2017 was a good music year. Here are some of my favorite records from the year, quasi-ordered by how much I liked them:
The Menzingers, After the Party
Confession: I once left The Menzingers/mewithoutyou coheadlining tour after mewithoutyou played and missed The Menzingers. Prior to this album, I never “got” The Menzingers. I thought they were over rated. Boy, was I wrong. This has everything I love in an album – its fun, its punk, its heavy, its emotional, its catchy, its clever. The album starts with “Tellin’ Lies” and an awesome little guitar lick into a killer lyric: “Everything is terrible when buying marijuana makes you feel like a criminal”, and “Lookers” is an all-time top 10 song for me. “Like a wedding ring that never fit right” absolutely kills me every times I listen to it. This one is not leaving the rotation soon.
Manchester Orchestra, A Black Mile to the Surface
My relationship with this band goes back pretty far – I once saw Manchester Orchestra for free in Atlanta’s Virginia Highlands at about 2 in the afternoon, and I’ve loved everything they’ve put out over the years. Consequently, I knew I had to lower my expectations about this album pretty hard. I didn’t need to – this might be their best effort to date, and oh boy, is this album emotionally heavy. I had to turn it off for the first few months it was out because it was affecting me a bit too much. I can’t even bother to list off some of my favorite songs or lyrics off this album – its all good. It’s a well thought out and balanced album, and highlights Andy’s songwriting skills. I’m glad these guys are getting some radio attention for this record – I’ve heard “The Gold” on the radio and the gym several times now. They’ve been at it for well over a decade and deserve all the success in the world.
The Maine, Lovely, Little Lonely
About three years ago, someone deep inside The Maine’s headquarters must have flipped the switch to turn the band from a good pop band to an incredible pop band. That is particularly highlighted in their latest tour, “Modern Nostalgia”, where the band played their latest two albums in full each night, American Candy and Lovely, Little, Lonely. The Maine must know those two records stand a head above their previous works. If American Candy is the sugar high, Lovely, Little, Lonely is the crash. Songs like “Black Butterflied and Deja Vu”, and “Taxi” are emotionally devastating, but those catchy chorus’s almost make you forget that: “I lose my voice when I look at you / can’t make a noise though I’m trying to / tell you all the right words / waiting for the right words” and “In the back seat, when you ask me ‘Is the sadness everlasting?, I pulled you closer, looked at you, and said ‘Love, I think it is’”. In contrast, songs like “The Sound of Reverie” put the eternal optimism of pop music to the forefront. The interspersed short tracks “Lovely”, “Little”, and “Lonely” really bring the entire album together and contribute to how coherent the record is. Let’s hope they don’t flip that switch again.
Circa Survive, The Amulet
I don’t think this album is going to win over any non-believers for Circa Survive. I do think that if you’re a Circa Survive fan, you’re going to love this album. This band still has everything I love about them – they’re a weird sort of ambient punk you just want to dance to and The Amulet shows all of it off. It’s a very consistent album, yet not repetitive. I always find albums that straddle that fence to be particularly impressive. The guitars are just as spacious as ever, and this may be Anthony Greens best vocal performance to date – he sounds just incredible. “At Night It Gets Worse” is the highlight of this album for me, although the whole thing it great.
Paramore, After Laughter
This record is much darker than the upbeat music and artwork would leave you believe. Hayley feels confused and disillusioned throughout the record, and that really comes through in songs like “Fake Happy”. In 20 years from now, we’ll be looking back on Paramore like people look back on Bowie – every album cycle has its own aesthetic. They’re true artists and really care about what they’re doing.
Knuckle Puck, Shapeshifter
Knuckle Puck took me by surprise with their previous album “Copacetic”. This album took me a little while to love the way I instantly loved Copacetic, but proves to be a worthy successor. Shapeshifter is deceptively accessible the first time or two around, but will really grow on you over time, despite some thinly veiled metaphors (i.e. “Double Helix”). Everyone can relate and sing along to songs like “Want Me Around” or “Nervous Passenger”. The former is a standout for this album and the bands career: “Afraid to call and see what’s good, or is it simply understood that there’s a reason you don’t want me around”, and “They say that time heals everything, but what if time is everything?” I’m looking forward to spinning this album again in the spring.
The National, Sleep Well Beast
I was asked to describe The National to someone recently, and I responded half-jokingly by saying “they’re probably Radiohead’s favorite pop band”. The National aren’t exactly a pop band, but they are catchy and are just tinged with some interesting timing and mixing Radiohead are famous for – just not as weird as Radiohead can be. The guitar riff in “The System Sleeps in Total Darkness” stands out not for its technical prowess, but rather the hours they clearly put into getting that sound. “Sleep Well Beast” is a worthwhile follow up to the monumental “Trouble Will Find Me”, and has satisfied my itch for some grown-man Dad rock.
The Foo Fighters, Concrete and Gold
This album’s name is awful, but the album itself is fantastic. The albums opening track “T-Shirt” is juvenile and anthemic, calling back to Queen both during the name drop, and when the harmonies come in, “I don’t want to be Queen, I just want to keep my T-Shirt clean.” “Run” feels like another attempt at a song like “Rope” from Wasting Light. “The Sky is a Neighborhood” and “Sunday Rain” stand out as unique songs within the bands catalogue, with drummer Taylor Hawkins singing the latter. This album has moments like that reveal how Dave Grohl and company are just playing with us – they’re wielding Rock and Roll itself like a master swordsman wields his weapon.
John Mayer, The Search for Everything
Along the lines of how bad of an album title Concrete and gold is, The Search for Everything may be worse. The album cover for this record may be worse still. The roll of for this album was awful – I feel like no one noticed the “Waves” of songs John released. All in all, I don’t know that I’ve been more disappointed in the release of some really fantastic songs. “Still Feel Like Your Man”, “Moving On and Getting Over”, and “You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me” should be staples at future Mayer concerts, and highlight how he continues to be a master songwriter.
Brand New, Science Fiction
Okay, there’s no reason to beat around this bush: Jesse Lacey did some fucked up stuff. What he did is indefensible, and those he victimized deserve to be heard. I am doing my best to separate the art from the artist with Brand New. Brand New is my favorite band and Jesse Lacey is not Brand New. Although, to be honest, I’m not finding it as hard to separate him from this album as I am with Deja Entendu – your mileage may vary. That said:
If the Foo Fighters are wielding Rock and Roll, Brand New are wielding their own legacy on this album (albeit that has been blindsided by the Lacey accusations, but I digress). I don’t think I’ve ever anticipated an album more or for longer than I have for this. It had been over seven years since they had released Daisy when Science Fiction was mailed on CDs to a few hundred un-expecting fans as a single track – the most “Brand New” way to release their final album. This album really is a return to form for the band. It hits the sweet spot between the sing-song’ed-ness of Deja with the tenor and timbre of The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. The album has some classic verbose Brand New lines, like “It lit me up like a rag soaked in gasoline in the neck of a bottle breaking right at my feet” on “Lit Me Up” and some great simple lines like “Well, I guess that thats just depression, no sense in fighting it now” on “Can’t Get It Out”. Every song on this album is important, and each has its place on the album and in Brand New’s legacy – its almost impossible to think that they achieved the expectations everyone had for this album.
Other honorable mentions:
New Found Glory, Makes Me Sick – I love this band. I always will. They’re fun.
The Wonder Years, Burst and Decay – I wrote about this release a few months back. Its still great. They’re great, and teasing for a 2018 release. Hooray!
AFI, AFI (The Blood Album) – This is the best AFI record since Winter Underground.
Finally, my 2017 Spotify Wrap up:
At Ken 