best of FIN - volition's Best of 2017 - TOP 10 ALBUMS

[volition]

hello!

 

I think that I will probably do 50 albums and 50 songs. No graphics cause I forgot how to use Photoshop and also I am lazy. List probably won't be ready until the end of the year to give me more time to re-listen to everything / in case of new releases. I have a definite top 5 albums though.

 

stay tuned 

 

update: doing 100 songs, 50 albums, plus a few disappointments and honourable mentions

 

Top 50 Albums of 2017:

Spoiler

 

Top 100 Songs of 2017:

Spoiler

 

10 Disappointments of 2017:

Spoiler

Glasshouse - Jessie Ware

Everything Now - Arcade Fire

Half-Light - Rostam

Science Fiction - Brand New

The Cure - Lady Gaga

Reputation - Taylor Swift

Humanz - Gorillaz

Relaxer - alt-J

2017 Singles - Rhye

CollXtion II - Allie X

 

Edited January 14, 2018 by volition

[ManDown]

Excited for this.

[Wondy Lust]

I'm perched for Pills to snatch

[theblackestday]

Perched 

[Tom Vercetti]

I'm ready for this. 

[Lazuli]

Perched here 

[SLIME]

can't wait

[Fruity]

Slay me, king

[madonnas]

Hello   

[Mark Rih]

excited for this cuz u have taste

[TheWayWeWere]

[Vxspertine]

Really excited to see your list 

[TRF.]

will be waiting for it!

[volition]

update: i'm all ready now  however a slight change - i'll be doing 100 songs instead of 50 as that was a bit unambitious on my part considering how many songs i'd be leaving out. i'm also going to list some disappointments for me, just a few albums and songs and i might do that today to make up for lost time even though i'll start earlier for the rest of the updates

[theblackestday]

Post it now, fat.

[volition]

Disappointments (1 of 2):

 

Glasshouse - Jessie Ware

Putting this one first as it's probably the most major 'disappointment' to me. I love Jessie Ware, her debut album Devotion in particular is one of my most played albums and I couldn't stop spinning it when it came out. The electronic influences complimented her voice well and the material was gorgeous and inviting. Tough Love was alright and pleasant enough, though I didn't revisit it that much. Then Glasshouse was led off with Midnight, a pop soul ballad that was fine, though quite ordinary. Selfish Love excited me again, with its Latin vibe, and I felt like Jessie was exploring new material, and Alone followed which was a servicable piece that was at least pleasant. Then the album came and I was really underwhelmed, the songs felt so unoriginal and uninspired, possible due to the collaborators involved (Ed Sheeran, Julia Michaels). Songs like Hearts and Thinking About You were so generic and the pre-album singles lost their spark pretty soon too. I know some people love this album and it's genuinely not an unpleasant listen, but it feels so standard and boring and not befitting of the person who released Devotion.

 

highlights: selfish love, your domino (kinda grew off me though), alone

 

 

Everything Now - Arcade Fire

This has been dragged to death pretty much everywhere that isn't NME so I won't spend much time on it but it's one of the biggest quality gaps between albums I've experienced. Some people were expecting something like this after Reflektor which was seen as a step down from their earlier work, although personally I really enjoyed Reflektor so it was an even bigger fall. The pre album singles were mostly underwhelming (except for the title track), but little did we know they'd end up being the best tracks on the album. 

 

highlights: everything now, electric blue

 

 

Half-Light - Rostam

Rostam had some pretty notable production credits over the last few years, but obviously he is most known as a former member of Vampire Weekend. I love them, their albums are essential and have the advantage over Half-Light of having a singer that is not Rostam. Seriously his voice is not particularly arresting and it kinda drags the songs down, but the bigger issue here that the ideas here (of which some are slightly interesting) are never taken advantage of, I found the album really weak and full of songs that seem more like mildly experimental soundscapes with a guy quietly trying to sing through laughter over them. Wasn't really my thing.

