2017 – Page 2 – Disaesthetic

Best of 2017: #7-10

Reba Meyers // Credit: Marshall Amps

This is my second favorite time of the year, just after summer time. You get all the special holidays, NFL playoffs, and the NBA season getting more serious. I find time slows down more learning earlier this year it’s a great time to vacation. Everyone’s broke by new year day. I look forward to going somewhere next year. I’ll never forget my religious in Japan but I think I need something more… tropical I’ll say next time. Vacations add to the plus column for this time of year.

Ranking my favorite albums of the year though, a tradition like Christmas eve. I’ve listed the best each year since I got started buying songs on iTunes almost ten years ago. I wish I had archived my old tumblr posts before deleting the entire account. I started extensively writing back in 2010 after joining a journalism class my senior year of high school. Check out my favorites last year. I fortunately listed previous years on my listography. Take a look before proceeding with this list. Those old lists archive where my tastes were that year. I look back ever year to remind myself of where I was.

Perhaps that’s why I find myself doing this each year. I’m anthropologist. Music says a lot about us individually and culturally as a society. Look back twenty years later and you’ll find music always tells the story of that year, and those times. My lists have evolved from me just gushing over albums I really liked into recognizing where I am now and how that might speak to the rest of us. I really hope you enjoy these entries below, at least a fraction of how much I reveled in writing this. Four through six next week!

Uniform
Wake in Fright
10

“Everyone was saying it was morning in America. Someone had to say, ‘It’s fucking midnight man!'” Vic Bondi said on the American Hardcore documentary eleven years ago. Just like then, we’re in another Reagan-esk climate where life gets crueler for most and the wealthiest among us retain and further ingratiate society’s resources. I’m not here to get political, only to indicate when people like Trump, the Koch brothers, or any other oligarch shatters the glass of society its pieces always reflect the eventual revolt.

When I see Black Flag’s four bars I’m reminded to never surrender. Symbolically its a way of life. The primal roar of Uniform and the image of their cross and scythe represents the same anarchy towards society’s numbness to cultural issues. Wake in Fright confronts a world on fire. There’s no amnesia with these guys about any moral that’s melting. “Tabloid” mobilizes the blood flow with Ben Greenberg’s buzzsaw guitar ripping flesh like Kerry King in Slayer. Michael Berden’s voice sounds like a smelting factory or burning witches.

Just two men and a drum machine make the sound of chaos for an audience. It’s a contemporary version of hardcore punk in the early eighties.

“The Killing of America” defines the band’s social voice yet sounds as gruesome as the subject matter. If Slayer orchestrated the symphony of war, Uniform would fit perfectly in percussion section. The music video shows every mass shooting in America by location. According to the Gun Violence Archive, in 2016 there were 383 mass shootings resulting in 432 mass shooting deaths. The reality and art match in unison. Most of the big publications have no awareness about Uniform’s unapologetic attitude to bring the worst of society into their art.

I haven’t heard another artist speak so directly to issues like gun violence since Uniform emerged. The urgency in their records and live show breath the kind of real life we’ve been missing since the original wave of hardcore.

Cigarettes After Sex
Cigarettes After Sex
9

A few years ago Cigarettes After Sex seemed like some bedroom gem I found on Bandcamp. Never thought they’d have a sold out a show in San Diego. Thankfully I won’t miss them again but they’re charging twice the price now, and why shouldn’t they? Obviously their sensual bedroom jams caught the attention of audiences across the county. They’re selling out multiple venues and embarking on a world tour next year. Their self-titled debut is a hipster foreplay soundtrack after a night out on the gentrified neighborhood, i.e. my North Park experience.

I haven’t seen the same level of appreciation I have from other publications. After another album release the Pitchforks of the world will probably trip all over themselves to praise how great this band is now. No, they were good 5 years ago, got serious in 2015, and put together a debut far ahead of bands together for three or four albums.

“Apocalypse” sounds exactly like waking up with someone you just met last night. He or she doesn’t have to be anywhere. You don’t want them to leave, so let the infatuation take over. You’ll find this theme throughout. They’re not breaking any kind of new ground in the love song department but Cigarettes After Sex have established themselves as the hipster millennial heart-ache band. Listen to “K” which sounds exactly like its title; a disappointed text message.

I can’t pick these albums each year simply off one single. When I hear an album I’m looking for some kind order or theme, but most importantly coherence. Not just talented people making great songs but the sculpting of a finished product. No filler tracks. Everyone song placed purposefully. On their first record Cigarettes After Sex don’t just manage but excelled beyond the years of their existence. I can’t stress enough this is their first album and on the level of bands multiple studio albums.

