Best Albums of 2016:
Aaron Gillespie – Out of the Badlands
I think at this point anything that Aaron Gillespie puts out will be one of my favorites. This album was awesome. Hearing the re-worked Underoath classics and the covers that he did were what sold me on this album. I knew that Aaron could play the drums like a magical unicorn but I had no idea he could write songs so well and sing as well. The U2 cover of “Where the Streets have No Name” is amazing. He totally changes up the song but keeps it true to the original. Aaron Gillespie is one talented muscian.
Switchfoot – Where the Light Shines Through
I’ve been a fan of Switchfoot for a while and I’ve seen them live four times. Because of that, this album was definitely one of my favorites. There’s a song called “Live it Well” and it has this one line in it that I loved so much I wrote it on my shoe. That line being “Life is short, I wanna live it well”. The album makes you feel slightly better about the situation in America right now and reminds you that there is good things in life.
Thrice – To be Everywhere is to be Nowhere
Thrice is from the city I live in (Irvine, CA) which to me is so amazing! I’d been waiting for a new Thrice album since senior year of high school. Finally they delivered junior year of college. I love every song on this album and I like how they end it on an acoustic song. I think my favorite song on this album is “The Window” because of the guitar part right before the chorus. That guitar line makes you want to head bang and jump around.
Lights – Midnight Machines
If you know anything about Lights and how she does her albums and you know she re-creates her album acoustically. “Midnight Machines” is the acoustic rendition of “Little Machines”. This whole album shows off Lights’ vocal skills and that is the first reason why I like it so much. The second reason I like it is because of the way Lights re-did all the songs. She added strings and slows the songs down a lot, so you get to hear a different version of each song.
HalfNoise – Sudden Feeling
Up until this year I was never too big of a fan of music with lots of electronic elements in it. Well, that changed after I heard HalfNoise’s album “Sudden Feeling”. If you didn’t know this is Zac Farro’s (ex-Paramore drummer) new band. The album makes you feel good even though it’s a break up album! The song that got me hooked was the title track for the album. It’s just a fun sounding album and that’s why it made my list.
Best New Artist / Best First Album:
Movements – Outgrown Things
I first saw Movements when they opened as a local band for Basement. Pretty quickly I knew that I liked their music. They just put out the EP Outgrown Things and I think my favorite songs on this are “Nineteen” and “Hatchet”. Both of the songs are good lyrically and Patrick’s screaming vocals make you feel what he is singing. Especially in “Nineteen”, you understand the story that is being told and feel the emotion. I really recommend checking this band out.
Most Surprising:
Panic! At The Disco – Death of a Bachelor
I had never really liked Panic! very much and I decided to check this album out because I had heard good things. To my surprise it was really good. It’s catchy and fun to listen to. It’s one of the few albums that my brothers and I agree on. My favorite song is “LA Devotee” because it sounds great and it describes stuff about people that are obsessed with LA in a way that I haven’t heard before.
Best Comeback:
Green Day – Revolution Radio
This was a hard category because there were a few albums to chose from. But I ended up picking Revolution Radio. Green Day has been putting out music for a while but the albums before this weren’t that great in my opinion. When the first single “Bang Bang” came out I thought it was awesome. Just because of that song I decided to listen to the album when it came out and then I ended up buying it on CD because it was so good.
Wasn’t a Fan but Now I am:
Touché Amore – Stage Four
I never had been a fan of Touché Amore until I heard Stage Four, I guess I just never took the time to really listen to them. But I’ve known about them since Is Survived By came out. I heard the story behind the album Stage Four and then decided to check it out and I’m so glad I did. I really love all the songs. The lyrics are meaningful and you can hear the pain in Jeremy Bolm’s voice. All of that combined made me love this album.
Most Disappointing:
Needtobreathe – Hardlove
I love this band so much and everyone I know doesn’t like them. But when I heard this album, I was disappointed. To me, Needtobreathe was always pretty unique sounding because of Bear Rinehart’s voice and the cool instruments they used. Well, Needtobreathe took a total left turn with Hardlove and changed their sound. I know bands have to change their sound but I just couldn’t bring myself to like this album.
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Post by Madeline Cronin
What are your thoughts on this list? Comment below.
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