2018 In Music Part 1: Reissues, Compilations, Virtual Crate-Digging

One of the more positive aspects of the proliferation of online music distribution and streaming services is the sheer volume of older, rediscovered music that is easily searchable and digestible. Even given the inflated prices generated by a growing commercial business in luxury vinyl (some examples included here, but I have to say this is a process that doesn't hugely interest me), much of this music can be accessed very easily and at minimal cost. 2018 has been another great year for reissues and compilations - there's plenty here in which to get lost.

Abu Obaida Hasan - Abu Obaida Hasan and his Tambour: The Shagiya Sound Of Sudan (Ostinato)
Outstanding, mesmeric music from northern Sudan, played on a modified Tambour with an additional string, with additional percussion and vocals. A thrilling discovery.




Alan Braufman - Valley Of Search (Valley Of Search)
Intense and powerful spiritual free improvisation. With Cooper Moore, Cecil McBee, David Lee and Ralph Williams.



Alela Diane - The Pirate's Gospel Deluxe Edition (AllPoints)
It's been a bumper year for Alela Diane fans with an outstanding new album 'Cusp' (somewhat overlooked by many) and this new reissue of the album that made her name. Beautiful songs delivered with subtlety and nuance.



Alice Coltrane - Spiritual Eternal: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (Real Gone) 
The continued reassessment of Alice Coltrane's musical and cultural legacy is a necessary enterprise. This set covers her brief stint on Warner Bros.



Aretha Franklin - Atlantic Records 1960s Collection/The Atlantic Singles Collection 1967-1970 (Rhino)
Peerless, vital music delivered with steadfast verve and elan - either in depth or the commercial highlights.



Art Ensemble Of Chicago - Art Ensemble of Chicago and Associated Ensembles (ECM)
A substantial box set collating the Art Ensemble of Chicago's ECM output and some equally essential but less widely recognised work from associated acts - including Jack De Johnette's New Directions and Roscoe Mitchell's collaboration with Evan Parker on the masterful Boustrophedon.



Art Of Noise - In No Sense? Nonsense! (Warner Music UK)
Another instalment in this excellent expanded reissue series of the 8os sonic experimentalists' work. The sounds have inevitably dated, but there's still something appealing about their madcap cut and paste quirkiness.



Basa Basa - Homowo (Vintage Voudou)
Superb rescued Highlife from Ghana.




Betty Davis - Nasty Gal (Light In The Attic)
Supremely dirty 1975 album from the gritty, defiant and erotically charged funk singer once married to Miles Davis, reissued on vinyl by the great Light In The Attic label. "I just can't seem to keep my tongue in my mouth...That's all folks!"



Bitchin Bajas - Rebajas (Drag City)
Tantric meditation in drone musical form. Pretty much all the Bitchin Bajas you need.



Bob Dylan - More Blood, More Tracks (Columbia)
Terrible title, but I guess it does what it says on the tin. If you have unlimited disposable income and you really need multiple takes of Up To Me (and maybe you do), it's worth investing in this now as Columbia are apparently deleting it. It can't help but feel that the Bootleg Series has lost its original spirit and become somewhat exploitative as well as exhaustive though.




Bob Seger and The Last Heard - Heavy Music: The Complete Cameo Recordings 1966-67 (ABKCO)
Enjoyable compilation of sturdy early work from the recently retired rocker.



Bobbie Gentry - Girl From Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters (Capitol)
Incredible box set that establishes Gentry as an underrated and richly creative artist - as weird and wonderful as her best known song is, there is so much here beyond Ode To Billy Joe.



Brian Eno - Vinyl Remasters/Music For Installations (Universal)
Peak ambient



Bronski Beat - The Age Of Consent (London Music Stream)
One of the most important albums of the 80s is expanded with bonus BBC Sessions.



Bruce Springsteen - The Album Collection Vol 2 (Columbia)
To many, this won't be considered Springsteen's golden era (and this set has been a bit neglected in light of the Broadway show), but it's worth keeping in mind that is move towards more reflective, sometimes even introspective songwriting included some of his very best songs. Lucky Town is particularly worthy of reassessment.



Buzzcocks - Another Music In A Different Kitchen/Love Bites 40th Anniversary (Domino)
The recent loss of Pete Shelley puts these anniversary vinyl reissues from Domino in a more poignant light. Incisive, radical lyrics meet biting, mercilessly economical music.



Carl Stone - Electronic Music From The 80s and 90s (Unseen Worlds)
For losing track of time...



Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - No. 2/Ame Debout/Paix (Universal)
First three albums of uncompromising, defiant weird folk music from the inventive, imposing singer, beloved of Kim Gordon and Jim O'Rourke.

Charles Mingus - Jazz In Detroit/Strata Concert/46 Selden (BBE)
This radio broadcast constitutes a major treasure trove of Mingus' wild frontier.



Cocteau Twins - Treasure Hiding: The Fontana Years (Mercury)
Some revisionism of the Cocteau Twins on Fontana seems necessary - rather than terminal decline into commercialised blandness, much of this music feels like a gentle refinement.



David Axelrod - Earth Rot (Now-Again for Record Store Day)
Major suite of music from the producer and composer - arguably second only to the Songs of Innocence and Experience sets in his catalogue.



David Bowie - Glastonbury 2000 (Warner Music)
I don't actually remember this set being all that fondly received at the time, given there was a general scepticism about Bowie's embrace of various electronic music and a predictable huffiness about his tendency to radically rework his older material.



David Sylvian - Dead Bees On A Cake Deluxe Vinyl (Universal)
David Sylvian and Holger Czukay - Plight and Premonition/Flux and Mutability (Groenland)
Unfortunately, David Sylvian continues to be somewhat AWOL from contemporary music following the cancellation of planned live performances a few years ago. These reissues constitute some of his most searching, texturally rich and imaginative work, particularly the excellent, absorbing collaborations with Czukay.



Deben Bhattacharya - Paris To Calcutta: Men and Music on the Desert Road (Sublime Frequencies)
An extraordinary, deeply fascinating sonic document of field recordist Bhattacharya's journey from France to India in 1955. Archive, history, cultural memory.



Digable Planets - Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) (Light In The Attic)
Supremely relaxed, philosophical, jazz-infused hip hop from 1993. Think Arrested Development, Dream Warriors etc.



Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet - Lansdowne Series Reissues (Decca)
Pioneering, melodically authoritative British jazz ensemble. Rendell and Carr gave their names to the group, but pianist Michael Garrick was an equally crucial compositional voice.



Erasmo Carlos - E Os Tremendoes/Carlos, Erasmo (Light In The Attic)
Two excellent albums from the relaxed Brazilian singer-songwriter reissued by Light In The Attic.



Felt - Vinyl Remasters (Cherry Red)
Including some of the peaks of 80s alternative guitar pop, not least Forever Breathes The Lonely Word.



Flaming Lips - Greatest Hits Vol 1 (Warner Music)
In some ways this compilation doesn't veer too far off the beaten track (as its title might suggest) but it's worth noting that it does contain mixed down versions of a couple of tracks from their grand folly Zaireeka. It also charts one of the more extraordinary evolutions in modern music - from very unassuming, scuzzy and ramshackle beginnings to the vaunting ambition and widescreen splendour of The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi.



Fleetwood Mac - 50 Years Don't Stop (Warner Music)
Neat, punchy 3CD set collating the obvious highlights of all incarnations of Fleetwood Mac.

Frank Sinatra - Only The Lonely 60th Anniversary Edition (UMC - Virgin International)
Maybe the greatest Frank album?



Gene Clark - Gene Clark Sings For You (Omnivore Recordings)
Great to see more of Gene Clark's solo work being made available - this set is ramshackle but typically affecting.



Graham Nash - Over The Years (Rhino)
30 track anthology bringing together solo work, CSN(Y) material and a couple of tracks from the albums with David Crosby. Second disc features demo versions.



Haruomi Hosono - Hosono House/Cochin Moon (Light In The Attic)
Two excellent albums from one of the major, most experimental figures in Japanese popular music.

https://lightintheattic.net/releases/4101-cochin-moon

Hiroshi Sato - Orient (Wewantsounds)
Originally released in  1979 in Japan, Orient is a masterpiece of textured synthesiser pop. Available on CD and vinyl.

https://wewantsounds.bandcamp.com/merch/hiroshi-sato-orient-cd-edition

Hiss Golden Messenger - Devotion: Songs About Rivers and Spirits and Children (Merge)
Box set collecting the largely solo Bad Debt, and the first Hiss Golden Messenger ensemble albums Poor Moon and Haw plus an additional disc Virgo Fool, gathering rarities (some drawn from the Lord I Love The Rain mini-album). Songs that manage to be earthy and spiritual at the same time.



Hollywood Beyond - If (Expanded) (Warner Music UK)
A relative obscurity now, this first (and only?) work from Mark Rogers generated one memorable hit in 1986 (What's The Colour Of Money?). Nothing else is quite as melodically insistent, but it's a solid example of sophisticated, artful 80s pop.



Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids/Tin Drum (UMC)
Some of the strangest, most blissfully disorientating pop music ever to have hit the upper reaches of the UK Top 40. Reissued on vinyl.



