December recurrently coincides with the year-end list season. Both traditional press, blogosphere and social media get driven by some list mania addiction.Year-end lists start popping out from mid November until before Christmas Eve. The mass of people lured by Xmas lights tend to offer their friends and loved ones some music and when there's no shopping time available there will be always a handy year-end list to give a little help. Consumerism is just like that and it will hardly change.
The above considerations taken aside we acknowledge that 2017 was not a particularly thrilling year for Dream Pop and Shoegaze. In spite of the considerable number of album releases worldwide, many of them hailing from Asia, plus Slowdive, Ride and Pia Fraus comeback with brand-new recordings, it hardly seems debatable that 2017 did not bring to the spotlight more than just a couple of excellent releases of dream pop/shoegaze genre redefined, reinvented and even re-imagined.
It is unsurprisingly boring to notice that most dream pop/shoegaze bands are still effortlessly trying to sound like The Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush or Ride, reproducing an old formula which makes it hard to find a substantial number of above average quality releases.
On previous year-end lists posted we did present the bands/albums alphabetically ordered, no hierarchy from top to bottom. Nevertheless, from this year on we’ll take a different approach and all albums shall be ranked from 25th to 1st considering that this allows a better information to all readers about which LP’s we effectively understand as corresponding to the absolute best ones.
This said and claiming our share in the yearly mania of listing what was best at music INDIEVOTION presents its TOP 25 DREAM POP & SHOEGAZE ALBUMS OF 2017. The commitment is the same that has always been: no influences from the music press or the music industry in a totally add free state of mind which is rather healthy and helpful to maintain editorial line coherence.
1. ROSE ELINOR DOUGALL – STELLULAR
2. THE MORELINGS - SAME CENTURY
3. CITRUS CLOUDS – ULTRA SOUND
4. DEAFCULT – AURAS
5. THE CHERRY WAVE - SHIMARU
6. STAR TROPICS – LOST WORLD
7. CHLOË MARCH - BLOOD-RED SPARK
8. SOON, SHE SAID - THE FIRST CASUALTY OF LOVE IS INNOCENCE
9. FAZERDAZE - MORNINGSIDE
10. MARK PETERS – INNERLAND
11. SLOWDIVE - SLOWDIVE
12. MINIATURES – JESSAMINES
13. MARKER – MARKER
14. WOZNIAK – COURAGE REELS
15. DEAD LEAF ECHO – BEYOND DESIRE
16. PIA FRAUS – FIELD CEREMONY
17. BELIEFS - HABITAT
18. PANDA RIOT – INFINITY MAPS
19. PLANNING FOR BURIAL – BELOW THE HOUSE
20. OVERLAKE – FALL
21. CLUSTERSUN – SURFACING TO BREATH
22. SILVER LIZ - I CAN FEEL THE WEIGHT
23. CARAMEL SNOW - DICENTRA
24. ELECTRO GROUP – RANGER
25. HOOPS – ROUTINES
