ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2018

Here’s the Top 77 Albums of 2018 Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/user/forksclovetofu/playlist/4DzRiNP3gnIu4icC69zypd

Here’s the complete list of all 1148 albums nominated:
https://pastebin.com/RB81mE8b

Your poll runners are myself (posting, playlisting), Moka (posting, graphics) and Seandalai (organization and vote tabulation).

With each winning song, I’ll link to the appropriate ILX thread and a pair of representative album reviews. Moka needed an extra day or two to organize, so I’m starting us for the week; she may organize differently once she’s back, so don’t get too comfortable with the format. I got a busy day tomorrow and, given that I need to be sufficiently productive tomorrow, we’re getting going in the wee hours rather than in the EST morning.

As per the tracks poll, bragging rights to you if you can name the #78 before we finish.

If you missed it, here’s the tracks thread: ILM’s Top 77 Tracks of 2018

That’s housekeeping taken care of; I’ll try to take it to #61 before Tuesday.

ESSKEETIT

👍

Lol, everyone is asleep. Ah well. Needs must.

http://i.imgur.com/GfqSIcD.jpg

#77: Amen Dunes – Freedom - 189 points – 7votes

thread of amen dunes

Barnaby Smith: “A momentous, unprecedentedly confessional record for the New Yorker, who’s treading new ground musically and lyrically.”

Ben Homewood: “A grand, pop-rock masterpiece.”

Unconventional approach!

Ooh, glad this got in.

the only reason i'm up is that i'm on deadline so yeah sure let's do this

ayyyyy

I guess I should check this out huh

dang the borad is genuinely dead, huh. Alright, maybe i put a pin in it and come back in the morning.

Give us #76 and then return in the morning.

Its unlikely I will have heard any of these albums, so it only seems fair to comment if anything good pops up in any skipping through!

too low

oh this is starting at a weird time, but it's good for me

A friend of mine pointed out how much his voice sounds like David Gray and I can't unhear it.

Great, now I can't either.

Tunes are still better tho

dang the borad is genuinely dead, huh

past midnight on the east coast and monday's tomorrow. the internet is dead

maybe less so for people who watched the super bowl i guess

i wasn't looking at ilm because it's always dead at this time even though i'm always wide awake

there were a few good tracks on Freedom but it didn't really click for me overall, i'm not really sold on the sort of loops he builds his songs around i guess?

on first listen his delivery and vocal melodies remind me of richard ashcroft

that gap between everyone here falling asleep and everyone in the uk waking up is usually when i'm updating the third eye blind thread really stoned

Freedom jambs so right

save us johnny forks

I can sort of see comparisons to Gray, Ashcroft, but his voice is much more interesting-sounding to me

Good timing for antipodeans and commuters in Europe / the UK but not many others. Anyway, looking forward to this rollout despite the dull first cab off the rank.

This album is comfort food - listenable, if you're not engaging too much, and maybe suitable for the sleepy nothingness of a rainy morning commute (hai), but...yeah that's all

I haven't turned it off yet, which feels like sufficient praise

uhh... what time.. uh?

forks sleep posting again

forks should continue to post the rest of the rollout at the least expected times

i'm here for it

strangely, i listened to that amen dunes album this afternoon, for the first time in ages. i've listened to it about 10 times and i still have no idea if i'd recommend it to another person. but yet i keep coming back.

Comfort food ftw.

On an unrelated note, are there any iOS apps that make browsing ILX on mobile less of an early 00s experience?

here you go

Zing Touch is the official ilx app

Awesome, thanks.

Totally going to miss the first ten of these before I wake up tomorrow.

i'm down for one reveal at 5am for the next 76 days

I don't mind this tbh, sounds like something that could've been runner-up in Ptolemaic Terrascope's AOTY in 1993

comfort food just another way to say you like something when you fear the wrath of the tastemakers

^^ da troot

any predictions out there for what's going to win this year?

Monáe?

kacey musgraves seems like the most obviously likely to me but i think there's plenty of room to be surprised too

fingers x'd for mitski

musgraves or 1975

You could always vote or start compiling a shortlist! The 2018 ILX Metal n' Heavy Rock Poll VOTING + CAMPAIGNING thread! Ballots due Saturday, Feb. 9th!

while you wait!

as much as i love the 1975 i'd be really disappointed if they do better than they did in 2016 with a worse album but i could see it happening

if they'd won in 2016 it would have been a triumph (though king winning certainly was anyway) but if they win this year it's just 'lol i love them but come on it was only like the 20th best album this year'

fair points - think theyd be the favourite to win this still tbh

I thought Christine & The Queens would have been a contender for #1, but they didn't feature strongly in the tracks so have tempered my expectations.

It'll be an 'M': Musgraves, Monae or Mitski. For all the love I can't see 1975 reaching the top spot.

Autechre cracking the top 20 would be sweet.

beach house will be up there im sure

thought ILM cooled on Beach House?

i don't think beach house have ever been hugely popular here but 7 is the first time i've really been into them

i expect the top 10 will probably include low, cardi b and julia holter in addition to most of those mentioned, but i could see monae just missing it, a lot of people seem to have cooled on it since its release

Autechre cracking the top 20 would be sweet.

I feel like most people who are going to vote for it are going to put it very high on their ballot, so I think there's a very good chance of this. I just don't know what the exact overlap between people who post in all the autechre threads and people who vote in this poll is.

a certain australian art-punk group have top ten ambitions imo

in fact, highest-placing australian album is an intriguing subplot

which are the others in contention? i'd be surprised if tfs don't place but i'd be even more surprised if they made top 10

mostly i'm just hoping wednesday campanella have a respectable showing at around ~50 again like last year

a certain australian art-punk group have top ten ambitions imo

― imago, Monday, February 4, 2019 2:37 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I like 'I'm on Smoko' too but this is stretching it tbf

;)

The 1975 would be my guess but it is very much a guess.

Was surprised by hte massive 1975 love in the singles thread so I guess they win this, which would be boring!

The Low album had a broader constituency than i would have expected

tfs had a massive campaign push (courtesy Simon H) with lots of receptive replies, is all

in the blue corner, rolling blackouts coastal fever

in the green corner, the beths (nz = australia, lol)

1975 album was a huge letdown after the last one and it winning would be rly terrible but that is probably my guess

I think it's way better than the last one but still don't think it should win (nor will)

I predict snail mail will get a top five placing

The Amen Dunes record is the only one of his I've liked. The playing is tight.

oh i wasn't counting the beths and completely forgot about rbcf because that's the sort of band they are

low were definitely the most unexpected longtime act over the last few years to have a sudden critical resurgence like that but double negative is also the best of any of those albums

1975 seems like the safest bet. They got the most total points in the tracks.

