1. Frightened Rabbit -
Painting of a Panic Attack
“No one sells depression and pain better than Scott Hutchinson. If you need
richly toned songs about lives half-lived, crumbling relationships, and
regrets, this album should be your first stop.”- Paul
“The National's Aaron Dessner's fingerprints are all over this album, and the
partnership is a hauntingly beautiful one. Somehow, this album is both deeply
sad and uplifting at the same time.” -
“Their mastery of celebratory self-loathing is peerless.” - Jesse
“On heavy rotation.” - Nesto
2. Beyonce – Lemonade
“The Lemonade film is the most amazing example of music and video I have ever
seen. I cannot watch/listen to it without tearing up. I think that it is the
women of the world who are going to get us out of some of the terrible bullshit
going on these days. I’m with HER.” - Larson
“All hail Queen Bey! A surprise album drop full of deeply personal but
instantly catchy songs? Yeah, that was pretty damn cool, but did you see that
video??? That thing is stop-you-in-your-tracks beautiful. Oh, and Jay-Z, you
better watch yourself or you're going to end up with a six-inch heel stuck in
your back.” - Paul
“If you have not watched Lemonade, stop what you are doing and do so. You can
come to my house and watch it. Be warned that I cry every time I watch.” - Serena
3. The Avalanches –
Wildflower
“I listened to Since I Left you so much that I was honestly fine if nothing
else ever came out of the Avalanches camp. Their ability to create familiarity
out of that which is unfamiliar is astonishing.” - Eric
“Worth the wait!! Also the video for Because I'm Me is a joyful celebration of
black bodies.” - Serena
“I'll be unpacking this album for all of 2017 too. Dense with carefully curated samples and
something like 14 years in the making.” - Tex
4. Kanye West - The Life
of Pablo
“I’m a pretty mellow guy for the most part. However, if you try to tell me this
isn’t art I hope you’re ready for me to talk at you for an hour.” - Larson
“Kanye West, I'm mad at you. You put out an amazing album and then did
everything you possibly could do to 1) not let me hear it and 2) make me never
want to hear you speak again.” - Paul
“Name one genius that ain't crazy, amirite!?” - Serena
5. Sturgill Simpson - A
Sailor's Guide to Earth
“Driving straight past his Nashville ascendance, this Waylon-loving iconoclast
headed west to Memphis for a countrified soul epic.” - Jesse
“A country throwback who can channel the great ones with his own creativity.
Clearly, the album is revered in and out of the country music scene and it’s
really not surprising why.” - Eric
“Nods to Motown are throughout, but there's really not a single sound to pin
down, it's truly an album worth listening to in order, in its entirety. And his
Nirvana cover kicks serious ass.” - JT
6. Augustines - This is
Your Life
“Even after nearly a decade of Augustines/Pela fandom, I still find the passion
and emotion in their songs to be nothing short of addicting. If they are truly
calling it quits for good, I will forever miss putting their albums in my top
ten lists.” - Eric
“Pull me along on their stumbling late night anthems in a way that U2 and their
ilk never could. Take a shot, spread your arms, and soar.” - Jesse
“An appropriate finale scene.” - Nesto
7. DJ Shadow - The
Mountain Will Fall
“I have routinely listened to "Nobody Speak" really loud while
dropping my kids off to school (Kindergarten and First Grade). I suggest you do
the same.” - Larson
“no words diks, right” - Dan
8. Radiohead - A Moon
Shaped Pool
“An album that is content to lurk
in the background without overwhelming the listener. The quiet allows the
impassioned singing of Thom Yorke to shine in a way that somehow gets lost on
more complex Radiohead albums. This is truly one of their best.” - Paul
9. Radiation City –
Synesthetica
“‘Fully realizing their breathtaking potential. So many layers of art pop
awesomeness.” - Jesse
“Oh, Radiation City, you've gone and made an amazing album! Beautifully paced,
it holds back just enough to allow those moments when it lets loose with the
soaring vocals to truly stand out. How will you ever top this? Oh, you're going
to breakup and never make another album together? Yeah, seems reasonable.” - Paul
10. Sheer Mag – III
“Cranking up this album makes any day feel like Friday night and every beer
taste like a High Life.” - Jesse
“Not an album. I know right?! These guys can do in 4 songs what it takes some
bands 4 albums to do. If you aren’t moved by “Worth The Tears” I doubt you and
I have much to talk about.” - Larson
11. Martha - Blisters In
The Pit Of My Heart
“I am in love with the trend of new young bands playing 90s style music with
more technique and production. This band reminds me of a mash-up of Idlewild
lyrics and fury with Hefner complexity and Boy/Girl vocals. I love this album.” - Larson
“They draw me in with their popping duets, but deceptively clever in their
quirkiness.” - Jesse
12. Paul Cauthen - My
Gospel
“Great throwback country album; cut from the same cloth as Merle and Waylon.
