Rolling Favorite Tracks + Albums 2017

This already has a reserved slot in top ten tracks of 2017

https://geographicnorth.bandcamp.com/track/blue-ring

^Moon Diagrams is Moses Archuleta from Deerhunter, who has been quietly releasing great low-key ambient music over the last few years

At some point I'll give a fuller accounting of tracks that I'm loving this year but for the moment will just leave this one here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1CcOVvSjbM

I'm all in on Hazel English

I kinda thought Hazel English was neat when there was a steady drip of singles every few weeks, but once I heard them all together on a single album I got bored by the sameyness.

Understandable! I listened to it due to circumstances (it was the only thing I had for a few days) and I went from liking its vibe to (most of) the individual songs.

In addition to titles I mentioned above

Juana Molina - Halo
Bola - D.E.G.
Sudan Archives - Sudan Archives
9T Antiope - Of Murk and Shallow Water
Hauschka - What If
Yasmine Hamdan - Al Jamílat
Nídia Minaj - Nídia é má, Nídia é fudida
Algiers - The Underside of Power
Slowdive - Slowdive
Emel - Ensen
Deena Abdelwahed - Klabb
Karen Gwyer - Rembo Tech House, Wonky Techno

and the Mori-Ra EP

Since last time, I would add:

The Stevens - Good (Aussie slacker indie)
Undergang - Misantropologi (Danish death metal)
Temple of Void - Lords of Death (American death doom)

so is it just me or is this the best year for new music in quite a while?

It's been pretty great!

cosign

Its been awful in pop music, though.

it's been a super deep year, but not so heavy at the top

Warm Digits (ft. Field Music) - End Times

Masasolo - Idaho

Really enjoying the recent Chris Bathgate record, starts out as a folksy singer-songwriter thing, spreads out into the cosmos, then recedes back.

Ruby Haunt - Destroyer. Some nice downer dream pop just in time for summer's end.

End-of-summer update:

Desperate Journalist - Why Are You So Boring?
Worriers - Future Me
The New Pornographers - Play Money
The Regrettes - Juicebox Baby
The Magnetic Fields - '69: Judy Garland
Guided by Voices - Overloaded
Charli XCX - Boys
Downtown Boys - A Wall
Wolf Alice - Don't Delete the Kisses

A few more somehow since the last time I posted.

Brand New - Science Fiction (aoty)
Iron & Wine - Beast Epic
Botanist - Collective: The Shape of He to Come

Jessie Ware - Selfish Love

Geez, violent ending to the video though.

Bicep album is great

also, as long as I'm putting up some suggestions from the last month of 2017 listening:
Daniel Caesar
Iron and Wine
Snoop
Felicia Atkinson
Mount Eerie
Floating Points
Bargou 08
Jamila Woods
Mark McGuire
Dua Lipa

into this from manchester young'un iamddb

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

Current things:

Iron and Wine - Beast Epic
Portico Quartet - Art in the Age of Automation
Various - Sweet as Broken Dates
Pep Llopis – Poiemusia La Nau Dels Argonautes
Akira Rabelais – Spellewauerynsherde

July & August favourites:

Mura Masa - s/t LP
The Japanese House - Saw You in a Dream EP
This Is The Kit - Moonshine Freeze LP
Nova Materia - "On/Av"
GIRLI - "Hot Mess"
Maya Jane Coles - "Weak"
Charli XCX - "Boys"
Kesha - "Praying"; "Learn To Let Go"; "Godzilla"
Dustin Wong & Takako Minekawa - Are Euphoria LP
Bugzy Malone - King of the North EP
Astrid S - "Such A Boy"
Mura Masa ft. Moses Boyd - "Untitled"
Wolf Alice - "Beautifully Unconventional"
Allie X - "That’s So Us"
The Focus Group - "New Toytown Walk"
Confidence Man - "Boyfriend (Repeat)" (Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas remix)
Kesha - Rainbow LP
Karen Gwyer - Rembo LP
Bertrand Burgalat - Les choses qu’on ne peut dire à personne LP
Simon James - Akiha Den Den LP
Jazmine Sullivan x Bryson Tiller - "Insecure"
Red Velvet - "Zoo"
Deerhoof ft. Laetitia Sadier - "Come Down Here & Say That"
Even As We Speak - "Such A Good Feeling"
Alex the Astronaut - "Not Worth Hiding"
SZA - "Drew Barrymore"
ZHU - stardustexhalemarrakechdreams EP
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - "An Intention"; "To Follow & Lead"
Ride - "Lateral Alice" (original & Cavern of Anti-Matter remix)
Aly & AJ - "Take Me"

I was staying in a pub near Hawarden for work last month and they had this channel on that played all this weird and wonderful music but I didn't have a pen with me to write any of it down but I was able to get another guest to record this for me. I can't remember the name of the channel and last time I was there I couldn't find the pub either (it was a last minute booking and I paid cash)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU-3E5OsK9U

The only other record I remembered was Marching on Together but I don't like that one

Roman Rauch - Don't You Try

Men I Trust - "Tailwhip"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xmtBJRykck

I loved their track "Lauren", this is nice too!

