Floorshime Zipper Boots Top 20 Artists of 2017: #10 - #1

This is it, the best of the best for 2017, with our Top 10 of the Floorshime Zipper Boots Top 20 Artists of 2017. Your pageviews decided that these artists were the hottest things going on the blog this year and reflects the incredible talent and creativity gracing the ears.

#10 Black Fjords



#9 The Pinkerton Raid



#8 Ocean Forest



#7 Olive & The Pitz



#6 The Bordellos



#5 The Masonics



#4 The Variety Hour



#3 Ben Anderson


#2 Slow Decay



#1 Wes John Cichosz

Floorshime Zipper Boots Top 20 Artists of 2017 #20 - #11

Today we start the Floorshime Zipper Boots Top 20 Artists of 2017. As always our annual list of the top artists on the blog are determined by our readers pageviews. Today we have numbers 20 - 11 and then tomorrow we'll feature the top 10. So, without further ado we present the FZB Top 20 Artists of 2017.

#20 Rachel Mason



#19 Electric Floor



#18 Circus worLD



#17 The Cavemen



#16 Lotte Kestner



#15 Tsinder Ash



#14 Kristina Cottone



#13 Scotch Hollow



#12 Orations



#11 Phil Reynolds and the Uncertain Futures

Floorshime Zipper Boots Top 10 Videos of 2017.

Welcome to the start of our year end best of lists with the Floorshime Zipper Boots Top 10 Videos of 2017. We posted some great, imaginative and well directed videos this year and these top 10 show off the visual creativity of our featured artists. As always our best of lists are based on our readers page views.

#10 Human Colonies: Sirio

#9 Someday: Last Lesson

#8 Younolovebunny: Only Love

#7 A Tree Grows: Future Calculations

#6 American Anymen: Nobody Makes Me Smile Like You Did

#5 Divisionists: Say Can You

#4 James Kruman: Country Sigh

#3 Rachel Mason: Heart Explodes

#2 Electric Floor: Bluedive

#1 Orations: Oh, The Horror

Bowrain: Distracted

Distracted is the sophomore album by artist/producer Bowrain, on Kapa Records. The seven tracks are a journey through the varied palette of Bowrain's keyboard chops. Lyrical piano passages are framed by expertly arranged instrumentation that works as both a complex, progressive instrumental record, and an accessible and enjoyable pop music album. Each piece is masterfully crafted and executed, with crisp production and fine attention to detail. This album is a must have. Stream and buy Distracted at the link below.

DF: abcdf

abcdf is the latest from Montreal duo DF. The five tracks take the sax where no sax has gone before. With loops and harmonies, this EP serves up the saxaphone as somewhere between a melodic exercise and an avant garde jazz piece. Unfortunately, what we hear sounds unfinished, needing either more instrumentation or more complexity to the music, to make this EP work. The whole thing seems to lack direction. See what you think. Stream and download abcdf at the link below.

Cup: Hiccup

Hiccup is the new album from Brooklyn punk Cup, aka Tim Wojcik. The twelve tracks are raw in your face garage punk, in the vein of Jay Reatard and Thee Oh Sees. This means brash, edgy, noisy, fuzzing and loud, everything good and right in the world. So, go out, get good and drunk, come home at 3:00 in the morning, put this album on at full blast and indoctrinate the neighbors. You know you want to. Watch the video for album track Yr Freaking Out, then stream and buy Hiccup at the link below.

Max Kutner: Disaffection Finds Its Pure Form

Our friends at Silber Records, the North Carolina based purveyors of everything drone, ambient and experimental, deliver Disaffection Finds Its Pure Form, the new album from Max Kutner. The 10 tracks represent sections of a unified piece that explores the depth of guitar drone. If one could image Brian Eno and Robert Fripp producing a guitar playing offspring, this is likely what the resulting music would sound like. Kutner takes his unique vision of guitar drone, finds the edge and then stays there with devastatingly profound consequences. With haunting sounds, sharp attack and melodic overtones, this could well be the best guitar drone music yet recorded. An absolute must have. Stream and buy Disaffection Finds Its Pure Form at the link below.

