Frownland's Top 20 Albums of 2017 (featuring 17 honourable mentions)

**Frownland** · 01-02-2018, 10:59 PM

2018 is here. Something about fresh slates and all that inspiring **** or whatever. How about looking back at the year and stuff. If you know me this will probably seem like a pretty predictable list. Or maybe it won't be. I in no way listened to everything this year, so it is in no way a complete list, so recommendations and stringent criticism of my ranking are welcome. You do have my guarantee that every album on this list is excellent.

So many questions. Will my own albums be on the list? Is my list even finalized? Does anyone even give a ****? Is this the first entry?

Well it's the first entry, but I'm going to start posting about the albums tomorrow.

Top Albums
20.
19.
18.
17.
16.
15.
14.
13.
12.
11.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.

Honourable Mentions (not in order)
1. Faust - Fresh Air
2. Alpha Mist - Antiphon
3. Sudan Archives - Sudan Archives
4. A7PHA - A7PHA
5. Merkabah - Million Miles
6. Michael Chapman - 50
7. Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra - Vula
8. Algiers - The Underside of Power
9. Made to Break - Trebuchet
10. Primitive Man - Caustic
11. UUUU - UUUU
12. Coma Cluster Void - Thoughts From a Stone
13. Ehnahre - The Marrow
14. Zeena Parkins - Three Harps, Tuning Forks, and Electronics
15. Group Doueh & Cheveu - Dakhla Sahara Session
16. Krallice - Go Be Forgotten
17.

The Hunt For Number One Bidders
Occulthawk: Elliott Sharp, Mary Halvorson, Marc Ribot - Err Guitar
Mindfulness: Shabazz Palaces - Quazarz versus the Jealous Machines
Micshazam: Diamanda Galas - All the Way

OccultHawk · 01-03-2018, 10:48 AM

If you haven’t listened to SAICOBAB stop the presses.

**Exo** · 01-03-2018, 12:26 PM

You should do what I do. Start posting albums and then stop for like 9 days.

Anteater · 01-03-2018, 04:36 PM

This will be an interesting list.

**Frownland** · 01-03-2018, 10:25 PM

I'm going to start with my honourable mentions. The honourable mentions will be done as a collection, so they're not in any particular order. The top 20 will be ranked, though.

Honourable Mention Number One

Faust - Fresh Air

Faust is a force of nature barreling along at full capacity and when they stop, they'll keep echoing until music itself ends.

The album's opener is the strong point on this album as it's full of gorgeous drones on strings and electronics punctuated by spoken word and operatic singing and percussion that turns into that classic pulsing rock sound that they're known for. The tracks in between are great as well too. La Poulie has some really awesome percussion moments and Cloryphyl has badass percussion throughout. Lights Flicker gets especially punky with the screechy sax and female vocals full of immediacy and attitude over the driving drums and guitar. The closer takes on a darker and jazzier element with angrier male spoken word and trumpet. It touches on fusion-era Miles sound before breaking back into those Faustal rhythms and synth and cello melodies to close out the album.

Faust never waste any time with their music. Their songs are extended and full of improvisations, but it's never done without purpose or played without thoughtfulness. Faust owns their invention and boasts exciting new features. It's easy to forget about new material from bands like Faust on the strength of their old material, but any fan of Faust or krautrock in general needs to hear this album as it's the high quality music that you can expect from such a powerhouse.

Rating: Dank as ****

OccultHawk · 01-03-2018, 10:52 PM

Zappi is has been at it for coming up on 50 ****ing years and that’s a no bull**** seriously good high energy record.

Chula Vista · 01-04-2018, 01:20 AM

https://memyselfi5.bandcamp.com/album/me-myself-and-i

OccultHawk · 01-04-2018, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chula Vista

https://memyselfi5.bandcamp.com/album/me-myself-and-i

A little deep in the sauce tonight?

Chula Vista · 01-04-2018, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

A little deep in the sauce tonight?

Yup. See "Your Day".

**Frownland** · 01-04-2018, 02:06 PM

Honourable Mention Number Two

Alpha Mist - Antiphon

I want to start off by saying that I hate the term nu jazz. Here's a quote for those that don't know what nu jazz is "Nu Jazz is to (traditional) Jazz what punk or grunge was to Rock, of course. [...] The songs are the focus, not the individual prowess of the musicians. Nu Jazz instrumentation ranges from the traditional to the experimental, the melodies are fresh, and the rhythms new and alive. It makes Jazz fun again." Stupid as hell right? Jazz can only thrive when it has new blood and ideas, and these idiots think that just because jazz came to fruition before the advent of readily available electronic instruments that adding electronics demands a new subgenre.

Anyway, really ****ing nice jazz record here. Very soulful, melancholy, and chill with especially virtuosic keys, hip hop rhythms, and the occasional vocalist. It's not typically an album I'd return to but it's a great go to that hasn't worn on me since I've found it and it's a good album to throw on in mixed company. I don't really have much to say about it tbh but it's super solid.

