ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2017

starts in a few hours!

Smooth beginning, you guys.

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/FileLibrary/ProductResources/Images/204417-L-LO.jpg

ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2017 - Spotify Playlist

woo!

ohshitohshitohshitohshit

hello is this thing switched on?

So it begins. Soon.

hehe yay

https://i.imgur.com/6xdlGrc.jpg

77 AIMEE MANN "Mental Illness" (186 points, 6 votes, 1 first place vote)
spoitfy

Didn't even know she had a new one out.

Great little bruiser of a record.

think I quite liked what I heard

Aaw, this is lovely. It just missed my ballot so it's great to see it here! Has lots of pretty Elliott Smith inflections and is her strongest for a while imo

https://i.imgur.com/LlUOSXE.jpg

76 L'RAIN "L'rain" (198 points, 7 votes)
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Aaaah TOO LOW

My #2. An absolutely incredible record

L'Rain didn't quite make my ballot but it's excellent, glad to see it show up

whoop whoop. This'll be one that really breaks through this year instead of 2017.

i really look forward to hearing what she does in the future since this is such a good debut, first two tracks and Which Fork/I'll Be are the highlights

Mental Illness sounds especially beautiful on this chilly January morning.

https://i.imgur.com/0MTVioT.jpg

75 ELDER "Reflections of a Floating World" (200 points, 6 votes)
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hey one of my votes already appeared! <3 the l'rain album

I think the whole L'Rain album follows a beautiful dream logic. It's obviously a very carefully thought-through song-cycle (maybe sound-cycle?) - progge as fuck but also spry and lean. Emotionally intense and deeply sad, yet also blithely playful. It's the best debut I've heard in ages. Not just for the psychedelic R&B fans out there. It's for all of you.

Not for everyone, obviously, but the Elder album is superlative contemporary prog-metal.

It seemed decent enough to me but I've not heard it in full yet! Maybe that'll have to be addressed

enjoying the cover. might check it out

That L'Rain album would have made my Top 10 had I heard it in time, gorgeous stuff.

I nearly lost my shit at the birthday voicemail.

seriously.

Wow, it took tracks forever to get to the 200 point barrier, and we get there at #75 in this one.

that is strange. i'd have thought it'd be the other way round

That makes sense, given a similar number of ballots aimed at (what I assume must be) fewer entries than the tracks poll?

I wasn't bowled over by Elder's previous album but loved this one.

There were more albums than tracks nominated iirc

Think it's a combination of more albums ballots and more consensus - there was SO MUCH vote splitting in the tracks poll

108 album ballots vs. 105 tracks ballots. That's pretty even. Maybe just more albums consensus for 2017?

more consensus is natural given basically no vote splitting per artist, I would think

the albums poll has always had more consensus than the tracks poll, at least while i've been here

much less vote-splitting is the obvious reason but also just less range - there are more good tracks released than good albums

True, true. I just got out of bed. Brain not working yet.

https://i.imgur.com/8QDYjSM.jpg

74 PLAYBOI CARTI "Playboi Carti" (201 points, 7 votes)
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very low for an excellent record

I try not to be a dinosaur and keep up on contemporary rap but try as I might this is one of those records that just makes me feel old

Amazed that there were more LP than tracks ballots, I never feel I've heard enough LPs by the end of a year to justify voting.

I really like the track that got in the 77. Just silly enough to make me love it.

Magnolia is a fucking dope tune.

yeah this is surprisingly low. Pi'erre and Carti are great together & wokeuplikethis* especially is fantastic

Wow, it took tracks forever to get to the 200 point barrier, and we get there at #75 in this one.

― Johnny Fever, Monday, January 29, 2018

that is strange. i'd have thought it'd be the other way round

― Badgers (dog latin), Monday, January 29, 2018

108 album ballots vs. 105 tracks ballots. That's pretty even. Maybe just more albums consensus for 2017?

― Johnny Fever, Monday, January 29, 2018

For me, I think the killer point is that it looks as if you need 6+ voters to make the 77, so bang goes my slim hopes of squeezing in a couple of records that I know have a dedicated, but tiny, fanbase here.

RIP Drab Majesty :(

they'd have stood a better chance had DJP gotten a ballot in, I'd imagine.

Anyway. Count me as another who came to the L'Rain record after the voting deadline. Not sure I'd have voted for it but it's in my Top 50 for 2017 easy.

Sometimes you just have to go 'omgomgomg this record' on the lobbying thread if you want something to get in. Mind you L'Rain still wouldn't have if it didn't have existing fans. It's hard to hype

I never have any hopes that my picks will place, it's the list making process itself that's nice.

https://i.imgur.com/JXIHAxO.jpg

73 THE WEATHER STATION "The Weather Station" (202 points, 6 votes)
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Quick check of Weather Station album, sounds nice.

Glorious album.

fantastic album and I really hope ppl will check it out

A lovely record that I haven't given enough listens.

I gave this a go but gave up about two thirds of the way through IIRC. "Power" is good though.

I think I first heard it in December and played the shit out of it for that month, I usually find albums in that vein to be worthy but dull but there's a real clarity to her voice and a spark to her songwriting.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. This thread sorts out my commuting playlists for the next few months - thanks pollsters/respondents.

FWIW, that Aimee Mann album won a Grammy for Best Folk Album yesterday.

Yeah I picked this up after ums' stanning - thanks man, I love it. Too bad she's not visiting the Netherlands on her current European tour.

the elder and weather station albums are amazing. elder in particular, what a journey

The Weather Report sounds lovely.

Station!

File this under things discovered at a shockingly old age, but I only just discovered Aimee Mann was in Til Tuesday.