Digster Wednesday Playlists

Welcome to another weekly installment of the Digster Wednesday Playlists. This week we feature the Digster Artists Playlists. This is where you'll find all the music from you favorite groups, singers and musicians. Check out Lana Del Ray Complete for all that is sultry from this mercurial artist. Delve into the deep emotion of the Lorde Discography for 34 tracks by this edgy singer. Feeling stylish, The Weekend Essential Playlist is just the thing, with four hours of groove from this uniquely talented artist. Or get your folkrock zen on with the Lumineers Complete Playlist. You'll find these and many more with the Digster Artists Playlists at the link below.

Digster Artists Playlists

Ben Anderson: YouTopia

Phoenix based singer/songwriter Ben Anderson has released YouTopia, his new concept EP about a dystopian inner self that manifests conflict in the world. The 4 tracks are dark and stylish, with a varied palette of musical influences. The concept theme connects the finely crafted songs to a compelling storyboard and interesting look at the world. Complete with a video trilogy, this EP is a must have. Watch the first two videos, then stream and buy YouTopia at ther link below.

The Heroic Enthusiasts: The Heroic Enthusiasts

Following on the sound built with two well received EP releases, Rochester, New York based FZB favorites The Heroic Enthusiasts have release their debut S/T full length. The ten tracks are inspired indie rock that will establish the band as a distinct force capable of moving the genre forward. With influences ranging from The Smiths to New Order, the band have crafted an original sound that has both edge and polish, propelled by compelling songwriting and solid musicianship. This is a masterful album and an absolute must have. Stream and buy The Heroic Enthusiasts at the link below.

Pia Fraus: Field Ceremony

Estonian dreampop masters Pia Fraus are back with Field Ceremony, their first new album in over a decade. The ten tracks are engaging and intimate, with atmospheric vocals, ample helpings of noise, swirling instruments and enough reverb to drown a cave. With a dark patina, the album draws the listener into a world of deep sonic lushness, with a nice shoegaze aesthetic. A strong album that will keep one returning for more. Stream and buy Field Ceremony at the link below.

Opollo: The Solarnaut

The Solarnaut is a live performance piece from Polish experimental band Opollo. The track, running over 16 minutes in length, is a  long form ambient excursion into a noise laden soundscape of implied melodic structure. In this piece, texture replaces phrasing, indeterminacy replaces melody and recognizable tones become a pastiche for orchestration. Dense, complex and dark, the work comes alive in headphones, where the sonic experience is immersive and draws a detached mindfulness out of the listener. Stream and buy The Solarnaut at the link below.

Digster Wednesday Playlists

Today on the Digster Wednesday Playlists, we feature their uDiscover selections. Here you will find fantastic playlists where you can explore a wealth of styles and themes. There's the Guitar Legends playlist, over four hours of music from all the greatest players across genres. Or give Blues Gold a listen for everything blues from the bayou to Chicago. The Greatest Jazz Pianists or Greatest Sax Tracks showcase the best players these instruments have know. Check out these and the many more uDiscover Playlists at the link below.

Digster uDiscover Playlists

Small Life Form: First Recordings

Our friends at North Carolina's Silber Records bring us First Recordings, the debut album from Small Life Forms. The eighteen tracks, ranging in length from 15 seconds to 3.5 minutes, are explorations in minimalist sound experiments. Inhabiting the space between ambient drones and progressive electronica, the album delivers a diverse palette of sounds, melodies and noise. The album is adventurous and complex, while retaining essential simplicity in each individual piece. Stream and buy First Recordings at the link below.

Vast Asteroid: Vast Asteroid

Los Angeles based indie rock band Vast Asteroid have released their S/T debut album. The band is somewhat of a supergroup, comprised of  former Warlocks bassist Mimi Star, Slaughter And The Dogs drummer Mark Reback, along with singer/guitarist James Poulos and a guest appearance by Dave Catching from Eagles of Death Metal. The eight tracks are compelling rock anthems, with superlative musicianship, loads of reverb, towering vocals and at times a Beatlesque vibe. This is a masterful record and an absolute must have. Stream and buy Vast Asteroid at the link below.

