The Fashionably Late Top 66 of 2017: Pete International Airport

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: Pete International Airport

What: Safer With The Wolves

When: November 2017

Where: Eggs In Aspic/A Recordings

Why: When he's not busy shredding with The Dandy Warhols, Peter G. Holmström has a pretty great secondary sonic persona: Pete International Airport. PIA's latest release is the sublime Safer With The Wolves, a collection of quicksilver neo-psych tunes. Incredibly lush and intricate, each song is uniquely transcendent in its own special way. Guest vocals from Black Rebel Motorcycle's Robert Been (the suitably murky slink of "Flowers of Evil") and Alex Maas of The Black Angels (the entrancing pulsations of "Western Shouting") add to the bounty; this cup definitely runneth over. A real treasure.  

[posted 2.24.18]