Wednesday, December 27, 2017

2017 Wrap Up

     I am not a fan of the end of the year best of lists that are endlessly churned out in the month of December.  A lot of them feel like they're just taking up space and seem to play favorites while overlooking records that warrant mention.  With that said, here's my list of notable records that came out this year.  This was written as more of an exercise in writing about music and is in no particular order.  Since I did not keep a running list of the records that I bought this year, I'm sure there are more than a few glaring oversights.

Killer Of Sheep-Scorned:
     The long awaited LP from Killer Of Sheep was finally released this year.  I have been waiting for this album to come out since I heard the single they released as part of the Mind Cure Records singles series, years ago.  It was around 2013 or so that I heard the band was starting to record.  Oyo and company did not disappoint.  Scorned is a raging slab of vinyl that even includes an Al Green cover.  As far as I can tell, the album is only available on the Taang! Records website or at their shows.



Code Orange-Forever:
     Forever is Code Orange's second album after dropping the “Kids” from the band name.   These art-metal youngsters, from Pittsburgh, have been going at it since they were students at the local creative arts middle/high school, CAPA.  Forever finds the band making better production choices than their previous outing, I Am King, but leaving their usual mix of brutality and synth made noises in tact.
     The band has landed on the European festival circuit and earned themselves a Grammy nomination in the process.  It feels good that the weird kids from this town are having some success and getting out into the world, instead of only hearing about the overhyped local bar band that was never really relevant.  Forever was put out on Roadrunner.  It was pressed on red vinyl and clear vinyl. The first hundred copies sold at the release show came with an alternate slip cover over the usual album artwork.



Lemuria-Recreational Hate:
     Lemuria snuck Recreational Hate in just under the 2017 wire.  The album was made available in the digital realm on December 15th and the vinyl will be out on February 2nd.  The band started their own label this time out called Turbo Worldwide.  They used the funds raised from the sale of their annual “secret bundle” to help cover the production costs.  The “secret bundle” usually included some of their older material pressed on funny looking vinyl.  This year it was an advanced copy of Recreational Hate on clear vinyl, with options of an extra single, t-shirts and test pressings.  I haven't had a chance to spend too much time with the album but so far, I'm liking what I've heard.



Sharptooth-Clever Girl:
     I came across Sharptooth while goofing around on Bandcamp.  If it weren't for Lauren Kashan's vocals, Clever Girl would have ended up being another hardcore album that I've heard a hundred other times with the “I hate my mom, I hate my dad” white boy lyrics.  But Lauren lends an intensity from the female perspective that lends the music boatloads more credibility.  They'll be opening for Anti-Flag in January and February.  They sound like they'll be a lot of fun to see. The album was put out by Pure Noise Records on half and half oxblood/black vinyl and oxblood/black swirl with gold splatter.



Crystal Fairy-Crystal Fairy:
     Buzz and Dale, from the Melvins, teamed up with Teri Gender Bender, from Le Butcherettes, and Omar, from At The Drive-In, to form Crystal Fairy.  The pedigree of this band really says it all.  Buzz and Omar trade off bass and guitar duties.  Dale Crover playing drums with all of his Dale Croverness.  And Teri Gender Bender doing what she does best, wreaking havoc all over every track like a cornered badger with rabies.  Ipecac released the album on pink, lavender and clear vinyl.



Boris-Dear:
     If all indications are correct, Dear might end up being the last Boris album.  They had almost called it quits after they toured for the anniversary of the Pink album but decided to treat us all to Dear and a subsequent tour instead.  Dear is a collection of what Boris does best.  From speaker melting, sludgy metal to ambient soundscapes.   This record dares to be played at maximum volume. In the U.S., Sargent House released vinyl on yellow and black marble along with a gray and black marble version.  In Japan, Daymare released a three LP version.  The first two LP's were on gold vinyl and contained the album proper.  The third LP was on clear vinyl with two bonus tracks and an extended version of the song D.O.W.N.



Ty Segall was busy as usual:
     The year was only a few weeks old when Ty Segall unleashed yet another LP.  It was his second self-titled release and he seems to be getting better and farther out there as he goes along.  A few months later, he puts forth the Sentimental Goblin EP.  It was only a two song EP and neither song was titled Sentimental Goblin.  And a few months after that, Ty released the benefit EP, Fried Shallots, which had a few new tracks and a few alternate takes of old songs.  Then as the year was winding down, Ty started releasing a single every few weeks.  Five of these tracks were released and then there was an album announcement for Freedom's Goblin which will be released at the end of January 2018.  And I'm sure by the time I finish writing this he'll have put out another record of fuzzy garage stompers.



