As Dying Scene fresh meat 2k17, I feel like I’m still being held in check more than our senior writers. For example: I asked our big boss if I could fill out my end of the year list with just the Jurassic Park theme song. He threatened to kick me out of the team if I ever called his house again at 5 am in the morning. Luckily, a lot of good bands made a lot of good music this year, and even though the Jurassic Park theme song is still the biggest masterpiece ever created, I ended up listening to a lot of other stuff too. Read all about it below.
10. LOTUS – “The Road To Calvary”
If you’re stuck living in “hellhole” Belgium for your entire life, chances are you’re going to be walking around angry more often than not. The LOTUS crew has taken the art of anger and angst, and perfected it on their second full length “The Road To Calvary”. LOTUS single-handedly made it possible for you to experience that heavy feeling of unease right from the safety and comfort of your own living room.
9. Downtown Boys – “Cost of Living”
The biggest optimists amongst us thought they had found the silver lining in Trump being elected chief Cheeto. Punks were going to get angry again and the golden era of our peoples’ music was finally upon us again. It’s fair to say that those things didn’t balance each other out evenly. With Downtown Boys’ “Cost of Living”, we have however, found the soundtrack to any revolution we thought of starting in 2018.
8. IDLES – “Brutalism”
Number one in my category: “I wish the band would play this album front to back in a small, sweaty basement setting”. There are very few albums that still energize me whilst listening to them on record but “Brutalism” makes me feel like a non-disclosed battery brand bunny every time I put it on. This is one of those records I’ll still go back to in a few years.
7. Kamikaze Girls – “Seafoam”
This time every year I take about two weeks to contemplate just how brilliant the UK DIY scene is and if I shouldn’t just move there already. Kamikaze Girls’ Seafoam was Britain’s 2017’s cream of the crop for me, thanks to 10 socially charged BANGERS just casually recorded after a rough period of touring. Watch them turn into a really big band really fast.
6. The Smith Street Band – “More Scared of You Than You Are of Me”
I almost skipped out on giving “More Scared of You Than You Are of Me” a fair chance after the debut singles didn’t hit me as hard as I would’ve hoped they would. Luckily our lord and saviour Wil Wagner never disappoints. This album is a rollercoaster ride from front to back. But like a good kind of rollercoaster. Not the ones that take you through the world’s tallest looping backwards because those FUCKING SUCK.
5. Brutus – “Burst”
I have two occasions on which I don’t feel embarrassed to show my chauvinistic side. One’s in football (the real one you play with your feet, sorry guys). The second is when a band from your country the size of a peanut does insanely well. Brutus deserve every single bit of praise they received this year after releasing their amazing debut album “Burst”. The only downside on seeing them play everywhere in 2017, might be we’re not seeing them everywhere in 2018 again.
4. Rozwell Kid – “Precious Art”
The Spotify year overview app told me “Precious Art” was my most listened to album of the year. This didn’t really surprise me as I easily got through three hours of Rozwell Kid’s ten-hour long video for ‘Wendy’s Trash can’. My new personal best since watching 2 hours and 45 minutes of Nyan Cat.
3. Sorority Noise – “You’re Not As _____ As You Think”
I always seem to fall back on the cliché that banged up souls write the best music. “You’re Not As _____ As You Think” deals with the difficult themes of depression and dying in a beautiful manner. An emotional powerhouse that I’ve been trying to stay away from during this rough holiday season. On heavy rotation during the rest of the year.
2. Iron Chic – “You Can’t Stay Here”
With “Not Like This” and “The Constant One” dominating my entire formative years in punk, my bookies were giving me good odds on me being into this record too. In “You Can’t Stay Here” I found an album that contains a lot of the old Iron Chic I’ve grown to love so dearly over the past years. But also a bit more of an adventurous side I wouldn’t mind the band exploring a little further. Balance is usually key and Iron Chic nailed it on “You Can’t Stay Here”.
1. The Menzingers – “After The Party”
Finding Rented World “just fine” apart from absolute anthems ‘Asshole’ and ‘In Remission’, I was very curious to see how The Menzingers would follow up. Took me about 25 seconds to fall madly IN LOVE with this album. They got “After The Party” to flow in a way I’ve only really seen them do on “On The Impossible Past” before. Strengthened by four or five singles that could easily carry the album on its own. With every release they put out there they’re soliciting for a spot amongst the all-time genre greats. My guess is they’re not that far off anymore.
Favourite EP: Spanish Love Songs – “Buffalo Buffalo”
*Insert cute line about saving the best for last here.* On “Buffalo Buffalo” Spanish Love Songs give us a quick glimpse of the growth process the band has gone through since releasing “Giant Sings The Blues”. With the title track and “hair cut” standing head and shoulders above as some of the best songs they’ve ever written, we just can’t wait to see how the new full length turned out. Expect 2018 to be the year of the giant.