AllMusic 2017 Year in Review
Favorite Indie Pop and Indie Rock Albums
The increasingly difficult to classify worlds of indie pop and indie rock produced a plethora of outstanding releases this year, including the returns of veteran acts Fleet Foxes and LCD Soundsystem, plus promising debuts from Sacred Paws, Modern Studies, Lost Horizons and Girl Ray.
After a Billboard debut and guesting on Frank Ocean albums, Alex Giannascoli sticks to the distinctive, home-recorded sound that made his reputation.
On their militant second album, the quartet and producer Adrian Utley offer a soundtrack for the apocalypse, yet refuse to be swallowed by it.
Solo debut from former Swearin' frontwoman is a smart, impassioned breakup album, indie pop style.
The band's second album is more confident and more sonically impressive, leading to another brilliant indie pop insta-classic.
Inspired by sci-fi, feminism, and a desolate stint in Montreal, the group's affecting third album champions hope against all odds.
The Icelandic artist rebounds from Vulnicura's despair with lighter-than-air songs about thriving after loss.
Invigorating power pop with heart from a debut by members of LVL UP, Porches, and Normal Person.
Spanning mournful ballads and celebratory dance and pop, Gainsbourg's fourth album explores the aftermath of loss in her own words.
Working with members of Converge, Isis, and Queens of the Stone Age, the singer/songwriter delivers some of her heaviest and most fragile music.
The group's debut features fascinating sound collages that explore growth and rebirth and pay tribute to late Broadcast singer Trish Keenan.
Haley Fohr interprets a powerful moment of cosmic inspiration on her sixth full-length as Circuit des Yeux.
These serene yet constantly changing meditations on fear, hope, joy, and loss are some of Colleen's most vulnerable, beautiful songs yet.
Toronto-based post-rock collective Do Make Say Think make an utterly joyous, triumphant return eight years after 2009's Other Truths.
An apocalyptic vision of nationalism, poverty, and alienation that is one of Anderson's finest achievements.
Karin Dreijer explores the need for intimacy -- and its consequences -- with some of their most colorful and powerful music.
Following a lengthy hiatus, the band's debut for Nonesuch is dense, ambitious, and ultimately rewarding.
The prolific songwriter balances intense poetic narratives with more reflective electronic pieces on his first album since moving to Montreal.
A stunning debut album filled with lovely pop songs, introspective folk ballads, and gentle psychedelia from a trio of young women from North London.
The Canadian instrumental ensemble's sixth full-length is a turbulent yet optimistic triumph, and one of their best works.
After embracing synths on her 2014 album, The Silver Globe, Weaver delivers a psychedelic gem coated in vintage keys, jangling guitars, and sonic exploration.
Another enchanting and pleasantly disorienting release from Argentina's inventive pop auteur.
U.K. eccentric Julian Cope reclaims his whimsy and melodicism on this pleasing set of drinking songs.
After a short "retirement," the band returns with a set that blends melancholy synth ballads with wall-rattling dance rock, aka business as usual.
An exquisite 15-track debut by the duo of Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins) and Richie Thomas (Dif Juz), along with a cast of nuanced vocalists.
An emphasis on self-reflection signifies a tonal shift on the singer/songwriter's third strong full-length.
Angst-ridden, hook-heavy indie pop meets post-punk, with very powerful vocals from Maja Milner leading the charge.
An artful, literate, musically balanced album from the Georgia outfit.
A fantastic debut from this harmonium-led Scottish chamber folk quartet with a rich vocal presence.
Recorded shortly after the death of Phil Elverum's wife, Geneviève Castrée, this is a beautiful, harrowing expression of grief.
The Georgia trio's second album is a post-punk delight, with cleaner sound and more powerfully confident performances.
Mike Hadreas' fourth album moves past pain and toward acceptance, allowing his music to bloom in compulsively listenable ways.
The group's furious, eclectic debut album expresses the ills of the late 2010s -- and the human condition -- with poetic eloquence.
Outstanding fourth album from these Detroit indie rockers is smart, introspective, and fiercely aggressive all at once.
Classic C-86 style indie pop spiced with a little bit of synth pop and disco from the ever-prolific David West.
Recorded in Nashville with pop sorcerer Brendan Benson, Robyn Hitchcock's 22nd studio outing is his most vibrant collection of new music since the early 1990s.
Brilliant debut album of Afro-pop-inspired indie pop from Golden Grrrls and Shopping members.
Annie Clark's fifth album weaponizes pop's trappings, transforming them into sad, witty songs about desire and destruction.
Longtime Michigan indie scene regular Stef Chura perfects her anxious, visceral sound with her excellent first studio album.
An uplifting, deeply emotive fourth album from Kamtin Mohager's synth pop outfit, featuring production from the Naked and Famous' Thom Powers.
The band returns after a long layoff with a new member, expanded arrangements, and the same hefty dose of autumnal warmth and grace.
Ridiculous, romping album of snide synth glam by a pretend band come to life featuring members of Fat White Family and the Eccentronic Research Council.
John Darnielle and company share 12 stories about goths; witty, compassionate, literate, and musically inventive.
The National take some subtle but significant detours on their seventh album.
Arriving almost a decade after its immediate predecessor, this gorgeous collection of slow-burning indie rock sees subtle shifts in a meticulously crafted and long-evolving sound.
The Montreal indie electronic outfit returns the heavy-hearted sophisti-pop sound established on 2014's Picture You Staring.
The singer/songwriter's third album is a celebration of the body that delivers some of her most fascinating and moving music.
On her most assertive album yet, Katie Crutchfield examines a damaging relationship with the aid of a full band and production by John Agnello.
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Silver/Lead [Special Edition] [W/Book]
The band celebrates its 40th anniversary with a set of precise yet strangely moving songs that showcase their ability to evolve.
Her return to Sacred Bones makes for some of her most empathetic and danceable songs yet.