75. Kurushimi - Kurushimi (Art As Catharsis / AM Frequencies)
74. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool (XL)
73. Black Mountain - IV (Jagjaguwar)
72. Jack DeJohnette / Ravi Coltrane / Matthew Garrison - In Movement (ECM)
71. King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard - Nonagon Infinity (ATO)
70. Ultimate Painting - Dusk (Trouble In Mind)
69. Kikagaku Moyo - House in the Tall Grass (Guruguru Brain)
68. Touche Amore - Stage Four (Epitaph)
67. The Body & Full of Hell - One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache (Neurot)
66. Dinosaur Jr. - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not (Jagjaguwar)
65. Wretch - Wretch (Bad Omen)
64. Opeth - Sorceress (Moderbolaget)
63. Wo Fat - Midnight Cometh (Ripple Music)
62. William Tyler - Modern Country (Merge)
61. RLYR - Delayer (Magic Bullet)
60. Papa M - Highway Songs (Drag City)
59. Goat - Requiem (Sub Pop)
58. Eerie - Eerie (Tee Pee)
57. Schammasch - Triangle (Prosthetic)
56. Rangda - The Heretic's Bargain (Drag City)
55. Khemmis - Hunted (20 Buck Spin)
54. Vektor - Terminal Redux (Earache)
53. Gevurah - Hallelujah! (Profound Lore)
52. Droids Attack - Sci-Fi or Die (Self-Released)
51. True Widow - Avvolgere (Relapse)
50. Cobalt - Slow Forever (Profound Lore)
49. Blood Orange - Freetown Sound (Domino)
48. Witchcraft - Nucleus (Nuclear Blast)
47. Salem's Pot - Pronounce This! (RidingEasy)
46. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree (Bad Seed Ltd.)
45. Doug Tuttle - It Calls On Me (Trouble In Mind)
44. Nothing - Tired of Tomorrow (Relapse)
43. Inter Arma - Paradise Gallows (Relapse)
42. Haken - Affinity (InsideOut)
41. Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith - A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke (ECM)
40. Neurosis - Fires Within Fires (Neurot)
39. Ryley Walker - Golden Sings That Have Been Sung (Dead Oceans)
38. Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth (Atlantic)
37. Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust (Season of Mist)
36. Wolvserpent - Aporia:Kala:Ananta (Relapse)
35. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker (Columbia)
34. Angel Olsen - My Woman (Jagjaguwar)
33. Noname - Telefone (Self-Released)
32. Bloodiest - Bloodiest (Relapse)
31. Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition (Warp)
30. Anciients - Voice of the Void (Season of Mist)
29. Mondo Drag - The Occultation of Light (RidingEasy)
28. Wolf People - Ruins (Jagjaguwar)
27. Thee Oh Sees - A Weird Exits / An Odd Entrances (Castle Face)
26. Aluk Todolo - VOIX (The Ajna Offensive)
25. Chris Robinson Brotherhood - Anyway You Love, We Know How You Feel (Silver Arrow)
24. Brain Tentacles - Brain Tentacles (Relapse)
23. Drive-By Truckers - American Band (ATO)
22. The Silence - Nine Suns, One Morning (Drag City)
21. Camera - Phantom of Liberty (Bureau B)
20. Causa Sui - Return to Sky (El Paraiso)
Much like fellow instrumental rockers Colour Haze, this Danish band has proven themselves to be remarkably consistent throughout the course of their career - studio albums. EP sessions and live releases alike. This latest studio record finds them peeling back a little, at least in terms of length, giving us just five tracks in a comparatively, against past records, brief 45-minutes. Musically, however, this remains the type of desert rooted cosmic jams that frequently belie their running times, culminating in the epic title track that serves as an encapsulation of everything they do best.
