Albums/EPs/Songs of 2017 - Looking Forward To/Best Of

Yeah, I haven't listened to them since the news came out. Don't know if I ever will. That's the reason I crossed it out on my list. I still left it at #1 because regardless of what happened, that is by far the best album I have heard in 2017. But I crossed it out to signify what happened and that I'm not listening to it.

 

It's fair to not listen to Brand New after what happened and I haven't done it so often, but I still sometimes listen to Science Fiction given its amazing quality.

 

THE BEST
Foo Fighters - Concrete and Gold
Broilers - [sic!]
Marteria - Roswell

The Good
Gorillaz - Humanz
Linkin Park - One More Light
Anti-Flag - American Fall
Rise Against - Wolves
Die Toten Hosen - Laune der Natur
Kraftklub - Keine Nacht für Niemand
Dragonforce - Reaching Into Infinity
Wintersun - The Forest Seasons

The Okay
Prophets Of Rage - Selftitled
Papa Roach - Crooked Teeth

The Disappointing
Sondaschule - Schere, Stein, Papier

 

My favourite releases this year:

AOTY: Linkin Park - One More Light

The rest in no particular order:

Enter Shikari - The Spark
Rise Against - Wolves
August Burns Red - Phantom Anthem
Cannibal Corpse - Red Is The New Black
Converge - The Dusk In Us
Polaris - The Mortal Coil (biggest surprise for me, this is actually their debut album and it completely blew me away!)
Anti Flag - American Fall
The Black Dahlia Murder - Nightbringers
Phinehas - Dark Flag
Paramore - After Laughter
Rancid - Trouble Maker
Septicflesh - Codex Omega
Stick To Your Guns - True View
Silverstein - Dead Reflection
Wintersun - The Forest Seasons
While She Sleeps - You Are We
Wage War - Deadweight
Northlane - Mesmer
Make Them Suffer - Worlds Apart
Mallory Knox - Wired
Foo Fighters - Concrete And Gold
Stray From The Path - Only Death Is Real
Incendiary - Thousand Mile Stare
Backtrack - Bad To My World
Der Weg Einer Freiheit - Finisterre
In Hearts Wake - Ark

 

FAVORITE studio:::albums OF 2017:

1. BROCKHAMPTON: SATURATION TRILOGY
2. JAY Z: 4:44
3. LINKIN PARK: ONE MORE LIGHT

OTHER DOPE SHIT: "Brutalism" by Idles, "A Crow Looked At Me" by Mount Eerie, "Science Fiction" by Brand New, "DAMN." by Kendrick Lamar, Self-titled by Harry Styles, "Steroids (Crouching Tiger Hidden Gabber Megamix)" by Death Grips.

FAVORITE song OF 2017:

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FAVORITE music:::video OF 2017:

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Gibs' Top 10 Albums of 2017

10. Paramore - "After Laughter" (New Wave Revival / Synthpop)



I've never been a die-hard Paramore, only known some of their big singles. This album took me by surprise, however. I didn't know Paramore had an album like this in them. Excellent new wave revivial / synthpop, and definetly worth one's time.

Highlights: Hard Times, Caught in the Middle, Pool

9. Kendrick Lamar - "DAMN." (Hip-Hop)



I'd be lying if I said this album didn't disappoint me on some level. It was a bit of a shock after two incredible records (To Pimp a Butterfly in particular), that Kendrick would do something a bit more straightforward. Are the songs good? Yes. It just lacked the ambition he has shown before. Months after the record came out, it has grown on me, and the reversed tracklisting is superior, in my opinion.

Highlights: DNA. , FEAR. , GOD. , FEEL. , YAH.

8. The War on Drugs - "A Deeper Understanding" (Indie Rock)



Not as good as 2014's Lost in the Dream (which I consider a modern classic), but still a very great album remiscent of heartland rock and american acts of the 70s and 80s such as Bruce Springsteen.

