Top 20 albums of 2017

It's the big one! This has been a bit delayed by the late release of BROCKHAMPTON's Saturation III, but I'll be damned if I miss out a great album. This has been another decent, if not outstanding year for music, but as with any year there was a fair share of great projects, so let's go though my favourite 20!

20. Sandy (Alex G) - Rocket

Despite having an awkward and sketchy artist name (and I thought it couldn't get worse than 'Car Seat Headrest'), Alex G produced a breezy, atmospheric album that is mainly folk but has some entertaining surprises. 'Sportstar' is a vocoded piano ballad, and comes right after the Death Grips-esque 'Brick'. This song in particular is at complete odds with the teenage emotion of 'Bobby' and 'Proud', but it means this album is never predictable, and all great.

19. Creeper - Eternity In Your Arms

Creeper is one of the more interesting bands to come out of the UK in the past few years, and seem ready to bring some bombast and theatrics back! 'Eternity in Your Arms' is a collection of 10 fittingly gothic tunes that follow a loose storyline, but the real appeal are the energy of 'Poison Pens' and 'Suzanne', the sing-along of 'Black Rain' and 'I Choose to Live' and the pure self-aware hilarity of 'Misery'. This is sure to be my go-to Halloween album for some time.

18. Sampha - Process

Few artists released albums so difficult to classify this year as Sampha. 'Plastic 100°' and 'Reverse Faults' make a good case for calling it electronic, 'Blood on Me' has the chorus of an alternative R&B song, but a surprisingly funky bassline in the verses, while the instant classic 'No-one Knows Me Like the Piano' is more of a singer-songwriter tune. Either way, this is an inspired, beautiful and textured debut. One mercury award later, I can't wait to see what Sampha does next.

17. St. Vincent - MASSEDUCTION

I'd never really been a fan of St. Vincent before 'MASSEDUCTION', as although I loved 'Birth in Reverse' something had always stopped me wanting to listen to her self-titled 2014 effort. This has changed things completely, and at this point the purposefully tacky cover art is burned into my brain. A pop concept album with a real brain, this is an album about romance in all it's forms, from the heartbreak of 'New York' and 'Slow Disco' to the fetishism of 'Saviour' and the title track, and all in an innovative synth/guitar sound. 

16. Neil Cicierega - Mouth Moods

It's weird to think that one of my most-listened to and undoubtedly one of my most enjoyed albums of the year is a meme mashup album, but 'Mouth Moods' is so good it may just go down as one of the all-time best mashup albums. 'ACVC' and 'Smooth' are hilarious the first time you hear them, but later come to show how similar stylistically opposite songs can be. That's not to mention the 'meme collage' madness of 'The Starting Line' and 'Annoyed Grunt', which seem to introduce a new sample every few seconds. best of all though are where Cicierega edits songs to actively improve them, turning 'In the End' by Linkin Park into something that would fit onto the Mario Kart soundtrack and turning 'Wild Wild West' by Will Smith into an actual banger.


15. The Mountain Goats - Goths

I always love it when I leave an album feeling like I've learnt something, and 'Goths' delivers this in spades. The songs here tell intriguing and charming stories about the goth lifestyle, for which the band clearly has a great affection for. From the bombast of 'Rain in Soho' to the joy of 'Wear Black' and 'Unicorn Tolerance', this is a concept album that proves there are hundreds of dormant ideas for songs, and that you can make a compelling album about anything if this level of humour and melody is incorporated.








14. King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard - Everything

A substantial amount of bands have only ever released four or less albums. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard released four significantly different concept albums in 2017 alone, with a fifth apparently planned to be released before the year is out. This could have gone totally wrong, but at the same time it's easy to see why it didn't. The saharan microtonal sounds of 'Flying Microtonal Banana' - my favourite of the four albums - are distinctly different from the end of the world psych-rock of the three-song 'Murder of The Universe', which is completely opposite from the chilled out jazz/funk of 'Sketches of Brunswick East', all of which seemed to lead up to the single song prog-rock masterwork that is 'Polygondawanaland', which was released for free with no copyright, allowing fans to use the music for whatever they want. Throughout 2017 King Gizz were a reliable source of music and memes with a clear love for their fanbase, and surely they deserve a break after LP 5!

13. Jens Lekman - Life Will See You Now

Hidden behind the terrible cover to 'Life Will See You Now' are the most upbeat, joyful pop songs of the year that helped brighten up a vaguely depressing summer. 'Festival Song' is probably the most cheerful song of the year, and it has competition from the groove of 'Wedding in Finistere', 'To Know Your Mission' and 'What's That Perfume That You Wear'. The rest of the tracklist pulls at the heartstrings with the aching perfection of 'How Can I Tell Him' and 'Our First Fight' to the surprisingly dark 'Postcard #17'.








