Best Albums of 2018 (So far)

The best albums of 2018 (So far....)

I’ve missed doing this.

Anyway, now that the halfway part of this year has passed I thought it would be the perfect time to condense my favourite records of 2018 into a small list for, well, anyone who wants to read it tbh. I don’t expect you to agree with the records I’ve chosen but if any of them inspire you to listen then that’s good enough for me. Anyway, enough babbling, let’s go... (Btw these albums are just in alphabetical order, not in order of preference)

Beach House – 7

 

Baltimore duo Beach House have created their most immersive and meticulous record to date with ‘7’. The album successfully combines dark, twisted psychedelic vibes with gorgeous, dreamy instrumentals to orchestrate a hugely complex and inventive sound which is as accessible as it is dismissive. The spellbinding nature of this evocative selection of music allows ‘7’ to become a really fantastic record and a great way to kickstart this list.

Listen to – Dark Spring, Pay No Mind, L’Inconnue, Black Car, Woo, Dive

Jon Hopkins – Singularity

English producer/DJ Jon Hopkins’ 5^th studio album is a 62 minute voyage of introspective space discovery. Hopkins delightfully manages to find an enchanting middle ground between deep acid house and ambient ecstasy on ‘Singularity’ in order to create an outstandingly pleasurable listening experience. ‘Singularity’ is one of those records that is just perfect for lying on your bed with the lights off and your headphones in, if you’ve done this before then you’ll know exactly what kind of record I mean. Utter bliss.

Listen to – Emerald Rush, Neon Pattern Drum, Everything Connected, Echo Dissolve, Luminous Beings, Recovery

Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour

Before being introduced to Kacey Musgraves earlier this year I don’t think I’d ever listened to a country album before. But this record really blew me away. It has everything a great album needs, catchy hooks, gorgeous vocals and blissful instrumentals. ‘Golden Hour’ is a fantastically smooth listen and this allows its general simplicity to almost become an afterthought, you end up becoming entangled in Musgraves storytelling almost instantly.

Listen to – Slow Burn, Love is a Wild Thing, Lonely Weekend, High Horse, Wonder Woman, Butterflies,  Happy & Sad, Golden Hour

Kali Uchis – Isolation

The Colombian-American singer Kali Uchis’ debut record is a thing of true beauty. The record deftly skims between R&B, funk, pop, rap and reggaeton throughout its 15 tracks whilst also incorporating brilliant guest spots from Tyler, the Creator, Steve Lacy, Jorja Smith and the legend Bootsy Collins to help present Uchis’ gloomy, mysterious world of love, lust and loss.

Listen to – Miami, Dead to Me, After the Storm, Just a Stranger, Neustro Planeta, In My Dreams

Kids See Ghosts – Kids See Ghosts

Kanye West and Kid Cudi’s collaborative side project offers a uniquely mind-boggling perspective on the term of ‘hip-hop’. The two ageing rap gods form an almost physic on this record which flows between the dramatically bleak themes of cracked relationships, a broken society and the painstaking urge of suicide. ‘Kids See Ghosts’ is a complex and evocative collection of music that offers so much and subsequently meets all the criteria in just 23 minutes.

Listen to – Reborn, Feel the Love, Cudi Montage, 4^th Dimension, Freeee (Ghost Town Pt 2)

Parquet Courts – Wide Awake!

One of the most entertaining, exciting, joyful and exuberant records of this year has to be ‘Wide Awake!’ from New York residents Parquet Courts. ‘Wide Awake!’ is a rip-roaring rollercoaster ride through a crazed dance-filled night out in Brooklyn. The record displays a varied mix of punk, funk, rock, indie-pop and dance to bake one of the scariest but weirdly pleasurable cake you’ve ever seen.

Listen to- Wide Awake, Total Football, Freebird II, NYC Observation, Almost Had to Start a Fit/In and Out of Patience, Normalization, Tenderness

Rich Brian – Amen

Originally from Indonesia and now an  LA resident, rapper Brian Imanuel’s debut offering helps to develop his vivid storytelling ability in such a way that the listener genuinely feels as if they have experienced these stories too. The East-Coast styled G-Funk record is filled with lush, melancholy melodies presented with Imanuel’s deadpan, but delightfully brilliant, flow help to propel ‘Amen’ into hop-hop holiness.

Listen to – Chaos, Attention, Cold, Occupied, Glow Like Dat, Kitty, Introvert, Enemies

Sons of Kemet – Your Queen is a Reptile

Experimental jazz has never really been my forte per se, yet I stumbled upon Sons of Kemet almost by accident. ‘Your Queen is a Reptile’ offers 9 brilliantly inventive tales of female Black empowerment as a way of creating an entirely new conversation for society. The record takes inspiration from American jazz albums of the 50’s and mixes with tribal African music vibes to create brilliantly crazy tracks that will no doubt impress, inspire and engage.

Listen to – My Queen is Ada Eastman, My Queen is Mamie Phipps Clark, My Queen is Angela Davis, My Queen is Albertina Sisulu, My Queen is Doreen Lawrence

Sophie – Oil Of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides

The unidentifiable form of experimental artist Sophie’s debut album is what entices you so much to this record. It’s a cold, dark, dystopian industrial landscape, a booming latex-pop house party and everything in between. Sophie’s first stroll into the music industry has proved incredibly fruitful and she is certainly destined for greatness if this record is anything to go by.

Listen to – Faceshopping, Immaterial, Is It Cold in the Water?, Infatuation, Whole New World/Pretend World

Tom Misch – Geography

UK singer/songwriter/producer/beatmaker/all-round cool dude Tom Misch prior to ‘Geography’ has often only been recognised from his featuring work and has never had the stage light shone on him particularly brightly. ‘Geography’ incorporates a intoxicating and potent mix of different vibes from hip-hop, bossa nova, lo-fi, soul, jazz and funk to develop a truly brilliant debut record.

Listen to – Cos I Love You, Disco Yes, Water Baby, Movie, Lost in Paris, You’re on my Mind, It Runs Through Me, Tick Tock

The Vaccines – Combat Sports

If their past two records have been somewhat disappointing then ‘Combat Sports’ finds The Vaccines back on their glorious debut album form. ‘Combat Sports’ is a celebration of no-frilled guilt-free indie rock and everything that can be brilliant about it. This record comes straight at you and barely relents throughout its running. If sing-along, fun stadium anthems are what you’re after, you can’t go far wrong with ‘Combat Sports’.

Listen to – Your Love is my Favourite Band, Nightclub, I Can’t Quit, Maybe (Luck of the Draw), Take it Easy, Someone to Lose