FDM 2017: A Recap

Ordinarily the purpose of this blog is to highlight the various records in my collection, and other musical musings I may have. From time to time, however, I must go down a more self-serving route and discuss my own musical pursuits. Of which there are many. In and around 2017, I released more music than I ever have in my life – 14 full length albums and 11 singles/EPs. I also wrote fewer songs than I ever have since I started writing (only three songs were written in 2017, though dozens were edited, re-written, amended, and/or solidified). So this is what we are talking about this week.

The genesis of this whole project began in 2008, when I got my "new" 8-track recorder. This new machine had built-in-drums and effects and mixing and everything, all contained into a single unit. I could finally make records that sounded like how I heard them in my head. Not that anyone would mistake one of my records for one produced by Brian Eno or anything but they sure sounded a hell of a lot better than the ones that came before. Which posed a problem. All those songs that came before – 21 years’ worth of them – all of a sudden didn’t sound so good.

In 2011 I got the idea to re-record some of the more "classic" songs for a greatest hits set that I was planning, so that the songs would have a uniform sound when sitting next to each other on the disc. As many of my ideas tend to do, this project got way out of hand and, over the next two years, in sporadic sessions, over 80 songs we revisited. Those songs ranged from the ones I performed regularly to long-lost ideas, and everything in between. In 2014, the most obvious songs from that bunch were released on the album, Reinvent The Lie, and then the rest of the material just sat in the vault. I had no idea what to do with it. I floated around ideas of re-recording earlier albums, but most of those album have at least one or two songs that I wouldn’t want to revisit, or they featured songs that had already been released on the best-of. And then it hit me.

2017 was rapidly approaching and that was to be quite a landmark year, at least in my own musical universe. 2017 marked three different anniversaries for me:

1.  30 years since I wrote my first real song.
2.  25 years since I recorded my first album.
3.  10 years since I got married.

I decided to mark the occasion with a big musical project – the project to end all projects – and one that swiftly got out of hand. The original idea was to release an album every month, for a year. Most of those albums would utilize all that leftover material, and those songs would be given fresh new mixes and also additional material would be recorded. Albums were sketched out in advance and, a schedule was laid out. About half of these albums relied heavily on those older tracks while the other half featured new recordings. Some of these albums collect these old songs in thematic ways, that span years. Some of these albums reimagine a particular songwriting era. The idea was not to re-record old albums, or replace them, but rather to reinvent them. This allowed me to revise old songs as well as resurrect long-lost ideas that were abandoned before being realized. The resulting albums are among my proudest accomplishments.

Another of my ideas was to play a show every month, where the latest album would be featured. This went on for about half the year before I pulled the plug on that. Audiences were far too slim and it was too much work to prepare for the shows, and that was drastically cutting into my recording time. So I put the kibosh on that and got even more productive in the studio.

The last big thing this year was that my old colleague, Rust Rudolph, approached me with the idea of releasing something of mine on his label, Flyingdeer Records. Initially I gave him an EP called The Trinity Loophole but soon after we came up with the idea of releasing a single for each of the new albums, with exclusive b-sides. The singles and the albums aren’t quite in sync as of yet but those releases have been fun, especially those b-side sessions. Those singles are available on iTunes and Spotify and whatnot, while the full-length albums are on my Bandcamp site.

While this project was initially only for 2017, I’ve had so much fun (and there are still, literally, over a thousand songs that have yet to be addressed) that I am extending it into 2018, and perhaps beyond. 14 more albums have been sketched out and I am looking forward to getting to those. In the meantime, however, we shall reflect….

What follows is a quick guide to each of those releases. If you click the title, it will link you to the release, which you can stream or buy or whatever. Enjoy!

　

Hymns Of The City (fdm085)

Released 12/3/16
Technically this came out in December 2016 but it is the beginning of this campaign so it is included here. To be honest, I am not sure exactly what the logic was in compiling this tracklist aside from it being a dozen songs, from that giant pile, that were all written within a few years of each other, sounded good together, and were ones that had sort of fallen through the cracks. Of the twelve songs on this album, only "The Importance Of Being" had ever been featured on any release before. The rest were making their recorded debuts here. This album garnered a good deal of positive feedback upon release and was fun to assemble. The title was derived from a line in the song "Counterfeit" and the cover photo was taken in Pompeii in November 2016.

A Heap Of Sighs (fdm086)

Released 1/7/17
The idea behind this album was to include some of the heavier, more present FDM material, songs that have always been among my favorites even if they weren’t necessarily "classics". While this album holds together quite well, it is an album of singles and contains some of the strongest material I’ve done. This was my 50^th full-length album, so it had to be something special. Every song on this album had appeared on a prior release, in a prior lifetime, and many of these songs were longstanding live favorites. The title was derived from a line in the song "If I Should Fall Down" and the cover photo was taken while at work in December 2016.

Begging For The Dawn (fdm087)

Released 1/23/17
For the third album, I went down a different path and picked out songs that were a little mellower, a little more hushed. The prior two albums had been full-tilt so this one was a little bit on the moodier side. Only a few of the songs here had ever been recorded for a prior project – most of these songs were making their debut here. This is also the only album in this campaign to not only draw material from that giant well-spring but it also utilized outtakes from prior album projects. The title was derived from a line in the song "Fever Dream" and the cover photo was taken in Costa Rica in 2012. The end result is one of the most unique albums in this list and a good one for a rainy day.

