The Most Interesting Album Titles of 2017 (So Far) | Year in Review

The Most Interesting Album Titles of 2017 (So Far) features 13 album titles that stand out. The albums are categorized alphabetically by artist.

Often times, we focus on the music itself.  Rightfully so.  The content of an album is the meat and ultimately, this how we determine the quality of a project.  Even so, an album title can be captivating as its own entity, as well as playing a direct role in the album content. After scanning various album titles, some of the most interesting album titles of the given year are selected.  For this particular list, we focus on the year at hand, 2017 – so far.  Where other lists are slightly more selective, The Most Interesting Album Titles of 2017 (So Far) features more titles, likely to be whittled down in a future edition.  Albums are categorized alphabetically by the artist.

1. Darkest Hour, Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora

DC metal band Darkest Hour get the first blood on The Most Interesting Album Titles of 2017 (So Far).  Formed in the mid-90s, Darkest Hour have been around for more than 21 years. Apparently, they are “godless prophets,” if you are to buy into their album title, Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora.  Godless prophets? Does that exist? As for “the migrant flora,” is the band migrating (moving) to harvest plants? “The Flesh & The Flowers of Death” supports the title – at least the flora part.

2. Declan McKenna, What Do You Think About the Car?

Declan McKenna is only 18 years old, but an incredibly gifted singer/songwriter.  Fittingly, his debut album gets an awesome title: What Do You Think About the Car? The question is, where did this random title come from? According to a Billboard interview written by Lyndsey Havens, the title was a question posed to the singer by his sister at age four, in response to a new car.

3. DED, Mis•An•Thrope

Who exactly are DED? DED is a newly formed, nu-metal band from Tempe, Arizona. Mis•An•Thrope serves as the debut album by the collective for Suretone Records.  What is a misanthrope exactly? According to Merriam-Webster, a misanthrope (noun) is a person who hates or distrusts humankind.  Interestingly, some of the song titles on the album fit the misanthropic vibes: “Anti-Everything,” “Dead to Me,” and “FMFY” just to name a few.

4. Halsey, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom

Halsey is a difficult artist to pinpoint.  She’s categorized as an alternative artist, but, there’s lots of undeniable pop elements to her music.  Furthermore, she’s not as alternative as some alternative artists.  Regardless, focusing on the album title at hand, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, it sets up the project as being conceptual and truly alternative.  Ultimately, while the album is good, Halsey doesn’t perfectly execute these lofty conceptual ideas.

5. Jay-Z, 4:44

A new Jay-Z album isn’t “kind of a big deal,” it’s “definitely a big deal.” 4:44 proved no different for the legendary rap artist who has “been on” since the late 90s.  Why did Jay-Z name his latest album 4:44 though?  We have the answer! Named after the title track, “4:44” was conceived at 4:44 A.M. and clocks in at 4:44 in length.

https://youtu.be/MOcdhQ9KfJA

6. Joey Bada$$, All-Amerikkkan Bada$$

You sort of feel bad for Joey Bada$$.  For whatever reason, the rapper released one of the year’s better, yet underappreciated rap albums.  Naturally, any album title that features profanity is going to pique interest.  All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ checks off the profane box by featuring the word badass, even if it’s stylized with money signs.  This also serves as the rappers last-name professionally speaking.  More notable about the title is how American is spelled, using three “Ks” as opposed to one “C.” This fits in with the theme of the album, which dabbles in the prevalence of racial issues in America.

7. Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.

Reiterating an earlier point, any album title that features profanity is going to pique interest. In the case of Kendrick Lamar, DAMN. is naturally a bold statement.  No, it’s not the worse curse than be uttered, but, for a popular album, it’s bold enough.  Bolder is the content of the album, which definitely made listeners and critics alike be like Da-yum Kendrick!

8. Lorde, Melodrama

Melodrama may not be the most exciting word in the dictionary – it’s melodrama for Pete’s sake – but it’s been rarely used as an album title.  Lorde is a forward-thinking artist, capturing the millennial spirit, right at the cut-off for Generation Y.  Fittingly titled, Lorde makes the conceptual Melodrama work, capturing both perceived and literal melodrama of the millennial.

9. Roger Waters, Is This the Life We Really Want?

Questions always make captivating album titles.  Earlier, we were treated to a random question by Declan McKenna: What Do You Think About the Car?  Roger Waters, the legendary co-founder of Pink Floyd, bestowed another questionable album title upon us? Is This the Life We Really Want?  Deep, Stephen Thomas Erlewine (AllMusic) asserts in his review of the album that it “functions as barbed protest music for the age of Brexit and Trump.”  According to Cap Blackard (Consequence of Sound), in his review he asserts, “In this album, Waters offers his work as fuel for revolutionaries.”

10. Russ, There’s Really a Wolf

There’s Really a Wolf – what an album title! What in the world was up-and-coming rapper Russ getting at with the title of his debut? According to the liner notes:

“The Wolf represents success and me blowing up. I was constantly the boy crying wolf to everyone telling everyone I was gonna blow up, telling everyone the next song or next album or next video was gonna blow up, and it would never happen. So now that it’s happened, It’s like oh f*ck there’s really a wolf.”

11. Sun Kil Moon, Common as Light and Love are Red Valleys of Blood

One of the most poetic album titles from 2017 comes courtesy of Mark Kozelek, aka Sun Kil Moon.  Just read and say the title to yourself: Common as Light and Love are Red Valleys of Blood.  Without listening to the album, the title seems to support the old saying, “with the good comes the bad.”

12. Tyler the Creator, Scum F*ck Flower Boy

Tyler, the Creator never bites his tongue. Scum F*ck Flower Boy is the name of his new album for God’s sakes! Regardless, censorship has abbreviated the title to Flower Boy. According to Jamie Milton (NME) in his review of the project, he states there is “The Scum F*ck side, a snarling eye for controversy,” and “the other half of Tyler is all beauty and free thinking, and his Flower Boy side.” It is the Flower Boy side that caused the most buzz ahead of the album’s release.

13. 2 Chainz, Pretty Girls Like Trap Music

The best way to describe 2 Chainz is that he’s a hot mess! Nonetheless, he’s one funny MC because of just how utterly ridiculous he is.  With a knack for interestingly titled albums, arguably, Pretty Girls Like Trap Music just might be the best.  Indeed, the trap is alive and well throughout the course of the album.  One of the best examples of this is “Trap Check.” By the way, the pink trap house on the cover of the album served a variety of purposes in real life.

Photo Credits: Southern Lord, Columbia, Suretone, Astralwerks, Roc Nation, Cinematic Music / Pro Era, Interscope, Republic, Caldo Verde, Def Jam