I suppose Ariana's not in the running?

ariana will do well enough but was pretty polarising here and i'd hope she doesn't do better than she did with dangerous woman which remains underrated

I'm more interested in finding out about good albums I haven't heard so the 77-60 range is where that's going to happen. Not that arsed which order the big albums come in.

feel free to predict what albums you haven't heard of will finish in the 77-60 range

some techno nonsense ;)

j/k i've heard of all the albums

my prediction for 78 is once again something i voted for. maybe suede

My prediction for #78 is Current 93

oof that'd suck

i haven't got around to listening to the c93 yet, usually i would be a voter for it

I'd be surprised if C93 makes the top 100 tbh. Sure as hell deserves to be, but I don't vote so er

African albums that will place: Burna Boy, Sun-El Musician (which one will place highest?) and Simmy (would have placed highest if only...).

Who the hell knows: Mlindo The Vocalist?, Busiswa??, Mr Eazi???, Aya Nakamura????

sun-el musician shouldn't be ruled out of top 5 speculation tbh given how much people like his stuff

i'd be really delighted if mlindo or busiswa place but i'm not getting my hopes up

Wherever Simmy lands, add 40 imaginary points from me.

Still heartbroken that I forgot to nom the Spice tape/album. It's ferocious.

Rosalía might be surprisingly high

or unsurprisingly

Wherever Simmy lands, add 40 imaginary points from me.

give my 40 points to the Troops

Yes, Rosalía possibly top 5.

was really hoping that George Clanton would make the list but 7 votes, that's a pretty high threshold

One album revealed and I voted for it. Only 5 of my singles picks made it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if 15 or more of my album picks made the cut

the beths hive assemble

hungies hive assemble

okay, sorry for the abortive start; let's get back to it.

http://i.imgur.com/SuKt9cc.jpg

#76: Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel - 190 points – 7 votes – 1 first place vote

Courtney Barnett, I like her

Will Hermes: “The indie-rock singer-songwriter mixes penetrating observation, wry humor and deep empathy on a modest masterpiece of an LP.”

Marissa Lorusso: “Humanity Is Courtney Barnett's superpower.”

that placement seems about right

very underwhelming album

i feel fine

A lot of time for CB but this was a bit of a blandout

i don't want to be too snarky but whoever made that #1 must have heard about 3 albums all year

ok that was too snarky

Marissa Lorusso: “Humanity Is Courtney Barnett's superpower.”

oh ffs

wait, so being human makes you superhuman?

i mean, these days i kind of agree, but maybe we should think of a new word for "humane"

My mother-in-law is a fan, therefore dud.

The new Courtney Barnett was pretty but a bit of a letdown, more morose and less witty than her previous work

did I know that pomenitul is married

I want to like her more than I do. She's clearly had a big influence on the current class of indie favorites, but I just find her music kind of dull.

Now you do.

xp

Listening to this for first time now. Not terrible, but the She Makes War album scratched this particular itch for me last year.

http://i.imgur.com/Olh1XIU.jpg

#75: Charlie Puth – Voicenotes - 192 points – 6 votes – 1 first place vote

new charlie puth

Doreen St. Félix: “Unlike many of his peers, Puth remains committed to the joys of a well-wrought chorus, and his nimble refrains deserve comparison to the heyday of Taylor Swift.”

Jon Caramanica: “One of the year’s best pop albums.”

the Barnett album was as good as the first.

Puth's album is terrific.

HUNGIES HIVE ASSEMBLED

almost voted for "Attention" in the singles poll but never checked out the whole album

had no idea there was a boyz ii men collabo on this puth album

Courtney Barnett seems to be getting less interesting with each album. I still think the Double EP collection has much more charm than anything else she's done.

record was a real surprise. wasn’t a strong year for pop albums so the surprise lingered

a few really lovely tracks on this like "The Way I Am" and "Boy" but it didn't do it for me as a whole

absolutely a surprise yeah

I guess I should give this Charlie Puth album a go. It's just hard to get past some of his past musical crimes. That Megan Trainor duet is one of the worst songs of the last few years.

i don't think it's that great but it's nothing like his dreadful debut and even he's said he hates that iirc

half a track in, it's hard to get past his lyrics

I like the songs individually but one after the other they're too structurally and sonically similar so far

http://i.imgur.com/AGq7uWj.jpg

#74: Jean Grae & Quelle Chris – Everything’s Fine - 202 points – 11 votes

2018 Rolling Rap and Hip Hop Thread

Rodney Carmichael: “They might be the most lit comedic duo since Cheech & Chong.”

Sheldon Pearce : “Part biting satire, part cognitive behavioral therapy.”

omg WAY too low

I didn't listen to this enough but really liked what I heard

voted for it; pretty unique on the landscape

meant to listen to that but never got round to it

yesss, voted for this

My #15 and imo by FAR the best rap album of the year. It's brilliant. I hope you all give it a try. The run of tracks towards the end (Breakfast of Champions onwards) is absolutely stellar

bold move linking to that thread lol

lol

lol

saer's not here yet, so let me be the first to say: I'm going to be surprised if anything I voted for places!

just remembered that I instinctively avoided getting into this because I spotted the hodgman and offerman "features" which was almost certainly unfair

Tangled nut hair?

― Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Tuesday, February 13, 2018 7:03 PM (eleven months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

xp hey, hannibal buress features too

Everything that makes this album corny (indie hip-hop rapped and produced by old-timey backpacker couple) also makes it awesome, as they're both excellent rappers and producers and clearly an excellent couple too

saer's not here yet, so let me be the first to say: I'm going to be surprised if anything I voted for places!

I know Autechre and Monae will but outside of that I'd be thrilled if something I voted for shows up

only caught up with it as a result of eoy lists, but love "everything's fine"

and his verse isn't nearly as bad as it could've been

xps to me

Great album! My only complaint is that a couple of Jean Grae's verses reach such god-like heights that the rest of the album can feel a little underwhelming for just being really good.

Are backpackers still uncool? I thought history was cyclical.

I think the last ATCQ album basically made everyone realise the backpackers were right all along

ATCQ are pre-backpacker tbf

mainstream rappers, backpack rappers...they're all just podcasters now

pre-backpacker but also maybe the single biggest influence on it? xp

Charlie Puth album reminds me a bit of the first Daniel Bedingfield LP (a good thing).

Love the JG & QC record, first one I've heard b4 today, but no quibbles with the placement.

idk the first few tribe albums didn't dwell very much on social issues, nor was there much concern-trolling about mainstream rap.

http://i.imgur.com/Wrp7ZLK.jpg

#73: Senyawa – Sujud - 204 points – 6 votes

Rolling Metal 2018

Chase McMullen: Perhaps no musical act is presently melding deeply felt traditionalism with harrowing, damn near unclassifiable experimentation with greater affect.”

Russell Cuzner: “The Javanese duo’s new album distils the energy of earlier releases and evokes the gravity of our relationship with nature.”

nor was there much concern-trolling about mainstream rap.

well Tip got jumped over Phife's New Jack Swing diss.

this promised much but ultimately didn't do much for me, but if you like things that really like to repeat their unusual sonic trick then go for it

at least it's a weird one I guess

What is THIS

This album didn't do as much for me as I'd hoped it would but it did make me want to properly explore Southeast Asian folk music.

2xp heh

Anyway this is already going better than the tracks poll.

why am I still listening to the Charlie Puth album, lol

(I guess...I haven't been made to turn it off yet...so uh well done CP)

I voted for this

Loved this one. I recommend checking out some live clips as well. They make an amazing racket with just a singer and a bespoke string instrument.