12. King Krule - The OOZ

Out of everything released this year, this was the album that more than any other I was swallowed by. It's a bleak, depressing album that is filled with drowned, defeated passages that create an atmosphere of sadness so deep it's as if the narrator is converting the gritty English streets around him into an underwater chamber of isolation - 'Czech One', 'La Lune', 'The Cadet leaps' and the title track all build up tension, which eventually bursts into scrappy post-punk/jazz jams like 'Dum Surfer' and 'Emergency Blimp'. If you want to feel depression English-style just sit down and listen to this.






11. IDLES - Brutalism

If 'The OOZ' was depression English style, the this is anger English style! IDLES have such a raw punk energy, that you feel like you are being assaulted every time you listen threw it. Frontman Joe Talbot's vocals are maybe the most exciting I've heard in 2017, bile-filled and harsh on 'Well Done' and 'Mother' but surprisingly emotive on cuts like 'Slow Savage' and 'Exeter'. If you think punk is dead, this will revitalise your hopes, keeping the simplicity, raw production and energy of the classics but updating the song topics for the bleakness of modern-day England.







10. The Horrors - V

Another album that's easy to get lost in, 'V' presents a pitch black world of... well, horror. What really intrigues me about this project though are the lyrical themes of delusion in the digital world. 'Press Enter to Exit' and 'Point of No Reply' look at online extremism, while 'Something to Remember Me By', 'Ghost' and 'Machine' look at online ghosts, dead accounts of the gone. All in all, it's an exciting synth-driven album perfect for technophobic fans of 'Black Mirror'.









9. Kirin J. Callinan - Bravado

Few songs have brought me more joy this year than the ones on 'Bravado', which may also be the experimental album here despite it's pop stylings. This is an album where the creepy funk of 'Down 2 Hang' is followed by the pop rock of 'Live Each Day'. This is an album where pitch-shifted vocals from modern EDM are slotted into an 80s synthpop jam in 'S.A.D', and cowboy ballad 'Big Enough' turns into a call for World peace complete with a screeching cowboy drop. That's not to mention the title track 'Bravado', which is one of the most fitting and brilliant closing tracks of the year, summing up and explaining the face-pissing, dick-flashing persona Callinan adopts here. All this time, it was all bravado.



8. Remo Drive - Greatest Hits

Quor mate what you can say about Remo Drive that hasn't already been said by the man himself James Baker. Now everyone loves a some proper lads who can scream out a bit of emo while sill wearing minions shirts in their videos. You can see the influence from other bangers on this album with a wee hint of pinkerton and my name jeff rosenstock all mixin into this masterpiece. Whenever im alone in the house i like play all there songs together and scream out the few lyrics can make out. The instruments are mmmm nice with the drums going doon doon doon dun dun doon doon doon.. don don don at the start of your killing me and i cant talk about the rest of the instruments because im a drummer so i don't bother to listen to them. While im writing this im watching the cinema classic of pich perfect and i think an album of this caliber should have its own remake of pitch perfect with only this album and the live version of it and there demos before this being sung. That would be a classic movie. There is so much potential in the future albums and movies based around these three blokes and cant wait to see em boom up and become proper big boys in the music.

7. The Magnetic Fields - 50 Song Memoir

This album makes me feel old in the best possible way. Going through main architect Stephin Merritt's literal life story is incredibly entertaining, mainly because of how ordinary it seems. Nothing particularly strange happens, making this a joyful look at one normal man's history, from the cynical hilarity of 'Life Ain't All Bad' to the electric riffs of 'How to Play the Synthesiser' and 'Foxx and I'. The first half of the album is undeniably stronger than the second, but it's still full of highlights, like the goosebump inducing 'Fathers In The Clouds' and the heartbreaking 'Have You Seen It In The Snow'.






6. Run The Jewels - RTJ 3

 'RTJ 2' was my favourite album of 2014, so I had high hopes for the follow up, and when this dropped on Christmas day last year it completely delivered. The album is thematically split between top-tier bangers like 'Stay G.O.L.D' and 'Legend Has It' and more politically charged tunes - '2100', 'Talk to Me' and the revolutionary closing track 'Kill Your Masters'. Best of all is the thought-provoking and gut-wrenching 'Thursday In the Danger Room', which is easily one of the best songs Killer Mike and El-P have ever made. Overall, this was a great way to start 2017, and it has been on repeat all year.







5. Father John Misty - Pure Comedy

2017 wasn't exactly the best year for humanity, and no album seemed to predict this better than 'Pure Comedy'. Almost every song here tackles a concept that is very recent, whether its name-dropping the oculus rift on 'Total Entertainment Forever' or looking at increasingly radical and divisive politics on 'Two Wildly Different Perspectives'. Many people (including myself) slated this as boring and pretentious when it first came out, but something compelled me to keep listening. What I found was a rare album that isn't afraid to tackle huge political and philosophical themes with some of the best lyrics of the year and a biting sense of humour, with music that grows on the listener each time they listen. Brilliant, although it can also give you existential dread.

4. Lorde - Melodrama

The pop concept album has been increasingly common thanks to megastars like Beyonce, but 'Melodrama' just might be the best we've got so far this decade. This is an album where every every track is outstanding, and 'Supercut', 'Writer in the Dark', 'Perfect Places', 'Liability', 'Homemade Dynamite' and 'The Louvre' are all classics, and the rest of the tracklist glues these tracks together remarkably well. This is a startlingly mature and nuanced look at what it's like to be a party-savvy but heartbroken teenager in 2017, yet it ultimately feels like this album will last much longer than just this year.






3. BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION I, II and III

Slightly less prolific but more consistent than King Gizzard this year were BROCKHAMPTON who managed to produce 3 almost equally great albums in 2017. Saturation I is maybe the best of the 3, with 'STAR', 'GOLD' and 'MILK' all being some of my favourite songs of the year, but this can also be said of the sequels - 'JUNKY', 'SWAMP', 'QUEER' and 'SWEET' from sat II and 'BOOGIE', 'BLEACH' and 'HOTTIE' from Sat III. The sheer volume of great music they released this year is surely some kind of World record. Watching every artist in BROCKHAMPTON gradually improve over the three projects has been one of the most wholesome experiences of the year, and I hope that these boys keep up the hard work for 2018.



2. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me

It seems like every year I encounter a new 'Saddest album I've ever heard'. In 2015 it was 'Carrie & Lowell' by Sufjan Stevens, in 2016 it was 'Skeleton Tree' by Nick Cave and now it's 'A Crow Looked At Me' by Mount Eerie. This is the kind of album so powerful that it only needs to be listened to a single time, and after i initially checked it out from morbid curiosity it's haunted me. The minimally orchestrated lyrics are consistently soul-destroyingly sad from the first line to the last. That the album manages to find some kind of conclusion in 'Crow' is honestly amazing, and is what elevates this into something truly legendary.





1. Alex Cameron - Forced Witness

And yet, after all of the philosophical themes of 'Pure Comedy', the game-changing 'Melodrama' and the heart-breaking 'A Crow Looked at Me', my album of the year is an album about online dating. But I'll be damned if this isn't the catchiest, most enjoyable and ultimately thought-provoking album of 2017. The first thing you'll notice about Alex Cameron's masterpiece is it's brilliantly terrible cover art, which shows only a little indication of the character study the listener is about to embark upon. After my first few listens of this I was already sold on it as a great album, with every song being a glitzy, catchy take on soft-rock, but when I really dug into the lyrics the genius behind this became clear. The characters presented in 'Running Out of Luck', 'Candy May', 'Marlon Brando' and every other song here are not the hyper-macho stereotypes I first thought, but actually pathetic, creepy sketches of what extreme masculinity can lead some to. Whether it's the teenager stalking of 'StudMuffin96' or the online transactions presented in the hilarious 'Beautiful Eyes'. Every track on here is vitally important to it's concept and it's the most I've loved an album this whole year. Bring on 2018!

Top 20 songs of 2017

Now that the worst of 2017 has been washed out of my system through my 'Worst of 2017' lists, I can finally get onto the good stuff! There were loads of great songs released this year, and I had to cut this list down from about 50 tracks, so you can rest assured that these are my absolute favourites from the year.

20. Alvvays - Dreams Tonite




I'm generally indifferent to the sudden popularity of 'chill' music - I personally wish rock would get more and not less exciting - but Alvvays are by far the best thing to come out of it. 'Dreams Tonite' especially is a euphoric, relaxing headtrip that I haven't stopped coming back to since it was released.

19. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Crumbling Castle




King Gizzard released so much good stuff this year I could make a top 20 solely of their 2017 output, but this was the highlight. Sounding both cutting edge and medieval, this is a sprawling 10-minute multi-part jam that seems to incorporate aspects from the previous 3 albums King Gizz released this year into a tune that will undoubtedly go down as one of the best prog-rock songs of the decade.

18. Kendrick Lamar - YAH.




When it was released, many critics pointed out that this was Kendrick's most downtrodden, bleak album, and this is the most downtrodden, bleak song from it. The beat is so dreary you can practically feel rain pouring down onto the track, and Kendrick's sing-song flow is so defeated that this quickly became my go-to song for grey day bus rides.

17. Run The Jewels - Thursday In The Danger Room (Ft. Kamasi Washington)




Run the Jewels have built up a reputation for creating bangers, yet for the second album in a row the highlight for me has been when Killer Mike and El-P turn their talents to darker topics. 'Thursday in The Danger Room' takes the template of 'Crown' from RTJ 2 and shows why the two MCs of RTJ work together so well - they are able to bring completely different viewpoints to a concept, with the topic here being the death of a friend. El-P raps about the crippling effect of trying hard to make your last days with someone count, while killer Mike reminisces about the effect a brainless killing for a chain had on the victim's family, which is all bound together with a chilling hook.

16. Ariel Pink - Time To Live



This is definitely one of the weirdest songs on this list, sounding like a mashup between 'Video Killed The Radio Star' a distorted, power-chord filled rock song. The chanting chorus of 'Time to Live, Time for Life' sounds like the jingle of an alternate reality radio station, and all 6 minutes of this brilliant mess could only have come from Arial Pink.