Disastering (fdm088)

Released 2/28/17
In 2007 I started participating in something called the RPM Challenge. The idea was to challenge artists to created an album, from scratch, over the month of February. While the rules only apply to recording, I generally write the album from scratch of that time as well. Some of my all time favorite albums were created that way. This year, however, I took a different approach, and instead revisited the cache of material that I wrote for that first challenge. Around thirty songs were written that month, some of which wound up on the album The Importance Of Being, while the rest have been in the hopper ever since. Since this was the RPM Challenge, all of the material on this album was freshly recorded for this project. About half of the songs here are ones that originally appeared on The Importance Of Being while the rest of the material is making their debut here. The title was taken from the song of the same name and the cover came from a stock art website.

No More Than This (fdm089)

Released 3/10/17
This fifth album of the campaign features twelve power-pop gems that were written between 2001 and 2006. The theme here was all songs that could have been singles. Just catchy, fun tracks, some of my all time favorites. All of these songs had appeared, in their original versions, on prior FDM releases and all of these tracks came from that 2011-13 cache of recordings. Unlike the first few albums of this series, these are the original mixes of this material. I remixed the entire album a couple of times but none of the new mixes had the same fire as the originals. The title is not derived from any of the songs on this set but is simply me saying – "this is the best that I’ve got". The songs are this set are some of the nearest and dearest to my heart and I love the way this album plays out. The cover photo was taken at Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna VA, on a particularly beautiful day in February 2017.

A Perfect Mess (fdm090)

Released 3/25/17
Way back in October 2015, I was rummaging though a box one evening and I came across this notebook from 2012 which was called "The Book Of Everything". In it, there was an entry called "Hypothetical New Album". The title of said album was Dengue Electric and there followed eleven songs, the titles of which were totally unfamiliar. While I can now clearly remember writing that entry (in the kitchen at work, while at lunch) I had totally forgotten about it. With some time on my hands, I decided to try my hand at writing this album. I spent about two hours hammering out lyrics for each title, in order, just whatever came to mind. Then I went to bed. Woke up the next morning and set out to put those lyrics to music. In less than two hours, I had acoustic demos of all of these songs. I then sat on this material for a while, mostly out of laziness. Many of these songs made it into my live set and folks dug these tunes. After the Disastering sessions came to an end, I got a wild hair and, in one eleven-hour session, I recorded this album, from front to back. The only album of "new songs" thus far recorded in this campaign, this is one of my favorite albums ever and one of my crowning achievements. It almost saddens me that it was delivered to the world in the midst of this madness. The title is derived from the title of the first song on the album and the cover photo is of me in 1977, just in from a day in the snow.

The Trinity Loophole (fdrec 003)

Released 5/15/17
When Rust Rudolph approached me to release something on his Flyingdeer Records label, I scratched my head, thinking of what to give him. In the end, I put together this EP and it was released to iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc,. The lead song was recorded soon after returning from a summer in Newfoundland (and was originally written on a hill overlooking Trinity) while the other three songs were outtakes from 2016’s Doing Time On The Horizon album. As it was tied with that album, I went for a similar aesthetic for the artwork (which became a recurring theme in the singles series). The cover photo was taken at the abandoned Trinity Loop amusement park, in Newfoundland.

The Importance Of Being / Imperial Jane (fdrec 006)

Released 7/21/17
After The Trinity Loophole worked out, Rust and I worked a deal to digitally release one single from each album of this campaign. One of my biggest pet peeves about digital singles is that they almost never include b-sides. Everyone knows that b-sides are the best things about singles. So came the idea to record exclusive b-sides for each single, and those songs would come from the same era as the a-side….the same day, if that’s even possible. As such, the single drawn from Hymns Of The City was paired with a new recording of "Imperial Jane", which was written three days after the a-side. Of all the recording projects I’ve done this year, the b-side sessions were among the most enjoyable. Uncovering songs that would not have otherwise been considered for a project, or breathing new life into some neglected old song, it’s been awesome.

So What If It’s Raining? (fdm091)

Released 8/14/17
This is the album where the specific-era idea really started to coalesce. All of the songs on this album were written in 2002-2003. The first seven songs came from that cache of earlier recordings and the last six songs were newly recorded for this project. Many of these songs had originally appeared on the album, Spontanuity, as well as several other albums that were recorded around the same time. "Doppelganger Girl" was the first song I ever wrote for my now-wife, Krissy, and is appearing on a non-private release for the very first time. I’m not sure where the album title came from – just popped into my head when I was planning these albums – but it immediately conjured a cover image in my head that my good friend Alex Koeppel very graciously (and adroitly) realized for me. This album made Rust Rudolph’s year-end best-of list.

Thirty Years Flat / Underfounded (fdrec 007)

Released 8/18/17
The second single in the series, this track from A Heap Of Sighs was paired with a new recording of a song that was written in the same sitting. "Underfounded" was always one of my favorite of the "lost" songs and I can’t really explain why it was never recorded for any other project until now. Listening to the initial playback of this version made me very, very happy.