^ Wow I really didn't think she was 57. She looks incredible.

phantastic album by tamara lindeman, i am happy that she made it into the top 77.

just a wee reminder you only have a few days left to vote in the sister poll
The 2017 ILX Metal n' Heavy Rock Poll VOTING + CAMPAIGNING thread! Ballots due Saturday, Feb. 3rd!

https://i.imgur.com/8gNJRhl.jpg

72 YOUNG MARCO / VARIOUS ARTISTS "Welcome To Paradise (Italian Dream House 89-93)" (202 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote)
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Woah, I had no idea that existed!

yeeeeah love this :D

almost hit my tracks top 77 score of 3 already!

i didn't vote for that because it's all old stuff but i listened to it so very many times this year. <3

i listened to this lots while chilling in italy this summer https://i.imgur.com/4sE8x2C.gif

Happy to see the lovely Aimee Mann record place, voted for that and Carti.

still playing the shit out of 707 boyz' 'emotions'

Funny how pretty much every house track (and loads of techno) from the past 30 years is now tagged 'deep house' on Discogs/RYM/etc.

Yeah I have a high bar for including archival comps but I couldn't omit this one. It's my favourite album of the year for daydreaming while doing housework.

oh cool. Glad to see my #1 vote for Mental Illness helped it (barely) crack the list.

Speaking of archival comps, was The Men In The Glass Booth nominated?

Funny how pretty much every house track (and loads of techno) from the past 30 years is now tagged 'deep house' on Discogs/RYM/etc.

'Deep house' is to the 10s what 'electro' was to the 00s at this stage.

It also bugs me to no end that most early 90s trance is nowadays airbrushed out of history as 'techno', for example see the Trance Europe Express comps, etc.

guys its DREAM house

great year for young marco with this comp, his dekmantel selectors set and obviously the gaussian curve album

I love Elder's sound and playing. I'm not always 100% sold on the compositions.

Genre names are for bureaucrats, dream thieves, pedants and phone users

Would have voted for this if it wasn't for a self-imposed no comps rule. Italian dream house beats all

May well just be the kind of thing that comes together with more listens. I did stream the album a bunch in the summer. xp to self

^ i'd probably agree with that Sund4r re Elder, they do sound amazing to me but sometimes their songs just keep chuggling on and on for no obvious reason

Young Marco was my #1. Probably the (double) album I spent more time listening to than any other and it sent me down a discogs rabbit hole in search of similar sounding artists.

it was a double double album!

also you should totally start an italian dream house thread

sometimes their songs just keep chuggling on and on for no obvious reason

That's usually what the problem seems to be imo, in a nutshell.

yeah it might be a magic eye thing idk

also you should totally start an italian dream house thread

To be honest, the discoveries were fairly slim. A lot of the artists that appear only made that one track (707 Boyz for example)

OK this Young Marco record definitely sounds like something I'd like.

https://i.imgur.com/2myGanq.jpg

71 LOUISE BURNS "Young Mopes" (202 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)
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also you should totally start an italian dream house thread

― faust apes (NickB), Monday, 29 January 2018 14:40

Vibraphone is a nice place to start!

https://www.discogs.com/label/10403-Vibraphone-Records

that cover!

oh, what is this? xp

This ends with a Blue Nile cover, to explain its appearance

This was destined for inclusion when she covered the Blue Nile. (xp lol)

I should point out that i was the the #1 voter and have no interest in the Blue Nile...

It's a wonderful album.

(Not saying it's undeserving; it's a nice record.)

a record with a good Blue Nile cover indeed

glad to see Weather Station place, "Thirty" got robbed in tracks poll

btw what was the amusing track that was 78 for a long time in the voting for songs

that turned out to be Look What You Made Me Do

will have to check out this Louise Burns album

elder critics itt insufficiently stoned imo

xp ah cheers!

it's a magic high thing xp

I don't get high and I still find it p delightful idk

elder critics itt

Starts of posts that, themselves, effortlessly summarise the spirit of ilx

woah this blue nile cover is lovely

Don't know anything about Elder's previous releases but I listened to Reflections of a Floating world for the first time last week and it made a pretty strong impression on me. I need a few more weeks to see if that'll hold up (I'm still pantingly struggling to catch up with 2017 – I don't know how you guys do it).

Based on admittedly vague assumptions of what'll come next, Playboi Carti should probably be higher imho.

Genre names are for bureaucrats, dream thieves, pedants and phone usersp

after many a false start, the playlist is up and running.

carti way too low. room-enveloping ear candy.

didn't mean to imply that getting severely stoned was the only way to unlock the elder record; just projecting my personal experience onto it, which is that every time i listened to it high i rode the chuggling groove into infinity, is all

My first vote to place. Young Mopes is such a gorgeous record that I discovered late on through the overlooked albums of 2017 thread. The whole album is great, The Blue Nile cover at the end is like a nice little bonus.

public service announcement

thread to dis hyped 2017 releases that you don't get/don't like/wanna complain about

not been much real dissing so far!

no, true, that was pre-emptive

Based on my current listen, the Weather Station album picks up after 'Thirty'

I loved her last record, so I was a built in audience for this one. The Blue Nile cover is but a perk.

https://i.imgur.com/NTvF6D0.jpg

70 HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF "The Navigator" (206 points, 5 votes, 1 first place vote)
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xp - Slightly disappointed that 'Moonlight Shadow' is not a Mike Oldfield cover after all this Blue Nile talk.

excellent, i was the #1 voter on this one

another nice album that didn't hit me the way I gather it hit others / was meant to hit me

I listened to it but 'Living In The City' was the keeper for me. I must have played it a hundred times in the last year

she's released a series of excellent albums but this is the first one that seemed to really catch on. it was the right year for this one to come out, in terms of everything going on in the united states. it's one of the better concept albums i've heard, though it's a bit looser in the concept than some perhaps.

Disappointed this isn't higher, but I'll take it.

That's a high points per voter average.

i rated Pa'lante at the top of my tracks poll, should have rated Living In the City too. it's great throughout though and the former one seemed like the representative rallying cry for the LP as a whole.

those are two great songs that kinda towered over the rest of the album for me.

I really tried hard to get into this album after reading some interesting reviews and the positive reactions on here. There were some great moments, but overall I found it too uneven.

