Favourite albums - 2018 edition

Discussion in 'Music and Recordings' started by pedalhead, Dec 12, 2018.

  1. DigMe

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    My top 5. I really did not set out trying to include as many genres as possible. These are basically just the albums that I kept coming back to this year.

    1. Oneohtrix Point Never - Age Of: I was really surprised That I didn’t see this getting more love in Best of 2018 lists. Really fantastic album that’s an engaging listen. Faves include Babylon, the title track and The Station

    2. King Crimson - Live in Vienna: This lineup has KC sounding better than ever IMO. Some powerful renditions and updates of some old faves. Pictures of a City is phenomenal. I love what Levin is doing on this album and his bass mix in general.

    3. Phosphorescent - C’est La Vie: I’m a long time Phosphorescent fan and it took me a while to embrace a change of sound that started with Muchacho. What is really different on this album is the emotional atmosphere. Houck gives off a breezy vibe that seems to emanate from the satisfaction and meaning that he has found in being a father and family life. Highlights for me are C’est La Vie No. 2 and New Birth in New England.

    4. Joshua Hedley - Mr. Jukebox: I don’t listen to much country outside of some Willie Nelson but I do enjoy some of the really classic stuff. Joshua Hedley has an unapologetic throwback sound reminiscent of Marty Robbins but he combines the nostalgia with clever songwriting and a modern sensibility. A bunch of earworms here. Highlights: Weird Thought Thinker, These Walls, Mr. Jukebox.

    5. Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth: This is a fun album with a lot of soul, masterful composition and some nice chops. The album is expansive and epic with some songs employing choir and orchestras in really cool ways. My faves are Fists of Fury, Hub Tones, Connections and Street Fighter Mas.

    Honorable Mention: Iron and Wine - Weeds EP
     
  2. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    @DigMe

    I haven't been able to get into King Crimson. If you had to pick one album from their catalog to be my entry point, which one would it be?
     
  3. Greg121986

    Greg121986 Almost "Made"

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    Everything they've done is genius. :) The first song I heard from them was "Epitaph" and it continues to be one of my favorites. I also love "Formentera Lady" and I use it as a reference track because of the intense cello intro.

    I'll defer to anyone else who may recommend an album that encompasses the band entirely. I'm not sure if it's possible. "Red" might be the most palatable for anyone to listen to start to finish, with a requirement that you dive into the more intense stuff later.
     
  4. DigMe

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    Honestly I think one of the recent live albums such as Live in Vienna or Live in Chicago is not a bad starting point because they are killing it with this lineup but for studio albums I would probably go with either the first album In the Court of the Crimson King, In the Wake of Poseidon or maybe Larks' Tongues in Aspic.
     
  5. Jerry

    Jerry Friend

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    @pedalhead I'm really enjoying Lubomyr Melnyk, mate. Very calming music after a hard day at work. Prophet of Piano indeed.
     
  6. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    I'm mostly a guitar driven rock listener and my choices for top 5 will reflect that. Big guitars, big voices, flagrant lyrics. Anything that reaches my inner caveman.

    5. Slash - Living The Dream: I love Slash with Myles Kennedy and the co-conspirators. My favorite is 2012's Apocalyptic Love. A stellar album with no filler. Unfortunately no album since has quite reached that album's level of completeness. Living the Dream is pretty solid though. It gets better and better the more I listen, I just wish it wasn't completely compressed to shit. My favorite is also probably the most recognizable, Driving Rain. Myles along with Lizy Hale are my two favorite voices in rock today.


    4. The Lazys - Tropical Hazards: I first found this band by using Shazam watching a movie. I heard a background song I really dug. The song was 2009's Sunshine City. Don't remember the movie but the song was an instant download. I didn't really care for any of the other songs on the EP they had at the time. I'd kinda forgot about them until they came up again on a music blog I follow. Nothing But Trouble. Man it had elements of AC/DC, Punk music and oddly enough Chemical Romance (this last part is probably just me). But Punk and AC/DC? f**k yeah; fist pumping. Little Miss Crazy is the other standout/favorite on the album. Simple, raw and loud.