15. Ryan Adams - Do You Still Love Me?




A song so good it made me care about Ryan Adams, who I had never particularly liked before, 'Do You Still Love Me' feels timeless, and I half-expected it to be a cover version when I first heard it. It's not reinventing the wheel, but it's everything you could ever want from a rock song, overdriven chords, a guitar solo and a momentous chorus. 

14. Car Seat Headrest - War Is Coming (If You Want it)




(This songs not on YouTube, so I suggest streaming it.) A song that was massively relevant in 2017 - especially since it was released the day after the Charlottesville trouble - this is the perfect summation of the gradual increase in political tensions coming to a head, and it does the admirable task of doing this without seeming preachy or biased. The music is also intriguing for Car Seat Headrest, led by bass and synthesizers more than guitars, making this as catchy as it is thoughtful.

13. Sandy (Alex G) - Proud



On the other side of indie is Sandy (Alex G), who makes folk-inspired music that takes a little while to grow on you, but when it does it becomes inescapable - hence why 'Proud' is my most streamed song of the year according to Last.fm. The melodies on this thing are unbelievably catchy, and even though Alex G's voice initially turned me off, it has enough quirks to make it memorable. In a summer where 'Despacito' seemingly reigned, this was the song I had in it's place.

12. Creeper - Black Rain



Ever since the Darkness lost relevancy, I've been waiting for the UK to produce another self-aware rock band to up the pantomime, and Creeper did it better than anyone else has for a while. With an eyeliner and leather image and a music video inside a neon church, 'Black Rain' was the edgiest I let myself get in 2017. It also helps that it has one of biggest choruses I've heard all year.

11. Remo Drive - Crash Test Racing




Almost any song form Remo Drive's first big project 'Greatest Hits' could have made this list, but 'Crash Test Racing' is my personal favourite. An emo song without any of the mockable and irritating qualities of emo (Melodramatic self-loathing, misogyny etc.), this is an airtight 2 and a half minutes filled with multiple hooks from an album that will hopefully go down as one of the best third-wave emo albums.

10. The Rentals - Elon Musk Is Making Me Sad



Weezer might have spent 2017 indulging once again in bland pop, but at least their ex-bassist Matt Sharp managed to come out of nowhere with one of the most thought-provoking, existential songs of the year. Even despite having about four great choruses, the lyrics are the highlight here, with Matt using Elon Musk as a benchmark to compare whether his own life could have been more than it was. Then at the four minute mark the song looks into the future complete with a choir - because this song also doubles as a surprisingly fitting christmas song.

9. Brockhampton - MILK



My favourite hip-hop song of year, this is an anthemic yet personal tune about isolation, pushed into greatness by the different angles the different members of Brockhampton bring to this concept. The beat is also massively emotive, complete with a chorus with lyrics that could easily fit into an emo song. Constantly interesting, melancholic and ultimately uplifting, this is a great song to show naysayers what hip-hop is capable of.

8. Jens Lekman - Evening Prayer




This song could have very easily gone completely wrong. A bright pop song with lyrics about overcoming cancer would have bombed in anyone else's hands, but Jens Lekman's soft voice and small-scale yet uplifting lyrics made this one of my most-played songs this summer. If all pop music sounded this joyful, I can guarantee the world would be a better place.

7. LCD Soundsystem - American Dream




While I was overall a little disappointed by LCD Soundsystem's newest album, the title track is still a towering achievement. James Murphy is no stranger to making subdued ballads (see 'New York I Love You But You're bringing Me Down') or emotionally-destroying yet danceable tunes (See 'Someone Great'), and 'American Dream' is a combination of both, with a crushing slow-dance synthline chorus and a dark, spitting bass over some of Murphy's bleakest lyrics. Encapsulating what it feels like to live out the supposed rockstar dream when you're well past the appropriate age, this may be depressing but it's impossible to look away, especially when it sounds this good.

5. Father John Misty - Leaving L.A



'Leaving LA' is more than just a song, it's an experiment. A 10 verse chorus-less diatribe with little instrumentation other than Josh Tillman's acoustic guitar and some strings, this was likely the moment when many listeners had enough of 'Pure Comedy', which seems to have been attacked by one half of the internet and adored by the other. The reason I'm in the latter half is exemplified by this 13-minute behemoth, because the lyrics here are astounding. Contemplating the human condition in a constantly funny and unexpected way, this song is elevated further by Tillman's self-fulfilling lyric about his 'college dude' audience leaving him because of the inaccessibility and grand themes of his newest album, showing an artist who is completely aware of his position and is willing to risk it for something greater.

5. Kirin J. Callinan ft. Alex Cameron, Jimmy Barnes and Molly Lewis - Big Enough




And now for something at the complete opposite end of the musical spectrum! Kirin J. Callinan makes music that is probably the most lovingly-made and least cynical parody of pop music that I have ever seen, and as such his songs are enjoyably insane. 'Big Enough' is the ultimate culmination of this, a western-themed call for Worldwide peace complete with an EDM drop with a euphoric scream from the legendary jimmy Barnes. I especially love the 'Dancing in the Street' style call-out of countries at the climax of the song, which adds an extra layer of glorious cheese to this beautiful creation. It was amazing to watch this become a meme.

