2017 Music

Righto, time for my annual music rundown. As usual, it’s worth pointing out that I’m not a music journalist so a) I don’t get the time to listen to everything and b) I really haven’t a clue what I’m talking about … but, you know, I do my best.

The last two or three years before this one all produced, in my view, at least a couple of “masterpieces”, truly great, wholly fulfilling albums. I don’t think there were any this year, but there were lots of very enjoyable ones, and even more good songs.

I’ll start with one of those previous masterpiece-makers, Kendrick Lamar. This year’s ‘Damn.’ was pretty much as acclaimed as 2015’s ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ but didn’t engage me nearly as much. Whereas TPAB had several moments and songs which made you stop in wonder at his virtuosity, for me, although ‘Damn’ is very solid and enjoyable, the only absolute stand-out is ‘Duckworth’, the last track. Many disagree with me. And, in any case, something like Damn, stylistically different, less overtly ambitious, was probably just the right way to follow up a behemoth like To Pimp a Butterfly.  But it did also contain the first great mistake of his career … the words “featuring U2”. Just kidding but not. I doubt Kendrick ennui will set in just yet, though. He really does strike me as (potentially) the greatest rapper that’s ever lived, though I’m a bit out of my element there … (Element, there)

Having said that, I was listening to a lot of hip-hop for the first half of the year – everything else felt like a bit of a desert. That changed as the year went on, as more of the indie rock’n’roll big-hitters of my young adulthood returned to the fray.

But, then again, how many of them produced their best work? I felt that a lot of folk who were making wonderful music 10 years ago were making ok music this year … Fleet Foxes, members of Midlake, Franz Ferdinand, Grandaddy, Band of Horses in the “supergroup” BNQT, The National, Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, The Shins, Iron and Wine, British Sea Power, the New Pornographers … I mean, it was nice to have it, very nice in some cases, but in pretty much every case it felt like diminishing returns to me.

I’ve seen LCD Soundsystem’s American Dream near the top of a few of this year’s Best of lists, but I was a bit exhausted by it. And the best song on it, Call the Police, owed a lot to All My Friends. I mean, if anyone’s allowed to rip off All My Friends, it’s LCD Soundsystem, but it just reminded me what a monolith that song is. I kind of wanted everything else on the album to sound a bit like All My Friends too (which it didn’t) but also wanted them to come up with some new form of greatness. Maybe they did. Some people thought they did. There were other good songs, but I thought a lot of the songs drifted grumpily and not as many lyrics stood out as I’d have hoped. Still, you know, pretty good …

As for Arcade Fire, they’re a rum bunch, eh? I said earlier in the year that they were the new Coldplay (in a bad way) but really they’re a bit more like that lost Manics period at the turn of the century, when they had a brief run of pretty terrible albums full of ideas that sounded great on paper, with great titles and political import, horribly executed. Thankfully, the Manics recovered and had a lot of greatness and good will in the bank already, but, to me, Arcade Fire have only one properly executed album and a few other good tunes. I mean, there are some decent tunes on Everything Now, not least the title track (why not rip off ABBA, everyone else has done it?) but not enough, and really, that Infinite Content bit is the worst section of recorded music ever created, and kind of annuls anything decent on the album anyway.

OK, I’ll be positive before I’m negative again. The St Vincent album, Masseduction, is great. Another smash. My only downer on it is that it’s a bit backloaded. The real heart and heft is in the second half, I could skip a few of the earlier tracks. But New York and Happy Birthday Johnny … beautiful …

Another album I’ve loved is The War on Drugs’ ‘A Deeper Understanding’. Which is funny because when their last album ‘Lost in the Dream’ was one of the critical hits of 2014, I tried but just didn’t get into it at all. And in some ways, ‘A Deeper Understanding’ was just more of the same, but more so, but this time it was just what I needed – in fact, you could say it reignited my dwindling love of rock music. Obvious to say it, but just shows how much supposed “judgement” comes down to mood and circumstance. Anyway, windswept/epic/driving rock/big production/atmospheric/homage etc ….take your pick.

I actually preferred it to the National’s ‘Sleep Well Beast’ which I didn’t think I’d be saying. Though it was a big success, for me the National were slightly the victim of their consistency on this one. Probably my least favourite of their last five albums – I felt like there were too many hooks but they weren’t particularly strong hooks, and I felt almost all of the madness and the seediness was gone, as well as the grand swell of emotion. I mean, it’s still a strong album. I just love the band so want them to shake the world.

Fleet Foxes/Father John Misty – in the end, wasn’t really sold on either album, but I think Josh Tillman’s voice really sets my nerves on ends, whereas Robin Pecknold’s, and the accompanying harmonies, remains a thing of beauty, so I’ll take the Foxes, even when trying a bit too hard and being a bit confusing, every time.

But talking of rock music, how long since there was a great British rock album? I mean, look, I know I’m getting old, but I’m not really missing out on something, am I? I was perusing my lists of favourite albums over the last few years, and apart from Blur and Teenage Fanclub, which hardly counts, I have to go back to the last Arctic Monkeys album for anything vaguely youthful, and they hardly count either.

