2017 in Music

Anything music related. Latest songs, good new bands, and blasts from the past.

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Leestu
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by Leestu »

Album #3
Cable Ties - Cable Ties

Man this album took me by surprise. I'd heard the first three singles but didn't realise the whole album would be so killer. great female led punk with shredding guitars. What a debut!



Song #3
Tiny Little Houses - Garbage Bin


I've been a fan of this band for a few years now. Seen them live a couple of times, they've released a couple of great EPs , but still yet to release an album. That's about to change with their debut coming out in 2 weeks time and this is the lead single.


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numbersix
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by numbersix »

Hahah, Leetsu. What can I say, I totally disagree. Humble is one of the songs of the year for me. I love its simplicity in music, but don't let the lyrics fool you - they're directed inward as much as outward. Kendrick knows better than to just brag. I like Loyalty - it's Rihanna being laid back and effortless and it works. The last three tracks are just exceptional in different way. I don't think it's someone trying to be commercial, it's someone pushing their boundaries even further and it works.

Album #2
Perfume Genius – No Shape


What a u-turn. Perfume Genius’s last album was strong, brave, defiant, a sort of warped, innovative punk album hidden in the hushed electronica. This is another brave record, dedicated to love and dedication itself. The ambient music now sees influence in the likes of Prince, and it’s an astonishing record.




Track #2
Dirty Projectors – Up in Hudson


David Longstreth of Dirty Projectors basically fired the band, and made this record solo. It’s an account of his breakup with band member Amber Coffman, and while the album struggles to be as innovative as previous attempts, this beautiful epic track takes you on a journey of their rise and fall.


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Leestu
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by Leestu »

Album #2
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Flying Microtonal Banana


What can I say? I am a gizzhead. I am obsessed with probably the hardest working band in the music industry currently. 4 albums released this year (so far...there is still 2 days left), all with different concepts, seemingly touring non stop, here in Australia, as well as touring America and Europe (I've managed too see them live six times in just over 2 years), hosting and running their own touring music festival, one member runs and owns their record label, another member has his own band , The Murlocs, who are doing reasonably well. I don't know when they find time to sleep. Anyway this album explores microtones - the tones in between the standard European musical notes. They even had instruments specifically made for this album, including the guitar that the album is named, the Flying Microtonal Banana. I was expecting a lot from this record but it was amazingly even better than I hoped for. An outsatnding album that is a fun and interesting listen that takes you into another world. Nuclear Fusion is probably the most accessible song on the album, but Open Water is probably my favourite. Melting is classic Gizz, but microtonal style, Sleep Drifter is also a great example of what they are doing with microtones, Rattlesnake and Doom City are just a lot of fun, and it's great to hear Ambrose on lead vocals instead of Stu on Billabong Valley.



Song #2
Gold Connections - New Religion


I actually don't know much about this band except that they are from the same local music scene as Car Seat Headrest, and that their EP was produced, or remastered, or something like that, by Will Toledo, and that this song is awesome! I cannot find a good version on youtube - the sound quality just sounds a bit off, so I have provided a spotify link -
https://open.spotify.com/track/6pL6JSfmf1NMFizck5vfaG - otherwise make do with what there is on youtube.


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numbersix
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by numbersix »

Album #1
Protomartyr – Relatives in Descent


The Detroit band can now retire happy – after 3 attempts they have finally hit the top spot in my Yearly List. This is possibly their best collection yet, with Joe Casey’s baritone bellowing at its most powerful, taking on the state of the nation and addressing the concept of unknowable truths. The music is stunning, the rhythm section twisting and turning in wonderful ways, with the band pushing their boundaries a little, such as on the synth-driven Night-Blooming Cereus. And Half Sister must be their most impassioned, anthemic tune to date. Protomartyr are a band who have taken their influences and made something unique, and are constantly pushing their sound forward in exciting ways. They are my favourite band of the decade.




Track #1
Arcade Fire – Put Your Money on Me


2017 wasn’t a great year for The Arcade Fire. Their fake “fake news” publicity campaign for their new album Everything Now didn’t go down too well, nor did the reviews of this once golden boy group. And it’s true, the record is a disappointing collection, taking one aspect of the previous album (social media isolation) but without the exciting range of writing and styles to achieve anything interesting. If Reflektor was too ambitious, this wasn’t ambitious enough. Still, out of the compost came this beautiful track. Unlike the album’s title tune, this actually does manage to blend indie rock with Abba-influenced pop sensibilities, and it’s a damn fine anthem to love.


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Leestu
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by Leestu »

Caught up on my listening.
Fever Ray - just like The Knife interesting enough to keep my attention in a genre I don't really get into...so that's a tick of approval from me
Mount Kimbie - same as above...I will check the album out
Downtown Boys - excellent! best song I haven't heard before
Sufjan Stevens - typical Sufjan...it's fine...treads a fine line with boring or not but ends up on the right side
Perfume Genius - love Slip Away, a couple of other songs on the album are really good, but some filler too...same pattern as his other albums even though each is very different from each other. Still good enough to make my top 100 albums for 2017
Dirty Projectors - never really got into them but I really liked this song. I like epic songs that go somewhere
Protomartyr - on my to listen to list but A Private Understanding is a fantastic song that I've been listening to a bit this year. I guessed this would be in your top 10.
Arcade Fire - as usual I am on the opposite side of most. I thought this was a great album. The first Arcade Fire album I have ever really liked. Although Funeral is finally starting to grow on me. Interestingly, for me Put Your Money On Me is probably one of my least liked songs on the album. There I go being contrarian again. :roll: :lol:

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numbersix
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by numbersix »

And King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have released their 5th album of the year...

