The Fashionably Late Top 66 of 2017: Spirit Valley

It’s been a hell of a year. 2017 was exhausting, stressful, and at times just plain terrifying. But for all the mess that’s happened over the past 12 months, and there’s certainly been so much, there’s also been a lot of good going on in the world. From a musical standpoint, for instance, 2017 was rather exceptional. There were so many glorious new sounds to take in.

I’ve put together my list of favorites from the year that was, a touch fashionably late as always. Once again, I’ve decided to eschew a ranking system and instead give you an alphabetical look at the records I fell for this year. There’s some names here that will come as no surprise to anyone, and perhaps a few that might surprise you. These are simply my favorites from 2017, the albums I went back to again and again, the albums that I swooned over. So, without further exposition, here’s my list. I think you’ll find you can get your kicks from any and all of the 66 records I’ve chosen, and I truly hope you’ll find some treasures to cherish, as I cherish each and every record here. Many, many thanks to the artists who put out this fantastic music, their sounds helped make 2017 bearable.

Who: Spirit Valley

What: Negatives

When: August 2017

Where: Fuzz Club

Why: There's a brutality to the form of Spirit Valley's brand of psych rock. It's a sound that owes much to krautrock and post-punk; indeed, towering walls of ruthless, expansive clamor are abundant on Negatives. And yet, despite all the bruising, there's a sense of grace to these songs, a refinement bordering on the reverential. The Amsterdam duo isn't just being noisy for the sake of being noisy, after all.

[posted 2.27.18]