What must have been 6 or 7 years ago brother Joseph and I went out for a few Christmas beers one afternoon and amongst the conversation was the idea of what became the early beginnings of this collaboration of music sharing and discussion. The blog in its’ own right in 5 years old.. so good on us for sticking to it!
Looking back we have had some great albums, and this year is no exception. For me 2017 has been a strong year for new artists whilst it has also welcomed back a few that were due some fantastic new material. I found myself buying allot more albums this year, and looking at what is due in 2018 I hope it continues.
I always struggle with lists, but off the top my head here are my highlights for this year (songs and albums) in no particular order. Like last year, I left off top songs that are on albums that are in my top 10.
Top Songs
Jay-Z – The Story of O.J.
Tom Rosenthal – Soon Goodbye Now Love
Masta Ace – Young Black Intelligent (feat. Pav Bundy, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble & Chuck D)
Evidene – Jim Dean
Daphni – Face to Face
Whitesquare – Definition of Anticipation
Home – Joe Goddard
Rapsody – Power ft. Kendrick Lamar, Lance Skiiiwalker
Sampha – (No One Knows Me) Like The Piano
Julia Byrne – Follow My Voice
Top Albums
Aesop Rock – The Impossible Kid
LCD Soundsystem – American Dream
Bicep – Bicep
Auldus Harding – Party
Agnes Obel – Citizen Of Glass
Loyle Carner – Yesterday’s Gone
Four Tet – New Energy
Nick Mulvey – Wake Up Now
Kendrick Lemar – Damn
Run The Jewels – Run The Jewelz 3
thisisnothappening.net 
I was about to do an end of year too! Good idea.
I *don’t* think 2017 was a particularly strong year. Here’s my TOP 12, as lifted straight from my Twitter feed…
12: @AldousHarding – PARTY. A singular, weird vision from a unique singer. It’s ambitious, varied and full of really strong songs. You’ll either love her voice or you won’t. I think she’s ace.
11: @bigthiefmusic: CAPACITY. A winning slice of folky Americana with crunchy rockabilly guitar, BT’s 2nd album manages the difficult trick of sounding delicate and muscular at the same time, helmed by Adrianne Lenker’s deliciously dark, mysterious vocals.
10: @lorde: MELODRAMA. Pop album of the year by some distance, Lorde’s sophomore is a widescreen exploration of the parties and sexual psychodrama of youth. It makes me feel old but I can live with that. Also contains THE song of the year, Green Light.
9: @CalypsoValois – Cannibale. The daughter of 80s infamous synth pop duo Elli & Jacno has fashioned one of the best leftfield pop albums of the year on her debut. Full of dark lyrics and great hooks, it’s my French discovery of the year.
8: @kendricklamar: DAMN. I found this an infuriatingly patchy experience, the singles actually being the weakest part of the album (Loyalty? Yuck). But buried in this dense work is a hip hop artist working on a completely different level to any rival.
7: @jordanrakei: WALLFLOWER. A beguiling, gorgeous, post-dance music soul record that feels fresh as a daisy; full of warmth and beauty. On repeat play since I discovered it.
6: @lcdsoundsystem – AMERICAN DREAM. It’s a BRILLIANT record, but for me, it wears its influences – Joy Division, Cure, New Order, Bowie – on its sleeve a little too obviously at times. But the highlights are as good as anything James Murphy’s ever done.
5: @alvvaysband: ANTISOCIALITES. C86 and jangle-pop are reborn on this Canadian outfit’s latest. The sheer brio of the songwriting stops it from feeling like a retro retread. The best straight-up indie rock album I’ve heard in a long time.
4: @Thundercat: DRUNK. Who’d have thought that Kendrick Lamar’s bassist, playing a weird mix of free jazz bass and 80s yacht rock would have been 2017’s breakout hit? Weird, but never hard work, it’s a funky, warm hug of a record. @Thundercat also gets extra bonus points for reviving the careers of Michael McDonald & Kenny Loggins. #YachtRockForever
3: @thisisthekit: MOONSHINE FREEZE. Kate Stables has been knocking around a while, but she’s made something very special on this latest release. It’s a folk album with a pop heart, full of tender, moving songs about heartbreak and lost love.
2: @grizzlybear: PAINTED RUINS. GB finally respond to my plaintive Twitter pleas and release their first album in 5 years, and the best record they’ve ever made. There isn’t another band that makes music of such intricate beauty. A record to cherish
Spoiler alert: I’m a huge @grizzlybear fan, so it’s probably not a GIANT surprise to see this one so high. But if you’re not that familiar with them, spend some time with this album. It reveals its treasures listen by listen.
It’s time for THE BIG ONE. Any guesses what it might be? Has Shane Ritchie’s “A Country Soul” snuck in there? Who can resist his cover of Nik Kershaw’s I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me?
My Number 1 album of 2017 is….@perfumegenius – NO SHAPE. Mike Hadreas shoots into the stratosphere with his latest album. A queer manifesto to love and acceptance, it’s grand, aching, emotional pop music of the most brilliant and joyous.
Awesome. Forgot to share that Stacey and I went to see Mr. Genius in Manchester. He was awesome. A totally different artist to the guy Nolan and I saw years ago. I literally love him.
PS – I found the Lorde album completely uninspiring and was so disappointed after loving the first one SO SO much. Biggest disappointment of the year for me I’m afraid.
OMG Joey, we are AT THAT GIG! And so was Alex and Zoe. How did we all not see each other?
Maybe he did see you #totes-awks
That’s a terrible fail on everyone’s part. Great gig though. Funny little place. (ha ha Nolan – yeah we saw them and sneaked off to Subway).
Sorry about all the Twitter handles in there, but hopefully you can read it. A lot of blog albums on there, huh? Shows what a fantastic thing it is!
Hey Brothers. Sorry I am late to this party. It is not that I have not been giving it thought and reflection – I have actually created a best tracks of 2017 playlist but need to lift the link from my home mac (at work currently without spotify on PC). My albums are as follows – these aren’t in order
Run the Jewels – Run The Jewels 3
Julie Byrne – Not Even Happiness
Kendrick Lamar – Damn
Girlpool – Powerplant
Perfume Genius – Shape
The War on Drugs – A deeper Understanding
Loney Dear – Loney Dear
Moses Sumney – Aromanticism
Fever Ray – Plunge
Peter Broderick – All Together Now
I’ll sort out the Best Tracks playlist link when I can get to it.
PS – I have a bone to pick Brother Nolan … why didn’t you make more noise about the Four Tet album!!! I love it. I wish I had had this in my life earlier. Love. Love. Love it. I’ve listened to it back to back 3 times today already. Perfect working music. Its a little bit Gold Panda, a little bit ‘The Field’. Awesome.
Agreed, four tet is a quiet monster. I only got stuck into it in Oct/Nov time but it quickly became a go to for me when working and cooking.