Oh dear - you've just stolen my Re-TROS thunder! Exceeeept - and this is awkward - I am a RIVAL FACTION. While of course deeply charmed by the junkyard-Macarena charms of Red Rum Aviv, my jam of choice has been the preceding track, Hailing Drums, nine minutes of soaring and impossibly infectious dance-rock, a sort of Atlas for 2017 (except better than Atlas IMO).
I guess ILM will have to decide if it's on #TeamAviv or #TeamHailing. Everyone must choose
― imago, Saturday, 6 January 2018 10:36 (six years ago) link
'Charmed by the charms' omg kill me
― imago, Saturday, 6 January 2018 10:37 (six years ago) link
Anyway, I'd also like ILM's intrepid to give ear to that Cheer-Accident song linked on Bandcamp up there^^^ because it's just too beautiful for words...
...along with the usual fare
― #TeamHailing (imago), Saturday, 6 January 2018 10:45 (six years ago) link
I would lobby for Akrakabo, which had the best musical moment of the year for me, the moment at around 2:00 when it shred the layers of modern electronic sounds and became an accordion/guitar afro-pop song for a bit. That was the one song that kept seeming unreal and inexplicable throughout the whole year.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgQ1CXd0sQc
― Frederik B, Saturday, 6 January 2018 12:29 (six years ago) link
Fuuuuck, I didn't want that to embed. Sorry.
i don't have any issue with embedded youtubes; sometimes you gotta share
― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Saturday, 6 January 2018 13:09 (six years ago) link
its also such a good song too :)
― nxd, Saturday, 6 January 2018 17:53 (six years ago) link
peter gordon & love of life orchestra - condominium
condo was a long out of print early 80s obscurity and the most popular youtube video was being played at a deliciously heady too-slow 33rpm which lent its steady chug a more reflective air, PG was sufficiently smitten to include a slowed down version when he rereleased it this year. I started a thread that only michael b read & I've been living inside it ever since. far & away my favourite track of the year (also missing from the spotify tracks playlist)
karen gwyer - why does your father look so nervous?
an eerie, panicked swirling surrounds this as it builds before you feel the axis shift underneath you and it opens up in a way that reminds me a little of open eye signal by jon hopkins but more frantic, wild-eyed and unsettling
yves tumor - e. eternal
sees something in a tender little track by Woo and throws it against a sacred polyphonic chant to create the sort of gorgeousness to which i'm v susceptible
― ogmor, Sunday, 7 January 2018 14:02 (six years ago) link
Anyone who has ever had any interest in Jpop should really check out the Keyakizaka46 track. It's an absolute banger, w/ intense rave synths and girl gang vocals, and also for an idol band K46 have a real cool social conscience.
― emil.y, Sunday, 7 January 2018 15:49 (six years ago) link
Some of the lesser known of my noms:
Bill & Joel Plaskett - Solidarity (Canadian rock semi-star teams up with folk singer father for a classic-sounding protest anthem.)
Desperate Journalist - Why Are You So Boring? (defiant girl-led British pop-punk)
Worriers - Future Me (miss the Weakerthans? Me too. Here's what they'd sound like with a female vocalist.)
Guided by Voices - Overloaded (you know who GbV are, and you know that they have way too many songs. This is one of the good ones.)
― iCloudius (cryptosicko), Sunday, 7 January 2018 18:46 (six years ago) link
Hurray for the Riff Raff, both the album THE NAVIGATOR and the track PA'LANTE. especially after this year, both are inspiring and both will place high.
Hurray for the Riff Raff - Pa'lante
― omar little, Sunday, 7 January 2018 18:51 (six years ago) link
And I hope we're all leaving our doors unlocked at home.