19. SubRosa - For This We Fought the Battle of Ages (Profound Lore)
I became an instant fan of this Salt Lake City quintet from my first play of their second record, 2011's No Help for the Mighty Ones. Their unique take on sludge-doom, making tremendous use of violins and three female vocalists, creating a sound that balances the heft with folk-inspired beauty. As good as that was, each of the two subsequent albums upped the ante, with this becoming their (so far) defining statement. Taking inspiration from a century old Russian piece of dystopian fiction gives the band a wider canvas on which to paint their epics, and taking full advantage of every inch to tremendous effect.
18. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service (Epic)
Eighteen years after The Love Movement, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg reunited with Jarobi White to bless the world with one more Tribe album that could not have been more perfectly timed, released as it was just three days after the election of Donald Trump. It served as a timely reminded that, yes, the world is an inherently messed up place, but reminding us to keep love and hope alive - as only these dudes can. Featuring appearances by everyone from Kendrick to Yeezus to Elton John to Jack White, this was not just a successful victory lap but a damned classic in its own right. Sadly it also now must stand as a tribute to the sorely missed Phife Dawg, another legend that didn't make it to the other end of a year filled with struggle.
17. Oren Ambarchi - Hubris (Editions Mego)
Although I've heard and enjoyed plenty of his work with other collaborators - including Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley, Jim O'Rourke and Keiji Haino - I had yet to dive into Ambarchi's solo works. This was an apparently great place to dig in, considering how much this one in particular lines up with my tastes.The titular three part suite allows Ambarchi to deep dive into his love for kosmiche via disco and shimmering electronics. But it's the final part that kills me every time, when Ambarchi brings in Ricardo Villalobos, Arto Lindsay and Keith Fullerton Whitman in to bring his vision to spectacular life.
16. Graves at Sea - The Curse That Is (Relapse)
Despite a pair of well-regarded splits and an EP from 2014, it took full-on thirteen years for Portland's Graves at Sea to produce their first full-length album. But, ooh boy, the wait seems to very much have been worth it. Clocking it at 76 minutes, this behemoth drags their lumbering doom through an impressive amount of moods and tones, through thundering riffs and unexpected calm with violins and cellos, all anchored by Nathan Misterek's incredible vocals. Long gestating, but one hell of an end result.
15. Childish Gambino - "Awaken, My Love!" (Glassnote)
In my tracks of the year post, I already spent time talking about how unexpected Childish Gambino's hard swerve into funk was, so let's move on and talk about why this is so successful just beyond genre homage. For me, it was the unexpected emotional connection that helped this land for me. Resonant in ways that his nerd rap never could be, Glover taps into the long line of humanity long buried in funk's DNA - sensuality, issues of social justice, the importance of family and futurism. He's also able to tap into his actor's charisma and sense of humor just enough to keep this lively, each also an essential part of funk's past. Will this stick? Doubtful, Glover's too much of a chameleon to keep this look for long, but I'm glad we even have this.
14. Blood Incantation - Starspawn (Dark Descent)
I was enthusing about this album from the instant the end the epic, 13-minute opening track, "Vitrification of Blood (Part 1)" finished ringing in my ears. This was the kind of death metal I've been waiting for - equal parts epic and ferocious, while sacrificing none of the dirt and guts that made it all so visceral. I went into this pretty much blind, knowing nothing of the Denver band's previous scattered work, based solely on its #3 placement on the Decibel list. I listened to it the next day and knew this was a lock for mine as well. Not that I'm sure I'd ever want to, but this would be where I'd start if I was making a death-prog record.
13. Comet Control - Center of the Maze (Tee Pee)
I was already a fan of these Canadian psych-rockers with their self-titled debut from 2014, but this follow-up pushed me over the edge into full blown, rabid fandom. At the risk of a lazy, hackneyed triangulation this is Pink Floyd as birthed in the desert slabs of California and raised on a steady diet of British shoegaze. "Artificial Light", the ten-minute album closer is a perfect example of how to build cosmic rock to a huge climax and a heady comedown. But don't discount this band's hooks either, they have a surprisingly strong touch with those too - something a lot of stoner rock bands lack.
