Album of the Year 2017

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Remember albums, those things we used to buy on plastic discs before Youtube, iTunes and Spotify? Over the last few weeks every major media outlet and music site has given their opinion of the best of 2017. Most of their lists are collected and aggregated here:

http://www.albumoftheyear.org/

So what (if any) 2017 albums have TP members enjoyed? One would be interesting , 3-5 exciting, and a top 10 list will deserve a gold star. Youtube or other playable links will be awarded extra credit. We can even count them up at the end and announce an official Talk Photography Album of the Year (if any album gets more than one vote). I'll be giving careful thought to my own list over the next few hours (or at least trying to remember what I heard, and if it actually came out this year). 'Everything since [1980/1990/this century] is crap' is of course a perfectly valid reponse.
 
I enjoyed the new album from Evanescence titled Synthesis
Its a reworking of a selection from their previous three albums using orchestra instruments and synthesisers.
Featured a couple of new tracks, the first since the last studio album around five years ago
Also lucky enough to catch them live at Hammersmith Apollo in June, so not been a bad year for me

View attachment 117349
 
Phoebe Bridger - Stranger in the Alps is easily one of my favourite albums of the year.

Other highlights for me (also on that list) include:

Bjork - Utopia
Kendrick Lamar - Damn! - While hip hop isn't for everyone, there is no doubting Kendricks talent with this album.
Moses Sumney - Aromanticism
Sampha - Process
Benjamin Clementine - I Tell A Fly
Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice

Also, Grizzly Bear and Susan Sundfor had great album this year.
 
Show don't tell Allan! :)

What do you rate from 2017?
fair point but I have not really been keeping up with whats new this year, its just dismissing nearly 40 years of music is a little odd
 
fair point but I have not really been keeping up with whats new this year, its just dismissing nearly 40 years of music is a little odd

It's all about personal preference, the POV expressed has validity for the poster. I've not kept up with the music scene for a long time either, so would have no idea about what was released in 2017.
 
It seems I have added no 2017 released albums to my collection, except Green Day's compilation album 'God's favourite Band' which was just for the title more than anything, I have all their albums anyway.

Stand out performance however - Imelda May on Jools Holland.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILjkdZloLUM
 
I think we tend to look back selectively at previous decades, remembering only the great stuff and forgetting how much we hated the rest :)

Here are 10 of my favourites from 2017, in no particular order. Each link is to a single track from the album, or a whole album stream. I seem to have bought mostly albums by female artists this year.

The Black Angels - Death Song. Wikipedia calls this 'psychedelic rock'. Any band that name themselves and their album after a Velvet Underground track must be worth a listen.
EERA - Reflection of Youth. A touch of PJ Harvey, but with a unique sound of her own.
Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens. London Welsh electronica!
Sevdaliza - ISON. Hypnotic 21st century Trip Hop.
Kelela - Take Me Apart. The best of this year's 'alt R&B', for want of a better term (all the artists seem to hate being called this).
Noga Erez - Off the Radar. Experimental Israeli pop.
Hand Habits - Wildly Idle. I had to stop playing this when the linked track, 'Actress' got stuck in my head for 3 days every time I heard it.
The Duke Spirit - Sky is Mine. Excellent indie guitar band that ought to be better known.
Valerie June - The Order of Time. Some of the best Americana I've heard recently.
Yaeji - EP and EP2. Not an album as such, but a pair of EPs released this year. New York House with breathy vocals in English and Korean. Deserves to be huge in 2018.
 
