Favourite albums - 2018 edition

Ok, time to kick off the 2018 best-of list. It's been another pretty good year for album releases imho, and in fact some good'uns being released just this week (I may update my list in the next fortnight).

These threads can be an excellent way to find great music we may have missed over the year, so please add your own list!


10. Melody's Echo Chamber - Bon Voyage
https://melodysechochamber.bandcamp.com/album/bon-voyage



9. Nik Bärtsch's Ronin - Awase
https://roninrhythmrecords.bandcamp.com/album/awase



8. Alva Noto - Unieqav
https://soundcloud.com/noton-info/sets/alva-noto-unieqav-noton



7. The Essex Green - Hardly Electronic
https://theessexgreen.bandcamp.com/album/hardly-electronic



6. Daniel Brandt - Channels
https://danielbrandt1.bandcamp.com/album/channels



5. Mitski - Be The Cowboy
https://mitski.bandcamp.com/album/be-the-cowboy



4. Leifur James - A Louder Silence
https://latenighttales.co.uk/products/pre-order-leifur-james-a-louder-silence



3. Lubomyr Melnyk - Fallen Trees
https://lubomyrmelnyk.bandcamp.com/album/fallen-trees



2. Floex & Tom Hodge - A Portait of John Doe
https://tomhodge.bandcamp.com/album/a-portrait-of-john-doe



1. Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
https://deafheavens.bandcamp.com/album/ordinary-corrupt-human-love


Honourable mentions (lots!):

Apex Twin - Collapse
BLAST - Drifting
Cavern of Anti-Matter - Hormone Lemonade
Daniel Blumberg - Minus
Daughters - You Won't Get What You Want
Dream Wife - s/t
Fröst - Matters
Haiku Salut - There is no Elsewhere
Haru Nemuri - Haru to Shura
Hiro Kone - Pure Expenditure
Hot Snakes - Jericho Sirens
Idles - Joy as an Act of Resistance
Ill Considered - An Ill Considered Christmas
Ital Tek - Bodied
Jon Hopkins - Singularity
Klaus Shulze - Silhouettes
Let's Eat Grandma - I'm All Ears
MAST - Thelonious Sphere Monk
Nils Frahm - All Melody
Noname - Room 25
Norma Waterson & Eliza Carthy - Anchor
Olafur Arnalds - re:member
Oneohtrix Point Never - Age Of
Simian Mobile Disco - Murmurations
Skee Mask - Compro
Sons of Kemet - Your Queen is a Reptile
Submotion Orchestra - Kites
Surf Harp - Mr. Big Picture
The Jamie Saft Band - Blue Dream
ZOFFF - FFF
ZOFFF - IV

 

I'm the last person that should like this band for lots of reasons, but damn Prequelle by Ghost is the most fun I've had listening to music in a long time. Most certainly in my top 10 .

 

This one stands out for me. The Sciences by Sleep.

 

No particular order/ranking here, just a few songs from 2018 albums I've enjoyed:

Low - Double Negative


Thom Yorke - Suspirium


Nils Frahm - All Melody


Hammock - Universalis


Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth



Also getting a lot of playtime this year:

Boygenius EP
https://xboygeniusx.bandcamp.com/album/boygenius

Wild Pink - Yolk In the Fur
https://wildpink.bandcamp.com/album/yolk-in-the-fur

Tomberlin - At Weddings
https://tomberlin.bandcamp.com/album/at-weddings

Masayoshi Fujita - Book of Life
https://masayoshifujita.bandcamp.com/album/book-of-life

S. Carey - Hundred Acres
https://scarey.bandcamp.com/album/hundred-acres

Wye Oak - The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs
https://wyeoak.bandcamp.com/album/the-louder-i-call-the-faster-it-runs

Saintseneca - Pillar of Na
https://saintseneca.bandcamp.com/album/pillar-of-na

Amen Dunes - Freedom
https://amendunes.bandcamp.com/album/freedom

Toe - Our Lates Number
https://toe-music.bandcamp.com/album/our-latest-number-3

 

Some of my favourite´s this years:

DJ Koze - Knock Knock
https://pamparecords.com/products/pampacd013-knock-knock-cd