Jess Sah Bi and Peter One - Our Garden Needs Its Flowers (Awesome Tapes From Africa)
One of the most popular acts in West Africa in the 90s, this is a fascinating, beguiling and ultimately uplifting fusion of traditional songs, West African rhythms and western folk music.



John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album (Impulse!)
One of the year's most significant releases in any genre and a worthy addition to the Coltrane canon.



Joseph Spence - Bahaman Folk Guitar (Smithsonian Folkways)
Remarkably unique - rhythmic and driving solo guitar work.



Kate Bush - Remastered (PLG UK Catalog)
Vinyl and CD box sets of the entire catalogue of one of the great English eccentric artists, lovingly remastered (including, it has to be noted, the removal of a certain disgraced individual from Aerial). The Other Sides collates B Sides and offers a reminder of Kate's implausible (and weirdly faithful) cover of Sexual Healing.



Kath Bloom and Loren Conners - Restless Faithful Desperate (Chapter Music)
A beautiful avant-folk masterpiece.



Ken Boothe - Freedom Street (Real Gone)
Very limited vinyl run of this classic from the great reggae vocalist.

Kimiko Kasai and Herbie Hancock - Butterfly (Sony Music)
Great spacey fusion collaboration between Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters and Japanese vocalist Kasai, recorded in Tokyo in 1979. Contains a number of well known Herbie Hancock compositions. Some naturally absorb Kasai's vocal, others (such as Maiden Voyage) are majestically reworked. Concludes with a disco-tactic take on Stevie Wonder's As.



Lindsey Buckingham - Solo Anthology (Rhino)
Buckingham's farcical and unfortunate departure from Fleetwood Mac offers a welcome opportunity to revisit his underrated solo work and extraordinary guitar playing.



Liz Phair - Girly Sound To Guyville: The 25th Anniversary Box Set (Matador)
Combines Liz Phair's highly acclaimed debut album with the earlier tapes she circulated under the Girly-Sound moniker.



Love - Forever Changes 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe (Rhino)
Not sure anyone needs another edition of this, but the original album continues to endure.

Mansun - Attack Of The Grey Lantern (KScope)
A massive expanded reissue of the 90s grand folly. It's still rather fun, from Bond theme parody to exuberant, camp English pop via the inevitable Beatles rip.

Massive Attack - Mezzanine (UMC)
Anniversary reissue of Massive Attack's dark and introspective classic.

Miles Davis and John Coltrane - The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 (Sony)
The Miles bootleg series continues to offer remarkable and rewarding riches, even if this must by now have reached the 'completists only' stage. I love the contrast between Coltrane's intelligent fieriness and Miles' use of space, but both play with a melodic approach even when stretching out.



Morrison Kincannon - Beneath The Redwoods (Spacetalk)
Rare, bucolic music from previously undiscovered Californian duo.



Neil Young - Roxy: Tonight's The Night Live (Warner Music)
Neil Young - Songs For Judy (Warner Music)
Two gems from Neil's archive this year (and his work rate on both old and new material shows little sign of slowing). The Tonight's The Night show at the Roxy is typically wayward, excoriating and thrilling, whilst Songs For Judy offers solo performances.



Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Architecture and Morality (UMC)
Vinyl reissue of OMD's finest album. Artful, cerebral synth pop.



Orchestre Abass - De Bassari Togo (Analog Africa)
Resplendent groove music from Togo. Tragically, the leader of Orchestre Abass, Malam Issa Abass, was killed by a grenade thrown into his room in 1993.



Ornette Coleman - The Atlantic Years (Rhino)
This is a simply peerless ten disc set. Ornette's relatively brief period on Atlantic generated some of the most divisive and important music ever recorded.



Pablo's Eye - Spring Break/Bardo For Pablo (Stroom)
The first two instalments of Stroom's trilogy of reissues from this malleable Belgian collective. The third part is out in January 2019.



Pat Ament - Songs (Grapefruit/Ba Da Bing)
Originally released in 1971 in a very limited run for friends and local shops, the internet now enables this charming, affecting set of songs to be distributed in a far wider manner than ever intended.



Pet Shop Boys - Further Listening Reissues (PLG UK)
Superb expanded reissue series - essential for those of us who only ever owned these albums on cassette! Introspective, Behaviour, Very, Bilingual.

Peter Zummo - Frame Loop (Foom)
Vinyl pressing and digital re-release of excellent work from composer, trombonist and Arthur Russell collaborator (Russell plays cello here). Also features marimba and congas.



Prince - Piano and A Microphone 1983 (Rhino)
The Prince estate seems to be dealing with the catalogue in ways that are unexpected (not least putting the music back on streaming services). But if they continue to uncover pure gems like this, where Prince's gift for capturing emotion through song is communicated without filter or enhancement, then this is a very welcome development. The recordings include occasional interjections from Prince ('turn the voice down a little'), but even this can't diminish the impact of his isolated talent.



Professor Rhythm - Professor 3 (Awesome Tapes From Africa)
The dance sound of attempted unity at the end of the Apartheid era in South Africa. Hugely joyful and uplifting.



R.E.M. - At The BBC (UMC)
Essential for me due to the inclusion of the 1995 Milton Keynes Bowl concert I attended as a teenager (a memorable formative live music experience, with Automatic For The People songs controversially rocked up) - but also a reminder of how inventive post-Bill Berry R.E.M. were at their best too, the performances in this set particularly emphasising the bold experimentalism of the Up era. There's also a great 1984 show from Nottingham Rock City (although the sound quality here is less impressive and the mix is poor).



Roxy Music - Roxy Music Deluxe (UMC)
Deluxe version of the ever impressive debut.



Songs: Ohia - Love and Work: The Lioness Sessions (Secretly Canadian)
A key transitional work from the much missed Jason Molina - mysterious, eerie and compelling.



Stereolab - Switched On Vols 1-3 (Duophonic)
4CD Box Set that gathers remastered versions of the legendary Stereolab compilations. In the end, it transpires that this was presaging new shows and new music next year.



Sun Ra - Of Abstract Dreams (Strut)
Given the vastness of the existing Sun Ra catalogue, it's hardly surprising that the vaults are also proving to be substantial. This is a previously unreleased radio session from 1974-5.



Super Furry Animals - At The BBC (Strangetown)
Radio sessions and live recordings from across the band's career - neatly charting their evolution from quirky power pop to broader pastures.



Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque/Thirteen/Grand Prix/Songs From Northern Britain/Howdy! (Sony)
Vinyl reissues of the most essential albums made by our most essential songwriters. Teenage Fanclub are probably too modest and unassuming to be canonised, but these albums should by now be established classics. It's also interesting to listen to them in sequence and observe their transition from slightly wayward fuzzy grunge to chiming Byrdsian power pop. All the albums come with a bonus 7" containing choice B sides. Songs From Northern Britain arguably remains their masterpiece. Sadly, now a poignant opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the substantial contribution of the departing Gerard Love.



Terry Callier - The New Folk Sound Of Terry Callier Deluxe Edition (Craft Recordings)
Welcome reissue of a crucial recording. Includes additional takes.



The Band - Music From Big Pink Super Deluxe (Commercial Marketing)
Another one probably not really in need of another repackaging - but the album itself remains essential.

The Beatles - The White Album 50th Anniversary (UMC)
Genuinely one of the superior products in the endless Beatles legacy series.



The Beta Band - The Three EPs 20th Anniversary Remaster (Because)
Has it really been 20 years? It's pleasing to report that this still feels goofy, loose and idiosyncratic.



The Gladiators - Serious Thing (Warner)
Strong 1984 roots set from the reggae trio.



The Handsome Family - Through The Trees 20th Anniversary (Loose)
Anniversary vinyl edition of The Handsome Family's most evocative, romantic and richly poetic work - the best of their stark, gothic Americana. Includes one of my all time favourite songs, The Giant of Illinois.



This Heat - Repeat/Metal/Live 80-81/Made Available (Light In The Attic)
Later set of This Heat reissues.

This Mortal Coil - Deluxe Reissues (4AD)
Vinyl reissues of 'It'll End In Tears', 'Blood' and 'Filigree and Shadow' - still the epitome of the 4AD aesthetic. 



Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - An American Treasure (Warner Bros.)
Superb box set offering choice outtakes and rarities from across Petty's career. Includes unreleased songs, demos, alternate takes and live recordings.



Various Artists - African Scream Contest 2 - Benin 1963-80 (Analog Africa)
Good to see a second instalment of this excellent compilation, this time focusing on under appreciated Afro-funk music from Benin.



Various Artists - Basement Beehive: The Girl Group Underground (Numero Group)
Superb compilation of girl group sounds, pretty much all of this previously unknown to me.



Various Artists - Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs Present Paris In The Spring (Ace)
Various Artists - Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs Present State Of The Union: The American Dream In Crisis 1967-1973 (Ace)
Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs' compilations are jewels in Ace Records' crown and these two are particularly strong. State Of The Union, in particular, is one of the essential releases of the year, not least for including Roy Orbison's magisterial South Jericho Parkway. 



Various Artists - Gumba Fire: Bubblegum Soul and Synth Boogie in 1980s South Africa (Soundway)

Great 90s minimal synth disco from South Africa. The extent to which the Survivals song below resembles Ed Sheeran's Shape Of You is probably coincidental.



