Top 50 Albums of The Year
Part 3! WOO! It's time to see what has made it into the 20's and I don't think there's many shocks here, but why would I because I wrote it. Also, shout out to the 2 Flying Vinyl alumni in this list, just proves how important it is to harness that opportunity, can only imagine that helped them. So without further ado, at numero 30....
30. INHEAVEN - INHEAVEN
I first discovered INHEAVEN on Twitter earlier this year, I tried to get them on board for an interview but to no avail. But they proved that they didn't need my promo by smashing out my 30th best album of the year. The album is dark and really heavy, in some places it ventures into grunge and others it's quite poppy. But it mixes together well, and it's an enjoyable album.
29. Haim - Something To Tell You
I feel that this album is massively underrated, no one is really talking about this at the moment and it's unbelievable. Their first received so much praise and love and guess what, this album is much much better in so many ways. It's better produced, more coherent and better written. From the get go you can tell this album is more personal to the trio and contains much more personality. A fantastic sophomore album, get listening people!
I gave this album just a little too much praise when it came out, and my review read like I was heralding the second coming. However, it's still The Killers' best album since Hot Fuss. With some absolutely phenomenal singles including none other than Annie Mac's Hottest Record of The Year 'The Man'. A song that I still bump to this day, and will happily sing along to. Shout out to the boxing inspired track on the album as well, it all made for an enjoyable listen.... I just haven't really listened to it all that much since release.
Arcade Fire returned this year with an amazing concept of the Everything Now corporation, something they took way too far and have since apologised for and stopped doing. However, it's remarkable they've made an album that's so diverse and wavering in sound. Within this album there's a plethora of genres mixed in, including some jazz, blues, rock, pop and everything else. It's like the melting pot of music. Tunes like Everything Now, Creature Comfort and Electric Blue elevate this album to where it is on this list. Let's just not talk about that Infinite_Content song...
26. Blaenovon - That's Your Lot
I discovered Blaenovon after chancing upon Orthodox Man on a Spotify playlist after an album had finished (I hate that Spotify does that by the way). I then went and listened to the album, and whilst Orthodox Man is by far and away the best song on here, there's so much depth to Blaenovon that it's hard not to find a song that you like on here, no matter what music you're into.
25. Superfood - Bambino
Superfood. I absolutely love this band, they're so unique and so loveable at the same time. Their music is so absorbingly cheery, it's hard to physically turn it off. And not to mention, their production is always so magnificent. And after seeing them support Wolf Alice in November I started to like them even more, I'll still be listening to this album in 2018 and I hope you will be too.
24. The National - Sleep Well Beast
The album that introduced me to The National. I know I'm late to the party, but they're just one of them bands that I've never gotten round to listening to. Then I put Sleep Well Beast on, and then again and again. It's such a chilled out album, I genuinely think I could listen to this album forever and never get bored of it. However, it sits so low because as a project it lacks any tonal shifts and it's very 'safe' as a whole. But still absolutely bloody brilliant nonetheless
23. Alt-J - Relaxer
I was so harsh on this album in my review, but you have to give out some tough love sometimes. I was SO excited for this. Alt-J are probably one of my favourite bands out there at the moment, and this project just falls below the bar they've already set themselves in my opinion. But, there's still some absolute belters on here, including 'Deadcrush' which is some of that classic Alt-J darkness and 'In Cold Blood' is an exact representation of how I wanted this album to sound.
If you're looking for the album after a heartbreak then it's right here. Stevie's vocals are so unique and so emotionally raw that it's hard to not relate to the songs, even if they have nothing to do with your current situation. Never Be, Without You and Prey are the show stealers here. An album that makes me excited for Stevie's future And if you're going to see her live then embrace it, because she's actually better live in my opinion.
Admit it, you were expecting to see this here were you? If you read my review then you'll know that I gave it a 5. And whilst I still kind of stand by that, I've grown to enjoy the half of the album I didn't like as much. Especially 'Kiwi' which I can never get out of my head once I've listened to it. And now I'm writing about it it's stuck in there again. And of course it contains song of the year contender 'Sign of The Times' a beautifully majestic piano ballad. So it fully deserves to be 21.
Top 50 Albums of The Year