― _Rudipherous_, Sunday, 7 January 2018 20:41 (six years ago) link
Testerossa - it reminds me of the old dodgems days on the Wirral and that is my reason
― saer, Sunday, 7 January 2018 20:41 (six years ago) link
might as well lobby for my two favorite albums of '17, both of which are Political Rock Albums so feel free to skip if that's not yr bag
Aligers' Underside of Power has a dedicated thread and is a minor ILM favorite but hasn't gotten a ton of recognition elsewhere. Algiers blend post-punk, goth, industrial, and gospel influences in a way that is, as far as I can tell, completely unique. Stated influences run from Swans and Throbbing Gristle to Ornette Coleman and classic soul. A Fred Hampton sample opens the album and the names of police victims are recited. Listen to the title track, "Cleveland" or "Walk Like a Panther" and you'll figure out pretty quick if it's your thing.
Propagandhi's appropriately titled Victory Lap is the best album of their thirty-year existence. Having long evolved from sneering skatepunk to self-described "progressive thrash", Canada's best working rock band has also evolved in its lyrical approach. Chris Hannah (one of punk's greatest vocalists) of course rails against capitalism, heteronormativity, exploitation, and colonialism (neo- and historical) as per usual, but there are new layers of knowing humor, doubt, and self-implication that were never really allowed in before. New guitarist/backing vocalist Sulynn Hago seems to have supplied Hannah and co-vocalist Todd Kowalski with fresh vigor and inspiration, and many of the songs are the best they've ever written, knotty and dense and heavy as hell but also packed with actual hooks (a quality missing from their much more prog-leaning last album). Every song works as a thesis statement in miniature, culminating in the incredible "Adventures in Zoochosis", which samples Trump to nauseating effect and ponders the weakening resolve that can accompany age as well as the hope for the future that new generations can provide:
I suspect if I slink back to my enclosure, safe and warm and adequately lit, sufficiently plumbed and ventilated...Well, let's just say I would not shake a stick
And if pressed, I'll admit I'm ecstatic about the enrichment programs implemented to extend our captive lifespans.I'm excited to see what our keepers have planned.
Perhaps a bigger cage? Longer chains? Some compelling, novel reasons to remain?"Dad, are we gonna die?" Yes son, both you and I.But maybe not today.
― Simon H., Monday, 8 January 2018 13:31 (six years ago) link
I nominated this (and voted it #1 on my Pazz/Jop tracks), so I'll lobby for it too. The shorter version in the video is great, but I really love the 6-minute version on bandcamp. Apocalyptic motorik swamp-punk, just what 2017 needed.
Gary Wrong Group, "Floods of Fire"
https://youtu.be/lzomC9diNDwhttps://garywronggroup.bandcamp.com/track/floods-of-fire
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Monday, 8 January 2018 16:19 (six years ago) link
posted this track on the rap thread a few months back, but i'm definitely voting for it and i would be remiss if y'all don't take a listen.
Pardison Fontaine - "Food Stamps": https://youtu.be/_MIvI_5oQJk
East coast tough talk, but with uncommon energy and charisma, a variety of flows, and some great, great one-liners
― porg and bess (voodoo chili), Monday, 8 January 2018 16:29 (six years ago) link
*i would be remiss if I don't ask y'all to take a listen.
― porg and bess (voodoo chili), Monday, 8 January 2018 16:30 (six years ago) link
"Food Stamps" made my tracks ballot
― Simon H., Monday, 8 January 2018 16:31 (six years ago) link
nice
― porg and bess (voodoo chili), Monday, 8 January 2018 17:17 (six years ago) link
Well The Norwegian Girls Choir's Folketoner is my niche-y niche pick of the year. It's an elite choir, I guess, a competition choir, girls aged 6 - 26, with various sub choirs for younger singers and recruitment. They're musically adventurous and work a lot with contemporary classical composers who write for them. Worked several times with Maja Ratkje, Frøy Aagre, etcetera. This album is simply performances of old Norwegian folk songs, but a pretty essential contribution to that genre in my opinion. Their signature sound is super sharp and precise, leaning towards minimalist but playful, and this is an ominous, sometimes supernatural-sounding album, an approach that fits well with the melancholy quality of these old songs.