Various Artists - Listen All Around: The Golden Age of Central and East African Music (Dust to Digital)

Another gargantuan, comprehensive and hugely informative compilation from Dust To Digital.



Various Artists - Mother's Garden: The Funk Sound Of Female Africa 1975-1984 (Africa Seven)

Excellent celebration of female artistry in African popular music.



Various Artists - Kafundo Vol. 6: Afrobeat Brazil (Kafundo)

High energy compilation of Afrobeat in Brazil. Includes the excellent Bixiga 70 amongst others.



Various Artists - Pop Ambient 2019 (Kompakt)
Various Artists - We Out Here (Brownswood)

Two compilations that could justifiably belong in my new releases list - celebrating the European ambient sound (and 25 years of the Kompakt label) and the much vaunted and well promoted end of the UK jazz scene respectively.





Various Artists - Silk To Dry The Tears (100% Silk)
Gathers together affiliates and alumni of the 100% Silk label and helps to sustain Oakland's creative communities following the devastating warehouse fire of 2016.



Various Artists - Quare Groove vol. 1 (Allchival)
Surprising and stimulating sounds from the Irish musical underground of the 1970s and 80s.



Various Artists - When The Day Is Done: The Orchestrations of Robert Kirby (Ace)
Entirely essential selection of arrangements from the great Robert Kirby, from the by now well known (Nick Drake, Vashti Bunyan) to more off-the-beaten-track choices (Shelagh McDonald, Audience).



Various Artists - Uneven Paths: Deviant Pop From Europe 1980 - 1991 (Music From Memory)
The second multi-artist compilation on Music From Memory (following last year's outstanding 'Outro Tempo' set of electronic music from Brazil) is another gem, introducing us to a whole world of previously unknown quirky electronica from Europe.



Various Artists - Levanta Poreia: Afro-Brazilian Music and Rhythms 1976-2016 (Jazz and Milk)

Another label collates Afrobeat inspired music from Brazil, with similarly thrilling results.



Various Artists - Paradise: The Sound Of Ivor Raymonde (Bella Union)
Simon Raymonde's Bella Union celebrates the impressive work of his father Ivor, a songwriter, arranger and orchestra leader.



Various Artists - Trojan Records 50th Anniversary Box Set (Wholesale)
All the great reggae hits now in one place.



Various Artists - Running The Voodoo Down Vol. 2: Explorations in psychfunksouljazz 1965-77 (TAD)
Superb second instalment of the out-there funk, fusion and psychedelic soul compilation. This one includes Chairmen Of The Board's Life and Death in G and A suite and Sonny Sharrock's Black Woman - two of the greatest pieces of recorded music of all time.



Various Artists - Soul Jazz Presents Black Man's Pride 2 (Soul Jazz)
Another superb Studio One compilation from Soul Jazz.



Various Artists - Soul of a Nation: Jazz is the Teacher, Funk is the Preacher - Afro-Centric Jazz,
Street Funk and the Roots of Rap in The Black Power Era 1969-75 (Soul Jazz)
Pretty irresistible and open minded fusions of various forms of black music.



Various Artists - Switched-On Eugene (Numero Group)
The Eugene Electronic Music Collective and associates in Oregon. All new to me.



Various Artists - The Wrecking Crew (Wienerworld)
It's impossible to go wrong with any compilation of tracks featuring the crucial session band.



Various Artists - Voices of Mississippi - Artists and Musicians Documented By William Ferris (Dust To Digital)
Substantial three disc set of uncovered blues delights.



Wings - Wild Life/Red Rose Speedway (UMC)
The band The Beatles could have been.



XTC - Skylarking/Apple Venus Vol. 1/Apple Venus Vol. 2 Wasp Star (Ape House - Panegyric)
It's particularly good to have the excellent Apple Venus Vol 1 available again. Skylarking of course remains a pastoral psychedelic classic.



Yazoo - Four Pieces (Mute)
Comprehensive and enjoyable box set from the irresistibly melodic electronic pop duo.



Zuider Zee - Zeenith (Light In The Attic)
Unfairly neglected 70s glam folk psychedelia.

2018 Half Time List

We're halfway through another year, so now is a good time to take stock of the worthwhile music releases from the first half of the year. With thanks to a few friends (particularly Alexander Shields and Michael Ewins) for suggestions and reminders. These are not ranked, but I've put my current preferred choices in bold text. The usual disclaimers apply - some albums will have gone up in my estimations by the end of the year and others will probably diminish somewhat. Also, this is a broad list and I certainly don't think everything here is a masterpiece. Particularly good year for film soundtracks, isn't it?

AAL (Against All Logic) - 2012-2017 (Other People) 
Aisha Devi - DNA Feelings (Houndstooth)
AKA Moon - Now (Outhere)
Alasdair Roberts, Amble Skuse and David McGuinness - What News? (Drag City) 
Alela Diane - Cusp (AllPoints) 
Alexis Taylor - Beautiful Thing (Domino)
Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Yonge - The Midnight Hour (Linear Labs)
Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto - Glass (NOTON)
Andy Sheppard Quartet - Romaria (ECM)
Anenon - Tongue (Friends Of Friends)
Angelique Kidjo - Remain In Light (Kravenworks) 
Anteloper - Kudu (International Anthem)
Anton Hunter - Article XI (Efpi) 
Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino (Domino) 
Arp - Zebra (Kemado)
Baloji - 137 Avenue Kaniama (Bella Union)
Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness (BCUC) - Emakhosini (Buda Musique)
Bell's Roar - We Carry Us (Sean Desiree)
Belly - Dove (Belly Touring)
Ben LaMar Gay - Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun (International Anthem) 
Ben Vince - Assimilation (Where To Now?) 
Bill Frisell - Music IS (Okeh)
Binker and Moses - Alive In The East? (Gearbox)
Brad Mehldau Trio - Seymour Reads The Constitution! (Nonesuch)
Brigid Mae Power - The Two Worlds (Tompkins Square) 
Calexico - The Thread That Keeps Us (City Slang)
Cath and Phil Tyler - The Ox and the Ax (Thread Recordings) 
Colin Stetson - Hereditary OST (Milan)
Charles Lloyd & The Marvels - Vanished Gardens (Blue Note)
Christina Vantzou - No. 4 (Kranky) 
Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel (Marathon Artists)
Courtney Marie Andrews - May Your Kindness Remain (Loose)
Dan Weiss - Starebaby (Pi Recordings) 
Daniel Avery - Song For Alpha (Phantasy Sound)
Daniel Blumberg - Minus (Mute)
Dave Holland - Uncharted Territories (Dare 2) 
David Byrne - American Utopia (Nonesuch) 
Dedkind Cut - Tahoe (Kranky)
Dinosaur - Wonder Trail (Edition) 
Domenico Lancelloti - The Good Is A Big God (Luaka Bop)
Dylan Carlson - Conquistador (Sargent House)
Eleanor Friedberger - Rebound (Frenchkiss)
Elliot Galvin - The Influencing Machine (Edition)
Elysia Crampton - Elysia Crampton (Break World)
Enemy - Enemy (Edition)
Eric Chenaux - Slowly Paradise (Constellation)
Erik Friedlander - Throughbreds OST (Back Lot Music) 
Espen Eriksen Trio with Andy Sheppard - Perfectly Unhappy (Rune Grammofon)
Fatoumata Diawara - Fenfo (Republic of Music)
Field Music - Open Here (Memphis Industries) 
Gang Gang Dance - Kazuashita (4AD)  
GAS - Rausch (Kompakt) 
Gemini Sisters - Gemini Sisters (Psychic Troubles Tapes) 
Grouper - Grid Of Points (Kranky) 
Guided By Voices - How Do You Spell Heaven? (Guided By Voices, Inc)
Guided By Voices - Space Gun (Guided By Voices, Inc)
Gwenifer Raymond - You Were Never Much Of A Dancer (Tomkins Square)
H.C. McEntire - Lionheart (Merge) 
Haley Heynderickx - I Need To Start A Garden (Mama Bird)
Henri Texier - Sand Woman (Label Bleu)
Henry Lowther - Can't Believe, Won't Believe (Village Life) 
Henry Threadgill - Dirt...And More Dirt (Pi Recordings) 
Hieroglyphic Being - The Red Notes (Soul Jazz)
Hilary Woods - Colt (Sacred Bones) 
Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog (Saddle Creek) 
Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids - An Angel Fell (Strut)
Imarhan - Temet (City Slang)
Insecure Men - Insecure Men (Fat Possum)
Ivo Neame - Moksha (Edition)
Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer (WEA International)
Jennifer Castle - Angels of Death (Paradise of Bachelors)
Jim O'Rourke - Steamroom 40 (Steamroom) 
Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas 'Sound Prints' - Scandal (Greenleaf) 
John Prine - The Tree Of Forgiveness (Oh Boy) 
Jon Hassell - Listening To Pictures (Pentimento Volume One) (Ndeya) 
Jonathan Wilson - Rare Birds (Bella Union)
Jonny Greenwood - Phantom Thread OST (Nonesuch)
Jonny Greenwood - You Were Never Really Here OST (Invada/Lakeshore) 
Joshua Redman - Still Dreaming (Nonesuch)
Julian Arguelles' Tetra - Tonadas (Whirlwind) 
Julian Siegel Quartet - Vista (Whirlwind)
Kadhja Bonet - Childqueen (Fat Possum) 
Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth (Young Turks)
Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mondo (Night Time Stories)
Kit Downes - Obsidian (ECM)
Laura Veirs - The Lookout (Bella Union)
Lucrecia Dalt - Anticlines (RVNG)
LUMP - LUMP (Dead Oceans)
Lydian Collective - Adventure (Lydian)
Marisa Anderson - Cloud Corner (Thrill Jockey) 
Mark Pritchard - The Four Worlds (Warp)
Mary Halvorsen - Code Girl (Red Distribution) 
Mary Lattimore - Hundreds Of Days (Ghostly) 
Matthew Sweet - Tomorrow's Daughter (Honeycomb Hideout)
Mind Over Mirrors - Bellowing Sun (Paradise of Bachelors)
Mount Eerie - Now Only (1Gd)
Mouse On Mars - Dimensional People (Thrill Jockey)
Natalie Prass - The Future and the Past (ATO)
Neko Case - Hell-On (ANTI) 
Norma Waterson & Eliza Carthy - Anchor (Topic)
Olivia Chaney - Shelter (Nonesuch) 
Oneohtrix Point Never - Age Of (Warp)
Park Jiha - Communion (Tak:Til) 
Pete Lee - The Velvet Rage (Ubuntu)
Phil Cook - People Are My Drug (Psychic Hotline)
Philip Jeck - Arcade (Touch)
Red River Dialect - Broken Stay Open Sky (Paradise of Bachelors)
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Hope Downs (Sub Pop)
Ry Cooder - The Prodigal Son (Caroline International) 
Ryan Porter - The Optimist (World Galaxy)
Ryley Walker - Deafman Glance (Dead Oceans) 
Sarah Davachi - Let Night Come On Bells End The Day (Forced Exposure)
Sarah Louise - Deeper Woods (Thrill Jockey)
Samba Toure - Wande (Glitterbeat)
Seabuckthorn - A House With Too Much Fire (876527)
serpentwithfeet - Soil (Secretly Canadian/Tri Angle)
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - Black Times (Strut) 
Sidi Toure - Toubalbero (Thrill Jockey)
Sink Ya Teeth - Sink Ya Teeth (Hey Buffalo)
Sloth Racket - A Glorious Monster (Luminous)
Sonar with David Torn - Vortex (RareNoise) 
Sons Of Kemet - Your Queen Is A Reptile (Impulse)
SOPHIE - Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides (Transgressive)
Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks - Sparkle Hard (Domino)
Steve Tibbetts - Life Of (ECM) 
The Body - I Have Fought Against It, But I Can't Any Longer (Thrill Jockey)
The Breeders - All Nerve (4AD)
The Nels Cline 4 - Currents, Constellations (Blue Note)
The Sea and Cake - Any Day (Thrill Jockey)
Thumbscrew - Ours/Theirs (Cuneiform)
Tori Freestone and Alcyona Mick - Criss Cross (Whirlwind)
Traveller  - Western Movies (Refuge Foundation for the Arts)
Tracyanne and Danny - Tracyanne & Danny (Merge)
Trembling Bells - Dungeness (Tin Angel)
Tune-Yards - I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life (4AD)
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Sex and Food (Jagjaguwar)
Virginia Wing - Ecstatic Arrow (Fire Records)
Witch Prophet - The Golden Octave (88 Days Of Fortune)
Yo La Tengo - There's A Riot Going On (Matador) 
Young Fathers - Cocoa Sugar (Ninja Tune) 