Thee Oh Sees/Oh Sees/OCS:
     And not to be outdone in the field of fuzzy garage stompers, John Dwyer and his cohorts found it within the kindness of their hearts to give us two albums of weirdness this year.
     With the release of Orc, the band dropped the “Thee” and put the album out under the name Oh Sees.  Orc feels like the band is playing at a frenetic and, somehow at the same time, laid back pace.
Their second release of the year, put out under the name OCS, was Memory of A Cut Off Head.  It's a much mellower album than Orc and harkens back to the early days of the band when John Dwyer wanted a quieter affair after the ruckus of the Coachwhips.




Monolord-Rust:
     Swedish, stoner-metal heavyweights, Monolord came out of the laboratory, this year, with Rust. Tons of riffage and fuzzed out bass are present throughout.  If you are a fan of Sleep and old school Black Sabbath, then this is the band for you.  RidingEasy Records pressed Rust on a multitude of colors with a few different limited slip covers made of faux leather, denim and paper.




Here's notable reissues and live records:

Aus-Rotten-...And Now Back To Our Programming:
     Aus-Rotten's ...And Now Back To Our Programming was reissued this year on Profane Existence. And in 2016 the label reissued The System Works For Them.  When I saw they were reissued, I thought to myself, “Do I really need to buy these records again?”  Profane Existence stated that they made a few balance corrections to the original mastering but didn't touch too much else.  The original releases were such blazing pieces of savagery that I didn't think they could be improved upon.  Boy, was I wrong.  I took the Pepsi challenge with my original copy of The System Works For Them and the Bandcamp download of the new mastering.  The improvement was tenfold.  I couldn't believe it was the same record.  I immediately went to the Profane Existence website and ordered up the vinyl which also had the option to bundle with some t-shirts.  Sold.  Now I can replace my old Aus-Rotten t-shirt with one that doesn't look like I painted my torso a faded black and written “Aus-Rotten” across my chest.  Hooray for me.



In the Iggy Pop department:
     The behemoth seven CD Funhouse sessions box set that was released several years ago has been boiled down to a two LP set called Highlights From The Funhouse Sessions.  This makes for easier listening than an entire CD of every take of TV Eye.  As much as I could, and have, listened to that song repeatedly, an hours worth of TV Eye is a bit much.  Also included are the non-album tracks Lost In the Future, Slide (Slidin' The Blues) and a different version of L.A. Blues called Freak.  The vinyl comes pressed on clear orange with black smoke.
     Then there was the three LP release of the concert Iggy played at the Royal Albert Hall, in London, on the Post Pop Depression tour.  This was from the brief run of shows with Josh Homme and other members of Queens of The Stone Age and Arctic Monkeys as Iggy's backing band.  The set was loaded with songs from The Idiot, Lust For Life and Post Pop Depression and there were no Stooges songs present.  This tour was meant as a showcase for Iggy's solo material and that band hit those songs as if their lives depended on it.
     When the tour was announced, I made plans to haul ass across the state to Philadelphia for a family outing to see this show.  It felt like Iggy finally had a band, without the Asheton brothers, that could contain him and keep up with him.  In all of the Iggy live bootlegs that I have, I have never heard his solo songs played so well.  The Royal Albert Hall release captures that feeling perfectly.  The three LP version was a pricey Record Store Day release, back in April, but it's also available on CD with a blu-ray or DVD option.





The Beatles-Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band:
     The 50th anniversary remix/remaster of Sgt. Pepper was an incredible kick in the head.  My ears had grown accustomed to the 2009 mono remaster and I was not prepared for the monster that was on my turntable.
     When Sgt. Pepper was originally recorded there were technological limits in the studio so the drums had to be mixed down to a single track to leave room for all of the other sounds the Beatles wanted to achieve.  Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin, swapped out the original single track drum mix for a multi track drum mix.  The 2017 mix creates a swirling effect where it feels like the sound is coming from different directions and everything is more pronounced.


Brian Eno-Half Speed Masters:
     The first four Brian Eno albums have been reissued.  Here Come The Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), Another Green World and Before And After Science were all remastered and recut for 45rpm.  They were remastered at Abbey Road Studios using what they call the half speed mastering process.  This process brings the high range sounds down to the mid-range and makes them easier to manipulate and clean up.  This helps prevent the harsh distortion on “S” sounds that can appear on vinyl.  The albums were cut at 45rpm instead of 33rpm and on two LP's instead of one. This allows for more room on the surface of each side so the lines aren't crammed together. Here Come The Warm Jets has never sounded so good.



Ramones-40th Anniversary Reissues:
     This year, we were treated to two Ramones reissues.  There was Leave Home and Rocket To Russia.  The deluxe versions include a new mastering of the original albums, a new mix of the albums, demos and outtakes and a live recording.  So far, the new mixes have not disappointed.




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