There have been so many super albums this year, when we first started putting together his very list, there were over a hundred we thought should be in the top fifty, but that’s not how numbers work. So, we hit delete on a whole bunch and this is what was left. Nice one.
Some notes: this is part one of our fifty favourite albums list. We’re not saying these are the best fifty albums released in 2017 – we’ve focused very much on what Dork mostly ‘does’ here (sorry, Kendrick – Ed). If we were being accurate, we’d call if ‘fifty of our favourite albums of 2017’, but that seems a bit of a muddle, so we’re being brave and assertive. Basically, music is great. Music isn’t a competition. We love these records. Hope that helps.
#50: CLEAN CUT KID – FELT
What makes ‘Felt’ such a rip-roaring success is the important ingredient that rings throughout: it’s a record packed with fun, an invitation to no longer feel alone and revel in the time we have scattered on this fair planet. Heartache and love can cause some extreme reactions, but Clean Cut Kid will have your back no matter what.
#49: ARCADE FIRE – EVERYTHING NOW
‘Everything Now’ was more than just an album, sure. The band supported the release with a seemingly endless ‘brand campaign’, but strip away the nonsense and you’re left with a record that still hit the places only Arcade Fire seem to reach.
#48: LONDON GRAMMAR – THE TRUTH IS A BEAUTIFUL THING
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgrwgGIdoOo
London Grammar – they’re not your average band. They don’t need to play by the same rules. They’re not out there looking for that high-energy radio banger to grab the immediate attention. They’re special, for one glorious reason – Hannah Reid’s incomparable voice.
#47: THE NATIONAL – SLEEP WELL BEAST
The National have long been celebrated as purveyors of introspection at its most heartfelt. Whether that’s something that draws you in or passes you by, there’s no shirking the band’s proficiency at what they do. Masters of melancholy and intimacy, the Ohio outfit have perfected the power to inspire the most earnest kind of emotion. Sure enough, with ‘Sleep Well Beast’ there’s a lot that remains true to form.
#46: THE KILLERS – WONDERFUL WONDERFUL
You might have worried about where The Killers would go next five years after ‘Battle Born’, but in ‘Wonderful Wonderful’ they deliver big with their most urgent and personal record for many-a-year. The sound of a band revitalised, hungry and searching for more.
#45: WAXAHATCHEE – OUT IN THE STORM
Made with the musical input of sister, Allison Crutchfield on keyboards and percussion, Katherine Simonetti on bass, Ashley Arnwine on drums, and Katie Harkin on lead guitar at points, Katie Crutchfield’s ‘Out in the Storm’ is the sonic equivalent of flicking the Vs to all that’s getting you down and going to a gig with your pals.
#44: THE AMAZONS – THE AMAZONS
Ambition is a wonderful thing. All too often, you see bands get a bit scared of going for it; but that definitely isn’t the case with The Amazons, whose intentions of singalong masses and unbridled euphoria have been written across every move and riff they’ve laid out – and now with their self-titled debut album, they have the soundtrack for it all.
Read the end of year interview here.
#43: THE XX – I SEE YOU
Straight from the opening stabs of ‘Dangerous’, it’s obvious The xx have gone in a different direction for new album ‘I See You’. Gone (mostly) is the ambience of their first two records, replaced with the bombast Jamie xx explored on his solo album ‘In Colour’. It feels like a band renewed with a point to prove.
#42: VANT – DUMB BLOOD
Something you’ll already know about VANT: Mattie likes to run his mouth. Not as a gobby oik, you understand. The man just has things to say. The topics underneath ‘Dumb Blood’ matter, but they’re delivered with a sense of fun, or at the very least a refusal to be run down by the world.
#41: MR JUKES – GOD FIRST
Instead of taking the obvious route, Bombay Bicycle Club’s Jack Steadman has dipped his feet into new waters. Working with a cast of varied yet brilliant names, it sounds as if he’s found his true calling.
Taken from the December/January issue of Dork, out now. Check back for 40-31 tomorrow (Tuesday 5th December).