Top 50 Tracks of 2017

We're in the last week of the year which means it's time for the two lists that matter the most; our selection of the best new music released in the past 12 months, chosen among the hundreds of cds and digital files plus the few vinyl records (old habits die hard) we have added in our collection in 2017!

Let's start today with our 50 favorite tracks of the year and we'll keep, as tradition dictates, the album list for our first post of the new year. The "singles" list, as we used to call it when 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl releases still mattered as a means of getting your best songs out to the fans, is made up of stand out tracks from albums released during the year plus a few selections from stand-alone singles and EPs. As we usually do, only one track is included from each artist or band in order to be able to narrow down the selection to just 50 songs and to represent as many of our favorite releases of the year as possible.

So, let's leave the music speak for itself and without any reverse countdown nonsense (don't you always start by checking out the number one of a list before deciding if you are interested to see the rest?), here are the 50 tracks that mattered the most for Cool Music Central in 2017, starting with St. Vincent dripping poison about L.A.'s celebrity culture while mourning the loss of a lover and LCD Soundsystem waxing philosophical about mortality and living in the moment over one of the most catchy dance tunes that James Murphy and co. have ever created:

Top 50 Tracks of 2017

1. Los Ageless - ST. VINCENT

2. Tonite - LCD SOUNDSYSTEM

3. The Architect - JANE WEAVER

4. Evil - NADINE SHAH

5. Hot Thoughts - SPOON

6. The Underside Of Power - ALGIERS

7. DNA. - KENDRICK LAMAR

8. To the Moon and Back - FEVER RAY

9. Day I Die - THE NATIONAL

10. In Undertow - ALVVAYS

11. Silver - WAXAHATCHEE
12. French Press - ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER
13. Amputation - THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN
14. Don't Get Captured - RUN THE JEWELS
15. Holding On - THE WAR ON DRUGS
16. Demon in Profile - THE AFGHAN WHIGS
17. Beehive - MARK LANEGAN
18. The Last Ten Years - MARK EITZEL
19. My Children - PROTOMARTYR
20. Cease Fire - THURSTON MOORE
21. Over Everything - COURTNEY BARNETT AND KURT VILE
22. High Ticket Attractions - THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
23. Tinseltown Swimming in Blood - DESTROYER
24. Mourning Sound - GRIZZLY BEAR
25. Road Head - JAPANESE BREAKFAST
26. Soothing - LAURA MARLING
27. Sister Green Eyes - JOSEFIN ÖHRN + THE LIBERATION
28. Mad As Hell - U.S. GIRLS
29. Aryan Nation - EMA
30. Cred Woes - LIARS
31. Cali - RIDE
32. Sugar for the Pill - SLOWDIVE
33. 3 O'Clock - BLONDE REDHEAD
34. Formula X - BOSS HOG
35. Somos Chulas (No Somos Pendejas) - DOWNTOWN BOYS
36. Nothing Feels Natural - PRIESTS
37. I Took Your Picture - CULTS
38. Everything Now - ARCADE FIRE
39. Skyline - BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
40. Currency - THE BLACK ANGELS
41. Glide - THE DREAM SYNDICATE
42. Near to the Wild Heart of Life - JAPANDROIDS
43. Short Elevated Period - WIRE
44. Evermore - GRANDADDY
45. It Gets More Blue - GIRLPOOL
46. Special - ANGEL OLSEN
47. Darling - REAL ESTATE
48. Follow The Leader - FOXYGEN
49. Sucker - THE BIG MOON
50. Don't Delete the Kisses - WOLF ALICE

New Releases: November - December 2017

One week to go before the end of 2017 and as we are finalizing the lists of our favorite albums and songs of the year, let's take a moment to check out the latest new releases:

Albums

KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD - Polygondwanaland
GUN OUTFIT - Out of Range
ANGEL OLSEN - Phases
BJÖRK - Utopia
CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG - Rest
MORRISSEY - Low in High School
NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS - Who Built The Moon?
ESCAPE-ISM - Introduction to Escape-ism
SPINNING COIN - Permo
OCS (aka OH SEES) - Memory Of A Cut Off Head
LOST HORIZONS - Ojala
JIM WHITE - Waffles, Triangles and Jesus
BILLY BRAGG - Bridges Not Walls
SONDRE LERCHE - Pleasure
EUROS CHILDS - House Arrest
PETE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - Safer With The Wolves
AUTOBAHN - The Moral Crossing
ZOMBY - Mercury's Rainbow
VISIBLE CLOAKS - Lex
VIRGINIA WING / XAM DUO - Tomorrow's Gift
QTY - QTY
QUICKSAND - Interiors
GODFLESH - Post Self
GLASSJAW - Material Control
I, LUDICROUS - Songs From The Sides Of Lorries
U2 - Songs of Experience
JIM JAMES - Tribute to 2
BONNIE PRINCE BILLY - Wolf of the Cosmos
SUFJAN STEVENS - The Greatest Gift
HÜSKER DÜ - Savage Young Du

Singles & EPs

MORRISSEY - Jacky’s Only Happy When She’s Up On Stage
SUNFLOWER BEAN - I Was A Fool
GOAT GIRL - Cracker Drool
PIP BLOM - Babies Are A Lie / School
XIU XIU/(R) - Xiu Xiu/(r)
EMA - MopTops (Twist While The World Stops)
U.S. GIRLS - Velvet 4 Sale
DJANGO DJANGO - Tic Tac Toe
THE LOVELY EGGS - I Shouldn't Have Said That
TOTAL CONTROL - Laughing at the System EP
ABATTOIR BLUES - Blinded
HERE LIES MAN - Animal Noises
THE LIMINANAS - Istanbul Is Sleepy
THE LIMINANAS WITH PASCAL COMELADE - The Curse Of Santa Claus / Silent Night
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN - How to Solve Our Human Problems, Pt. 1
THE BIG MOON - Acoustic EP
KELLY LEE OWENS - More Than A Woman
SLEIGH BELLS - Kid Kruschev EP
AT THE DRIVE IN - Diamante EP
BLACK LIPS - This Sick Beat
ALLAH-LAS - Covers 1
PETE ASTOR - Water Tower
PAUL WELLER - One Tear
NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS - Holy Mountain
U2 - The Blackout
THE CHARLATANS - Over Again
TENNIS - We Can Die Happy EP
THE BUG - Bad / Get Out The Way
SUPERORGANISM - Something For Your M.I.N.D.
THE MOONLANDINGZ - The Cities Undone EP
AVERAGE SEX - Ugly Strangers EP
DEAD PRETTIES - Confidence / Water
PICAPICA - Spring and Shade

Pip Blom - School

Live: The Wedding Present @ Temple (Athens, December 14th, 2017)

2017 was a year full of comebacks and anniversary re-releases. Although I feel that rock music continues to be as necessary and important today as it’s ever been, at least for me, there is no denying the fact that exciting new rock bands are thin on the ground these days, while so many bands from the past are returning for concerts and release new records which are easily among the best of the year, even if they don’t usually surpass their past glories.

In this climate, it isn’t surprising that some of the best gigs we’ve been to this year were from bands with quite a bit of history (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Dream Syndicate, Swans, Thurston Moore, Einstürzende Neubauten, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Slowdive) and now to this list we can add The Wedding Present, who this year celebrated the 30th anniversary of their debut album "George Best", one of the indiepop classics of the C86 generation.

Although "George Best" is certainly one of the albums that I would like to see performed from start to finish, David Gedge preferred to keep in the set list about a half of it and present instead a “best of” of the first period of the band, a choice that certainly pleased the fans as along with early favorites like "My Favourite Dress", "Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft" "Anyone Can Make a Mistake" or the pre-"George Best" single "Once More", we also got to hear the likes of "Kennedy", "Corduroy" or "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah".

