Thanks to the efforts of British label Erased Tapes, longtime fans and new listeners can now fully appreciate how well the younger Jeffes has captured the austere wonder of his fatherвЂ™s initial work-a blending of minimalist classical, airy European jazz and ambient-and expanded upon it with care and delicate modern touches. While Arthur Jeffes has been continuing the work of his father SimonвЂ™s Penguin CafГ© Orchestra for the past decade, it hasnвЂ™t been until this year that this project-known now simply as Penguin CafГ©-has graced the world with a major release (the contemporary ensembleвЂ™s first two LPs were self-issued). вЂњWe are living in a time where misery is just a common circumstance,вЂќ she sings on вЂњScream,вЂќ a fiery collaboration with Tanya Tagaq that takes on everything from body-image to reproductive rights-the stick beat and freak-out grunts reminding us that Weaves can still get wonderfully weird. Taking a spiritual cue from the socially-conscious but introspective approach of Bruce Springsteen, Burke and company have plenty of vitriol to counter the step or two toward the mainstream. Rex-infused, oddball glam of вЂњSlickedвЂќ-imbued with a heavy dose of bubblegum-snapping attitude from vocalist and songwriter Jasmyn Burke-polishes up the best moments from their previous effort.

The jangly perfection of вЂњWalkawayвЂќ and acoustic inoffensiveness of вЂњGrassвЂќ beautifully signal this new direction, while the T. At a time when we may feel worn down by the reactionary reversal of social and cultural progress, when we wince at every news alert that blinks on to our smartphone screens, these are the artists we need to hear, the ones who urge us to keep moving forward and inspire our minds and bodies with the simple art of a song.ДЇor their second album, Toronto art-rockers Weaves tightened up the formula of their debut, adding pop-informed melodies to their fuzzy guitars and barbed observations. And some of the strongest statements this year came from people of color-not just stars like Kendrick Lamar and Killer Mike, but newcomers like British crooner Sampha and Jasmyn Burke of Weaves-with frankness and intimacy to expose the strains being felt by the people in their communities. ItвЂ™s a list dominated by an array of female voices, from the agit-punk of Sheer Mag and Melkbelly to the R&B visions of SZA and the late Sharon Jones, to the wonderfully unclassifiable sounds of Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Nai Palm. After all the votes were counted, we took a step back and realized how our listening habits had dovetailed with the social conversations happening around us. That was certainly reflected in the ballots our music writers submitted for this yearвЂ™s list of the 50 Best Albums. Even all the chatter and buzz that accompanied big-ticket releases like Taylor SwiftвЂ™s Reputation and Jay ZвЂ™s 4:44 sparked and disappeared with the intensity of a meteor burning up in the atmosphere. So much has been thrown at us over the past 12 months that itвЂ™s harder than ever for music fans to point to one artist or album that stands above all others or dominates the discourse.

The effects of that are bleeding into every aspect of our lives, including our interest in pop culture. By anyoneвЂ™s account, 2017 has been an exhausting year-a stretch of time that, thanks to unending upheaval and the barrage of often bad news, has felt about three times as long as normal.

Best mac music production 2017