2017 Year In Review Part II: The EPs

Moving right along, here's a list of my ten favorite EPs from the year that was 2017...

10. Kylesa - Live at Maida Vale Studios (Season of Mist)
In all reality, this one could have fallen under a few categories given that it is an archival release of a live BBC session from 2014, but at only four songs I felt like this made the most sense as an EP. I've been a fan of Kylesa for years now, even after they ditched the ferocious dual drummer lineup, so I'll take any between album crumbs I can get. It features two live cuts each from 2010's Spiral Shadow and 2013's Ultraviolet.

9. Nine Inch Nails - Add Violence (The Null Corp./Capitol)
It's been a weird trip for Trent Reznor after winning that Oscar and teaming up with Atticus Ross, but all that work has really paid dividends as the second of his NIN EPs reflects. The anger and aggression are there, in spades, but what impresses most is how Reznor pulls it off sincerely as an older musician. The ire of, say, Limp Bizkit, ain't going to age nearly as well.

8. Gruesome - Fragments of Psyche (Relapse)
My favorite Death homage band continues rolling right along, this time with an EP that is essentially two new songs (one of which is a cover of, you guessed it, Death) with the title track being one of the band's best yet and a handful of demos of earlier Gruesome songs. Hardly essential, but that title track makes it all worthwhile as it handily adapts the Human-era Death sound with abandon.

7. Varaha - Varaha (Self-Released)
This was one of those blind purchases to support a local Chicago band, the debut EP by this post-metal quartet. The EP is composed of two longer tracks, at 7 and 11 minutes each, that combine the widescreen scope of Pelican with the atmospherics of gothic doom and even hints of blackgaze. It sounds like a lot, but it works. Even better is the brief interlude that ties them together, featuring Bruce Lamont on saxophone.

6. Chavez - Cockfighters (Matador)
While I can't say I was on the original, cutting edge when Chavez was out, I discovered them a few years later, they have grown to be one of my favorite of those late 90s Matador guitar bands. Particularly as I fell in love with Matt Sweeney's later work in a variety of settings. Needless to say I was hyped for new material after 21 years - even if was only three songs in less than 10 minutes. They manage to pack a lot in those ten minutes though, packing hypnotic Eastern melodies into the tunes. Could I use more? Hell yes, but this'll do for now.

5. Poison Blood - Poison Blood (Relapse)
While the band name may sound like a long-lost punk band from the mid-80s, Poison Blood is actually the black metal pairing of two restless musical explorers - Krieg's Neill Jamison and Horseback's Jenks Miller. It's an intense listen, doubly so when they crank out something ferocious and jump back out rather than letting it linger - packing in 8 tracks in just over 18 minutes. I'm hoping this pairing leads to more material, but if not - this is still worth checking out for fans of either musician.

4. Forces at Work - Forces at Work (Self-Released)
This was a surprisingly replayable EP that came out early in the year, a breezy quartet of songs that features Tyler Wilcox (an excellent writer and guy with great taste) on guitar and vocals. There's a really loose and playful vibe in these Feelies inspired tunes, but I was constantly surprised by how often I reached for it. I hope these guys put out more in the near future.

3. Mastodon - Cold Dark Place (Reprise)
Six months after unleashing the terrific Emperor of Sand album, Mastodon struck back with this EP that represents a slight shift in sound for the band. Masterminded by Brent Hinds, this EP delves into a bit more of a Southern Gothic feel, with the opening and closing tracks colored by Hinds' surprisingly strong pedal steel work. It feels perfect for the EP format and adds a new shade to the band's already colorful palette. I wouldn't mind hearing them chase this particular thread further in the future.

2. Kamasi Washington - Harmony of Difference (Young Turks)
I was starving for anything new from Kamasi after his stellar breakthrough record, The Epic. Seeing as how Washington doesn't do anything by halfs, even this EP runs an hour and manages to be absorbing throughout. Originally conceived as part of a multimedia art installation, paired with his sister's paintings, the EP flows through various tones and moods before combining them all in the terrific closing track, "Truth".

1. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - The French Press (Sub Pop)
I instantly fell for the opening track here, "French Press", spending countless hours replaying it alone before the EP was released in full. The way this Melbourne trio was able to inject so much life into indie rock was so impressive, helped by having all three members contribute lyrically and vocally. There's the jangle of Go-Betweens and The Clean, the knotty guitar lines of Real Estate, all capped with witty and compelling lyrics - the latter a troubling rarity in much of the indie rock world. I was blindsided by the title track but the rest of the EP made this one of my favorite new guitar rock bands.

2017 Year In Review Part I: The Introduction

I'm still working on being more timely with these end of the year lists... I'll get there someday. Before 2018 rolls to the end, I'd like to at least get my 2017 lists posted so I don't enter another year two behind.