µ-Ziq - Challenge Me Foolish (Planet Mu) 

2017 In Albums Part 3: The Best of the Rest

Sort-of alphabetical order....

Aaron Dilloway - The Gag File (Dais)
Aaron Parks, Ben Street, Billy Hart - Find The Way (ECM)
Actress - AZD (Ninja Tune)
Ahnnu - Special Forces (NNA Tapes) 
Aimee Mann - Mental Illness (SuperEgo)
Aine O'Dwyer - Gallarais (MIE)
Alasdair Roberts - Pangs (Drag City) 
Aldous Harding - Party (4AD)
Anjou - Epithymia (Krankt)
Amber Mark - 3:33am (Jasmine Music)
Anouar Brahem - Blue Maqams (ECM)
Antibalas - Where The Gods Are In Peace (Daptone) 
Arboretum - Song Of The Rose (Thrill Jockey)
Arca - Arca (XL)
Awa Poulo - Poulo Warali (Awesome Tapes From Africa)
Bargou 08 - Targ (Glitterbeat)
Becca Stevens - Regina (GroundUP) 
Bicep - Bicep (Ninja Tune) 
Big Thief - Capacity (Saddle Creek)
Bill Frisell, Thomas Morgan - Small Town (ECM)
Bill Mackay - Esker (Drag City)
Bill Mackay and Ryley Walker - Spiderbeetlebee (Drag City)
Bill Orcutt - Bill Orcutt (Paralelia)
Billy Woods - Known Unknowns (Backwoodz Studios)
Bing and Ruth - No Home Of The Mind (4AD)
Binker and Moses - Journey To The Mountain Of Forever (Gearbox)
Blanck Mass - World Eater (Sacred Bones)
Bog Bodies - Sligo (Orindal)
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Best Troubadour (Drag City)
Brokeback - Illinois River Valley Blues (Thrill Jockey)
Camilla George - Isang (Ubuntu)
Charles Lloyd New Quartet - Passin' Thru (Decca)
Children Of Alice - Children Of Alice (Warp)
Chino Amobi - Paradiso (NON)
Chris Hillman - Bidin' My Time (Rounder)
Chris Potter - The Dreamer Is The Dream (ECM)
Chris Robinson Brotherhood - Barefoot In The Head (Silver Arrow) 
Chuck Berry - Chuck (Dualtone/Universal)
Chuck Johnson - Balsams (Vdsq)
Claire M Singer - Fairge (Touch) 
Cody Chestnutt - My Love Devine Degree (One Little Indian)
Colin Stetson - All This I Do For Glory (52Hz)
Colleen - A Flame My Love, A Frequency (Thrill Jockey)
Cornelius - Mellow Waves (Warner Music Japan)
Crescent - Resin Pockets (Domino)
Daniel O' Sullivan - Veld (O Genesis)
Dave Liebman & Joe Lovano - Compassion: The Music Of John Coltrane (Resonance)
Dave O' Higgins - It's Always 9.30 In Zog (JVG)
David Crosby - Sky Trails (BMG)
David Rawlings - Poor David's Alamack (Acony) 
Deerhoof - Mountain Moves (Joyful Noise Recordings)
Denys Baptiste - Late Trane (Edition)
Depeche Mode - Spirit (Mute)
Destroyer - ken (Merge)
Dirty Projectors - Dirty Projectors (Domino)
Django Bates - Saluting Sgt Pepper (Edition)
Django Bates Beloved - The Study Of Touch (ECM)
El Michels Affair - Return To the 37th Chamber (Big Crown)
Ellen Allien - Nost (BPitch Control)
Emptyset - Borders (Thrill Jockey)
Entropi - Moment Frozen (Whirlwind) 
Favourite Animals - Favourite Animals (Luminous) 
Feist  - Pleasure (Interscope)
Felicia Atkinson - Hand In Hand (Shelter Press)
Fever Ray - Plunge (Rabid)
Filthy Friends - Filthy Friends (Kill Rock Stars)
Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody (Warner Bros)
Fleet Foxes - Crack Up (Bella Union)
Fletcher Tucker - Cold Spring (Gnome Life)
Floating Points - Reflections 
Flo Morrissey and Matthew E White - Gentlewoman, Ruby Man (Spacebomb)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Luceferian Towers (Kranky)
Golden Teacher - Luscious Life (Golden Teacher)
Goran Kafjes Subtropic Arkestra - The Reason Why Vol 3 (Headspin)
Gosheven - Leaper (Opal Tapes)
Grandaddy - Last Place (Columbia)
Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins (RCA)
Gun Outfit - Out Of Range (Paradise of Bachelors)
Gunn-Truscinski Duo - Bay Head (Three Lobed) 
Henry Spencer's Juncture - The Reasons Don't Change (Whirlwind)
Ibeyi - Ash (XL)
Ibibio Sound Machine - Uyai (Merge) 
Ifriqqiya Electique - Ruwahine (Glitterbeat)
Injury Reserve - Drive It Like It's Stolen (Las Fuegas)
Jack De Johnette, John Scofield, John Medeski, Larry Grenadier - Hudson (Motema)
J Hus - Common Sense (Black Butter)
Jaimie Branch - Fly Or Die (International Anthem) 
Jake Xerxes Fussell - What In The Natural World (Paradise of Bachelors) 
James Elkington - Wintres Woma (Paradise of Bachelors)
Jana Rush - Pariah (Objects Limited)
Jan Lundgren - Potsdamer Platz (ACT)
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound (Southeastern)
Jeff Tweedy - Together At Last (DBpm)
Jen Shyu - Song Of Silver Geese (Pi) 
Jesca Hoop - Memories Are Now (Sub Pop)
Joseph Shabason - Aytche (Western Vinyl)
Josephine Davies - Satori (Whirlwind)
Juana Molina - Halo (Crammed Discs) 
Juju and Jordash - Sis-boom-bah! (Dekmantel)
Julien Baker - Turn Out The Lights (Matador)  
Kamasi Washington - Harmony Of Difference (Young Turks) 
Kara-Lis Coverdale - Grafts (Boomkat Editions)
Karima Walker - Hands In Our Names (Orindal) 
Kelela - Take Me Apart (Warp)
Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens (Small-town Supersound)
Kendrick Lamar - Damn (Interscope)
Kevin Morby - City Music (Dead Oceans)
King Ayisoba - 1000 Can Die (Glitterbeat)
Klein - Tommy (Hyperdub) 
Kneebody - Antihero (Motema)
Lankum - Between The Earth and Sky (Rough Trade)
Laraaji - Bring On The Sun (All Saints)
The Last Dinosaur - The Nothing (Naim)
Laura Marling - Semper Femina (Kobalt Music Group)
LCD Soundsystem - American Dream (DFA/Columbia)
Lee Gamble - Mnestic Pressure (Hyperdub) 
Lindsay Buckingham and Christine McVie - Lindsay Buckingham and Christine McVie (Warner Music)
Lindstrøm - It's All Right Between Us (Small-town Supersound)
Lorde - Melodrama (Universal)
Man Forever - Play What They Want (Thrill Jockey)
Margo Price - All American Made (Third Man)
Mark Eitzel - Hey, Mr. Ferrymen (Decor) 
Mark Lewandowski - Waller (Whirlwind)
Mark McGuire - Ideas Of Beginnings (Vin Du Select Qualitite)
MHYSA - Fantasii (Halcyon Veil) 
Michael Head and The Red Elastic Band - Adios Señor Pussycat (Violette)
Miguel - War and Leisure (Sony) 
Miles Mosley - Uprising (Verve)
Misha Mullov-Abbado - Cross Platform Interchange (Edition)
Mogwai - Every Country's Sun (Temporary Residence)
Mokoomba - Luyando (Outhere)
Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked At Me (P.W. Elverum and Sun)
Morten Schantz - Godspeed (Edition)
Moses Sumney - Aromanticism (Jagjaguwar)
Mountain Movers - Mountain Movers (Trouble In Mind)
Nadia Reid - Preservation (Basin Rock)
Nikki Lane - Highway Queen (New West)
Offa Rex - Queen Of Hearts (Nonesuch) 
Oli Rockburger - Sovereign (Whirlwind)
Ollie Brice Quintet - Day After Day (Babel)
Omar Souleyman - To Syria, With Love (Mad Decent/Because)
Once and Future Band - Once and Future Band (Castle Face)