Just joining now, L'Rain is definitely TOO LOW, was totally anticipating it being a surprise hit. At least it made it, I would've been horrified if it had missed out.

my response to Living In The City was basically "oh cool, there's a female Hold Steady now" lol

lol

wow that's mean

jesus christ lj

if you're gonna be that cruel save it for the bitching thread

my pazz and jop application portfolio increaseth

you're also like, incredibly wrong

guess the craig finn album is prob gonna miss the countdown...

just kidding, i didn't listen to that

*lj hears extremely vu-indebted track* "oh wow this is a female hold steady"

https://i.imgur.com/Qsxf6Zu.jpg

69 THE NATIONAL "Sleep Well Beast" (206 points, 6 votes)
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nice

worst national album in however many years, still pretty good

i liked the singles but the album left me cold :\

carin at the liquor store, the system only dreams in total darkness, guilty party, all great tracks, but the whole album was sort of a chore to listen to.

the system dreams in total darkness is one of their best songs, pretty boring overall though

"turtleneck" is the worst "we're gonna rock out again" song i've heard in a while

Fake results this early?

carin at the liquor store, the system only dreams in total darkness, guilty party, all great tracks, but the whole album was sort of a chore to listen to.

These, "Dark Side of the Gym" and "Born to Beg" are the only ones that made it onto my phone, pretty poor showing by their standards.

this young marco italian dream house thing is outstanding

y'all are severely underrating "i'll still destroy you"

enh that one struck me as a little try-hard miserablist even for them, will revisit tho

the "it's just the lights...coming on" part is like the ultimate national part of a national song

https://i.imgur.com/Wb4QFqh.jpg

68 SPOON "Hot Thoughts" (206 points, 7 votes)spotify

and yet another steaming turd of a US band.

joking, of course!

great record

will always welcome a new spoon album full of displaced and disembodied funk rock and deliberately underwritten bond themes

Thought this was a good record but it didn't make my ballot, didn't find myself returning to it much over the year.

also like the national they're a band where it's just a pleasure to hear the drummer play

v solid album by an almost scarily consistent band

List feels a little full of plodding Amerindie to me.

I assume it won't last

only 67 more plodding Amerindies to go!

xp to brad totally true, two of the best drummers currently doing it in rock and roll

we're getting the amerindie out of the way early

137 plodding Amerindie fans can't be wrong!

i wont divulge anything about american plod indie, but i can say that there is no more italian dream house for the rest of the rollout sadly

:'O

can i sit next to you made me think i might like this one but i didnt, never really been into them though

Two of my favorite bands of the last couple of decades. Two albums I very much liked the *sound* of, full of songs completely overshadowed by their prior work. ("The System Only Dreams in Darkness" is excellent).

Here is an actual verse from my favorite sounding song on the Spoon record:

Coconut milk, coconut water, aw ha
You still like to tell me they're the same
Aw ha, and who am I to say?

less Amerindie more Amerie, amirite

he's got a point
xp

Re: "plodding Amerindie" ... is there really any other type?

it's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife don pablo's animals

hurray for the riff raff is....not what i was expecting

https://i.imgur.com/i73wv3t.jpg

67 BJÖRK "Utopia" (213 points, 10 votes)
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lol @ this being this low. didn't listen to it, who will stan

much as she has meant to me in the past, i honestly never want to hear her voice again.

first two tracks were cool but this really did not need to be 70+ minutes, bjork at her densest and most abstract gets tiring very quickly

First track is beautiful, but I got lost after that one.

my response to Living In The City was basically "oh cool, there's a female Hold Steady now" lol

I'm down with the Hold Steady but they are the whitest band ever, this is a Bronx singer of Puero Rican heritage staring down Trumpsim and doing it with tunes you could put on in Starbucks. That's kinda what I loved about it.

I never said my take was accurate! Just popped into my head, thought it was humorous that it made me think of that

i voted for the bjork album at #17 or therabouts. i thought it was gorgeous.

it was nice to hear her so happy after the spartan vulnicura

I'm down with the Hold Steady but they are the whitest band ever, this is a Bronx singer of Puero Rican heritage staring down Trumpsim and doing it with tunes you could put on in Starbucks. That's kinda what I loved about it.

― Matt DC, Monday, January 29, 2018 9:11 AM (four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the starbucks thing is offset by the intensity and occasional fury simmering in the lyrics and vocals but i agree.

my response to Living In The City was basically "oh cool, there's a female Hold Steady now" lol

one of my favorite parts of these rollouts is people checking out acts for the first time and coming up with totally off comparisons

https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/Rs9mbBsjqS5pdtnPKyM3Ki35I8w=/1200x630/2017%2F04%2F02%2F11%2Fc028267d1d8b4c6c8a995b10475f79e3.1af07.png

maybe this is all preemptive for when you all compare R Dawson to idk Sun Lol Moon or something

I am keeping that autocorrect

he sounds more like richard thompson getting strangled

Where was the voting thread? How did I completely miss it?

that's the spirit! xp

The voting thread was a bit anonymous this year, there's a lot to be said for giving it a big annoying title so that everyone sees it.

it was nice to hear her so happy after the spartan vulnicura

I loved Vulnicura and was bored by this one, but it would be really nice for her to be on the dancefloor again.

is that why votings down on metal poll is down? Nobody knows its on? I refuse to do puns but simon h done the threads (i did warn him no puns, lol)

was a bit bored by this bjork too, think that arca's own album was way more interesting and strange

I'm probably a little more oblivious than most tbf

Arca's vocals struck me as even more narcissistic than 2010s Björk. Kind of ruined my enjoyment of the rest.

it was nice to hear her so happy after the spartan vulnicura

I loved Vulnicura and was bored by this one, but it would be really nice for her to be on the dancefloor again.

― Matt DC, Monday, January 29, 2018 12:30 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I liked them both, Vulnicura was probably the more impressive achievement, but I found Utopia was a lot easier to return to.

maybe this is all preemptive for when you all compare R Dawson to idk Sun Lol Moon or something

lmao <3

https://i.imgur.com/FJtxnd7.jpg

66 WAXAHATCHEE "Out in the Storm" (216 points, 8 votes)
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here was my capsule length review of the bjork:

People often lament that the influence of the smartphone has driven people to isolate themselves from the physical world. Not Björk. On Utopia, which she describes as her “Tinder album,” technology has the power of bringing people closer together—“I literally think I am five minutes away from love,” she warbles on “Features Creatures.” Moving beyond the harsh, metallic soundscapes of Vulnicura, which was written and recorded at the end of a decades-long relationship, Utopia is a blissful and pastoral record, populated by flutes and bird sounds and overflowing with joy.

does this count as ameriplod too? it's good but i liked her last one a lot more

enjoyable but unspectacular indie, silver is really nice

*joins tinder*

it's good but i liked her last one a lot more

― ciderpress, Monday, 29 January 2018 17:40 (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I like the recent Bjork stuff I've heard but never explore it fully, not sure if that's just because I'm lazy and don't listen as widely as I used to or if there's something in it that doesn't completely gel with me.

