Now that 2017 is done, I can finally clear my head to look back at the year in music that was. Let’s face it, 2017 sucked and we’re all glad it’s over, but hey the music was really tight at least.
From the basements, bedrooms, studios & other unknown places around New England comes music that has the power to make my body dance and my mind sit simultaneously. From thorny rock to the ultra lo-fi, mind bending electronica to Hassle Fest torchbearer’s, the list below, in no particular order, compiles my favorite albums and EP’s of 2017 with a few special honorable mentions at the end.
Bilge Rat — Bilge Rat
Thought you were getting tired of moody, guitar driven indie rock? Listen to Bilge Rat’s self titled and decide again. With similar intricacy and lyrical vulnerability, Bilge Rat reminds me of a mix of 90’s rock revival and contemporary kindred spirits, similar to the quickly up and coming trajectory of Georgia band Mothers. This Connecticut trio are staking claim to a growing scene rife with ambient rock & album based feels which find their ideal in the sophistication of Connecticut brethren Have a Nice Life. If you haven’t gone to an area Bilge Rat show, look for them in 2018 for some gnarly feels.
Nick Shea — All We Need Is Two Minutes
Nick Shea is rising not only in the Boston rap scene, but in the cities art scene as well. Shea, an East Boston native isn’t old enough to buy alcohol yet he has a teaching gig at the ICA as well as area schools lecturing on writing & poetry & is headlining acts around town (he even logged a killer set at Hassle Fest 9 set this past year). Through all this, his rhymes and home-made beats are sure to set off sparks in 2018 as they did in 2017.
Funeral Advantage — Please Help Me
Tyler Kershaw’s Funeral Advantage released their EP ‘Please Help Me’ to area praise. For me, this album reclaimed glossy post-punk and still no matter how many times I playback this EP it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. A gentle guide through tempestuous storms of youth, Kershaw’s vocals and glittering guitars make me highly anticipate their full length album due out in 2018.
CreaturoS — Creaturos
Just when I thought psych rock was walking the same dusty trails comes CreaturoS with their June self-titled release that leaps with a coolness and an attitude that explodes you into an all too dreamy socially radical beckoning of a social utopia. CreaturoS are holding the psychedelic scene down in Boston. For me this album is one step ahead of similar sounding bands, for their powerful demonstrations of mood setting music that is perfect for fast drives or summertime parties.
Ed Balloon — Flourish
Ed Balloon’s third EP Flourish off the Deathbomb Arc label retains the catchy lyrics and stern danceability of Balloon’s music that are a hallmark of Balloon’s career, displaying his unrelenting nature. From his outsider release of No Smoking in 2015, Balloon has now firmly carved a space for himself in the Boston scene with his take no prisoners, socially poignant stance in the cities music scene. Catch an interview w/ Balloon that Kat from the Hassle wrote in the lead up to this year’s Hassle Fest 9.
Lina Tullgren — Won
I reviewed this album on the Eve of a show Tullgren played for the Hassle with The John Cushing Big Band at the First Unitarian in Harvard square a few weeks back. Tullgren’s posture has stuck with me and has been quite popular on area lists in 2017. This album is a local stand out for me for its simple yet emotionally assertive lyricism that speaks to not only the alt-rock scene but for a coming of age for a generation of musicians and fans. Tullgren’s ‘Won’ will surely be on my Summer 2018 playlists for its moody briefs of seclusion and various other hipster related activities that beg thematic music.
Kevin Wynd is Secret Roger — Erased Tapes
Never thought underground project based parodic glam bands who incorporate numerous musical elements would be your thing? Well Erased Tapes may have a remedy to that problem with these recently released funky grooves & all too on point sardonic lyricism that sun showers my subconscious throughout the day. Like walking into a Fugue State, this album is littered with the familiar, senselessness, energy of striving simply out of pure wonder. No undercover stars here, no fallen rockers hiding under a different moniker, this album is as new & underground as it gets in Boston right now.
Constant Smiles — Divine
Brilliant musician & Boston Hassle writer Ruune, wrote this review on Divine which stands out for me in 2017 due to the overall epic-ness of this ‘dreamscape orchestra’ but also due to the fact that they were our first unofficial official act in our new space at the Dorchester Art Project. This Brooklyn based, Martha’s Vineyard born psych rocker project Constant Smiles is a deep, underlooked discography filled with some of the finest psych rock since the early 2000’s era of The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Bridge of Flowers — Ticked Off Tapes
Writing about Bridge of Flowers is overwhelming to me, in spite of the fact that Jeff Gallagher wrote a special year ender on this very site for us, but also because the music induces me into a sort of confusion that is warm and all too consensual. I like the mystery & slipping into the coma of whatever comes from western Mass label Ticked Off Tapes. So complicated and so insatiable, to truly come to terms with the obscurity & conceptual mind-fuckery that is this label is a paradox in itself. Perhaps my mind does not want these underground rockers to ever rise to an above ground plain surface of the mind.
Honorable Mentions:
Guadaloop – Sunshine 2017
Think you know Boston electronica? You haven’t heard anything yet until you’ve heard Guadaloop. Part noise, part electro, part sardonic pastiche yet is as mind numbing and danceable as the top electronic music in the city right now. I’m hoping 2018 will be Guadaloop’s year just so I can see these mystery laden electro-heads live in action.
Bison (VT) – Get In
From Vermont, Bison is just the step in the right direction rock needs to take. Don’t let the jam driven vibes of this band fool you, like jazz each lick, guitar wail & drum roll in Bison’s music is pointed in a firm direction forward for the fate heavy rock n’ roll. Like Wolfmother who never put out there second album with double the grit, Bison grabs you and doesn’t let go.
Chris Hughes is a Music Editor & Writer for The Boston Hassle. He can be reached via [email protected] or crsjh_ on instagram & twitter.
