The Nicsperiment's Top Nine Songs of 2017 (From Albums Not On My Top Nine Albums List)
My new Jeep Renegade doesn't have a CD player. 2017 is the year I finally went fully digital. This is liberating in some ways. I've waffled between digital and physical media the last few years, and probably bought less music as a result. Now that I've decisively gone with one form of media...
Wait, I'm lying, I still bought a decent amount of vinyl...crud, let me look through that and make sure I'm not missing anything.
Okay, I'm back. Wow, now making these selections is going to be really difficult.
Here are my nine favorite 2017 songs not found on my nine favorite 2017 albums. I'll reveal the albums on 12/31.
The songs are listed in no particular order.
Holy cow, this was hard to narrow down.
Sleep Token -- "Calcutta"
Djent hasn't had many new ideas since Uneven Structure's Februus took it to unforeseen ethereal heights. Sleep Token seems intent on changing that, introducing acrobatic singing and more highly contrasting dynamics to the embattled genre.
Unwill -- "Drifting"
I was too old for this type of screamo when Underoath did it, but something about the contrast between ferocity and vulnerability makes this deep cut on newcomer Unwill's relatively unknown debut, Past Life, relevant.
Wall of Ears -- "Floating Off the Line"
Chris Lott brought some much needed space and a love of Neil Young's dirty solos to As Cities Burn, and now that he's venturing out on his own, he's bringing these same sensibilities to this brilliantly off-kilter psych-rock project.
iiah -- "Samsara"
The amount of instrumental "post rock" albums released in the last decade which sound exactly the same is reaching critical mass--the simple idea of adding vocals to the music feels like a revelation on iiah's wintry Distances, particularly singing that sounds this pure and boisterous. The soaring "Samsara" is the album's peak. Next time, maybe they'll include singing on ALL the tracks.
Pvris -- "Half"
Pvris is another band I would have said I was too old to listen to in the past, but they take that famous pop sheen of theirs and sully it up on this year's All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell. The punk urgency and grit in Lynn Gunn's voice, along with a dark 80's musical bent, makes "Half" a particular standout.
Uneven Structure -- "Your Scent"
After fusing art-metal with djent perfectly on their debut, Uneven Structure's sophomore attempt, La Partition, brings the band back down to Earth a bit. Thankfully, the album's climax, the chaotic riff avalanche, "Your Scent," nearly elevates the whole LP back to classic album status.
John Reuben -- "Age of Our Fathers"
If you are on the opposite extremes of the "I hope John Reuben sounds like this for his first album in eight years" spectrum, you will either be disappointed that he hasn't abandoned his faith, or angry that he is no longer "dippity doin'" it. Reubonic is instead full of nuanced looks at both Reuben's faith and his quickly approaching middle-age, best explemplified by career standout, "Age of Our Fathers."
Trevor Something -- "Isolated"
I think this song is supposed to bring up some 80's Robocop-score-as-a-pop-song vibes, but more than anything, it reminds me of that exact moment sophomore year of college when I sighed at the realization that I might be free to do whatever I wanted...but I was also distinctly alone (it was certainly not a complete view of life). Sweet. Sorry for the esoteric nature of this description.
Vacant -- "Escape"
This song combines my old 90's love, techno, with this new moody future garage genre I've been digging on the last couple of years. The result is an incredible emotional journey taken over the course of five minutes, the exact aural equivalent of its title, with a cathartic climax to boot.
Wait, I'm lying, I still bought a decent amount of vinyl...crud, let me look through that and make sure I'm not missing anything.
Okay, I'm back. Wow, now making these selections is going to be really difficult.
Here are my nine favorite 2017 songs not found on my nine favorite 2017 albums. I'll reveal the albums on 12/31.
The songs are listed in no particular order.
Holy cow, this was hard to narrow down.
Sleep Token -- "Calcutta"
Djent hasn't had many new ideas since Uneven Structure's Februus took it to unforeseen ethereal heights. Sleep Token seems intent on changing that, introducing acrobatic singing and more highly contrasting dynamics to the embattled genre.
Unwill -- "Drifting"
I was too old for this type of screamo when Underoath did it, but something about the contrast between ferocity and vulnerability makes this deep cut on newcomer Unwill's relatively unknown debut, Past Life, relevant.
Wall of Ears -- "Floating Off the Line"
Chris Lott brought some much needed space and a love of Neil Young's dirty solos to As Cities Burn, and now that he's venturing out on his own, he's bringing these same sensibilities to this brilliantly off-kilter psych-rock project.
iiah -- "Samsara"
The amount of instrumental "post rock" albums released in the last decade which sound exactly the same is reaching critical mass--the simple idea of adding vocals to the music feels like a revelation on iiah's wintry Distances, particularly singing that sounds this pure and boisterous. The soaring "Samsara" is the album's peak. Next time, maybe they'll include singing on ALL the tracks.
Pvris -- "Half"
Pvris is another band I would have said I was too old to listen to in the past, but they take that famous pop sheen of theirs and sully it up on this year's All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell. The punk urgency and grit in Lynn Gunn's voice, along with a dark 80's musical bent, makes "Half" a particular standout.
Uneven Structure -- "Your Scent"
After fusing art-metal with djent perfectly on their debut, Uneven Structure's sophomore attempt, La Partition, brings the band back down to Earth a bit. Thankfully, the album's climax, the chaotic riff avalanche, "Your Scent," nearly elevates the whole LP back to classic album status.
John Reuben -- "Age of Our Fathers"
If you are on the opposite extremes of the "I hope John Reuben sounds like this for his first album in eight years" spectrum, you will either be disappointed that he hasn't abandoned his faith, or angry that he is no longer "dippity doin'" it. Reubonic is instead full of nuanced looks at both Reuben's faith and his quickly approaching middle-age, best explemplified by career standout, "Age of Our Fathers."
Trevor Something -- "Isolated"
I think this song is supposed to bring up some 80's Robocop-score-as-a-pop-song vibes, but more than anything, it reminds me of that exact moment sophomore year of college when I sighed at the realization that I might be free to do whatever I wanted...but I was also distinctly alone (it was certainly not a complete view of life). Sweet. Sorry for the esoteric nature of this description.
Vacant -- "Escape"
This song combines my old 90's love, techno, with this new moody future garage genre I've been digging on the last couple of years. The result is an incredible emotional journey taken over the course of five minutes, the exact aural equivalent of its title, with a cathartic climax to boot.
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