It took me far too long to get around to listening to this album after it came out but after listening just once, I knew it'd feature somewhere on this list. In at number 22 is Kali Uchis with her debut album Isolation.

Before this year I'd only really listened to "Divine" and "Tyrant" and so knew the sound of Kali Uchis' voice but I wouldn't say that I was her biggest fan at this point. It wasn't until I heard "After The Storm (feat. Tyler, The Creator and Bootsy Collins)" earlier this year that I actually kept her fixed on my radar. This track has featured on a large number of my playlists this year - so silky, and so catchy. I can't tell you the amount of days I woke up with it already stuck in my head.

My favourites right now are ever-changing - "Miami (feat. BIA)", "Just A Stranger (feat. Steve Lacy)", "Your Teeth In My Neck" and "After The Storm". The ongoing theme of Kali's dealings with coming to America to "make it", and exploring her feelings of homesickness come through strongly and create a really captivating narrative across the whole album - something that I was worried it wouldn't be able to do given the length of the overall record.  However, my one criticism would be that despite how good her voice sounds, it's not the most memorable vocal I've heard recently. Easily recognisable but doesn't quite stick in my head like Ravyn Lenae's voice does for example. With that said, Kali Uchis does have a sort of soft nostalgia to her voice that can have the listener swept up even before the chorus and whilst I do seem to prefer her songs with feature artists/collaborators, she does know how to carry a song solo.

I often say that sometimes "the more cooks, the merrier" applies when it comes to music and in this case it hits the nail on the head. Collaborative work comes from Damon Albarn, BADBADNOTGOOD, Kevin Parker and Thundercat to name just a few of the people who contributed to this debut; with this line-up the album was almost fool-proof. Isolation is an amazing building block in Kali's music career - I'm just hoping it's onwards and upwards from here.

Check out the album that dropped in at number 22 last year here.

Pushing forward with our top ten is Tyler, The Creator in at number 9 with Flower Boy. Absolutely loved having this album in my life over these past few months. A tune for most moods on here.

My favourites right now are "Who Dat Boy (feat. A$AP Rocky)", "Pothole (feat. Jaden Smith & Roy Ayers)", "Boredom (feat. Rex Orange County, Anna of the North & Corinne Bailey Rae)", and "911/Mr. Lonely (feat. Frank Ocean & Steve Lacy)". First things first, his flow on Who Dat Boy reminded me of Andre 3000 a little bit, which can never be a bad thing. Also, that line "find some time, find some time to do something" is possibly the catchiest line in music this year. When this played in the Insecure season 2 finale this year as well that just refreshed my loved for this track. Such a quality piece of music and the perfect collaboration. This is the track that actually put me on to Rex Orange County's material.

I know that the majority of this album is just Tyler's thoughts spilled out on tape but you could listen to the entire thing twice over and still not have a clear idea of how Tyler's mind was working whilst he wrote a few sections of this record - the phrase 'the magic's in the mystery' comes to mind here. Although it's the most vulnerable and open he's been over the past few years, I feel like there's still more to come following this up. This record alongside Cherry Bomb are actually the only two Tyler albums that I've listened through in full as of now, and between the two of those, artistically Tyler's clearly levelled up.

Check out what record I picked for the number 9 spot last year here.

Coming into the last real month or so of summer everyone seems to be packing in the hits just in time for the fall/autumn tour schedules to start pouring in. Luckily my playlists keep receiving the blessings so no complaints from me here! Check out some of the tracks that have been on rotation over the past week.

ARCANE ROOTS - Off The Floor
I feel like I've been waiting for Arcane Roots to bring out Melancholia Hymns for a lifetime now. I'm just clutching at the strings they're giving us in the form of singles. The latest track being "Off The Floor" and the transitions in this gem - oh my. Arcane Roots have always had a knack for getting many different levels together in one song.


EVERYTHING EVERYTHING - A Fever Dream
Yes, yes, yes. I didn't even realise that I'd missed them so much these past couple of years until I heard this new music from them. Over the years as a band Everything Everything's sound has become a bit more performative and their songs much fuller instrumentally, and this track - along with the fantastic "Can't Do" - is no different. The operatic vocals in the intro and fade out just add to the subtle production layers added throughout.


MR JUKES - Grant Green
I actually found out about Mr Jukes' new record via Facebook and it wasn't until I had already listened through the debut a few times that I found out that Mr Jukes was actually Jack Steadman's (Bombay Bicycle Club's frontman) new solo project. I've always loved Bombay's sound and I was shocked to find out that something this far afield from that had come from the frontman. Either way, I'm loving the new album and hoping I get to see it live in September for his solo tour.


TYLER, THE CREATOR - 911/Mr. Lonely
After listening to the new record Flower Boy I'm still not 100% which song is my favourite but for now I'd say that it's between "911/Mr. Lonely" and "Pothole" for my most played. Tyler has been on the back burner for me for the longest time and it wasn't really until mid-2016 that I actually started seriously listening. However, after this latest album I'm happy to say his music will be constantly on rotation.


TRASH - 81
This song actually led me search whether they had any gigs coming up this year (they do by the way - free show at The Lock Tavern, check the Dice FM app for tickets). It's been a while since I heard music like this played live and after hearing "DIIV - Dopamine" a few days ago it's been on my mind quite a bit. TRASH are a new discovery for me and after seeing them live in a few months, hopefully I'll be able to say more for their music as a whole.


BONZAI - I Feel Alright
After writing about her last EP last year here and finally seeing her live at this year's Parklife Festival I'm still not sure what I'd call Bonzai's "sound" but I do know, whatever it is, I like it. This song, although much poppier than some of her older material, still packs that signature Bonzai punch and actually does make you feel good.


MEG MAC - Ride It
THESE. HARMONIES. Meg's voice has always grabbed my attention and after listening to her new debut album Low Blows this song is probably the one that caught my attention the most. The instrumental had a bit of a Duffy vibe about it but the vocals are something that only Meg Mac could've pulled off. After discovering her music a couple of years ago she's always been an up-and-comer that I vouch for consistantly but with this debut, I think my words are wasted. Just listen for yourself.


PVRIS - Half
I know this actually got leaked a couple of weeks ago but I've been listening to it a lot since then and thought it deserved a mention. All three singles from PVRIS' new record so far have been visually and lyrically intriguing and displayed a tremendous amount of growth from the band. To be honest I haven't heard a song yet and not wished I'd written it myself first. This record is shaping up to make it onto my top ten albums of 2017 list.


Sidenote: Aminé released his debut album earlier today and I'm currently halfway through it - enjoying so far but haven't listened to the whole thing so didn't want to choose a favourite yet. Currently bopping my head to "STFU" though.