best of Pink Matter's 2017 Best Of | Update: Albums 10-1 | FINISHED!

[theblackestday]

Just now, Pink Matter said:

The fourth being in my top 15 sings of 2017, yes?  

Tea 

[montrealxo]

Vince and Brockhampton 

 

most underrated rap albums last year

[volition]

Big Fish Theory and Sat II are two of the best rap albums of the year, feels like Vince is too low  and yes at KG, just another of their great outputs this year. LCD too  good batch

[Pink Matter]

2 hours ago, montrealxo said:

Vince and Brockhampton 

 

most underrated rap albums last year

Vince is for sure super underrated but at least he has the critics on his side. Brock too!

 

58 minutes ago, volition said:

Big Fish Theory and Sat II are two of the best rap albums of the year, feels like Vince is too low  and yes at KG, just another of their great outputs this year. LCD too  good batch

Vince's album had a few tracks I didn't like that ended up bringing it down for me (Party People, Homage, Bagbak). Otherwise it would've probably made my top 10. Same goes for BH. And I still need to get through all of KG's albums from last year  

[Pink Matter]

Don't forget to leave your comments guys  

 

Spoiler

@Kang. @DangerousSwiftie @theblackestday @ultraviolence.xx @Eeveelution @Same Ol' Mistakes @Pacaveli @Love Drought @Maddox @Tom Vercetti @Mark Rih @Unoriginal @Lucas32 @Vxspertine @jose168 @Zay @Wicked @Phoenixstar @MP2K @Kiss It Better @Lazuli @montrealxo @Reinvention @rvx @madonnas @TRF. @volition @Navyofbadgals @Playa Playa @TayRianaPH @Clueless

 

[Eeveelution]

Big Fish Theory  

 

I listened to Saturation III the other day and it was a cute girl. Gonna listen to II soon.

[MP2K]

I like your summary of The Space Between, Majid isn't that bad. I think their debut had some more memorable tracks that make it superior though.
Didn't know a few of you were into Gabriel Garzón. I feel like that album is so damn old lol
Tennis, Vince, LCD

 

[Pink Matter]

3 hours ago, Eeveelution said:

Big Fish Theory  

 

I listened to Saturation III the other day and it was a cute girl. Gonna listen to II soon.

If Sat. 3 is cute, then 2 is gorgeous. You'll love it (or at least like it more) I'm sure!

 

38 minutes ago, MP2K said:

I like your summary of The Space Between, Majid isn't that bad. I think their debut had some more memorable tracks that make it superior though.
Didn't know a few of you were into Gabriel Garzón. I feel like that album is so damn old lol
Tennis, Vince, LCD

 

I think the transitions is what tipped it in their sophomore's favor for me. I'm a sucker for those lmao

And I randomly saw a Gabriel thread on KTT back in January, heard Sour Mango and fell in love instantly  and it's been almost a whole 12 months since it was released so I see your point lol. Now we need an update from you  

Edited January 11, 2018 by Pink Matter

[Lazuli]

American Dream is a SLAY  

[Tom Vercetti]

This recent set is my favorite so far. Enjoy all of these releases. 

 

Quote

If you decide to do everything yourself when your incapable of doing so, you'll wind up with a Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven of sorts   (still love you Cudder ).

drag   

[Kiss It Better]

Big Fish Theory is a good album, I forget how it sounds but I remember it's a good album

haven't heard the rest on your lists though 

[Love Drought]

Love this   but Big Fish Theory is my favorite out of these choices , props to  him for experimenting more sonically. The electronic production combined with his brilliant lyricism really gives it an edge that I love 

I'm gonna check out Star Stuff soon 

[Pink Matter]

15 hours ago, Lazuli said:

American Dream is a SLAY  

It sure is  

 

15 hours ago, Tom Vercetti said:

This recent set is my favorite so far. Enjoy all of these releases. 

 

drag   

Glad you liked it! And it's what she deserves  

 

7 hours ago, Kiss It Better said:

Big Fish Theory is a good album, I forget how it sounds but I remember it's a good album

haven't heard the rest on your lists though 

You should definitely check out Brockhampton's releases. I think they'll be right up your alley.

