Epicmafia

Top 5 Albums of 2017

almost 7 years

here's my favs

1/ Ulver - The Assassination of Julius Caesar

Catchy yet moody synthpop in the style of Tears for Fears or Depeche Mode from the one time black metal gods. Lyrics are occasionally a bit awkward but the arrangements are just so good that I don't think it's that much of a negative.

2/ Idles - Brutalism

Hardcore punk rage that not only is well targeted but actually comes in the form of well written songs for once.

3/ Laibach - Also Sprach Zarathustra

Laibach return to peak Wagnerian form with a fine set of sinister soundscapes.

4/ King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Flying Microtonal Banana

Easily their strongest of their four albums this year, for sure their least gimmicky theme and one that they manage to incorporate best into their sound.

5/ Brockhampton - Saturation II

Finally, some good fuсking hip hop for this year. Both projects are pretty good but I'm giving this one the nod by a hair.

So ye, post your top 5s, critcise my tastes or do both, whatever makes you happy!

Do you rate my picks?

Who the hell are these bands anyway??

Yeah! Great Taste Hark!

No you fackin' pleb!

debaser

almost 7 years

Greninja says

can someone make a solid and persuasive argument for me to listen to the national because i've listened to like 3 albums by them and they were all bad

i’ll give it a shot. if ya don’t like it then that’s fine you shouldn’t feel like you have to

Sonically, they’ve had a decent evolution from bland to dark to actually really pretty. With High Violet, what I used to consider their best album, they incorporated a massive set of instrumentation that fleshed our their songwriting skills and forced them to write their most ambitious (and strongest) songs to date while still remaining within the poppy “the national”isms. the punchy mechanical drumming is very impressive, and the way the other instruments layer around a clear-cut post-punk song is very admirable. also the production is arguably some of the best in indie rock today with aaron dessner. vocally, Matt is one of my favorites in indie rock and that’s just because I’m a sucker for deep voices

this new album changed a lot of things though. it feels like a huge landscape, the National is more experimental than they’ve ever been. they’ve got a guitar solo in there somewhere, lots of long synth-heavy songs that go way beyond typical national boundaries, and just an overall atmosphere that I found so much stronger than usual national albums. it’s like they’re ready to explode at any point, and when they actually do so it’s so rewarding. idk, no other album I heard this year felt like each song had a lot of hidden production and instrumental gems that revealed themselves with every listen, and for that reason I listened to it more than any other album in 2017

sadgirl

almost 7 years

Greninja says

can someone make a solid and persuasive argument for me to listen to the national because i've listened to like 3 albums by them and they were all bad

You didn't even like Boxer or trouble will find me wtf? None of it?

groundhogday

almost 7 years

dark matter by randy Newman is the number four album of 2017

groundhogday

almost 7 years

Greninja says

can someone make a solid and persuasive argument for me to listen to the national because i've listened to like 3 albums by them and they were all bad

listen to randy newmans new album instead

groundhogday

almost 7 years

Greninja says

yeasayer says

Greninja says

it's probably bad that i think "new york i love you but you're bringing me down" is one of his best songs since it has virtually none of what makes lcd soundsystem enjoyable

this song is perfect and one thing i really have to always give them credit for is how impeccable their album closers are.

james murphy truly knows how to capture a bittersweet mood

james mcmurtry

deletedalmost 7 years

can someone make a solid and persuasive argument for me to listen to the national because i've listened to like 3 albums by them and they were all bad

projectmatt

almost 7 years

turn out the lights by julien baker is probably in my top 3 for this year but i havent heard people talk about her all that much

science fiction/sleep well beast/flowerboy/american dream were all fantastic

also a crow looked at me is fantastic too but i have no idea how to grade it/rank it

deletedalmost 7 years

that's how i felt when i first heard home, which i always thought was due to the fact that it was The End Of LCD Soundsystem but, as it turns out, james murphy is a liar (who cucked me into buying tickets for the this is happening tour under the pretense of never having another chance to see them) and it wasn't the end yet it's STILL a really beautiful song that hits me every time i hear it.

deletedalmost 7 years

yeasayer says

Greninja says

it's probably bad that i think "new york i love you but you're bringing me down" is one of his best songs since it has virtually none of what makes lcd soundsystem enjoyable

this song is perfect and one thing i really have to always give them credit for is how impeccable their album closers are.

james murphy truly knows how to capture a bittersweet mood

deletedalmost 7 years

Greninja says

it's probably bad that i think "new york i love you but you're bringing me down" is one of his best songs since it has virtually none of what makes lcd soundsystem enjoyable

this song is perfect and one thing i really have to always give them credit for is how impeccable their album closers are.

groundhogday

almost 7 years

notes of blue is the number three album of 2017

Alex

almost 7 years

Greninja says

it's probably bad that i think "new york i love you but you're bringing me down" is one of his best songs since it has virtually none of what makes lcd soundsystem enjoyable

why would this be a bad thing, it's a beautiful song

that's like saying i'm not a real radiohead fan because i think their best song is life in a glasshouse

deletedalmost 7 years

it's probably bad that i think "new york i love you but you're bringing me down" is one of his best songs since it has virtually none of what makes lcd soundsystem enjoyable

groundhogday

almost 7 years

dog by charlie parr is the number two album of 2017

groundhogday

almost 7 years

nobody wants to be you by Dan reeder is my number one album of 2017

groundhogday

almost 7 years

i guess I listened to the dan reeder thing

groundhogday

almost 7 years

spotify said i listened to 140000 minutes of music or something like that but i don't think i listened to a full new album

Alex

almost 7 years

debaser says

Alex says

john goodbar, my dude, what is up

sorry to disappoint but this isn’t goodbar :/ i’ll pass a hello to john though, alex

this is like when i found out santa wasn't real

Alex

almost 7 years

i am abiding by my lifetime policy on LCD Soundsystem music and waiting 6 months to judge american dream because without fail there will be a song on that album that speaks to me and makes me weepy at some point in that timeframe and i haven't figured out which one it will be yet

groundhogday

almost 7 years

you may be better off listening to american idiot

debaser

almost 7 years

Alex says

john goodbar, my dude, what is up

sorry to disappoint but this isn’t goodbar :/ i’ll pass a hello to john though, alex

deletedalmost 7 years

so i was gonna listen to american dream but yall really are giving me some sky high expectations here

Alex

almost 7 years

john goodbar, my dude, what is up

debaser

almost 7 years

I think my list didn’t hit on hip-hop that much this was a great year for underground hip-hop. Uncommon NASA, Quelle Chris, Billy Woods, Milo and ESPECIALLY Open Mike Eagle all had some amazing albums

debaser

almost 7 years

also fmb was definitely best king gizz album of the year, open water is the best thing they’ve written that i’ve heard