Highlights: Pain, Thinking of a Place, Holding On, Up All Night

7. The Contortionist - "Clairvoyant" (Progressive Metal / Ambient)



The follow up to their excellent 2014 record "Language." Though it doesn't quite reach the heights of that album, it's still very good. I think part of that may have to do with the fact that the album's best songs (mostly), were released as singles prior to the release of the album. It's still very much worth one's time if they are into more unique, moody progressive metal.

Highlights: Return to Earth, Reimagined, Monochrome (Passive), Monochrome (Pensive).

6. Sons of Apollo - "Psychotic Symphony" (Progressive Metal / Hard Rock)



This record is about as silly and generic as modern Prog Metal comes, and I love every second of it. Sons of Apollo is the newest band from drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater, The Winery Dogs), keyboardist Derek Sherenian (ex-Dream Theater), Billy Sheehan on bass (ex-Mr. Big, The Winery Dogs), guitarist Bumblefoot (ex-Guns n' Roses), and vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex- Trans-Siberian Orchestra). Despite not being the most creative album to come from the genre in recent memory, the band has one hell of a line-up, and delivers the kind of music Dream Theater hasn't been able to for a while now.

Highlights: God of the Son, Coming Home, Labyrinth, Opus Maximus

5. Father John Misty - "Pure Comedy" (Indie Folk / Indie Rock)



At the beginning of this year, I pegged this as my album of the year, but as can be seen, that isn't the case. Ulimately, the album suffers from being overly long, but still contains the unique songwriting that made I Love You, Honeybear so enjoyable. The record is probably my favorite "political" record of the year.

Highlights: Pure Comedy, Leaving LA, Ballad of the Dying Man

4. Leprous - "Malina" (Progressive Metal / Avant-garde Metal)



Leprous from album to album consistently blow me away. They're by far, the most unique thing in modern progressive metal. They have a penchant for delivering very tight and focused songwriting, while doing something very new each record. They can at one moment be peforming something almost ethereal, and then come at you within something extremely heavy, or more experimental. They are criminally underrated, and should be more well known than they are.

Highlights: The Last Milestone, Bonneville, Stuck, Illuminate, Leashes, Mirage, Coma (I just listed over half the tracklisting, LOL).

3. Steven Wilson - "To the Bone" (Progressive Pop / Progressive Rock)



Steven Wilson has had a very long and prolific career. I've always loved the more pop-oriented aspect of his songwriting, so this record was basically a godsend. Though the album suffers a bit of the same problem The Contortionist's Clairvoyant had in releasing the best material before the release of the record, it's still a great one, and one of his best. He has listed as influences for the album progressive pop records such as Kate Bush's Hounds of Love, Tears for Fears' The Seeds of Love, and Peter Gabriel's So, all of which I adore. I recently bought the album on vinyl, and it sounds absolutely incredible, only adding more admiration I have for it.

Highlights: Refuge, Permanating, Pariah, Nowhere Now, Song of I

2. Fleet Foxes - "Crack-Up" (Indie Folk)



This is an album I've been waiting 6 years for now, and it did not disappoint. Even though there has been such a long period of time between this and 2011's Helplessness Blues, it's like they haven't missed a beat at all, and miraculously, put out an album that may just be there best yet. It's almost proggy in a way. Progressive Folk? I don't know. This is indie folk music at its best. Highly recommended.

Highlights: Kept Woman, I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar, Third of May / Odaigahara, Fool's Errand, Crack-Up

1. Linkin Park - "One More Light" (Pop / Pop Rock)



There's no way this album could not be number 1 for me. It blew me away from the first time I heard it. Though some may cry foul and say I only have this so high in light of Chester Bennington's death, this simply isn't the case. Linkin Park have delivered one of my favorite records of their's, and in my opinion, some of their very best songs.

Highlights: Sorry for Now, Invisible, Nobody Can Save Me, One More Light, Sharp Edges, Battle Symphony

Honorable Mentions:

• Brockhampton - Saturation Trilogy
• Caligula's Horse - In Contact
• Pallbearer - Heartless
• Ulver - The Asassination of Julius Caeser

 

I want to write my summary of music released in 2017. I won't mention whole albums because I didn't listen to a lot of them but I listened to a lot of single songs so I will just focus on them. If I really like a whole album, I will mention something about it in my description. No particular order.



