I know it may seem strange to ring in 2018 by looking backwards. But as much as we find ourselves excited about the latest and greatest, there is always a massive amount of music to find from the past. I think this is the perfect time to remind ourselves of this. We think it’s important to remember that good music is not dictated by its timeliness or how it fits into any given trend. Any music worth talking about is worth talking about forever. So, we are continuing our tradition of starting out the year with 5 favorites from the previous year. This is a sort of follow up to our always ambitious End of Year Top 5 list. We always end up kicking ourselves for leaving off some real gems. These are no lesser than the ones we included. They just managed, for one reason or another, to slip our minds.

To see what did make the cut, check out our 2017 Top 5 list.

Laura Marling – Semper Femina

It’s a common thought among music lovers that the best music doesn’t always grab you right away. In fact, it’s the tunes that take an immediate hold that often grow tired with only a few listens. But with the benefit of hindsight and the brilliantly understated beauty that is Semper Femina, it’s safe to say that this album will be a longtime listen.

 Meridian Brothers – Donde Estas Maria?

Meridian Brothers is a project that I’ve been bumping into for a few years, now. Unfortunately, it’s always been through youtube clips, online playlists or word of mouth. I did look into ordering an album for the shop, a couple years back, only to find that nothing was available. Perhaps it’s the fact that they’ve been around since the late nineties, making it difficult to cultivate any sort of explosive notoriety. Or, it could be that their hometown of Bogota, Columbia is a bit off the radar for our U.S. market. Or, it could be that their music sounds like something you might remember from a dream. The hypnotizing nature could make so any memories of their unique sound would subconsciously be written off as a figment of your imagination. Luckily for me and my subconscious, we happened to receive a promotional copy of their album! It may have been a little late to make it on the year end list, but it’s now on the map!

Sneaks – It’s a Myth

Ok, You might be noticing a pattern emerging. This list is no doubt, made up of simple, understated, mildly introverted albums. And, there’s not a damn thing wrong with that! We’ll just have to keep this in mind when putting together our list, at the end of 2018.

Land of Talk – Life After Youth

If there was a top 20 albums played at Stinkweeds for 2017, this would definitely make the cut. This has that vibe that goes great with the shop. Some albums you just can’t get enough of.

Jaye Bartell – In a Time of Trouble A Wile Exultation

Ok, this one just slipped right by us and we’re not exactly sure how. The promo copy has been sitting in the stack for a few months now, with us completely unaware that something so fitting to our taste was just waiting to be discovered. This has it all; that lazy vibe; that baritone voice, like a Callahan or Cohen; jangly guitars; brushy drums and…Angel Olsen?! How did this get by us?! This is as much on you as it is on us.