Nevermind The Shadows (fdm092)

Released 8/28/17
By this point in the project, the wellspring of previously-recorded songs was running dry and the leftover songs were all too varied to go together, so they all got spread out across various releases which were then built up with new recordings of other songs from the same era. This album was the first one based on that tactic and the first to rely more on new material than old. Essentially, this album is more or less a reinvention of my 1995 album, 4:20pm. Nine of the thirteen songs on this set had originally appeared on that album, while the remaining songs are ones that had been written for that album but left on the shelf. While that original album, at least in my world, was the product of a very special and interesting time in my life, and can never really be replicated, albums are really about songs, and this new set redefines these songs in a way that they really deserve. The title of the album isn’t based on any of the songs but rather a suggestion to look at the new album for what it is and not compare it to the past. And, oh yeah, "Fortune Hunter" is amazing.

Fade Into Blue / The Julies (fdrec 008)

Released 9/1/17
The third single in the series, this track from Begging For The Dawn started out its life on a 2004 EP called The Hum Crisis. A few weeks before that, as I was trying to break in my new studio, The Sidebar, I recorded an EP called Quadraphobia that was never released. One of the tracks on that EP was a little power pop ditty called "The Julies", which I always imagined was the theme to some sort of adorable Hanna Barbara cartoon band.

Just For Kicks (fdm093)

Released 9/20/17
As I mentioned earlier, 2017 is the 30^th anniversary of me as a songwriter. With all of these new albums celebrating various eras of my writing, it’s only natural and fair to base a set on those first songs. While that sounds like it would be a tough project, it was, in fact, one of the most enjoyable recording project I’d ever undertaken. A few of these tracks dated from those earlier sessions but most of this was recorded over the course of a weekend in August 2017. Many of these songs were written with my early bandmates, Andrew McCain and Bryan Howard, and one of them was written with Errickson Wilcox. They are youthful, they are naïve, but they are fun. I can’t stress enough how much I love this record. After several unsuccessful attempts to title this record, I named it after one of my favorite songs, and the cover photo was taken in the woods in Bergen Norway, in February 2017.

Ripsy’s Gift / One For The Vault (fdrec 010)

Released 9/29/17
The fourth single of the series, this track from Disastering was a previously lost song from the writing sessions that went down during my first RPM Challenge, in 2007. How on earth this song got swept under the rug, I’ll never know, but I’m glad it got its due. Written on the same day was a song that was destined to be a lost song. In fact, that’s what the song is about. It’s right there in the title. But I’m glad it escaped the vault. It’s stupid but it’s fun.

Don’t Lose What You Don’t Yet Have / Shifty Sally Ann (fdrec 011)

Released 10/6/17
The fifth single of the series, this track from No More Than This was originally written and recorded for a 2006 album called Static Blue.. This song has always been a favorite of mine and I was thrilled when I resurrected it and gave it a home. A maddening 19 songs were written on the same day and one of them is the goofy, rockin’ "Shifty Sally Ann", which is getting its first release here. This is one of my favorite b-sides.

Supertwist / Doctor Who (fdrec 012)

Released 10/20/17
The sixth single of the series, this track from A Perfect Mess is a bit of a whirlwind. I’m still not 100% sure that it was the right choice for the single but it’s done so it is. The general rule for these singles is to source the b-side material from songs written in the same sessions, however the songs that were written for this album were all done in one sitting and there were no leftover songs. So I took this goofy ditty that I came up around the same time and gave it a shiny new recording. And it is currently my #1 song on Spotify. Why? Because everyone knows that Doctor Who fucking rules.

Watching The Clouds (fdm094)

Released 11/6/17
1998-2000 was a very interesting time in my musical world. I wasn’t really making albums but I was writing a fair bit and sowing the seeds for the band, Ebb, which I would play with for a couple of years. Songs and ideas would appear, from time to time, on my many "notebook" tapes and sometimes they would reappear, for a band or project, and sometimes they’d stay hidden. This album focuses on that particular era and includes some dark and epic songs as well as some fun, quirky ones. Only one song on this set is a holdover from those earlier sessions – the rest were recorded in August 2017. The title was derived from a line in the song "8x8" and the cover photo was part of a series that I took from a moving train in Norway, in February 2017.

Sucker Window / Reload, Reload (fdrec 013)

Released 11/17/17
The seventh single of the series, this track from So What If It’s Raining? is a big ol’ burner. Originally recorded for the 2002 album, Kitestrings…andotherthings, this song has always been a favorite of mine. Recording it during these sessions was a treat, and it was an obvious choice for a single (though, in retrospect, I probably should have edited the intro). The b-side was written a couple months later and the original version was kind of obnoxious and this was always one of those joke songs, the ones that were never quite taken seriously. I’m not sure what happened during this session, though, but this song was totally reborn and turned out to be an absolute monster.