― abcfsk, Monday, 8 January 2018 18:35 (six years ago) link
I don't want to sound like an asshole, but the reason girls choirs work so much with contemporary composers is not because they're more musically adventurous, but because there's no established repertoire for girls choir...
― Frederik B, Tuesday, 9 January 2018 00:17 (six years ago) link
I'd love to see one of the vapowave tapes make the cut. My current favorite from the list is the Nmesh one, but I get the feeling that death's dynamic shroud is the popular choice. What say you all?
― Moodles, Tuesday, 9 January 2018 03:58 (six years ago) link
i might vote for the NMESH.
"IT'S A RANGE!" "ooooooooh!"
― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 05:26 (six years ago) link
death's dynamic shroud are probably going to make my ballot. the closest anything since has gotten to Rival Dealer for me & surprisingly cathartic.
― ufo, Tuesday, 9 January 2018 06:12 (six years ago) link
― Frederik B
May be true, but close relationships with noise musicians, for example, is not a default mode. Plenty of girls choirs out there doing less interesting and adventurous. I didn't say they were adventurous simply for working with contemporary composers.
― abcfsk, Tuesday, 9 January 2018 07:18 (six years ago) link
xpsdeath's dynamic shroud will be my top choice of the bunch i thinkhave a few in there but my original list had pharma just outside my 25
― nxd, Tuesday, 9 January 2018 09:37 (six years ago) link
Please don't sleep on Self Esteem's 'Your Wife', it really is a stunning bit of sultry electro-pop, the kind that fits easily into the shambhala thread but somehow stands apart from it too
― FREEZE! FYI! (dog latin), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 09:46 (six years ago) link
death's dynamic shroud made my long list, will re-listen!
― sleeve, Tuesday, 9 January 2018 15:24 (six years ago) link
I'll be voting for it for sure. Not getting Rare Emoji Collection into the 2015 traxpoll was a crime that will hopefully be rectified now
― #TeamHailing (imago), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 15:33 (six years ago) link
"Your Wife" very nearly made my list, always rooting for Slow Club folks
― Simon H., Tuesday, 9 January 2018 15:33 (six years ago) link
xps shudda voted album then ;)
― nxd, Tuesday, 9 January 2018 15:35 (six years ago) link
Thought Classroom Sexxtape was decent with one massive highlight - this album is much better all the way through
― #TeamHailing (imago), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 15:36 (six years ago) link
ha was just kidding aboutif anything i'm the opposite :/
― nxd, Tuesday, 9 January 2018 15:37 (six years ago) link
Algiers are gonna make the albums poll I hope. I would love it if the title track made the 77 too as it's stunning
― FREEZE! FYI! (dog latin), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 15:43 (six years ago) link
They were the only act I put in both ballots
― Simon H., Tuesday, 9 January 2018 15:45 (six years ago) link
Got a good feeling about Akrakabo too! :-) I agree with what Frederik said about it upthread. It's such a sensual onslaught, it takes a few listens to catch your breath and get a grip on what's going on, but the part when it all falls away for a few minutes is like glimpsing a moment of raw beauty in among chaos
― FREEZE! FYI! (dog latin), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 15:46 (six years ago) link
We had a thread for SACRED PAWS and it's great to hear some UK guitar music that is for once original and joyous and really well-played. Think classic 90s Matador indie with a high-life vibe. The track 'Strike a Match' is the pick.
