Author: Michael

10. The XX – On Hold:The first track of 2017 to make an impression, this is The XX at their most pop and one of their best.  The melodic hook at the “the stars and the charts and the cards” part is one of the best moments of the year.  I’m sure there are a million and one remixes of this that I would hate.

9. Chastity Belt – Different Now:Another early 2017 entry that we listened to a LOT.  This understated track from the Walla Walla, Washington band seems wise beyond their years. I’m not sure how these young women came up with the line “Yeah, it’s different now, you’re old” but it’s too true.

8. St. Vincent – New York:  The first single of the Masseducation album, this track is a smash right from the first note of “New York isn’t New York”.  Known for being a bit quirky, Annie Clark is the great guitarist who also knows her way around writing great singles.

7. Broken Social Scene – Hug of Thunder:  Songs like this title track from the latest BSS album is why we keep buying their albums.  The band really shines behind trendy, hushed female vocals.  Possibly our favourite BSS track since 2002’s “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl”.

6. Lorde – Green Light:  One of the biggest songs of 2017 is also being toasted as one of the best of the year across most publications.  Just one of the many highlights in the New Zealander’s career,  the leadoff track  from Melodrama was inescapable throughout the summer.

5. Swordfish – Ghost Song:  The Michigan band’s May release is like a more emo version of Ben Folds Five’s mid 90s classic “Brick”.  A mournful horn runs parallel to the band shouting that last Halloween was the worst.  In a few years this will pop up on a road trip playlist and it will get replayed 5 times before moving on.

4. Caroline Says – Winter is Cold:  This acoustic track from the Austin based Caroline Sallee grabbed our attention immediately and never lost it’s charm even after hundreds of listens. The tossed off thought of the line “I’ve never been to the west coast, I’ve always heard it’s the best though” is one of our favourite lyrics of the year.

3. Rostam – Gwan:  Released in the spring, this was a track we kept coming back to.  The leftfield pop song is so full of joy and wonder that it’s hard not to smile throughout.  Rostam does not have a particularly strong singing voice but here it fits this charming track perfectly.

2. Alvvays – In Undertow:  The Toronto band has a knack for writing great pop hooks and there is no better example than this. This is the kind of earworm that will get stuck in your head for days and help give the listener a sunny disposition even in the dead of winter.

1. The Moonlandingz – The Strangle of Anna:  This sleazy track from the band’s first full length sounds like it was released in the early 90s.  The female vocals, French lyrics and echo on the drums add a certain majesty while the lyrics are a mystery.  The “Sunday morning” lyric recalls The Velvet Underground while “ma belle” brings to mind The Beatles. The video and feel of the track give it a tongue in cheek quality but it’s quality none the less. This is one track that we listened to over and over and over again throughout 2017.

5.  The National – Sleep Well Beast:  In all honesty, only the fourth best album from The National out of their last four but they can still pull out the goods many times within the format.  The songs individually are not quite as memorable as “Pink Rabbits” or “Apartment Song” but taken as a whole, it all holds together so well.  Feeling like the start of something new, it will be fascinating to see how the next few albums go.

4.  Lorde – Melodrama:  Lorde’s sophomore album topped many best of lists around the world and for good reason. Containing two of the best songs of the year in “Green Light” and “Supercut”, publications are adding many other Lorde tracks to that list. If Kate Bush was reinvented as a pop starlet, this is perhaps what she would sound like.  Working with Jack Antonoff, this was the mainstream album to get in 2017.

3.  Kelly Lee Owens – Kelly Lee  Owens:  Possibly the biggest moment of the year in terms of “where did this come from?”, KLO was able to follow up the devastating single “Anxi” with an equally great album. “Evolution” kept us moving while “Cbm” had our heads in space.  Breezing through techno, pop, ambient, dance and R and B this was great stuff that we kept recommending to others whether they cared or not.

2.  Slowdive – Slowdive:  Possibly held off the top spot by the final two songs being a bit of a drag, 80% of this had us walking around the neighbourhood in amazement and wonder. Never having owned a Slowdive record before, the Minor Victories disc from last year perked our ears up for wanting to hear more from Rachel Goswell and the gang.

1. Elbow – Little Fictions:  While we’ve enjoyed other Elbow albums and singles but this is the first time it all came together for these ears.  The first without original drummer Richard Jupp and with some of the Manchester band now living in different locations, the band sounds locked in on album opener “Magnificent (She Says)” and the understated “Head For Supplies”.  We realize there is a certain amount of Dad rock associated with picking this as our favourite album of the year but ball don’t lie, it’s a beautiful album.

 

5.  Joey Purp Featuring Chance the Rapper – Girls (Song):  The Pitchfork Music Festival clip of Joey Purp playing his “Phonebooth” track last summer had us searching for his other highlights where we discovered this one with Chance the Rapper. The Sound Opinion podcast guys have been banging on for people like me to check out Chance but we never fully have. We should definitely have done it sooner as we love this track from 2016!

4.  Curve – Doppelganger (Album):  Perpetually ranking as one of our top 50 albums of all time, this 1992 release got the deluxe treatment in 2017. Adding the Pubic Fruit EP collection along with a handful of bonus tracks, it was easy to see why this one had fans excited. While there was a missed opportunity by not including much in the way of a booklet and the volume right at the beginning of “Ten Little Girls” is far too low, it was nice to have Curve back in our lives.

3. Radiohead – I Promise (Single):  Is this a new or old release? Finally, officially put on the deluxe edition of OK Computer, this beautiful track from the mid-90s certainly would have been a hit single if released at that time but the band didn’t think it was good enough. In reality, it may have made them even more popular… if that is at all possible.

2.  Saint Etienne – Kiss And Make Up (Single):  In the past year, The London band re-released virtually all of their albums in two disc sets and this Field Mice cover was from the first one, Foxbased Alpha.  One of their earliest singles;  it’s simple percussion, reggae lite synth line, and a breezy vocals from New Zealand singer Donna Savage make this an unstoppable living room dancefloor filler.

1. The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead 2017 Deluxe Edition (Album):  Another one of our all time favourites, The Queen Is Dead also received the deluxe treatment in 2017.  Deluxe sets have two purposes, present classic albums with great new sound and provide a clutch of material from the vaults to make fans want to keep purchasing the same material over and over again. While the add-ons of demo recordings and a live concert were fine, it was the brilliant new mix of the original album that made us fall in love with this album all over again.