Best Albums of 2017 - Editors' Picks
hmv.com Editor Tom Goodwyn runs down his 10 favourite albums of 2017...
10. Mastodon - Emperor Of Sand
Roadrunner
Born from a torturous time in the band members’ personal lives came one of the finest things they’ve ever produced. Widescreen metal with drive and a real bite.
9. Wolf Alice - Visions Of A Life
Dirty Hit
A more sprawling, more diverse and more experimental LP than their debut album, but all the more interesting for that.
8. Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun
Sargeant House
Wolfe’s masterful brooding electronica opened itself up to the power of guitars on Hiss Spun and it sounds glorious.
7. Taylor Swift - Reputation
Big Machine
She’s hit higher heights in the past, but this album gets better with every listen, especially the icy electronica of ‘Getaway Car’ and ‘...Ready For It’.
6. Paramore - After Laughter
Atlantic
Another one we had to wait a long time for and an unexpected pleasure when it did arrive, ditching the brooding darkness that was a key feature of their self-titled album for quirky pop. They pulled it off spectacularly though.
5. Deaf Havana - All These Countless Nights
SO Recordings
Deaf Havana never disappoint. This is another album of heartswelling rock with thoughtful poignancy in the lyrics and power in the melodies.
4. Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes - Modern Ruin
International Death Cult
The former Gallows man’s debut album Blossom was a raw raucous burst of fury, but he’s stepped everything up for his second effort Modern Ruin. This is swaggering, towering and incredibly catchy rock’n’roll.
3. Haim - Something To Tell You
Polydor
It took the Haim sisters a long time to follow-up the wonderful Days Are Gone, but when they arrived back in July with Something To Tell You, it was most definitely worth the wait. Chock full of gorgeous harmonies and melodies that live in your head for days, it’s a step up from their debut in every department.
2. Bleachers - Gone Now
Columbia
Jack Antonoff has had a hell of a year. Not only has he helped Taylor Swift, Lorde and St. Vincent create three of the year’s biggest success stories, he also wrote and recorded 2017’s finest pop-rock album.
A more melancholy collection than his debut Strange Desire, but with just as much power, poise and big ol’ choruses. He’s a man in demand now, I just hope he finds the time to dedicate to more Bleachers...
1. The Big Moon - Love In The 4th Dimension
Fiction
This album is a thing of absolute beauty. Swirling, bombastic and full of ambition, it bounces between Warpaint-esque dreaminess and a directness that goes right back to The Clash. It’s an album you just keep going back to, and I have, more than any other in 2017...