Basically not only Nobody Can Save Me, I should mention a whole album because I love it! Probably my favourite Linkin Park album. I always had one song that I didn't like on each LP album but on One More Light I like every song. Songwriting was brought into another level, a lot of emotions in lyrics, great production... I can't want more.



Maybe I'm not the biggest fan of Blackbear but this song... I have no words to describe it. The whole album (cybersex) was pretty good but this song stands out for me. It was also a little bit suprising for me that it's Blackbear's song because I always connected him with more mellow songs like idfc or 4U (I love Deadroses!) and then this... Great track!



Honestly, Evolve is the weakest Imagine Dragons album in my opinion but there are some tracks that I really like and I Don't Know Why is the best of them. I like this kind of 'EDM drop thing', I always want to dance when I hear that. I was really amazed when I heard it for the first time. Amazing song!



I actually didn't like heavy guitars and 'rapcore things' for some time because I was pretty bored with it (probably I listened to much to Limp Bizkit and Papa Roach). When this song was released, I wasn't really into heavy music but after listening to it I actually changed my mind. What a track that is! This 'breakdown moment' is fantastic. In my opinion a whole album is great (heavier songs are better than mellow/rap ones) but this song is perfect.



Song from the beginning of the year but it's from 2017, right? I like some MØ songs and I'm glad that she is taking more EDM route because she sounds great on that kind of beats. Even if it's radio-friendly song, I can hear a lot of emotions - good lyrics and really good vocal performance.



I don't know why but I've been following Martin Garrix's career almost from the beginning. I was never a big fan or something, I just like beats that he produces and I think I can tell that even if I don't listen to all songs that he creates. This song once caught my attention in TV and I think it's one of my favourite 2017 songs. I love the melody in this song! Great atmosphere too which is not always important for EDM producers.
I don't want to mention another Martin Garrix's song in this summary so I want to say here that I also really enjoyed a song called There For You created by him and Troye Sivan.



In a sense, and to some extent, I can identify with the lyrics. And I think that's why I like it so much. Great beat also. Really interesting track that I like listening to. Probably one of the most frequently played songs by me in 2017.



I won't hide that I was a little bit disappointed by Lorde's new album. I like when artists change their approach to music, change their style of music, etc. but in this case I feel that Melodrama was a little bit too experimental. And I think that Perfect Places is the closest to 'Pure Heroine style' and it was one of the few songs that I enjoyed on this album. That's what I love in Lorde's songs!



I rembember that I had loved the newest The Chainsmokers record called Memories... Do Not Open but I quickly forgot about it. Yeah, that's strange. Now I remember like only 3 songs from this album and Paris is one of them. Probably because it was often on the radio in Poland. I like 'more indie approach' that The Chainsmokers took on this album and that's it. I just wanted to say I like this track.



Another disappointing album for me but of course I found some songs that I enjoy! This one is the best on Desire, even if it's a little bit similar to Stay from the first Hurts album. I was waiting really long to hear this record and for me Hurts is getting worse and worse. Maybe Desire is a little bit better than Surrender but it's not really big improvement so it's okay to say that. I hope that I'll hear more good songs on their next albums, not only one or two.



Now it's a little bit of an advertising time but I wanted to share with you my song that was also released in 2017. It's called Don't Go and it comes from my latest record called OVERTHINKING. I think I did a pretty good job on this album and maybe somebody will want to listen to it. I really enjoy this song and a whole album so that's why it's in this summary.



I started with Linkin Park and I end this summary with them. One More Light Live is really great album showing an energy that a band put into this One More Light Tour shows and I love this version of Sharp Edges. I find it even better than album version. Honestly, I really enjoy a whole live record and I'm glad that Linkin Park wanted to share these songs with us.