 

highlights: bike dream, gwan

 

 

Science Fiction - Brand New

I really did like this album, in fact I considered it a discography highlight. I don't support trash tho. Besides, the lyrics don't strike the same way anymore.

 

highlights: it doesn't matter

 

 

The Cure - Lady Gaga

Gaga used to be a huge deal for me. I still love The Fame Monster to this day, and while Born This Way is seen as a disappointment to some, I really bought into the whole Gaga going Gesamtkunstwerk and I listened to that album a LOT. I even preferred it to TFM at one point. Now Gaga has released 3 disappointing albums since then and I mean, they've been ok, I don't mind listening to them, but Gaga was so close to having lost all that appealed to me about her. With The Cure, she lost me completely. It's literally the worst song she's ever released. It's trash. It's the Chainsmokers. I still cling on to hope Gaga will release something genuinely interesting again, but based on her tweets a few months ago about 'what can white people do to help', I'm convinced she's become stupid or something.

 

highlights: other songs

[ColdKeane]

+1 with Arcade Fire, it's their worst album so far

 

Brand New it's nice 

[theblackestday]

The Cure is probably the worst song of the year so there's that.

[Cloröx]

Agreed with Everything Now. It is nowhere at The Suburbs level 

[volition]

Disappointments (2 of 2):

 

Reputation - Taylor Swift

Why is this a disappointment? Did I have expectations? I drag Taylor a lot because her fans overrate her to high heavens, but admittedly I used to be a little fond of Speak Now , my str8 friend used to like her a lot and played it all the time, but now I think it's just cause he wanted to bang her. But anyway, I was always gonna hear the album even though the pre-album singles were disastrous (Gorgeous has endeared itself to some people but god knows why because it's one of the worst songs I've heard in my life, like New Americana level), and the album was pretty much as expected, and far below her other efforts too. I don't think I liked a single song. Actually there were only a few I didn't actively hate, the highlights. The lyricism which was always juvenile is basically just puerile now. Sorry Swifties.

 

highlights: getaway car, new year's day, call it what you want

 

 

Humanz - Gorillaz

Along with Everything Now, this is the other album that's been dragged the most, and I will say that a lot of the songs are at least enjoyable, if nothing groundbreaking. It just has no identity as a whole, like a VA compilation or something. I was really interested in a lot of the features and many of them didn't hold up (eg. Grace Jones). The singles are pretty nice though. I probably should've listened to the standard version solely first instead of the deluxe, and maybe that would've alleviated the identity issue. Ultimately though, not a fan, their weakest effort so far.

 

highlights: ascension, strobelite, andromeda, saturnz barz

 

 

Relaxer - alt-J

So my friend recommended this album to me as it came out, because apparently the band was touring here or something? Anyway she was a big fan. I probably should've been cautious because most of my friends love Ed Sheeran, but I figured she had taste. It was described as 'like Pink Floyd'. Now I listened to this boring ass album and it is definitely not like Pink Floyd. Still hesitant on whether I should check out the earlier work, but the verdict at the moment: don't listen to requests from friends.

 

highlights: 3WW

 

 

2017 Singles - Rhye

I quite liked Rhye's debut actually, I'm a huge fan of Sade and while their album didn't compare to Sade's best work, it was a very nice reminder. Songs like Open and The Fall were lovely, and I was actually quite looking forward to Rhye's next album. They released a few pre-emptive singles this year, and I can't say I enjoyed them that much. They felt undercooked, not up to the standard of their previous work, not as alluring. I still love his voice though, and of course I'll check out the album, but the singles don't feel their best work to me.

 

 

CollXtion II - Allie X

So this gained a lot of traction on ATRL, I saw it mentioned everywhere, and I do love some synthpop so I was ready to check it out. I gave it a listen and was quite unconvinced, which is a shame because it seems like lots of people really like it. She has a nice voice, but the production is a little cheap sounding, and melodically, I found the hooks either average or simply annoying (case in point: Vintage, a frequently mentioned highlight but I can't help myself being irritated by that hook). I also find the lyrics quite weak, Casanova goes for edgy but comes off like, Halsey or something. 