Open Mike Eagle - Brick Body Kids Still Daydream (Mello Music Group)
Oneohtrix Point Never - Good Time OST (Warp) 
Pan Daijing - Lack (Pan)
Partikel - Counteraction (Whirlwind)
Perc - Bitter Music (Perc Trax)
Peter Oren - Anthropocene (Western Vinyl)
Pharmakon - Contact (Sacred Bones)
Phronesis/Julian Arguelles/NDR Big Band - The Behemoth (Edition) 
Prurient - Rainbow Mirror (Profound Love)
Randy Newman - Dark Habits (Nonesuch) 
Rhiannon Giddens - Freedom Highway (Nonesuch)
Richard Dawson - Peasant (Weird World) 
Richard Thompson - Acoustic Classics 2/Acoustic Rarities (Beeswing/Proper) 
Rick Tomlinson - Phases Of Daylight (Voix)
Rivers Of Sound (Amir El Saffar) - Not Two (New Amsterdam) 
Ride - Weather Diaries (Wichita)
Rina Sawayama - Rina (Self Released)
Roscoe Mitchell - Bells For The South Side (ECM)
Saicobab - Sab Se Purani Bab (Thrill Jockey)
Sananda Maitreya - Prometheus and Pandora (Self Released)
Sarah Davachi - All My Circles Run (Students Of Decay) 
Shabazz Palaces - Quasarz (Sub Pop)
Shobaleader One - Elektrak (Warp)
Seabuckthorn - Turns (Lost Tribe Sound)
Shinochi Atobi - From The Heart, It's A Start, It's A Work Of Art (DDS) 
Sinkane - Life and Livin' It (City Slang)
Six Organs Of Admittance - Burning The Threshold (Drag City)
Sleater-Kinney - Live In Paris (Sub Pop)
Sloth Racket - Shapeshifters (Luminous)
Slowdive - Slowdive (Dead Oceans)
Songhoy Blues - Resistance (Transgressive) 
Sote - Sacred Horror In Design (Opal Tapes)
Sparks - Hippopotamus (BMG)
Susanne Sundfør - Music For People In Trouble (Bella Union)
Syd - Fin (Columbia)
Tamikrest - Kidal (Glitterbeat) 
The Afghan Whigs - In Spades (Sub Pop)
The Bug vs. Earth - Concrete Desert (Ninja Tune) 
The Cairo Gang - Untouchable (Drag City) 
The Como Mamas - Move Upstairs (Daptone) 
The Dream Syndicate - How Did I Find Myself Here (ANTI-)
The Heliocentrics - A World Of Masks (Soundway)
The Inward Circles - And Right Lines Limit And Close All Bodies/Scaleby (Corbel Stone Press)
The Magnetic Fields - 50 Song Memoir (Nonesuch)
Tift Merritt - Stitch Of The World (Yep Roc)
Tigran Hamisyan - An Ancient Observer (Nonesuch)
Tinariwen - Elwan
Tom Millar - Unnatural Events (Spark)
Tom Rogerson and Brian Eno - Finding Shore (Dead Oceans) 
Trio Da Kali and Kronos Quartet - Ladilikan (World Circuit) 
Trish Clowes - My Iris (Basho)
Van Morrison - Roll With The Punches (Exile Productions)
Vieux Farka Toure - Samba (Six Degrees)
Vince Mendoza/WDR Big Band - Homecoming (Sunnyside)
Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory (Def Jam)
Visible Cloaks - Reassemblage (RVNG Intl)
Wadada Leo Smith - Najwa
Waxahatchee - Out In The Storm (Merge)
William Eggleston - Musik (Secretly Canadian)
Zara Macfarlane - Arise (Brownswood) 
Zimpel/Ziolek - Zimpel/Ziolek (Instant Classic)

2017 In Albums Part 2: The Top 50

Like many other writers (both music and film enthusiasts) I read and follow, I tend to write these lists largely for myself. It's a means of creating closure on one calendar year, and looking ahead to what might be in store artistically in the next - and it's a means of examining my own listening preoccupations. As whatever I post to the internet will inevitably stay there unless I seek to remove it, it's also a great future resource to remind me what I enjoyed this year. I may of course come to disagree with my former self in future years, but that's OK.

It's been remarkably tough to pick out a top 50 from the wealth of excellent music released in 2017, and there were many other works I could have chosen. I plan to publish a longer list of pretty much everything I've checked out and enjoyed in 2017 at some point over the next few days, so if you don't see your particular favourite here, it may well be in that group. I would encourage readers to look deep in to that list as well, as the Top 50 is largely personal and subjective. That being said, it does feel like more of the big consensus records this year (LCD Soundsystem and Kendrick Lamar in particular) haven't really connected with me quite as much.

In terms of seeking diversity, some of my decisions have been conscious - I want the list to be representative of the wide range of music I enjoy. I have sought to include both albums I enjoy listening to repeatedly for surface pleasures and other music that I find more challenging (sometimes to the extent that I'm not sure I comprehend it). I've also consciously chosen to include examples of both individual musical pursuits (some introspective or even solipsistic) and examples of the joyful results of collective music making. Other decisions have been more subconscious - I haven't actively looked to include a specific quota of female artists this year but, as with the previous few years, I'm finding my listening habits are naturally leading me more to the work of women (as should be the case).

From this exercise, I can also identify certain trends in my listening habits this year that interest me. Ambient and other forms of introspective or contemplative music have offered particular solace from a politically turbulent and frustrating year. I have also tended to listen out for examples of elements I wish to improve in my own playing - particularly for musicians I feel are strong in varying dynamics, texture and timbre. With each year that passes, I feel I become more interested in the broader possibilities of *sound*. Combinations of percussion with electronics also seem to be a prevalent feature in this year's selection. 

I've included Bandcamp links where possible so please do explore and give money directly to the artists as and when you find something you enjoy!
 

50. Bitchin Bajas - Bajas Fresh (Drag City) 
'Not enough sh's in 'fresh' to convey what we're trying to say'...
More delightfully protracted meditations bringing a welcome sense of peace and stasis. 

https://bitchinbajas.bandcamp.com/album/bajas-fresh


49. Ron Miles - I Am A Man (Yellowbird) 
'I Am A Man' finds the excellent trumpeter Miles expanding his regular trio with Bill Frisell and Brian Blade in to a quintet, adding bassist Thomas Morgan and pianist Jason Moran. This is a remarkably empathetic unit and the music here places a refreshing emphasis on melodic clarity. As the album's title suggests (sanitation workers in Memphis wielded 'I Am A Man' placards following the death of two workers, protesting poor conditions), this music seeks to address continuing social injustices, connecting the civil rights struggle to present day concerns. 