That Courtney Barnett album was such a drag after Sometimes I Sit. Feels like it takes 30 min to get through the first three tracks. Must've turned it off a half-dozen times before I ever finished the thing.

Voted for Amen Dunes and Puth. Amen Dunes has a real richness and warmth to it. lol at the david gray comparison - spot on.

Love this one. 2xp

I look forward to Tuomas and Gareths reaction

've got a situation, this girl been stressing me
Saying she better be the only one
My life is complicated, she's only 23
I'm not the guy that she's supposed to love

Oh the more that I tell her I'm not staying over
The harder she makes it to go
Oh the more that I try to convince her this won't work
The faster she takes off her clothes

ftr this is where the puth album got stopped

Senyawa rules, nice to see it here - check out the 10" they did if you want something a bit different

I couldn't get my busy life together to vote this year, just apply a write-in #1 for the album by The Ex and call it good :)

It's pretty varied as well, imo. Shabara has a beautiful falsetto on a couple of tracks.

Sorry, I don't have a Spotify account, so my comments will be limited to albums I already own or have heard.

Gareth still posts here?

lol

Are backpackers still uncool? I thought history was cyclical.

― pomenitul, Monday, February 4, 2019 9:24 AM (fifteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I thought I was hallucinating the other day when a streaming service recommended to me a new single from Ozomatli featuring Cut Chemist and Chali 2na

Glad there's still one person who hasn't worked it out over the last 3 years or so
xp

I will always love Senjawa for naming an album 'Brønshøj', aka my postcode for ten years. Didn't vote for them, though.

I don't think there are any guitars tbf. xpd

*xps

Saer is Gareth?!

the seventh seal is opened

yay to the ex

I hope the album places!

I can promise you that the Senyawa album does not sound what you Tuomas or anyone else thinks and is worth checking out. There is no guitars at all. Just a homebuilt instrument as someone said.

http://i.imgur.com/siCsPY4.jpg

#72: Wednesday Campanella – Galapagos - 206 points – 7 votes

WEDNESDAY CAMPANELLA - Galapagos

Matt Hobbs: “One of the most prolific bands from Japan have an infectious personality, idiosyncratic depth and a striking balance of sweetness and intelligence that makes them unique.”

Patric St. Michel: “What could have been a risky turn away from the rapped vocals and dance beats of previous hits ends up giving Wednesday Campanella new energy and even a bit more depth.”

my favourite band in the world!!!

wow some things I expected much higher are placing low

Nice!!

Shamefully I forgot to vote for this

superb record

just fell outside my 25 iirc

The Courtney Barnett album wasn’t as great as her first, but still really good.

Griping about a (good) album that scraped the bottom of the poll seems kinda weak, you guys!

I gripe forever

Weakness is spending one of your 25 – 25! – votes on Tell Me How You Really Feel.

highly encourage anyone curious about Galapagos to at least check out singles The Bamboo Princess (a modern take on Homogenic-esque orchestration + beats) and Melos (jazzy guitar + dnb breaks + gamelan breakdown, "tortoise writing a pop song") which both have great videos

I remember hearing "three mystic apes" and thinking it was Towa Tei, should probably check this out

three mystic apes is wild. this is a cool fav band to have, ufo

Not that I know them, but going by the sleeve the spelling of their name is “Senyawa”, not “Senjawa”.

when people ask me my fav band, it would be cool to say "oh it's this genre-melting japanese pop band," while I'm usually like "i like the rolling stones"

enjoying WC! for some reason I thought there was usually more japanese-language rapping on their records but this seems to be full art-pop

or at least, an improved, arted-up version of the 'city pop' that all the musicians who go on Terrace House seem to purvey

hey, Sujud is pretty good, especially the last track

Galapagos was fine, nice change of direction but, again, placement is about right. "The Sand Castle" was the track that struck me most IIRC

Weakness is spending one of your 25 – 25! – votes on Tell Me How You Really Feel.

― pomenitul

You’re right — this poll would be so much cooler if everyone here shared the same taste!

http://i.imgur.com/B5njZtY.jpg

#71: Kero Kero Bonito – Time ‘n’ Place - 208 points – 8 votes

KERO KERO BONITO

Mike Schiller: “Time 'n' Place is challenging, but its rewards are commensurate, and while the band may lose some of their more fickle fans with this release, it's always refreshing to see artistic growth put first, especially when it pays off like this.”

Luke Pearson: “It feels like something transitional as if Kero Kero Bonito are working their way into something that is more sustainable than the often wild, sometimes too-cute experiments of their past.”

Ayyy first of my votes to place

Sneakily dark

xps yeah there usually is more rapping, this album's where they chilled out a little and indeed went full art-pop. i don't really hear much to do with city pop revival stuff though

wednesday campanella have been releasing consistently wild and inventive pop at an equally wild rate for an act like them - on average about a full length album every year since 2013 - so they're very enjoyable to keep up with, and their videos are incredible

good album. the EP is better pound-for-pound imo but the album was always going to place over it. gets really good towards the end again

gotta say, this senyawa album is an enjoyable and easy listen; wouldn't have expected that based on the cover and articles i read

kkb album was by far their best yet but still occasionally feels a little slight. hope they continue to get exponentially better

KKB also the first of my votes to place. Sarah on fire with the lyrics on this one. Still waiting for the vinyl edition to hit UK stores...

think 'Melos' made me think of city-pop tbh! it's only a hint but I think it's in the mix along with many other things

thumbs up for the rollout so far

visiting hours -> if i'd known is SO good

― imago, Monday, 1 October 2018 09:31 (four months ago) Permalink

this is still the key part of the KKB album imo

Definitely want to hear more Wednesday Campanella based on the one entry in the top 177 tracks list

thinking now, as it plays, that having T'n'P just outside my 25 might have been underrating it slightly. but then I'd have had to break my one-release-per-artist rule. maybe I'll make a fantasy combination album with the TOTEP tracks slotted in somewhere

I'm worried the KKB album won't be as fun as Only Acting. Is it?

almost/sometimes, yes

Weirdly enjoying Courtney Barnett this morning after posting that I found her dull.

I must be hitting some of the more peppy tracks.

I liked KKB's cover of "rock n'roll star"

http://i.imgur.com/l0FJD25.jpg

#70: Kadhja Bonet – Childqueen - 208 points – 9 votes

Let's listen to Kadhja Bonet and discuss her soulful psychedelic sounds

Adriane Ponetcorvo: “Kadhja Bonet carefully chooses how much of her the world can know. In doing so, she remains weightless, an artist ephemeral, even as her genre-resistant music makes a serious sonic impact.”

Diva Harris: “From the back seat of an intergalactic Ford Pinto, possibly driven by Minnie Riperton, a supernaturally excellent album.”

I'm worried the KKB album won't be as fun as Only Acting. Is it?

― frame casual (dog latin), Monday, February 4, 2019 5:18 PM (eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I was worried about this but was proven wrong. It's more fun.

Oh yeah!

Heck yes! Also, I think I forgot to vote for this, so it should have placed higher.