 

OT: Next update coming in just a minute.

 

Spoiler

@Kang. @DangerousSwiftie @theblackestday @ultraviolence.xx @Eeveelution @Same Ol' Mistakes @Pacaveli @Love Drought @Maddox @Tom Vercetti @Mark Rih @Unoriginal @Lucas32 @Vxspertine @jose168 @Zay @Wicked @Phoenixstar @MP2K @Kiss It Better @Lazuli @montrealxo @Reinvention @rvx @madonnas @TRF. @volition @Navyofbadgals @Playa Playa @TayRianaPH @Clueless

 

[Pink Matter]

Top 50 Best Albums of 2017

 

Albums 15-11

 

15) Miguel|War & Leisure

Genre: Alt. R&B

 

 

I was at Townhouse down in Venice Beach, oh no
Stealing moments with you know who
We won the war but not a day goes by
That I don't think I shoulda been with you

 

So I know I said in my OP that my deadline was from 1/1/17 to 11/30/17 so that I could spend time with the music that I already listened to and prepare for my countdown but I figured I'd highlight Miguel nonetheless because a) his album was only released one day later and b) who knows if I'll be listening to this album 11/12 months from now. Maybe I'd grow tired of it and exclude it from my 2018 countdown, or maybe he'd put out something that's even better than War & Leisure by this time next year? Who knows. All the more reason to give his latest effort the dues it deserves. If I'm being honest though, coming into this album, I had pretty low expectations and didn't think he was going to deliver another great album like he did with Kaleidoscope Dream or Wildheart. Skywalker and Shockandawe were just okay and with Told You So being a great jam, it made me uneasy in that there might only be a few good songs on the album. Hitting play on the sandy, guitar-laden Criminal erased many of the concerns I had about the album, and after listening to it in full, I was glad to be proven wrong. Keeping up with its last two predecessors, War & Leisure has hints and moments of psychedelia and funk all over from the intro, to Pineapple Skies, to Harem, to Caramelo Duro, among other songs on the album. Unfortunately, unlike its predecessors, War & Leisure doesn't aim to be as ambitious as either KD or WH and decides to scale it back, which still works out well because the album is still fun to listen to. In a lot of ways, this reminds me of Kendrick's DAMN. in that it's more scaled back from their previous works in the effort to be a bit more easy to listen to/mainstream leaning, but the end product is still wonderful. The production is still wonderful, his vocals are still wonderful, and his songwriting is still as sharp as ever. He has a way of singing about sex that's not totally overt (Wolf) and on this album in particular, he brings up topics about war, politics, and even impending nuclear fallout and destruction (Pineapple Skies, Told You So, City of Angels). War & Leisure indeed Miguel.  

 

Listen to: Pineapple Skies, Harem, Anointed

 

14) Rose Elinor Dougall|Stellular

Genre: Indie Pop

 

 

Try to see through a miasma of tears
You lose yourself if someone tells you what you want to hear

 

*cue another comment stating this album was old but managed to hold up well for me throughout 2017* I will say this though. This is easily one of the most underrated albums I've listened to in 2017. It's actually criminal how this flew under the radar. Catchy hooks, wonderful melodies, interesting production that sort of feels like folk mixed with elements of electronic music (folktronica. maybe? Don't quote me on that), new wave, a bit of funk here and there, that all combines to make one fresh pop album. There's a sense of longing and romanticism that is felt so much more because she sings with such conviction. And it's not because she's blowing or belting her heart out. It's just that she knows when to be wistful (Colour of Water), when she needs to be hopeful (Space To Be), when she needs to be coy (Closer), and when she needs to get down (All At Once), and I think that, the range of emotions that she expresses and I, in turn, feel, is what I love about this album the most.

