EDIT: Lol. Okay, well that didn't work out. This song is still decent to me, but the album is a massive fall from grace.

Well I like it. Ready for the album.

What a delightfully strange little album. It's mostly got a melancholy alt-country flavor to it, but it has some truly astonishing left hooks as well, like a noise-punk number and even a (gorgeous) autotune ballad. Remarkably, though, it all hangs together in its earthy, romantic vibe. To me, (Sandy) Alex G imagines a new, post-millennial vision of folk music with Rocket that draws equally from traditional and synthetic sounds. It feels equally suited as a soundtrack to a sprawling, ... read more

Mehhh. It's decent ambient, but nowhere near as unique or textured as its predecessor. Narkopop sounds more like Gas' 90s albums, only in today's landscape the sound is less exciting. I could go to one of The Field's records to find a better version of most of what's being offered here. I don't think Narkopop is awful or anything, and I'm not unhappy the Gas project has been rebooted, but I think I'll stick with his earlier stuff for now.

Kendrick does it again. To me, he's operating on a higher level than really anyone else in music right now. DAMN is not as obviously ambitious as TPAB, sure, but it's way more compact and accessible as a result. It's got more quotables and memorable hooks than any previous Kendrick album too, and without sacrificing the depth and cohesion Kendrick is known for. Call me a fanboy, but this streak of classics Kendrick is on is seriously making the case for him as an all-time great for me.

I've ... read more

This is a gem. I love Fuck Buttons, and I also enjoyed the last release from Blanck Mass, though I felt it was a bit too scattered in how many styles it tried to tackle for it really stand out. This is not the case with World Eater. With this release, Power has found a way to synthesize every style he's ever played in the past (noise, vaporwave, industrial, techno, trap, chillwave...) into one heaving, sparkling monolith of an electronic album.

This is also the first release from Power in ... read more

Maybe it's just the nostalgia factor because it was a hit my freshman year of college, but I have a deep love of this album. Really, I think it's Future's best, so much catchier and better written than his more recent releases. Yeah he's not the best lyricist, and his style cribs a lot from pre-established Southern hip hop sounds, but the songs on Pluto are so catchy and so triumphant they always manage to put a smile on my face. Future had an appreciation for pop melody on this album that has ... read more

EDIT: Now that I've done a dive into Gizzard's discography, I can no longer call Flying Microtonal Banana my favorite record by the band (it's not even my favorite of 2017 now that Polygondwanaland is out), but it'll still be a psych rock highlight of this year for me nonetheless. I think it's one of the band's best produced albums, and its songs stand apart enough for it to be more accessible than a lot of their denser releases. Plus, it's the album that got me into the band in the first ... read more

Future's losing me, man. Yeah, there are some good beats here, and no song is too awful, but there is absolutely nothing truly new or interesting about this project to distinguish it from anything else he's put out over the past few years.

Future is at the adapt or die stage of his career. Newer generation artists like Young Thug and Lil Yachty have leap-frogged him, twisting the autotune-trap style that's made his music popular into something weirder and wilder. If Future continues to insist ... read more

So this is an interesting album. I just stumbled upon this band recently while attempting to broaden my repertoire of grindcore releases, and am pretty satisfied with their (very) singular take on the genre.

I'll say from the onset that these guys are abrasive, and uniquely so. The thing that is most likely to turn you off is the vocalist, who performs in a yelpy, boyish shout that sounds much different from the demonic shrieks and growls normally heard in this style. He sounds like he'd ... read more

I quite enjoy this album, and feel it's been a bit neglected since it came out. It's like one of those rare, perfect dreams that you can never quite remember upon waking aside from a few fuzzy details and how it made you feel.

The atmosphere is really dense and otherworldly, but also warm and comforting. The vocals, though rather reverby and amateurish in performance, are actually quite a charming addition, with pretty catchy vocal melodies to go along with the strange soundscapes. Jam ... read more

I'm a fan. Foxygen has been pretty hit or miss for me in the past, but I think they come through here for the most part with a creative set of songs that are significantly enhanced by the lush, over-the-top production style. So many of these songs are just bursting with ideas, restlessly hopping between rhythms and even genres yet somehow still making total sense.

The lyrics, though shallow on the surface, reveal a hidden depth in their subtle critiques of America's current gilded age. While ... read more

This album sounds like literally nothing else I have ever heard. Using samples before sampling was much of a thing, it's a mix of random, creepy found sound and dialogue snippits with jittery new wave and world-influenced instrumentals underneath.

It's possibly my favorite album either of these guys has ever been associated with. The atmosphere it creates is simultaneously primal and futuristic, alien and familiar, slightly disturbing yet undeniably fun. It's a truly unique release that was ... read more

A really strong breakthrough (debut?) that I'm surprised is not getting more attention. Priests remind me more of the bands of the classic post-punk era than most that operate in the style today. In addition to a deliberately spare production sound, they are consistently able to deliver anxious, energetic grooves with hints of pure punk, funk, and surf rock. There's even an occasional hint of strings or saxophone. The band it most brings to mind for me is Gang of Four, but there's no doubt ... read more

Saw these guys live on Trump's inauguration day. It was sublime. One of the best shows I've ever been to.

This album is pretty cool, probably my least favorite of the three, but it's RTJ so I still like it.

I'm pretty on the fence with this one, like a lot of you seem to be. The atmosphere and the groove are nice, but this song barely progresses at all and has basically 0 structure. Some bands can pull that off, but I'm not sure it suits Arcade Fire.

EDIT: Another instance where a single turned out to be much stronger than the album. Still a 2017 standout for me as far as singles go, though.

I really really really really like this song. Excited for the album.

The more time I spend with Bowie's discography, the more Scary Monsters stands out as one of my absolute favorites of his. Though certainly revered, it's rarely considered amongst Bowie's most essential albums, but the songs here just do it for me in a way that happens on almost no other album.

I think in part it's because Scary Monsters, to me, is the album where Bowie combines every style he'd been working with up to this point. We've got more traditional pop rock tunes like Up the Hill ... read more

A very smart pop record disguised as a collection of silly dance tunes. I don't always go for music this sugary, but KKB have happened upon a winning formula here. Definitely a late-year surprise for me.

Favorite tracks: Trampoline, Graduation, Try Me, Picture This

Beautiful ambient/drone with some guitar solos mixed in. It's so ahead of its time it honestly sounds like it could have come out within the past five years even though it was released 40+ years ago. Just more proof that Eno is one of the 70s most essential/visionary artists (Fripp's guitarwork is obviously phenomenal as well). I'd recommend this to any fan of ambient/zoneout music.

Heartbreaking. Just such a profound expression of grief. I almost feel bad praising this record's beauty considering the circumstances that spawned it. Easily one of the most powerful releases of the year, though.

Favorites: I Need You, Distant Sky, Skeleton Tree, Jesus Alone