I dutifully give every Waxahatchee album a listen but her arrangement and production choices are so fucking boring and drag even the good songs down.

I put Utopia high on my ballot. Adam Bruneau's and Ross's posts on the dedicated thread (Bjork - 2017 album) explain its appeal to me very well. And I still maintain "saint" near the end is a hidden pop gem.

Cool rollout so far: usually the boring stuff shows up around day three.

I dutifully give every Waxahatchee album a listen but her arrangement and production choices are so fucking boring and drag even the good songs down.

― Matt DC, Monday, January 29, 2018 11:03 AM (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm. feel like it's telling that my fav waxahatchee album (the debut) has basically no arrangement or production choices

I heard this one was supposed to be much fuller sounding, though.

It is fuller sounding but also stodgier.

What I've heard so far:

Elder - good stuff. Thought I had voted for it but I guess not.

The National - I like their albums up to High Violet included. I found what they release after that one to be super boring and this one is no exception.

The Weather Station - Gave up after a few tracks that left no impression whatsoever.

Will try to sample everything else later tonight.

I had Utopia in my top ten, it's a gorgeous record and a nice next step after Vulnicura. To be honest though I think Volta is the only time I've felt let down by a Björk album.

https://i.imgur.com/piRwG8e.jpg

65 TORNADO WALLACE "Lonely Planet" (219 points, 7 votes)
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There it is

wish I liked this as much as I'm supposed to

Woo the first of mine to chart! This one is fucking lush m8

Here's one I've actually heard, my number 2 and in a roughly similar position to the artist's placer in the tracks poll

It's really different, but I like it for the same reasons I like old Ulrich Schnauss. It's large scale and cozy at the same time.

didn't listen to this until the results came in and its a very cool record, i like it

feel kinda bummed no one said "hey man this record is very gr8080, you should listen" to me at all last year

I tried my best but I couldn’t really get into old wally tornado

dude should change his name to like Cool Breeze Wallace or something

he could, but this guy would probably sue.

I thought I voted for this, but I actually didn't lol

Zephyr Wallace

yeah, I also didn't listen to this until it placed in the tracks poll. Enjoyed it quite a bit.

Other than this, L'Rain (which I voted for) and the Italian Dreamhouse compilation (listening to this right now, incredible) I've been a bit disappointed by the results so far.

here's the band that should be named after a tornado:

https://i.imgur.com/KVb2rQl.jpg

64 EX EYE "Ex Eye" (220 points, 7 votes)
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hell yeah

first one i haven't heard of

boom! my number uh 23 lol, but I predicted it'd show up! second track is a monster. never liked colin stetson so much

liyl: post-metal-math-jazz

#8 on my ballot

i gave this a whirl after seeing it on some year-end lists and fell in love with it

there def should be more saxophone metal in general

this is great so far!

This one completely passed me by and I like Colin Stenson

if sund4r had told us about this then it could have been a wee bit higher

:(

I like the Ex Eye and Elder records. Both narrowly missed my final ballot but such is life.

the opening track has some faint RFTC vibes imo

Will Ed Sheeran chart y/n

Lol sund4r did tell you guys about Ex Eye! re: Odysseus & Michael B

Elder narrowly missed my ballot, orob should've made it (as should've L'Rain). Ex Eye was my #11.

didn't listen to this until the results came in and its a very cool record, i like it

feel kinda bummed no one said "hey man this record is very gr8080, you should listen" to me at all last year

nah i was lazy this year

oh and if you need any more persuasion to hear it, Ex Eye's drummer is Greg Fox, a man operating at barely-precedented levels

i'm pretty wary about alerting you to any kind of "tornado" with you being in the midwest, that's my excuse

fair

https://i.imgur.com/pDTAJ59.jpg

63 KESHA "Rainbow" (22 points, 9 votes)
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that is a hell of a lot lower than I expected

waaaay too low. but then I could have put it higher than 20th on my ballot I guess. bangers all the way down. even the EODM songs

long, distracted, kinda poorly-paced but still, y'know, consistent and great record that didn't quite make my ballot. one of the eodm songs is my current favorite kesha song (let 'em talk)

I recently woke up with Boogie Feet in my head lol

Anyway, the ballads are amazing. Title track and Spaceship p much did for me. Brilliant schmaltz

all the country-ish songs are great. as i said in another thread it's like three albums at once

Kesha is best. This was a phenomenal comeback and wildly eclectic despite its consistency. Her energy is my favourite thing in pop and her whole frenetic dance-death cult aesthetic is wonderful. So difficult to even pick a favourite, but I love Boogie Feet this month.

lol mindmeld

two more for today - gonna do them a litter quicker than normal if that's alright

https://i.imgur.com/5VGrnMz.jpg

62 HANNAH PEEL "Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia" (223 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote)
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too low

I think I voted for this? I hope I voted for this? It rules.