12. Ulcerate - Shrines of Paralysis (Relapse)
I'm as surprised as you are that two death metal records placed this high on my list, but Ulcerate reflect an entirely different approach to the genre that blew my mind just as deeply as Blood Incantation did. Don't let the technical tag added to their genre descriptor fool you, this isn't dudes perfecting their sound in the back of a Guitar Center to shred all of the life out of music. They are indeed all incredibly talented musicians, without a doubt, but they channel that talent into captivating metal epics that churn through a wide variety of moods, tones and styles. Particularly pay attention to the wide range of drummer Jamie Saint Merat and the knotty guitar work of Michael Hoggard. It's a hell of a noise for just three dudes.
11. Blood Ceremony - Lord of Misrule (Rise Above)
Now that the blood incantation has been performed, we move on to the blood ceremony. Or not, just a neat coincidence of sequencing of albums on my list. Toronto's Blood Ceremony is miles away from the guttural death metal of that Denver group, filtering their traditional doom metal through a dark forest of flute-led heavy folk. It's not everyone's cup of tea, to be certain, but they've perfected their sound for album number four, ramping up the dark folk sound to tremendous effect. It's a little more sinuous and subtle, but once it works into your head and heart it opens up to be their best album yet.
10. Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band - The Rarity of Experience (No Quarter)
In every context I've heard so far throughout his various projects, bands and collaborations, Chris Forsyth's guitar work is instantly hypnotizing and searching, which is also reflective of the meandering types of projects he works with. This 2-CD gives Forsyth and his band plenty of room to stretch out on jams that run the gamut through styles equally inspired by classic guitar slingers like Richard Thompson (whose "Calvary Cross" they cover), the loose jam vibe of the Dead, the groove and drive of '90s kosmische revival and beyond.
9. Ulver - ATGCLVLSSCAP (House of Mythology)
The music of Ulver is constantly evolving and impossible to pin down. Grab any one release from their massive back catalog that stretches all the way back to 1993 and you'd be exposed any one of a number of styles - traditional black metal, ambient, dark electronic, psychedelic pop and nearly any imaginable combination thereof. This was initially recorded live, though apparently very heavily re-recorded and enhanced in the studio later, which was why I'm placing it here. It finds the band falling closer to an experimental drone back this time out, locking into hypnotic grooves and riffs. It seems anyone that encounters Ulver walks away with a fierce favorite, I think this might be mine.
8. Jamila Woods - HEAVN (Closed Sessions)
I always like rooting for the hometown break-outs even when they make that really difficult, I'm looking at you Kanye and Lupe. Yet I'm always looking for new local artists to champion and, unsurprisingly, the most fertile ground right now is Chicago's diverse hip-hop and R&B axis. Two of my favorite from this year, Jamila Woods and Noname (#33), spend their albums dancing up and down that axis. Woods comes from a poetry background, she's the Associate Artistic Director for the group responsible for the Louder Than A Bomb youth poetry slam, which is clear from her lyrics and life affirming approach, despite the heavy subject matter. She's an incredible new talent.
7. Oranssi Pazuzu - Varahtelija (Svart)
I was instantly blown away when I first encountered this Finish psychedelic black metal band, via their 2013 album, Valonielu. Their approach combined so many different types and threads of music that I loved that it was irresistible - the carefully composed cosmic space metal built to epic climaxes and felt absolutely bottomless. I think they've topped it this time, by bringing in even more influence from the unlikely places, namely the repetitive drive of krautrock, the shuffling themes and circular composition of jazz and the chillingly curated soundscapes of ambient. It's the thrilling kind of album that keeps me going.
6. Heron Oblivion - Heron Oblivion (Sub Pop)
We all know the inherent problems and pitfalls in throwing the term "supergroup" around, to the point where it's become pretty meaningless. But if you've been at all a fan of underground psych-rock over the past decade or so, one might be forgiven for being excited by the line-up on offer here and defaulting to that old sawhorse of a descriptor. Heron Oblivion is singer and drummer Meg Baird (Espers), bassist Ethan Miller (Comets On Fire, Howlin' Rain), as well as guitarists Noel Von Harmonson (also Comets On Fire) and Charlie Saufley (Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound). It's a hell of a psych rock journey, with Baird bringing a restrained folk touch to the brimstone guitar burn brought by Harmonson and Saufley.