This opening stretch has been largely fantastic.

Never heard of this one, sounds intriguing.

WC seems like a band I should be listening to.

nm, I did vote for it. 👍

I keep meaning to follow Moka's advice and listen to Bonet's previous album, but this one builds its own lovely little world

That's already two I forgot to vote for! (Khadja and Senyawa.)

Ten seconds in, this is this year's L'Rain, isn't it? I mean I can hardly hope it's as good, but

Childqueen was pleasant enough but never got really into it, maybe if i'd given it a few more tries?

Not that I know them, but going by the sleeve the spelling of their name is “Senyawa”, not “Senjawa”.

OTM

ditto for me xp

Hmm, it's much less effortlessly dreamlike than L'Rain, more mannered. Will still give it a good go

more minimalist than L'Rain I'd also say. in terms of stuff I know an imago likes, I'd say it's closer to Weyes Blood than L'Rain in spirit if not in genre

Yeah it's not helpful to think of this in terms of L'Rain. Much more in the...I want to say Laura Mvula bracket? Enjoying it cautiously so far

With a bit of Connan Mockasin thrown in

I think the thing that held me back from falling deeply in love with this album is that the songs themselves are magnificent but the production lacks a fullness and warmth that would fully bring them into life. Still a total downer jam, though.

I find Bonet's singing hard to engage with, it's a bit distancing? But I'm giving the record another go now. Does she do all those sumptuous arrangements herself?

I find Bonet's singing hard to engage with

I never quite got why this album was often put across as alt-r&b. It's got more in common with someone like Petula Clark than Gladys Knight.

I tried a couple of times with the Bonet, but I wasn’t feeling it.

Good selection of albums on those last four. I don't really get Grae & Chris, bass-driven but deconstructed and not really pleasant instrumentally, though I've reached House Call and like this one. I returned to Senyawa the other day and realized I can just enjoy them on a purely sonic level - impressive sound and ambiance. I liked what I heard from Wednesday Campanella during the campaign, I imagine they could have placed a track like Bamboo Princess rather than appear here, but why not. I don't get KKB. Childqueen is certainly very well made but it was like a nice background painting and rather forgettable to me, except for tracks like Second Wind and Delphine.

http://i.imgur.com/RTDtaOu.jpg

#69: Ghost – Prequelle - 214 points – 6 votes

Ghost (or Ghost B.C. or w/e) -- Swedish Pop Metal in Satan's Service

Adrien Begrand: “Underneath the catchy melodies and snazzy artwork, Ghost have created one of the cleverest heavy metal records in recent memory.”

Dave Everley: “Satanic metal meets shameless pop on Swedish faux cultists’ crowning glory.”

Not quite as good as the last one but endearingly garish in its own way

xxp that's how i felt about Everything's Fine too, not for me at all

Bonet album is losing me a little after a decent start - kind of coasting by on atmosphere. Oh Ghost, I still need to hear this

Surprisingly low but the ilm rock/metal contingent has shrunk over the past few years

imago did you listen to any of the metal poll spotify playlist?

not yet

I have a friend who's been talking to me about Ghost for ages and ages, and I keep smiling to him and never heard a note of them. Melodic / hardcore swedish metal or whatever doesn't seem very appealing. That's a cool metal cover I must say.

Ghost is the furthest thing from hardcore.

It's Europop in metal's clothing tbh

as long as we're talking metal

I keep forgetting people take this band seriously.

This isn't sounding good tbh

Maybe they just like fun (I wouldn't know anything about that tbf).

xp

as long as we're talking metal

― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Monday, February 4, 2019 12:06 PM (forty-three seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

from maine to san diego
mattingly and canseco!

http://i.imgur.com/SaYoeEu.jpg

#68: YOB – Our Raw Heart – 214 points – 8 votes – 1 first place vote

YOB

Jimmy Hubbard: “YOB’s music on Our Raw Heart doesn’t settle for truisms. The beauty is of a rough sort, shot through with the residue of suffering. It’s a record by a mature band, setting itself to a serious task.”

Thom Jurek: “These seven songs -- totaling some 73 minutes -- are some of the most trying and beautiful material to emerge from extreme music in some time. This is doom metal possessed of hope.”

Another vote of mine. I don't really like the album tho, just the marketing hook.

Biographical storytelling aside, they could use a new singer.

imago, there's some proggy instrumental stuff in there that might be up your alley. See "Miasma" and "Helvetesfonster".

Wednesday Campanella only one of mine so far. I meant to check out the Jean Grae & Quelle Chris record and go back to Senyawa (not sure I ever heard the whole thing but like the stuff I have heard), but didn't get round to them in time.

I guess the Ghost here is the Scando one? Album cover is fun.

Charlie Puth will always be that dickhead who did the terrible song with Meghan Trainor, I'm just going to remain perplexed and boggling at ilx for voting for him rather than dip a toe in this potentially lethal water.

way too low

Bold use of saxophone on the Ghost album

Puth-Trainor is a human rights violation but the album is solid pop, emil.y.

drugs a money doesn't seem to be here to promote his poll so here goes
The 2018 ILX Metal n' Heavy Rock Poll VOTING + CAMPAIGNING thread! Ballots due Saturday, Feb. 9th!

I like Yob

fake Ghost is possibly the worst rock band of the modern era

I had never heard Charlie Puth in my life (despite him having one 1B and one 2B views song) and it seems I had been lucky that way.
I'd like a Jean Grae album. A little more focused and a little less "abstract" than this one. Still the diversity here isn't a bad thing and it's well produced.

The notion that Yob need a new vocalist is insane to me

crazy talk indeed

I would actually entertain that argument for Ghost tho

oh man, I've been completely sleeping on Ghost, haven't I? Think I was put off by the thread title. Zeroed in on the satan part rather than the pop part.

yob should get ian gillan as a vocalist

and change their name to GOB

their album before this one and their first album are their best but this ones only a notch down from that. I think all their albums have made the 77 albums poll?

I wonder if Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats will place. They usually make the 77. 1st album was top 10 iirc

and change their name to GOB

― my name is leee john, for we are many (NickB), Monday, February 4, 2019 12:28 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i've made a huge mistake

Question for ulysses and seandalai what percentage of ballots are unweighted and each album gets equal points?

That was like 6 years ago, though. EOY voter pool is considerably different now. xps

xp seandalai can answer that; he's the stats guy

http://i.imgur.com/ekiOXsH.jpg

#67: Kamasi Washington – Heaven and Earth - 216 points – 10 votes

Kamasi Washington - The Epic

Hank Shteamer: “A sprawling, eclectic set that ranges from the slightly tepid to the truly transcendent.”

Chris Ingalls: “It takes a musician, composer, and arranger of Washington's caliber to take these ideas and form them into a brilliant collection of performances.”

Very nearly voted for this, it's great and better than his previous stuff imo

remind me, how many albums are we rolling out per day?