Groeni - Nihx
https://projectmooncircle.bandcamp.com/album/nihx

1954 - A Part of Me
https://projectmooncircle.bandcamp.com/album/a-part-of-me

A.A.L. (Against All Logic) - 2012-2017
https://soundcloud.com/aal-sc/sets/2012-2017-1

Long Arm - Darkly
https://projectmooncircle.bandcamp.com/album/darkly

Recondite - Daemmerlicht
https://bleep.com/release/94822-recondite-daemmerlicht

Robot Koch - Sphere
https://therealrobotkoch.bandcamp.com/album/sphere

Thanks again to @Schopenhauer who pointed me to the "Project Mooncircle" label (I could also mention their other 2018 releases such as Mitch von Arx & Takeleave) ;-)

 

Cheers chaps, lots to check out already .

For end of year lists overdose, this site aggregates a load of them in one place... https://www.albumoftheyear.org/lists.php

 

From rollingstone... "With freight-train heavy riffs so indebted to Sabbath's Tony Iommi that he should get royalties, trippy lyrics about diverse subjects such as weed, ganja and pot,..."

 

Dude, thank you for sharing this record. I didn't know I needed this. It's both heavy and melodically interesting, which is an uncommon combination.

 

Heavy/Dark Goodness

Author & Punisher - Beastland
https://authorandpunisher.bandcamp.com/album/beastland

Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch
https://nin.lnk.to/BadWitch

Jesus Piece - Only Self
https://jesuspiecesl.bandcamp.com/releases

Death Grips - Year Of The Snitch
https://soundcloud.com/deathgrips/sets/year-of-the-snitch-1

Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
https://deafheavens.bandcamp.com/album/ordinary-corrupt-human-love


Electronica

Rival Consoles - Persona
https://rivalconsoles.bandcamp.com/album/persona

Richard Devine - Sort\Lave
https://richarddevine.bandcamp.com/album/sort-lave

Current Value - Consequences
https://methlabagency.bandcamp.com/album/consequences-ep

Lorn - Remnant
https://lorn.bandcamp.com/album/remnant

Arp - ZEBRA
https://arpetc.bandcamp.com/album/zebra

Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy (OST)
https://mandysoundtrack.bandcamp.com/

Tim Hecker - Konoyo
https://timhecker.bandcamp.com/album/konoyo


Rock/Indie

Protomartyr - Consolation
https://protomartyr.bandcamp.com/album/consolation-e-p

Preoccupations - New Material
https://preoccupations.bandcamp.com/album/new-material

Idles - Joy As An Act Of Resistance
https://idlesband.bandcamp.com/album/joy-as-an-act-of-resistance

A Place To Bury Strangers - Pinned
https://aplacetoburystrangers.bandcamp.com/album/pinned

Mogwai - Kin (OST)
https://temporaryresidence.bandcamp.com/album/kin

Beach House - 7
https://beachhouse.bandcamp.com/album/7

Suuns - Felt
https://suuns.bandcamp.com/album/felt

Low - Double Negative
https://lowtheband.bandcamp.com/album/double-negative

 

This year has been a mixed bag.

Janelle Monae's "Dirty Computer" is a really good album this year.

A lot of Tycho lately. I play his albums (old and new) when studying or during my train commute.

 

Glad to be of service, @marflao ! I was listening to Long Arm's Darkly just last night. "Sleepy Bird" is a standout track. 1954's A Part of Me is one of the better albums I've heard this year.

I also enjoyed:

Matmos's Wide Open Spaces;

Tristan De Liege's Kosame;

Submotion Orchestra's Kites;

Feverkin's Calendar Project;

and Dahlia's Tear's Through the Nightfall Grandeur.

 

A.A.L (Against All Logic)- 2002-2017
J. Mascis- Elastic days
Floex & Tom Hodge - A Portait of John Doe
How to Dress Well- The Anteroom
Saåad- Présence Absente
Tim Hecker- Konoyo
Good Luck In Death- They Promised Us a Bright Future, We Were Content with an Obscure Past
J. Cole- KOD
Aphex Twin- Collapse
Aaron Martin- Touches dissolves
Grouper- Grid of points
DJ Healer- Nothing 2 lose
Rival Consoles - Persona
Ben Rath- Anything is possible
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever- Hope downs
Low- Double negative

 

Excellent, this is exactly the purpose of this thread. Enjoy!

