My Favorite Albums of 2017 (A Look Back)
While it seems that 2017 was nothing racism, gun violence, political hoopla, and weather described on in biblical allegory, it was nice to see that through the smoke and fire it also brought us some pretty awesome, emotional, intense music.
RANCID From the most iconic of punk rock June brought Rancid's Trouble Maker. Produced by Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz, it was a total throwback to the "Life Won't Wait" era combined with the more catchy sounds of Indestructible.
AFI
Moving on to another North Cali based band are "melodic hardcore" punks AFI with January's The Blood Album. I'm all about nostalgia, it's kind of my thing. This album does just that, reminding me of songs from my favorite AFI album Sing The Sorrow. It has that melodic hardcore edge while at the same time makes you wonder "is this a goth pop record"? You be the judge.
blink-182
The entire reason I started getting into pop-punk was because of 3 angsty SoCal lads who I first saw naked on TV, back in the late 90's. That band? blink-182. Through the hiatuses, line-up changes and experimental sounds, they still remain my favorite band of all time. Though people have had mixed feelings on Matt Skiba's replacement of Tom Delonge, I thoroughly enjoy the album California, the same went for 2017's California (Deluxe) that came out in May of 2017, which, let's be honest is basically a whole new album with California still on the cover.
Eternal Boy
Some local buds of mine changed their name from The Spacepimps but kept their overall Throwback Pop-Punk era feel. Etenal Boy released their album "Awkward Phase" on July 14th 2017, the album was everything I had hoped for packed full of a nostalgic pop-punk feel, punchy bass & drums, and catchy choruses that will have you singing in the shower for days.
New Found Glory
New Found Glory, The Florida quartet dominated the airwaves in the early 2000's with songs like Hit or Miss and My Friends Over You. Every album seemed to get harder and more raw with songs like All Downhill from Here and 2014's ENTIRE RECORD Resurrection. (one of my favorites.) 2017's Makes Me Sick was no exception. There are points in the record where you can tell they still have the poppy, nostalgic fast paced songs, but at other points it's as if they're an entirely new band with NFG overtones.
Neck Deep
I will be one of the first to say that I boycotted the "new pop-punk" bands. Call it a desperate attempt to hang on to the past, or a refusal to give new things a try, it took all the way until 2017 for a UK band pop up on my Spotify to change my mind. Neck Deep have everything a pop-punk band needs, they're fast, catchy and every song has meaning. 2017's The Peace and the Panic was very poppy with a nice blend of hardcore punk beats, chuggy guitar riffs, and lead singer Ben's knack for hitting you in the feels with emotional lyrics.
Knuckle Puck
Knuckle Puck was one of the first bands that got me to "broaden my pop-punk horizons". These lads hit you fast and hard then mellow it out with crazy drum fills, and melodic guitar riffs, then explode into hardcore punk beats out of left field. One of the first entire songs I heard was Pretense off of Copacetic, it's still one of my favorite KP songs. They released Shapeshifter in October of 2017, it's crazy because I had only been listening to the band for like a month or so, and even then I was stoked to hear Shapeshifter when it came out.
I'm stoked for 2018, there are so many albums coming out and tours to support it from bands all over the rock genre.
My next blog will go into My Most Anticipated Albums of 2018.
- What are your favorite albums of 2017?
- What bands are you stoked to hear in 2018?
- Any bands I left out that should get some love?
- The Pop Punk Dad features artists from all around the globe. Email me awesome bands at: thepoppunkdad@gmail.com
Stay updated with new posts, band reviews, merch and everything music by subscribing to The Pop Punk Dad mailing list.