Is there still room for a band to come out like Doves, not for kids but not too middle-aged, fully formed on arrival, capable of going big but not earth-shaking? Just a really good British rock band. I mean, Elbow are in the same bracket … I confess I quite liked the Elbow album, I always do, though it only ever gets a couple of weeks of listening from me, and this one was even more soporific than usual … he can always pick out some lovely lines though.

... I’m not that middle-aged, as I say, I was listening to all that hip-hop and the r’n’b for a while. Jay-Z … well, that’s middle-aged hip-hop. I enjoyed his conscious, confessional, humble good guy act on ‘4.44’ – the fact is he remains a master rapper – just the smartest guy in the room with the neatest lines, and an ever-arresting frame of reference and candour. The music was unflashy but very enjoyable too.

Of the younger guns, I quite liked Tyler the Creator and Vince Staples – the latter is another real craftsman, but he didn’t blow my mind at any point on ‘Big Fish Theory’ – it seemed a little unambitious to me – but I guess that’s his gambit – no bullshit. Fair enough.

I really enjoyed his song – Ascension - on the Gorillaz album ‘Humanz’ too. I’m a little baffled as to the lukewarm reception Humanz got. Seems like Albarn’s too much of a good thing at the moment, but I thought it was really great – have enjoyed it more as the year’s gone on – maybe a few tracks too many, but his tribute to the great boybands of the early 2000s, ‘Busted and Blue’ was a particular favourite (sorry, horrible niche joke). But, yeah, I reckon if this had been the first Gorillaz album or by a new artist (not that a new artist could have gathered the array of guest stars) it would have been acclaimed as a tour de force.

There was a good Noel Gallagher collaboration in it too, and whaddayaknow, decent music by both Gallaghers. I mean, Liam Gallagher got knocked into some pleasant shape. Good for him. And that Noel Gallagher single is a hoot. He remains quite the most flagrantly derivative writer though. Everything, like, every second of his whole album, sounds like something else. Weird to even be mentioning them really. Back to what’s coooool.

Erm … protest music. Protest music is always cool. So I’ll start with my favourite song of the year. Let’s kill the unbearable suspense. ‘Pa’lante’ by Hurray for the Riff-Raff is by far my song of the year and in fact my favourite song for many years.

It’s a pretty simple song, a New York Puerto Rican protest song with a structure a little similar to ‘A Day in the Life’ – it’s a song for the times, a song to give cynical people a sense of purpose, it’s a marriage of the personal and the political, it’s a call to the lead singer Alynda Segarra’s family and compatriots, but really it’s a call to anyone. She sings, sings like hardly anyone ever sings, with her whole body and being – like Janis Joplin or the Proclaimers (don’t laugh …) or Kurt Cobain. It’s fiery and anthemic and what I’ve been listening to over and over again all over. The album from which it comes, ‘The Navigator’ is pretty great too – maybe the magnificence of ‘Pa’lante’ unbalances it for me a tiny bit, but that’s churlish.

Another great protest album is by Mavis Staples – If All I Was Was Black, a joy of an album, which feels like the apotheosis of her extended collaboration with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy – every song is angry, humane and exuberant. Tweedy also produced another of my albums of the year, a self-titled work by American folksinger Joan Shelley. I preferred them both to the latest Wilco album.

Talking of protest, Joan Baez wrote a song called Nasty Man – it was a bit of fun. And Bob Dylan did a triple-album of Frank Sinatra covers….

All I wanted from you this year, boss, was not a triple-album of Sinatra covers. I loved the first Sinatra covers album. Put up with the second. But this one. Didn’t listen to it. Did not. Shan’t. First of your albums I haven’t listened to. I listened to the Christmas album. And the Christian albums. But not this. You can still write, dude. Clearly you can. You can still operate. The production, the sound, the arrangement of these covers albums is rather lovely. Come on, do a protest album. Be a sport, point your finger, steal from the papers, do your most protesty protest songs. I mean, I know it’s ludicrous to expect anything from a 76-year old multi-millionaire contrarian plagiarist, but, damn, if Bob Dylan did an album of protest songs for the Trump age, my heart would jump for joy.

But anyway, enough of that old dude. I’d say the young’uns have won the year by a long way.

Still young Laura Marling, six albums in, the most consistent songwriter in Britain. Each album she does I hope might be a full-blown classic, and there hasn’t really been one yet, but Semper Femina is definitely one of my favourite two or three of hers, a low level concept album full of marvellous songs. I think this one reminded me more of Joni Mitchell than anything else she’s done.

Also reminding me of Joni Mitchell but in a different way was Lorde on her album Melodrama. This is my album of the year. It is a collection of exceptional pop songs – “bangers” or “choons” as I believe they’re called – with lyrics that are astute, funny, poignant, entirely believable. It is an unrelentingly enjoyable album. Lorde is a pop artist but I’m quite sure if she released a stark acoustic album it could also be a classic. When I said there were no masterpieces this year, this was closest. I only think she could do something even better next time.

