So top nine releases of the year time! There would be a tenth option but you can only have nine on Instagram. I’m saying releases time because there are a few EP’s which have stood out this year so I’m not just specifically restricting myself to Records themselves. It’s also not genre specific as well which is one of the best things about the music from the genre. It branches out to Pop-punk, in some cases punk and records that have been on the heavier side. And being at a few shows for over half of these bands, (Stand Atlatinc, Roam, Milk Teeth, Employed To Serve and Neck Deep) seeing the tracks played live adds an extra layer to not only the instrumentals but a great deal to the music. So without further interruptions, here are my top nine picks for releases of 2017
9. Wolf Alice – Visions Of A Life I’ve Seen
Back to another great record which is their second on Dirty Hit Records, is Wolf Alice. Adding to their amazing setlist of tracks such as Yuk Foo and Beautifully Unconventional makes up some of Visions Of A Life I’ve Seen which has seen huge critical success in the UK with NME and Q, ranking in their top 5 records of the year and charting in the official albums chart at number 2 in the UK. What makes it one of my favorites of the year is the supercharged tracks which bring their sets to a new level, blending them not into just a pop group, but one that blurs the line and makes them come across the multiple genres.
8. Can’t Swim – Fail You Again
Electric and Energetic. These are a couple of words that come to mind when describing Can’t Swim’s debut record. Seeing them live, I have seen some of them in action and audience reaction has gone down well to some extent. $50,000,000 has to be my favorite and when they started playing the track, the fangirl inside of me just awoke and a iggy smile took over. It’s a fantastic record from Can’t Swim which sees a big leap for them in a small amount of time which has helped them branch out into different countries and looking to the future, it’ll be the first in a long line of records.
7. Roam – Great Heights & Nosedives
Of all the records on this list, this one has to be the most fun. This is just going from the music video’s I’ve seen from the visual aides it has to offer. But Playing Fiction, which is one of the lead singles off the record is a highlight. Is it Pop-Punk perfection though? Just about. I say just about because there’s definitely a refined sound to Roam’s music which houses some great tracks, two being Guilty Melody and Left For Dead which up’s their catalogue of tracks and will hopefully, in turn, bring the band to new heights and coming off their own headlining tour and a support slot with New Found Glory, the record looks to be doing just that.
6. Creeper
This is a little of a different choice for me because at first, I didn’t expect to love this record as much as I have since its release. I’ve been a modest fan of Creepers music for a little over a year now but I feel they’ve been able to take a massive step forward in their career now because of this record. Black Rain has really become an anthem, hearing it on a few alternative nights out, playing along with a lot of the cult favorites of My Chemical Romance, Paramore etc. But what this record really needed to do for them (which they have) is to set themselves apart from all of the comparisons of the usual music for artists they look up to and what everyone listens to on a day to day basis. Bridging from their past releases though, the content and rhythm are still the same in their charge toward Eternity. But because of the themes and lyrical content which runs rife throughout the record, that’s why it earns a place in the top nine.
5. Employed To Serve – Warmth Of A Dying Sun
I’ll confess something. I listened to this because I saw they were supporting another band I love, Milk Teeth in the summer, but I’ve made a habit of doing this and finding incredible new bands to listen to. From the first track of the record though, I was mesmerized by their sound, their whole basis and from that to the stage, everything was straight up bonkers. But the record, from start to finish is just a masterpiece. Those are the only words I can use to describe it being not only a top record of mine but an important one in today’s world.
4. Pvris – All We Need Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell
“It’s a fantastic breakup record”, “Best one I’ve heard in ages”, “Definitive listening in the 21st century”. These are just some of the comments I’ve heard people say about Pvris’s phenomenal record which has seen them go to new heights. If White Noise was the start, then AWKOHAWKOH, is just not only a fantastic achievement from the band but some of their finest works to date. Particularly with What’s Wrong, they blur the lines again with the genre, with their instruments but also, it opens up the interpretation of their work which they do re-visit with the live version. The question being though do the tracks make up the sum of their parts? Absolutely, There are a few themes of loss and anger apparent within most of the record which make up the best tracks but it’s there with the lyrics being the struggle is what people will and always relate to for the record, making it one of the best releases of the year.
3. Stand Atlantic – Sidewinder EP
When I first heard this EP, I listened to it again, straight after because I knew there was something special about this band. I’ll say it, I think from this EP alone, Stand Atlantic are going to be one of the next great bands on the scene all over the world. ‘Mess I Made’ really stands out because it’s got a lovely rhythm which gets lost in your head to make sure you always come back to it. Here though, the highly addictive title track ‘Sidewinder’ is arguably the best. The track is apparently about Never having to “compromise who you are just to try and change something you can’t.”. The subject matter is what strikes me the most here because obviously quite a lot of people can relate to. Mixed with a mesh of the pop and rock we have a fantastic and huge sounding EP from the Aussie up and comers who have great things in store for them in the future.
2. Milk Teeth – Be Nice EP
Certainly, this EP has more refined tracks in Milk Teeth’s catalog than they’ve ever released. This isn’t their best work musically but it’s their best lyric work. Prism and Fight Skirt are such fun tracks at shows but the lyrics that are sung absolutely compel the band to take newer and more daring risks, coming away with an EP which is more refined than most of the releases in my top nine. What’s more is that they’ve extended this to Owning Your Okayness, which is possibly now the band’s most well-known track and slowly but steadily becoming their signature anthem to let crowds know exactly who Milk Teeth are!
- Neck Deep – The Peace And The Panic
There’s been no doubt in my mind from the first time I heard The Peace And The Panic that it would end up being my favorite record of 2017. It’s because the tracks keep coming back around, especially Parachute or 19 Seventy Something because the band brings out videos and doing something live with the tracks to make them that much more important. But it’s more than that, it’s probably a record which lyrics I connect to the most because of its theme as well as the punchy choruses. They have the most definitive tracks of the year and they’ve become this number one band for pop punk in the UK. It’s a crowning achievement for them so this record could reach new heights. Here though, I don’t think this is their best work because they’ll find a way to top them because they did with this record after Life’s Not Out To Get You. If anyone can top themselves, it’s certainly Neck Deep.
Almost Anything Music 