I haven't spent as much time with this album as I should have but I'm glad to see it place. It had a much more 70s fusion vibe than the debut.

xp, 16 today and moka will find her own process

I wish Kamasi Washington didn't sound like such a throwback to me. I want to hear something new in jazz.

imago you prefer the fusion synthy whooshing of this album to The Epic?

haven't managed to listen to this whole thing yet, but fists of fury is the right kind of overwhelming

Oh, good. Thought this might get 78'd. In my top 10 for 2018. I connected with this a lot more than The Epic.

the fauxtary connection vibes drew me to the bonet but i never ended up spending a ton of time with it

http://i.imgur.com/4A0KtTQ.jpg

#66: Hailu Mergia – Lala Belu - 221points – 10 votes

Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2018 Thread Once Known as World Music

Jazz Monroe: “Seventy-one and flourishing, the keyboard maestro has radically updated an oeuvre that already sounded like the future, and in doing so, he makes it sound contemporary.”

Neil Spencer: “At one level it’s the record of a traditional jazz trio, with drummer Tony Buck and bassist Mike Majkowski backing Mergia’s keyboards, and at times Mergia’s swirling Hammond organ shows his debt to the jazz-funk of Jimmy Smith. Yet Mergia’s approach is often unorthodox.”

"fauxtary connection" is v good

Having just relistened to Childqueen, there's a dip in energy level early on that could be a turn-off. I can also def see it being too placid for people.

If all the jazz I voted for places in a row now that would be dope

Hailu is playing in NYC later this month btw; strongly considering going though I'd like to know when he's going on so i'm not there till 4am
https://bkbazaar.com/event/jonathan-toubins-soul-clap-dance-off-presents-hailu-mergia/

niiiice pretty sure i voted for that

the title track was one of my surest mood boosters last year

Another one that has been sitting on my to-listen-to list for much too long.

oh hell yeah, I woulda put the Mergia on my ballot so this is nice

TOO lala beLOW.

Title track from this is truly joyous. Well worth getting the CD of this as there are several hidden tracks at the end.

69-66 = solid stretch. Yob album and live show were both fantastic, powerful heavy rock. It's the only one of the four I actually voted for but I enjoyed both Hailu Mergia and Ghost. Re Kamasi: I'm still wringing stuff out of The Epic (another great show), which is the only reason I haven't really investigated the albums since.

Oh, YOB is here! I saved it for my metal ballot because there was too much else I wanted to vote for and it wasn’t an urgent favourite or anything, but I really liked it. Way more engaging than previous efforts imo. ‘Ablaze’ is intense.

http://i.imgur.com/Whr5Bfh.jpg

#65: Skee Mask – Compro - 225 points – 9 votes

Rolling techno* albums thread for people who are clearly doing it wrong

Ezra Marcus: “Despite Compro’s wild tonal variations and interludes, Müller never takes his eyes off the incentives and demands of club music. This record’s emotional valence—between collapse and grace, unity and emptiness—will resonate with anyone who's ever caught an unexpected sunrise in a concrete room.”

Simon Whight: “Trying to pin down Compro to a single concept or influence just doesn’t work, its strength in diversity is realised with an incredibly degree of subtlety.”

i didn't listen to this kamasi but if it's "fusion synthy whooshing" then color me more interested now

Liked the Wednesday Campanella a lot too, though not enough to vote. A pretty solid day so far!

skee mask the compro god

in before “skee mask record is overrated”

skee mask record is good as hell

nice to see the techno asterisk thread get some representation on here

Great album

Solid album.

I liked this when it came out, but didn't listen much after that

My experience as well.

http://i.imgur.com/wG8Jk8M.jpg

#64: Yamantaka // Sonic Titan – Dirt - 227 points – 8 votes

YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN - YT//ST

Ernesto Aguilar: “Dirt is indicative of significant growth for Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, which seems stronger for letting its art rather than its oddity speak loudest.”

Em Casalena: “When it comes to experiencing this artrock metal band from Toronto, the performance is as inseparable from their music as their personal celebration of Asian-Canadian and First Nations heritage and culture.”

I thought they were from Montreal?

tbh I never gave this a fair shake cause I saw them give a pretty dull show a couple years ago, glad they continue to have a dece following on here tho

Awesome!!

voted for "yandere" in the tracks but a great album front to back

Cool album, didn't vote for it, but voted for a track from it. Surprised to see it show up on here, didn't seem to get much love.

I liked the album well enough for a spin. Nothing really stuck but I'm the forgetful sort.

I thought they were from Montreal?

― pomenitul, Monday, February 4, 2019 1:20 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Both I think now, originally Montreal though.

Yes! What a powerhouse album of weird, maxed out power prog! Out of Time is the entrance song of my fictitious wrestling career. The whole album has this giddy glam rock worship that wouldn’t be out of place soundtracking Glow.

My #11. An absolutely kickass rock record with all sorts of sly prog and hair metal influences. It's also queer as hell and draws from numerous indigenous traditions without sounding remotely gimmicky. Most importantly, aside from the volcanic performances (see them live!) the songwriting is electric. Underrated as anything

lol OOT is amazing entrance music yes

My first to make it; this album is great! I think this was my #11 too haha

Aha! A second from my ballot. Took me a while to get into this YT//ST record, the amount of love I had for the second one made it have a tall hill to climb, but I really like it now. I also think they moved from being an art-rock band with metal touches to being a metal band with art-rock touches, which means way more huuuge guitar solos, which is not particularly a thing I am into.

Going to have to look into a few that have placed that I don't know at all, so far I feel like this is a really cool and varied list.

yeah almost no way this doesn't end up being the coolest day of the rollout

This Wednesday Campanella album is way more atmospheric than the last one.

I feel like I only need to listen to each of their albums once, like going on a rollercoaster or something, but that one time is a real blast.

I feel like I should I enjoy this band more. Go Canada!! anyway.

Voted for OOT in tracks, some reservations about how well the whole album hangs together. Maybe I should follow emil.y and persevere.

I try to keep on top of techno* but I don't think I caught the Skee Mask?

Hailu Mergia definitely too low but glad it placed. an absolute joy from start to finish. the title track was my tune of the year

YT//ST was the last thing on my ballot. Like emil.y, my love for their second album kept me from falling as hard for this one. It's good, but my least favorite of their records.

Hooray Hailu Mergia! My first to place

http://i.imgur.com/xUaeSBE.jpg

#63: Mariah Carey – Caution - 228 points – 11 votes

Mariah Carey's many Moments

Leah Greenblatt: “Carey is no longer at the white-hot center of the zeitgeist, but on her 15th studio album, she finds a freshness that’s been missing from her recent material.”

Andrew Unterberger: “The album likely won't spin off a breakout hit, or reintroduce Mariah to the Spotify generation, or change the course of her career in any dramatic way. But it's a new Mariah Carey album, and it feels like exactly what she and her fans wanted it to be.”

amazingly, no one started a thread for this last year. I voted for it i think.

key tracks: GTFO, Caution, A No No, Giving Me Life, Stay Long Love You

Caution is probably my favourite Mariah album.

Yes! This is easily my favourite YT/ST album. Some almost Judas Priest moments in there.

Hi everyone! Thank you so much ulysses for covering me today I’m away from home and will be arriving late.