48. Chris Forsyth and The Solar Motel Band - Dreaming In The Non-Dream (No Quarter) 
One of the best exponents of instrumental rock guitar music, Chris Forsyth frequently creates something ecstatic or euphoric from his searing, strafing guitar lines. Here, he cuts incisively above some satisfyingly relentless grooves.

https://chrisforsyth1.bandcamp.com/album/dreaming-in-the-non-dream

47. Circuit Des Yeux - Reaching For Indigo (Drag City)
Haley Fohr's music here is very hard to pin down, seemingly perched precariously somewhere between folk, ambient, country and avant-garde cabaret. The influence of Scott Walker seems to permeate throughout, but recording in collaboration with Cooper Crain of Bitchin Bajas might have lent this project a more mysterious, otherworldly lilt. Central to it all is Fohr's low, tremulous and frequemtly affecting voice. 

https://circuitdesyeux.bandcamp.com/album/reaching-for-indigo



46. Karen Gwyer - Rembo (Don't Be Afraid)
One key element of electronic music, whether it be perceived as intriguing or frustrating, is that it is inevitably difficult to know exactly what artists are doing when they perform. With 'Rembo', Karen Gwyer seeks to emphasise the relationship between producer and audience, and the rapid decision making process that is involved in performing. Gwyer works with a wide range of mood and feeling - from the strongly physical to the transcendental.

https://karengwyer.bandcamp.com/album/rembo  

45. Quercus - Nightfall (ECM)
This collaboration between jazz improvisers Iain Ballamy (saxophones) and Huw Warren (piano) and the versatile folk singer June Tabor continues to yield music of powerful emotional resonance and deceptive calm. There is a wondrous interpretation of Dylan's 'Don't Think Twice It's Alright' and Tabor even succeeds in finding depth of feeling in 'Auld Lang Syne'.


 44. Saz'iso - At Least Wave Your Handkerchief At Me - The Joys and Sorrows of Southern Albanian Song (Glitterbeat) 
Extraordinary, deep, melancholy music from southern Albania produced by the great Joe Boyd. The press release on the Bandcamp page gives some insight into the stories behind these haunting, captivating and beautiful songs. Some of the most effective combining of male and female voices that I've heard in some time.

https://saziso.bandcamp.com/album/at-least-wave-your-handkerchief-at-me-the-joys-and-sorrows-of-southern-albanian-song 

43. Robert Stillman - Portals (Orindal)
Robert Stillman is such an open-minded and quietly adventurous musician that it's largely impossible to ever predict his next move. 'Portals' is a meditative collection of ambient-sounding music (actually improvised on Fender Rhodes piano) that works perfectly as the soundtrack to the closing of another year. For those seeking to let go of all the political turbulence and frustration of 2017, this is a necessary healing.

https://orindalrecords.bandcamp.com/album/portals 

42. High Aura'd - No River Long Enough Doesn't Contain A Bend (Debacle)
This is a gloriously desolate sounding record, its little bends and blue notes always deployed in unpredictable ways. The combination of guitar and drones yields a new alchemy, reinvigorating musical traditions and finding new paths to explore. 

https://debaclerecords.bandcamp.com/album/no-river-long-enough-doesnt-contain-a-bend-2

41. Broken Social Scene - Hug Of Thunder (Arts and Crafts)
This is the first album in seven years from the Toronto group and surely one of 2017's most welcome returns. The quality of both songwriting and execution remained remarkably high, and there seemed to be a fresh commitment, enthusiasm and energy given over to this particular project. The band remain firm advocates of a big sound, utilising the resources of the studio to unique effect.


40. Laura Cannell - Hunter Huntress Hawker (Brawl) 
One of the many advantages of an improvising modus operandi is that it enables an artist to be much more prolific in what they produce. In just a few years, Cannell has already recorded a major body of work. Hunter Huntress Hawker was recorded at a live performance at a semi-ruined church on the Suffolk coast (although the music was apparently inspired by a performance at a secret location in London). Here, Cannell focuses on her violin playing, particularly the overbow fiddle that is so consistently fascinating. The music here is evocative and transporting.

https://brawlrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hunter-huntress-hawker


39. The Weather Station - The Weather Station (Paradise of Bachelors)
Tamara Lindeman looked to a more expansive palette for this album, incorporating more of a band sound in to her elaborate narrative songs. At its best, the band accompaniment is spare and spacious, ably supporting Lindeman's drifting melodies, with her vocal delivery gently floating over the slightly greater turbulence. Lindeman also wrote the curious, compelling string arrangements.

https://theweatherstation.bandcamp.com/

 
38. Schnellertollermeier - Rights (Cuneiform) 
Schnellertollermeier have been an active band for ten years and 'Rights' is their fourth album. Listening to its stretched out, defiantly minimalist constructions has certainly made me want to delve back and explore the rest of their work. Whilst these musicians have a background in jazz and improvisaton, this music is clearly something different, drawing the power of repetition from club music and its intricate lattice structures from modern composition. It manages to sound both restless and stoical.

https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/rights 

37. Laura Baird - I Wish I Were A Sparrow (Ba Da Bing!) 
Laura Baird's glorious, feathery voice and spare but proficient banjo playing are superb vehicles for an exploration of the Appalachian folk tradition. This is more introspective and reflective than her work with her sister Meg, Baird often a lone voice against the elements. It's all the more fascinating for it.


https://badabingrecords.bandcamp.com/album/i-wish-i-were-a-sparrow


36. Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul - Soulfire (Universal) 
By his own admission, Steve Van Zandt had neglected his own music for too long, having played loyal lieutenant on the virtually never ending Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band tour of recent years. Whilst some of his peak 80s catalogue is hampered by production values of the time and slightly dubious cultural appropriation, Soulfire subtly refreshes the classic Disciples of Soul sound of Men Without Women, and is an equally powerful recording. Recorded relatively quickly, and capturing the sound of an outstanding band delivering confident, authoritative rock and soul music (bolstered by a great horn section and excellent backing singers), Van Zandt draws from his own back catalogue of songs written for other artists. His much maligned voice is in good shape here, and its rough edges arguably work better for lead than for backing. This is an unashamedly uncomplicated and thoroughly enjoyable album and, if I'm absolutely honest, I've enjoyed it more than the last couple of Springsteen records. With Bruce now seemingly on Broadway at least until early summer, it seems likely that Steve may get time to do more with this band next year. 

35. Robert Plant - Carry Fire (Nonesuch)
Robert Plant's late career continues to be the most fruitful period of his post-Zeppelin work. Again working with the excellent Sensational Space Shifters band, Carry Fire is subtler and more nuanced than its immediate predecessor, but reveals depth and meaning on repeated plays. Drawing on folk traditions, a range of music from around the world and the conventional dynamics of rock music, Plant continues to follow his own preoccupations, largely unifluenced by any wider musical trends.


34. William Basinski - A Shadow In Time (2062) 
One of Basinski's strongest works since The Disintegration Loops, this combines two long form pieces. The first is simply titled 'For David Robert Jones' and is a moving eulogy for David Bowie. The title track might actually be better still, offering a distilled creepiness that builds to something overwhelming. 

https://williambasinski.bandcamp.com/album/a-shadow-in-time


33. Shackleton with Anika - Behind The Glass (Woe To The Septic Heart) 
This intriguing set finds Sam Shackleton continuing to develop his modern electronic take on devotional music and his preoccupation with collaborating with vocalists. It follows on from works with spoken word artist Vengeance Tenfold and with singer Ernesto Tomasini and, for me, is by some distance the strongest of these experiments. Anika's Nico-esque vocal works very well in this context, and the overall sense is surreal and otherworldly. Shackleton's capacity for developing threads and ideas over long form pieces remains a great strength, and this has been a compelling facet of his music since the masterful Music For The Quiet Hour.


https://shackletonwithanika.bandcamp.com/

32. House And Land - House And Land (Thrill Jockey) 
This duo of Sally Anne Morgan and Sarah Louise Henson explores Appalachian folk ballads with a deft touch, making the case for this music as living and breathing rather than simply a recovered artifact. Intriguing use of unusual harmony and drones too. 

https://houseandland.bandcamp.com/album/house-and-land


31. Oumou Sangare - Mogoya (No Format)
Much has been made of Sangare's supposed change of direction here, returning after eight years to work with a French production team who have also collaborated with Franz Ferdinand. Mogoya is certainly an energetic set, but it's perhaps more notable the extent to which this simply plays to Sangare's existing strengths as a vocalist and performer. 

30. Will Guthrie - People Pleaser (Black Truffle)
I might have missed this highly original work were it not for Derek Walmsley, editor of Wire magazine, nominating it as his personal choice for album of the year (it didn't make their overall list). Guthrie is an Australian drummer and percussionist living in France, and this album blends improvised drums and percussion with electronics, field recordings and, perhaps most bizarrely, fragments of a police interrogation. The collaboration between Kieren Hebden and Steve Reid might be considered a useful reference point - but this feels much more like a coherent and immersive work in and of itself, as well as being considerably wilder.   

