Another year has come and gone. This year was a good one with great albums from old favorites and exiting newcomers.
10. The Wild Reeds The World We Built
The Los Angeles trio have been building their fanbase for the past few years with rootsy bluegrass music, but expanded their sound on their latest album. Their voices combine into gorgeous harmonies that put a modern spin on folk rock.
9. Fleet Foxes Crack-Up
The much anticipated return of Fleet Foxes saw matured, more adventurous songwriting from Robin Pecknold. His vision for this album was to create a more dramatic sound, almost like a movie. The big harmonies remain with asides to keep the listener intrigued.
8. Father John Misty Pure Comedy
After I Love You, Honeybear focused on Josh Tillman’s love story, he set aim on the media dominated environment of Los Angeles. From songs about our need to constantly devour media to politics to our mortality, this album almost seemed like Fear Fun part 2, but with more biting commentary. The orchestral elements give it a different finish than his more rock sounding past albums.
7. Mondo Cozmo Plastic Soul
Josh Ostrander is one of the feel good stories of 2017. A veteran of fighting his way in the music industry, he finally struck gold with his latest project Mondo Cozmo. The songs reflect the angst and pain of an artist pondering if all this struggle is worth the outcome. Of course we can see it is worth the effort now, showing that rock still thrives when it comes from the heart. This is one of those albums where there isn’t a bad track.
6. Phoebe Bridgers Stranger In The Alps
The youngest artist on the list, Phoebe writes direct songs filled with strong emotions. Her unique style almost sounds like she’s having a one way conversation with another person, trying to find the reasons for human behavior and feelings. Her future is bright if she continues to dig deep into the human experience.
5. Ryan Adams Prisoner
Over recent years, Ryan has found a new spark as the output from his PAX-AM studio seems endless. This round included songs dealing with his well publicized divorce from Mandy Moore. Best of all – the b-sides, released on Apple Music, are just as good as the album.
4. The National Sleep Well Beast
On the 10th anniversary of Boxer, The National released an album that explored the concerns of a maturing band. With members living in different cities and families to care for, much more of Matt Berninger’s songwriting focused on who they are now. He delves into how relationships have changed and what happens as they move forward in life.
3. The XX I See You
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of EDM encroaching its way into music, but it’s beautiful when used well. The XX took a much different approach on this album than their down tempo previous efforts. The music is inspired and sounds rich as they explore how electronic sounds can be combined with traditional instrumentation. The outcome is one of the more creative releases this year.
2. The War On Drugs A Deeper Understanding
Widely called the future of rock, Adam Granduciel released another album that shows just how much there is left to explore. The depth of his music is unreal as you can find something new each time you hear any song.
1. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit The Nashville Sound
This era’s Tom Petty is without a doubt Jason Isbell. He survived addiction and has gone on to become one of the leaders of the Americana rock scene in Nashville. On his latest album, he took his songwriting to the next level as he discusses his family, the political climate we live in, and more. His words come from the heart and he knows how to get the music just right to deliver his message.