― FREEZE! FYI! (dog latin), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 15:54 (six years ago) link
^^ voting highly for sacred paws
― porg and bess (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 15:57 (six years ago) link
if I may do my bit for Sacred Paws, I absolutely loathe it, which usually helps to push something up the 77
― #TeamHailing (imago), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 16:01 (six years ago) link
you loathe it imago? strong words. i'd be interested to know why
― FREEZE! FYI! (dog latin), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 16:15 (six years ago) link
cough cough
thread to dis hyped 2017 releases that you don't get/don't like/wanna complain about
― sleeve, Tuesday, 9 January 2018 16:21 (six years ago) link
he hates drums, or something
― porg and bess (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 16:21 (six years ago) link
Speaking of excellent Scottish bands, I'm very surprised to see just a couple of mentions of Glaswegian kosmik funk marvels Golden Teacher on ILM. Their album was apparently recorded live at the city's famous Green Door Studio and spans a huge range of styles from disco to dub to spaced-out Lindstrom-esque fuckwizardry and it's REALLY REALLY good
This is the lead track, and maybe the most obviously accessible song on there. It goes interstellar after that youtube.com/watch?v=GFpnkgd6iok
― FREEZE! FYI! (dog latin), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 16:23 (six years ago) link
Re-TROS seconded although my fave Re-TROS jam is "At Mosp Here"
― Well bissogled trotters (Michael B), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 16:59 (six years ago) link
kraut dance thingie that bests anything on the new LCD Soundsystem album
― Well bissogled trotters (Michael B), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 17:00 (six years ago) link
*obliterates into tiny shards
― #TeamHailing (imago), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 17:29 (six years ago) link
Kinda astonished that Dave "Question Time" has never been mentioned on ILM. Devastatingly powerful and on-point, my track of 2017 by a country mile. https://youtu.be/4ff6CjYBhoI
― mike t-diva, Tuesday, 9 January 2018 17:53 (six years ago) link
― #TeamHailing (imago), Tuesday, January 9, 2018 4:01 PM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Oh, Sacred Paws
― ♫ very clever with maracas.jpg ♫ (Le Bateau Ivre), Tuesday, 9 January 2018 19:44 (six years ago) link
Just skimmed through the nominations, was Lingua Ignota All Bitches Die not nominated?
― Siegbran, Tuesday, 9 January 2018 20:34 (six years ago) link
Doesn't look like it. You can vote for it in the metal poll though!
― o. nate, Wednesday, 10 January 2018 01:13 (six years ago) link
That Octo Octa album is really good.
― How do I feel a complaint? (_Rudipherous_), Saturday, 13 January 2018 22:24 (six years ago) link
I'm listening to this a lot right now - Leif - July V - Sort of like Steve Reich makes downtempo acid techno.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 13 January 2018 22:27 (six years ago) link
Lost in California is incredible, can't believe I didn't get to it before voting
― porg and bess (voodoo chili), Saturday, 13 January 2018 22:29 (six years ago) link
I've got to say, some of the late entries, which I'm just getting around to sifting through, are pretty high quality. I liked Kelly Moran's Bloodroot, which I guess is prepared harp or something like that? (Not curious enough to search right now.)
― How do I feel a complaint? (_Rudipherous_), Saturday, 13 January 2018 22:31 (six years ago) link
xp, I agree, that Octo Octa album is great!
I also really love the Sasha/Poliça track that Brad recommended above.
― Dan S, Saturday, 13 January 2018 22:50 (six years ago) link
Some things that nobody mentioned:
(3) Trio of synth-popPerfume - Houseki no Ame (it's Perfume, it's great obv)Johan Agebjörn and Mikael Ögren ft. Sally Shapiro and Tommy '86 - Aurora Over Odega (Remix) (Relive the glory days of ILX)Charlotte Adigéry - 1,618 (the older sister, bit more hip and experimental)
(2) Two new age albums ft. cosmic enlightenmentThe Swan And The Lake - Clouds (new)Pauline Anna Strom - Trans-Millenia Music (old)
(1) One album with "One" in the titlehttps://penelopetrappes.bandcamp.com/album/penelope-one (very Poliça, bit of Kelly Lee Owens, bit of Low is my super lazy comparison)
(0) ???Mariam the Believer - Crust (art-pop odyssey to soundtrack progressive romcoms and picnics)
― Choco Blavatsky (seandalai), Sunday, 14 January 2018 02:22 (six years ago) link
keep meaning to post my picks but would like to give due deference to LOONA Girl Front, that is a jam
― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Sunday, 14 January 2018 18:57 (six years ago) link
gonna repeat myself but with a little elaboration
L'Rain
the most astonishing debut in a while. psychedelic art-soul from the heavens. only 26 minutes long. whatever your taste you need to hear this. whoever nominated it, you are an angel
― #TeamHailing (imago), Monday, 15 January 2018 20:42 (six years ago) link
I know ILX doesn't have a Bollywood massive, the way we have k-pop and afro-pop groups, but I'd still want to mention my favorite this year: Guru Randhawa - Suit Suit. Probably won't make the list - and that's probably not that unfair - but still one of the only times of year where people will listen to Bollywood tracks.