    3. The Marcus King Band - Carolina Confessions: Never heard of the band before until a good friend texted me around Christmas asking me if I'd heard their new album. I was instantly hooked. The Marcus King Band is a blues band but for this album, they somehow pulled off a less typical blues rock sound that's a laid back, thought provoking collection of songs that both evoke feelings of positive nostalgia and hope. My even my wife likes this one. Goodbye Carolina is my favorite tune on the album.


    2. Black Coffee - Take One: I stumbled across this band on one of the music blogs I follow. When I heard the intro, Creamer, segue-way into I Barely Know Her, I was hooked. I'm a sucker for acoustic intros leading into huge distortion guitars. Black Coffee definitely has a 70's hard rock sound. I hear elements of Aerosmith and Nazareth. Big screams, big guitars, big 70's styled hard rock.


    1. Roxanne - Radio Silence: Roxanne was an 80's band that put one album. The singer wrote a song used on John Corabi's early 90's band The Scream. That song is the only older song on the new ablum - Man in the Moon. This is without a doubt my favorite album of the year. Every song is great; no filler. They still have an 80's sound but it's matured, current and relevant. This will most likely be a favorite album of mine for many years to come. Someone to Kill is the opener and probably the most unique song on the alum. Go f**k Yourself is a bit of a mantra for me. Have a bad day at work? Play Go f**k Yourself on the way home, right before you turn that last corner into the neighborhood. Get screwed by the tax man? Play Go f**k Yourself as loud as you can. I know and it works. Tired of political saturation of social media, tv and just about everything else? Go f**k Yourself. Plus it's got Doug Pinnick of King X, a criminally underrated band.
     
  7. DigMe

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    @shotgunshane one if my friends here was supposed to go down to Hong Kong and see Slash over our Christmas break. Haven’t talked to him yet to see how it went.
     
  8. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    I would love to see Slash and Myles. Luckily I was able to see Slash in Velvet Revolver before we lost Scott Weiland.
     
  9. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    Thanks to all for your recommendations!

    Late addition, but here we go...

    Joyce Moreno - 50

    Probably a world's first: 70 year old singer re-records her debut album after 50 years, because (as she told us in concert) she wasn't satisfied with the first version.




    Young Gun Silver Fox - AM Waves

    Steely Dan reloaded?




    R. Finn - Collecting Trip

    "I wanted to make a truthful record, with serving the musical muse my only compass. At the very least I did that. I can promise you. It’s no Ray Charles record. But it’s the best album I can make for where I’m at now."




    Eddie Daniels - Heart of Brazil

    A clarinet virtuoso's tribute to the great Egberto Gismonti.




    Johannes Berauer - Hourglass

    New album by highly talented Austrian jazz composer.

     
  10. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    ... part 2:

    Isaac Gracie - Isaac Gracie

    My candidate for best new male voice of 2018.




    The Midnight - Kids

    “Kids are sad/The sky is blue/There are monsters in the spare bedroom/Kids grow up and move away/They closed the plant and the mall arcade/Kids are sad/Their parents, too/Kids get high in the spare bedroom/We grow up and move away/The seasons pass but the monsters stay.” - Retro synth pop album of the year.




    Melody Gardot - Live In Europe

    Best new version of "Over the Rainbow" in 2018 ;-) Excellent recording quality, too.




    The Paper Kites - On the Corner Where You Live

    Atmospheric and melodic indie pop with an 80s vibe.




    Angélique Kidjo - Remain in Light

    Suberb rework of this classic Talking Heads album.

     
  11. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    ... and part 3:

    Flav Martin and Jerry Marotta - Soul Redemption

    Relaxed and catchy rock songs, with vocals that remind me a bit of Peter Gabriel.




    David Helbock’s Random Control - Tour D’Horizon (From Brubeck to Zawinul)

    A novel and at times experimental take on some well-known jazz tracks.




    Meshell Ndegeocello - Ventriloquism

    Another cover album, but Meshell makes each of these classic 80/90s songs her own.

