75. Amenra - Mass VI (Neurot)
74. The Black Angels - Death Song (Partisan)
73. Mastodon - Emperor of Sand (Reprise)
72. Ty Segall - Ty Segall (Drag City)
71. Tomb Mold - Primordial Malignity (Blood Harvest)
70. Feedtime. - gas (In the Red)
69. King Woman - Created in the Image of Suffering (Relapse)
68. Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness (Ba Da Bing)
67. Robyn Hitchcock - Robyn Hitchcock (Yep Roc)
66. Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up (Nonesuch)
65. Dunbarrow - Dunbarrow (Riding Easy)
64. All Them Witches - Sleeping Through the War (New West)
63. Real Estate - In Mind (Domino)
62. Priests - Nothing Feels Natural (Sister Polygon)
61. Crown Larks - Population (Satellite)
60. Full of Hell - Trumpeting Ecstasy (Profound Lore)
59. Here Lies Man - Here Lies Man (Riding Easy)
58. Bill Orcutt - Bill Orcutt (Palilalia)
57. Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile to the Surface (Loma Vista)
56. Oxbow - Thin Black Duke (Hydra Head)
55. Impetuous Ritual - Blight Upon Martyred Sentience (Profound Lore)
54. SZA - CTRL (Top Dawg)
53. Petyr - Petyr (Outer Battery)
52. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound (Southeastern)
51. Roscoe Mitchell - Bells for the South Side (ECM)
50. Ex Eye - Ex Eye (Relapse)
49. Solstafir - Berdreyminn (Season of Mist)
48. Bitchin Bajas - Bajas Fresh (Drag City)
47. Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun (Sargent House)
46. Ruby the Hatchet - Planetary Space Child (Tee Pee)
45. Low Flying Hawks - Genkaku (Magnetic Eye)
44. Guided by Voices - How Do You Spell Heaven (GBV Inc.)
43. Samsara Blues Experiment - One With the Universe (Electric Magic)
42. Wand - Plum (Drag City)
41. Trad, Gras Och Stenar - Tack For Kaffet (So Long) (Subliminal Sounds)
40. Galley Beggar - Heathen Hymns (Rise Above)
39. Steven Wilson - To the Bone (Caroline)
38. Haim - Something To Tell You (Columbia)
37. The Horrors - V (Caroline)
36. Purple Hill Witch - Celestial Cemetery (The Church Within)
35. Hiss Golden Messenger - Hallelujah Anyhow (Merge)
34. Shooting Guns - Flavour Country (Riding Easy)
33. The Clientele - Music for the Age of Miracles (Merge)
32. Mirror Queen - Verdigras (Tee Pee)
31. Caligua's Horse - In Contact (Inside Out)
30. Enslaved - E (Nuclear Blast)
29. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Polygondwanaland (ATO)
28. Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest (Because)
27. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "Luciferian Towers" (Constellation)
26. Ufomammut - 8 (Neurot)
25. St. Vincent - Masseduction (Loma Vista)
24. Oh Sees - Orc (Castle Face)
23. Boris - Dear (Sargent House)
22. The Body & Full of Hell - Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light (Thrill Jockey)
21. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Damage and Joy (Artificial Plastic)
20. Causa Sui - Vibraciones Doradas (El Paraiso)
After releasing the stellar triple disc live album earlier in 2017 I wasn't expecting another new studio album from these Danish instrumental rockers, but they managed to squeeze one in near the end of the year that manages to hang with just about anything else. Four extended jams linked by one brief interlude of deep fuzz and stoner rock deliciousness.
19. Sannhet - So Numb (Profound Lore)
By the time Brooklyn's Sannhet reached this, album number three, pretty much all traces of black metal influence were removed from their sound, leaving only widescreen post-rock in its place. This led to a lot of mixed to negative reviews, but I found this to be their most engaging yet - slow-building and heavy enough to maintain those tenuous links to their metal origins.