4. The Horrors - Something To Remember Me By




Sometimes all you need is a really great chorus, and 'Something to Remember me by' delivers this in spades. I still refuse this song is nearly 7 minutes long, as every time I finish it I just want to hear it again instantly. The production is brilliantly atmospheric, with the short synth riff somehow never getting old and the layers of chords and beats swallowing the listener whole, but it's the vocals which really propel this song into my top 5. They are confident, clear and crucially withheld from the listener so that every time they come in they make the song even more exciting. I also like to imagine that the lyrics are about the Christopher Nolan film 'Memento', as they fit perfectly and add a dark edge to this magnum opus.

3. Sampha - No one Knows Me Like the Piano




This ballad by the 2017 mercury award winner is quite simply breathtaking, and this coming from someone that usually doesn't care for vocal-heavy, sentimental soul music. Sampha's breathy voice carries such a huge amount of pain and passion that it's impossible to not be transfixed by his grief, and the piano backing is built off of a memorable and delicate riff. Out of all the songs I heard this year, this is the one I believe will be remembered for the longest, and rightfully so. 

2. Lorde - Writer In the Dark


While my second-favourite song on 'Melodrama' changes daily, I knew the moment that I heard 'Writer in the Dark' it was one of the best songs of the year the moment i heard it. The lyrics are starkly visual, creating a series of images that progress in a way like few other songs. It starts off heartbroken and moves further and further towards glory until the final Kate bush-esque chorus sounds powerful as opposed to tragic, despite not having changed a note. See also: Liability

1. Alex Cameron - Runnin' Out of Luck




Does this deserve to be my song of the year? Probably not. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't by far my favourite tune of 2017. It's quite frankly a perfect pop song, sounding like straight out of the 80s but with modern-day production, and with a level of self-awareness that makes the whole thing hilarious without diminishing how great of a song it is. It's also proof that if there's anything we need in 2018, it's more saxophone outros.

Top 20 Albums of 2016

2016 has been a big year for albums, with loads of the biggest artists around dropping hyped LPs. Since the big releases for the year are mostly done, I thought it would be cool to list my top 20 favourite albums of the year. And yes, this does mean that if an album isn't on here it's more likely that I didn't hear it than didn't like it ( It's taking me a while to get into Death Grips 'Bottomless Pit' for example). Nonetheless, every album on here is great. Some were surprise released, some had years of build-up and some were great debut albums - here we go!

20. The 1975 - I like it when you sleep for you are so beautiful, yet so unaware of it

A pop-rock album generally shouldn't be an hour and 14 minutes long, but 'ILIWYSFYASBYSUOI', the 1975s follow-up to their 2013 debut manages it with style and variety. There really is something for everybody here, from the pure pop of 'UGH!' and 'The Sound' to the more subtle 'Loving Someone' and the mighty 'Change of Heart'. Sure, it has three or four tracks that should have cut, but that's what skip buttons were made for. Also, marks deducted for that terrible album title.

19. Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Getaway

An album that took most of the year to grow on me, 'The Getaway' is half an album of melodic, dreamy guitars and a (better) half of classic riffs, slapped basslines and general funkiness. Any band that can produce songs like 'Dark Necessities', 'Dreams of a Samurai' and 'Goodbye angels' are definitely not past their prime, and 'The Getaway' shows how they can still produce solid albums to this day.

18. Angel Olsen - MY WOMAN

A retro-feeling and hugely praised second album, 'MY WOMAN' is a warbling, rocking collection. Much like 'The Getaway', it's an album of two halves, the first half full of the uptempo, exciting material, but the second half definitely holds up. Also, it reminds me of one of my favourite albums from last year, 'Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit' by Courtney Barnett, which can only be a good thing.

17. Green Day - Revolution Radio

This one has the potential to be polarising - If you don't like Green Day you won't like this album - but definitely deserves to be on this list. Green Day are hardly the first band to bounce back from releasing a bad album (or in this case 3) as you'll see later on the list, but they have managed to not just return to form but exceed themselves, with their best album since 'American Idiot'. 

From the punk energy of 'Bang bang' to the epic of 'Forever now', this is the best pop-punk album released in a year filled with all of the heavyweights returning - and not necessarily better (Blink-182 anyone?).

16. YG - Still Brazy

I initially dismissed YG as just another generic rapper without listening to any of his material - his big hit is called 'Why you always Hatin'' after all - but when I finally sat down to listen to 'Still Brazy' I was blown away. It's a slick gangsta rap album that sounds simultaneously like a throwback and relevant to 2016. With highlights including 'Don't come to LA', 'Twist My Fingaz' and of course the adopted anthem 'F**k Donald Trump', it's one of the best hip-hop releases coming out in the increasingly saturated rap market.

15. Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression

A compilation of some of the best Rock-and-roll purists in the business, 'Post Pop Depression' managed to make Iggy Pop relevant once again, and the World is better for it. Sounding straight out of the 60s and with a backing band made of some of the most respected rock-revivalists in the business the album is full of jams like 'Gardenia' and 'Sunday'. It's something every rock fan has an obligation to listen to.

