Top 50 Albums of The Year
First and foremost, thank you to everyone who has read my blog this year, KMMR has grown phenomenally. And a special thank you to every band who I've had the pleasure of interviewing, it really has been a magical and interesting experience. This is just the beginning but the end of my top 50. And here it is. My top 10 albums of the year. This is a pretty phenomenal list of albums if I do say so myself. Including some legends, some debut albums and only one rap album. (It's been a terrible year for rap). Throughout this list it's been a wild ride of genres and this top ten is no different. At number 10...
I saw these guys live a few months back. They were truly special, one of the most energetic and pitch perfect live bands I've ever seen. Within this album the group of Swedes have produced such a unique and fulfilling sound. In my interview with them they discussed the amount of time and ideas that were ploughed into this album, and it really shows in the finished product. Notable tracks on this album are 'Future Lover' & 'Worried Times'. A criminally underrated band and I hope tat 2018 shoots them to super stardom, I can't wait to see them live again!
9. Noel Gallagher - Who Built The Moon?
The other Gallagher brother. Liam has the attitude and the bangers but Noel has the melody and the ability. I was worried about this album when I heard 'Holy Mountain' but that's the definition of grower if there ever was one. This is such a perfect evolution of sound for Noel. Utilising synthesizers and his higher pitched voice. Instrumentals like 'Fort Knox' and 'The End' even cause a toe tapping. But it's 'The Man Who Built The Moon' and 'Dead In The Water' that take the prize as show stealers, with them two being everything that makes one of the best songwriters there's ever been. And he's still yet to release a bad solo album.
8. Royal Blood - How Did We Get So Dark?
What a band Royal Blood are, there's only two of them and the noise and complete sound they make is absolutely phenomenal. Their first album was quite so-so to me, I didn't think it was as good as it could be. But THIS album is a completely different story, I wasn't expecting anything from this album. But when I put it on I was invested, it's so dark and brooding. But every single song is so well written it's hard not to just love this heavy and brash album.
Logic is one of the most talented rappers out right now, and that's how he's claimed my rap album of the year. As far as concept albums go, I'm all for them. So Logic's albums going that step further and interconnecting themselves is perfect for me, it's intriguing and it keeps me gripped throughout the whole thing. And with the skits, the most important part is that I never get bored of them, ever. Not to mention, I think that Logic has become a more accomplished songwriter on this album, backed up by the fact that '1-800' has become such an important hit for Logic. I'm excited to see how this set of albums finishes.
I absolutely bloody love this album, just as I do each of the top 5. And I'm not even sure how this album has found itself down at number 6. And correct me if I'm wrong but it's only one of 2 albums I've given a 10 this year. Something that I'm not going to give out easily. And there's nothing I can add to this album that I didn't already say in the album review. The XX really outdid themselves on this album and it's one of the most prolific and wholesome albums I've ever heard. Because it came out so early in the year though, I think I've over played it in comparison to those that have made the top 5.
What an album this is. It's emotional on so many levels, it's witty and it's beautiful. Marika Hackman is one of the most talented and inspiring singer songwriters I've heard in years. Tracks like 'Cigarette' and 'My Lover Cindy' are so contrasting in sound yet they stick to the same thematic. The track 'Boyfriend' is particularly special because explores the dynamic of a girl secretly having a relationship with a woman behind her boyfriends back. That woman, of course, being Marika. But she mocks the boyfriend because why does he care? she's only an inferior woman? she can't love like a man can! This direct attack on patriarchal tendencies and norms is both hard hitting and hilarious.
The album opens with the line "The c*nt stunk of skunk as he grabbed me by the neck" what more could you possibly want from an album?! Ratboy's debut album is something special to me, because when he first hit the scene, I didn't like him. There was no originality or spark that got me interested. But he's openly said he took his time with this album, scrapped a lot of songs from the album that was very nearly released and now we have SCUM. It's an album that introduced me to a very unique and dynamic character, Ratboy. Someone who's annoyed that the political world doesn't represent him, or that people sit on their arse all day moaning about people sitting on their arse all day watching Jeremy Kyle. The deluxe edition of this album includes a very comical radio host between songs, something that adds a new dimension to the album over the top of the story of SCUM, the escaped convict. The latter of the stories isn't really explored and I can't help but feel that's from the scraped initial album. But a fantastic album nonetheless, and a stark debut for the Essex singer.
Lorde's 2nd album set the world alight. You'd be hard pressed to fin a person who listened to this album and didn't like it. Lorde has that perfect appeal where she attracts the mainstream for songs like 'Green Light' yet doesn't alienate the hipsters who particularly hate the mainstream. One of the most aspiring things about this album is the graft. Lorde left for so long after her debut album, went away and perfect all the problems with the first album and crafted what is quite frankly, a perfect album. There isn't a single bad song on here, ranging from 'Hard Feelings' to 'The Louvre'. Banger after banger after ballad. It's the slower, introverted moments that attracted my attention at first though. On 'Liability' Lorde opens her soul and we discover the emotions of a famous woman who is still just a teenager and is emotionally unstable as a part of it. This album has its highs and it certainly doesn't have its lows.
Another debut album?? Who said bands are dead? Oh wait it was Serge in Kasabian. Well, Serge, maybe you just aren't looking in the right places because there's so much fantastic music out there at the moment and there definitely isn't a shortage of bands. The Amazons are one of the most exciting bands out at the moment. Their niche is that they don't have one. They sit within a genre that is full to brim, flowing over almost. But The Amazons are just so good at it as demonstrated on songs like 'In My Mind' and 'Junk Food Forever'. The latter of which is actually 2 years old and yet it still sounds as if it was released this year. This is my debut album theory. A band has their whole life to release a debut album, to craft an album that feels personal and that they're happy with. After that they tour the album non-stop the label expect a good second album to be ready. And most of the time it's disappointing. I digress, The Amazons produced a great album and a personal favourite is 'Palace'. The wondrous ballad that closes the album, it's hard hitting, emotional and I feel the genuine rawness in his voice. Lovely.
Here it is. Declan McKenna. My album of the year. Ever since its release I had absolutely no doubt that it would find itself in this spot in the list, I just love everything about this album. It's so emotionally raw to me. I listened to this album pretty much non-stop through a tough time in my life and 'The Kids Don't Wanna Come Home' had that uplift that consistently lifted my mood. McKenna is openly a huge fan of Abba, and I can hear those influences in the upbeat tunes on here. 'Brazil' is a particularly special tune as well because it explores the Brazil World Cup 2014 and the effect it had on those in favelas and the poor districts of Brazil and how they were uprooted and moved to make way for the World Cup and FIFA's corrupt parties. Declan wrote this when he was 16. SIXTEEN. That's madness. 'Listen To Your Friends' and 'Make Me Your Queen' are the other tracks that are exquisitely made. The latter of which including a high pitched note to hit, which he does perfectly. And there's so much emotion, truth and general talent on show throughout this album. With Declan it appears that his talents are endless. I love this album, and I hope you do too. After all you did vote it as your album of the year in my Twitter poll.
Top 50 Albums of The Year