I've never heard synths+horns mixed quite like this.

love this, didn't vote for it cause 25 is just too small of a number :(

i didn't keep my albums ballot but i'm pretty sure this didn't fit on mine either :(

Hey, my #1! The moment around ~3:45 on opener "Goodbye Earth" where the colliery band joins the kosmiche synths is my second favourite musical moment of 2017 after the guitar coming in on "Akrakabo". Great album, wonderful followup to the completely different Awake but Always Dreaming.

love this, didn't vote for it cause 25 is just too small of a number
^this - but I did buy it with actual money

Had this top 10, she's fantastic

Only 9 voters for Kesha is a surprise, I thought there was more across the board appeal for the LP than that. The most thoroughly fun record I heard in 2018.

it bears restating that that moment in akrakabo was so blindsidingly wondrous that I don't think my jaw position has recovered yet

I think Spotify is having a bug because I have been streaming some of these picks for the last 20 minutes and I haven't had a single ad. I'm not complaining though.

last one for today:

https://i.imgur.com/mtaD7Nb.jpg

61 VISIBLE CLOAKS "Reassemblage" (244 points, 8 votes)
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i think i voted for this but i actually kind of liked the EP better

ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2017 - MONDAY RECAP

77 AIMEE MANN "Mental Illness"
76 L'RAIN "L'rain"
75 ELDER "Reflections of a Floating World"
74 PLAYBOI CARTI "Playboi Carti"
73 THE WEATHER STATION "The Weather Station"
72 YOUNG MARCO / VARIOUS ARTISTS "Welcome To Paradise (Italian Dream House 89-93)"
71 LOUISE BURNS "Young Mopes"
70 HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF "The Navigator"
69 THE NATIONAL "Sleep Well Beast"
68 SPOON "Hot Thoughts"
67 BJÖRK "Utopia"
66 WAXAHATCHEE "Out in the Storm"
65 TORNADO WALLACE "Lonely Planet"
64 EX EYE "Ex Eye"
63 KESHA "Rainbow"
62 HANNAH PEEL "Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia"
61 VISIBLE CLOAKS "Reassemblage"

visible cloaks album rules

i enjoyed the hannah peel record last year, found ex eye in the songs longlist, great stuff too

no huge surprises but also nothing terrible! well done everyone.

First one of my votes to place! And if I revoted today, it'd probably fall off in favor of something I learned about through this poll :) But still, I like it.

amazed visible cloaks made it but very glad it did

The Hannah Peel + the video to Bicep's "Glue" had me dig out the Jeremy Deller/Williams Fairey Brass Band Acid Brass for the first time in ages. Keen to check out the Ex Eye & the Young Marco comp!

I may have voted for up to four of these (Ex Eye, Elder, Aimee Mann, Hannah Peel) but I may be tricking myself

I started an Italian house thread over here

Hannah Peel was top 10 for me as well, it feels like she distilled the feeling you get midway through Kate Bush's 'Hello Earth' with the monks' chorus from outer space and made a whole album out of it, I love the sense that it's spinning out into the galaxy while simultaneously feeling completely warm and homely. It's beautiful.

Visible Cloaks:) great one-two to finish the day off

Never heard Visible Cloaks but if it's the person behind the Fairlights, Mallets and Bamboo- Fourth-world Japan, years 1980-1986 mix from nearly a decade ago, I should check it out.

xpost w/Matt DC: Yes, it's very The Ninth Wave!

Acid Brass is a fun time!

tornado wallace album is a++++

feel kinda bummed no one said "hey man this record is very gr8080, you should listen" to me at all last year

― gr8080, Monday, January 29, 2018 1:32 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

dude should change his name to like Cool Breeze Wallace or something

― gr8080, Monday, January 29, 2018 1:36 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol :)

carti way too low. room-enveloping ear candy.

― hoooyaaargh it's me satan (voodoo chili), Monday, January 29, 2018 10:22 AM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I knew Magnolia, but I'm just listening to this for the first time. "ear candy" is otm

Hannah Peel was my main discovery from last year's poll, but I could not get into this one. Sounds like she's jamming with a high school band

visible cloaks placing at the end of today feels like a refreshing warm face cloth after a strange and sometimes stodgy 16 course meal

glad hannah peel made it, archid orange dwarf reminds me of arthur russell's instrumentals

Yay, Ex Eye! First of my votes to place.

Best discovery of the day is Louise Burns.

So, although I apparently hyped Ex Eye early on, I ended up forgetting about it and never buying it. Listening now, though, it's great and I don't know why.

like a refreshing warm face cloth after a strange and sometimes stodgy 16 course meal

But then you realize the cloth is as starchy as the dim sum meal was. (I know stodgy is not a synonym for starchy, but I couldn't help mentally substituting the latter in place of what you wrote.) Mostly good stuff so far, just nothing I'm that excited by.

nuh, visible cloaks is just water, light and vapours, it’s basically music for breatharians

digging visible cloaks

this is a really nice track off it, actually a bonus track but it’s maybe the most accessible thing

visible cloaks with miyako koda - valve (revisited)

x-posts

I have no chance of evolving to that level in this lifetime.

i can't keep up w/ the rollout in real time, checking in during lunch and just have to ask: is there a different Hold Steady than the one i know? because i don't know how you get to the Hold Steady i know from Hurray for the Riff Raff

i can def hear craig finn yelling "HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF" but yeah otherwise no

Fuck I posted a bad link - let’s try again:

visible cloaks with miyako koda - valve revisited

This one completely passed me by and I like Colin Stetson

― Well bissogled trotters (Michael B), Monday, January 29, 2018 12:55 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Same. Good stuff.

A couple thoughts after tonight's listening session

Aimee Mann is undoubtedly closer to my own personal taste than I suspect most of these picks will be yet it doesn't really grab me.

L'Rain sounded interesting based on the first few tracks. Saving this one for later.

Not feeling Louise Burns or Hurray for the Riff Raff at all.

I don't think I've listened to any Spoon before. First few tracks were not bad. Might revisit.

The popularity of Waxahatchee still escapes me.

Tornado Wallace sounded okay. Maybe a bit too background-ish for me to care.

Hannah Peel is the one I listened to all the way through. Nothing spectacular but enjoyable enough.

Just put Visible Cloaks on. This sounds very nice so far. Might be a keeper.

Got one of my picks in (Ex Eye). Most likely the only one I'll get even though I have unreasonable hopes for my 2# due to this board's passion for women-made indie rock and I'll end up being sad.

Ex Eye is awesome

Visible Cloaks are cool

nuh, visible cloaks is just water, light and vapours, it’s basically music for breatharians

I tried the L'Rain album after she appeared in the tracks poll; it was a little bit shapeless for me to truly love straight off the bat but I'll persevere with it.

Enjoying Louise Burns!

weather station record is great, sad i slept on this.

i like the swearing in it.

