theblackestday Posted December 30, 2017 Posted December 30, 2017 #20 N1A is okay. I re-listened to ILY2 the other day and it's not as bad as I remembered... she did that with those wailing guitars. Pop2, on the other hand, is THAT girl, and its writeup is pretty accurate. BFT and Capacity I agree Black Diamonds is pretty underwhelming for a closer, let alone after its superior predecessor Mary.
Ewan Chaos Posted December 30, 2017 Posted December 30, 2017 omg DYING at that copypasta DRAG THE HATERS that is a good album! I feel like there weren't many electronic albums like that that I enjoyed, mostly EDM people... Stan n1a and pop2 - totally agree with your note of Charli doing a good job of properly pop-ifying certain "PC music quirks that are annoying af on other musician's tracks" under that label. LUH I Got It lol it's ****ing crazy. Vince >>>
K$Ellie Posted December 30, 2017 Posted December 30, 2017 I haven't heard Mura Masa but 1 Night is a bop and that review is quite intriguing Pop 2 and N1A being grouped together Number 1 Angel is a lot better but Pop 2 is growing on me ILY2 is trash Drugs, White Roses, Roll With Me, Track 10, Backseat and Lucky >
Pink Matter Posted December 30, 2017 Posted December 30, 2017 That Mura Masa write up Luvs it Him, Charli, and Vince I wish I gave both her releases more listens (especially N1A) b/c they both would definitely make my albums list. I jusst recently listened to Aromanticism and I loved what I heard. I checked Big Thief this morning and I thought it was okay. Sounded like most indie-rock records so maybe it's more about the lyrics in that case. Great set though!
Tom Vercetti Posted December 30, 2017 Posted December 30, 2017 I like the Mura writeup but i'm still not convinced of him I think a really great album would come out of combining some tracks from both N1A and Pop 2. BFT Both Aromanticism and Capacity had some stellar tracks.
World Eater Posted December 30, 2017 Posted December 30, 2017 #20 YOU BITCH But anyway, love the update Pop 2 started growing on me but I'd still prefer if there was fewer features.
ATRL Moderator madonnas Posted December 30, 2017 ATRL Moderator Posted December 30, 2017 Justice for Charli and Vince, they should be higher!
Eeveelution Posted December 31, 2017 Author Posted December 31, 2017 (edited) 15. Lorde - Melodrama Genre(s): Pop A little low? Perhaps. There’s no doubt that Lorde delivered one of the most polished and sophisticated pop albums of recent years with Melodrama, but I’d be lying if I said that this was an album I truly loved as much as everyone else. There are many highlights here though, particularly The Louvre, which sounds unlike anything else this year with its fascinating structure and disregard for pop music clichés. Also, shout out to Sober for giving Lorde her best, most interesting hook (“midnight, lose my mind”). You can’t really talk about this without mentioning lyrics and I have no problem admitting that Lorde’s songwriting puts that of many of the artists higher on my list to shame. And, love him or hate him, Jack Antonoff was the perfect partner for Lorde, contributing some of his best production work to date without overshadowing our heroine. Preview: "The Louvre" 14. SZA - CTRL Genre(s): Alternative R&B, neo-soul There was a long wait for CTRL, and in that time I’d dismissed her as just another alternative R&B artist in an oversaturated market. Resurfacing of homophobic tweets, and the exposure of her fabricated image didn’t help. But Solana is only human and CTRL is the work of someone who knows that being young adult comes with its fair share of mistakes. Candid and off-the-cuff songwriting is enough to catch the listener off guard on the first listen, while interesting, slightly unusual production and compositional choices become apparent on repeated listens. It’s these ever-so-slightly off-kilter moments, such as the dissonant guitar chords of Supermodel and bizarre, amorphous structure of Go Gina, where SZA shines best and I look forward to seeing how she evolves and develops are an artist in the future. What was that about a Tame Impala album? Preview: "Go Gina" 13. Tei Shi - Crawl Space Genre(s): Indie pop, synthpop One of the most underrated albums of the year for me, Crawl Space stands as one of the most accomplished debuts of 2017. Tei Shi delivers on the promise of excellent singles like Bassically, while also successfully exploring new ground. She dips her toe in gauzy dream-pop (Your World), latin-pop (Como Si), lovely piano balladry (Sleepy) and the best song Carly Rae never wrote (Say You Do). It's all tied together by Valerie's voice; she has a dulcet, almost-sensual tone which makes songs like the playful tease of Keep Running ("if you want my loving, then you better start running") work convincingly. In a sort of jack-of-all-trades, master of none situation, Tei Shi doesn’t really achieve anything that hasn’t been done better by someone else. Nevertheless it’s hard to fault the quality of almost every track here. Lift Me can choke though. Preview: "Keep Running" 12. Feist - Pleasure Genre(s): Indie-rock, singer-songwriter It’s been 10 years now since Leslie Feist invented counting, and 2017’s Pleasure couldn’t be any