best of (ALBUMS #30-26) August's New Rules of 2017

[August]

 

What a beautiful woman. I missed her this year.

 

I don't post on this here nuATRL much, but since I make a list of my favorite music for my own use anyways, I decided to publish it! This was an album-centric year for me, so I can say I have my 30 favorite albums and an undecided amount of favorite songs I'll list for you guys.

 

Off the top of my head? Here were my ten favorite songs last year!

 

1. "Cranes in the Sky", Solange

2. "Formation", Beyoncé

3. "Ultralight Beam", Kanye West

4. "Into You", Ariana Grande

5. "Daddy Lessons", Beyoncé

6. "Vice", Miranda Lambert

7. "Borders", M.I.A.

8. "Kiss It Better", Rihanna

9. "The Big Big Beat", Azealia Banks

10. "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)", Dua Lipa

 

Feel free to pimp your own lists here, because I'm always open to hearing and discovering new stuff via Best Of's. 

Edited December 21, 2017 by August

[and.y]

Serving taste in your best songs list last year. "Formation" was my favorite of last year.

Cranes, Ultralight Beam, Into You, Daddy Lessons, Borders, Kiss It Better, The Big Big Beat, Blow Your Mind

I'm excited for your thread!

 

[madonnas]

Hi 

[August]

I suppose this won't ever finish if I never start, huh? Hereeeee we go! 

 

30. HAIM, Something to Tell You

 

Considering Days Are Gone was one of, if not my absolute favorite album from 2013, I had high expectations for Something to Tell You. Many are of the opinion that this album is a complete sophomore slump/HAIM is over/ew they're best friends with Trump Swift!!1, but I really enjoyed it. I think this album is sort of tainted when compared to Days Are Gone, and I can sort of understand the complaints that there's not much growth after a four-year hiatus, but I think it stands alone pretty well when you don't put them in direct competition.

 

I will admit this album is very hit-or-miss, as I don't think there's any standout tracks, but I think that's the point. They all kind of work together in terms of an enjoyable, cohesive album rather than, dare I say it... "quick little singles". If you like one song, you're probably going to like the album, and I fall under that umbrella: I'll always be a sucker for the sisters' riffs/harmonies/hooks. They're definitely a niche artist and this is their sound, so you either like it or leave it I suppose. Added points for this being one of the soundtracks of my summer + extra extra points for the fact I drove all the way to Santa Barbara to see them live, but Something to Tell You holds a pretty special place in my heart.

 

29. Khalid, American Teen

 

Khalid was pretty unavoidable me for this year. Even before his song with Logic became a hit, everyone I knew was ranting and raving about him. I think this came out at a pretty appropriate time of my life, considering up until September of this year, I was a teen surrounded by other teens. I managed to hold out on the hype until I was dragged to his free concert at Santa Monica pier, which did a pretty damn good job at making me a fan. I think he's charming and a great live performer, and have seen him another time since, so I very quickly fell for the spell that is American Teen.

 

I won't say much about the... affectations? Weird put on accent? but the vocals are serviceable. I appreciate the pop/R&B hybrid Khalid has carved out for himself and I enjoy the vibe and production of the album where others might think it's too "generic" or "safe". I think it really works for the type of music he's trying to make. I don't think Khalid's trying to make an experimental 100 Metacritic score album for the Pitchforkers, so this feels like a completely sincere and honest record. Not sure I can go on and on about how relatable this is like some of my peers, because... #str8pplproblems, but I think this is an incredible piece of work by a teenager, for teenagers.

 

28. LCD Soundsystem, American Dream

 

The two American --- albums fall right after each other coincidentally, although I am considering tacking American by RuPaul as a last minute #27 for a triple streak.

 

So this is LCD Soundsystem's comeback after a seven year hiatus, except not really for me because I had to discover This Is Happening and the rest of his discography years after they were released (my gay ass was preoccupied with Gaga and Kesha back in 2010). I was really interested to see how his sound would adapt to the current music climate and it worked out pretty well. I didn't anticipate this being such a dark album, considering my favorite song from them repeats the line "Daft Punk is playing at my house" over and over again, which made my first few listens so impactful. Masking some of these denser themes into their signature upbeat, electronic sound is pretty remarkable, and the musicality in this is masterful. They're just really damn good at what they do, I suppose. 

 

27. Bleachers, Gone Now

 

I'd feel slightly guilty not putting Bleachers on my list, because, spoiler alert: Antonoff is indisputably my favorite producer of the year. 

 

At the forefront, the songs are all really catchy. His music always has some pretty strong hooks and that seems to be all it takes to get me to like an album, but he has a distinct sound and really stays true to it throughout the whole album. I love the cohesiveness, all the songs flow pretty expertly, and there's a deeper layer of self-references that some may think is pretentious, but I think it adds a really nice touch. I think he was truly focused on making a complete piece of work and I think it turned out pretty successful. He's not the best singer in the world, but he even seems to play up the fact in a few tracks. 

 

Lorde and Carly Rae Jepsen also make appearances on the album. King of features. Charli XCX shaking. Antonoff threw the first brick at Stonewall.

 

26. Halsey, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom

 

I don't think I'd ever imagine putting Halsey on a Best Of list before the release of Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, but I think it's safe to say she won me over. And I think that's pretty funny, considering she doesn't change much from what I hated on Badlands, only on here it seems more... charming. The pretentiousness is still evident, I would probably hate "The Prologue" if I didn't try to keep an open mind, so it mostly works as a cute way to set up the concepts of the album. I could never really stand her voice, and the affectations still sort of bug me, but there's nothing as bad as "New Americana" here. 

 

I love the last few albums I listed before because of how well the tracks work together, but I'm not afraid to admit that this song has a lot of lows that are outweighed by its highs. The album progressively gets better, so even if you think it starts off pretty slow, it starts to build by the end. "Walls Could Talk", which is pretty 90s/2000s inspired and has hints of Britney, is probably the best song in Halsey's discography and it's really such a shame that its so short. Lauren Jauregui, as much of a mess she is on Twitter right now, beats Quavo and Cashmere Cat out for "best feature", as bisexual anthem "Strangers" is another one of my highlights.

[prézli]

On 2017. 12. 19. at 10:05 PM, August said:

9. "The Big Big Beat", Azealia Banks

TASTE!

[TRF.]

loved LCD Soundsystem!  was a bit disappointed by Haim tho :/

[Lazuli]

What could've been for HAIM  

american dream  

Gone Now was meh, and hfk was trash