Alice And Other Stories (fdm095)

Released 11/25/17
The period after 1995’s 4:20pm album was a bit of a wilderness. It would be two years before I made another album, but I was writing and playing almost constantly. I was also eating a lot of mushrooms and occasionally dropping acid, and smoking a hell of a lot of dope, and all of that was starting to creep into my music a fair bit. Not that my musical textures got particularly "psychedelic", but there lies certain trippiness to many of the themes and the lyrics, which are all about that sort of thing. That particular phase did not last long but I do appreciate its impact. Some of those songs would eventually be recorded for 1997’s Flying Dachshund Music album while many of them fell by the wayside. Only one of these songs came from the earlier sessions and the rest of this album was recorded in September 2017. One cool feature of this album is that it starts out rockin’ and then quickly gets a bit crazy before starting a long, slow, mellow descent. You know, like a trip. The title, which derives itself from the song of the same name, is obvious. The cover photo was taken in Mainz Germany in October 2017 and then played with.

Hypnotica EP (fdrec 014)

Released 12/8/17
The eighth single of the series, this track from Nevermind The Shadows was always destined to be a single, even back when it was recorded for 1995’s 4:20pm album. I can still visualize my idea for the video whenever I hear this song. Rather than just dropping a two-track single, I wanted to make this release a bit more special. As with its parent album, this EP features two songs that originally appeared on 4:20pm as well as one song that was written for it but never recorded until now. A solid, goofy, fun little EP. One day I will make that video.

Pretending To Fly (fdm096)

Released 12/15/17
Originally this catalogue slot was to be occupied by a record called This Green Thing. But then I messed up when creating the artwork for that record and so the release schedule got a bit switched up. The songs that make up this album were part of a massive writing project I undertook in 2005, which resulted in the album, The Agony Of Self Defeat, four EP’s, and a whole bunch of stuff left in the vault. Just as that writing session had gone awry, when I set out to record this album, 27 songs wound up being recorded before the sessions got derailed by the holidays. The answer to that was to divide it into two albums. This particular set features all the big songs, the pop songs, the memorable songs, the serious songs, the singles, and arranges it all into an album that is just astounding. Most of the songs on this set had once featured on one of the aforementioned releases while three of them are getting their first shot here. The album title was actually one that had been slated for a different project and repurposed for this set, while the cover photo was taken at Vigeland Sculpture Park, in Oslo Norway, in February 2017.

This Green Thing (fdm097)

Released 12/22/17
In late 1992 and early 1993, I hit a particular breakthrough in my songwriting, one that inspired me to actually start making albums, and one that inspired me to assume the reins of the blues band I was in and turn that into Carpe Diem. The youthful naiveté of my early songs was gone, but I had yet to hit my stride as a writer. It was that weird transition period that every young writer goes through. And the result was a bank of pretty interesting songs, especially when revisited. Lots of long songs, lots of different directions, lots of vibes that would remain fixed in their era. Most of the songs on this set were originally recorded for my first three albums, and most of them were played by Carpe Diem, at one point or another. For some reason that I can’t explain, this particular batch of songs has always reminded me of the color green, hence the album title. The cover photo was taken at Creek’s Edge Winery, in Lovettsville VA in November 2017.

Jump Rope (fdm098)
To be released 1/4/18

As mentioned before, 27 songs were recorded during the sessions that resulted in the album, Pretending To Fly. The quick fix was to split them into two albums. The obvious "big guns" were released on that album while the quirkier numbers were reserved for this set. If you imagine both albums as a giant version of a 7" single, the first album is the smash hit a-side while this album is the quirky b-side. Only a couple of songs from this set have ever seen release before, and all of these recordings are brand new. This is a fun record that’s a bit different from the others on this list and is one that I dig a lot. The title of the album came from a long brainstorm session, to come up with a playful title. The cover is a closeup of a very old piece of paper. I was going for something simple and vintage and, while it did not turn out exactly as I had envisioned, it still turned out pretty cool. It allows the music to speak for itself.

The Wall / Kingdom’s Castle (fdrec 015)

To be released 1/5/18

The ninth single of the series, this track from Just For Kicks quickly re-entered my consciousness and became quite a favorite. One of the better songs to come from my formative songwriting years. So, naturally, I paired this with one of the more ridiculous songs from that era. When I originally wrote this song I’m pretty sure I was trying to make it sound like Dio or something but it of course came out sounding like a shittier version of myself. That said, I had fun recording this b-side.

House On Beacon Hill EP

To be released 1/19/18

The tenth single of the series, this track from Watching The Clouds was a song that was originally written for Ebb and we spent more time working on this song than just about any other. And then, for some reason, we abandoned it. Newly resurrected, this is one of the highlights of one of my favorite albums of this campaign. The b-sides come from that same 1998-2000 batch of songs and feature the quirky "Two Fences" and "Another Dumb Pop Song" (which, at one point, was to be the single). This is a fun EP.

Monalise EP

To be released February 2018

The eleventh single of the series, this track from Alice And Other Stories is a banger and one that I am glad to make a single. "Unwound" is a new recording of a song that was written around that same time and originally appeared on the Flying Dachshund Music album while the trippy "Indian Spring" is a holdover from the 2011-13 sessions and is making its debut here.