Another vote for the Pheobe Bridgers LP, I’ve been enjoying that a lot!
I think it’s been a good year for new music, Alvvays - Antisocialites, TOPS - Sugar at the Gates and Aldous Harding - Party have been three of my favourites LPs throughout the year, other heavily played albums this year include

Big Thief - Capacity
Leif Vollebeck - Twin Solitudes
Like Reed - Won’t be there
Slowdive - Slowdive
Yumi Zouma - Willowbank
Tinariwen - Elwan
Hazel English - Just Give In
Fazerdaze - Morningside
Cigarettes after Sex - Cigarettes after Sex
Julien Baker - Turn out the lights
 
Another vote for the Pheobe Bridgers LP, I’ve been enjoying that a lot!
I think it’s been a good year for new music, Alvvays - Antisocialites, TOPS - Sugar at the Gates and Aldous Harding - Party have been three of my favourites LPs throughout the year, other heavily played albums this year include

Big Thief - Capacity
Leif Vollebeck - Twin Solitudes
Like Reed - Won’t be there
Slowdive - Slowdive
Yumi Zouma - Willowbank
Tinariwen - Elwan
Hazel English - Just Give In
Fazerdaze - Morningside
Cigarettes after Sex - Cigarettes after Sex
Julien Baker - Turn out the lights

Forgot about Cigarettes after Sex! Listened to that a couple of weeks back and loved it. Also discovered Julien Baker just recently too. Amazing artist!
 
Forgot about Cigarettes after Sex! Listened to that a couple of weeks back and loved it. Also discovered Julien Baker just recently too. Amazing artist!

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Julien, saw her play Newcastle in front of about 20 people a couple of years ago. It was sublime.
You'd maybe enjoy that Hazel English LP going on what your listening seems to suggest, and have you checked out Soccer Mommy??
 
Yeah, I'm a big fan of Julien, saw her play Newcastle in front of about 20 people a couple of years ago. It was sublime.
You'd maybe enjoy that Hazel English LP going on what your listening seems to suggest, and have you checked out Soccer Mommy??

I bet! I saw a couple of sessions on YouTube of Julien and she's incredible!

I haven't. I will add those to the list to check out :) Cheers.
 
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Without a doubt it was Heavy Fire by the Black Star Riders. Got the album in the Summer and went to see them in November.


Black Star Riders : Warrington 10/11/2017
by Ian, on Flickr

All those bald patches in the audience... I felt right at home :)

Something famous...
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvcNNeiMl90


And something old...
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adXszvtJ2Ac


Fab.

Not too shabby at all, excellent version of TBABIT do they play any other Thin Lizzy tracks?

Never got to see Thin Lizzy, supposed to have played Reading in 79, but dropped out and were replaced by The Scorpions (they were excellent)
Saw Phil Lynott and Gary Moore at an alldayer in the early to mid 80's, but that was it
 
Not too shabby at all, excellent version of TBABIT do they play any other Thin Lizzy tracks?

Whiskey in the Jar & Jailbreak when I saw them. Audience went berserk for the former. It was hilarious as the mosh pit just exploded and there were loads of annoyed looking middle aged "sensible" folk getting covered in beer and bounced into. I think some people thought it would be a sit down job. So glad it wasn't :)
 
My favourite new album from last year is Gary Numans savage songs from a broken world
It's excellent and his best work so far for me anyway
I'm an 80s rock fan the missus is a big numan fan and I really like what he's doing now more industrial sound than his earlier work
 
My favourite new album from last year is Gary Numans savage songs from a broken world
It's excellent and his best work so far for me anyway
I'm an 80s rock fan the missus is a big numan fan and I really like what he's doing now more industrial sound than his earlier work

I had let go of Numan but was given J M Jarre’s Electronica 2 album which included this track - the voice is zall there

View: https://youtu.be/1V6Tb9nIL_s
 
My favourite new album from last year is Gary Numans savage songs from a broken world
It's excellent and his best work so far for me anyway
I'm an 80s rock fan the missus is a big numan fan and I really like what he's doing now more industrial sound than his earlier work
My wife too. We've seen him at least 8 times over the last few years, including a meet and greet in Chester for her birthday a couple of years ago and the gig his daughter first sang at. Off again in March too for his second round of the Savage tour. I'm not the biggest fan of his though, just don't let my wife know :)

Albums played most last year would be Oh Wonder or Paramore although Sigrid was bloody good live supporting Oh Wonder and I don't think she has a full album out yet.
 
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