Perversely unmentioned to date:

Colin Stetson - All This I Do for Glory (you know what to expect, close/contact mic sax aping minimalists, good but diminishing returns)
Susanne Sundfør - Music for People in Trouble (acoustic-to-orchestral angst favored by fans of her last, ABBA-esque album. Spoken word bits belong elsewhere)
Sevdaliza - Ison (close in conception to FKA Twigs, Arca-inspired downtempo with strong cabaret vocals by an Iranian expat)
Kaleida - Tear The Roots (Soft Cell backing Tracey Thorn is an idea I can get behind. The EPs were better)
Allie X - CollXtion II (craftmanlike synthpop, chugging away without much attention)
London Grammar - Truth Is a Beautiful Thing (Hannah Reid is probably more talented than your favorite current vocalist)
Nídia - Nídia é má, Nídia é fudida (ok, I mentioned this upthread, but Afro-house/electronica fans should be all over this)
Hammock - Mysterium (plugging away at the ambient side of shoegaze for over a decade, this is among their best)
Widowspeak - Expect the Best (more Mazzy twang indie. A personal weakness)
Ifriqiyya Électrique - Rûwâhîne (Gnawa inspired call/response with sympathetic production)
Anneli Drecker - Revelation for Personal Use (I'd love to see a S/D for post Bel Canto Drecker)
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - The Kid (cheating: out 6 October. Florid bucolic dreampop, as one might expect)

Rich The Kid - New Freezer ft. Kendrick Lamar

Ivo Perelman & Matthew Shipp totally fucking up my year-end list with this:
https://www.discogs.com/label/1188972-The-Art-Of-PerelmanShipp

His quartet album - Not Bound is brilliant as well.

brian eno / kevin shields - "only once away my son": https://soundcloud.com/adultswimsingles/brian-eno-with-kevin-shields

massive

Not Bound: so good so far.

Some favourite 2017 tracks so far:

The Jungle Giants - Bad Dream
Grace Mitchell - Now
Tops - Petals
I Know Leopard - Let Go
Men I Trust - Tailwhip
MK - 17
Oliver - Chemicals (feat. MNDR)
Polish Club - Where U Been
Sylvan Esso - The Glow
Young Mopes - Louise Burns

September & October

LPs:
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - The Kid
Susanne Sundfør - Music For People In Trouble
Meridian Brothers - ¿Dónde Estás María?
Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory
Fever Ray - Plunge

EPs:
DMX Krew - The Wiggly Worm
spaceprodigi - Launch
Sorcerer - Dream Season
Kamasi Washington - Harmony of Difference
Even As We Speak - The Black Forest

Tracks:
Prins Thomas - "Apokalypso 1" (original / Øyvind Morken’s Trance Dance rework)
Prins Thomas - "Montague Grant"
Tove Lo - "Disco Tits"
Kero Kero Bonito - "Rock n Roll Star"
ILoveMakkonen ft. Rae Sremmurd - "Love"
Tove Styrke - "Mistakes"
Barry Adamson - "I Got Clothes (ACR:MCR rework)"
FEMM - 浪漫飛行 (Roman Hikou)
S U R V I V E - "Cutthroat (Lena Willikens Remix)"
Camille - "Twix"
Demi Lovato - "Sexy Dirty Love"
Hyuna - "Mirror"
Saint Etienne - "London Like A Distant Sun"
Saint Etienne - "Dive (Matt Berry remix)"
Björk - "the gate"
Wolf Alice - "St. Purple & Green"
GIRLI - "Can I Say Baby"
Japanese Breakfast - "Till Death"
Wyvern Lingo - "Out Of My Hands"
Clark - "Honey Badger"
Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions - "Son of a Lady"
tUnE-yArDs - "Look At Your Hands"
Nadia Rose - "Big Woman"
Solarstone & John 00 Fleming - "Hemispheres (Expanded)"

Dennis Gonzalez Ataraxia - Ts'iibil Chaaltun
Anouar Brahem - Blue Maqams
Rudresh Mahanthappas - Indo Pak Coalition
Aine O'Dwyer - Gallarais
Wadada Leo Smith - Najwa
Wadada Leo Smith - Reflections and Meditations on Monk
Matt Mitchell - A Pouting Grimace
Jane Ira Bloom - WIld Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson
Victor Rua & The Metaphysical Angels - Do Androids Dream Of Electric Guitars?
Mostly Other People Do The Killing - Paint

albums I liked recently.

Ooh, new Anouar Brahem! Not sure I've reached the point of diminishing returns with him, but every time I put one of the albums on, its lovely.

It's either the zenith of boredom or very beautiful, or maybe both - but I still love it!

Big Thief - Haley

One of the best songs this year! Hear it right now!

It sounds like something I would have been listening to in 1983, maybe from Touch and Go Records, but so far I am enjoying it a lot, even though I hardly listen to anything like this these days:

Melkbelly - Nothing Valley

I think this vocalist has a good punk voice.

She reminds me a bit of Mary Timony.

The drummer is quite good too, and the guitars hit the spot for me (though there are no surprises). Very hooked on this for the moment.

I'm not familiar with Mary Timony except as a name--and I also recognize her photo. I'll have to check out some of her projects while I seem to be in the mood for this-sort-of-thing.

Nothing she's ever done sounds much like this—maybe Melkbelly and Autoclave could overlap on a venn diagram on a good day—but she's neat. You may like her.

Listening to some Autoclave. Not too similar, but not bad. It would be an understatement to say I'm not a fan of most 90s rock, but as a result I also haven't heard a lot of it (where I might have listened to equivalently positioned bands in the 80s).

Wish I could understand Arabic as this is gorgeous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw3eBNWwoa4

It's already gone from youtube? Checking Spotify. Is this going to be dance meets Sun Ra meets Arab music?