Anyway, bullshit aside, there was a ton of great music out there to be heard this year. So rather than mope anymore, let's get to it. Here are my favorite records of the year, in alphabetical order as per usual...
Man i love me some Andrew WK. His enthusiasm for everything is infectious, and even when his particular brand of dramatic party metal seems silly or ridiculous, i can't help but move and shake and shout along. Music is worth living for. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
When i was in high school, i fell deeply for industrial music, a side effect of my affinity for Nine Inch Nails. Gradually, that genre kind of lost its luster for me, a string of lesser acts attempting and failing to carry the torch. But i always maintained my adoration for the old stuff. So, it certainly is a pleasure to see an artist incorporating that old industrial noise into his own sound. The latest from experimental metal act Author & Punisher is a pummeling mix of guitar, synth, drum machine, and noise. And i love every second. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Seven albums in, and this duo seems to have perfected dreampop. The new album is a culmination of everything that came before it. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
A kind of odds and ends collection, the latest from former Women member Patrick Flegel's project Cindy Lee is yet another album of haunting, enchanting, scruffy, lo-fi pop songs. Off kilter, a little noisy, and achingly longing, these songs pierce the heart and soul. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
These guys seem to outdo themselves on every single record. It's kind of ridiculous how good they are. A lush and loud mix of black metal, post rock, shoegaze, and more, the new album somehow feels more personal than previous efforts, and i am here for it. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
I have absolutely no idea how to describe Drinks, the wonderfully raw and quirky collaboration between Cate Le Bon and Tim Presley, but there is something intoxicating and endlessly listenable about these stripped and seemingly simple little pieces of music. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Swedish shoegaze/dreampop act Echo Ladies released one of the catchiest pop albums of 2018. Just ask my 2-year old. He is a fan. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Possibly the most funereal album i've ever listened to, "Rising" is equal parts sprawling field recording and haunting religious guilt and doubt. The whole thing plays like some kind of Pagan ritual, a return to the clay from wince we came. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Maybe the most complex and complete thing Fucked Up has ever made, "Dose Your Dreams" sounds like the band took everything they've ever made and smooshed it into one album, all while looking ahead. Everything they're capable of is on display here, and it's marvelous. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Gorillaz surprised us all with a new album this year, the relatively guest-free "The Now Now." For something a little more straight forward and melancholy than previous efforts, it's a pretty good companion piece to 2017's overstuffed "Humility." When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Jangly, post-punk-ish pop music featuring members of Total Control and Grass Widow, the wonderful, self-titled debut from The Green Child is pure and simple ear candy. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Nobody can strip music down to its barest, most achingly beautiful form better than Liz Harris. Nobody. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
I didn't listen to near enough hip-hop this year, but i'm goddamn happy i found Hermit and The Recluse, the project of producer/rapper/firefighter Ka and producer Animoss. It's amazing. Listen to it now. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
"Beyondless" is the single best thing that Danish punks Iceage have ever released. And i don't say that lightly. I've been a fan since hearing their first record a few years ago, and the band one-ups itself with every record. I don't know if they'll ever be able to top this. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
I was not expecting garage rock duo JEFF The Brotherhood to release what basically amounts to a cosmic psych record this year, nor was i expecting it to be as good as it is, nor was i expecting the last part of the record to morph into this crunchy, riff-laden, doom-indebted beast. Whoa. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Long running indie "slowcore" act Low returned this year with possibly their most inventive album yet, utilizing an array of electronic and synthetic sounds to complement their songwriting. It's wonderful. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
New Zealand experimental guitarist and composer Roy Montgomery released a pretty brilliant album this year featuring an array of guest vocalists, including Liz Harris and Julianna Barwick. The whole thing is lush and gorgeous, and ranks up there with the best the artist has to offer. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Probably one of the funnest albums to come out this year, the latest from Parquet Courts feels indebted to acts like Talking Heads, but still moves totally as their own. My 2-year old and my 5-year old both approve. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
I think this was the first album to come out in 2018 and it has remained in my stereo ever since. A mix of punk, garage rock, alt-rock, and emo, the album speaks somewhat to where we're at these days as a nation and a culture, and not in an approving way. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
It's really not fair that someone as prolific as Ty Segall can also be as consistently good as he is. "Freedom's Goblin" is basically his big, overstuffed classic rock album, and damn it's an amazing beast, full of hip-shaking riffs and blast and groove aplenty. And that Hot Chocolate cover? Damn. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Like some kind of Istanbul version of Kate Bush, this record is a haunting and sultry mix of darkwave synth pop, dreampop, and Middle Eastern flair. I was taken with it instantly. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Ecuadorian shoegaze/dreampop act Sexores had a totally under the radar release this year with their latest album "East / West." The first half of the album is a dark and dreamy bit of synth pop before fading into a droning, instrumental second half (think Bowie's "Low" or something like that). Catchy and infectious, this was one i had no problem paying international shipping to get my grubby little hands on. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Thou had a very busy year, releasing three EPs and the absolutely massive LP "Magus." All of it was amazing, but "Magus" pretty much defines the Louisiana sludge metal band. A must have. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
Droning, ambient, experimental jazz, Ben Vince's latest is just what the doctor ordered for a dark night of the soul. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
There were a ton excellent soundtrack and film scores released this year both new and old. Works from Colin Stetson or Johnny Greenwood or Johann Johannson could have easily made this list, but Thom Yorke's first swing at scoring a movie, Luca Guadagnino's superb "Suspiria" remake, made an undeniable mark on me. I've been listening to it in full pretty much everyday since it was released, and i believe i'm the better for it. When i think about it, this might be my favorite of the year.
There you have it. You should go out and buy all of these right now. Then listen and have a report ready for me tomorrow.
I shall return with my favorite songs of 2018 tomorrow.
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