18. Spectral Voice - Eroded Corridors of Unbeing (Dark Descent)
The debut record from this Denver based death-doom band took me completely by surprise, but I was endlessly enraptured by it every single time I pushed play. Even though I was a big fan of the off-shoot project, Blood Incantation, I wasn't prepared for the lumbering doom riffs and atmospheric death metal that Spectral Voice brings to the table. Highly recommended for folks that miss diSEMBOWELMENT.
17. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Who Build the Moon? (Caroline)
Yeah, this is indeed THAT Noel Gallagher and, yes, I do think the third album from his post-Oasis project is worthy of being considered one of 2017's twenty best records. I'm sure I'm in the minority, but something about this one really resonated with me. Even when he brings in the expected guests like Johnny Marr or Paul Weller, these is something about the resulting sound - triangulated somewhere between mid-period New Order, 60's psychedelia and hazy, rock-tinged trip-hop - that works surprisingly well.
16. Cloakroom - Time Well (Relapse)
The second album from Indiana's Cloakroom was another very pleasant surprise in 2017 and kudos to Relapse for continuing to move outside their comfort zone and bringing it to my attention. If anything, I would tag these guys as a shoegaze band, though one with a very heavy doom influence in the way everything is so deliberately paced. Gorgeous melodies swirl beneath, creating a heady mix that is perfect for headphone listening.
15. Colour Haze - In Her Garden (Elektrohasch)
If anything, the latest release from Colour Haze reaches back a little bit to be an extension of 2008's excellent, All, scrapping a little of the experimentation of the last two albums and digging back into those extended stoner rock grooves. Not that experiments aren't completely gone, there are songs that incorporate woodwinds and horns, but it's a bit more focused.
14. Converge - The Dusk in Us (Epitaph)
By my count, this brings Converge's total to five stone cold classic records. An incredible achievement by any band's standards, even more when four of the five were all released in a row. At this point, it's hard to keep coming up with new adjectives to describe what Converge manages to pull off, so I'm not going to try. Just lock into Jacob Bannon's vocals and Kurt Ballou's riffs and enjoy the ride.
13. Jute Gyte - Oviri (Jeshimoth)
Jute Gyte is the recording name for one Adam Kalmbach, an uber-prolific guy that seems to be releasing albums to Bandcamp on a nearly weekly basis. His work is difficult to classify, especially considering how wide ranging Kalmbach, though it frequently tends to fall towards the more experimental end of one-man black metal. The best description I've read for this comes from the Quietus, stating that Jute Gyte "works in the traditions of both hermetic weirdo black metal and experimental electronics, while drawing on the microtonal harmonies and intricate rhythms of modern academic composition". Sure.
12. Neil Young - Hitchhiker (Reprise)
Technically this might be more of an archival release but, seeing as it actually is a previously unreleased full studio album, I think it counts here. It was originally recorded in 1976 and shelved, though many of the songs found their way out (in redone forms) on later albums - from 1977's American Stars 'n Bars to 2010's Le Noise. In this original form, however, this paints a strangely beautiful portrait of Neil in the middle of the 1970s.
11. Circle - Terminal (Southern Lord)
Finland's Circle have long been one of my favorite bands, it's been a trip to follow them through various experiments, genres and moods. As usual it's a heady mix of krautrock, psychedelic rock, electronic ambience, progressive rock, glam pop and nearly anything else you could imagine. Right from the ferocious riffing of the epic 12-minute opener, you can't help but be thrilled to be in their weird world.
10. Loss - Horizonless (Profound Lore)
Funeral doom is an easy genre to play, but a hard genre to perfect. Nashville's Loss took six full years to follow-up on their debut, but this was well worth the wait. The band balances crushingly slow and heavy doom with beautiful atmospheres and sparse drumming in a way that keeps things constantly fresh. They also keep this interesting by bringing in a slew of guest vocalists to play off of Mike Meacham's growls.
