While it could be said that 2016 was a terrible year, the past 366 days brought some great music into the fold. 2016 saw great releases from the likes of Danny Brown, Radiohead, Frank Ocean, Death Grips, Angel Olsen, and more of course. 2016 also saw the final releases from classic artists like David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, and A Tribe Called Quest. In fact, 2016 was such a musically bloated year that some publications have taken notice and thanked artists for not releasing their music last year.
As it stands now, 2017 is also set to be a dense year for releases. Only two weeks in and we’ve already seen the release of albums from The xx, The Flaming Lips, Code Orange, and Run the Jewels, who released their album so late in the year many publications will just consider RTJ3 a 2017 album. That said, I’d like to go over some of the records I’m looking forward to this year. With any luck, I can get you to be just as excited for these albums as I am.
1.) Cloud Nothings - Life Without Sound
This will be the latest record from one of the most consistent indie rock and hardcore bands out of Ohio, a band that I’ve been a fan of for years. Cloud Nothings’ 2012 album Attack on Memory has earned its spot among my Top 100 albums of all time list, giving me quite a bit of anticipation for this attest release. Attack on Memory, as well as the band’s next release Here and Nowhere Else, distilled millennial anxiety for the future and self-loathing down to a nearly tangible form. I hope to see more of the same from these guys as the year goes forward.
2.) Kanye West - TurboGrafx16
I really hope this actually happens. While I love Kanye West’s work, he has a tendency to spout off and say things he may not mean, his Twitter account is evidence enough of this. However, one thing West announced last year was a second album to be released called TurboGrafx16, following closely on the heels of West’s The Life of Pablo. Though I appear to be one of the only people out there who loved TLOP and “got” what Kanye was going for, I hope Kanye experiments further and proves he’s still one of the mainstream’s true eccentrics.
3.) Lorde
While nothing has been officially announced, I’ve been anticipating Lorde’s sophomore album since Pure Heroine dropped in 2013. If I’m being honest, I thought the record was one of the best records of that year. Sadly, Lorde has been mostly silent since that album’s release. However, it now seems that since she’s a full-grown adult, Lorde is ready to get back in the studio.
4.) King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Flying Microtonal Banana
King Gizzard are quite possibly the most prolific band in underground rock today. This seven-piece group has this record due out in February, and it is supposed to be released in conjunction with five other albums set to be released throughout the course of 2017. The group are known for making long, rigid psychedelic rock masterpieces, though each album has a bit of a gimmick to it. This record, as evidenced by the title, prominently features microtonal tuning, a songwriting element that is so criminally underused for how interesting it is. However this project turns out, I’m excited to see where the band goes.
5.) Arcade Fire
“Probably next spring?” was the response given by Will Butler in a Reddit AMA on when the new album is set to be released. After how incredible the band’s discography is, I can only expect this next album is just as illustrious and as panoramic as the group’s previous releases. My only cause for trepidation for this possible record is how different Reflektor was from their previous efforts. Despite that, every member of the band is incredibly creative, and I know I’ll be able to find something to love in this new record.