 

Listen to: Colour Of Water, Poison Ivy, Space To Be

 

13) Lorde|Melodrama

Genre: Art Pop

 

 

In your car, the radio up
In your car, the radio up
We keep trying to talk about us
I'm someone you maybe might love
I’ll be your quiet afternoon crush
Be your violent overnight rush
Make you crazy over my touch

 

So for the longest time, I was an obsessive Melodrama hater. Ever since Green Light got released, I was left wondering why the hell is anything she's doing this era getting so much acclaim. I was one of those people who thought Pure Heroine, even though I don't love the album like that, was light years better than Melodrama. This album wasn't even scraping my HM's up until last October. Then one day... it clicked! I still don't get why or how it happened but I was raking leaves out from my parents front lawn and wanted to listen to something to pass the time. Next thing I know, I'm out in public bopping my ass to Green Light  Long story short, everything just popped into place. The production at times is incredibly energizing and euphoric, and overall is very sophisticated even when the lyrics themselves make reference to the feelings she's dealt with due to breaking up with her ex-boyfriend. A coming-of-age album at its finest, Ella manages to express her feelings in such a way that's incredibly captivating and that it's almost years beyond what she should be able to accomplish. Her voice in my opinion is her most powerful tool on this album though. To many, it may seem overly hoarse and gravelly (in the best way possible) but I think that lends itself to adding power to the things she says. Writer In The Dark would not hold the same power that it currently has if not for the vocals she laid down, regardless of how sharp the songwriting is. And this power and conviction I feel in her voice on Writer In The Dark can be felt all over this album. In the end, I feel like this was a real Lemonade moment for her, in that she was able to take a painful moment that occurred in her life (as well as many other things she experienced over the past four years), turn it into something beautiful and cathartic, and as a result, was able to truly let go and move on with herself. I remember I posted in a thread on here I really wouldn't care if she disappeared for another five/ten years like she stated at some point last year; now I hope she doesn't take too long to put forth her next album!

 

Listen to: The Louvre, Sober II (Melodrama), Supecut

 

12) St. Vincent|MASSEDUCTION

Genre: Art Pop

 

 

 

And sometimes I go to the edge of my roof
And I think I'll jump just to punish you
And if I should float on the taxis below
No one would notice, no one will know

 

*cue another comment stating this album is one of my first introductions into this artist in particular* This isn't exactly my first introduction to St. Vincent though. I had first listened to her s/t album back in 2014 and was very pleased with what I heard. I never ventured back to her previous work though (I'll make sure to get on that at some point in the future  ). In regards to MASSEDUCTION, I'll say the same thing I said about LCD's and Beck's work: I believe it's important to take an album for what it is and not for what it isn't. I also believe it's important to see an album as its own individual entity. You'll enjoy more music that way. Getting into the nitty gritty though, Mass was one of the most eccentric and colorful albums I've had the pleasure of listening to in 2017. This album is all over the place, and that's what I like the most about this record. The album moves from something somber (Hang On Me), to something just plain silly (Pills), to a something sort of like regret (Happy Birthday, Johnny), to something sensual (Savior), to something just plain suicidal (Smoking Section). The production is electric and energizing at certain points, giving off this essence of mania, madness, and debauchery (Masseduction, Fear The Future) and slow, calm, and steady, allowing for Annie and the individuals listening to be more reflective (New York, Slow Disco). All in all, Annie covers a wide range of feelings, bares her heart out on this album, and takes the listener on one heck of a ride.

 

Listen to: Pills, Fear The Future, Smoking Section

 

11) Lana Del Rey|Lust For Life

Genre: Dream Pop, Art Pop

 

 

 

Life rocked me like Mötley
Grabbed me by the ribbons in my hair
Life rocked me ultra-softly
Like the heavy metal that you wear

 

I was surprised to see the mixed reception for this one... and then I wasn't.

 

Further proof of a deep generational chasm that divides ATRL into two camps; the twentysomething pop sophisticates with 15 to 20 years of top-shelf pop consumption to their name, and an unruly kid crew with Lorde avatars and tributes to Halsey in their signatures. It's not that the latter generation is a lost cause entirely, but they've clearly never heard a "Lana Del Rey" — that is, they've never encountered  a voice quite as distinctive as Lana Del Rey's. "But I know Lana Del Rey! Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix) was the first single I bought!" First off, ask for a refund. And no, you don't know Lana Del Rey, you know a very stilted and subdued version of the iconic performer.

