Top Ten Albums of 2017 (Keith Law)

Keith Law is a baseball writer for ESPN, so it might seem odd to care about his top ten albums for the year, but he has very solid musical taste.  I've jumped into his top 100 songs of the year playlists on Spotify a few times, and he really clicks with a lot of what I like.  He actually did a top 17 list, but I'm sticking to top ten.  I know a few of these albums, but this is giving me some good exploration as well.

10. Ten Fe – Hit the Light.
Kind of like an upbeat The National who listened to a lot of 80's synth pop.  And then the National vibes melt away and its just 80's synth pop.  I actually enjoyed it, even though that analysis doesn't sound too glowing.  I think the opener, "Overflow," and "Make Me Better" are both really very good tunes.

9. Death from Above – Outrage! Is Now. 
Yeah, I liked this album as well.  Here is my prior review of it.

8. Mastodon – Emperor of Sand. 
Meanwhile, this one didn't make the grade for me.  Here was my review.  If the low end of your rock and roll is weak, then the whole thing is weak.  Free the bass!  I did like a few tunes though.

7. Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?
Yeah, this one is in my top ten for the year as well.  #4 for me though...  Good stuff.

6. Daughter – Music from Before the Storm.
Super chilled out electronic indie (with a touch of acoustic guitar here and there).  Atmospheric (Law's term for it) describes very well, kind of spacey and echo-ey.  The top track, "Burn it Down," (3.3 million streams) sounds like some Florence and the Machine to me, and is without a doubt the best track on here.

5. INHEAVEN – INHEAVEN.
The opening chords sound like a Pixies tune.  Law's two favorites (“World on Fire” and “Bitter Town”) are good, but I'm really liking "Regeneration" even more.  And "Treats."  I keep getting caught up in "Treats" and finding myself nodding my head and saying "hell yeah!"  I'll keep this one around to listen to some more.  For most of the album, they rotate lead singers between male and female, and I can't decide which one I like more.  Kind of cool, makes it like two different bands.  The fifth song ("All There Is") reminds me of INXS, which is weird, but its the dude's voice, keeps reminding me of old school Michael Hutchence.  I'm digging this album and have been stuck listening all day today.  Good call by Law.

4. New Pornographers – Whiteout Conditions.
Huh.  Looks like I never even did a review of this album.  Which is jenky, as I like this band.  Like Law said, this album "sank with nary a trace," and never even poked up on my radar.  I'll give it a few runs and provide a proper review.  But I like this band, so I expect good things.

3. Sløtface – Try Not to Freak Out.
High spirit pop-punk.  First two listens were a no, but they won me over with time.  No way they would be this high on my list for the year, but it is exuberantly fun music.  A little relentless after a few listens, just peppy and fun with no break.

2. Portugal. the Man – Woodstock.
Yeah, "Feel It Still" was a super fun jam, but I'm honestly a little burnt on it by now.  As I said in my big review of the band for ACL this year, some of these songs are misses for me, but overall it is a pretty good disc.  I'd also be remiss to not mention that I tried to watch their set both weekends, and it was hella jenky.

1. Beck – Colors.
YES.  Also my number 1 album, and I love having a little bit of backing for my choice, since every other top albums list I've looked at this year doesn't even list this album.  Excellent and very fun album.