20) Wild Pink - Yolk in the Fur
New
York trio Wild Pink released their outstanding follow-up to 2017’s self-titled
debut in July. The album blends a
timeless sound with the soothing vocals of front man John Ross. The hazy “Burger Hill” leads the album off like a fever dream, and the album only gains momentum as it progresses with
Ross’ beautiful and intensely personal lyrics on the title track “Yolk in the Fur”. The vocals and production solidify
Yolk in the Fur as one of indie
rock’s biggest surprises of 2018.
19) Lil Wayne - Tha Carter V
Tha Carter V is not unlike the previous four in Lil Wayne’s Carter installment. The album is overstuffed and erratic, but the
long-delayed fifth chapter delivers peaks as grand as its valleys. “Dedicate” solidifies Weezy’s ear for anthems
and is already sure to be bumped obnoxiously from car stereos across the
country. The album slows down with
“Can’t Be Broken” – an homage to the odds stacked against Lil Wayne and his
latest project after being shelved since 2014.
“Mona Lisa” is the album highlight and features To Pimp a Butterfly-era Kendrick Lamar. The two tell a gruesome tale of deceit and
lies that one can’t help but hang on every word of throughout the song’s twists
and turns.
18) Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Hope Downs
Very rarely does an artist’s debut album live up to the hype
of its preceding fan favorite EP tracks, but Melbourne’s Rolling Blackout Coastal Fever delivered an exception to the rule with Hope Downs. The album builds
upon the band’s strong melodic versatility and conveys a raucous urgency in
these songs. Tracks such as opener “An Air Conditioned Man” and “Mainland” seem to transcend time. These songs could have just as easily been
written in any of the past four decades and are beautifully executed by one of
2018’s most promising up-and-coming artists.
17) Birds In Row - We Already Lost the World
There was a lot to be angry about in 2018 as political
volatility was at an all-time high.
Sorting through the chaos can be a difficult task, but through the
clutter, Birds in Row were able to exercise every demon in their bag on We Already Lost The World. The album is undoubtedly the angriest of the
year, but what really drives the band’s charm is their mystique. The faces of the three-piece post-hardcore
outfit from France are intentionally cut out of all promotional photos and
videos. Original members were only
referred to by the single letter initials: B, D, and T. The same enigmatic presence exists in the themes
of their music. “I Don’t Dance” dabbles
in the eternal quest for life’s meaning, “Always lost at sea/Bottles drifting
in waters/Love’s still love when lone men sing/It clings to hearts that drugs
can’t ease/I’ll wait/It’s not the partner it’s the dance I fear.”
16) Nap Eyes - I'm Bad Now
The spirit of Lou Reed comes alive through the voice of Nap
Eyes front man Nigel Chapman. The four
piece indie outfit have a knack for writing folky pop harmonies that quickly
become earworms. I’m Bad Now is the most cohesive and precise release in the band’s
discography and features their best work to date. “Dull Me Line” is arguably the strongest
chorus of the year as Chapman coos about his wandering mind. The climax of the album is the second-to-last
track “White Disciple” which features Chapman meditating his mortality, “Said
the White Disciple when he sent for me/’It doesn’t matter what anyone was born
to be/But your life is pointless unless it sets you free’/So won’t you set me
free, Lord, set me free.” Nap Eyes took
a dissimilar route with I’m Bad Now,
and crafted a wonderful introspective journey of a record.
15) Mac Miller - Swimming
14) illuminati hotties - Kiss Yr Frenemies
Indie
outfit illuminati hotties borrow from a variety of influence on their
phenomenal debut. Renaissance woman
Sarah Tudzin is the brainchild behind the project whose credits include lead vocals, producer, and engineer. Tudzin
has worked with artists Slowdive, Porches and even did sound design on the
Hamilton soundtrack. With varying
degrees of influence throughout the industry, it is no surprise Kiss Yr Frenemies draws from a vast pool
of genres. “(You’re Better) Than Ever”
is indie pop song writing at its finest and might be the catchiest song of the
year. “Shape of My Hands” perfectly
personifies the feeling of summertime.
To say the least, Kiss Yr Frenemies is an impressive honest debut for someone who is still learning
to come out from behind the scenes of production and become a new artist.