　

So that brings us up to date. Without a doubt, the busiest release year I have ever had. One of the busiest release years anyone has ever had, I might suspect. The downside to this, of course, is that no one is really paying attention to these records aside from just a couple of people. Because it’s just too much, and I know it is too much. But, at least at this point, I’m not terribly concerned with that. This project will continue at least through 2018 and I have a lot of really cool albums planned. And even after that, there is still so much material to address. This project could go on for years.

At some point in 2018, I do want to take some time out and write some new songs. It’s been a while since I’ve written and it might be cool to do something like that. I might play one or two isolated shows in 2018 but I think the live-hiatus will generally be sticking. I am also considering releasing the entire BG catalogue online, perhaps on its own Bandcamp site. I may also create a Bandcamp profile for pre-2008 FDM releases, and I also intend on updating the live recordings on the Internet Archive. And, you know, record 14 new albums and release a bunch more singles.

I have long since released the notion that I am going to be a big star or highly-respected musical artist. I am not making these records to be in search of anything like that. I am pretty accepting of the fact that, unless I wind up very lucky, I am on the back half of my life. While it still makes sense to push forward, it also makes sense to work on my legacy. A project like this allows me to do both. One of these days, be it within a few years or maybe decades from now, someone will stumble upon my hundreds of albums and maybe they will be inspired. That’s all I can hope for. Unless someone wants to give me buckets of cash…

Radio HANS Top 40 - 2017

There was a pretty decent amount of exciting new music that came around in 2017. Some of it happened in the mainstream, but most of it - and the best of it - happened well below the surface, in the lesser-known areas of the music world.  What follows is a list of forty of the songs that most moved me in 2017. Some of them come from blockbuster artists; some of them don't; all of them are awesome. This list is whittled down from a much larger cache of songs and there are a lot of songs that probably should have made this list but didn't. But it is what it is and this is one hell of a group of kickass songs. You can find all on Spotify and I suggest you do.

The Suburbs – Lost You On The Dance Floor
The Strike – Ghosts Of My Hometown
Blitzen Trapper – Wild And Reckless
The Strypes – Consequence

Arkells – Savannah

The Charlatans – Plastic Machinery

Bent Knee – Holy Ghost

Chimney – Walk Don’t Run The Relationship – Break Me Open

Good Old War – The River

Depeche Mode – Where’s The Revolution

Twiddle – Amidst The Myst

TOPS – Further

Husky – Late Night Store

Ninet Tayeb – Child

We Are Monroe – Mind Games

Swear And Shake – Tear Us Apart

Lost Balloons – Change Your Mind

Alan Doyle – Summer Summer Night

Ceylan Ertem – Zalim

Josh Ritter – Showboat

The Sunset Spirit – Stand Tall

The Popguns – Sugar Kisses

Sol Heilo – Killing Karma

Triptides – Summer Is Over

Color Film – Restless Summer

Thea Gilmore – Reconcile

Kim Seviour – Chiasma

Ryan Adams – Do You Still Love Me?

Ride – Lateral Alice

Secret Colours – Changes In Nature

Banditos – Fine Fine Day

Miranda Lee Richards – Ashes And Seeds

Overlake – Unnamed November

Matthew Sweet – Trick

Keaton Stomberg – The Simple Life

Phoenix – Goodbye Soliel

Los Colognes – Flying Apart

Caytana – Too Old For This

Offa Rex – Blackleg Miner

https://open.spotify.com/user/1163811813/playlist/13bxaNKNSQnsVT9uVWHzBG?si=a_1RgrEeRIu0ZRysFsb31Q

Top 17 Of '17

Okay, so I kinda forgot about this blog for a while and was really spending my time on other writing projects and assignments (and the 14 of my own albums that I recorded this year) but I’m trying to get back on track and so I figured, especially since my monthly Old Town Crier column has come to an end, that the best way to re-launch this blog is with my annual year-end best-of list. And there’s some good ones on here.

The world was a crazy place in 2017 but crazy worlds make for good music. And this year, there was quite a bit of that. There were also some big disappointments (ahem….U2) but for every weak link there are ten solid chains. Some of these records impressed me, some excited me, and some blew me away in such a manner that they will be albums that stick with me for life.

Without further adieu, my Top 17 of ’17:

The Suburbs: Hey Muse

A few years ago, Minneapolis legends, The Suburbs, returned from a long layoff with an album called Si Sauvage and that record was good, it was mature, it was the record that you would expect a veteran band to come back with. However, that record in no way prepares you for the brilliance that is Hey Muse! Every song on this album is a work of art. This album is such a deep nod to the 80s, from where this band came, but it sounds fresh as well. While the end result is their own sound and vibe, this album carries shades of Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cure, Duran Duran, David Bowie, Psychedelic Furs, and much more. I admit, I was not aware of this band prior to hearing this album and, after listening to several other albums by 80s-inspired new bands, I listened to this and thought it was yet another new band. I was really impressed at just how well they nailed it. Once I realized that they were an older band, I found myself even more impressed, at just how solid this album is. Not just solid for a veteran band, but for any band.

A bit lean with just ten tracks, every song on this album is spot-on. Catchy, clever, perfectly written and executed. It makes me wonder just how many songs did not make the cut – no one stumbles on ten songs this perfect. The title track was an NPR favorite this summer and is an exquisite way to kick off such an accomplished album, but my money is with "Lost You On The Dance Floor", which is my favorite single of the year. A more perfect jam, I defy you to find.

