017 has been a wonderful year in music for me. I have discovered so many wonderful artists throughout the years and not only that, my own music taste has changed! In this blog, I am going to be sharing my top 5 albums of the year that you need to listen to!
Now if truth be told, this was going to be a top 10 list, but I realised while researching for this blog that most of the artists that I have been into don’t have albums coming out until this year! But nevertheless, before I get into my list, I have some honourable mentions that deserve a bit of the limelight!
- Joanne (Deluxe) by Lady Gaga - this album was a big part of my 2017 and it is a record I adore, but it was released at the end 2016!
- Divide (Deluxe) by Ed Sheeran - an album that most certainly defined a lot of people’s 2017 and it definitely defined that charts! But as much as I loved this album when it was released, I feel like I’m over it now.
- What If Nothing by WALK THE MOON - I was so excited that one of my favourite bands released their new album a couple of months ago, but I haven’t listened to it enough for me to include it in this list!
- Night Driver by Busted - another one that was a big part of my year, especially at the beginning of the year where I saw the band live! But again, it was released at the end of 2016 so therefore doesn’t cut this list!
5 - Magnetised - Emma Blackery
This EP is by far Emma’s best so far! Released in May, I have been obsessed ever since with my ears coming back to every song on here throughout the year. The opening track 'Nothing Without You' has got to be the catchiest and most infectious song I heard from Blackery and teamed with a brilliantly fun music video, it is awesome and a right bop!
Another thing that I love about this EP is that it features my all-time favourite Emma Blackery songs from way back when she was making demos in her bedroom. 'Fixation' is a song that has always meant a lot to me because of the heart breaking lyrics and it made me so happy to see an updated studio version of this.
One of my highlights of the year was actually meeting Emma and watching her rock the stage at the Tramshed in Cardiff! I was right on the barrier, crying and screaming every lyric and was truly living my best life that night. I definitely recommend going to see her live!
4 - One More Light - Linkin Park
Another one that was released in May; this was one of the albums that really defined my spring/summer. I’m not a major fan of Linking Park. There is the odd song I like from their early days so when this album dropped I knew what to expect from them - or so I thought! This album is SO different to their usual style and I LOVE it!
Instead of a heavy rock sound with some awesome screamo, it is highly influenced pop with great synths, infectious voice distortions and brilliantly beats. Almost every song upbeat and mega catchy, making me dance along whenever I listen to the record. I also have some fond memories of this album from when me and my best friend blasted this in the car on the way home from Blackwood. With the roof down. At 1 in the morning.
I adore how emotional the lyrics are in every single track on this album and with Chester’s passing last year, they seem even more emotional. There was a time I couldn’t listen to this album because of this but nevertheless, this is a Fantastic album and deserves to be heard. Check out my full review of this album for more of my thoughts here.
3 - Gone Now - Bleachers
I don’t know what to say about this album. It came into my life after discovering one of my favourite songs from the record, 'Don’t Take The Money', in a random Spotify playlist, which enticed me to listen to the full album. To me, it was really different to anything else I had been listening too.
The band’s use of harmonisation with layers of different lyrics as well as using speech from what seems like random people used over and over again throughout the album really drew me in and opened my ears, making me want to decode the meaning of every song. When listening to the album in order, it seems to tell a story, but I am yet to figure out what that story is. And I think that is part of the charm of this album.
Each song kind of flows into each other, each telling an individual story of love and loss and life with amazing, punchy beats in every song. I also can't pinpoint a genre to this album. There are so many vibes going on from pop, to jazz, to indie and even a hint of blues sometimes. I don’t know what this album is. I just know that I love it. You should listen to it for yourselves. It speaks for itself.
2 - Sir Rosevelt - Sir Rosevelt
This album was released just a few weeks ago, but I can assure you it defiantly deserves its place on this list! Oh man, it is SO good! This is a new band from frontman of country band, The Zac Brown Band, but it is far from country! The album is predominately EDM yet every single song is different in its own way.
The first song I ever heard of theirs was 'Sunday Finest', thanks to the one and only Adam L Davies, and I was instantly hooked. I was so surprised by the song as I was expecting some honky-tonk country track but boy was I wrong. I even adore the remixes of this song which is something that I never usually like! There are songs on this album with vibes of gospel, pop, latin and a very small hint of country mixed with the heavy EDM styling and I adore every single track. I think I like it more than ALD himself!
This album is definitely an underrated one but everyone should give this one a chance. It is brilliantly and refreshingly different and the last thing you would especial from a country singer. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this new band.
1 - After Laughter - Paramore
This was a no-brainer for me. When this album dropped back in April I knew it was going to be my album of the year. The band’s new wave vibes in this album are not to every Paramore fan’s taste. It is an extreme change to what we are used to from them but that being said, it is simply perfection! If you listen to each album in order, this change in sound is natural – like the band have been slowly progressing to this.
Every single song is just a bop with catchy, poppy beats and beautiful lyrics that I adore oh so much. I still remember how shook I was when the first single 'Hard Times' dropped! I literally listened to it on repeat for a good 2 hours. No exaggeration. My favourite song from the album has changed on a monthly basis which just goes to show how amazing this record is! This is by far the best Paramore album so far and I am so pumped to be seeing them live for the first time next week with one of my best friends in Cardiff!
This album is an emotional one. It lulls you into a false sense of security with its new wave boppy-ness, but if you sit down and listen to the lyrics, it’s going to break you. I cannot recommend this album enough. After Laughter is the album of 2017.
What has been your favourite album of 2017? Are you going to listen to any of the albums I’ve mentioned? Let me know in the comments below!
