We open our closing of 2017 with Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes who, in a fashion hearkening to the pitch-black riffs and crisp vocals of Royal Blood, put forth the immaculately produced "Spray Paint Love", an emotionally charged epic whose simply megalithic strings are animated by frontman Frank's sassy crooning about drunken hookups.
In a slightly more obscure vein, psychedelic/garage found brief reawakening in The Presolar Sands' "The first law of thermodynamics", a far-out, menacing homage to pedals and distortion reminiscent of psych veterans The Black Angels.
Meanwhile, in the folk-rock universe, relatively new-kid-on-the-block Loamlands ventured, along with a host of other artists, into the I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats project, a podcast feature exploring the stories behind the songs comprising folk-rock legends The Mountain Goats' 2002 album All Hail West Texas, including a cover of each song by a different artist. Loamlands' contribution to the series is a truly impressive, gritty yet good-natured cover of The Mountain Goats' 2002 "Fall of the Star High School Running Back", furnished superbly by North Carolina native Kym Register's husky vocal work.
To lighten the mood, British natives Anteros gave the pop-rock avenue some love with the upbeat, punchy anthem "Bonnie", a powerful continuation from the band's previous EP, Drunk, which, like their most recent singles, incorporates energetic female vocals (courtesy of frontwoman talent Laura Hayden) and glamorous pop-punk nostalgia.
Electric soul aficionado and serial charmer NoMBe saw out 2017 with the ultra-slick, no-comment-required "Sex", finishing off a remarkable year dense with edgy, sultry releases which further push the envelope of electronic/funk/soul tropes we fell in love with a few years prior, when acts like Chet Faker, Jungle and Glass Animals (circa Zaba) were at the fore.
Here's to a spectacular end to 2017, and all the great tunes to come in the new year!
