Jun. 16, 2017: Favorite Albums of the First Half of 2017
Ah, mid-June. The days are long, the coffee's cold, the president went under investigation on his (also, my) birthday. A lot of music sites are also publishing lists like the one I'm including below. Ranking albums this early in the year doesn't seem necessary, but a nice alphabetical list of interest-piquing music that came out since January 1 is a nice way of simultaneously helping to focus and expand one's new-music listening habits. I've given some of the albums below several listens; in many cases, however, I've only listened through once or twice—enough to know that the album is worthwhile, and now encouraged to go back and listen again. There's no clear #1, or really even a clear Top Five, so consider them all "recommended" on some relatively equal plane. Oh, these are all new releases—no reissues, etc.—and there are forty of them. Needless to say, there are a bunch missing that I haven't heard yet.
Aaron Dilloway – The Gag File
Alex G – Rocket
Amnesia Scanner – AS TRUTH
Anthony Pasquarosa – Abbandonato Da Dio Nazione
Arto Lindsay – Cuidado Madame
Bob Dylan – Triplicate
Bonnie "Prince" Billy – Best Troubador
Chief Keef – Thot Breaker
Chik White – Soft Shapes
Chino Amobi – Paradiso
Chloe x Halle – The Two of Us
Chuck Johnson – Balsams
Club Sound Witches – Untitled
Dean Blunt & Joanne Robertson – WAHALLA
GAS – Narkopop
Hayden Pedigo – Greetings from Amarillo
Horse Lords – Mixtape IV
Hype Williams – Chalice
JLIN – Black Origami
Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society – Simultonality
Kassel Jaeger & Jim O'Rourke – Wakes on Cerulean
Kendrick Lamar – DAMN
Lawrence English – Cruel Optimism
Mark Fosson – Solo Guitar
Mind Over Mirrors – Undying Color
Mount Eerie – A Crow Looked at Me
MXLX – Kicking Away...
Obnox – Niggative Approach
Old Maybe – Piggity Pink
Otim Alpha – Gulu City Anthems
Penguin Cafe – The Imperfect Sea
Quicksails – Mortal
Riddlore – Afromutations
Royal Trux – Platinum Tips + Ice Cream
Sun Araw – The Saddle of the Increate
Tara Jane O'Neil – Tara Jane O'Neil
Various – Community 4: A Compilation of Hobart Music (Rough Skies)
Various – Mono No Aware (PAN)
Visible Cloaks – Reassemblage
Yeongrak – Mouth Mouth
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