Replaying the best albums of the year
Darryl Sterdan believes there are two kinds of music: Good and bad. And there was so much good music in 2017 that this year-end list features two kinds of albums: those by famous folks you already know and those by lesser lights you need to meet right now
ALBUM OF THE YEAR Gord Downie | Introduce Yerself
Even the biggest lives are defined by their smallest moments.
That was easy to forget in the aftermath of Downie’s death this year, as tributes understandably focused on the Tragically Hip frontman’s life, career, legacy and public persona. Of course, the private man was another story. And he’s the one we encounter on Introduce Yerself, the singer and poet’s sixth and final solo album.
Primarily written and recorded on the fly and off the cuff at the Hip’s own Bathouse Studio in January 2016, weeks after his fateful brain-cancer diagnosis, the sprawling 23-song album — in keeping with both its title and its creator’s freewheeling style — is something of a walking contradiction. It is epic in length but modest in execution. Quiet yet powerful. Stark but rich. Nostalgic but alive. Sweet without being maudlin. Rewardingly personal but universally appealing. And most importantly: Although it was created by a man facing his own mortality, it is an album that fearlessly and joyously celebrates life.
Just not the glorious life of a revered Canadian rock icon. What flashed before Downie’s eyes on those wintry days of self-reflection were not highlight reels of fame and glory, triumph or even tragedy. They were quiet, intimate slices of everyday life. Like rocking one of his kids to sleep. Taking a snowy walk as a child. BB-gunning tin cans in the backyard while sporting a bathing suit. Mooning over his first girlfriend. Falling in love to the music of Spoon. Or simply staring at soothing Lake Ontario, as he did while hand-writing these lyrics.
Introduce Yerself is more than farewell love letters from Downie the musician. It’s a parting gift from Downie the man.
RUNNERS UP:
NAMES YOU KNOW
(IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Foo Fighters | Concrete and Gold
The dependable Dave Grohl takes his Foos on a new sonic highway for their ninth album, augmenting anthemic arena-rock with lush Beatle-pop (and a cameo by Paul McCartney).
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit | The Nashville Sound
Am I the last of my kind? worries roots-rock singer-guitarist and former Drive-By Trucker Isbell on his sixth solo set. Thankfully, he is not. But he might be the most talented.
Jay-Z | 4:44
There are two sides to every story. Jay-Z shares his — and wisely comes clean on his marital failings — with this revealing response to wife Beyoncé’s brilliantly bitter Lemonade.
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings | Soul of a Woman
Cut during her battle with cancer — and issued on the anniversary of her 2016 death — retro-soul powerhouse Jones’ final disc is a magnificent, moving work of joy and sorrow.
Kendrick Lamar | Damn
Compton rapper Lamar continues his seemingly unstoppable roll with his fourth album, seamlessly fusing thought-provoking lyrics, jaw-dropping delivery and genrebending tracks.
LCD Soundsystem | American Dream
Despite years of slumber, James Murphy and his New York dancepunk crew are sharp as ever on this comeback collection of art-damaged electro-grooves and grim narratives.
Lorde | Melodrama
Success has not spoiled Lorde. But it seems to have inspired the New Zealand superstar to raise the musical stakes — and the pop quotient — with the help of Jack Antonoff.
Miguel | War & Leisure
Darkness and light join forces as the musical iconoclast incorporates harder-edged sonics and heavier topics into the smoothly seductive R&B of his fourth fulllength jam.
Father John Misty | Pure Comedy
These days, you have to laugh to keep from crying. And if Misty’s trippy Elton-style pop and twisted yet timely tales can’t put a smirk on your mug, you’re in big trouble.
The National | Sleep Well Beast
There’s no place like home. So The National made their seventh disc in their own studio, allowing them to infuse their dramatic dream-rock with artsier sonics and sharper edges.
Randy Newman | Dark Matter
This one’s not for kids — or anyone with a MAGA hat. But it is for those who want to hear the satiric singer-songwriter tackle religion, racism, politics, Putin and other touchy topics.
Queens of the Stone Age | Villains
The feel-good hits keep coming as indie-rock king Josh Homme leads his Queens through a raucously upbeat batch of swaggering grooves, strutting attitude and bombastic bounce.