As soon as I heard this album I knew two things:

It would be the first listen of literally hundreds.


It would top my year-end best-of.

Check…..and check. You absolutely must hear this record.

And now, continuing in no particular order…..

Depeche Mode: Spirit

Growing up, I was never the biggest Depeche Mode fan and I could probably rattle off a lot of reasons why but there’s really no point to that. But this year, I gave a listen to their latest release and….holy shit. Few records, even the ones on this very list, succeed in doing what it’s trying to do as well as this album. Crazy times call for a big message and, unlike U2 (whose head is firmly planted up its collective ass), Depeche Mode is here to deliver it. This isn’t an album – this is a statement. "Going Backwards" and the brilliant "Where’s The Revolution" set the stage for an album that pretty much says absolutely everything that needs to be said in this day and age. For me to try and sum it up here is to miss the point – you just need to fucking listen to this record. Musically, they are more on-point than ever. It’s dark, it’s clever, and it’s grand. It is clearly Depeche Mode but it also sounds fresh and it sounds modern, and it does so without the appearance of trying too hard (again, U2, you blew it). Spirit is a late-career masterpiece and one of the most important albums of 2017.

Josh Ritter: Gathering

One of the most significant songwriters of his generation, Josh Ritter eases into his 40’s with this set of modern, dusty cowboy songs. Hot on the heels of his acclaimed collaboration with Bob Weir, last year’s Blue Mountain, Josh gets reflective and remains as joyous as ever. Aided, as always, by his trusty Royal City Band, these songs are brought to life with exquisite care and caution. Classic country grooves come about on songs like "Showboat", "Cry Softly", and "Feels Like Lightning", while others, such as "Strangers", "Myrna Loy", and "Thunderbolt’s Goodnight" quietly rage, like a distant thunder. And then there’s "Dreams", one of Josh’s most frantic, explosive numbers, and a total burner on stage. And there’s "Train Go By" which bears a resemblance to "Million Reasons" by Lady Gaga, but in all the best ways. Elsewhere, Bob Weir returns the favor, sharing the mic with Josh on the beautiful and poignant "When Will I Be Changed". Whether or not this is the best Josh Ritter album is neither here nor there. This is a man who is in for the long haul and this is just another beautiful stop on his long journey.

Twiddle: Plump

I will suffer no shame in saying that Twiddle is a goddamned ridiculous name for a band. However, it is also a pretty fitting name for this band. So I’m okay with that. Darlings of the 4^th generation jam-band scene, Twiddle lays down a vibe that sounds like (a far sunnier) Dave Matthews Band crossed with Blues Traveler, with a dash of Phish, a shot of funk, a toke of reggae, and a wee bit of pretty much everything else. Their third studio album, Plump, is a mammoth, 28-song double album that runs well over two hours. As with most double albums, there is a fair bit of filler in here (just what the fuck is the deal with "Juggernaut" anyway?!) but the strength of so much of this material more than makes up for the various mis-steps. In fact, the first dozen songs on this album are utterly flawless - just one positive vibe after another. Songs that, while not all that stylistically diverse, are very well written and executed, and full of lyrics that are beaming with positivity. Musically, these guys really have it too. Mihali Savoulidis is not only a great singer and writer but his guitar skills are brutal, and Ryan Dempsey’s piano adds a stunning shimmer to these tracks. The interplay of these four musicians is the band’s strongest attribute, as is generally the case in this particular scene, but songs are the key to any band and this band, and this album in particular, has songs. Great songs. So many that it’s hard to single out a favorite, though when "Amidst The Myst" comes on, I can feel it deep in my soul, and in my body, head to toe. There are a couple of weird tracks in the back half of the album but songs like "Nicodemus Portulay" and "The Fantastic Tale Of Rickey Snickle" more than make up for it. In a world so full of negativity, a band like Twiddle is more than just necessary. It is vital.

The Charlatans: Different Days

The sole survivors of the Madchester scene, the Charlatans have kept their jam going for almost three decades and remain as fantastic as ever. This is a band that has gone through many stylistic phases over its career but is unique enough that they always sound just like themselves. Their 13^th album celebrates that diversity by offering detours that recall some of their most classic sounds, while pushing the band ever forward. "Plastic Machinery" continues the trend of throwing down strong singles while the title track is a haunting groove that makes you want to move, and "There Will Be Chances" sounds like it could be a lost outtake from Between 10^th & 11^th. There is a bit of an electro feel to some of this material but never comes across as overtly so - just enough to elevate these tracks to greater heights. One of the most reliable bands in the world – how many other bands can deliver such a strong album, 28 years into their career?

Sol Heilo: Skinhorse Playground

Taking advantage of Katzenjammer’s hiatus, multi-instrumentalist Sol Heilo delivers her debut solo album and it is one of the most accomplished debut albums to come around in a long time. On the surface, it has kind of a folk-pop feel, but there are several deep levels to this album, which finds Sol moving far beyond the overtly-European influences that her main band thrives upon. The singles from this album – "America" and "Killing Karma" – are definitely the high points of this set but the other songs are just as necessary. The only issue I have with this album is that, at just nine songs, it is far too short. But I’ll take nine songs over no songs. This album is a gem.