Lapis Exilis: Hexagram

Hexagram is the debut album from occult inspired band Lapis Exilis. Musically, the seven tracks are more in the vein of King Crimson than holding any affinity to modern darkwave. Driving bass lines, hard drums and  heavy guitars blend with towering melodic vocals to give the album a bit of a metal feel, but this seems more anachronism than intent. The album as a whole is enjoyable, but lacks any commercial center to hold on to. This will see it appealing to a more metal audience and probably not resonating with indie or alt rock communities. Give it a listen at the link below.

The Floorshime Zipper Boots Best of Lists 2017

Top 10 Videos of 2017: December 27, 2017

Top 20 Artists of 2017 #20 - #11: December 28, 2017

Top 20 Artists of 2017 #10 - #1: December 29, 2017

Equinox: It's Hard To Be Happy When Your Head Is Full Of Sin

It's Hard To Be Happy When Your Head Is Full Of Sin is the imaginatively titled debut album from UK experimental auteur Equinox. The fourteen tracks present a literary take on avant-garde pop.  Just the term avant-garde pop is an enigma that foreshadows the album as it unfolds. With poetic muse, the tracks play out as a series of cerebral experiences, longing for resolution, yet yearning for the next stanzas. An album that defies expectation and eschews conventionality, Equinox leads where few have tread, into the defining of a totally original art form. Watch the video for album track Kiss, then stream and buy It's Hard To Be Happy When Your Head Is Full Of Sin at the link below.

I Will Always Be Here & Never Wanted You on NBTMusicRadio Top 300 Singles of 2017

Russian Winter Records is extremely happy to announce that "I Will Always Be Here" from the Standing Here EP by Ric Gordon has been named #30, and "Never Wanted You" the debut single from Taylor Mac has been named #157 on the NBTMusicRadio Top 300 Singles of 2017!

Digster Wednesday Playlists

Welcome to this week's Digster Wednesday Playlists feauring their Travel Playlists. Take to the asphalt with Road Trip Sing Along Songs for 3 hours of music to get the whole car hopping, or there's the Relaxed Driving, 118 songs to stay mellow with while the miles roll on. Try the Road Trip playlist, with 6 hours of the best indie traveling music, or listen to the Pokemon Master Go Team Mystic and just weird out for the whole trip. Check out all of the Digster Travel Playlists at the link below.

Digster Travel Playlists

UV Rays: Picking at the Bones

Picking at the Bones is the new EP from Brooklyn band UV Rays. The FZB favorites serve up 5 tracks of imaginative post-punk, with tons of edge and originality. Utilizing tantilizing time signatures, unexpected phrasing and the blending of heavy and melodic passages, the band shows innovation at its highest level. This is an absolutely great record, full of the unexpected and strong from ear to shining ear. Stream and buy this definite must have at the link below.

Lucille Furs: Lucille Furs

Chicago psychedelic band Lucille Furs have released their S/T debut album. The twelve tracks are theatrical pieces, with a myriad of sonic textures and world influences. The obvious comparison to Foxygen is unavoidable as the phrasing and stylistic nuance is unrelentingly present. However, this in no way denigrates this thoroughly enjoyable album. The songs are captivatingly complex structures of simplicity, with each owning a unique personality. Stream and buy Lucille Furs at the link below.

Spinifex M: Revision 4

Revision 4 is the debut album from Alabama based artist/producer Spinifex M, aka Brad Davis. The seven tracks are minimalist excursions into noise based ambient sonic structures. The album occupies a space where frequency manipulation and dissonant expression manifest as a tonal poem of atmospheric textures, rather than a definable musical structure. Stark, challenging and at times irritating, the work shows an artist will to push the limits of sound induced emotion. Stream and buy Revision 4 at the link below.