14. Kaytranada - 99.9%

One of the most promising debut albums of the year, Kaytranada seems to be a producer who has an immediately distinct sound and a vision, as demonstrated by '99.9%'s amazing and appropriate guest features (including Anderson Paak - 'Malibu' just missed this list - Little Dragon and most surprisingly Craig David) combined with his catchy, bassy instrumentals behind each tune.

13. Frank Ocean - Blonde

The much memed and most anticipated album of the year, 'Blonde' delivered exactly what everyone had wanted and more - smooth, soulful tunes. It may take time to get into but once tunes like 'Ivy', 'Solo' and 'Nights' take hold of you it's hard to get them off repeat. Now we just have to wait until 2020 for his next album...

12. Shura - Nothing's Real

One of the more lyrically-interesting synthpop artists to spring up this year, Shura dropped her incredible debut album 'Nothing's Real' this year and garnered a fair amount of attention for it. Her songs have been played on the radio and even covered by Mumford + Sons, standing as a testament to the catchiness and brilliance of every song on the album. Self conscious at points, occasionally heartbreaking and always interesting it's almost my favourite pop album of 2016.

11. Kendrick Lamar - Untitled Unmastered

Kendrick Lamar is one of the only artists around right now who could drop what is essentially a B-sides collection and still have someone banging it out at every sixth-form common room in the country. Needless to say, 'Untitled' doesn't feel like a shabby pile of throwaways but a more upbeat and lighter partner to 2015s AOTY 'To Pimp a Butterfly' and each track is a league above what most of his rivals will ever create.

10. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

Another of the most hyped releases of the year, Radiohead finally followed up their least-liked album since 'Pablo Honey' with something everyone quickly agreed on as superb. Somehow outdoing themselves in terms of sadness and heartbreak, 'A Moon Shaped Pool' is one of the most bleak records of the year and one which might take a while to click, but is definitely worth the effort.

9. Jamie T - Trick

The most english album of the year, nearly every song on 'Trick' is a classic, from the Rage-against-the-machine style 'Tinfoil boy' and 'Police tapes' to the pure pop-rock of 'Joan of Arc' and 'Robin Hood', the album has an assortment of different styles that it pulls off amazingly well. I would even go as far as to call this Jamie T's masterpiece, and the fact it's only at number 9 shows just how good this year's been.

8. Drive-By Truckers - American Band

In a year that's been especially turbulent for politics the World needed a great protest album and that's exactly what 'American Band' is. More accurately, it's a State-of-the-Nation LP that rocks hard and covers topics from Police shootings to migration in a classic Americana way. When this year is finally over, 'American Band' will be the time capsule of just how horrible 2016 was for the World.

7. Beyonce - Lemonade

I found Beyonce's 2014 self titled album pretty underwhelming for how much critics loved it, so when 'Lemonade' was released to similarly rave reviews I was expecting more of the same - but this time I agreed with the endless five star scores. 'Lemonade' is the kind of album that most pop stars would consider too risky to release, with blunt, angry lyrics and collaborating with highly respected alternative artists like Jack White and James Blake, but Beyonce pulls off the numerous different styles and tones with ease. Still, it could do without the airhorns.

6. David Bowie - Blackstar

Blackstar would likely be somewhere on this list if it had just been 40 minutes of Bowie wailing - it's a music legend's final gift after all - but that 'Blackstar' is the best Bowie record for decades just makes it even  more tragic that he had to go. The difference between listening to 'Blackstar' before and after Bowie's death was that before he died it was an incredible experimental jazz/rock album with some cryptic lyrics about death. After January 10th it was a shining memoir of the Starman himself. Also, well done Bowie for managing to get a song called 'Tis a pity she was a whore' onto a concept album about your own death.

5. Tegan and Sara - Love you to Death

This album should definitely be lower than it is. That said, I can at least try and justify why a breezy synthpop album with completely artificial production and lyrics about almost exclusively love and sex is above David Bowie's final album. Because every moment on 'Love you to Death' is joyous, every song is almost unbearably catchy and there are some genuinely interesting and great lyrical moments. It's the perfect pop album and amongst experiments and epics everybody needs smething to dance to. 

4. Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition

The hip-hop album of the year, 'Atrocity Exhibition' is an image of Danny Brown at his lowest. That's not to say that this album is depressing - 'Ain't it funny' and 'Really Doe' prove this aptly - but that it's very dark. Danny Brown is hardly the first rapper to talk about drugs, but the vivid descriptions of his desperate drug crawls and addiction problems coupled with beats that you wouldn't expect to ever function, let alone sound as great as they do, make one of the most insane, experimental and creative records of the year.

3. Weezer - Weezer (White Album)

Through sheer happiness and breeziness - and maybe a few cannolis - 'The White Album' became Weezer's best album since the 90s in just a few listens. A beach album that sounds like... Well Weezer covering the Beach Boys. At just over half an hour it's got immense replayability value (It's my most listened to album of the whole year on Spotify) and every individual track is classic Weezer, with guitar solos and weezery guitars and cannolis and- It's the most fun album of the year and I love it.

2. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree

The album you were probably expecting at number 1 is the most emotional experience I've had with any album for a long time, and I can't even relate to it. Nick Cave's career best vocal performance coupled with imagery smothered lyrics that range from the most chilling of the year (Jesus Alone) to warm and hopeful (Skeleton Tree). Few people will ever go through the bereavement Cave did during the creation of this record, but he manages to convey the emptiness, sickness and dismay so well that you feel it strongly just from listening. This album is a masterpiece, and will likely be remembered as one of the best albums of the 2010s.

1. Car Seat Headrest - Teens Of Denial

Yes! You read that correctly! 'Teens of Denial' by Car Seat Headrest is my favourite album of 2016, and by some distance. 'Skeleton Tree' is pretty much perfect, but I've only been able to make it through the album a handful of times because of how intense the emotion is. Meanwhile, 'Teens of Denial' is so creative, hilarious and just plain awesome that I've listened to it consistently every week since I first discovered it at the end of May. At an hour and 10 minutes long and with unconventional and winding song structures it took me a while to get into, but once I did...

Where to start? Every single song on this album is amazing and memorable - especially Song of the year contenders 'Drunk Drivers/ Killer Whales', 'The Ballad of Costa Concordia' and 'Vincent' - But the songs all come together to form a fascinating insight into Will Toledo's teenage life. I will admit that much of the reason I love this album comes from sheer relatability, as many of the song topics are more relevant to my life than anything else this year, and speaking of song topics they are varied and brilliant: Drunk driving, crap parties, the crashing of the Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia and taking advice online to name a few. 

So if you want the most triumphant, energetic and best album of 2016, 'Teens of Denial' is the album for you.

TOP 20 SONGS OF 2016

So 2016 is finally over, and regardless of how you feel about the year in general, it has undoubtedly been a great year for music. When looking back it's incredible just how many big artists released albums this year, from Radiohead to Beyonce to Drake to the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Frank Ocean, it's the kind of line up that any contemporary music fan would scramble for. Obviously some of these were better than others, but that's not what you're here for - so I present you with my personal top 20 favourite songs of 2016!

20. D.R.A.M ft. Lil Yachty - Broccoli



Broccoli is the biggest hit on this list, in a year which has been one of the all-time worst in terms of chart music. It's catchy, charming and ludicrously happy, cutting through the bland overproduced nonsense on the radio like nothing else this year has. That said, this song would be even higher if it didn't have Lil Yachty almost spoiling the first half - luckily the rest is so good it still nabs a spot on this list.

19. Jamie T - Tescoland



One of the highlights from Jamie's album 'Trick', 'Tescoland' describes how fame hasn't changed him, but that he wishes it had, and does so in an upbeat, riff heavy rock and roll banger. It's also the most english song I've heard all year, with references to London buses and of course Tesco.

18. Angel Olson - Shut up Kiss me



The poppiest song on 'MY WOMAN' was also my favourite, with big 80s guitars and a typically warbly and off-kilter vocal from Olson. Way too many songs of recent times have centred around the words 'Shut up', but if they were all this good I wouldn't complain.

17. Frank Ocean - Solo/Solo (Reprise)

Frank Ocean teams up with Andre 3000 for two tracks which are linked through the theme of loneliness, but like all of 'Blonde' (Or 'Blond' if we're going to look at the album cover. I don't get it, I mean his hair isn't even blonde in the cover it's green- Ok I'll stop.) it's a subtle, relaxing piece. That it, at least until Andre 3000 drops one of the best guest verses of the year which unsurprisingly became one of the main talking points of the LP.

16. Kendrick Lamar - Untitled 07 levitate

Only Kendrick Lamar could release B-sides and throwaways and end up with music as fully formed, brilliant and interesting as seen on 'Untitled Unmastered'. 'Levitate' may have a contradictory title (It's the only song on the collection with a given title) but it's the best song off 'Unmastered', with several different parts all as interesting as each other, from a kid singing about Compton to four minutes of Kendrick essentially messing around on a guitar with some friends. Surprisingly brilliant.

15. Shura - Touch




Shura made one of the best debut albums of 2016, and this was the jewel in the crown - a haunting, hook heavy minimalist ballad that bafflingly wasn't a hit despite being completely in line with the criteria for a smash this year and being way better than the competition.

14. The 1975 - A Change of Heart



The 1975's creepily titled album more or less lives up to the hype it had surrounding it as long as you take out the 3 tracks making up 15 minutes of ambient nothingness, but this song threatens to overshadow most of 'i like it when you sleep'. It's heartbreaking, bleak and danceable all at once, making the best thing the band has ever done.

13. Beyonce ft. Kendrick Lamar - Freedom



*VIDEO CONTAINS STROBE LIGHTING* and while I'm at it the live version has quite afew differences to the studio version but whatever.