That was probably my longest post on this forum but I really wanted to share my impressions with you, actually I don't know why. I will be really happy if somebody wants to read my summary! I think I would have some more songs that is worth mentioning here but this post would be even longer so I didn't want to do it. Okay... I hope you'll enjoy my work. Happy 2018!

 

My favorites this year turned out to be Dear by Boris, DAMN. by Kendrick, and async by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Will give a mention to Kelela only since I need to listen to it more.

 

No one wants to read an in-depth breakdown from me. Have some album covers.

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2017 Albums

Best (8+)
Linkin Park - One More Light 9,5/10
Linkin Park - One More Light Live 10/10
Brand New - Science Fiction 9/10
Zola Jesus – Okovi 8/10
Nothing But Thieves - Broken Machine 8/10
Shania Twain – Now 8/10
Xandria - Theater of Dimensions 8/10
Lorde – Melodrama 9/10
Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun 8,4/10

Good (6,5-7,9)
Björk – Utopia 7,5/10
Paramore - After Laughter 7/10
Nickelback - Feed The Machine 6/10
Pvris - All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell 7,5/10
Steven Wilson - To The Bone 7,9/10
Dua Lipa - Dua Lipa 7/10
Evanescence - Synthesis 7/10
Taylor Swift – Reputation 6,5/10
Neck Deep - The Peace and The Panic 7/10

Worst (0-5)
Harry Styles - Self-Titled 5/10
Ed Sheeran – Divide 2/10
Imagine Dragons – Evolve 2/10
Epica - The Solace System EP2/10
Arch Enemy - Will To Power 5/10
Eluveitie - Evocation II – Pantheon 4/10
Coldplay - Kaleidoscope EP 1/10
Foo Fighters - Concrete And Gold 3/10
The War On Drugs - A Deeper Understanding 5/10


Overlooked Albums

Best (8+)
Alvvays- Antisocialites 8,5/10
The xx - I See You 8,2/10
Feist – Pleasure 8/10
Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness 8,5/10
Julien Baker - Turn Out The Lights 9/10

Good (6,5-7,9)
Wolf Alice – Visions Of A Life 7,7/10
St Vincent – MASSEDUCTION 7,2/10
Lady Antebellum - Heart Break 6,5/10
Queens Of The Stone Age – Villains 7/10´

Worst (0-5)
Kendrick Lamar – DAMN 3/10

Not Marked
Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked At Me
This Mount Eerie album was the most saddening album I've ever heard. I was not expecting it to be like this and I listened to it becuase it was so highly regarded by critics, but it was a very difficult album to listen to. Being a concept album dedicated entirely to the death of his wife and how he feels, what he does and the memories he has as the days go by since the moment of her passing, it is really well crafted in the way it tells a story and at the same time manages to be so gut wrenching as we can listen to it and visualize what he's saying due to him being so descriptive and we can feel his pain, not in the same way he may feel, but a certainly heartbreaking album for listeners too. I think it's a beautiful tribute to his wife and an emotinal outpouring of love. I'm not going to rate it because it doesn't make sense to do so for an album like this.

Still Need To Listen To
Eminem - Revival
SZA-CTRL
The National - Sleep Well Beast
Oxbow - Thin Black Duke
Converge - The Dusk In Us
Father John Misty - Pure Comedy
Slowdive - Self-Titled
Kesha - Rainbow
Jay-Z - 4:44
EMA - Exile In The Outer Ring
Ibeyi – Ash
Laura Marling – Semper Femina
Trivium - The Sin and The Sentence
Hurray for The Riff Raff – The Navigator
Emily Haines – Choir of The Mind
Lights – Skin & Earth

This is my most recent list with the albums marked according to the most recent appreciation of every album. I think I will complete the list with some albums that flew under the radar, but I just don't know when because there are bands that made albums prior to 2017 I also need to check out or complete the discography. I most of these overlooked albums in critics lists, album rating websites, most of them I only noticed during the last days of 2017 and didn't bother to check them out. I think I'll be more updated as to new music in 2018 since I only started looking to music outside of a few bands in 2017.