Anathema: The Optimist

For a band like Anathema to release an album called The Optimist, it sounds like an oxymoron. Especially when the album in question is one of the darkest and densest albums the band has ever created. No stranger to doom and gloom, Anathema has been enjoying a massive amount of success lately, over a quarter century into their career. Their fifth album of this decade finds them returning to the scene of the front cover of 2001’s A Fine Day To Exit and speculating how that bleak story continues. There is little joy in the themes of Anathema’s music but their songs are pure majestic beauty nonetheless. Musically, this album takes some of the dark electronic textures of 2014’s Distant Satellites and returns it to a more organic setting and the result is Anathema doing what they do best. Vincent Cavanagh and the exquisite Lee Douglas continue to be one of the greatest lead vocal duos in all of music, especially Douglas, who further cements her position in this band. Whether this album surpasses the triumph that was 2012’s Weather Systems is up for debate, but this is still one of Anathema’s most accomplished works and one of the best albums to come out this year.

　

Kim Seviour: Recovery Is Learning

Ex-Touchstone vocalist Kim "Elkie" Seviour makes a triumphant debut with this beautiful disc, produced by the genius that is John Mitchell, and chocked full of songs of hope and redemption. Sidelined severely by fibromyalgia, Elkie was forced to leave Touchstone a few years ago after several acclaimed albums. During that time, she completed her degree, but also suffered from crippling mental illness, which she has been very open and active about. This aptly-named album chronicles her journey to recovery through nine dynamic movements. "Chiasma", which opens the album, is one of my favorite singles of this year, while "Connect" is a propulsive act of beauty, and "The Dive" is as good as anything Touchstone ever did, if not better. Some of the tracks retain the heaviness of Touchstone while others introduce a more ethereal side, and Elkie is in the finest voice of her career. As with everything John Mitchell lends his talent to, the quality of work on display here is unparalleled. Truly one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard all year.

Guided By Voices: How Do You Spell Heaven

The second album into the most recent reconstitution of Guided By Voices (and their second album of 2017) is one of the best to bear the GbV name , possibly since 2004’s Half Smiles Of The Decomposed. The key to this one is that Bob Pollard really brought his A-game here. The problem with so many of the 2012-14 "classic lineup" reunion albums was that Bob seemed to be holding back his best material for his solo albums (which, honestly, during that period, were among the best work he ever did). And this year’s double-album, August By Cake, found the strongest material supplied by the other members of the band. This album, however, features nothing but Bob songs and it’s clear that it was just saving it all up for this one. As usual, the songs here go all over the map - they even get a little jazzy at times - and I would not call this a flawless album, but it is damn good.

Ryan Adams: Prisoner

Written and recorded in the aftermath of Ryan’s much-publicized divorce from Mandy Moore, Prisoner is the breakup album to end all breakup albums. The songs rock and they find Adams moving further into a classic vibe for much of this record, but the songs are heartbreaking, songs that reveal a lost and broken man. Even Blood On The Tracks had some hope in it, some anger. Prisoner is an album that is all pain. And while usually an album so full of pain ends with a hopeful upward swing, this album just sinks deeper and deeper until ending with the ominous "We Disappear". The upside of all of this – really, the only upside – is that pain usually yields the best, or at least the most compelling material. And that is most certainly the case here. Not that Ryan Adams has ever made a bad record (even the DJ Reggie albums were kind of cool) but this album, one that finds him baring his soul and scars for the world, is among his finest work.

　

　

Good Old War: Part Of Me

Ordinarily I would not include an EP on a list such as this. But Good Old War is no ordinary band. And this EP is one of the most special things on this list. Most of Good Old War’s records are all-killer-no-filler and this EP, at a solid five songs, is the textbook example of that. Every song on this is vital to their catalogue. "The River" is one of the best songs, if not the best song, I have heard from anyone all year, and the title track is one of the most beautiful songs this band has ever done. There are a million bands out there, doing a million different things, but Good Old War….the world is a far better place for them existing. Truly one of the most precious bands making music today, I feel privileged for being hip to them (thanks to Josh Ritter).

Blitzen Trapper: Wild And Reckless

Earlier this year, Blitzen Trapper put on a semi-autobiographical stage production that ran for a couple of months and they released a very limited edition soundtrack to that show, which was called Wild And Reckless, and it featured mostly new songs, along with a few older ones. I was one of the lucky few that snagged a copy of that vinyl and it was one of my go-to spins of the summer. Later in the year, they took most of those new songs and combined them with additional material for their 9^th studio album and then compounded and confused the issue by titling that Wild And Reckless as well. While it was the limited edition soundtrack version that really pulled my strings this year, the proper album release also deserves inclusion on this list. There are a lot of bands out there nowadays that have a classic vibe but Blitzen Trapper continues to prove that they are the real deal. Their songs feel real. They are songs that you can relate to, and are songs that make you think. As a writer and a singer, Eric Earley comes off as a cross between Springsteen, Petty, and Dylan but, unlike the thousands who draw from that well, he never sounds like a put-on. When he sings, it is legit and you better damn sight listen. And, with songs as strong as "No Man’s Land" and the wistful title track, it’s hard to look away. This band is a gift and they just keep getting better.

