Top 5 - Albums of the Year - 2017

Sure it's April of 2018, but I still want to continue my yearly tradition by posting my favorite albums of the year. In 2017, Big Wreck kicked off the year with a bang, releasing Grace Street and performing a live show we saw in Victoria, BC, but ultimately it didn't make the top 5 of albums. Other runner ups were Foo Fighters, John Mayer, and Shania Twain's first album in 10 years. My top 5 are:


Imagine Dragons - Evolve - 2017

Hailing from Las Vegas, this 'modern' band has figured out how to appeal to a wide variety  of pop, dance, and rock fans. It's a real feat to be relevant with the young and the old folks (me) in this way. When I look at the Billboard Top 50 this band is often the only one I recognize now. Not sure what that says about me. Andrew really likes Imagine Dragons too!

The Rescues - The Rescues - 2017

Wikipedia says "The Rescues were formed in 2008 by singers, songwriters and multi instrumentalists Kyler England, Adrianne Gonzalez, and Gabriel Mann, who met while performing on the singer-songwriter circuit in L.A.. While all members had experienced individual success prior to forming the group, the group has proved to be greater than the sum of its parts, sometimes described as an Indie Supergroup". Well-crafted indie songs, nice vocals harmonies, and catchy hooks kept me coming back to this album for several months. I feel like this band would be fun to see live in a small club. I should keep an eye out for that!

Steven Wilson - To the Bone - 2017

Steven Wilson makes my list every year. Considering some bands take several years to release new material, I'm always happy SW is so prolific with his output. This album stood out to me since he shared vocals with Ninet Tayeb & Sophie Hunter, as well as and included maybe the most pop-oriented song he's done in "Permanating". Overall this album doesn't contain many tracks that will be long-time favorites, but it kept me interested for a good stretch. I bought the 5.1 surround version which also featured a stereo version of the album with all the vocals removed. Cool stuff.



Mutemath - Play Dead - 2017

My affinity for Mutemath started after seeing them live. We had come to see the opener and stuck around for their show, which was awesome! These guys had so much energy, kept trading off on instruments, and climbed on top of anything they could scramble to the top of. The show was electric. "Play Dead" fits what I would say is their continuing transition from indie rock to something that's hard to describe. There's pop, prog, and lots in between. The lead off track Hit Parade was my go to song for a good stretch, and sounded great in my new all-electric Ford Focus.


Andrew Belle - Dive Deep - 2014

I don't know whether this is dance or electro pop or singer songwriter, but I know I like it and it keeps a consistent tone that's pretty chill. I've been a fan of this guy for years but don't know much about him. We missed his show at Crystal Ballroom recently. Hope he comes back around.