 

Brady's Top 10 Albums of 2017
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Honorable Mentions: Felt by The Chain Gang of 1974, I See You by The xx, Revival by Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Ultralife by Oh Wonder, Rationale by Rationale

#10: Still Here by Fractures

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Ever since I heard Fracture's self-titled EP, I've been yearning to hear what Mark Zito brought to the table on his debut album. While some songs fall flat, I appreciate that Zito branched out stylistically on this album, and for certain songs, it brings a big pay-off.

Highlights: Lowcast, Alchemy, I Don't Mind

#9: For a Moment, I Was Lost by Amber Run

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While not a perfect album by any means, this second album for alt-rock group Amber Run is a very good listen. Its biggest downfall is how some songs can feel a bit generic and bleed into each other. However, the unique ones really bring up the quality of this album, and "Haze" was a contender for my favorite song of the year.

Highlights: Haze, Wastelands, Are You Home?

#8: Life in Boxes by Yoe Mase

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This indie post-EDM artist's debut album has left quite an impression on me. The songs in which he experiments more and allows unique song structure and sounds to come through really shine compared to the ones that utilize traditional pop song structure. Yoe Mase is one of those unique indie artist that certainly deserves more attention.

Highlights: Lonely, Look to the Dawn, Black or White

#7: A Black Mile to the Surface by Manchester Orchestra

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I've been listening to this alt-rock band for quite some time now, always picking out a few favorites from each of their albums, with only their previous rock album Cope getting full appreciation from me. And much like that album, this is a pretty solid album front to back. They do drift back to that alt-rock sound, but with it, they bring some amazing songwriting to the table.

Highlights: The Silence, The Grocery, The Alien

#6: Melodrama by Lorde

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Okay, gonna be honest, I wasn't really a big fan of Lorde before. But then I heard "Green Light." And wow did my opinion change quick. I just had to listen to her new album and I was not disappointed. A fantastic pop album with some of the best songs I've heard all year. I'll be sure to listen to anything she drops in the future.

Highlights: Green Light, Supercut, Liability

#5: Chase Atlantic by Chase Atlantic

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Wow, this album fucks (And I mean that in a good way). This RNB infused electro-pop album is an absolute banger from start to finish. And you bet I'm hooked whenever they bring in the saxophone (in which I'd argue this album could use more of). I'd highly recommend people check out this album if they're fans of The Weeknd.

Highlights: The Walls, Swim, Uncomfortable

#4 ZILLA by Fenech-Soler
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Reduced to a duo for this album, these two brothers proved that with just them, they were capable of producing an excellent record. Ben Duffy really shines on the pulsing electropop sounds, while being able to hold his own on the more dramatic, toned down songs like "Cold Light." There's rarely a dull moment on this album, and I just had to pick up the vinyl for this album. Highly recommend.

Highlights: Night Time TV, Cold Light, Undercover

#3: Where the Mind Wants to Go / Where You Let it Go by I The Mighty
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I The Mighty is an interesting band for me. As a huge LP fan, I'm honestly not a huge fan of rock music. But somehow for the second time, I The Mighty has really captivated me by their music. Normally I feel like I'd be annoyed by an entire albums about the back and forth struggle of a relationship, but it just works on this album. And this story is supported by some amazing instrumentation that has me hooked on almost every song. If you haven't heard of this band, you gotta give them a listen.

Highlights: Degenerates, Where the Mind Wants to Go, Where You Let it Go

#2 Kaleidoscope EP by Coldplay

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Okay, okay, I know I'm cheating by including an EP on this list, but I just couldn't let this EP go unnoted. Besides "Something Just Like This," this EP is absolutely fantastic. The rest of the songs are some of the best songs Coldplay has put out to this day. I can only just hope and pray that on the next album, they pursue a sound similar to this EP, because I would have for it to be just limited to those four songs.

Highlights: Everything except Something Just Like This - Tokyo Remix

#1 One More Light by Linkin Park
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Anyone who knows me knows that is not a surprise at all. From day one, I absolutely loved on this album. While I wasn't completely on board with every songs, as weeks passed, I grew to love every song on the album. Then, with the tragic death of Chester, my opinion on this album was only cemented further. This album contains some his best vocal work, and some of the best songs they have made to date. Certainly, this album will always have a special place in my heart.