They’re simply impressive and I’m excited to see them next year. I get a great sense of satisfaction doing these lists with bands I remember putting great work when no one was paying attention. Well they’re listening now.

Joey Bada$$
All-Amerikkkan Bada$$
8

In a few years I might regret only putting this eighth. Joey Bada$$ popped up on my radar five years ago with his 1999 mixtape. Still one of the best summers of my life. His vibe recalled conscious rap from the early nineties. Think Nas and Tupac. All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ modernizes his influences for today’s political and social landscape. Just take “For My People” his best song to date and an anthem for all time. It’s one of the best songs of the year too. Joey throws respect to Jay with “I don’t wanna be good, nigga, I’m tryna be great.” There’s a positive unionizing theme that’s easy to remember and vibe with.

“Temptation” borrows more from Me Against the World than anything else. Zianna Oliphant’s speech in the intro gets my eyes a little wet when I even think about it. Joey has a knack for tapping into your emotions in the beginning of songs like this one. In the first verse there’s a great diss at Drake “I really came up from the bottom. Strugglin’, my momma on her last dollar.” Drake started in acting and made his way as a rapper. Joey made his way a couple years ago on Mr. Robot with a reoccurring role.

His ability on this record to utilize his influences and add more anthemic pop sensibilities makes him a unique individual. Joey writes songs now to reach the ears of the world, not just the rap community. He’s becoming more like Jay-Z than any other MC.

“Y U Don’t Love Me? (Miss Amerikkka)” and “Devastated” feel more uniquely his own than heavily influenced by the nineties. Miss Amerikkka finds Joey hating America in one breathe but longing for it to love him back. It’s a bit more ambitious than the rest of the project and doesn’t try any pop gymnastics. I enjoy the album being front loaded with “singles” or hits and the back end features traditional riffing with Schoolboy Q and J. Cole. More for the people than the masses.

As great and raw as 1999 was it didn’t have these kinds of captivating elements. It had all the pure lyricism but not the advanced song crafting. Clearly Joey matured past being a kid making mixtapes. He’s starting to master song writing. He’s not good, he’s great.

Code Orange
Forever
7

I’ve admitted over the past few years feeling distant from metal. When I quit City of Crooks in 2015 I started checking out of the scene. I’m not one of these pretentious “I grew up” guys. I still love certain bands. Meshuggah and Metallica made some of my favorite albums last year and of their careers. I totally missed the boat on Fallujah last year. It’s just not dominating my ears like in past years. Rap, indie, and everything else impacted me more. This year even more so. There’s only one heavy record on this year’s list, a first for me, but it’s a seminal career defining album.

Code Orange appointed themselves among the elite heavy bands on the planet. In my opinion the number one live act you should go see right now. I bought tickets to see them with Meshuggah January 29th at The Wiltern. It’s going to be a wet dream to see these two nuke Los Angeles that night. I missed them coming through San Diego with Gojira and couldn’t miss them again on an even better ticket.

Forever like I mentioned before is already critically acclaimed. I wrote a review back in February. If you want in depth analysis I encourage you to read my piece. I prefer to talk about its impact since the release. The album is universally praised by their peers. When Randy Blythe, Lamb of God, loves your album that’s all the justification you need.

If I could draft a band for a chaotic anything goes group I’d pick Reba Meyer. She can sing beautifully and thrash on guitar with the best of them. Watch her performances on social media since Forever came out. The whole band devastates every performance but she’s the one leading it. They’re special as a group but she strikes me as the mastermind, especially as a fan of her side project Adventures.

I can’t get over how fucking slow metal publications are on these guys. Metal Injection called the album “a little inaccessible at first” while drooling over other chaotic projects. This is far more accessible than anything Nails or The Dillinger Escape Plan has done overall. Find me a better metal album that’s more artistically pleasing in every way.

The musicianship is insane, yet it crosses over into popular territory earning them a Grammy nomination. Say what you want about the academy, the acknowledgement to me says it all and hopefully a win will say even more.

Most Disappointing Albums of 2017

Most-Disappointing

Jonas Bjerre // Photo Credit: Stephen McKendree

I’m just gonna say it, Mew’s Visuals disheartened me. Oh yeah, we’re going right for the hangnail. Anyone acquainted with me knows Mew is still one of my favorite bands. They were the first ambitious dive into more unknown and independent artists back when I was finding my tastes. Frengers might be my favorite album, ever. Definitely on the list of albums I’d take stranded to a deserted island but Visuals departs from everything I always loved about them.