 

highlights: downtown

 

---

drags done, songs 2moro (earlier)

Edited December 17, 2017 by volition

[theblackestday]

Not proud of it but Humanz was my first Gorillaz album so I guess that's why I loved it and it wasn't a disappointment for me. You make solid points in the paragraph though (minus the highlights). Charger is one of the best songs of the year. xo

 

Agree with Allie X

Taylor can't disappoint me cause her music has always been awful

Idk the other ones.

[Vxspertine]

The Cure almost made me unstan, Gaga better start making good music real SOON. 

Arcade Fire really derailed didn't they? 

Rostam's album was trash.

Drag Science Fiction 

DRAG Taylor, and Gorillaz too  I was gonna listen to the Taylor Swift album when it came out to streaming services but then I came back to reality and decided not to. And Gorillaz was a huge disappointment for me.

Relaxer was pretty terrible which is a shame, but not underexpected tbh.

[ultraviolence.xx]

i know what you meant about glasshouse, even though i love it. she said that in the earlier days of her career, she kind of let producers use her voice how they wanted to, so i fear devotion isn't as jessie as the newer material is.  or maybe she was lying and she's just selling out, who knows  

rostam's album was not good, i missed that one! you touched on it wonderfully though. "sing through laughter" is really true i'm cackling

i love reputation but SLAY at using the word "puerile"  

2 hours ago, volition said:

Now I listened to this boring ass album and it is definitely not like Pink Floyd.

CRYING. why would anyone compare this to pink floyd i am living for this false comparison

 

[volition]

Replying for the bump but also: starting songs today, HMs + 100 - 91.

 

Spoiler

 

19 hours ago, ColdKeane said:

+1 with Arcade Fire, it's their worst album so far

 

Brand New it's nice 

The album was really a good album, so it's a shame. I haven't listened to PWR BTTMs album but I imagine that would be the same.

 

19 hours ago, Coklek92 said:

Agreed with Everything Now. It is nowhere at The Suburbs level 

I love The Suburbs too, I was really hoping for the album but alas it happened as it did.

 

19 hours ago, theblackestday said:

The Cure is probably the worst song of the year so there's that.

 

18 hours ago, theblackestday said:

Not proud of it but Humanz was my first Gorillaz album so I guess that's why I loved it and it wasn't a disappointment for me. You make solid points in the paragraph though (minus the highlights). Charger is one of the best songs of the year. xo

 

Agree with Allie X

Taylor can't disappoint me cause her music has always been awful

Idk the other ones.

tea about The Cure. And I'm surprised about that, you listened to so many albums this year but not some classics, get into Demon Days (if you haven't already). Charger is terrible though, legend Grace deserved better (listen to Pull Up To The Bumper). I didn't expect anything from Taylor I just wanted to write about her. And yeah it's probably good you haven't heard the others.

 

17 hours ago, Vxspertine said:

The Cure almost made me unstan, Gaga better start making good music real SOON. 

Arcade Fire really derailed didn't they? 

Rostam's album was trash.

Drag Science Fiction 

DRAG Taylor, and Gorillaz too  I was gonna listen to the Taylor Swift album when it came out to streaming services but then I came back to reality and decided not to. And Gorillaz was a huge disappointment for me.

Relaxer was pretty terrible which is a shame, but not underexpected tbh.

I hope so, I'm praying for Gaga. Some really disappointing albums this year 

 

15 hours ago, ultraviolence.xx said:

i know what you meant about glasshouse, even though i love it. she said that in the earlier days of her career, she kind of let producers use her voice how they wanted to, so i fear devotion isn't as jessie as the newer material is.  or maybe she was lying and she's just selling out, who knows  

rostam's album was not good, i missed that one! you touched on it wonderfully though. "sing through laughter" is really true i'm cackling

i love reputation but SLAY at using the word "puerile"  

CRYING. why would anyone compare this to pink floyd i am living for this false comparison

 

maybe she should listen to the producers nah she is probably proud of her material, good for her i guess. I do really prefer Devotion though. IDK LOL IT DOESNT SOUND LIKE PF AT ALL

 

 

[volition]

Honourable Mentions:

 

Little Dark Age - MGMT

I was never the biggest fan of MGMT's earlier work, even some of their most famous songs, and then I never checked out their next album after Oracular Spectacular. This song is quite nice though, it has the classic MGMT sound, it slinks along, and is perhaps more immediate than some of their other material.