My picks already faring much better than on the tracks list -- L'Rain, Waxahatchee, Aimee Mann. Happy about the latter's Grammy win, though I don't hear it at all as a folk album.

Love love love the waxahatchee album but I get why some ppl might think the arrangements are boring. Idk, it's the kind of personal songwriting that I find really powerful and immediately likeable. Hear You is especially a jam

very symmetrical album art itt

gr8080 otm re: tornado wallace

into this hannah peel joint, somewhat surprisingly, as I was kind of expecting vocals. points off for lacking a paul buchanan cover tho

I adored the last Hannah Peel album but the new one isn't for me at all

would like to rescreen whilst baked, for sure xp

Glad Hannah Peel made it! Visible Cloaks was on my radar but just never really grabbed me enough. Feels like a more abstract retread of OPN's R Plus 7's sound palette. On that record I remember a score of moments, but on Reassemblage, not one comes to mind. That said, the followup EP Lex is better.

liking this Tornado Wallace record, I think "Trance Encounters" has turned up on some recent-ish Prins Thomas/Lindstrom beardo disco mixes

Prins Thomas remixed "Trance Encounters"
https://www.deejay.de/Tornado_Wallace_Lonely_Planet_Remixes_RB069_Vinyl__303424

ah nice, thanks

i:Cube too on that EP! he always does great remixes

Most important discovery for me from the nominations process was Hannah Peel's *previous* album (which I had somehow completely missed last year). The new one is fine too though.

Instant love for Visible Cloaks. Thank you.

Yeah 'Awake But Always Dreaming' is one of the best and most overlooked records of the last few years, the new one isn't at that level and definitely has more of a side project feel to it. But it's a fantastic side project.

I'll take the opportunity to alert Hannah Peel-newcomers to her group work with The Magnetic North. Very different (more acoustic elements, folky vibe, high concept), but also very good.

https://i.imgur.com/j7wQ94x.jpg

60 WILEY "Godfather" (266 points, 9 votes)
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I'm not really paying attention but that's TOO LOW probs

p good album

i havent heard this. youd forget about wiley tbh

Hey first one I had on my ballot. It's just banger after banger so the whole album is pretty exhausting listen as a whole, but in 2-3 song chunks it's awesome.

Also nice to see a banging Darq E Freaker production on a mainstream album

yeah I don't really sit thru albums much so it's just been in my playlists all year, bangering away being greeat

It's the album he should have made a decade ago but it's still str8 banging for all its victory lap/old people's home tendencies.

Also nice to see a banging Darq E Freaker production on a mainstream album

That track is great but he seems like a weird choice of producer to single out?

https://i.imgur.com/3nDwfix.jpg

59 COLLEEN "A flame my love, a frequency" (266 points, 10 votes)
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I was bowled over by DEF's mixtape Don't Freak Out the other year and am always on the lookout for his work. I think he's one of the best producers out there. Mind you, the Wiley track I voted for was Laptop which was just too charming.

colleen's got a really admirable approach where i think she learns new instruments and switches her whole set-up for each album, but unfortunately i just didn't get into her new thing at all and it was a bit of a letdown after the lovely 'captain of none'

Glorious record.

agree with the last 2 posts!

Agree with Nick. On paper it should have been awesome, but this record didn't do anything for me.

It reminded me way more of her first two records, even though her approach has changed drastically. The austere means with which she drew up such a rich, blissful world. It helps when you live by the sea in San Sebastian.

Tornado Wallace is better than I thought it would be, quite liked 2 of the tracks, sounds a bit like Vakula

Playing 'Separating' by Colleen now and this is good, never heard before. Would be better as instrumental as her voice (on this) isn't particularly complimentary with the music

One Warm Spark is really good, actual proper music not designed to obliterate or immiserate the soul! probably the best thing I've heard on either poll so far.

Not keen on Summer Night, but enough here to come back and investigate the rest

this poll’s only tie is next:

https://i.imgur.com/TBENKMc.jpg

57(tie) RYUICHI SAKAMOTO - "async" (228 points, 8 votes)
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This wasn't on my ballot but it's a really nice record.

Three terrific and completely different records in a row now.

kept meaning to spend more time with that, liked what i heard though

Voted for async, even though it's probably his least record in a while (greatly prefer the ones w/ Alva Noto). Still good, mind, but I thought it severely lacks focus.

Wiley way too low

https://i.imgur.com/oN1ZHZh.jpg

57(tie) MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA " A Black Mile to the Surface" (228 points, 8 votes)
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Wow, I didn't know there was a new Sakomoto last year!

oh, a record i voted for!

Ryuichi Sakamoto didn't make my ballot but super props to ILM for voting it into the 77

manchester orchestra placing brings brand new’s science fiction, which makes me sad for all sorts of reasons

https://i.imgur.com/V3ybTnF.jpg

56 DUA LIPA "Dua Lipa" (228 points, 10 votes)
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Genesis and a few other tracks on this were good but didn't really understand the love it got

"Be The One" towers over the rest of the LP. She has an unusual voice though, which helps her stands out from the crowd.

I thought this would be a lot higher. Packed with great songs, yous two haven't even mentioned the best ones

packed with great songs is right. i'm particularly in love with "begging" rn

Sakamoto the second of mine to show, wasn't actually expecting it to make it in!

Is async a good entry point to Sakamoto or is there someplace else I should start?

https://i.imgur.com/sa6XcBD.jpg

55 KING KRULE "The OOZ" (231 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote)
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i'll use my one 'too low' on this

Really surprised Dua Lipa isn't higher. After initially dismissing the album back in June I went back to it towards the end of the year and found myself listening to it at least once a day for a while. She has a great voice and although she tackles lots of different styles, the whole album hangs together so well. Along with the two songs that placed in the tracks poll, Be The One, Begging, Genesis and Thinking 'Bout You are my favourites. There's some good bonus tracks on there too. She deserves the success she's getting.

there were some good moments on this but I'm still not really sure what to make of it as a whole, the woozy atmosphere all blends together after a while. Dum Surfer is great though, probably just need to spend more time with it

this album is about four years long and has maybe a good track or two. guess I'll show some Lewisham solidarity and say he has promise

If it's Lewisham solidarity you're after fuck the tedious King Krule record and listen to this instead.

i actually hate this record

His vocals are my main problem with this album.

