Music Pazz & Jop, the Village Voice Music Critics Poll: The Best of the Rest
by Various Critics
Anderson .Paak, Malibu
Anderson .Paak’s musicianship and raw vocals, Maxwell’s mature elegance, Beyoncé’s angry-wife persona, Bryson Tiller’s wistfully whiny sexuality, and Kandace Springs’s rich voice and bluesy piano chops showed that the b in r&b was finally getting equal weight after being drowned out for several years by the r. Though Solange got most of the blog coverage, rookies Gallant, Springs, and Audra Day all made impressive albums that suggested they have the chops and p.o.v. for long careers. Nelson George
Rihanna, Anti
Overshadowed by Kanye, Chance, Kendrick, or the Knowles Sisters, Rihanna proved that she is our most sophisticated consumer of pleasure and, in her own way, continued the argument that female sexual autonomy as a construction of self and power is both refreshing and full of danger. That she has done this consistently for eight albums is a streak rivaled only by Stevie Wonder or Madonna. Anthony Easton
Sturgill Simpson, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
Sturgill Simpson’s endlessly tender dedication to his newborn son presents a dramatic contrast to the arguably toxic masculinity that has plagued country music for years. Amy McCarthy
Drive-By Truckers, American Band
America’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in an era when that doesn’t mean a goddamn thing put out their best record in nearly a decade, immersing themselves not just in the stories they’ve always told, but the politics that have always underpinned them. Jim Connelly
Danny Brown, Atrocity Exhibition
Forget the words. The sound of these doomy, gothic soundscapes that surround you in ever-tightening spirals mirrored the fear and loathing so many of us felt in the weeks following Trump’s election. Jim Connelly
The 1975, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it
Plastic neon boner-funk high off hubris and philosophy books. You could try to make this shit up, but why would you? Evan Sawdey
ANOHNI, Hopelessness
Awareness of your implicit role in global exploitation and impending climate doom has never sounded so beautiful. Joe Lynch
Kaytranada, 99.9%
In a year when so many great records aimed at making us think, feel, pray, smile, cry, rage, empathize, this album — more than any other — just wanted you to dance. Alex Gale
Esperanza Spalding, Emily’s D+Evolution
“Earth to Heaven” and “Funk the Fear” remind me of Dream Theater one second, Joni Mitchell or crisp jazz the next. “Unconditional Love,” a softer piece, has such a warm studio feel to it, I can almost smell the instruments and the soundproofing acoustic foam. I mean this in a fond way, I swear. Farah Joan Fard
KING, We are King
More r&b should shimmer and be this diaphanous. Alfred Soto
Jenny Hval, Blood Bitch
Like a gallery of human desires mounted to a wall that come back to life and start wriggling under their pins. Sasha Geffen
Robbie Fulks, Upland Stories
The frustrations, furies, and fleeting grace notes of flyover America. These songs sounded warm and empathetic before the election. It was already too late when they revealed themselves as warnings. Max Berry
Kevin Gates, Islah
A new classic: Layers of hooks, a remarkably chameleonic voice and flow, and (almost) more mood swings than Trump’s Twitter account. Corey Beasley
Paul Simon, Stranger to Stranger
V.I.P. wristband as a metaphor for colonialism? What would Trump tweet? Ken Rayes
Jamila Woods, HEAVN
A work of beauty rising up through the Chicago gun smoke, mostly about the Chicago gun smoke. Phillip Overeem
Young Thug, Jeffery
Everyone always talks about how weird Young Thug sounds, but here’s a list of other “weird sounding” guys he reminds me of: Louis Armstrong, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Little Richard, Chuck Berry (“My Ding-a-Ling” is very similar to “Future Swag”). Rollie Pemberton
Horse Lords, Interventions
There’s an old Laotian proverb that says if you like to have things easy, you’ll have difficulties, but if you like things difficult, you’ll succeed. Baltimore quintet Horse Lords like things difficult, and their kinetic freak-out rock offers rich rewards and thrilling ecstasies. Patrick Wall
Xenia Rubinos, Black Terry Cat
I can’t think of a Latinx artist who so aggressively confronted a world so hell-bent on vilifying her, and her people, as the Puerto Rican and Cuban Rubinos. Rubinos made it a point to address what it’s like to be a brown girl in a country where so many Latinxs thirst for white acceptance. Jaime-Paul Falcon
A Tribe Called Red, We Are the Halluci Nation
A beautiful piece of humanity-laced activism painted on a trancelike electronic backdrop complete with tribal chanting and throat singing, this album stands out in a year with so many great releases as truly unique both musically and in point of view. Heather Hoch
Bonnie Raitt, Dig in Deep
The sexiest album of the year was made by a 66-year-old woman, quite possibly at the peak of her powers. Thomas Inskeep
G.L.O.S.S., Trans Day of Revenge
One zillion points. Absolutely essential. Michael Fournier
The Tragically Hip, Man Machine Poem
As undeniably courageous as David Bowie and Leonard Cohen were in staring down the respective barrels of their own mortality in 2016, my number one hero of this or any other year is Gord Downie, lead singer and lyricist for Canada’s favorite sons, the Tragically Hip. Diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, Downie led the Hip on a farewell tour that galvanized an entire nation in addition to helming not one but two career-defining albums. To modify an indelible Hip lyric: “Courage: It couldn’t come at a better time. Gord’s legacy will live to survive our paradoxes well into eternity.” Mike Mettler
Tweet, Charlene
Tweet made us remember the days of Minnie Riperton, when soul and singer-songwriter folk could combine. Ian Steaman
Garbage, Strange Little Birds
As David Greenwald has pointed out, there’s a real issue with the way veteran non-superstar acts’ releases are covered (or aren’t). This album deserved a real critical reckoning. Jesse Richman
The Highest Order, Still Holding
A psychedelic country record that seeks to decolonize and confront settler mentality, and it’s amazing. Andrea Warner
Don’t miss the rest of the 2017 Pazz & Jop, Village Voice Music Critics Poll coverage:
This Year’s Most Far-Out Ballot
The Black Stars of 2016: From the Knowles Industrial Complex to the Hip-Hop Avengers
In a World of ‘Lemonade,’ Misogyny Creeps Onto the Pop Charts
Chance the Rapper’s ‘Coloring Book’: Digital Music Victory or Corporate Land Grab?
More:Pazz & Jop