Spoiler

 

 

Walk Like a Panther - Algiers

This song is powerful, it's an intense fusion of rock and gospel and the lyrics are really visceral. From a really great album too that I'd definitely recommend checking out.

Spoiler

 

 

Chariot - Beach House

The first song on their B-Sides and Rarities release, and a definite highlight. I love Beach House and this song really brings what they do best, lovely dreamy pop music.

Spoiler

 

 

Take Me As I Am - Rina Sawayama

Rina seems to be so popular here. I'll admit I was a bit late on board with this one, but this song is fantastic. The influences from early 2000s pop and late 90s R&B are so obvious and really nostalgic, and the production of Clarence Clarity brings the energy up further. A perfect pop song.

Spoiler

 

 

Die Young - Sylvan Esso

Not too familiar with the rest of Sylvan Esso's work, but this is a great pop tune with some vibrant synth lines in there. A little simplistic, but it's not a big deal. I really like the lyric 'I was gonna die young, now I gotta wait for you'

Spoiler

 

 

Long Time - Blondie

I am a massive fan of Blondie. Their late 70s work is some of the greatest pop music of all time, and songs like Atomic and Call Me are firm all-time favourites. I was quite weary about going into this album, especially as Debbie Harry's voice is quite different to how it used to be, but this song is super catchy and really brings back their classic new wave feel.

Spoiler

 

 

White Man's World - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Pretty much every time a white guy addresses this kind of topic in their music, it comes off as ridiculously tone-deaf or simply cringeworthy. Thankfully, this song is a little more nuanced. He's talking about his daughter and makes references to the world he wants her to live in, while mentioning things like "bones of the red man under my feet" and " pretended not to hear another white man's joke". The country sound is not too twangy either, I usually can't get past that.

Spoiler

 

 

Each Time You Fall In Love - Cigarettes After Sex

Their album was a bit samey for me, but this song is pretty exemplary of the whole thing. Lovely dream pop feel, similar to contemporaries like Beach House, but with clearer and more androgynous vocals. Also the chorus is really lovely.

Spoiler

 

 

I Feel Nothing - Openside

This is just a pure pop song by an Auckland based group that I hear on the radio all the time in NZ. It's effortlessly catchy and I'm still not sick of it despite hearing it all the time. Lyrics are kinda banal but it doesn't matter.

Spoiler

 

 

Sober II (Melodrama) - Lorde

This was one of the highlights on Melodrama for me. I love how the song starts with big swaying strings and then just adds in a trap beat in the second half, and I also love how the closing lines of the song set up what's next in the album.

Spoiler

 

 

List of People (To Try and Forget About) - Tame Impala

Huge huge Tame Impala fan, and though I did prefer their earlier albums to Currents, especially Lonerism, the Currents direction feels like a man at the top of his game making incredible pop music. This is a highlight of their B-sides EP (admittedly only 3 new songs but all 3 are great).

Spoiler

 

 

Silurian Blue - Floating Points

I guess this song is electronic? It's a 7 minute long epic with influences of everything from post-rock to jazz to krautrock. Sounds like real instrumentation too. A pretty interesting song and this reminds me that I need to check out the album.

Spoiler

 

 

JUNKY - Brockhampton

Love these guys so much, in fact they're probably one of the best things to come out of 2017. All 3 of the albums they released this year are excellent, although Saturation II is my personal favourite. JUNKY is a very poignant song addressing homosexuality, and it's pretty brave to be releasing songs like this, especially in the hip hop climate.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2017 by volition