Yay, Manchester Orchestra! Great album.

I don't get King Krule, though the video for Dum Surfer is creepy.

Lol Matt that's great. His Lewisham shirt! <3

I can't get into KK at all

knew Manchester Orchestra would make it, voted for it, fantastic album, their best yet (by far) that I've heard.

I love The OOZ, got a real Rain Dogs underbelly of society vibe. And maybe it's a little long, but, you know, it's a vibe.

would've voted for manchester arkestra had i voted. despite reading about music all day, MO were one of those bands that were wildly popular that i had never even heard of. really great rock record, kinda reminds me of 'bombast rock' like imagine dragons or something actually done well

now that i think about it, this might've been a #1 contender

it's too spacious, lush, and dynamic to be comparable to someone like ID imo. it's mixed like a Steven Wilson record or something.

I'm guessing that Manchester Orchestra album is equal parts Radiohead and Dragonforce?

Sure, in that it sounds nothing like either of them.

the lead singer of MO's voice reminds me of the guy from Fleet Foxes

it's too spacious, lush, and dynamic to be comparable to someone like ID imo

i'm thinking specific of that last song, with its incredible pounding buildup. reminds me of bands that have a tomtom for the singer to play. but yeah it's really just tangential

async is a beautiful record and was high on my list. I think it is a great entry point into the music of Ryuchi Sakamoto. The washes of ambient background sounds and heavy treatment of traditional instruments give it a really lovely beamed from outer space quality

xp the Visible Cloaks album is abstract and hard to get a handle on but is also rewarding I think. Not sure about the comparison to OPN's music, it seems much lighter to me, although I guess its use of brittle electronic tones is in some ways similar. I think the comment about it being "music for breatharians" describes it perfectly

MO album wasnt for me. I just dont like emo rock

also i managed to catch MO on tour and they played every single song i hoped they would. it was amazing

I'm guessing that Manchester Orchestra album is equal parts Radiohead and Dragonforce?

― Matt DC, Tuesday, January 30, 2018 8:35 AM (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lmao i would listen to this theoretical band but no

i kinda get the "emo" label for MO but i kinda don't. to me, emo generally has strong lineage to punk styles. but MO seems to come more from "modern rock" than punk

King Krule in the studio pic.twitter.com/vsLVpBw7CB

— Bryan Tiller (@cuIerito) January 7, 2018

lmao

MO album is definitely not what you would normally think of when you say "Emo." They have a lot of similarities to Brand New, but they have spacious soundscapes straight outta mid-00's indie. Echoes of things like Brightblack or Shearwater.

Moon and Antarctica era MM definitely came to mind for me.

I was thinking Shearwater the whole time, but that could just be a cover connection

https://is2-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music117/v4/3d/b0/fb/3db0fb7f-35b2-be9a-ea4b-d1fbbf449c04/UMG_cvrart_00888072031364_01_RGB72_1800x1800_17CRGIM03389.jpg/268x0w.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3d/Shearwater_rook.jpg/220px-Shearwater_rook.jpg

for those willing to give MO a chance, listen to the 3 song stretch the alien, the sunshine, and the grocery

https://i.imgur.com/pwitiuq.jpg

54 WEDNESDAY CAMPANELLA "SUPERMAN" (234 points, 7 votes, 2 first place votes)
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I've never even heard of this!

i've never heard of this but the first twenty seconds have been magnificent

2 #1s!

found this in the noms or 'pls vote' thread and loved it
thought i voted for it but apparently not!

Maybe Dua Lipa would have gotten a higher slot if I voted this year.

holy shit yes

Dunno if I need a whole album of this Wednesday Campanella stuff, but it's perfect for a quick mood booster.

my #1! figured if it was going to place it probably would have already so this is a very nice surprise

the fourth track on this is completely bonkers

good job voters

Great album. I think I heard it because it was high on the RYM list all year.

didn't vote for wednesday campanella but really happy to see them make the top 77, they're so consistently awesome. highly recommend their youtube channel for their music videos and live performances

Holy shit, is this the first time Wednesday Campanella have made it into an EoY poll? I know that there are always a few of us who try to get people to vote for 'em but I'm not sure we've ever been successful before.

yeah it's the first time i think

i don't know how they manage to be so consistently exciting and prolific since they've been releasing basically an album or more yearly since 2013

i love "audrey" a lot

haven't listened to this until now, and its pretty great! makes me feel like walking my dog and shopping for clothes and getting on an airplane to somewhere i dont have to work.

"Zeami" is fuckin sick

Weds Camp voter here. I think glenn got me interested in 'em in 2016 via his weekly New Particles playlists but this album was the first moment that they really clicked with me.

colleen record is excellent

It isn't quite Captain of None level, but it's excellent.

She's never made a bad album iirc.

https://i.imgur.com/9MrDDT8.jpg

53 LAUREL HALO "Dust" (241 points, 9 votes)
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a nice yin to wednesday campanella's yang imo

^^ otm

Oh good. Didn't vote for this but pleased to see it place. Her best record, I think.

I think all three (or four if you count In Situ) of her albums are almost equally great! my favorite is still Quarantine, followed by Chance of Rain

I think this may be her brightest, "happiest" release

Why has this thread been so quiet compared to the tracks one? Where is everybody?

I'm at work.

You can listen to a song in four minutes and immediately post an opinion, engaging with an album you've never heard takes a lot longer.

So far the L'Rain album is the only one that I've listened to prior to the countdown. I think that's a new record low for me. So lots of catching up to do.

i didn't understand this laurel halo record *at all* but i did enjoy listening to it. feels like her songs are made out of some weird thick fluid instead of solid matter, like the music's been written on dough that's slowly being stretched and kneaded right in front of your ears. some good songs all the same though - 'do u ever happen', 'moontalk', 'jelly'

"Syzygy" is great, too. the desultory vocals and extremely loose arrangements on this album are very appealing to me

https://i.imgur.com/Kr6bRSJ.jpg

52 FUTURE "HNDRXX" (241 points, 10 votes)
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Why has this thread been so quiet compared to the tracks one? Where is everybody?