     
  12. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    I was at this very show, first row seat. In hindsight, a few rows back would have been a better choice, because direct sound from the drummers in front of the band was a bit too loud in the mix. But apart from that minor niggle, a terrific concert, one of the best I've ever been to.
     
  13. haywood

    haywood Friend

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    Music depends on mood for me but here’s five from a chill Sunday night:

    Exploded View / Obey



    The Limiñanas / Shadow People



    Spiritualized / And Nothing Hurt



    Vox Low / Vox Low



    Yuzo Iwata / Daylight Moon

     
  14. Richgard

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    My Top 5 of 2018:

    Cursive - Vitriola

    This might be their best Album since the Ugly Organ some of the sharpest writing in music plus the mixture of disonant and more usual harmonics makes it hard to not engage while listening.

    Spanish Love Songs - Schmalz

    While being a bit derivative of early The Menzingers it is also such a deeply personal look into the singers anxiaty and depression. All combined with super catchy almost Pop-Punk melodys.

    Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

    Post Metal a mixture of Shoegaze and Black Metal with interesting lyrics and musical arrangments I enjoy it more the more I listen to it.

    Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer

    While not as good as her previouse to albums, still an fantastic Pop R&B Album easaly her most accessible LP and a good starting point into her discography.

    Idles - Joy as an Act of Resitance

    Initally I thought this album was a bit overhyped. But here is an Album that is in the classic spirit of Punk influencend by everything that came before in the genre and simultanious standing tall on it's one feet.
     
  15. Rustin Cohle

    Rustin Cohle FKA jazztherapist

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    I'm unable to rank at this juncture. I'm also trying to decide whether Beach House's "7" belongs in here. I love the f**k out of that band (particularly Thank Your Lucky Stars and Depression Cherry) but it's a real risk (which I always appreciate!) dunking Legrand's vocals that deep into the mix. They might sound a bit too much like Air on this one.

    Pendant - Make Me Know You Sweet
    GAS - Rausch
    William Selman - Musica Enterrada
    Anthony Naples - Take Me With You
    Against All Logic - 2012-2017
    K-S.H.E. Routes Not Roots
    CAM DEAS - Time Exercises
    Pessimist - Pessimist
    UON - Untitled
    Glyn Bigga Bush - Sunken Foal Stories
    DJ Richard - Dies Irae Xerox
    Abul Mogard - Above All Dreams
    Bruno Pronsato & L.A. Teen - A Face Wasted On The Theatre
    Pontiac Streator & Ula Straus - Chat
    The Field - Infinite Moment
    She Spread Sorrow - Mine
    Various Artists - bblisss
    Gazelle Twin - Pastoral
    Francis Harris - Trivial Occupations
    Sarah Davachi - Gave In Rest
    Shinichi Atobe - Heat
    Teresa Winter - What the Night Is For
    Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - Red Ants Genesis
    Demdike Stare - Passion
    Space Africa - Somewhere Decent to Live
    Chaines - The King
    Eli Kessler - The Stadium
    Nadine Byrne - Dreaming Remembering
    CV & JAB - Thoughts Of A Dot As It Travels A Surface
    Felicia Atkinson & Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Limpid As the Solitudes
    Julia Holter - Aviary
    Kali Malone - Cast of Mind
    Yves Tumor - Safe in the Hands of Love
    Low - Double Negative
    Skee Mask - Compro
    Lucrecia Dalt - Anticlines
    Aphex Twin - Collapse
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2019
  16. DigMe

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    Sakamoto’s Async was 2017.
     
  17. Rustin Cohle

    Rustin Cohle FKA jazztherapist

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    Ah, my bad. Thanks for catching that.
     
  18. Jalsar

    Jalsar Facebook Friend

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    My favorite album for 2018 is an easy decision; Ghost’s Prequelle.
     
  19. DigMe

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    Have you heard the album of remixes called Async Remodels? Also a good listen.
     
  20. Rustin Cohle

    Rustin Cohle FKA jazztherapist

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    Being pretty leery of remix albums, I haven’t. They basically almost never satisfy me ... and probably not always for good reason. Blame it on my cranky purist tendencies. But I’ll check it out.
     

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