Of course there was going to be a song from Beyonce on here, after she dropped maybe the biggest and most critically acclaimed (but one) album of the year. I could have put pretty much any song from 'Lemonade' on here - 'Sorry' and 'Don't hurt yourself' in particular - but 'Freedom' is my pick. Incredibly catchy, incredible guest verse and like 'Formation' is extremely relevant to 2016.

12. Two Door Cinema Club - Bad decisions



An amazing tune from from a mediocre album, 'Bad decisions' is unlike anything Two Door Cinema Club have ever done, and makes you wish it wasn't an anomaly. A warm, buzzing 80s inspired, funky single it certainly isn't a bad decision to check this song out.

11. YG & Nipsey Hussle - FDT



2016 has been filled with atrocious political music from musicians who are so terrified of the idea of a Trump presidency that they forget that songs are supposed to sound good, and after his election I'm expecting even more. The biggest problem with this for me is that we don't need any more anti-Trump music after 'F**k Donald Trump' by YG and Hussle. The bluntest and biggest middle-finger of the year - backed with production that could get even Trump to start nodding his head.

10. Radiohead - Burn the Witch



Coupled with the best video of the year, Radiohead surprise released their best song since 2008 at the turn of May. Being a Radiohead song, 'Burn the witch' needs little explanation but in short, its paranoid, tense and has a chilling chorus that made me remember why I love them so much.

9. Glass Animals - Life itself



The song that brought Glass animals to my attention, 'Life itself' has an exotic and unique instrumental paired with an intriguing character study about a nerdy Camden-bound boy. Topped off with the years most explosive chorus and you've got a quirky masterpiece.

8. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Goodbye Angels



'Goodbye' angels is a pretty great song by itself for the first 3 and half minutes. But when Kiedis yells 'Kiss this!' and Flea starts slapping the bass like mad in a riff that is the coolest you will feel listening to music all year. That's not the official video by the way, it's weird even for Chili's standards.

7. Weezer - L.A. Girlz



Talking of weird videos, Weezer's self titled 10th LP had it's fair share, including the one for standout track 'L.A. Girlz', which surpasses it's terrible song title to be a sunny, happy tune with the best solo of the year. I can't explain why I love the solo so much, but then again I can't explain why there's a LIL WAYNE GUEST VERSE ON A WEEZER ALBUM- but yeah, this song rules.

6. Drive-by Truckers - Darkened Flags at The Cusp of Dawn

Riff of the year. Drive-by Truckers took everyone by surprise by releasing an incredibly well-received political album and while there's many contenders for the best song off it, 'Darkened flags' carries that killer riff throughout most of the song while moving through bleak images that include the one which was chosen to present the whole album - a half masted flag.

5. Danny Brown - Ain't it funny



The most insane, restless song of the year, 'Ain't it funny' may turn some listeners away with Brown's Mickey mouse-voiced rhymes and production like nothing else before it, but this just makes it one of the many highlights off of 'Atrocity exhibition'.

4. Tegan and Sara - U-turn



BEST POP SONG OF 2016! This is the song I've listened to most over the year, and even though I've heard it every other day since 'Love you to Death' dropped in Spring I'm not tired of it yet. The synth line has been lodged in my head for days on end, along with the explosive chorus. About as perfect as a pop song can be.

3. Car Seat Headrest - Drunk drivers/ Killer whales



'Drunk drivers/ Killer whales' is in many ways similar to most of Car Seat Headrest's modern masterpiece 'Teens of Denial': It starts off slow, is filled with surprising and brilliant musical choices that mean, much like a drunk driver, you never know what's going to happen to next. I almost feel like I should put a spoiler warning here, since the false start of the first two choruses lull the listener into thinking they're listening to a mid-tempo relaxing ballad about the dangers of intoxication. Then THAT CHORUS hits and you're singing along in seconds. Triumphant, pained and confused it's the best rock song to come out this year.

2. David Bowie - I can't give Everything Away




It should be obvious why this song is so high even if you've never heard it - Bowie was an icon and a genius, and anybody that can release an album two days before they die deserves a lot of respect. That 'Blackstar' is one of the best albums of the year and that 'I can't give everything away' is the final song on Bowie's final album ensures that it will never be forgotten. The song is heartbreaking with context, and even without context it's uplifting and experimental in the best way.

1. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Magneto



'Magneto' is crushing. More accurately, All of 'Skeleton tree' is crushing, almost too crushing to listen to at some points. Nick Cave's album about his deceased son's unexpected and terrifying death is the most emotionally affecting album to come out this decade - maybe even this millennia, and 'Magneto' is the bleak core, focusing more than any other track on the LP on how Nick Cave was personally affected by the tragedy. The lyrics are out of the league of everything else released this year, with imagery so strong you can almost taste sick in your mouth when Cave sings "in the bathroom mirror I see me vomit in the sink" and the chorus with it's refrain "one more time with feeling" is the most destroying sentence I've heard in almost any song ever. It feels a bit cheap to call this the best song of the year, since it's so personal and affecting, but I can honestly say no song had a greater impact on me in 2016 than 'Magneto'.