Beert's Favorite Music of 2017

By Beert

This year, 2017, burned by like a meteorite exploding across the atmosphere. And I, terrible reviewer that I am, reviewed 0 records this year. And that is on me. It’s not that I haven’t listened to some great stuff (and some mediocre stuff, and some stuff that would be better left flushed), it’s that I’m lazy. And, as your friendly neighborhood employee for a federal agency that tends to get a shit-ton of work at the end of the year, I was wondering if I could even get around to this. As can be plainly seen, I did make the time, because there definitely are some records that need some mention.

Let’s start with my picks for either okay records or things that need another listen just to get into.

Propagandhi put out a new album this year, Victory Lap. I was excited to pick this up, as I have enjoyed Propagandhi going back to the days when they put their silliness in full view and gave us a taste of the political. I have enjoyed watching the band put out albums they were happy with, and I loved to listen as this progression occurred. And this album...well...I enjoyed it, but it may need a few more spins to get it to stick to me. I enjoyed it, and I won’t say it's a bad record, but it didn’t grab me. I wasn’t sucked into it, and I sat waiting for song after song. I do think I will learn to like it more with time, I just need to find the time within that time to enjoy it.

Queens of the Stone Age put their new one out as well, Villains. And now that Josh Homme is making headlines in a not so nice way, this album may not get the straggler sales they hope for. Solely on musical merit, it’s solid. Not great, but solid. When I listened to it, I got the feeling of a “heavy Bowie.” Get what I mean? We all know Bowie was experimental in his own right, and this seemed to capture that spirit. Unfortunately, I’m not a Bowie fan. But I did enjoy the album. All in all, I’m glad I picked it up.

The most hotly debated album of the year is probably Electric Wizard’s Wizard Bloody Wizard. I don’t understand the debate. Yes, the album title is a riff on Sabbath Bloodly Sabbath. So? The internet explodes on that topic alone, never mind the music on the album. I don’t get the pettiness of this argument. If the album is solid, then the artwork doesn’t really matter (barring a few social/moral subjects, I would say). And then the world battles that this Electric Wizard album doesn’t sound like Electric Wizard. I wonder how many of these people have listened to Electric Wizard. It sounds like Electric Wizard! If you had not heard the album, and someone put it on, what would invade your ears is distinctly Electric Wizard. I, for one, enjoyed the new album. I enjoy Electric Wizard. I’m fucking happy I have this record. Is it stellar? Is it a standout? Is it Electric Wizard’s best? No. But it is very listenable, and very much Electric Wizard. I’ll spin this motherfucker on foggy mornings as the tears of the whining doom/stoner elite rain down upon the world for the existence of an Electric Wizard album that is good, not great.

On an Electric Wizard related note, I discovered Acoustic Wizard this year. With album titles such as Please Don’t Sue Me and Please Don’t Sue Me Vol. 2, Acoustic Wizard captures Electric Wizard in an acoustic light. So fucking good. Check it out:

Alright, enough of the baseline, let’s get to the killer albums of the year, for me. These are the Top 5 in ascending order:

5. Dead Heavens, Whatever Witch You Are (2017).

Walter from Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits, and a million other bands has put out a full length album with this killer band, Dead Heavens. Whatever Witch You Are is great, straight through. There is a change of style here and there, and it is welcome. Get on this bandwagon quick. “Adderall Highway” is my top pick from the album:

4. Green Yeti, Desert Show (2017).

This Greek desert doom band is amazing. I fell in love with The Yeti Has Landed, and eagerly awaited the release of this album. I really would love to see this band tour and take over the world. This record is just heavy, powerful, droning, and everything you want in this genre without the “same old, same old” that can happen with bands playing this style of music. Check out “Rojo” from the album:

3. Telekinetic Yeti, Abominable (2017).

Yes, another Yeti band. I like my guys and bands big and fuzzy—don’t judge me. This is a duo from Dubuque, Iowa. Yes, it is a fucking two-piece, which sounds fuller than the 1,000 members in Santana. Crushing. Just. Fucking. Crushing. If you don’t have this album, you might as well destroy your turntable. This is a must own.

2. Juliette Seizure & The Tremor-Dolls, Seizure Salad (2017).

Fuck you, I don’t corner myself into only heavy stuff. I’m all over the place, baby, like diarrhea in a leaky diaper. And this album is another that I was highly anticipating for 2017. Juliette Seizure & The Tremor-Dolls are fucking brilliant Australian garage-pop. They are so catchy and fun and danceable and singable. Fuck, I catch myself humming their stuff all the time. And, these motherfuckers have it dialed in. They’ve got a great love song on here called “Be My Fred Cole.” These cats see what a rad couple Fred and Toody Cole were. And they wrote about wanting a love like that. And it’s all the more bittersweet with the passing of Fred this year. Still, it warms my heart and gets my rock ‘n’ roll blood flowing to listen to this band. And here’s a link to “Be My Fred Cole”:

https://julietteseizureandthetremor-dolls.bandcamp.com/track/be-my-fred-cole

1. Earth Witch, Out of The Shallow (2017).

I’ve been saying it since the beginning of the year when I got a copy of this album on CD—this will be the album of 2017. And it is. You bet it is! This could be one of the greatest albums of all time, in my opinion. It is so fucking brutal, full, and over the top. This album fills me up, know what I mean? It’s like a fucking recharge to blast this into your ears. I don’t even know where to begin on this trio from Central-ish Illinois. Just listen to the song “Earth Witch,” and you’ll know what I mean:

https://earthwitch.bandcamp.com/track/earth-witch

And that’s my short, short list for 2017. Hopefully 2018 will give me some time to actually get some reviews done and on the site. I still have one to do, as requested by a band, and my lazy ass has yet to get it done. Fuck, you know what they say...time, time, time, see what’s become of me.