29. Laurel Halo - Dust (Hyperdub)
Laurel Halo's woozy, lopsided electronica reached a new level of blissful disorientation here, benefiting greatly from a succession of excellent guest contributions from the likes of Hyperdub colleague Klein, Julia Holter and drummer Eli Keszler, The treated vocals remain a characteristic feature but the fluid structures and combinations of keyboards and percussion make this work feel freer.


https://laurelhalo.bandcamp.com/album/laurel-halo-dust-hdblp036 

28. Iron and Wine - Beast Epic (Sub Pop) 
This album was conspicuous by its absence from most end of year lists and I'm not entirely sure what it is that has caused Sam Beam to fall out of critical favour somewhat. Beast Epic represented a further paring back of his sound and also proved notable for a certain restraint in his lyrics as well. While his recent music had smoothed over some of the rougher edges of his sound, Beast Epic appears to wear its flaws proudly once again. Where the results are softer, there seems to be an intriguing, paradoxical juxtaposition between words and music ('Bitter Truth' may be the world's most delicate angry break up song). Beam claims the album 'speaks to the beauty and pain of growing up after you've grown up', and I very much appreciate the notion that we all exist in a perpetual state of transition. There is still something vivid and unusual in his poetic lyrics ('there's nowhere safe to bury all the time I've killed') and Beam remains a songwriter we should treasure.


https://ironandwine.bandcamp.com/album/beast-epic 

27. Irreversible Entanglements - Irreversible Entanglements (International Anthem)
The combination of jazz and poetry/spoken word has a rich history (the work of Michael Garrick in this field having particular importance for me). It's therefore perhaps not so surprising that a collaboration between a quartet of free improvising musicians and poet Camae Ayewa (who records as Moor Mother) should yield such potent results. The extent to which the poetry drives the flow, texture and timbre of the improvisers' contributions is fascinating.

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/irreversible-entanglements


26. Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings - Soul Of A Woman (Daptone)
The loss of Sharon Jones made me realise how much I'd been taking her work for granted - Soul Of A Woman, now her final work, very much confirmed this realisation. This is much more than a facsimile of a vintage soul sound. Instead, it's a refraction of such a sound until it feels timeless. The songs are exquisite and brilliantly constructed, bolstered by superb production (very effective stereo panning) and perfectly judged playing. 

https://sharonjonesandthedapkings.bandcamp.com/album/soul-of-a-woman


25. Les Filles De Illighadad - Eghass Malan (Sahel Sounds)
This is the first official studio album from the female-lead group from an isolated village in Niger, where there is apparently little in the way of infrastructure. Exploring nomadic and rural folk song traditions but delivering them in a robust and thrilling way, 'Eghass Malan' is often breathtaking.

https://lesfillesdeillighadad.bandcamp.com/album/eghass-malan

24. Michael Chapman - 50 (Paradise Of Bachelors)
Titled in celebration of Chapman's fifty years as a touring and recording artist, 50 finds him joining forces with some of the major talents of contemporary American folk rock, including Steve Gunn, Nathan Bowles and James Elkington. The track selection seamlessly mixes bold new songs with reworkings from Chapman's extensive catalogue. Whereas much of his recent work has focused on his more experimental leanings (notably the Clayton Peacock records of abrasive guitar music), 50 serves as a reminder of his skills as a songwriter and storyteller. The loose, freewheeling approach of the ensemble serves the material well.

https://paradiseofbachelors.bandcamp.com/album/50


23. Hurray For The Riff Raff - The Navigator (ATO)
The sixth and strongest album from Alynda Lee Segarra's shifting musical project justly brought her to new audiences and bigger venues this year. Cleverly constructed in two acts, this song cycle explores immigration through the eyes of an alter ego character, Puerto Rican Navi. The Navigator both explores a wider range of musical traditions, particularly those drawn from South America and Cuba, but also brings Lee Segarra closer to conventional indie-rock territory at times, albeit at times where urgency and unmediated directness are demanded by the material. This is an enriching and invigorating work, and one sorely needed at this time. 

https://hftrr.bandcamp.com/album/the-navigator 

22. Alexander Hawkins - Unit(e) (AH Music)
A characteristically wide-ranging double album, with one disc performed by a sextet and a second performed by an expansive larger ensemble. The sextet combines joyful rhythm and ebullient melodic lines with wilder improvisation. It's a clever and effective blend of immediacy and deeper exploration frequently anchored by drummer Tom Skinner's firm grooves. For the second part, Hawkins becomes director and conductor of an ensemble investigating the wider possibilities of sound  and timbre. Combining all these elements in one project is a brave move.  


https://alexanderhawkinsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/unit-e


21. Four Tet - New Energy (Text)
Kieren Hebden's longevity as a solo recording artist post-Fridge has been impressive, and if I had to pick one artist who has been consistent in developing and expanding their language and approach over the past fifteen years or so, I might opt for him. 'New Energy' adroitly balances his more physical and introspective sides and the range of sounds he produces from a limited set up remains fascinating. Now seemingly in control of every aspect of his music, its presentation and distribution, he is free to take intriguing musical detours.

https://fourtet.bandcamp.com/album/new-energy


20. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - The Kid (Western Vinyl)
Listening to Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith feels like being submerged in warm water, and 'The Kid' further develops the sensory nature of her work whilst also further amplifying her melodic sensibility. Some of the warmest and most human electronic music of 2017.


https://kaitlynaureliasmith.bandcamp.com/album/the-kid


19. Mavis Staples - If All I Was Was Black (ANTI-) 
It's pretty extraordinary that Mavis Staples has hit one of the most artistically fruitful periods of her career well into her eighth decade. Her commitment to expressing her values through music remains ceaseless and her energy, positivity and enthusiasm through difficult times are admirable and inspiring. A big factor in her latest musical successes has been the work of producer Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) and this is the first of their collaboration where he also writes the material, making this a compelling set of original, socially and politically engaged songs. Whilst Staples has, by her own admission, now lost some of her vocal range, she has lost none of the directness and clarity of delivery that defines the greatest singers, and her voice retains a striking resonance and impact. 



18. Vijay Iyer Sextet - Far From Over (ECM)
Arguably the strongest and certainly the most immediate of pianist and bandleader Vijay Iyer's works for the ECM label, Far From Over finds Iyer once again exploring the full potential of ensemble dynamics and collective improvisation. His continued interest in complex rhythmic ideas results in music that is both cerebral and viscerally exciting. The playing here feels characterised by confident risk taking. 


17. Nicole Mitchell - Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds (FPE)
“What would a world look like that is truly egalitarian, with advanced technology that is in tune with nature?”  This is the question posed her, by means of science fiction, words and music, by the remarkable flautist Nicole Mitchell. The question not only examines alternative possibilities but also enables Mitchell to reflect on her concerns about life in contemporary America. In keeping with the spiritual and philosophical inquiry of musicians such as Sun Ra and Yusef Lateef, Mandorla Awakening II is a textural and contemplative experience. The music fuses supposed dichotomies - urban and rural, male and female, electronic and acoustic.

https://fperecs.bandcamp.com/album/mandorla-awakening-ii-emerging-worlds


16. Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness (Ba Da Bing!) 
One of those albums it would be all too easy to neglect simply because it appeared early in the year, 'Not Even Happiness' represented a substantial step forward for singer-songwriter Julie Byrne ('I've got a complicated soul', she claims on 'Follow My Voice'). Byrne's airy, soft voice blends perfectly with her musical surroundings and the results are some haunting melodies which both imbue the quotidian with powerful significance and investigate deeper philosophical terrain. Travel and movement provide sources of inspiration.

https://juliembyrne.bandcamp.com/album/not-even-happiness


15. Wooden Wand - Clipper Ship (Three Lobed)
Apparently, this album breaks something of a songwriting tradition for James Jackson Toth, finding him focusing on music first and lyrics second, rather than the other way around. The result is one of his most absorbing and ultimately moving sets, foregrounding delicate guitar arpeggios and subtle atmospheric clusters. This is not to say that the lyrics are in any way weak ('Sacrificial' is moving and 'Mexican Coke' shares something of Ryley Walker's way with a quirky narrative) but it feels as if lyrics and music have been conceived in tandem and are perfectly matched. This album's sound - subtle but robust, lingers in the mind. It could be the best Wooden Wand album to date. 

https://threelobed.bandcamp.com/album/clipper-ship


14. Thundercat - Drunk (Brainfeeder)
Where previous Thundercat albums have been concise, Drunk very much feels like Stephen Bruner's magnum opus. With guest appearances from Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, it enthusiastically plays the Yacht Rock game, but also revels in intricacy and even in occasional tastelessness. It gets away with this at least in part due to its considerable humour and sense of fun (he persistently loses both wallet and phone during these narratives) but also due to its foregrounding of clear melody amidst the virtuosity and showmanship. By creating a restless and relentless journey into his own psychology, Bruner has stepped away from the shadow cast by Flying Lotus in to an impressive and dazzling sonic space entirely of his own making. 