 

The Lana Del Rey of "Lust For Life" is Lana as Lana is intended to sound. She very skillfully vacillates between a range of tones; she's nasally, then guttural, then grainy, then nasally again, then delicate. (And yes, that's how she's supposed to do it.) She's sultry. She's goofy. She's sounds slightly absurd. She's fully engaged. She's expressive in ways that "technically superior" vocalists just aren't. She is brilliant. You have no idea how brilliant she is.

This is the probably purest attempt Lana has made to harness some of that ineffable charm that made her early work so irresistible. I adore it.

 

Listen to: Lust For Life w/ The Weeknd, White Mustang, Coachella - Woodstock In My Mind

 

-

 

Spoiler

 

Okay, so now that I got that out of the way, I can get down to business lmao (shoutouts to @Eeveelution for using this in ha countdown). It just... fits so perfectly  

 

Off topic, but it pains me to have to do this to Dalai, but another album grew on me so much that it leap-frogged its way into top 10, knocking Lust out 

 Getting into my actual thoughts on this album, I do believe that certain parts of my previous post, does have some merit. I feel like this is the most engaged I've heard Lana sound in a long time. She just seems to be having a lot of fun doing things differently, things that she hasn't really done on her previous records. For one, the insertion of guest performances ranging from long time buddies The Weeknd and A$AP Rocky, to new collaborators in Sean Lennon Ono and Stevie Nicks allowed Lana to take on different styles of music that she's never really done before. From the urban-banger Summer Bummer to the folk-tinged Tomorrow Never Came, she's expressing herself in ways she's never done before. In addition, the use of these guest features worked wonders, in my opinion, because she was able to mesh her style well with the artists she was working with. Whether that's performing a sort of back and forth with Abel on the titular track, woozily swaying in the hypnotic production of Groupie Love with Rocky, or performing as Stevie's "little echo" on Beautiful People, Beautiful Problems, all things considered, it was quite charming! I also think the fact that she's singing from a more general, universal perspective allowed her to be able to cover topics that she's never discussed in her music before and that in itself shows growth that many people would never have believed she'd experience. Her singing about feminism and female empowerment on God Bless America..., being aware of the civil unrest occurring in America on When The World Was At War..., and even discussing the possibility of nuclear fallout on Change, is something that I never would've imagined she would do myself. Even with all that being said, Lana still manages to start and end this album in an incredibly hopeful manner.  Hope for a brighter future for the people of the world, and hope for herself, that one day she may truly find happiness (or be able to hold onto whatever happiness she's been finally able to grasp). With everything I just said, this seems like the album could and would be a clunky mess. It is, but personally I don't really care. I do appreciate albums that are and strive to be cohesive but it's not really a necessity to me. What matters most is if the music is good. Are the songs good? In this case, mostly (Coachella and White Mustang are... songs, and I could sacrifice LFL for the sake of the quality of the album) but given the quality of the songs I did like, I'm more than satisfied with the final product. I have a lot more thoughts on this record but I think that pretty much covers everything I have to say.

 

In short, Lana can't come to the phone right now. Why? Because she's... happy  

 

Listen to: Cherry, When The World Was At War..., Heroin, Get Sued

 

 

Edited January 11, 2018 by Pink Matter

[Pink Matter]

Album recap (15-11):

 

Spoiler

 

11) Lana Del Rey|Lust For Life

12) St. Vincent|MASSEDUCTION

13) Lorde|Melodrama

14) Rose Elinor Dougall|Stellular

15) Miguel|War & Leisure

16) BROCKHAMPTON|Saturation II

17) Vince Staples|Big Fish Theory

18) King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard|Flying Microtonal Banana

19) Chaz Bundick Meets The Mattson 2|Star Stuff
20) LCD Soundsystem|American Dream

21) Loreen|Ride

22) Clap! Clap!|A Thousand Skies

23) Gabriel Garzón-Montano|Jardín

24) Tennis|Yours Unconditionally

25) Majid Jordan|The Space Between

26) Alex Cameron|Forced Witness

27) Ibeyi|Ash

28) Blanck Mass|World Eater

29) Yellow Days|Is Everything Okay In Your World?