5. Cavern of Anti-Matter - Void Beats/Invocation Trex (Duophonic)
Although Stereolab remains, sadly, on an indefinite hiatus, we're fortunate enough to continue getting solo projects from folks like Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane. While the former's work is nice enough, it's this latest project from Gane that has blown a new part in my hair. While there always was a subtle kosmiche and motorik groove throughout much of Stereolab's back catalog, Gane has gone full-on krautrock with this one. Along with drummer Joe Dilworth, synth player Holger Zapf and a handful of guests including Deerhunter's Bradford Cox and Sonic Boom, Gane explore tight, electronic inspired rhythms through a loose and jammy approach that pumps a surprising amount of life and energy into these songs. A great modern day krautrock album.
4. Beyonce - Lemonade (Columbia)
The songs and "visual album" that launched a thousand thinkpieces. I don't feel like I have anything worthwhile to add to the pile, others have undoubtedly had more insightful things to say than I. Beyonce's had better singles than what appear here, but this is, without a doubt, her best full album experience yet - even divorced from the powerful imagery of the visual component. She brings in a luxury yacht full of collaborators and flies through a wide range of styles, yet it all coheres into a powerful experience. At times raw, harrowing, rage-filled, heartbreaking and defiant, rarely has a pop megastar so boldly entered their own psyche and pulled out an album that is so powerful, yet still maintains that widespread appeal.
3. Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book (Self-Released)
Granted, I'm not one that quite fully understands how this whole modern day internet economy works (I don't know how companies like Netflix and Uber can continue to operate with losses in the billions), so I'm still blown away that Chance has emerged as the cultural force he has while literally giving away every note he's recorded. But let's set all that aside for a second and focus on the music itself here, which is as joyously uplifting and charming as Chance himself. He's brought in a huge number of collaborators, but somehow pulled off the incredible feat of stretching to fit his world and vision. The gospel influence runs even deeper than ever, amplifying Chance's spiritual message, yet grounded in the current strains of hip-hop. It's unbelievable how much this kid has already accomplished.
2. Solange - A Seat at the Table (Columbia)
As much as I enjoyed Solange's 2012 EP, True, I never would have imagined that not only would I be placing albums by both Knowles sisters in my Top 5 list just five years later, let alone placing Solange ahead of her big sister yet, here we are. While Beyonce famously blew her familial infidelities to IMAX size rage and catharsis, Solange focuses more on the quieter, more intimately scaled heartbreaks - both as a black woman in modern day America and as a individual struggle through everyday loneliness. Raphael Saadiq, still a criminally underrated musician and producer, brings a touch of futuristic funk to the album that reminds me of Erykah Badu at times. There is just an unfair level of talent running through that Knowles family.
1. David Bowie - Blackstar [★] (ISO)
Each of my top three albums of the year spent time at number one in the running list bouncing in my head throughout the year, I was never quite sure just how this final order might shake out. While it may appear that I gave Bowie the nod as a memorial to a legend loss, that's not the case. Quite simply, his was the album that I returned to the most throughout the year, the record that constantly lodged in my head. It would have been a difficult one to wrap my head around without the added context, an unexpected swing to, basically, an avant-garde jazz approach. Quintessential Bowie, throwing us off to the very end. I still don't feel like I've fully exposed all the layers here, between all of the obscure lyrical references and the unexpected composition and structure. There were songs I was nonplussed by after the first few spins, but I kept being dragged back to unlock them all. Yet even then, I was called to return. The Next Day was,if anything - and I don't mean this as a knock, a Bowie comfort album. Blackstar was the album that reminded us all just how goddamned lucky we were to have an artist that never gave up searching.
