Best Albums of 2017 : 50-41

Hello folks,

Here's my pick of the best albums of 2017 in reverse order. Hope you enjoy ;)

John


50. Paradise Lost - Medusa

The onset of middle aged grouchiness can turn some bands into caricatures of themselves but Yorkshire metal veterans Paradise Lost were miserable bastards when they started out in the early 1990s so it looks like they're entering their strongest phase fifteen albums into their career. 'Medusa' sounds like it's been marinading in a moss-covered crypt for decades prior to being dusted off for public consumption, a heady blend of wailing riffs, stone troll percussion and Nick Holmes' gruff vocals that sounds like the irate bark of a Lovecraftian hell hound woken from a decade long power nap. Having moved beyond youthful nihilism into a more studied yet equally dour worldview they've hit a late period career peak and have never sounded stronger.

49. Nathan Fake - Providence

More bleep and boink from those reliable folk at Ninja Tune, Norfolk knob-twiddler Nathan Fake's 4th LP channels the sun-just-coming-up serenity of the post rave era but mixes in a dollop of modern day melancholic anxiety to anchor this in the present. Very much a mood piece, 'Providence' nevertheless resists the temptation to go full-on introversion of us and Fake's fractured headspace gives way to some genuinely infectious cold locker techno, most notably when he ropes in fellow electronic misery wizard Prurient for a well-timed guest appearance. Picture 'Tubular Bells' crossed with 'Endtroducing' and Underworld's less bangin' passages and you'll have an idea of the sort of sonic thrills on offer here.

48. A Giant Dog - Toy

Austin, Texas sounds like the sort of place to bring out the freak in the most straightlaced of individuals, all clear headed finesse inevitably giving way to splunderous volume catharsis and giddy enthusiasm. 'Toy' sounds like a mid 70s power pop album that's been left on the radiator and then chewed up by the family's pet poodle, a slew of anthemic hooks and yowled choruses jostling for centre stage on every track. I have no idea what this band look like but my mental image is of some lost Hanna Barbera troup of hairy cartoon canines who traipse mud on the carpet and knock over every ornament in the house yet somehow get away with it through sheer charm. A ramshackle masterpiece.

47. White Poppy - The Pink Haze Of Love

I've been a huge fan of Vancouver's White Poppy since their self-titled 2013 debut swept awake the competition in a crowded dream pop market so I was pretty excited to hear what their new stuff sounded like. I wasn't an immediate convert to their new direction which dials down the sedative cloudwave in favour of a clearer, cooler vein of soft-focus withdrawl similar to Liz Harris' Grouper project but repeated listens won me over and this might just the album that gets them the long overdue recognition beyond the Bandcamp fringes. Often drowned in reverb on her previous efforts, it turns out that Crystal Dorval is a pretty great songwriter when you clear away the clutter and this is a welcome update on their formula that bodes well for future releases.

46. Alvvays - Antisocialites

Canada again, Toronto this time for the hotly anticipated return of Alvvays whose 2014 debut was a guilt free run of 4AD hairclip indie crowned with some of the year's best singles. How to top that? Simple - just stick to your guns and double down on what made people love your earlier stuff. 'Antisocialites' doesn't shy away from turning up the fluff and the results are almost defiantly perky, a giddy mix of anthemic indie cuteness suffused with nods to the queens of 80s underground indie - Talulah Gosh, Pastels, Beat Happening and even Throwing Muses when they pick up a lil' steam. This is the sort of album that'll drag you out of your chair for one of those jump-all-over-the-place dancing sessions whether you like it or not - timed correctly it might just make your year.

45. Fellwarden - Oathbearer

I'm growing quite partial to all this 'North Face Jacket Black Metal', the soundtrack to defiantly thrashing your way across the savage terrain of the British Isles as the wind and rain threaten to batter you senseless. Fellwarden is a side project of the more established British BM project Fen who has been blasting this sort of stuff for some time and the six tracks on offer here take in cavernous depths, tremelo-slashed heights and tidal waves of mournful majesty. As the harsh Nordic winters have left their imprint on Scandinavia's metal output the battle with British elements feeds into the music from our darker corners and 'Oathbearer' is an evocative tribute to the harsher characteristics of untamed Albion in all its savage splendour.

44. Buscabulla - EP2

Puerto Rico via Brooklyn now for one of the year's most promising short form releases. I'm always on the lookout for stuff like this when I'm gearing up for my summer holiday - sleek, sexy and preferably sung in Spanish. This four track EP lands somewhere between 'Volta' era Bjork, Grimes at her less grating and early 80s disco funk a la Loose Ends, all topped off with Raquel Berrios' distinctive electro mermaid coo. The duo apparently started off strictly business but romance soon blossomed once they began working together and that lends the project that early in-the-relationship bounce that makes it sound so good. Let's hope it lasts and that they can take things to the next level as this is a very promising start.

43. Hante - Between Hope And Danger

One half of Parisian synth queens Minuit Machine, Helene de Thoury runs a couple of solo projects in her spare time and she resurfaced with this dark, polished gem earlier in the year to keep the buzz going. Another one for driving around in the middle of the night, 'Between Hope and Danger' carries over the Blade Runner melancholy of her previous material but jacks up the pace for a few more dancefloor friendly moments and edges her closer to the cold sophistication of Gary Numan or the Human League's 'Dare'. It may be forever 1981 in her sonic universe but this isn't just a nostalgia trip and her knack for a melodic hook sees her through another solid set that will give all you night owls another staple set.

42. Serpent Column - Ornuthi Thalassa

Spartan Black Metal? I'm not sure exactly what's going on here but I like it. Serpent Column are a US Bandcamp-based BM project with some impressive musical chops and a taste for epic soundscapes. Their presumably limited budget hasn't prevented them from achieving widescreen thrills and spills here and this six track EP is based around one long poem in Ancient Greek chronicling the rise and fall of kingdoms capped by the oceans rising and swamping the whole lot. Picture that if you will - or let the evocative cover art do it for you - and then let these guys provide the soundtrack. This is almost bafflingly well executed for a debut release so Lord only knows what these lads would do with a symphony orchestra. Let's hope we get to find out.

41. Heaters - Matterhorn

Feels like psychedelia came back in a big way this year - or probably more accurately that it never went away and I just started paying more attention. Naming your album after a mountain is always going to indicate a taste for expansive sounds and Michigan's Heaters don't disappoint, riffs pinging off faraway surfaces as the band lock into an orbit for a dazzling display of neo-psych thrills and spills. The sound edges toward the effects pedal hipsterism of around five years back - Pond, DIIV, Tame Impala - but anchors the influence in multi-part epics like the two part 'Thanksgiving' and the result has enough legs on it to exist in its own musical netherworld. I didn't know I was looking for a record like this until I found it so consider 'Matterhorn' one of the year's more pleasant intrusions.