30) Cherry Glazerr|Apocalipstick

31) Beck|Colors

32) Priests|Nothing Feels Natural

33) Mali Music|The Transition of Mali

34) Sabrina Claudio|About Time

35) Terrace Martin Presents The Pollyseeds|Sounds of Crenshaw Vol. 1

36) Snoh Aalegra|FEELS

37) Charlotte Gainsbourg|Rest

38) Foxygen|Hang

39) Father John Misty|Pure Comedy

40) Ronika|Lose My Cool

41) Daniel Caesar|Freudian

42) dvsn|Morning After

43) Oxbow|Thin Black Duke

44) Thundercat|Drunk

45) Why?|Moh Lhean

46) Lil' Uzi Vert|Luv Is Rage 2

47) Aminé|Good For You

48) Mura Masa|s/t

49) Susanne Sundfør|Music For People In Trouble

50) Gorillaz|Humanz

 

 

[Pink Matter]

7 minutes ago, Love Drought said:

Love this   but Big Fish Theory is my favorite out of these choices , props to  him for experimenting more sonically. The electronic production combined with his brilliant lyricism really gives it an edge that I love 

I'm gonna check out Star Stuff soon 

Glad you liked it! Can't agree more. And you should! I love how Toro just constantly experiments with different styles and he pulls it off well on Star Stuff.

[Unoriginal]

Melodrama, MASSEDUCTION, and LfL whew a 1-2-3 punch

I only heard Pineapple Skies from W&L

Will have to check out the other album too

[Pink Matter]

59 minutes ago, Unoriginal said:

Melodrama, MASSEDUCTION, and LfL whew a 1-2-3 punch

I only heard Pineapple Skies from W&L

Will have to check out the other album too

Make sure to check it out! It's a great addition to his discog. And Rose will probs be up your alley too!

 

OT: @AlexisNeiers get in here sis  

[theblackestday]

13 and 12 suck  11 makes up for it though  Poor Lana getting kicked out of the top 10

Edited January 11, 2018 by theblackestday

[ultraviolence.xx]

NOT THE LANA REVIEW BITCH I AM SCREAMING

[World Eater]

Just now, Pink Matter said:

OT: @AlexisNeiers get in here sis  

Thanks for the reminder sis, took a little break from this section  Feel free to @ me whenever you post a new update from now on tho

 

Anyway, yesterday's set was  Today's is also solid, Jack Antonoff WON

[Pink Matter]

12 minutes ago, theblackestday said:

13 and 12 suck  11 makes up for it though  Poor Lana getting kicked out of the top 10

Nope. They don't  No need to be an obsessive talent hater. 

And the good sis was just clinging on for dear life but I think the album that snatched it deserved it just as much.

 

8 minutes ago, ultraviolence.xx said:

NOT THE LANA REVIEW BITCH I AM SCREAMING

I just had too  

 

4 minutes ago, AlexisNeiers said:

Thanks for the reminder sis, took a little break from this section  Feel free to @ me whenever you post a new update from now on tho

 

Anyway, yesterday's set was  Today's is also solid, Jack Antonoff WON

Don't worry my next set will be my last  And Jack really snapped on both Mass and Melo. I wonder if his own music is as good.

[theblackestday]

Just now, Pink Matter said:

Nope. They don't  No need to be an obsessive talent hater. 

And the good sis was just clinging on for dear life but I think the album that snatched it deserved it just as much.

[Pink Matter]

3 minutes ago, theblackestday said:

Actually judging by your best of, I don't think you will so kii  

[Alessandra]

Your comments about the album by Tennis are so on point. I love that record to pieces

 

Listening to Rose Elinor Dougall and LOVING it already.