further from the sing-song hook of her quick lil top 10 single. Perhaps not the wigsnatcher you would expect after 6 years away from the game, but the songs on Pleasure are comforting and special in their low-key kind of way. Indeed, it's like she's never been gone at all: her smokey voice does not bear the marks of time, and of course, she's still as fixated on the beauty and marvel of nature as ever. Feist finally showcases her excellent guitar work on highlights like Pleasure and I’m Not Running Away, while Baby Be Simple and Get Not High, Get Not Low feel like lost Metals album cuts and feature some of her most reflective and insightful songwriting to date. Preview: "Pleasure" 11. Goldfrapp - Silver Eye Genre(s): Synthpop, electroclash I feel like a lot of people have written this off as Goldfrapp retracing their steps and not taking any risks, which I think is a little unfair. Though there aren’t any extreme dramatic shifts like from Supernature to Seventh Tree, there are some elements of exploration here, like In the heavy, industrial-inspired production of Ocean. Besides, I think the album is bloody solid and there isn’t a track among the 10 that feels subpar. And if certain acts can self-indulgently rest upon the stronger formulas of their career and receive praise, then why not Goldfrapp? Preview: "Ocean" Edited December 31, 2017 by Eeveelution
ATRL Moderator Unoriginal Posted December 31, 2017 ATRL Moderator Posted December 31, 2017 (edited) Melodrama, CTRL and Silver Eye surprised SE is that close to the top ten tbh edit wait Go Gina love it's so underrated Edited December 31, 2017 by Unoriginal
TRF. Posted December 31, 2017 Posted December 31, 2017 Surprised to see Silver Eye and Tei Shi so high! It's well deserved though Also looooove SZA and Melodrama, the album which I certainly never said anything bad about on Twitter.
MP2K Posted December 31, 2017 Posted December 31, 2017 15-13 solid positions I always miss out on Goldfrapp, I think she's just not my thing, idk.
Lazuli Posted December 31, 2017 Posted December 31, 2017 Ctrl, Crawl Space and Silver Eye are nice Melodrama Definitely wish it was top 10 tho! Pleasure is amazing too
theblackestday Posted December 31, 2017 Posted December 31, 2017 Welp I dislike every album in this set (except that Tel Shi girl which I don't know)
TheWayWeWere Posted December 31, 2017 Posted December 31, 2017 Melodrama and CTRL are masterpiesces Silver Eye is such a solid record
Eeveelution Posted December 31, 2017 Author Posted December 31, 2017 Spoiler On 12/29/2017 at 8:51 PM, Dom said: charli xcx is so good! she really delivered a lot of great music this year, it's so hard to keep up with her. a gift that keeps on giving. Definitely, poor our faves. On 12/29/2017 at 9:35 PM, Vilppu said: "the future of pop" n Number 1 Angel is obviously a great choice and while I'm not sure how I feel about Pop 2 yet, I do know Femmebot is a damn bop. I never came back for the second listen of Aromanticism, will have to catch up on that, and I LOVE Vince's album. I'm glad you recognize Femmebot as the greatest song of all time, pop 2 was a grower for me (tb to when I dragged it after one listen ff) so I hope it grows on you. You should, i didn't care for it on first listen but it hit me later. Have you heard Bedouine and Capacity btw? On 12/29/2017 at 10:07 PM, Unoriginal said: Capacity was good wasn't too into Charli's mixtapes this year but Pop > Angel Tea! On 12/30/2017 at 4:50 AM, Vxspertine said: Oh wow how did I miss this top 10? Anymore is... cute Bon Apetit is Katy's most boring song and I hope it chokes Century Drag ha STTP was alright. Dreams Tonite was really cute Lipgloss is literally holy Homemade Dynamite grew on me a little but I still don't love it Twigs has released not an album nor an EP since Hallucinogen, coincidence? I think not. Bon Appetit is a lot of things, but boring? And on an album which has Miss You More and Open Sesame? Repent! At least you stan Godgloss. On 12/30/2017 at 4:56 AM, Vxspertine said: Sleep Well Beast I really think it's one of their best works yet A Fever Dream was a pretty big disappointment for me since their last album was really good. Big Fish Legend I agree that the album feels a little short and that he could pull off longer tracks really well Aromanticism I agree that this is definitely not his peak, he needs to release a more focused album next for sure. Capacity High Violet > Boxer > SWB On 12/30/2017 at 6:31 AM, Ewan Chaos said: omg DYING at that copypasta DRAG THE HATERS that is a good album! I feel like there weren't many electronic albums like that that I enjoyed, mostly EDM people... Stan n1a and pop2 - totally agree with your note of Charli doing a good job of properly pop-ifying certain "PC music quirks that are annoying af on other musician's tracks" under that label. LUH I Got It lol it's ****ing crazy. Vince >>> Yeah, Jessy Lanza and Kaytranada's 2016 albums >>> any electronic release this year. Yeah Charli is such a talent, I Got It should not work but it does, whew. On 12/30/2017 at 6:05 AM, theblackestday said: #20 N1A is okay. I re-listened to ILY2 the other day and it's not as bad as I remembered... she did that with those wailing guitars. Pop2, on the