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The Best Albums of 2017 | reviews, news & interviews

The Best Albums of 2017

The Best Albums of 2017

theartsdesk's music critics pick their favourites of the year

Five stars for Robert Plant's Carry Fire

Disc of the Day reviews new albums, week in, week out, all year. Below are the albums to which our writers awarded five stars. Click on any one of them to find out why.

SIMPLY THE BEST: THEARTSDESK'S FIVE-STAR REVIEWS OF 2017

Alan Broadbent: Developing Story ★★★★★  The pianist's orchestral magnum opus is packed with extraordinary things

Arcade Fire: Everything Now ★★★★★ A joyous pop album that depicts a world in tragic freefall

Autarkic: I Love You, Go Away ★★★★★ Tel Aviv producer Nadav Spiegel's latest collection is a triumph of head and heart

Brian Eno: Reflection ★★★★★ Slow-motion cascades of morphing tone

Boris: Dear ★★★★★ Japanese noise-mongers mark their 25th year with a masterpiece of heaviness

Cécile McLorin Salvant: Dreams and Daggers ★★★★★ The vocalist and songwriter delivers one of the great live jazz albums

DJ Hell: Zukunftsmusik ★★★★★ Stunning electronic masterpiece from Bavarian techno don

Super Natural, Jim JonesJim Jones & The Righteous Mind: Super Natural ★★★★★ The Righteous Mind’s debut is a punk-blues scorcher (pictured)

John Mayall: Talk About That ★★★★★ The godfather of British blues: still cutting it at 83

Lory D: Strange Days ★★★★★ From Rome via Glasgow, techno boiled down to its most potent essence

Lucky Soul: Hard Lines ★★★★★ The British pop band return with a timeless collection that's perfect for right now

Mark Kozelek with Ben Boye and Jim White ★★★★★
The cult American singer songwriter tackles the domestic and universal with equal panache

Nick Mulvey: Wake Up Now ★★★★★ Second stunning album from wide-eyed, thoughtful, spiritually-inclined singer-songwriter

Offa Rex: The Queen of Hearts ★★★★★ Olivia Chaney and Portland's Decemberists channel the golden age of English folk rock

Robert Plant: Carry Fire ★★★★★ The endlessly surprising rocker will not go quietly

Tubular Brass: Tubular Bells ★★★★★ Superb brass recreation of a 1970s classic, with added baluphonium

 

Comments

I nominate "So much to defend" by folk musician Chris Wood. Hoping you will review it soon.

Seaford Mods English Tapas has been on repeat in my house, car and iPod since its release.

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