Vince Staples | Big Fish Theory
Rapper Staples has humbly proclaimed that this second album should win the Grammy for electronic album. Listen to his aggressively off-kilter genius and tell him he’s wrong.
Chris Stapleton | From A Room Volumes 1 and 2
Nashville outlaw Stapleton doubles your pleasure by releasing not one but two equally strong sets of soulful Southern rock, gritty oldschool country and blues-infused folk.
St. Vincent | Masseduction
Strobe-light synths, death-disco beats and dinosaur-howl guitars vie with personal lyrics in the latest art installation from enigmatic singer-guitarist Annie Clark. What is not to love?
The War on Drugs | A Deeper Understanding
Singer-guitarist Adam Granduciel returns to the ’80s — but with more confidence, adventurousness and yes, depth — on his retro-minded outfit’s Grammynominated fourth disc.
RUNNERS UP: NAMES TO LEARN
(IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Brockhampton | Saturation | Saturation II | Saturation III
Good things do come in threes. Especially with this Cali rap collective, who dropped a trilogy of hardhitting albums in 2017 — and have already announced their fourth.
Dead Cross | Dead Cross
What do you get when you cross Faith No More frontman Mike Patton, Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and members of Locust and Retox? A cage match made in thrash heaven.
Melanie De Biasio | Lilies
Lush and luminous, supple and seductive, Belgian jazz vocalist De Biasio’s album of darkly rich neosoul balladry deserves to be her North American breakthrough.
Glassjaw | Material Control
The post-hardcore heroes come back with a bang — a bloody, brutally dissonant bang — on their first studio album in 15 long years. And their intensity makes it well worth the wait.
Hard Working Americans | We’re All in This Together
Live albums seldom make this list. Because live albums are seldom as awesome as this epic offering from the jam-rock supergroup fronted by the sharp-witted Todd Snider.
Juliana Hatfield | Pussy Cat
It would be hard to find a more topical album than the latest angry offering from scrappy singer- guitarist Hatfield, who rails against sexual predators and the crotchgrabber in chief.
Here Lies Man | Here Lies Man
Afrobeat’s hypnotic polyrhythms get down with the thundering riffs of heavy metal in this forceful musical hybrid from the twisted genius of Antibalas guitarist Marcos Garcia.
Hooten Hallers | Hooten Hallers
Break out the bourbon, fire up some BBQ and call the neighbours; this Missouri blues-rock trio’s gravelly vocals and growling sax lines will keep the party going all night long.
Horrors | V
Fifth time’s the charm for these British post-punks, who temper the gothy intensity of their earlier work with poppier tones and melodies — but without selling their souls.
Idles | Brutalism
Post-punk’s not dead! Not in the hands of this Bristol quintet, anyway — their fittingly titled debut disc is a relentless assault of driving beats, scraping guitars and angry energy.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard | Flying Microtonal Banana | Murder of the Universe | Sketches of Brunswick East | Polygondwanaland | TBA
If you find another band that puts out five albums in a year — all as mind-bendingly complex as these transplanted Aussies’ progadelic mathletics — you let me know, OK?
Ted Leo | The Hanged Man
It’s always darkest before the comeback. Pop-punk stalwart Leo proves that with this dark, deeply moving document fuelled by political outrage and grim personal tragedy.
JD McPherson | Undivided Heart & Soul
You like that old-time rock ’n’ roll? Join the club as Oklahoma singer-guitarist McPherson splits the diff between Buddy Holly, Dave Edmunds and Dan Auerbach.
METZ | Strange Peace
Strap yourself in and hold on tight: The Canadian noise-rock trio crank their fearsome frenzy and crushing power to destructive new heights on their third fulllength barnburner.
Mount Eerie | A Crow Looked at Me
“Death is real,” intones Washington indie-folk singer-guitarist Phil Elverum. He means it; his latest is a devastating concept album about the passing of his wife.
Rex Orange County | Apricot Princess
Between his soulfully scratchy pipes, confessional lyrics and ability to mix classic piano balladry with contemporary hip-pop, U.K. teen Alex O’Connor sure seems bound for glory.
Surfing Magazines | Surfing Magazines
Garage-rock. Surf music. Folk balladry. Jazz. And just about everything else. This London indie outfit puts them all together — and somehow ends up sounding a bit like Television.