This album probably benefitted the most from being released late in the year,
because it’s been front of mind for the last few weeks, and I can't stop
listening.” - Eric
“Is most listened to in Houston, Stockholm, Manhattan, and Austin. Win.” - Nesto
13. Candace - New Future
“Just packed with killer dreamy shoegaze. And as you'd hope, it's fantastically
noisy live.” - Jesse
“The perfect amount of reverb. Crunchy and droning guitars. Vocals that almost
fade into the background. This is shoegaze at its best.” - Paul
14. David Bowie –
Blackstar
“I didn't like this album. I loved the man. I listened to this album more times
than ANY other album this year and it's the only album that made me cry again
and again...” - Rain
15. Kishi Bashi –
Sonderlust
“Everybody wants a honeybody someday.” - Nesto
“I am a huge Kishi Bashi fan and love his live show. This album dropped off a
little bit for me from his prior releases, but his talent and songwriting are
still astounding.” - Eric
16. The Lumineers –
Cleopatra
"They're
trying really hard to replicate the "Hey Ho" earworm, and after hearing O-O-phe-LIA for a few months over and over I really did wind
up liking it. In fact, if I listen to it shuffled with the debut, it all just
kind of blends together." - JT
17. Bat For Lashes - The
Bride
“I listened to this album while trying to fall asleep on Tuesday November 7th
2016, or what I like to refer to as the worst night of sleep ever. It helped.” - Larson
18. Manatee Commune -
Manatee Commune
“The song ‘Second Guess’ was a standout track in a late night KEXP listening
session. So clean and chilled out and technical without losing the human
element. Listen to it start to finish and I bet you’ll want do it again.” - Larson
19. Photo Ops – Vacation
“I think most people needed a good feel-good album during this rather dark
2016, and Vacation was that album for me. Echoing the harmonies and patience of
Pet Sounds, this album washes over you like a warm summer day and lifts the
spirits like an ice cold High Life.” - Eric
“I hear some Fleet Foxes in these guys, just smelling less of campfire, which
could mean they both just build on sweet Beach Boy indebted harmonies.” - Jesse
20. Summer Cannibals -
Full Of It
“Damn, these songs are explosive. Feeling this righteous anger more than ever.” - Jesse
“Fast, fierce, and over in 33 minutes.” - Paul
21. The Record Company -
Give It Back To You
“Rock and roll, people, doesn't lie. The Record Company gets down to business
with some bluesy, rockin' tracks that come straight at you like some of the
best bands from the 70s.” - Eric
“Only knock against this great retro soul/blues album is I started rocking half
the songs so long ago that they sound fresh again. Luckily, the new songs are
some of the best.” - Jesse
22. Margo Price - Midwest
Farmer's Daughter
“It's country because it has to be when the singer lived in a trailer, lived in
a tent, went to jail, grew up on her daddy's farm before he lost it, and
mentions whiskey in more than half the songs. And if you
ever wondered what Loretta Lynn would have sounded like if she recorded a disco
funk song with BB King cutting a solo in the middle of it, then check out
"Four Years of Chances." - JT
23. The Head and the
Heart - Signs of Light
“Major label signing and a major directional shift for Head and the Heart, from moody Northwest folk of the 2010s to sunny
SoCal harmonies of the 1970s. It took me about a half dozen listens before it clicked, but once
it did, I was hooked.”' - JT
24. King Gizzard &
The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity
“I saw these Australian weirdos play and it felt at times like the place was
going to explode. The non-stop energy of this band combined with zero fucks
given of the crowd made for an incredible experience. They have songs with
names like "Gamma Knife" and "Evil Death Roll"!!! Plus the
album sequenced to play in a loop. Do it.” - Larson
25. Lucius - Good Grief
“Art pop masters let their identical hairdos down and get noisy.” - Jesse
It’s embarrassing, but this was just the first of three
Party Damage Records on my list that year. No label ever dominated my record player like
this since I first discovered STAX. Rough and passionate, Divers mix heartland punk and slow burning indie rock.
Sheer Mag – I, II, III EPs (2015/2016)
