The Horrors – V
With each album, The Horrors find a way to gradually
reinvent themselves but stay true to the common core of who they are as a band.
The English rockers return with V, their fifth record and their best since
2011’s Skying. The band find groovy undertones will flirting with industrial
and new wave on a record that not only hears them mature over time but show
they are here to stay.
FINAL GRADE: A-
LCD Soundsystem – American Dream
This was a record that should be loathed considering the news
that James Murphy and co. staged their infamous 2011 to sell tickets but the
truth of the matter is, their “comeback” record is fantastic. It is a ton of
fun to listen to and the band find their footing in the years they were away on
what is the best LCD Soundsystem album.
FINAL GRADE: A-
The National – Sleep Well Beast
The National have become such a massive phenomenon that they
no longer stay near each other like they once did in Brooklyn. Singer Matt
Berninger has moved to the West Coast and the rest of the band is scattered
across the New York tri-state area but after their frontman almost went through
a divorce, they gathered in Upstate New York to record one of their most
progressive records to date. What makes Sleep Well Beast a National record, aside
from the obvious that the band did it, is that it keeps the dark undertones
they are known for, however, they push things beyond what anyone expected as
they dabble with samples, additional percussion, electronica, and even some
industrial sounds to create a chaotic but hypnotizing album. It certainly is
the most interesting record in their catalogue but also the hardest to digest.
FINAL GRADE: A-
Wolves in the Throne Room – Thrice Woven
The comeback record from one of the most brutal bands of the
21st century does not disappoint. If you want your ears to bleed and
heart to pound, this is the record.
FINAL GRADE: B+
Metz – Strange Place
The Canadian garage punks return with more thrashing rhythms
and chords that just make you want to go out and break something.
FINAL GRADE: B+
Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark – The Punishment of Luxury
The new wave icons return with new material that will be
enough to delight their fanbase but they fail to capitalize on trying to make
any progress in keeping with 2017. While that is not a bad thing, it would have
been nice to hear OMD push themselves a bit more.
FINAL GRADE: B
The Black Kids – Rookie
After a decade apart, the once indie it band is back with
their sophomore album. As they try to win back old fans they manage to show off
that they are a new band that still knows how to have fun with the basic
elements of rock and roll.
FINAL GRADE: B
Gary Numan - Savage (Songs from a Broken World)
Given the state of the world, it was the perfect time for
Gary Numan to come around with new music. Numan has crafted a concept album
centered on the blending of Western and Eastern cultures in a post-apocalyptic
world that has become a desert as a result of global warming. Given the way
things are going, he might have made a soundtrack to what might come.
FINAL GRADE: B
Godspeed! You Black Emperor - Luciferian Towers
The Canadian experimental ensemble returns with more demonic
and dark prowess to scare the shit out of you.
FINAL GRADE: B
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard with Mild High Club –
Sketches of Brunswick East
The hardest working band of the year has released their
third and final album of 2017 and this time get some help from fellow
Australian’s Mild High Club. Their latest is a love letter to the town they
grew up in and is easily the most accessible album for non fans of the band and
showcases that King Gizzard can do other things aside from amazing weird shit.
FINAL GARDE: B
Death From Above – Outrage! Is Now
Death From Above have officially dropped 1979 from their
moniker and are back with their third record. While Outrage! Is Now has the
rawness of previous efforts it fails to back a punch like its predecessors.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Tori Amos – Native Invader
The chamber pop princess returns with a record based off of
the cycle of life and death and sticks to the infamous script that has gotten
her acclaim and devotion over the years.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Living Colour – Shade
On their first album in nearly a decade, the Brooklyn metal
funk icons return. Living Colour are a national treasure – an underrated one at
that and are total unique to the American experiment and experience. They have
the best rhythm section in music with one of the greatest living guitarists and
singers. Shade, a record about being black in America in 2017 is not only
poignant but mandatory listening.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Ted Leo – The Hanged Man
The indie icon is back and this time is on a solo mission to show off that he can do all of it on his own. Spoiler alert! He does.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Echo of Pleasure
Four albums in, the New York City darlings are back and
continue to make solid indie pop that not only fits into a Michael Cera movie
but the soundtrack to your life.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Neil Finn – Out of Silence
The former Split Enz and Crowded House singer returns with a
brand new solo record that shows like a fine wine, he gets better with age.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Foo Fighters – Concrete and Gold
The Foo Fighters were expected to take a longer hiatus than
two years when they said they needed a long time off. When the announcement
that Concrete and Gold was coming, fans were thrilled but also stunned. The
record, which weighs heavily on Dave Grohl’s love of The Beatles, feels rushed
at points but also hears them doing things that are unexpected like
harmonizing, letting some of the music breathe and not competing with one
another. Yet, all of this should make for a fascinating Foo Fighters record but
in some areas some of the songs sound flat and rushed while others sound lush
and evocative.
FINAL GRADE: B-
The Killers – Wonderful Wonderful
There was a time when The Killers were one of America’s most
exciting and creative bands. That time has come and gone and over the years, it
feels as if the Vegas glam rockers are now just making records for the sake of
making them which should never be the case for any band to make music.
Wonderful Wonderful not only sounds evident of that theory but is easily
forgettable.
FINAL GRADE: C
Ringo Starr – Give More Love
While no one asked for a new Ringo record, it isn’t going to
stop the iconic drummer. However, what shines on Ringo’s record everyone but
him as Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Dave Stewart, Gary Nicholson, all play on the
record and elevate his sound.
FINAL GRADE: C
Prophets of Rage
20 years ago, the concept of ¾ of Rage Against the Machine
teaming up with Chuck D and B-Real would have been something to love. However,
the world doesn’t need this version of Rage, they need RATM. Chuck D’s booming
bass vocals can’t keep up with the raw power of what the Rage musicians have in
store for him and B-Real, while his flows match, isn’t the lyricist that D or
De La Rocha are, therefore the whole record and project sounds disjointed and
disorganized.
FINAL GRADE: D
