The music supervision team at PlayNetwork saw over 6700+ albums, EPs and compilations added to our extensive music library in 2017. With so much amazing music to pick from, our Music Supervision team finally narrowed down their top 10 albums of the year.
Continuing our theme of top album write ups, we’ve enlisted Music Supervisor, Chris Robles, who besides having a background in production, is an amazing graphic designer who creates posters for our in-house PlayLive series. He has also helped booked live shows for legendary artists like George Clinton & Parliament, Pete Rock and Questlove to name a few. Chris writes on why the new SZA album, Ctrl, was one of his favorites of 2017.
Artist: SZA
Album: Ctrl
Twitter: @sza
Track: Supermodel (contains explicit lyrics)
This album stood out to me as one of the best of 2017 because of SZA’s clever (and sometimes sassy) songwriting; her unique, smooth, and soulful vocals as well as her ability to experiment with a variety of music genres. The opening song “Supermodel” has an acoustic, indie-pop vibe with just a simple guitar riff and some militaristic sounding drums. “Love Galore” features Travis Scott and has a chill trap beat which allows her vocals and lyrics to stand out. The electro synth pop sounds on “Prom” was a nice surprise for me as well. There are, of course, some 90’s R&B and hip-hop influences throughout which made me appreciate this album even more. As far as the lyrics, she sings about the ups and downs and complexities in relationships, sexuality and her personal insecurities in a raw, vulnerable and honest way. For an artist only in her mid-20’s I’m looking forward to what she has to offer in the future. Also, just last week SZA received 5 Grammy nominations including Best New Artist and Best Urban Contemporary Album!