I’ll probably do 60-41 tomorrow, 40-? on wednesday and the rest on thursday. Wednesday is gonna be a tricky one as I have a tight schedule and wont be around my computer but I might post the initial run in the morning and the rest in the evening... I’ll have to improvise as I don’t want to leave you hanging for hours to get the next results... maybe tomorrow I’ll go all the way to 60-35 to avoid the gaps on tuesday.

I think the full results are very good and they have the variety that some of you thought was missing on the singles poll. Today has been amazing, and there’s a couple of albums I had no idea existed and which have been great companions this morning for me. thank you again ulysses for all the help with the rollout and seandalai of course for making this happen.

I'm glad Yamantaka exist but please don't make me listen to it again.

Images great agin, btw!

http://i.imgur.com/n5nM6dt.jpg

#62: Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy - 230 points – 10 votes

Bodak Yellow is:

Carrie Battan: “Not since Lana Del Rey has an artist triumphed over such low expectations and landed as a bona-fide pop star.”

Rob Harvilla: “What makes Invasion of Privacy even more impressive is that at 13 tracks and 48 minutes, it has the Spotify-stats-conscious heft expected of a top-tier rap album nowadays, but never drags, never settles, never dilutes Cardi’s delirious absurdity. It feels like a throwback to an idealized album-oriented past—a tribute to the way that hip-hop of a certain vintage would like to remember itself, anyway.”

wow that's low!

Great stuff. Hailu Mergia was on my list also. This last run of albums has reminded me why I love ILM. Hee.

This was my guess for 78'ing tbqh

this alb was good but i only listened to it once

Liking the more compositional side of the Kamasi album. Prefer that to jam mode.

I'm weirdly excited that nothing I've voted for has placed yet. I guess it's equally a good sign (for the ones which will) as bad (for the ones that won't).

Same. I'm holding out hope for three, five at the most. The rest will walk in saer's footsteps.

“Not since Lana Del Rey has an artist triumphed over such low expectations and landed as a bona-fide pop star.”

reality tv stars can be Kardashian-esque near-billionaires or the President of the United States ... but a pop star ... no way!

last one for the day

http://i.imgur.com/DU5661a.jpg

#61: Andrew WK – You’re Not Alone - 233 points – 8 votes – 1 first place vote

Andrew WK: C/D?

Josh Modell: “As always, Andrew W.K. builds anthems brick by brick, reinforcing huge choruses with multi-tracked vocals and earworm piano lines, all the better to make you feel like a participant as much as a listener. ”

Mark Beaumont: “Andrew WK’s enormous, and enormously stirring, maximal synth-metal soundtrack to the struggle, and were it any bigger it’d develop its own moon.”

oh HELL yeah

voted for the title track instead but this album is incredible

lol boom. my #17. very large and positive album of party wisdom

voted for this beast

it takes a LOT for me to connect with a good-natured, positive album but AWK pulled it off through sheer force of will

Worth living for

the devil's on your side -> break the curse = one of the most epic track pairs of the year

hahahah my #1 vote put this over the top

yeah, very tight points grouping so far

I'm proud to say I received zero excitement from I Get Wet back then. This American thing / shtick is alien to me.

as weirdly complex and contradictory as AWK's persona is I think this album really does capture it all. awesome set of songs to boot - I voted "Music is Worth Living For" in the tracks poll just because it was the single, there's at least 6-7 songs here worthy of rating

Wooo! Second album voted for. Ever Again was my pick, but it’s an inspiration start to finish

This Jean Grae/Quelle Chris album is good but the ironic "Shabazz Palaces for Adult Swim viewers" vibe permeating it is keeping me at a remove.

The Hailu Mergia album is very lively, the expanded band and improved sonics really add a lot of punch and freewheeling energy.

I thought they were from Montreal?
― pomenitul, Monday, February 4, 2019 1:20 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Both I think now, originally Montreal though.
― Will (kruezer2), Monday, February 4, 2019 1:23 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i don't think anyone still lives in mtl anymore, was two-city for a while (collaborators still live in mtl iirc but all full timers in to)

also sorry i just got here

also great record hoo boy i got a lot of reading to catch up on

I liked I Get Wet, it was a lot of fun but this sounds like a metal remix of the Greatest Showman soundtrack

And I say that as someone who likes Ghost quite a lot

Nice to see the Skee Mask album place - it was my favorite electronic release of the year along with NTS Sessions.

I thought UZU was a huge letdown from YT//ST so I ignored Dirt. I presume it's an epic return to the form of their debut?

Cardi B is too low. Kamasi about right. A few others (Kero Kero Bonito, Mariah Carey) shouldn't be here and are stealing spots from better albums.

yea it definitely has a sort of musical vibe to it, in the Meatloaf sense

Hey don't forget--you you still have a week to vote in metal poll. Ballots are five-alb minimum, so even a ballot with just Senyawa, Ghost, YOB, Yamantaka//Sonic Titan, and Andrew W.K. would be enough to participate, but plenty of albums getting promoted within the thread, so anybody with a curious temperament is invited to come sample:

The 2018 ILX Metal n' Heavy Rock Poll VOTING + CAMPAIGNING thread! Ballots due Saturday, Feb. 9th!

the only album of the first batch which does something for me is the hailu mergia. nothing outstanding really and quite easy listening but it is nice life-affirming fusion stuff.

Mariah and Cardi B my only votes to show today. I wouldn’t change a single thing about the Mariah album - concise, well-produced and alternately gorgeous and affecting / playful and silly. Deserved to be a lot higher I reckon.

damn, wish I had voted now, Cardi was my #1, I really coulda helped a girl out.

Awesome. Voted for the Senyawa album and the YOB. I hadn't heard Senyawa before this one and it opened me up to a whole world of their music. The YOB concept is great but I also love the album as a whole, has more of a life affirming feel to it than the rest.

I'm pretty sure I voted for the Jean Grae/Quelle Chris too. She's got to be the most underrated rapper out there.

Love that the Ghost, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan and Andrew WK albums all made it. Had I had more voted to give they would have made it. Great representation of hard rock/metal all around so far.

The Wednesday Campanella is lovely too, had not heard this before.

Glad to see Wednesday Campanella, but I haven't heard this one as I'm always one or two releases behind... I voted for YT//ST though so it's good to know at least one thing I like placed

I suspect 95% of the hard rock/metal that's gonna place just did, but it's been nice to see nonetheless

mariah carey too low
cardi b too high

lol nothing i voted for has placed yet

i failed to vote for the mariah record AGAIN and i'm appropriately disappointed in myself

people really should give the mariah a chance - it's so concise and perfect

starting to agree with the people who think it's her best

(my faves have always been glitter and mimi (and, mostly bc of ilx lol, memoirs) and it stacks up with any of them)

it's as good as memoirs for me

Here's the day's results in case you're as bad as me as keeping it in yr memory:

77: Amen Dunes – Freedom - 189 points – 7 votes
76: Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel - 190 points – 7 votes – 1 first place vote
75: Charlie Puth – Voicenotes - 192 points – 6 votes – 1 first place vote
74: Jean Grae & Quelle Chris – Everything’s Fine - 202 points – 11 votes
73: Senyawa – Sujud - 204 points – 6 votes
72: Wednesday Campanella – Galapagos - 206 points – 7 votes
71: Kero Kero Bonito – Time ‘n’ Place - 208 points – 8 votes
70: Kadhja Bonet – Childqueen - 208 points – 9 votes
69: Ghost – Prequelle - 214 points – 6 votes
68: YOB – Our Raw Heart – 214 points – 8 votes – 1 first place vote
67: Kamasi Washington – Heaven and Earth - 216 points – 10 votes
66: Hailu Mergia – Lala Belu - 221 points – 10 votes
65: Skee Mask – Compro - 225 points – 9 votes
64: Yamantaka // Sonic Titan – Dirt - 227 points – 8 votes
63: Mariah Carey – Caution - 228 points – 11 votes
62: Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy - 230 points – 10 votes
61: Andrew WK – You’re Not Alone - 233 points – 8 votes – 1 first place vote

That Mariah Carey album is her best in twenty. I heard it this morning, and, man, its brevity and sharpness and her use of polysyllables never stops impressing me.

do we have enough Koenjihyakkei fans on here for that album to place

right, sorry. here's a somewhat streamlined breakdown in case folks want to run their itemized responses.

61: Andrew WK – You’re Not Alone
62: Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy
63: Mariah Carey - Caution
64: Yamantaka // Sonic Titan - Dirt
65: Skee Mask - Compro
66: Hailu Mergia – Lala Belu
67: Kamasi Washington – Heaven and Earth
68: YOB – Our Raw Heart
69: Ghost - Prequelle
70: Kadhja Bonet - Childqueen
71: Kero Kero Bonito – Time ‘n’ Place
72: Wednesday Campanella - Galapagos
73: Senyawa - Sujud
74: Jean Grae & Quelle Chris – Everything’s Fine
75: Charlie Puth - Voicenotes
76: Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
77: Amen Dunes – Freedom

damn we're already seeing stuff with 10+ votes. how many ballots did we get in total?

Yeah I’m not a huge Mariah fan, but I do think this is a pleasant/enjoyable album.

this was such a good year for albums that i'm really enjoying the rollout this time

also moka's images continue to stun

the WK one is so good I almost want to listen to it

I got 3 in today, but no idea how many others I'll see (some I'm certain of, others I'd be really surprised).

of my ballot only the low and the julia holter will place, i think. big question, will they hit the top ten? i hope so.

I only got 1 in but I'm expecting as many as 12 to place based on these results

i forgot the beths, they will make it too, maybe even the breeders.

sometimes i forget just how long mariah has been mariah. She's got a duet with Gunna on Caution. When Gunna was two months old, Mariah was releasing her third album.

i didn't vote for anything so far but it's mostly good stuff

Nicely varied results so far, three of my votes placed, happy to see Hailu Mergia especially.

Really keen to hear these three:

72: Wednesday Campanella - Galapagos
73: Senyawa - Sujud
74: Jean Grae & Quelle Chris – Everything’s Fine

i forgot the beths, they will make it too, maybe even the breeders.

― Ich bin kein Berliner (alex in mainhattan), Monday, February 4, 2019 2:03 PM (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ilm's gonna have the good sense to include the breeders imo

their absence from year-end lists last year still inexplicable 2 me

I like the Mariah a lot, but hadn’t listened to it enough to vote for it. The conciseness def works in its favour.

For those of you who are enjoying the Andrew WK album, can I recommend Adebisi Shank?
https://adebisishank.bandcamp.com/track/big-unit
https://adebisishank.bandcamp.com/track/turnaround

Adebisi Shank

do do do do do

wonder if anyone else voted for the Amnesia Scanner album

xp lol!

hah I can hear why you recommended that

I might actually check 'em out, sounds dope so far

wonder if anyone else voted for the Amnesia Scanner album

― mh, Monday, February 4, 2019 4:24 PM (fifteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

o/

my man

I can see Low, Julia Holter and The Beths all making the top 10.

I heard one of Mariah’s new songs on Spotify shuffle; before I looked up the artist, I was sitting there aghast wondering what the hell had happened to Dawn Richard’s voice and hoping she was seeing a good ENT.

I don’t think I’m going to check out the album.

First time listener to Hailu Mergia. This is great! Sampling some of the older stuff and pretty amazed at the regeneration/update. Title track in particular is phenomenal.

The accordions were an unexpected delight on the new album

very surprised Cardi B was so low, would have probably expected her to make top 10 here? it didn't quite make my ballot but it was very solid and even made me enjoy "Bodak Yellow" in context

Cardi B was a case of "this is not for me, but I fully get why other people dig it".

solid pop record that gradually unsticks from your attention imo

i haven't heard any andrew w.k. but the one adebisi shank song i've heard is anamanaguchi-style chiptune? is that what andrew w.k. does?

andrew w.k. is an approach to life

oh damn I would probably have tossed Cardi a #1 sorry for not ilxing

Ha, I played Andrew WK right after you played REO Speedwagon in plug one time, rushomancy, and you said it was a ditting segue.

*fitting

i don't think i'll ever understand the love post-i get wet andrew wk gets here

mariah was another one i thought might do a fair bit better here based on the general love for it, took me a while to get into but certainly one of her best albums. might have voted for it if i'd gotten into it sooner and spent more time with it. "the distance"/"giving me life" was a really nice section in the middle

i haven't heard anything from andrew w.k. other than i get wet, btw

talk about not living life to the fullest

i'm more of a glass half full guy, something to aspire to you know? that's what 'glass half full' means iirc

wait a second, that is what glass half full means. goddammit, joeks

yay @ Kadhja Bonet, such a good album

I was surprised and very happy to see Kadhja Bonet, make the list. I've been going back to it a lot. Gives me strong Rotary Connection/early Minnie Riperton vibes.

Just checking out the Wednesday Campanella album for the first time. Really gorgeous stuff, especially that dreamy song at the end.

Ha, I played Andrew WK right after you played REO Speedwagon in plug one time, rushomancy, and you said it was a fitting segue.

― silent as a seashell Julia (Sund4r)

most surprising thing about this is that i was apparently playing REO Speedwagon, i must have been in a right mood that day

I loved hearing the crowd cheer so loudly for the accordion when Hailu Mergia played here, that gig just got better and better as he warmed up

When I Get Wet arrived with full media fanfare and his fkn gooning face everywhere I hated it, it was 55 Cadillac that got me on board. The Greatest Showman wld be a good title for his next album

The previous Quelle Chris record is leaner and with higher highs imo but there's still a gently-handled weight to this record

I like the Cardi album a lot and voted for it but it still spends too much time in the generic Migos zone and is much better when it doesn't. If Rico Nasty places then justice is done.

Skee Mask: listened to it again, same result as before: I quite like it, except when it gets boringly drum’n’bassey (not Shirley) and most definitely when it veers dangerously close to big beat territory, and all I can smell is watery beer.

i don't have any strong feelings towards the Skee Mask album but i liked it best when it reminded me of the Metroid Prime soundtrack

Only voted for Kamasi Washington so far, have also listened to Skee Mask, Senjawa and Cardi B. Cardi B was one of the last records I cut. So far I feel a bit more represented than on the track-list, but I also suggest my hivemind score is so high most of my votes will turn up higher on the list...