― Frederik B, Monday, 15 January 2018 21:02 (six years ago) link
yeh found l'rain after the bandcamp eoy listits a real joy
― nxd, Monday, 15 January 2018 21:29 (six years ago) link
been digging around the noms list and I just want to shout about this track 'Volumes' by Minor Science which is this wonderful slow-pulse techno track with these cool little vocal snippets that grows and grows into an absolute BANGER of a tune. thanks to whoever nominated that
― Badgers (dog latin), Monday, 15 January 2018 22:26 (six years ago) link
billy woods' album Known Unknowns is fantastic and well worth a listen.
Also the Buddy track Find Me was great: https://youtu.be/NWTNbDkalAQ
Other tracks I am campaigning for:Blanck Mass - PleaseFour Tet - Two Thousand and Seventeen
― octobeard, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 22:36 (six years ago) link
― Badgers (dog latin), Monday, January 15, 2018 3:26 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
yeah this track rules
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Tuesday, 16 January 2018 22:44 (six years ago) link
Gene on Earth's Pulse Mode is the sound of riding of a bmx on the top deck of one of the trams at Blackpool pleasure beach while finishing off a can of brexit half-inched from the budget astral plane
― saer, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 23:18 (six years ago) link
actually thats a different record which I forgot to nominate but this one is good just a little more reflective not one of the brash lads
― saer, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 23:20 (six years ago) link
tess roby - ballad #5
beautiful slow sad synth-pop song (if you choose to listen, be patient bc a truly genius hook comes in 2/3 of the way thru)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1vAY8zF3Gc
― flopson, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 23:24 (six years ago) link
randomer - smokin
crazy techno song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9cWhfJ8NJw
― flopson, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 23:26 (six years ago) link
sorority noise - you're not as _____ as you think you are (album)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tZauks6QnI
if you care to trust someone who just got into emo this year, this was the best emo album of the year (besides another one that will not be mentioned or voted for because the singer did sex crimes)
― flopson, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 23:30 (six years ago) link
Jen Cloher's self-titled album is definitely worth hearing! She's Courtney Barnett's partner, and the album features much rumination as to the notion of being a seasoned musician and watching the career someone you love (and who also happens to be much younger than you) take off really fast, as well as the way touring can affect personal relationships. Fans of Courtney or PJ Harvey might find something to enjoy.
― monotony, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 23:47 (six years ago) link
Can I also suggest Kah-Lo's "Fasta". Kah-Lo previously featured on Riton's "Rinse & Repeat", which placed #55 in last year's poll. Her disaffected, bored vocal works well with the song's sleek verses - the chorus provides levity as contrast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI5G09Z-lXY
― monotony, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 23:53 (six years ago) link
last chance for me on this track and i didn't even nominate but everyone in the world should toss a vote for akanamali in your singles ballot imo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKxFS8L6AlQ
― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Wednesday, 17 January 2018 02:24 (six years ago) link
or at least play that one song once. i don't ask much.
I love that Sun-EL Musician track!
