Two Old
Twenty One Pilots - Vessels, and Self-Titled. This band finally hit it big with their 2015 album "Blurryface", but they've been rocking since the early 2000s. "Vessels" pushed them into the limelight in 2013, it has most of their modern feel; go back a bit further to their self-titled first album in 2009, and you'll get a feel for their roots. Going album to album, you can feel them discovering and polishing their style. Try this for a progression: "Fall Away", "A Car, A Torch, A Death", "Isle of Flightless Birds", "Migraine", "Car Radio", and "The Run and Go".
John Mayer - Continuum. Yeah, I put John Mayer on this list, deal with it. For all his poppy foolishness back in the day, he's an incredible musician, and Continuum is a work of art. His two newest mini-Albums (The Search for Everything - Wave One and The Search For Everything - Wave Two) still don't rattle me like Continuum does, though there are a few tracks that have underlying strength, notably "Helpless". For Continuum, check out "Belief", "Gravity", "Bold as Love", and "I'm Gonna Find Another You".
Two New
Jon Bellion - The Human Condition. The movie John Wick carefully plays with action movie cliches, never quite overdoing it, but running right along that line to create maximum enjoyment. Jon Bellion does the same thing for Hip Hop Alt Rock (or however you want to classify his style). Easily my most played album of late 2016 / early 2017.
Portugal. The Man. - "Feel It Still". A new track off their recent album Woodstock, "Feel It Still" drives forward with an itchy, consistent energy, but you feel like they're holding back a little the entire time, toying with you - I love it!