Wolf Alice: Visions Of A Life

One of the most explosive bands to come from Britain as of late, Wolf Alice is the closest thing the new generation has to My Bloody Valentine, and they do a bang-up job at it. Their second album finds them growing, both as a band and also in terms of sheer volume. Not that all of their music is pure sonic assault, but man do they know how to lay it down. Ellie Rowsell is a force to be reckoned with, especially on the punch-in-the-face that is "Yuk Foo". Elsewhere they explore angular pop on songs like "Beautifully Unconventional" and the dreamy "Don’t Delete The Kisses", and they explore dark space on "Sky Musings", and the epic "St. Purple And Green" . This young band does it all with a keen sense of command but really their greatest strength lies within the layers of shattering guitar hiss and a loud thrash. While Wolf Alice is a band whose power is best displayed on stage, they do manage to capture that lightning in a bottle from time to time and you can find that lighting here.

　

　

Liam Gallagher: As You Were

It was long accepted that the songwriting pen of Noel Gallagher was the true heart of Oasis, while his younger brother Liam was just the ugly mug that conveyed the band’s message. But then somewhere along the line, Liam learned how to write songs. And really good ones too. While his songs graced the last few Oasis albums, as well as the two albums that Beady Eye put out, this is Liam’s first solo album and he really delivers the goods. The album-opening "Wall Of Glass" is one of the best singles of the year, and the album never lets up from there. It’s clear that Liam still has a chip on his shoulder and there are a lot of songs here are make no attempt to hide the references to Noel. Like the heartbreak that we discussed earlier, vitriol makes for good tunes too. And this record is full of them. Good on ya, Liam, for moving out of your brother’s shadow, and for actually pulling it off.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds: Who Built The Moon?

One positive thing about the breakup of Oasis was that you got two solid bands out of the deal (like when Uncle Tupelo split up). Noel Gallagher formed his High Flying Birds while the rest of Oasis put out two albums under the name Beady Eye before Liam split that band to go solo. Each Gallagher brother has now led the charge on three albums and every one of them has been a scorcher. While Liam’s albums have showed him refining his skills as a songwriter, Noel’s albums have found him pushing the envelope as an artist, often moving far beyond his comfort zone, but rarely faltering, if ever. The first HFB album was a statement of purpose. The second was proof that the first was not a fluke. This third album establishes this band as a real thing. While it’s clear that these songs came from the pen of Noel, this does not sound like a lost Oasis album. In fact, much of it feels like the kind of album that the young Gallaghers would have taken the absolute piss out of. Especially "Keep On Reaching", with its horns and backing vocals. But, man, this record cooks.

 

Bent Knee: Land Animal

Bent Knee’s fourth album finds these Boston art-rockers coming further into their own, and reigning triumphantly. One of the most eclectic, impossible-to-pigeonhole bands I have ever had the pleasure to listen to, Bent Knee is one of those bands that sounds like nothing else in the world. They are jazzy, proggy, ethereal, noisy, catchy, obtuse, heavy, light….often within the same song. And, in Courtney Swain, they possess one of the most dynamic vocalists to ever step in front of a mic. An expressive vocalist, she can swing, she can whisper, and she can wail like a thousand banshees. Every song on this album is compelling but "Holy Ghost" has been the one that I just cannot get enough of.

　

Chuck Berry: Chuck

One of the original, and greatest, architects of rock ‘n’ roll issues his final album and it is a doozy. Announced on the guitarist’s 90^th birthday, he sadly passed away before this album could see release, but he leaves the world with one of the strongest records of his career, or at least since his 1950’s heyday. His first album in 38 years finds Chuck doing what Chuck did best – being Chuck. His signature guitar licks color just about every track, and he sounds more energetic than he had in years. All but two of the songs are originals and they all have the same fire that propelled his original offerings into the upper echelons of popular music. It is a shame that Chuck did not live to see the album’s release, and the level of success it had. You don’t see a lot of 90-year-olds rock it like this. So long, Chuck. Thanks for, well, everything.

So that’s it. 17 reasons to keep on spinning those black circles. There were more, but these are the records that moved me the most this year – though I am sure there is at least one super obvious record that came out in like February or something that I am totally forgetting about. And this list is totally subjective. It’s not necessarily the best albums of the year, because there is no best. But these seventeen albums…they are ones that blew me away, ones that I just cannot get enough of, and ones that you totally should hear.

Sadly, we must pay tribute to the many musical heroes we lost this year – Chuck Berry, Tom Petty, Gord Downie, Fats Domino, Gregg Allman, Chris Cornell, John Wetton, J. Geils, Al Jarreau, Pat DiNizio, Tommy Keene, David Cassidy, Malcolm Young, Walter Becker, Glen Campbell, Butch Trucks, Charles Bradley, Grant Hart, Holger Czukay, Allan Holdsworth, Col. Bruce Hampton (ret.), and so many more. You may be gone but, thanks to your records and your legacy, you will never be forgotten. Play forever.