Best of 2017 – Page 2

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 Albums I Didn’t Notice Last Year

Best-of-16-I-Missed

Evan Stephens Hall of Pinegrove

Every year I put together a seemly irrefutable list of my top 10 albums. Last year wasn’t too different. I wouldn’t change my top 2. The Hotelier and Fit for a King will always represent the ying and yang of 2016. Looking back I would definitely amend some of my other choices with albums I found this year. I always miss an album or two each year but I overlooked several great ones in 2016, some of which would make my top 10 now.

It’s common to dismiss or ignore albums during their release and only later acknowledge their greatness. Pinkerton was labeled one of the greatest flops. Decades later it’s one of their most influence records. It took the world twenty years to figure out Meshuggah become the most influence metal band at the turn of the 21st century. Sometimes it takes us years to catch-up with genius ahead of its time. Took me a year discover the following gems.

I happened to stubble upon Totorro through Xavier, a nice fellow who liked the band I was in. He snapchats whatever he’s vibing to. I caught a melody of “Chevalier Bulltoe” and I’ve been hooked since. Come to Mexico wouldn’t have made my top 10 last year however they deserved recognition then and now. I’ve read comparisons to Chon and Dredg on Bandcamp but they remind me of a happier Penpal. Obviously instrumental bands have higher musical proficiency, but Totorro’s ability to layer multiple sounds, without feeling cramped or overwhelmed, distinguishes them.

Architect’s All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us stayed in my gym playlist all year round. Certainly a better album than the bottom tier of from last year’s top 10. “A Match Made in Heaven” has remain in my rotation since I’ve heard it. The last minute’s airy and open breakdown pushes me through the wall during my cardio workout. Through each song the guitar tone carries such incredible weight without losing any clarity through muddying down-tuning. “Downfall” and “Nihilist” exhibit these hues best.

I’m fascinated by how much they’ve already accomplished yet only now have they connected with me. Forming in 2004, they have six other studio albums, none of which I could say anything notable about. The death of lead guitarist, founding member, Tom Searle last summer pushed out every emotion, every ounce of will the band had in the studio. The result bares their best and most meaningful work to date.

I’m pretty fortunate to have opened on a bill headlined by Fallujah a few years ago. Probably a hundred people or less showed up but I remember my excitement playing with a unique band who had just put out The Flesh Prevails. There wasn’t anything quite like it. Coming from the bay area during a metal renascence explains their unique concoction of spacey lucid sounds detailing their extremely nerdy brand of death metal. On Dreamless Fallujah perpetuate these glorious elements to new heights.

The solo on “The Void Alone” sounds like traveling through space discovering the new frontier, three trillion light years away. Andrew Baird’s drumming on “Scar Queen” leads every direction and motion of the track. It’s one of the most impressive performances I’ve heard in years. Honestly reminds me of Brandon Trahan’s brilliance on “Orphans” in 2010. The usual suspects of course throw in their generic criticism of “do something new” but if more of the same means more excellence, I’m in.

As years go by, trends in “The Scene” oscillate, existence of bands fleeting, but Dance Gavin Dance stay rock solid. A decade later on their seventh album they’re arguably better now than ever. It’s also the most stable line-up going on three albums now. Since parting ways with Kurt Travis in 2010 I stopped paying attention. Thanks to some friends Mothership pulled me back into the fold. Tilian Pearson appears fully integrated after two studio albums. Instant Gratification resembles some of DGD’s raw past with cohesion where Acceptance Speech seemed disjointed in comparison.

Every recording and writing element came together on Mothership. Never a better produced DGD album with seemless unison between each song. There’s a boogie groove I haven’t felt from them since Happiness during the “Inspire The Liars” bridge which funks like a get down club. My favorite “Betrayed by The Game” soars vocally and sonically through Will Swan. The main hook flutters beautifully along with Pearson’s memorable callback lyrics. Seeing them in March further imbued me to these songs. Next month I will see them perform Mothership in it’s entirety. I’d put it within or at least very close to my top 5 last year.

How I missed Pinegrove in general is beyond me. I owe all my gratitude to my Bro Gang brother Jake. He showed me Cardinal on the way to meet up with fellow Bro Gang lifer Greg. At first I didn’t think much of them until an epiphanous moment hearing “Cadmium” in my car. I felt their volition and jubilee. There’s something very comfortable about their sound and Evan Stephens Hall’s twangy vocals. Obviously that description could dismay some after this past week’s comments from Hall; however, I’m going to let whatever happens with his situation play out. I don’t feel any different about their music.

Seeing them perform plenty of Cardinal material reinforced my affection for the album. Experiencing “Size of The Moon” live had a profound effect on me. It reminded me of all these silly arguments I’ve had with people. You lose time and occasional bonds over stupid pointless shit that should have never mattered. I’ve become somewhat afraid of meeting new people from fear ranging from embarrassment to loss. Maybe I’ve lost some passion, maybe I’m afraid to lose more, but this coming year I’m looking to get outside my comfort level more. I’m tired of the seclusion over the past 2 years. I want to meet someone. Have those experiences again. Share time with someone, not just myself.

Look forward to my most disappointing albums of 2017 next week. New lists every Friday until December 29th.