13) Antarctigo Vespucci - Love in the Time of E-Mail
Supergroups can often be a tricky venture. When done correctly, the artists play to each
other’s strengths and create something truly special. When done incorrectly, the songs often come
off as the artists disingenuously noodling around on a Saturday afternoon in the
studio. In the case of Chris Farren
(Fake Problems) and Jeff Rosenstock’s (Bomb the Music Industry, solo) side
project Antarctigo Vespucci - the chemistry leaks from its pores. Never has pop-punk sounded more fun than on
“Kimmy”. The album is just over a month
old, but the tracks are nostalgic in a way that makes them feel a decade old. “Breathless on DVD” recounts an old flame
with an ex with incredibly visceral guitar work from Rosenstock and gentle
vocals from Farren. The album reaches its
pinnacle when Rosenstock’s influence is most apparent on the quick-tempo rocker
“Freakin’ U Out”. There is something for
everyone on Love in the Time of E-Mail,
and it is a delight feeling the joy both Farren and Rosenstock have together on
the album.
12) Soccer Mommy - Clean
Sophie Allison, better known by her stage name Soccer Mommy,
welds cries of anger with romantic melancholy on her breakthrough album Clean.
The 20 year old sings about the difficulties of being a young adult in
today’s culture with alluring triumph. “Your Dog” is a fiery anthem for anyone who has ever been led on by a potential
suitor. "Cool" tells the tale of Mary and her wild after school antics in whimsical fashion. The album's phenomenal production value nails the gloomy themes of the record to a tee. Clean
is as solid a debut as they come and solidifies Allison as one of America’s
most promising young songwriters.
11) Kids See Ghosts - Kids See Ghosts
The third album of Kanye West’s Wyoming session features
Kanye and Kid Cudi in top form as they power through an intoxicating crusade of
their collective psyche. The album is a
mere 23 minutes, but never has Kanye’s production sounded more aesthetically
pleasing. While Kanye plays architect,
Cudi delivers his best bars since Man on
the Moon on “Reborn” and title track “Kids See Ghosts”. Pusha T makes an appearance on album opener
“Feel The Love” and Kanye delivers his crown verse on album standout “4th Dimension”. The album reasserts Kanye
West as the thrilling self-proclaimed genius that test the bounds of genres and serves as a glowing return to the pinnacle for Kid Cudi.
10) Alkaline Trio - Is This Thing Cursed?
It
had been five years since Alkaline Trio last released a studio album before
dropping Is This Thing Cursed? in late
August. A lot changed in that span for
the band as front man Matt Skiba replaced Tom Delonge in Blink 182 and
bassist/vocalist Dan Andriano focused more on his solo career. The many changes do not cause the band to skip a beat as Is This Thing Cursed? is Alkaline Trio’s
best album since 2005’s Crimson. Skiba’s lyrics remain poignant and sharp on
“Goodbye Fire Island” which he penned about his experience with the fraudulent
Fyre Fest that he and Blink 182 bandmates almost flew out to play. “I Can’t Believe” is a choice cut that calls
back to Maybe I’ll Catch Fire-era
Alkaline Trio where Skiba’s vocals have never been sharper. Is This
Thing Cursed? rallies around nostalgia but never relies solely on the
gimmick as the band pulls a few new tricks out of their old bag.
9) Lucy Dacus - Historian
Lucy Dacus easily avoided the proverbial sophomore slump with the
intricate Historian. The album is bursting with pop melodies and
opens with the expansive “Night Shift,” one of the most triumphant breakup
songs in years. Where Historian really succeeds is in its
execution. Dacus’ first album No Burden was recorded in only one day,
but Historian’s sound is so much
larger including horns, strings, vocal effects, and booming drums and
bass. Lucy Dacus has a stranglehold on
her soul-blemished sound that proclaims her as one of indie rock’s most honest
artists of 2018.
8) Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog
Hop Along lead vocalist Frances Quinlan croons with
unmistakable rasp on the band’s uplifting fourth album Bark Your Head Off, Dog. The
album opens with the solid “How Simple,” but hits its stride with masterpiece “Not Abel”. The standout track is vivid and
folky in ways the rest of Hop Along’s catalog has never been. The vocal harmony on “Look of Love” is
brighter than anything the band has ever done.
Bark Your Head Off, Dog
contains many first for Hop Along.
Thankfully, no quality is sacrificed as a byproduct in respects to their
distinctive style.
7) Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Fewer albums were more urgent than Deafheaven’s Ordinary Corrupt Human Love in
2018. The album is moving and emotional
in the same way its predecessors are, however the dynamic range on tracks such
as “You Without End” build to truly beautiful moments unlike anything else
released this year. Single “Canary Yellow”
is a visceral tune that drips with angst, double-bass and groaning guitars. Ordinary
Corrupt Human Love continues Deafheaven’s streak of success as the black
metal pioneers continue to build upon an already immaculate discography.