― Dan S, Wednesday, 17 January 2018 04:34 (six years ago) link
if there's still people who haven't voted, let me once again talk up Aussie power-pop goddess Alex Lahey, who released I Love You Like a Brother, the hookiest rock record of 2017:
"i haven't been taking care of myself" - the mission statement, the track I nominated: https://youtu.be/d9TqFgWAWiU"lotto in reverse" - angry break-up, inventive chord progression: https://youtu.be/qBYR_jFwrmo"there's no money" - power ballad, she sings the hell out of it: https://youtu.be/mVTkDRC-08E
vote for the album, please
― hoooyaaargh it's me satan (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 17 January 2018 05:02 (six years ago) link
xp aw i think akanamali made my longlist but got cut for the 25 :(
― nxd, Wednesday, 17 January 2018 09:25 (six years ago) link
OK I'm sold
― i know kore-eda (or something), Wednesday, 17 January 2018 11:46 (six years ago) link
A bell end writes: where do I go to vote? (Asking for a friend, obvs.)
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Wednesday, 17 January 2018 12:03 (six years ago) link
Christ - just found it. Ignore me.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Wednesday, 17 January 2018 12:05 (six years ago) link
Shuffling through the tracks nominations and most are straight dog poop.
― Salt Lake City Motorcycle Accident Nerve Damage Lawyer (_Rudipherous_), Wednesday, 17 January 2018 17:58 (six years ago) link
subaquatic/subterranean deeeeeep ambient tech:
Money Morning - Corporate Karma
http://clone.nl/item47474.html
― brimstead, Wednesday, 17 January 2018 18:04 (six years ago) link
― Salt Lake City Motorcycle Accident Nerve Damage Lawyer (_Rudipherous_), Wednesday, January 17, 2018 9:58 AM (nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
there's a thread for this, jack
― brimstead, Wednesday, 17 January 2018 18:10 (six years ago) link
DJ Swagger - "Lost"
great lofi house with a sweet looped sample
― brimstead, Wednesday, 17 January 2018 18:14 (six years ago) link
This year I started paying attention to Afropop for the first time and discovered so many great songs that I hardly listen to anything else lately. Out of the tracks I nominated, this one is my favorite:
Sauti Sol feat. Patoranking - Melanin
I think I like how combines some elements that sound very traditional (like the acoustic guitars on the intro, the "na na..." chants) with stuff that sounds decidedly more modern (the bassline, some synth pads) in a way that just works. Also, all vocals are flawless.
― daavid, Wednesday, 17 January 2018 21:53 (six years ago) link
Wish I'd heard Hieroglyphic Being, Sarathy Korwar & Shabaka Hutchings 'The Doctrines Of Swedenborg' before voting!
― nashwan, Wednesday, 17 January 2018 22:58 (six years ago) link
Shuffling through the tracks nominations and most are straight dog poop.― Salt Lake City Motorcycle Accident Nerve Damage Lawyer (_Rudipherous_), Wednesday, January 17, 2018 5:58 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― Salt Lake City Motorcycle Accident Nerve Damage Lawyer (_Rudipherous_), Wednesday, January 17, 2018 5:58 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Check mine. Mine are great
― Badgers (dog latin), Thursday, 18 January 2018 10:08 (six years ago) link
xp melanin is awesome!
― nxd, Thursday, 18 January 2018 13:11 (six years ago) link
Wish I'd heard Hieroglyphic Being, Sarathy Korwar & Shabaka Hutchings 'The Doctrines Of Swedenborg' before voting!― nashwan, Wednesday, January 17, 2018 5:58 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― nashwan, Wednesday, January 17, 2018 5:58 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I nominated this! It's amazing and everybody should vote for it
― silverfish, Saturday, 20 January 2018 01:16 (six years ago) link
Thank you or something for nomming Skee Mask, which has led me to discover (a) Skee Mask; and (b) Stenny.
― Tim F, Saturday, 20 January 2018 03:23 (six years ago) link