Ryan's Favorite Releases of 2017

2017 was about as strange of a year as any other I have lived through; for me personally however, it was a massive year of change. While things around me (and possibly things about me) shifted throughout this time, my love for music did not. Thankfully Julia included two of my favorite releases in her own list so I could really narrow it down to a Top 3.

1) Precious Art by Rozwell Kid  (West Virgina, US)

I have always liked Rozwell Kid. Their songs are more often than not silly in nature, well written, but above all else fun. As is typical with albums I love immensely, I wasn't super into Precious Art when I heard it back in June. Then as the weeks went on a track would come on shuffle and I'd think, "Hey, I actually like this song." Within a couple of months I had listened to the album front to back at least two dozen times and I started to pick up things that I wasn't aware of my first few listens through. It still has that silly, less than serious attitude of previous works. The best example has to be the song "Wishman." It's my favorite Dad-Joke except put to music. "I asked the Wishman to make me a dog. He said 'your wish is my command' and I said 'Woof! Woof! Woof!" It's hilarious. It's the conversation I have with my father on a daily basis, "Dad will you make me a sandwich?' 'Poof! You're a sandwich!" With that said there are hidden gems that, while they seem as matter-of-fact as "Wishman" are profoundly heartbreaking and punch me right in the feels. "Booger" is the prime example. As I hear it, the song centers around a person waiting for their lover to call them because that's all they really care about in life is this other person. So they're just picking their nose waiting when finally they get the call. They get so excited they smear their booger all over the phone screen. Then they break up, and the only memory of this person is that booger smeared across the screen. It's funny, it's sad, it's everything Rozwell Kid does best. On top of the album itself was the show. I had never seen them and as the night progressed I wound up getting them to sign this record for a friend of mine who couldn't make it. Then they played "Wishman" three times in a row, and on the fourth time through let an audience member change the animal from a dog to another animal. The guy chose a cow, then the whole crowd Mooed; following that they were Mooed the rest of their night in Denver. Rozwell Kid was hands down the best show of 2017 and released the best album of 2017.  Be sure to grab it from their Bandcamp page or through the SideOneDummy store.

2) VOIDS by Minus The Bear (Seattle, Washington, US)

I have listened to VOIDS more than any other album this year. In the years I've spent invested in music I've noticed a trend: the addition of a new drummer more often than not leads to massive changes. It makes sense, drumming is the backbone to everything, so why wouldn't it change things around it? I also wasn't expecting them to release something this late in their career that I would love and enjoy even more than their previous releases. My love for VOIDS isn't in how well they have evolved musically (but rest assured they have) it's in how much they seemed to mature after Infinity Overhead. If this album were released 4 years ago it probably would have been at the top of my list. It relates so well to where I was in life at that point in time. It makes me feel that longing and devotion to another person that I had so long ago. It's all of my nostalgia captured in a 46 minute long segment. I listen to it front to back almost religiously, and every time I do I nearly break into tears. "What about the boat?" is likely my favorite track they have ever made. It has that old Minus The Bear sound but it's been coupled with these heavy complex emotions surrounding the lyrics. If you haven't hopped on the bandwagon yet, you can visit their website or browse through the Suicide Squeeze store.

3) Mortals by Down I Go (Stockholm, Toronto, Chicago)

I have already written a full review on here previously which you may scroll through if you are so inclined, but they must be on the list. It is my favorite band at their utmost best, and I think I have finally started to pinpoint why. Down I Go aren't a band. I mean, they are, but not in a traditional sense. They live in different countries. Where most bands write in the same room these gentlemen seem to feed off of their distance. The fact that they will in all likelihood never share a stage together (as saddening as that is) means that they have the freedom to explore sounds and ideas that they perhaps wouldn't have thought of doing if they actually did occupy the same space. You don't need to be a fan of heavy music to be a fan of theirs; all you really need is to focus. There are so many harmonies riddled through 4 songs that I still have a hard time believing their vocalist is THE ONLY person who does the vocals. Every layer is him. It makes my brain hurt. Hell, it even hurts my throat hearing him scattered about each of the harmonies, screams, and growls. Like them on facebook, follow them on Twitter, or do the world a favor and buy their music and merchandise so that they can have the money to self-produce more works of art such as this.

Julia's 2017 Albums of the Year

2017 was probably the best year for music in a long time. So many of my favorite artists released stellar albums and making this list has been a delightful challenge. I narrowed it down to nine albums because picking a tenth was incredibly difficult.

1. After Laughter – Paramore
I tried to write a full review of After Laughter but none of my drafts were even close to express my thoughts and feelings about this album. It’s easy, yet difficult, to articulate just how fantastic After Laughter is. It’s such a change from Paramore’s previous releases and I think that Paramore made the best decision by going this route. It’s a gamble to completely change your band’s sound, but I think the gamble totally paid off and that it was the best thing Paramore did. I could hear some of their new sound on their self-titled release, but I never thought that their fifth album would be a colorful, retro dream. Each Paramore album is more mature than the previous, but After Laughter is the most mature and grown up record in their discography. It is a striking reminder that life is not always peachy and that hope can be dimmed. This is the most honest album I have heard in quite a while and it is refreshing to hear it coming from Paramore.

