2017’s Albums Of The Year

The Rabbis – Nuclear (Pronounced “Nuke-yuh-ler”)

The second full-length album from these Pahrump, NV, art-punk triplets sees the music taking a new direction and dealing with the loss of the most talented triplet, Lamprey. Themes such as loss, grief, and being the second-or-third-most-talented triplet imbue the album with a poignancy that is only slightly tempered by the zither solos. (Every song features a zither solo, except for Zither Solo, which is entirely a zither solo.)

Ivan Denisovich – A Day In The Life

Gender-fluid, never seen without several shoe boxes duct-taped to zir head, and unwilling to tell anyone where ze is from, Ivan Denisovich’s soulful pop sounds like chamber music played by sentient pumpkins the week after Halloween. From epic ballads such as Hallway Party to bouncy numbers like Face Like A Gas Station, A Day In The Life never fails to surprise.

Rimmington Steale – Go Wash Up

Atlanta-based trap-hop producer Mike Starling’s third mixtape under the Rimmington Steale name explores the mysteries and whorling fractacality that is eating ass. Songs like Tastes Like Buttered Popcorn, ‘Til My Neck Breaks, Don’t Forget The Balls, and Back In The Shower, Stanky Bitch are like puzzle boxes made out of anuses.

Gladio Gorman – Estonia

In 2011, Gladio Gorman set himself a remarkable goal: record an album about each of the world’s 203 countries. Estonia, the 94th of the series, features Gorman’s trademark sound of a poorly-mic’ed acoustic guitar and whispered, intimate lyrics that captivate and educate, as 90% of them were sampled directly from Wikipedia’s entry on Estonia.

Lil Corpse – Dead By 19

South Florida Soundcloud rapper Lil Corpse achieved almost instant fame with his debut, and posthumous, release Dead By 19. Thick, distorted beats that remind you of music made by someone who didn’t know what they were doing and lyrics such as “Drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs, yes. Drugs, yes. Bish.” brought teenagers and New York Times critic Jon Caramanca running to his shows, all of which have been cancelled since his death. He will live on through such songs as Taking Pills Without Asking What They Are, Face Tattoo, and Why Aren’t Any Of The Adults In My Life Helping Me? Rest in Power, Lil Corpse.