[Music] Albums of the year 2017

[The Lemming Stomper]

There is also the fact that they are to all intents a fictitious band, dreamt up the Eccentronic Research Council for their 2015 album, and may well cease to exist by the turn of 2018.

Fictional or not, they blew me away at the Haunt for about 45 minutes in the late summer...As a middle-aged 80's synthpop fan, who saw Kraftwerk in Brighton and London, to think that those bunch of Herberts could top Ralf and his mates to be my gig of the year took some doing !

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Here's my Top 20. Not a good year for albums in my opinion.

Part 1

20. LAIBACH - ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA

Veteran group tackles Nietzsche, suitably heavy and industrial.



19. MADONNATRON - MADONNATRON

Witchy goth rock with sinister undertones.



18. TERRY - REMEMBER TERRY

Ramshackle indie group with knowingly out of kilter harmonies.



17. SNEAKS - IT’S A MYTH

Fragments or repeated mantras spoken, half rapped or sung in a deadpan manner over a bass guitar and drum machine.



16. MOONLANDINGZ - INTERPLANETARY CLUB CLASSICS

Fictitious band become reality and put the fun back into indie rock.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWdLpIITqsQ

 

[Theatre of Trees]

part 2

15. PHARMAKON - CONTACT

A mixture of industrial electronic clatter and intense banshee black metal style vocals.



14.GIRL ONE & THE GREASE GUNS - NIGHT OF THE LIVING ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES

Mixture of electro-pop and darker industrial sounds.



13.KELLY LEE OWENS - KELLY LEE OWENS

Owens debut is dream pop confection mixed with elements of trip-hop and techno, think Saint Etienne without the knowingly arched eyebrow, Massive Attack without the sinister undercurrents.



12.EKIN FIL - GHOSTS INSIDE

Ethereal ambience from Istanbul that moves quietly in a shadow world of its own.



11.F INGERS - AWKWARDLY BLISSING OUT

Dubby, spaced out album of electronica featuring Carla Dal Forno on vocals.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Part 3

10. JANE WEAVER - MODERN KOSMOLOGY

Pop template consisting of motorik beats, jangling guitars, analogue synths, with influences picked from 60s psychedelia, 70s krautrock, and early 80s synth pioneer Suzanne Ciani.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keXHh0lr2y8

9. SHITKID - FISH

Bedroom DIY garage band aesthetic includes a production that sounds as if it was recorded inside a wardrobe full of clothes.



8. MYRKUR - MARERIDT

Black metal provides the base from which singer Amalie Brun veers off into other musical territory such as Scandinavian folk, shoegaze and the gothic rock of Dead Can Dance.



7. GEL SET - BODY COPY

More bedroom DIY aesthetics this time built around cheap sounding electronica.



6. GAZELLE TWIN - KINGDOM COME

Soundtrack to the stage show re-recorded and given a quiet release at the beginning of November.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Part 4

5. KAITLYN AURELIA SMITH - THE KID

Concept album telling the story of life from the glint in an eye to the passing away. smith's most accessible retains its organic electronic sound.



4. DARLENE SHRUGG - DARLENE SHRUGG

A full on rock album shorn of the usual trappings influenced by Black Sabbath, 60s girl groups and pop in general.



3. SHACKLETON WITH ANNEKA - BEHIND THE GLASS

I’ll quote Boomkat on this one:
"Semi-pastoral psychedelic themes that is equal parts Wickerman soundtrack and Jarman-esque uncanniness."



2. HANNAH PEEL - MARY CASIO: JOURNEY TO CASSIOPEIA

The story of an elderly electronic pioneer from Barnsley and her dream of travelling to a distant constellation of stars told over seven pieces through Peel’s analogue synthesiser and a 29 piece colliery brass band.



1. COLLEEN - A FLAME MY LOVE, A FREQUENCY

French artist, Cecile Schott’s eighth album is a rumination on ailing close relatives, a near miss of events at the Bataclan in 2015, and the connectedness of life and death in the cycle of nature. Discarding her former stringed instruments for a couple of synths the resultant electronica resembles the organic folkiness of Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. The album is light, serene, magical and floats effortlessly upon arpeggiated synths and Schott’s own delicate vocals. The first four tracks from opener ‘November’ to the wonderful ‘Winter Dawn’ (“The world had ended but the sky was blue”) deal with the darkness and mortality of life, the final four gradually distance themselves from these events becoming warmer and more calming as Schott finds solace in the wonders of nature.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

My tracks of the year.

 

[Buzzer]

Cheers. That's me sorted for what to listen to tomorrow morning. I always struggle more with selecting best tracks of the year than best albums of the year but one thing is certain, Cherry Glazerr's "I told you I'd be with the guys" will be in my top 3.

 

[Buzzer]

My tracks of the year.

Another big thumbs up for this. Thanks for posting it. The Cherry Glazerr track I mentioned previously is definitely my tune of the year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFgz9aiiZlQ

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Another big thumbs up for this. Thanks for posting it. The Cherry Glazerr track I mentioned previously is definitely my tune of the year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFgz9aiiZlQ

Cheers for the thumbs up. The Cherry Glazerr track was the lead single off the album and was originally released back in the late summer of 2016, so in my head it was always last year's track and is in my 2016 playlist on you tube! I liked their first album but they've had a virtually complete line up change and I'm not sure I'm convinced with the new direction as yet.

 

[Buzzer]

Cheers for the thumbs up. The Cherry Glazerr track was the lead single off the album and was originally released back in the late summer of 2016, so in my head it was always last year's track and is in my 2016 playlist on you tube! I liked their first album but they've had a virtually complete line up change and I'm not sure I'm convinced with the new direction as yet.

Ha! That's about par for the course for me! Always late to the party. It's new to me this year so I'm sticking with it but a real shame that they're messing about with line-ups. Never a good sign. It's the guitar riffs that make this song so epic. Love it.

 

[spring hall convert]

Brighton's favourite DIY indie popsters Porridge Radio make The Guardian's 40 tips for 2018

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/dec/28/from-shamstep-to-drill-the-top-40-newcomers-of-2018

They have a new track they are playing live at the moment 'Lilac' that I am completely convinced is a hit.

 

[Hungry Joe]

Brokenchord's 'Endless Transmission' has made the Bandcamp 'electronic albums of 2017' cut and I agree with that. Kool Air in particular is great.

https://brokenchord.bandcamp.com/album/endless-transmission

 

[Is it PotG?]

Chloé - Endless Revisions

What a glorious song from it

 

[Hungry Joe]

Seriously chuffed to have made the cut for this Albums of 2017 review....

https://www.facebook.com/notes/cath-aubergine/albums-of-2017/10155528605187415/

 

[Buzzer]

Seriously chuffed to have made the cut for this Albums of 2017 review....

https://www.facebook.com/notes/cath-aubergine/albums-of-2017/10155528605187415/

Bloody hell! You're in with OMD, Jesus and Mary Chain, Mogwai and British Sea Power. That's brilliant.

 

[Hungry Joe]

Bloody hell! You're in with OMD, Jesus and Mary Chain, Mogwai and British Sea Power. That's brilliant.

Marvellous scenes Thanks Buzzer

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Bloody hell! You're in with OMD, Jesus and Mary Chain, Mogwai and British Sea Power. That's brilliant.

And above LCD Soundsystem!

 

[Buzzer]

And above LCD Soundsystem!

I missed that, yes! If I were Hungry Joe, I'd be dining out on this for years.

 

[Hungry Joe]

I missed that, yes! If I were Hungry Joe, I'd be dining out on this for years.

Haha, I will be!