The composition of songs seem pop focused and built from keyboards and synths rather than anamorphic guitars. Don’t make any assumptions about my opinions on digitally produced sounds either. + – explored this territory too however the roots of Mew could still be heard. Check the bridge from “Satellites” two minutes in for yourself. I remember how triumphant it felt hearing that section after such a long hiatus. There’s no reference back to the progressive melodies from No More Stories… or any of the enchanting multi-layered percussive recordings. I don’t find myself drifting from the present like I usually would. I don’t doubt their intentions but I can’t help stepping outside my biases and say most of Visuals sounds like hipster car commercial trash. It honestly hurts to say that but listen to “85 Videos” and “Carry Me to Safety” to judge for yourself. “The Wake of Your Life” sounds like some Young The Giant bullshit.

I don’t have any explanation or cause for why they took this direction. Mew have always worked on their terms. I don’t suspect any kind of A&R or label coercion but I am disappointed in what they’ve produced this time. Hopefully it’s nothing more than an experiment.

Perhaps the most disappointing album came from Volumes, whom I hyped heavily since last year. Strong singles but a disjointed portfolio. “Feels Good” still stands out despite most of the remaining index. It’s one of few tracks from this batch building of No Sleep and the dynamic vocal structures and “djent” rhythms established since their inception. Perhaps “Feels Good” was conceived before the departure of Michael Barr. Volumes hasn’t fully synced with replacement Myke Terry yet. Rather than focus their growth around a talent who can actually sing and back Gus Farias they opted for an extremely stark rap venture.

Plainly the attempt
doesn’t work

“Hope” compels the sneer I get when Kevin Malone spills his stock pot of chill in The Office. It’s a mess and plainly the attempt doesn’t work. I’ve always liked Volumes’ stylistic incorporation of hip hop through two frontmen hyping each other, layering their vocals strategically. This full dive into actually rapping flounders. Using Pouya for “On Her Mind” actually works because he’s a rapper and they accomplished writing a foundation, in their style, to rap over. Different Animals seems a lot like the cover art, buckets of paint thrown at the wall.

There’s an honest attempt to make the most of Terry but the execution didn’t yield what I wanted. This idea artists produce what we want is convoluted and problematic but it shouldn’t matter what we want. Many times record companies force artists to create what audiences want however I don’t suspect Volumes were pressured to make anything specific. Going of that logic, they made exactly what they wanted but I doubt they got the targeted response. Certainly not from me.

Northlane didn’t disappoint in the same way as Mew or Volumes. Their campaign to promote and release Mesmer failed garner people’s attention. The album itself didn’t bother me but I think psychologically it’s an interesting album release to reflect on. Northlane tried the Beyoncé route, releasing an album digitally unannounced and without promotion, a foolishly idea that ultimately failed the project.

It worked for Beyoncé for many simple reasons, mainly she’s arguably the most popular female singer in the world. Never forget she and her camp famous worked in secret and struck right before Christmas, 2013. Before then she had her first child and looking back the world seemed to think of her as a famous celebrity rather than a once in a lifetime artist. Northlane forgot they weren’t Beyoncé and lost a great opportunity to generate the appropriate buildup for Mesmer. I found musically most received it well, including bigger publications. Again, they missed an opportunity to raise awareness and anticipation in releasing “Intuition” at the beginning of the year.

Thanks again for reading. Check back next Friday for some blind hype on next year’s expected albums.

Best of 2017

Best-of-2017

Julien Baker, Kendrick Lamar, and Reba Meyers

The end of the year is upon us and my favorite time of the year begins. I’m excited to dive deep into 2017’s seismic year for music. It’s one of the best of the decade, perhaps on the level of 2012 when Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, The Contortionist, and Japandroids were putting out their seminal projects. I really can’t wait to sharing my take on this year’s offerings. Imagine walking into this hyped gourmet bistro you’ve heard so much about and it exceeding your presumptions. This year has something for everyone. For me it’s a year where the albums I hoped for were above all the expectations I had.

Living in a post-fact world in Trump’s America, after a supposed post-racial world with Obama, I knew music, as always, would reflect the counter reality in the country. In the 80’s you had Black Flag and punk hardcore’s no surrender battle cry to Reagan’s morning in America facade. Earlier this decade, the metal scene I came from rejected the conventional business practices and embraced the independence and freedom of the internet. I’ll remember this year as one where woman said “fuck you” and used the internet, their social media platform, and wealth to stand against misogyny, sexual assault, and unbalance in their respective societies.