― Algerian Goalkeeper (Odysseus)

You can listen to a song in four minutes and immediately post an opinion, engaging with an album you've never heard takes a lot longer.

― Matt DC

Yeah, Matt DC OTM. But also people seem to be having arguments in that "thread to complain about hyped shit" or whatever it's called, instead of having them in here. I thought those types of threads were supposed to be more for venting than for the usual scrapping we have on the actual rollout threads but it seems to have taken over.

Inane comment: the 'phone off the hook' noise on the Halo track from the threads poll got on my tits to such an extent, I haven't even bothered with the album.

hndrxx grew on me. good mix of pluto era future with new future

xp

oh that explains it. This thread is usually mobbed and lots of arguments

some big names so far = should be a few surprises to come :D

I'm trying to be nice on this thread! Plenty I don't like today. But what's the point in being a dick?

anyway these are early days. higher placements = higher stakes and more argument tbh

HNDRXX a good 20 places or so lower than I'd expected, wonder if the other one will make the list at all.

HNDRXX made the bottom reaches of my ballot, mostly for the sublime stretch between Damage and Fresh Air

haven't listened to it in full nearly as much as I thought. or nearly as much as the self-titled one tbh, cause that one is perfect gym music

i didn't understand this laurel halo record *at all* but i did enjoy listening to it. feels like her songs are made out of some weird thick fluid instead of solid matter, like the music's been written on dough that's slowly being stretched and kneaded right in front of your ears.

― faust apes (NickB), Tuesday, January 30, 2018 10:04 AM (twenty minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

great description

Wed Camp easily best pop record of the year for me - was also my #1, ufo! Yay.

I believe e.mily and I campaigned really hard for "Jeanne D'arc" (the video of which I still recommend people to watch) to make the tracks poll a few years ago but it didn't happen. :/

I listened to all of the Ryuichi Sakamoto album, enjoyed it a lot, I should check out more of his stuff.

Made an effort to go three tracks into the Manchester Orchestra album but I just can't listen to this kind of music anymore.

Currently listening to Wednesday Campanella and enjoying.

Voted for the Colleen album.

the Sakamoto collabs with Alva Noto are also excellent fwiw

this Wednesday Campanella album is really nice

i bought 'thousand knives' this year so that's where most of my sakamoto listening went

https://i.imgur.com/LGyyFAV.jpg

51 WOLF ALICE "Visions Of A Life" (242 points, 10 votes)
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oh that is a lot lower than i would've guessed

Yeah I could see that sneaking into the Top 20.

great album, almost certainly voted for it

wool phallus

yeah much lower than i expected, one of the best rock albums of the year. love Heavenward, Don't Delete the Kisses, Planet Hunter and St. Purple & Green especially

I've never been able to get into any of Future's albums in full but HNDRXX had a decent ratio of good songs to not-so-good ones for me.

I wonder what the highest placing rock album will be? paramore don’t count obv

charly bliss obv

unusual wrinkle in that the Future album that placed is not the one with his big singles poll entry

think it's between Slowdive, Charly Bliss and Algiers but i'd guess Slowdive

oh is the slowdive a rock album? I mean if you insist

yes

oh yeah I’d forgotten about slowdive

Wag on Drugs?

A+ typo

i mean it has a coldplay song on it xp to imago

got some amazing comparisons lined up for later

does st. vincent qualify as rock anymore? haven't heard the new one

naw it's pop

got some amazing comparisons lined up for later

― imago

:D

Surprised Dua Lipa placed so low. Thought that would be nailed on Top 20. Certainly one of the better pop albums I heard all year.

Voted for both Dust and Hendrxxx. I also prefer Incredible to Mask Off, though both songs ended up on my track ballot. Both albums felt to me a bit like 'career artist adding new wrinkles to their art, without necessarily forming them into a masterpiece yet' So their placements seem about right.

*cough* LCD Soundsystem *cough*

that album is already TOO HIGH

Voted for LCD as well, same thing really :)

*shudders at prospect of more LCD records to come, in search of elusive masterpiece*

https://i.imgur.com/pbxw9Un.jpg

50 KAREN GWYER "Rembo" (246 points, 11 votes)
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awfuckenright!

oh this is good

great album

indeed

I completely failed to get into the headspace for this every time I played it.

Yeah this was probably my favourite from the 'women of electronica who's name begins with K' genre this year, excellent stuff

Wins at track naming in 2017 too

^^^yes

yea this is good

Great great album but the track list always mocks me for having an unmade bed

another cool one. good year for women on the 77 so far

oh rembo rules :)

another cool one. good year for women on the 77 so far

― Simon H., Tuesday, January 30, 2018 11:32 AM (six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

finally some good roles for women

Think I voted for a track but not the album, KG is great tho'.

the name of the album bugged me for the longest time, I was thinking rambo? dembow? but she had a kid a while back so my best guess now is it’s toddler-speak for rainbow

aw

Btw go and see her Londoners cos she is amazing live and she was talking about moving overseas iirc so

Wish I'd voted for the Wolf Alice album. Only discovered how great it is after Don't Delete The Kisses placed last week. It really is a huge leap in quality from the debut.

https://i.imgur.com/tmBbYuZ.jpg

49 JULIEN BAKER "Turn Out the Lights" (248 points, 7 votes)
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I would have expected this to place much higher.

great album; too low

I was overexposed to this album over the Christmas holiday and I fucking hate it at this point.

I'm predisposed to liking albums like this, but this one's mighty dull to my ears.

She rules but this album was one of last year's most noteworthy disappointments. "Funeral Pyre" got my JB vote.

Yeah, I really want to like this album but it didn't leave any impression on me at all.

album felt like a rushed, minor progression from sprained ankle. i tried to get into it as much as i could but it's just... fine

sprained ankle still a v special album

Mind boggling over Christmas in the DC house

"Hmm, do we play Now That's What I Call Christmas or Julien Baker when we serve the turkey?"
"Ooh tough call. Gran hates that you scumbug you maggot song"
"Baker it is! That'll get the christmas spirit flowing til it's time for Her Maj"

Trust me it wouldn't stay on for long in my house.