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Leestu
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by Leestu »

numbersix wrote:And King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have released their 5th album of the year...
...and it's great...how can an album of songs that just didn't quite fit on their four themed albums this year be so good...maybe not a cohesive album but sill all great songs for a solid 8/10.

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Leestu
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by Leestu »

Album #1
Sorority Noise - You're Not As ____ As You Think


Emo is not a dirty word. Not when it's this great. A lyrical album dealing with death, loss, and the questioning of faith, that also rocks hard. To me it sounds like you can hear the heart, soul, and passion that went into writing and recording this.



Song #1
Sorority Noise - No Halo


Released in January this was my first favourite song of 2017, and throughout the year nothing knocked it off top spot.


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Geezer
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by Geezer »

Leestu! I'm so glad I could introduce you to Sorority noise and to see them top your list makes me happy. They won't top mine, but I think they'll make the list. Lots of sorting out left to do though!
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man. - The Dude

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Leestu
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by Leestu »

Yes, it's thanks to you Geezer that I got into Sorority Noise. That's why I appreciate those that contibute to this list every year. Speaking of which, where's Surfer? I missed his top 25 on facebook this year. I always pick up a couple of great albums from him as well.

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numbersix
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by numbersix »

Making my way through your list, Leetsu, in reverse oder. Sorority Noise are okay - damn you Geezer for corrupting Leetsu's taste.

Really loved Gold Connections - just listened to the whole EP. Damn, that little shit Will toldedo is talented.

Also liked Cable Ties, although it took a while to get used to the vocals.

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Leestu
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by Leestu »

Yeah I like the Gold Connections Ep. Faith in Anyone is also an excellent song. I listened to Relatives In Decent. It's their best album so far. A Private Understanding is such a great song, and I enjoyed the whole album. Their other two were a bit hit and miss for me.

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JohnErle
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by JohnErle »

As per tradition, I listened to the #1s of anyone who took the time to post them here, but you'll probably wish I hadn't. I've got a nasty cold right now, so this might come off as extra snarky. I blame the meds.

But before I turn Six and Leestu into my best buds, I have one more band to add that I forgot about before. Brownout released another album of their Brown Sabbath side project, putting a Latin spin on Black Sabbath classics, and I enjoyed it as much as the first. I wasn't sure how well it would work the second time around once the novelty had worn off, but their revved-up version of Supernaut is just plain fun. The uptempo tunes tend to be the ones I enjoy most, so I kinda wish they'd expand their repertoire and tackle Brown Maiden next.



Now, on to the #1s

Arcade Fire – I'm not sure if I didn't hear about this new album, or heard about it but didn't care then immediately forgot it existed. I also ignored the latest from The New Pornographers, so they're not the only Canadian Indie Rock ex-darlings I've grown indifferent to. The song is pretty good, but sounded more like a mid-tempo, mid-album filler track than a single, and it lacks the wow factor that made their early stuff so exhilarating. Like most people, I've given up on them ever delivering another Funeral, but another The Suburbs would be better than nothing, so I'll give the album a shot now that I know it's out there. I was hearing some Portishead in that synth line, then I saw that someone from Portishead was involved in the production.

Protomartyr – This is something I might have liked in my early 20s, but those days are long gone. This is the kind of music that takes me to a dark place then abandons me there, wrapped in twine. I'm not surprised the Nick Cave fan likes it.

Sorority Noise – This is something I might have listened to in my late teens, before I tried to impress my college friends by listening to bands like Protomartyr. Where you hear raw passion I hear slick, obvious formula. Still, No Halo almost rises above the cliches of the genre, and you can almost hear the epic it might have been. Too bad it's so horribly produced. When they add that extra layer of guitars in the chorus to try and take the song to the next level, there's no where for it to go because the volume on everything was maxxed out from the very beginning.

And now that I've had my annual rant about The Loudness Wars, I feel closure.

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silversurfer19
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by silversurfer19 »

Hey guys, sorry I've note been around much lately and haven't had a chance to post anything in this thread. Personal issues have kind of taken over my life over the last month or so after my dad died of cancer, so things like my advent calendar on Facebook took a back seat. I have listened to a lot of music over the past year, however, and a little bit of that has popped up on this thread too, so I will endeavour to reveal my top ten records from 2017 in the coming days while also taking the time to listen to some of the records in this thread that either didn't appeal on first listen or I have been unable to get a hold of at all. Looking forward to it!

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numbersix
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Re: 2017 in Music

Post by numbersix »

So sorry to hear about your dad, dude.

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