Albums of the Year 2018
This is a little bit of an odd list, mostly because it’s not really a list, I don’t think? In any case:
Top Three - Ezra Furman, Transangelic Exodus - Devotchka, This Night Falls Forever - Zeal and Ardor, Stranger Fruit This list has been pretty well set for a while now, and nothing I’ve heard in the interim has really blown me away like these have. The queer heartache and desperation of Transangelic Exodus was and remains deeply affecting to me, and I’m pretty sure Devotchka released a career-best album in This Night Falls Forever, while Zeal and Ardor really followed through on the promise of 2017′s Devil Is Fine, expanding their musical vision to create a focused, richly-textured album that should have made more AOTY lists than it did.
Stuff I Was Going to Like Anyway - Frank Turner, Be More Kind - Hot Snakes, Jericho Sirens I broke this section out because honestly, there was no way I wasn’t going to like these. Frank Turner’s particular brand of positivity really speaks to me, and turning that lens onto public discourse and the generalized fear and wagon-circling in society was really fucking nice to hear. And Hot Snakes are a fantastic band regardless, and Jericho Sirens was a real jewel in the crown, a mature approach to their characteristic blend of high-energy anxiety and alienation was delightful.
Soundscapes I’m Going To Throw On a Lot While Lying in Bed - Jozef van Wissem, We Adore You, You Have No Name - Ed Harcourt, Beyond the End - This Will Destroy You, New Others Parts I and II Look, sometimes you just want to lie down and feel stuff but not too much stuff, or like get some reading done, and all of these are great for that. Sexy, romantic, and ominous? van Wissem, as ever, has us covered. Melancholy and gorgeously melodic? Ed Harcourt has long been due for a showcase of his musicianship in its own right, free from the constraints of lyricism and pop, and this album really brings that out. Science fiction today? This Will Destroy You provides an excellent soundtrack to whatever space opera you’re gnawing on now (for me it was The Expanse series, but whatever floats your hovercar, man).
Stuff I Didn’t Think I’d Be As Into As I Am - Emma Ruth Rundle, On Dark Horses - Republic of Wolves, Shrine - Princess Nokia, A Girl Cried Red - IDLES, Joy As an Act Of Resistance These ones crept up on me, and in the case of Emma Ruth Rundle, I now know how much I had been blind to her delights. On Dark Horses is the moody, intense album Tori Amos has been trying to make for like 10 years now, and Republic of Wolves offered up Shrine as the perfect antidote to the Brand New withdrawals I’ve been getting with a musically-dense reflection on faith or lack thereof. Princess Nokia got under my skin with her songs of queer desire and alienation on this album, and her snarky, deadpan delivery really did it for me, though I see she just released a new LP, so I guess I should check that out. And IDLES is just fucking fun: a dancey, garagey, postpunk album of nothing but jams about how toxic masculinity is a trap. I’m so glad to have heard these albums, and delighted to dive deeper into the artists they’ve brought to my attention.
Thanks for reading! I really strongly recommend these albums, as anyone who knows me can attest; I have not shut up about most of them for like basically the whole year.