01-02-2018, 10:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Frownland's Top 20 Albums of 2017 (featuring 17 honourable mentions) 2018 is here. Something about fresh slates and all that inspiring ** or whatever. How about looking back at the year and stuff. If you know me this will probably seem like a pretty predictable list. Or maybe it won't be. I in no way listened to everything this year, so it is in no way a complete list, so recommendations and stringent criticism of my ranking are welcome. You do have my guarantee that every album on this list is excellent. So many questions. Will my own albums be on the list? Is my list even finalized? Does anyone even give a ? Is this the first entry? Well it's the first entry, but I'm going to start posting about the albums tomorrow. Top Albums 20. 19. 18. 17. 16. 15. 14. 13. 12. 11. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Honourable Mentions (not in order) 1. Faust - Fresh Air 2. Alpha Mist - Antiphon 3. Sudan Archives - Sudan Archives 4. A7PHA - A7PHA 5. Merkabah - Million Miles 6. Michael Chapman - 50 7. Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra - Vula 8. Algiers - The Underside of Power 9. Made to Break - Trebuchet 10. Primitive Man - Caustic 11. UUUU - UUUU 12. Coma Cluster Void - Thoughts From a Stone 13. Ehnahre - The Marrow 14. Zeena Parkins - Three Harps, Tuning Forks, and Electronics 15. Group Doueh & Cheveu - Dakhla Sahara Session 16. Krallice - Go Be Forgotten 17. The Hunt For Number One Bidders** Occulthawk: Elliott Sharp, Mary Halvorson, Marc Ribot - Err Guitar Mindfulness: Shabazz Palaces - Quazarz versus the Jealous Machines Micshazam: Diamanda Galas - All the Way __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

01-03-2018, 10:48 AM	#2 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	If you haven’t listened to SAICOBAB stop the presses. __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

01-03-2018, 12:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
Exo All day jazz and biscuits Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ Posts: 7,354	You should do what I do. Start posting albums and then stop for like 9 days. __________________ LastFM SUPREME POO BAH MODERATOR EXTRAORDINAIRE

01-03-2018, 10:25 PM	#5 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	I'm going to start with my honourable mentions. The honourable mentions will be done as a collection, so they're not in any particular order. The top 20 will be ranked, though. Honourable Mention Number One Faust - Fresh Air Faust is a force of nature barreling along at full capacity and when they stop, they'll keep echoing until music itself ends. The album's opener is the strong point on this album as it's full of gorgeous drones on strings and electronics punctuated by spoken word and operatic singing and percussion that turns into that classic pulsing rock sound that they're known for. The tracks in between are great as well too. La Poulie has some really awesome percussion moments and Cloryphyl has badass percussion throughout. Lights Flicker gets especially punky with the screechy sax and female vocals full of immediacy and attitude over the driving drums and guitar. The closer takes on a darker and jazzier element with angrier male spoken word and trumpet. It touches on fusion-era Miles sound before breaking back into those Faustal rhythms and synth and cello melodies to close out the album. Faust never waste any time with their music. Their songs are extended and full of improvisations, but it's never done without purpose or played without thoughtfulness. Faust owns their invention and boasts exciting new features. It's easy to forget about new material from bands like Faust on the strength of their old material, but any fan of Faust or krautrock in general needs to hear this album as it's the high quality music that you can expect from such a powerhouse. Rating: Dank as **** __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

01-03-2018, 10:52 PM	#6 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	Zappi is has been at it for coming up on 50 **ing years and that’s a no bull** seriously good high energy record. __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

01-04-2018, 01:20 AM	#7 (permalink)
Chula Vista Toasted Poster Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: SoCal by way of Boston Posts: 11,332	https://memyselfi5.bandcamp.com/album/me-myself-and-i __________________ “The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

01-04-2018, 02:06 PM	#10 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Honourable Mention Number Two Alpha Mist - Antiphon I want to start off by saying that I hate the term nu jazz. Here's a quote for those that don't know what nu jazz is "Nu Jazz is to (traditional) Jazz what punk or grunge was to Rock, of course. [...] The songs are the focus, not the individual prowess of the musicians. Nu Jazz instrumentation ranges from the traditional to the experimental, the melodies are fresh, and the rhythms new and alive. It makes Jazz fun again." Stupid as hell right? Jazz can only thrive when it has new blood and ideas, and these idiots think that just because jazz came to fruition before the advent of readily available electronic instruments that adding electronics demands a new subgenre. Anyway, really ***ing nice jazz record here. Very soulful, melancholy, and chill with especially virtuosic keys, hip hop rhythms, and the occasional vocalist. It's not typically an album I'd return to but it's a great go to that hasn't worn on me since I've found it and it's a good album to throw on in mixed company. I don't really have much to say about it tbh but it's super solid. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.* d e a f b o x