other hand, is THAT girl, and its writeup is pretty accurate. BFT and Capacity I agree Black Diamonds is pretty underwhelming for a closer, let alone after its superior predecessor Mary. We love an organic grower yes we do, I hope the other OILY2H follow suit Yes pop 2 > n1a Black Diamonds would have made a cute b-side but you know.. gorgeous gonna devour cute. 19 hours ago, K$Ellie said: I haven't heard Mura Masa but 1 Night is a bop and that review is quite intriguing Pop 2 and N1A being grouped together Number 1 Angel is a lot better but Pop 2 is growing on me ILY2 is trash Drugs, White Roses, Roll With Me, Track 10, Backseat and Lucky > Mura Masa is full of bops so you might like it! I would have said N1A > Pop 2 until recently but Pop 2 gets better with every listen ahhh. ILY2 > all those songs combined 18 hours ago, Pink Matter said: That Mura Masa write up Luvs it Him, Charli, and Vince I wish I gave both her releases more listens (especially N1A) b/c they both would definitely make my albums list. I jusst recently listened to Aromanticism and I loved what I heard. I checked Big Thief this morning and I thought it was okay. Sounded like most indie-rock records so maybe it's more about the lyrics in that case. Great set though! Big Thief really hit me on the second listen, so maybe give it another chance? You lowkey seem to hate that guitar, singer-songwriter sound tho, so maybe it's just not for you ddd 15 hours ago, AlexisNeiers said: #20 YOU BITCH But anyway, love the update Pop 2 started growing on me but I'd still prefer if there was fewer features. Yeah, including Brooke and Tommy Cash was certainly... a choice. 15 hours ago, madonnas said: Justice for Charli and Vince, they should be higher! Pop 2 is kind of top 15 material but I didn't want to **** up my list. 12 hours ago, Unoriginal said: Melodrama, CTRL and Silver Eye surprised SE is that close to the top ten tbh edit wait Go Gina love it's so underrated The thing with CTRL is almost every song was a highlight at some point, my trinity now is completely different to my initial faves. Go Gina has been creeping up on me for a while, it's a lowkey wigsnatcher. 10 hours ago, TRF. said: Surprised to see Silver Eye and Tei Shi so high! It's well deserved though Also looooove SZA and Melodrama, the album which I certainly never said anything bad about on Twitter. Just like I never called it the most overrated album of 2017 3 hours ago, theblackestday said: Welp I dislike every album in this set (except that Tel Shi girl which I don't know) Did you or did you not include Miss Solana on your own best of, though? Thanks for the comments y'all! Top 10 is coming, but not until next year.
Vxspertine Posted December 31, 2017 Posted December 31, 2017 3 hours ago, Eeveelution said: Twigs has released not an album nor an EP since Hallucinogen, coincidence? I think not. 3 hours ago, Eeveelution said: High Violet > Boxer > SWB Boxer > Aligator > SWB > High Violet
Tom Vercetti Posted December 31, 2017 Posted December 31, 2017 I think the Melodrama Placement is fine. I'm curious about that Tame x SZA album if it could be pulled off. Tei Shi is kind of under the radar, but what can she do.
Playa Playa Posted December 31, 2017 Posted December 31, 2017 Crawl Space sounds so interesting. Another album I need to listen to...
ATRL Moderator madonnas Posted December 31, 2017 ATRL Moderator Posted December 31, 2017 I was really excited for Crawl Space but the only Tei Shi song I can get behind is Bassically. I don't think Melodrama is ridiculously low, it's a very good album but I get why people wouldn't have it as their absolute fave. Silver Eye is surprisingly high! I couldn't get behind the middle section that dragged.
Bloomers Posted January 1, 2018 Posted January 1, 2018 You are a great writer and it's always great reading what you have to say. I'm going to go through your whole best of eventually, but for now I just checked out the most recent update. I haven't heard the Feist or Goldfrapp album, mostly because I've been dead for the vast majority of the year (in a good way of course!) and I just was not able to get around to them (and likely won't be able to for the first couple weeks of 2018 also ) But I did enjoy the Tei Shi, SZA, and Lorde albums. I agree with your placement for Lorde. I liked the album, but she's never really clicked for me the way she seems to for everyone else. I appreciate what she does, but she doesn't really speak to me.
Pink Matter Posted January 1, 2018 Posted January 1, 2018 Nice list! Melodrama and Ctrl are my faves here. I didn't spend much time with Silver Eye or Pleasure but they were both nice listens from what I remember. Never heard of this Tei Shi girl Let me check ha out
Lucas32 Posted January 1, 2018 Posted January 1, 2018 Melodrama and Pleasure getting the acclaim they deserve
World Eater Posted January 1, 2018 Posted January 1, 2018 The Louvre is one of my least favorites from Melodrama tbh. I mean I love some parts of it, like the chorus, but I feel like most of the lyrics are cliché + the song is overproduced, but I'm gonna black Jack Antonoff for that. Love the album tho! Miss Feist also kinda did that, huh?
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