9. Brand New - Science Fiction (Procrastinate! Music Traitors)
Brand New have released five albums now and I'd argue that three of them, this latest one included, are undeniable classics. Watching them evolve from third-wave emo also-rans with catchy singles into something much more deep and searching. Through unexpected segues, tape loops, damaged guitar solos and moments of cathartic release, the band wraps Jesse Lacey's self-loathing, quotable lyrics in a hell of a storm. If this is the end of the band, at least they go out on a high note.
8. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 3 (Run the Jewels)
I never expected this pairing to last this long, but I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising given how much more popular it has been than anything else either Killer Mike or El-P released on their own. But, hey, at least the music absolutely slaps. I think this might be my favorite of the three albums so far, Mike seems particularly energized and the guest spots from Danny Brown, Kamasi Washington and Tunde Adebimpe help elevate things to a whole new level.
7. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. (Aftermath)
I'd be lying if I didn't admit to being underwhelmed by this after my first spin, although I think that's my fault for holding it to my expectations after his previous two classics. Approached on its own terms, this is another killer Kendrick record with plenty to chew on, U2 cameo and all. It may be the third best Kendrick Lamar record so far, but even that puts it light years ahead of most of the competition.
6. Moon Duo - Occult Architecture Vol. 1 & 2 (Sacred Bones)
I don't consider it cheating when the albums are released as part of a specific package and recorded at the same time. Moon Duo is the off-shoot of Wooden Shjips founded by guitarist Ripley Johnson and keyboardist Sanae Yamada. They create a krautrock tinged, blissed-out psychedelic rock and the Occult Architecture represents the two sides of their sound - the first volume being the darker and fuzzier end (fuzz dungeon) with the second being more uplifting and airier (crystal palace).
5. Biblical - The City That Always Sleeps (Tee Pee)
As soon as I found out these guys were associated with the space rock band Comet Control, I knew I was in for something special. What I didn't expect was Pink Floyd derived stoner rock that flew through the history of psychedelic rock over the course of its running time. The Floydian overtones are made most explicit in "Fugue State", but the band does really manage to carve out a unique sound.
4. Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper (Profound Lore)
In another example of the stellar funeral doom of 2017, Seattle's Bell Witch pushed the genre to its logical endpoint with an album comprised of one single 83 minute song. There's something to be said for pulling off such a feat at all, but Bell Witch managed to do it and make the song compelling throughout. The back half is especially haunting, incorporating achingly clear guitar lines and Erik Moggridge's vocals. This will stand up as one of the landmarks of the doom genre.
3. Algiers - The Underside of Power (Matador)
Yet another big surprise for the year. I remembered hearing about the band's 2015 self-titled debut, but it got lost in the shuffle and I never gave it a spin. Fortunately the buzz led me to their follow-up, even if I was left totally unprepared for the chaotic, post-punk soul that I was to find. I was constantly mesmerized by Franklin James Fisher's voice and how he channeled his rage into a searching, politically minded record that never sacrifices the musical intensity. Portishead's Adrien Utley was an excellent choice to produce this.
2. Pallbearer - Heartless (Profound Lore)
You might be surprised to see this placed even higher than the Bell Witch album when I considered that to be a crowning achievement in the doom genre, but I think Little Rock's Pallbearer has evolved themselves straight out of the doom world. While elements remain, this ends up closer to an '90s alt-rock progressive album than anything else, filled with soaring guitar solos, gorgeous melodies and ripples of electronic color. It's another huge step forward for an always engaging band.
1. Elder - Reflections of a Floating World (Stickman)
I became an immediate fan of Elder since I pushed play on 2011's Dead Roots Stirring for the very first time, but digesting their other full-length and EP releases could prepare me for the sonic leaps they'd take over the course of 2015's Lore and 2017's Reflections of a Floating World. The New England area band evolved from straightforward doom base into something much wider-ranging and further reaching, landing in progressive rock territory that explores a tremendous range of tones and moods. They brought in two additional guitarists for this record, allowing for exquisite layering and textures - just check out Michael Samos' pedal steel on the nine-minute instrumental interlude "Sonntag". It's a vast, widescreen take on stoner metal that surpasses all expectations, a record that I constantly found myself taking solace in.
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