6) boygenius - boygenius
The
indie supergroup of the year arrived this year in a flash. Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus have
steadily risen to fame as heroines of the indie scene over the past few
years. The three jumped at the
opportunity to create an album together when approached by Matador Records, and
thus boygenius was born. The album’s
only flaw is its short length, but the supergroup manages to say more in 21 minutes
than most artists do in double the span. boygenius’ strength lies in the diplomacy between its three
members. In its six songs, the album
showcases Baker, Bridgers and Dacus’ incredible talents equally and
emphatically. Album opener “Bite The Hand” features one of Dacus’ best vocal performances to date. “Salt In The Wound” might be the most beautifully crafted song of
the year as Baker belts to the heavens in the second verse, “I’m
gnashing my teeth/Like a child of Cain/If this is a prison I’m willing to buy
my own chain.” Bridgers shining moment
appears on “Me and My Dog” as she makes her presence known in grandiose
fashion. boygenius get bonus points for
their incredible live show as these songs
were meant to be heard live in an intimate setting.
5) Pusha T - Daytona
One could not blame anyone who thought Pusha T’s career
peaked a decade ago with Cliipse’s Hell
Hath No Fury, but the sentiment could not be further from the truth. The Kanye West
produced Daytona is the first and
best album of West’s Wyoming session.
The album’s six songs are laser focused and make the biggest statement
of Pusha T’s solo career thus far. “The Games We Play” bestows a blistering beat that Pusha T punishes with affluent
bars, “You laugh a little louder, the DJ say your name a little prouder/And we
don’t need a globe to show you the world is ours/We can bet a hundred thousand
with my safe hold/My numbers lookin’ like a bank code”. Daytona is at its best when it takes its
shots. Album closer “Infared” takes
multiple not-so-subtle jabs at Drake which lead to a response from the Toronto rapper. The response served as a proverbial alley-oop
as Pusha T dunked on Drake with arguably the best diss track of all time, the
post-Daytona “The Story of Adidon”. Getting
vicariously involved in the juvenile rap beefs amongst grown men may be silly,
but the act has never been more fun than on the unapologetically cocky Daytona.
4) awakebutstillinbed - what people call low self-esteem is really just seeing yourself the way other people see you
awakebutstillinbed lead vocalist Shannon Taylor plays up the
emo etymology throughout the band’s aggressive debut. Taylor’s shrill vocals are certainly not for
everyone, and fall somewhere between Look
Now Look Again-era Rainer Maria and pre Saosin-era Anthony Green, but the
raw passion sprawled throughout what
people call low self-esteem… is truly a thing of beauty. “opener” builds up to brashly screamed verses
that are truly unique in their substance and delivery. Standout “life” finds the band at their most vulnerable
as Taylor sings, “So I isolate and suppress discomfort/and I sacrifice any
shred of my own self-worth/while I put so much faith in my open eyes/I have
never felt so lonely and desperate”. The
band wears its 90s emo influences on its sleeve, but comes together to
create something uniquely chaotic.
3) Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!
Parquet Courts’ talent has always been undeniable. Over the span of five studio albums, the band
developed a cult-like fan base with their intricate art-punk tunes. The band called in big time producer Danger
Mouse for their sixth studio album Wide
Awake! to incredible results. Wide Awake! is far more accessible than
the band’s previous five records, but the band’s identity has never been more emphasized
than on tracks like “Violence”. Vocalist
A. Savage showcases his unique voice on back-to-back standouts “Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience” and “Freebird II”. The album is spiritually punk-infused but
defies multiple genres and even dabbles with contemporary country on the slick “Mardi Gras Beads”. There is a lot to digest on Wide Awake! as the album is the jubilant
soundtrack of a band taking all of its best qualities and magnifying them tenfold.
2) Foxing - Nearer My God
“I
want it all,” begins frontman Conor Murphy on title track “Nearer My God”. As Murphy continues, he contemplates the question every artist must ask themselves at some point: Is all of this worth it? “I’ll watch the bridges all burn and I’ll be
your dog/I’d be a darling for you or anyone who wants me at all/Does anybody
want me at all?” The question is
rephrased multiple times throughout one of the most emotional
songs of 2018. Foxing have always been
known for their energetic live performance as their 2013 debut The Albatross was a strong foundation that was built upon with 2015’s
Dealer which served as the framework for
something potentially special. Enter Nearer My God – the most ambitious and
sonically experimental album of the young band’s career thus far. The powerful “Bastardizer” weaves a story of
a father’s absence and the collateral damage caused in a way that leaves one
feeling guilty for singing along to its catchy hooks. These songs glisten with a neon gleam comparable
to the likes of Brand New and mewithoutYou’s early work, and as Murphy coyly
suggests he would sell his soul for glory on the aforementioned title track, he
may be well on his way with Nearer My God.
1) Jeff Rosenstock - POST-
Thank you for reading! Here is a link to the Spotify playlist of these songs and other greats from 2018.
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