2. Harry Styles - Harry Styles
This is as surprising to me as it is to you. I am not a One Direction fan by any stretch of the imagination and I don’t like any of the other member’s solo work. Except Harry Styles. This is one of the handful of albums that doesn’t have any songs I skip. This album clearly has retro influences and Harry isn’t shy about sharing his love for older bands and artists - he did a fantastic cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” on a BBC Live Lounge, and has talked about being greatly influenced by David Bowie and Pink Floyd. I am excited to see where Styles takes his solo material in the years to come. 

3. Science Fiction - Brand New
Note: I began creating this list and writing about Science Fiction well before the news about Jesse Lacey came to light. I’ve wrestled with keeping this on the list and writing about it since then. Brand New, as a whole, mean a lot to me and their music means a lot to me – Science Fiction is no exception. If anybody has issues, comments, or wants to further discuss why I left it on the list, do not hesitate to reach out to me. I would be more than happy to talk about my reasoning.

When Brand New’s ‘Fifth Album’ was announced, I cried in a Michael’s craft store (then the parking lot of said craft store). I immediately purchased the ‘Very Limited’ vinyl and tickets to their Boston tour date without knowing anything about the final Brand New album ever. This album has been on this list since it was released. Brand New has outdone themselves yet again. Every album is more abstract, introspective, and better than the one before. This album is the perfect synthesis of The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me and Daisy. I have listened to this record too many times to count and I find something new with each listen. The lyrics are artfully crafted and paired perfectly with melodies and rhythms. It only seems fitting that this is Brand New’s last release. Science Fiction will never beat The Devil and God for me, but it comes pretty darn close.

4. Good Nature - Turnover
I didn’t think Turnover were going to go full dream-pop on Good Nature, but they did and I love it. This album makes me think of summer and everything that comes with it; sunshine, beach trips, late nights, sunsets, driving with the windows open, the whole nine. It has a super smooth flow from beginning to end and I love that. This album has a much more positive feel both musically and lyrically compared to Peripheral Vision. Turnover means a lot to me, as does this album. Good Nature is like instant happy for me and never fails to put a smile on my face and brings me back to warm summer days that turned into cool summer nights.

5. True View - Stick To Your Guns
It took a few listens for me to really fall in love with True View. To me, since The Hope Division was released, Stick To Your Guns can’t release a bad album. The things talked about on True View are more introspective than last year’s EP, Better Ash Than Dust, and their last full-length album, Disobedient. They have never shied away from putting out records with politically-charged commentary, but I am glad they didn’t go that route with True View. During a year where politics was at the forefront of basically everything, I greatly appreciated this record for not being political. This album has a slightly different sound from their previous albums but it is still the Stick To Your Guns we all know and love.

6. Turn Out the Lights - Julien Baker
I don’t even know where to start with this album. I absolutely loved Sprained Ankle and Turn Out The Lights is like a more grown-up Sprained Ankle. The first time I heard "Appointments," the first single off this album, I cried. Baker has a way with saying things eloquently without sugar-coating the truth. That is a difficult thing to do, but Baker does it perfectly with every song she releases. This album is honest and real. Baker has a way with words and creating music that sticks with you.

7. Waiting for Morning to Come - Being As An Ocean
I fell in love with this album the first time I listened to it. But then I fell out of love with it. Then in love with it again. I love Being As An Ocean and their entire catalog of music but Waiting for Morning to Come is very different from their previous releases (Being As An Ocean, How We Both Wondrously Perish) and it is a complete departure from their first release, Dear G-d. The instrumental tracks between songs helps the album flow unlike others on this list. Joel Quartuccio is a brilliant lyricist and his abilities shine on this record. I’m incredibly glad that Being As An Ocean bought out their contract to release this album because it seemed like Equal Vision was never going to.

8. Melodrama – Lorde
It took a long time for Lorde to grow on me after the release of Pure Heroine. I could not stand "Royals" and hearing that song everywhere turned me off to Lorde completely for a while. Once I came around to liking her, she has become one of my favorite female pop artists of all time. Melodrama is much more mature and has a different energy than Pure Heroine which I love. Lorde has really grown up and matured and this album shows that growth along with the troubles that come with it.

9. A Black Mile to the Surface - Manchester Orchestra
I listened to this album after seeing just about everybody talk about it on Twitter and Instagram and it was like nothing I have ever heard from Manchester Orchestra before. This album is complex, haunting, and rich. With each listen, I hear more and more little things I had missed before. Each song tells a story and the lyrics are incredibly well-written. The record as a whole flows beautifully from beginning to end.

Honorable mentions

1. Ritual (EP) - Envy On The Coast

2. As You Please - Citizen

3. Feel Something - Movements

4. From the Unforgiving Arms of God (EP) - END

Were there albums I completely missed this year that you loved? Tell me! Send me a message or tweet!