Some of their newer material was also present in the hour and a half set, with "Two Bridges" and "Rachel" representing their latest release, 2016’s "Going, Going...", and "The Girl from the DDR" off "Valentina" being also among the standouts with bassist Danielle Wadey contributing the German vocal part.

A great gig that showcased some of David Gedge’s finest songs, from the mid-80s to the present day, that certainly deserved a larger audience than the relatively few who managed to come to the Temple club on Thursday night despite the strike in public transport.

Here's the handwritten set list of the gig and our video of the band performing "Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft":

The Wedding Present - Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft (live @ Temple, Athens)

Live: Plisskën Festival 2017 (Athens, December 1-2, 2017)

Liars, live @ Plisskën Festival 2017

The 2017 winter edition of Plisskën Festival followed the same concept as last year with gigs taking place across four stages in three different locations along Pireaus street and the emphasis on electronic and dance music. Rock acts, with the glowing exception of Liars and the dance-rock of Holy Fuck, were left out of the picture and guitar pop was barely there with Mac Demarco and Tops on the main stage on Saturday. To be honest, this year's edition left me with mixed feelings regarding the music on offer and sorely missing the festival's last summer edition with bands like Savages, Metz or Waxahatchee gracing its line up.

To focus on the positive, Liars return to Athens after several years was, for us at least, by far the most exciting prospect on the festival's line up and Angus Andrew with his reconfigured band did not disappoint, giving one hell of a performance with material from almost all of their releases so far. 

Andrew came on stage dressed in a wedding gown, a striking image in the spirit of the cover of "TFCF", the band's latest album, and soon after a tension building "Drum Gets a Glimpse", he unleashed a powerful, all-out rock assault which combined new songs like "Coins In My Caged Fist" or "Cred Woes" with many favorites from the band's remarkable back catalogue including "Mr You're On Fire Mr",  "It Fit When I Was a Kid", "Scissor", "The Overachievers" and "Mess on a Mission" to name a few. Liars are one of the best bands that came out of the early '00s indie rock explosion and with performances like this they prove that they still remain a vital rock force today. Undoubtedly, the top performance of Plisskën 2017!

Before Liars, on the second day of the festival (December 2) we also saw Tops from Montreal, opening proceedings on the main stage with their mellow indie pop, likable enough but without the killer tune that would make them standout, and Jessy Lanza who combines hard hitting electronic beats with sweet, soulful vocals and pop melodies that could lead to greater commercial success for her in the near future.

Tops, live @ Plisskën Festival 2017

Jessy Lanza, live @ Plisskën Festival 2017

The headliner on Saturday was Mac DeMarco whose performance, especially after the explosive Liars show that preceded it, seemed very weak to my ears, although most of the crowd seemed to be having a good time. I guess his "jizz jazz" style is not for me and the karaoke-style covers of Red Hot Chilly Peppers and 50 Cent that closed his set did not help much to change my mind.

Mac DeMarco, live @ Plisskën Festival 2017

On the first day of the festival we attended on the main stage the beat heavy, experimental electronic performances of Demdike Stare and Andy Stott, both of which would have benefited from a late night spot, but nonetheless managed to engage and move the feet of the relatively few people who turned up early enough to see them.

Demdike Stare, live @ Plisskën Festival 2017

Andy Stott, live @ Plisskën Festival 2017

The day on the main stage closed with the unlikely pairing of Holy Fuck and Mulatu Astatke who headlined. We didn't get to see the latter, but we did enjoy the upbeat performance of Holy Fuck, the second one in Athens for the Canadian electrorockers after this one from the great Synch Festival of 2008 (the good old days!). Their sound has not changed very much over the years, but they certainly remain a fun act to watch live.

Holy Fuck, live @ Plisskën Festival 2017

Check out below a video playlist with selected highlights from the winter 2017 edition of Plisskën Festival, featuring Liars, Holy Fuck, Jessy Lanza and Tops:

Liars, Holy Fuck, Jessy Lanza, Tops live @  Plisskën Festival 2017 (Piraeus 117 Academy, Athens)