Highlights: Sharp Edges, One More Light, Halfway Right

 

Michele's Top 10 ALBUMS of 2017

#10: Kraftklub - Keine Nacht Für Niemand
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The band from Chemnitz, Germany know how to make their sound. This time it sounds more fresh than ever. Maybe my favorite record from them now.

Highlights: Fenster (featuring Farin Urlaub), Sklave, Hallo Nacht, Chemie Chemie Ya

#9: Rise Against - Wolves
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After The Black Market i feared the worst from the band, but with Wolves they definitely came back with a great sound. not as good as the older ones, but still great.

Highlights: Welcome To The Breakdown. The Violence, Wolves

#8: Papa Roach - Crooked Teeth
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While i liked F.E.A.R. i kinda felt it went boring pretty soon. With Crooked Teeth its definitely different. It has a more fresh and alternative sound. I like how Papa Roach is going. Cant wait for the next album.

Highlights: American Dreams, Help, Born For Greatness

#7: Anti-Flag - American Fall
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After American Spring we now got American Fall. And what can i say. Its definitely a great Anti-Flag album. Political as always and with Trump they got their next target. Music and lyrical wise its just great. Love these guys.

Highlights: American Attraction, Liar, Racist, I Came. I Saw. I Believed

#6: Die Toten Hosen - Laune der Natur
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After 5 years we got the next album from the band from Düsseldorf. The guys are in their middle 50s, but still have a lot of power in their music (even if they got now more poppier sound in some songs, but nevermind). After Ballast der Republik the guys came back with Laune der Natur. And they didnt lost it. Even if there are some songs i dont need that much (Wannsee), its in total a great album.

Highlights: Die Schöne und das Biest, Urknall, Wie viele Jahre (Hasta La Muerte), Gegenwind der Zeit (B-Side)

#5: Linkin Park - One More Light
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Ok, here we go. This was a hard one to be honest and i dont know if it would be here without the tragedy. When the album came out i was really disappointed and didnt like it at all but it grew on me (because LP is still my favorite band, so i gave it more than enough chances). After the tragedy the songs were more "real" and start to see the pain and blood in these songs. Beside this, it still has some of the weakest songs of their entire discography (Sharp Edges, Halfway Right, Heavy). But the title track is one of the best the band has done, so it saved the #5 spot.

Highlights: One More Light, Talking To Myself, Good Goodbye

#4 Marteria - Roswell
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Definitely one of my favorite german artists in the moment. Marten aka Marteria is a great human being with great lyrics and a great flow. Roswell is one of the best german hip-hop albums i ever heard. Cant wait to see him live in august.

Highlights: Scotty Beam Mich Hoch, El Presidente, Aliens

#3 Foo Fighters - Concrete And Gold
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After Sonic Highways, which i liked, Concrete And Gold got me to listen to it even after more than a half year later and its still good. Maybe not the best, the best, the best, the best, the best...
Foo Fighter's album, but its still great with some of favorite FF tracks.

Highlights: The Sky Is A Neighberhood, The Line, Run

#2 Gorillaz - Humanz
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This is maybe the biggest surprise for myself. I never really were interested in the Gorillaz this much, but after hearing Saturnz Barz, which weirdly really got me, i had to check this album out. And what i can say? Its fucking great. Great tunes, nice guests and lots of energy (which is more extreme live!!!). Cant wait to see them again in the summer.

Highlights: Saturnz Barz, We Got The Power, Charger, Ascension

#1 Broilers - [sic!]
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Wow. Just wow. I loved these guys from Düsseldorf before, but with these album they topped themselve. Its unbelievable how much heart they put in their music. If they got political or emotional, its always great. And with this album, they got on my #1 of 2017 and #1 Broiler's albums. Damn, so good.

Highlights: Meine Familie, Keine Hymnen Heute, Und hier steh Ich, Die Beste Aller Zeiten