Another Antipodean album full of great tunes was I Love You Like a Brother by Alex Lahey – much more guitary and lo-fi, just a refreshing bit of powerpop, a little like Courtney Barnett but less droll.

Who else was great? Phoebe Bridgers and her superbly-titled debut Stranger in the Alps, Valerie June’s The Order of Time, Margo Price, American country star, bettering her debut by a long long way. Allison Crutchfield, Waxahatchee, Aimee Mann, Lydia Ainsworth, Tara Jane O’Neill, an awful lot of good albums by female singer-songwriters this year.

And Taylor Swift? Don’t know yet. I don’t think the world needs me to listen to the Taylor Swift album. I did listen to Ed Sheeran’s album, though. Reassuringly awful. But that Harry Styles single, which I managed to avoid for most of the year, I just listened to it, it's threateningly enjoyable, isn't it?

I thought Sampha was a good winner of the Mercury Prize – there are a few lovely songs on his album ‘Process’. Stormzy’s album I found ok, very listenable, a pretty blatant and successful pitch for mainstream success. I only recently listened to the J Hus album ‘Common Sense’, which, especially in the first half, is a real blast. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Loyle Carner’s ‘Yesterday’s Gone’ is also a tremendously warm and endearing album, but, though it’s not an album, Dave’s ‘Game Over’ EP is the real standout from UK hip-hop this year. I’m thinking there is a major star going to emerge there. His flow, his insight, his storytelling are a complete breath of fresh air.

I've only just listened to the Moses Sumney album 'Aromanticism' properly - really striking, lovely songs, a voice notably similar to David McAlmont.

Another album I’ve really liked lately, despite the dreadful name and the fact I don’t really like “ambient pop” is the self-titled work by Cigarettes after Sex, which is very melodic and surprisingly biting.

Right, I’m just rattling off the names of acts you may or may not believe exist now. Here’s the only bit anyone’s going to read...

My Favourite Albums of the Year

1. Melodrama - Lorde
2. The Navigator - Hurray for the Riff Raff
3. Humanz - Gorillaz
4. MASSEDUCTION - St Vincent
5. If All I Was Was Black - Mavis Staples
6. The Order of Time - Valerie June
7. A Deeper Understanding - The War on Drugs
8. 4.44 - Jay-Z
9. Semper Femina - Laura Marling
10. Joan Shelley - Joan Shelley
11. Goths - Mountain Goats
12. Process - Sampha
13. Yesterday's Gone - Loyle Carner
14. All American Made - Margo Price
15. Aromanticism - Moses Sumney
16. Stranger in the Alps - Phoebe Bridgers
17. Damn. - Kendrick Lamar
18. Cigarettes After Sex - Cigarettes after Sex
19. Common Sense - J Hus
20. CTRL - SZA
21. Sleep Well Beast - The National
22. I Love you Like a Brother - Alex Lahey
23. Big Fish Theory - Vince Staples
24. Crack-Up - Fleet Foxes
25. Little Fictions - Elbow

My Favourite Songs of the Year 

1. Pa'lante - Hurray for the Riff Raff
2. No One Know Me Like the Piano ... - Sampha
3. Happy Birthday Johnny - St Vincent
4. Duckworth - Kendrick Lamar
5. Only God Knows - Young Fathers
6. Green Light - Lorde
7. Nouel - Laura Marling
8. Call the Police - LCD Soundsystem
9. New York - St Vincent
10. Ascension - Gorillaz ft Vince Staples
11. Liability - Lorde
12. Astral Plane - Valerie June
13. Bagbak - Vince Staples
14. The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness - The National
15. We Were Beautiful - Belle and Sebastian
16. Question Time - Dave
17. Marcy Me - Jay-Z
18. Everything Now - Arcade Fire
19. Strangest Thing - The War on Drugs
20. No CD - Loyle Carner
21. Smoke Signals - Phoebe Bridgers
22. Sign of the Times - Harry Styles
23. Chained to the Rhythm - Katy Perry
24. Fireworks - First Aid Kit
25. How I Met My Ex - Dave
26. Dum Surfer - King Krule
27. Quarrel - Moses Sumney
28. Heatstroke - Calvin Harris
29. Nothing Not Really - Laura Marling
30. Holy Mountain - Noel Gallagher
31. Common Sense - J Hus
32. Hot Thoughts - Spoon
33. The Story of OJ - Jay Z
34. Chanel - Frank Ocean
35. Heartbreak (Wild Hunger) - Hamilton Leithauser and Angel Olsen
36. Andrew Eldritch is Moving Back to Leeds - Mountain Goats
37. Undercover - Kehlani
38. Man's Not Hot - Big Shaq
39. To Know Your Mission - Jens Lekman
40. Untouchable - Eminem
41. Hopper - Paul Weller
42. There's a Honey - Pale Waves
43. Living in the City - Hurray for the Riff Raff
44. Mildenhall - The Shins
45. Perfect Places - Lorde
46. Do You Still Love Me? - Ryan Adams
47. Fool's Errand - Fleet Foxes
48. A Million Miles - BNQT
49. Kindling - Elbow
50. To Hold and Have - The Dears