 
https://thundercat.bandcamp.com/album/drunk


13. The Necks - Unfold (Ideologic Organ) 
I remain fascinated by the extent to which improvising trio The Necks continue to polarise opinion among jazz musicians I know - a debate that seems to tease out the quite different expectations and requirements people have from music. This band appeal to my still developing interest in the possibilities of sound - I'm compelled by the manner in which they patiently build intensity (and it remains extraordinary that the resulting peaks are drawn from just three musicians). It's also a source of inspiration the extent to which they veer away from the conventional musical roles of their respective instruments. For a band so persistently interested in music's relationship with time and place, ranking their various recordings against each other feels like a futile exercise, but a couple of elements do stand out here - the role played by the organ on Blue Mountain and the incisive contribution of Tony Buck's percussion throughout.  

https://ideologicorgan.bandcamp.com/album/unfold

12. Hiss Golden Messenger - Hallelujah Anyhow (Merge) 
MC Taylor continued his prolific streak with a quickly recorded album emphasising Hiss Golden Messenger's burgeoning ensemble qualities. As usual, the songwriting was strong and brimming with insight - but this time, the detail of the arrangements, with a soulful spirit often reminiscent of Van Morrison at his best, transported the music to a deeper space. In keeping with other Hiss albums, Hallelujah is quietly insidious too, its songs gradually assuming a greater depth and resonance with every play.

https://hissgoldenmessenger.bandcamp.com/album/hallelujah-anyhow
 
11. Rob Luft - Riser (Edition)
For me, 'Riser' was the most fully realised and promising of the young British jazz debuts this year. With admirable honesty, Luft admits to perceiving himself as a performer first and a composer second, but 'Riser' still feels like an impressively realised work, not least because of the attention to detail paid to its sound. It's a kinetic and exciting work too, with agile lines neatly assembled. Dinosaur's Corrie Dick and bassist Tom McCredie provide the band with a powerful, urgent energy. The occasional influence of African rhythms and melody adds a celebratory feel. 

https://robluft.bandcamp.com/album/riser

10. Tim Berne's Snakeoil - Incidentals (ECM) 
This outstanding live set continues to broaden the range and depth of Snakeoil's sound and approach, deploying masterful dynamic control to create pieces that veer from the reflective to the tempestuous. Guitarist Ryan Ferreira offers bold interjections and bursts of chaos. Producer David Torn provides additional guitar at the climax of the long form Sideshow (and also provides the eerie, futuristic introduction to Hora Feliz) , a timely reminder that his ongoing collaboration with Berne has produced some of contemporary music's most innovative and absorbing works ('Prezens', Torn's album as leader that also features Berne, should be more widely recognised too).  Throughout, there is a finely poised balance between compositional flair and collective improvisation.

https://timbernesnakeoil.bandcamp.com/album/incidentals 

9. Jlin - Black Origami (Planet Mu) 
One of 2017's most intricate albums, Black Origami is perfectly titled, its careful folds interlocking into something both radical and informed (not just by recent developments in footwork but also more longstanding trends in American electronic music). 'Black Origami' is so detailed and lovingly executed that it would be fascinating to hear it performed live by a percussion ensemble. It feels as it would work as well as a piece of contemporary composition as it does a piece of electronic sound design.


https://jlin.bandcamp.com/album/black-origami


8. Fiium Shaarrk - We Are Astonishingly Lifelike (Not Applicable)
This superb, mesmerising percussion and electronics trio seem to have been somewhat ignored in the UK - but, for me, this was one of the year's imaginative delights, combining the textural and dynamic properties of drums with the mystery and strangeness of electronic sound. It's an album of striking contrasts between the abrasive and the flowing, the fragmented and the unified.

https://not-applicable.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-astonishingly-lifelike


7. Craig Taborn - Daylight Ghosts (ECM) 
Working here with a new quartet featuring the great Chris Lightcap on bass, Dave King (The Bad Plus) on drums and Chris Speed on saxophones and clarinet, Craig Taborn remains one of the most imaginative and creative musicians at work on the New York jazz scene, with the dexterity to execute his ideas with precision and musicality. He also remains one of the most effective musicians at integrating electronics with the properties of what is fundamentally an acoustic music. His unusual structures and dense melodies, together with a fascinating approach to ensemble improvisation here, are not easy to digest, but they leave a strong impression and challenge us to listen closely.

http://player.ecmrecords.com/taborn-2527/cms/project  

6. Joan Shelley - Joan Shelley (No Quarter)
Joan Shelley is one of my favourite singers currently at work. Her soft, understated delivery has a compelling purity and directness, leaving nothing extraneous between her lyrics and melodies and the listener. Where she adds something extra (a vocal harmony line for example), it is used sparingly and enhances the song. On this self titled album, her lyrics achieved a new purpose and clarity too, not least on the beautiful 'Wild Indifference'. It's also easily to overlook the tiny details of production that best capture acoustic music - the two guitars here panned to different channels, interacting and conversing with each other, Spencer Tweedy's occasional drums offering support and texture and never being obtrusive. The music has a gentle, dusty drift to it and there is a quiet and unassuming authority here.

https://joanshelley.bandcamp.com/album/joan-shelley

5. GAS - Narkopop (Kompakt)
Wolfgang Voigt returned to his GAS moniker for the first time in seventeen years, time during which this project's influence has spread far and wide. Narkopop seemed impressively unencumbered by baggage or the weight of expectation (or nostalgia, thankfully), instead luxuriating in Voigt's impressionistic soundscapes, somehow at once both reflective and menacing. This work seemed to offer greater development and evolution, as well as being powerfully cinematic with more varied textures. Listening to this is like passing through a membrane between two worlds. 


https://kompakt-gas.bandcamp.com/album/narkopop


4. Bjork - Utopia (One Little Indian) 
I suspect and hope that Utopia will be reassessed in years to come, not least because it's a striking example of where a modern rapid release strategy does not necessarily serve the work all that well. Whilst critics generally received it positively, we still have to endure the limited horizons of those who still approach a new Bjork record in the hope it will provide some 'hooks'. That Utopia is actually rich in inventive melody and has sonic challenges that, given patience, become completely enthralling, inevitably seemed lost on some. In addition to this, few ventured beyond the surface presentation of this as Bjork's 'being single' album (perhaps not helped by her own flippant reference to Tinder). Thematically, Utopia actually is stark and daring in its exploration of sex ('anal entrances' indeed!) and its inextricable connections with feeling (both sensory and abstract) and nature. Its amorphous, subliminal sound world is perfectly matched with its ideas. 

3. Joshua Abrams and Natural Information Society - Simultonality (Glitterbeat/Tak:Til) 
Joshua Abrams operates in a curious and highly distinctive intersection between improvised music, the mantric insistence of minimalist composition and African-inspired rhythms. What emerges most clearly on this album is group music making that is both contemplative and joyful. This particular line-up of Natural Information Society has been given time and space to develop a deeper ensemble relationship through gigging. It's a superb line-up too, including the great, loose-limbed Frank Rosaly (Ryley Walker) on drums and Emmett Kelly on electric guitar. The use of more unusual instruments, including autoharp, harmonium and Abrams' own guimbri adds both texture and character. Whilst the music still has spontaneity, it also has an engaging depth of communication and control.This music has been a great healer during a politically turbulent and frustrating year.

https://eremiterecords.bandcamp.com/album/simultonality


2. Yazz Ahmed - La Saboteuse (Naim)
Yazz Ahmed's La Saboteuse, as fully realised and coherent an album as I've heard all year (but intriguingly released in four instalments before the whole was made available), strikes me as one of the most captivating examples of a hybrid music. Ahmed's original compositions draw from jazz-rock fusion (Miles Davis may be an obvious reference point, but there are moments which genuinely bring his work to mind, not least in this music's use of space), Ahmed's Bahraini heritage and her contemporary experience working with a diverse range of musicians (including Radiohead, whose 'Bloom' Ahmed reinterprets with playful invention here). The ensemble includes some front rank talent, including Shabaka Hutchings on reeds, Lewis Wright on vibraphone and Naadia Sheriff on Fender Rhodes piano (a sound I'll admit to never being able to resist).

https://yazzahmed.bandcamp.com/album/la-saboteuse-2
 
1. Tyshawn Sorey - Verisimilitude (Pi Recordings) 
Drummer and composer Tyshawn Sorey took to Twitter to vent his frustration recently, obviously feeling incorrectly categorised by those who seek to label his music 'jazz'. This might be an inevitable consequence of his work as a sideman with artists at the vanguard of contemporary American jazz (Steve Lehman and Vijay Iyer particularly), or it might be more a result of this music being naturally difficult to define. What Sorey certainly does, is to explore the overlap between composed and improvised music, often in a way where the two blend seamlessly within each other and it becomes difficult to discern what is written and what is not. With this album, he continues his journey of remoulding the piano trio (see also the excellent 'Alloy'). The music has a quiet intensity, often exploring dark and deeply introspective territory over patiently unfolding long forms. It is a major work from an artist of defiant seriousness.

https://tyshawn-sorey.bandcamp.com/album/verisimilitude