I’m still trying to find my own place in it as a man. In one way I fear I may be too ignorant. Of course I’ll never understand their experiences but I know how ignorant I was in the past with my language. What else am I doing wrong? I don’t fear making a mistake, how else does one learn? I’m afraid however of the exile and branding this overzealous society marks you with. I want someone to explain my wrongs and see I’m not an evil person. Champion my growth as a person, don’t banish me from the village.

Now conversely, I couldn’t be prouder as a citizen of the world to see woman, and all victims of sexual assault, come after their perpetrators’ throats, ruthlessly. I’m so proud to see woman continue to rise in music while the market still favors and is dominated by men. I’m excited to share with you Reba Meyers’ incredible musicianship and stage dominance this year. Meyers and Code Orange are must see live music and in my opinion the hottest ticket in the world right now. Just look. Seriously. No wonder they get to play with Gojira. They’re as sick live as The Dillinger Escape Plan or anyone else I’ve ever seen. It’s hard not to bow down like you did to your childhood legends, for me James Hetfield, Dave Mustaine, Dimebag, so many others. She’s in that group now and Code Orange took their place as one of the best bands around.

Women weren’t the only ones scribing about modern society. Kendrick Lamar owned this year, and officially owns the decade. When I think about last decade Thursday, Mew, Jimmy Eat World, Radiohead, Slipknot, Foo Fighters, so many formative bands come to mind immediately. For me it’s hard to say who dominated last decade but without question Kendrick stands above everyone else since 2010. DAMN. made him completely untouchable. Where Tupac Shakur was this mythical figure my biological father introduced me to, K Dot will be same for my children (someday, I hope). He’s a one of the greats and we should appreciate his work while he’s here.

pastpresent

Past and Present

I’ll also remember this year for exorcising metalcore and “heavy” music predominately out of my system. Before someone says I think I’m above something, let me just say yeah you might be right. I still enjoy a good heavy album. I just recently wrote about one where I pointed out most of these bands struggle writing just one good song, let alone an album. I crave a complete installation. In becoming a vinyl connoisseur this year I expect a full canvas and subtle details to hit me in all the right places when I put needle on wx. If I’m spending on average $20, when I could just stick with my $15 a month for Apple Music. You better not bore me with bullshit and half-assed product. I expect your best and you better occupy my living room as well as your recording space.

Heavy music will always have a place in my life. I went to shows religiously and played with these bands. How I managed an opportunity to perform before Fallujah, Lorena Shore, Wovenwar, and a bunch more is beyond me. Those were fortunate experiences I’ll always be proud of and brag about forever. Once my life changed last year I opened myself to so many new experiences. The music never pushed me away, who I became didn’t identify with heavy music anymore. I can’t go to the gym without it. Veil of Maya, Novelists, and Threat Signal are this years best in the gym for me but I don’t seek out this music outside the gym.

After completing my therapy I didn’t feel the same. I’m not angry, hateful, and thankfully as spiteful as I was. Sure I still have short comings but I’d rather remove myself from my negative emotions and situations. I was at peace for the first time in a long time when I spent time in Japan this past spring. Real Estate’s In Mind or Father John Misty’s Pure Comedy let my mind daze. I marveled at the Japanese country standing still as I sped by seasoned farmers tending to their rice paddies. Men and women driving unfamiliarly small vehicles. School kids making out by the train tracks. These albums were the soundtrack for those trips. Like anesthesia, I sat and saw outside myself. My body was just a vessel for a moment and I flew through the countryside. It was a high without the substance abuse.

In living on my own for about 18 months I’ve had to find ways to enjoy solitude. I’m writing this in a neighborhood cafe by my place. It’s a modest pleasure I’ve always considered a luxury. I made this place my spot when I moved to North Park. The apartment is great but it’s also nice to leave and go somewhere. As Christian Madsbjerg writes in the bible I’m reading “escape the zoo… observe life on the savannah.” Out here I can walk around the savanna I wanted and enjoy how my life looks and sounds. This year Julien Baker, Hodera, Turnover, and so many more resonated with my experiences. I’m excited to share with you what I meant by that last sentence and how these artists stack up as this year comes to a close.

Starting next month I will have a new piece every Friday leading up to my top album of the year on December 29th, right before new years. I’m sharing this post with a wider audience than last year so if you haven’t read my work before check out last year’s list. Aside from my annual top 10 albums I’ve put together new lists. Next Friday I’ll share albums that should have made last year’s top 10. At least I found them this year! See you all then.