I don't have any kind of overarching narrative to bring you about the year, it's moved too far in the rearview mirror already, but I can say that it found me continuing to chase down the various nooks and crannies of my favorite genres and surfacing new (to me) artists and paths. But the lists I plan to publish over the next few days should shed better light on what I was hearing.

I'll be counting down my favorite EPs, reissues/compilations, live albums, tracks and albums of 2017. First, though, a recap of years past...

Albums of the Year:
2003: Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below
2004: Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
2005: Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
2006: Mastodon - Blood Mountain
2007: Battles - Mirrored
2008: Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
2009: The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
2010: Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid
2011: Fucked Up - David Comes To Life
2012: Goat - World Music
2013: Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (and Other Stories)
2014: D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah
2015: Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
2016: David Bowie - Blackstar

Tracks of the Year:
2003: "Hey Ya" - Outkast
2004: "Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand
2005: "Since U Been Gone" - Kelly Clarkson
2006: "When You Were Young" - The Killers
2007: "Stronger" - Kanye West
2008: "Time To Pretend" - MGMT
2009: "My Girls" - Animal Collective
2010: "Fuck You" - Cee-Lo Green
2011: "Super Bass" - Nicki Minaj
2012: "Bad Religion" - Frank Ocean
2013: "The Wire" - Haim
2014: "i" - Kendrick Lamar
2015: "Alright" - Kendrick Lamar
2016: "Formation" - Beyonce

Gettin' the Led out

Unimaginative title aside, it's true, I've been falling into another one of those periodic deep dives into the world of those world-conquering titans of hard rock. Sure, say what you will (quite rightfully) about the negatives - the cliches, the ridiculous theatrics, the rampant misogyny, over-familiarity, the near constant ripping off of American blues musicians, all fair play - but, damn it, this band was absolutely bonkers at times.

At the time of this writing, I'm obsessed with that Moog synthesizer drone that links "Friends" to "Celebration Day", something I've heard a thousand times before without really appreciating.

And, really, that's the thing about these classic bands that I first encountered in my early teens yet continue to spark my interest again and again and again, something always new to appreciate. Your Zep, Floyd, the Stones, Deep Purple, etc. It's what elevates them above the bands that fascinated briefly at the same time, which I never return to - Doors, Eagles - I'm looking mainly at you two.

Anyway, the world sucks right now, but this is a reminder that it's okay to turn off the Twitter feed now and then and take solace in the classics.

Recently Enjoying

Yes, it's been far too long that this has lain dormant and I still do need to upload my best of 2017 lists at some point, but I also hope to get back around to doing some regular updating around here. I'm hopeful that some time will start to free up for me. In the meantime, I wanted to talk about a few things that I've really been enjoying lately.

Tom Petty - An American Treasure (Warner Bros.)
To honor the first anniversary of Tom's passing, we have this lovingly curated four disc collection of previously unreleased songs, live tracks, alternate versions and demos. Considering he already released a collection like this, Playback, back in the late 1990s, I wasn't sure how much more there could be. Quite a lot, as it turns out. Despite following his career in the latter half of the 90s and again in more recent years, I'd never been a dedicated fan. I still don't own many of his most celebrated albums, but this collection is wonderful. It's amazing to realize just how many killer songs this guy has written over the years. It's really well curated and presented in a lovely package, I can't recommend it enough.

Playing Changes: Jazz For the New Century - Nate Chinen (Penguin Random House)
I'm still only about halfway through this book, but I've already found it to be quite an enjoyable read. It's really interesting to read about the more recent jazz history and touchstone musicians, especially because I've been familiar with only about half of the artists Chinen has covered. The way he delved into the seeming divide between traditionalists like Wynton Marsalis and those who pushed back against him has been great to read, making it clear that there really is no "right" side to such a debate.

Bitchin Bajas - Rebajas (Drag City)
I remain, even here in the 2018, a CD guy. It's the format I grew up on and the format that was dominant when I fell in love with music. I'm happy that the vinyl resurgence has kept stores, labels and physical formats afloat, but it's not really for me. I own a turntable, but I usually stick with used records when it comes to my vinyl purchasing. Ignoring the "what sounds better" part of the debate, for me it becomes quite simple - for the price of most new records on vinyl I can pick up two to three albums on CD, which are more convenient and portable for me. Anyway, all this is to preface showing appreciation for Drag City finally releasing a 7CD box that collects the vast majority of songs by the Bitchin Bajas, previously limited to digital and vinyl formats. It's a cool package filled with such great music.

Citizen Illegal - José Olivarez (Haymarket Books)
I've been making a more concentrated effort to explore poetry and art created by those coming from a non white male viewpoint. I've read some of José's work before, including a book of poetry he published with my brother-in-law, so I guess some disclosure necessary there, but this is a fantastic collection. Thoughtful, engaging, at times hilarious, other times uncomfortable, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.