too rough for my preference. This Sorority Noise album, however, is the perfect balance between heavy guitars and drums and somber, melancholy lyrics about deaths of close ones and the feelings that are a result of it.

Lead singer Cam Boucher has had two of his best friends pass away since the release of the last Sorority Noise album, 2014′s Joy, Departed, one to suicide and one to a heroin overdose. As such, this album takes an extreme jump, in lyrics and overall quality, compared to their sophomore project. The jump taken between that album and this one isn’t very different the one Brand New made a decade earlier between Deja Entendu and The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me: A band who had already began moving past the dreaded generic pop-punk threshold into a great band, and then decided to really crack open their brains and spill the contents onto the lyric booklet.

One of the most noticeable differences in Joy, Departed and YNA_AYT is the wording. Lyrically, based on the friends that Cam has lost to suicide between their last big release, it feels like like Cam feels genuinely guilty for how candid he was about mental illness in their first two albums. It seems like he kind of feels like some of his past songs romanticize suicidal thoughts and he doesn’t want his music to carry that idea ever again. Sure, there are references to Cam’s personal experience with depression and anxiety, but they are usually followed up with “I’m going to be okay” or some self-help advice. Near the end of “Disappeared”, for example:

I let my hair down today And I took a shower for the first time in what felt like weeks I felt my hair falling out And I felt myself falling down But that can’t seem to be the reason I can’t sleep when I’m alone It’s getting better And it’s hardly getting worse It’s hard to think about the things that make it all hurt

A more mature take on these topics make for a much better album. Life is always going to have bad moments, and I’ve never dealt with anything in the ballpark of this. Hearing these songs with the ever-so-slight moments of “it’s not going to be this terrible forever if I work on them” is a major part of the emo albums that I am crazy about. This album takes life’s worst moments and describes them in vivid detail without being over melancholic about them.

With that being said, that’s my top 10 albums of 2017 as of now. If there’s anything you’d suggest, I’d love to hear it. That goes for critiques as well.

Much Love, Tyler Schweitzer.

#music #rankings #album of the year #reblog

0 notes