Great list! Thanks for the Rival Consoles reminder, I forgot to put that on my list. Great stuff, quite a different direction for him but all the better for it imho.

Great to see someone else enjoyed this one. I've not seen much chatter out there about it, but it's a real gem.

Cheers!

 

Really appreciate all the recommendations in this thread. Here's some stuff I liked this year that hasn't been mentioned yet:

All Them Witches - ATW
https://allthemwitches.bandcamp.com/album/atw

Blues-inflected desert rock. After their (IMO unsuccessful) experiment with larger-scale production and a lighter mood in last year's Sleeping Through The War, this album saw All Them Witches stripping back down to basics. The result is an album that's bluesier than anything they've recorded before, with some songs (like 1st vs. 2nd) sounding like homages to the psychedelic blues of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. There's an improvisational feel to this album, but this is still a band that cares deeply about the tone of their instruments and the clarity of their recordings. Favorite tracks: Workhorse, Diamond, Harvest Feast.

King Buffalo - Longing To Be The Mountain
https://kingbuffalo.bandcamp.com/album/longing-to-be-the-mountain

Space/psychedelic rock. The sophomore LP following 2016's Orion... this album is better. A key addition is production by Ben McLeod of All Them Witches, who is likely responsible for a big improvement in the tone of the recorded instruments. Unfortunately something about the mastering of this album still makes the dynamics sound somewhat squashed to me. Nevertheless, impressive and transporting stuff. Favorite tracks: Cosmonaut, Eye Of The Storm, Sun Shivers, Longing To Be The Mountain.

S U R V I V E - RR7400 : LA041717
https://survive.bandcamp.com/album/rr7400-la041717

Live analog synth mastery from the guys behind the Stranger Things soundtrack. This album is a live-in-studio performance in the vein of the Peel Sessions. It started out as a Record Store Day limited release, but apparently someone realized it was too good to keep limited, so it's available as a "name your price" download on Bandcamp. Their sound on this live recording is more direct, rougher, and more "real" than the too-clean sound on their previous studio release, RR7349, and I much prefer this album. Favorite tracks: Floating Cube, Cutthroat, Copter.

Mitch Murder - Hardwired
https://mitchmurder.bandcamp.com/album/hardwired

Short EP of cyberpunk synthwave jams. The heavier tracks can be a perfect soundtrack for DOOM, as seen above. Other tracks have "that Blade Runner feeling." Nothing much more to say... if you like that, it's for you.

OGRE - Ballard (DATA068)
https://ogresound.bandcamp.com/album/ballard-data068

Synthwave soundtracks to two 80's sci-fi films that never existed. OGRE has taken two earlier EPs based on two short stories by J.G. Ballard and condensed/reworked them into a single two-side LP. Ominous mood music made with analog synths. Reminiscent of the work of John Carpenter or Tangerine Dream.

 

Good stuff! I also enjoyed that OGRE release

 

A Perfect Circle "Eat The Elephant" is my album of the year for 2018.

 

My favorites from 2018 without any particular order:

Bill Friselle - Music IS
Amanda Ginsburg - Jag har funderat pa en sak
Caroline Davis - Heart Tonic
Blast - Drifting
Chromatics - Camera
Fatoumata Diawara - Fenfo
Gordon Grdina’s The Marrow - Ejdeha
Lera Lynn - Plays well with Others
Mary Halvorson - The Maid with the Flaxen Hair
Tommy Emmanuel - Accomplice One
Tryve Seim - Helsinki Songs
Aruan Ortiz Trio Live in Zurich
Melody Gardot - Live in Europe
Glen Hansard - Between Two Shores
Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret - Other Side of Air

 

There is a lot of quality music to discover in these lists; thanks a lot, folks.

My two favorite releases of the year have been two albums by Moog genius Mort Garson by Rubellan Remasters. The fellow running the label found the master tapes and did an amazing digitization of the albums. I've listened to them on vinyl for nearly thirty years but the sound quality of the CDs is spectacular.

Ataraxia, the Unexplained


Black Mass by Lucifer

 

ill add

36- circuit bloom
bvdub-drowning in daylight
earth house hold never forget us
Anna Von Hausswolff – Dead Magic
Siavash Amini & Matt Finney – Gospel