I don't really get the Skee Mask record, I have to admit. From what I read it was supposed to be drum'n'bass with good ambient pieces in-between, but that combination sorta just turned out to be too much like the too pretty d'n'b that killed the genre in the first place.

LTJ Bukem did no such thing.

Was gonna say, it wasn't atmospheric d'n'b that killed off d'n'b. It was the technocrats that stole the genre from the dreamers and sucked the soul out of it.

Peter Mandelheadz.

:D

it was the jazzbos that killed d'n'b

They killed it with their skinny arms.

Or people just moved on ? Not just any genre can be cocky and think it's reggaeton.

Wait, did I get the lyrics to 'Fillmore Jive' wrong? The internet says it's 'Jasper's skinny arms', not 'jazzbos' skinny arms'. I feel crushed.

Jasper's skinny arms. I did wonder what you meant.

YEah it was all the people saying dumb stuff like 'd'n'b is the new jazz' that soured it for me. loads of my friends still <3 drum'n'bass though. they must be hearing something i'm not

Not a single album/compilation after 2003/2004 that is even remotely half decent imo. It all went to shit around that time.

2004 is when I got into d&B

What about The Third Eye Foundation's self-explanatory The Dark?

voted that my album of the year on ilx

the last special request album had some bangers on it iirc

The notion that Yob need a new vocalist is insane to me

Yeah, I really enjoy his aching rasp in the context of Yob's music.

Not a single album/compilation after 2003/2004 that is even remotely half decent imo. It all went to shit around that time.

I'm not saying my assessment of Scheidt's vocals is fair but for some reason they register as distinctly insincere to my ears. Due to the myth surrounding the man it's hard to refrain from judging them in terms of authenticity. I'm also just not into stoner metal (or weed for that matter, which is unfortunate).

I'm glad I've never had a "vocal authenticity" gauge I guess

fwiw I do zero w33d and it's never prevented me from enjoying stoner metal. stoned is a ~state of mind~ mane

YOB play doom metal not stoner

Surely they have strong stoner leanings? Or maybe I'm just saying that because I love doom.

save us moka

I only mentioned authenticity because it seems like they were consciously aiming for it on the somewhat-relevantly-titled Our Raw Heart. I'm finding it hard to disregard their intentions completely.

And yes, salve regina.

ARE YOU READY?

gogo

hit me

Let's do this.

yesss

woooo

Cross fingers I don't mess the bbcode

maybe if someone xposts you (like this) it gives you a chance to check

posting is praxis

https://i.imgur.com/HYbVoxi.jpg
#60: Mount Eerie – Now Only - 234 points – 8 votes

Sam Cleeve: "Like its predecessor, Now Only lays profoundly bare Elverum’s grief. But although it is often an excruciating listen, it also finds room to step, however briefly, outside of the agony that marked its predecessor, if just for long enough to suggest that Elverum is, somehow, beginning to find some relief in the unbearable."

Alexis Petridis: "Now Only is an album it’s hard to imagine anyone listening to for pleasure: it’s incredibly brave and hugely--understandably--self-indulgent. What it does, unequivocally, is tell the truth, albeit a profoundly uncomfortable one."

I found this less painful to listen to than the previous, maybe because it shows him moving on to a slightly less raw stage of grieving, and finds room for a little more humor/lightness. I'm very glad these albums exist.

This feels like a good placement for it

Listening to the previous one felt a little too intrusive for comfort. I haven't checked out his other albums.

the sort of music that is obviously good but quite difficult to listen to more than once

he seems more chipper these days at least, so good for him

I found this less painful to listen to than the previous, maybe because it shows him moving on to a slightly less raw stage of grieving, and finds room for a little more humor/lightness.

Yeah I only made it through A Crow Looked at Me once but found this much easier to connect with. Great record.

also, these albums vs recent Kozelek are a great a case study in how basically the same approach (confessional, diary-like lyrics over ambling instrumentals) can be great or unlistenable depending on execution

this might be my favourite album by phil now

massively underrated compared to a crow looked at me and so much more expansive. aclam was so stark i can barely listen to it as music, just appreciate it vaguely from a distance. now only still has death and grief at its centre but with the passing of time it has much more swirling around the outside too. the music is also great and mostly takes the form of meditative epics but it's the simple things like when that first finger picking pattern comes in on tintin in Tibet that i love the most

aclam

a silly acronym for a very very serious album

he cited benji as a major lyrical influence on these last two albums and massively improved on it

https://i.imgur.com/BxG8o49.jpg
#59: Burna Boy – Outside - 240 points – 9 votes - 1 first place vote

Burna Boy – OUTSIDE (2018)

Claire Lobenfeld: "Where WizKid softens some of the edges of Afrobeats, making the genre more familiar to newcomers, Burna’s output is more kaleidoscopic. It makes Outside a fine lesson in mixing genres without making mud."

a pretty cool album that i didn't vote for. "Calm Down" was the highlight for me and cements jae5 as one of the best producers around these days

ufo otm about now only, which is really too tender and personal a record for this bantersome thread but!: seeing the sparse devastation of a crow looked at me thaw into this, which eases in some elements of older mount eerie/microphones but still has the clear-eyed directness of the last album, and seeing the care with which he has held himself throughout, has filled me with a humbled gratitude and a deep, real hope. "two paintings by nikolai astrup" is the standout.

ooo this is great. fantastic list so far this year kudos ilm. i was loving kero kero last night.

None of my favourites have made it so far but it's all been quite good overall, barring a record or two.

burna! first of my votes to place. record ruled my life in december

iirc I was the #1 for this, so obligatory TOO LOW but also yay!

Hailu Mergia is sounding pretty great.

https://i.imgur.com/ZI49J6h.jpg
#58: Jon Hopkins – Singularity - 240 points – 10 votes

Landon Macdonald: "Singularity is the follow up every fan would hope for. It's larger; it's denser; it's quicker. It’s a 63-minute microhouse masterpiece. It rebroadcasts Hopkins’ sound as a more atmospheric, clearer vision. Whether its an improvement upon Immunity isn’t important — it’s a definite refinement."

Ben Hogwood: "Building on the innovations of previous album Immunity, it invests more emotionally and retains the primal physical stimulus behind Hopkins’ best music. He remains a wholly individual voice in a congested field, a single phrase played from his piano speaking volumes. And Singularity is his best album yet."

Yeah, at least it placed!

xp
I wonder if the exact same nine people voted in the Outside poll thread

Burna that is

that emerald pulse song was good enough but i dunno if i could take a whole album of that stuff

i think the hailu is my only vote that placed. (i say think bc i didn't save my ballot and now i don't really remember what i voted for)

[so far]

jon hopkins places: I sleep

like jon hopkins though this record doesn't really do anything that the previous one didn't do and this one doesn't have 'sun harmonics' on it so it's the lesser

burna boy is sounding spirited rn

Yeah, I thought the extremely low placing of “Ye” especially meant that all these people had put Outside extra high on their album ballot, so this placing is quite disappointing —- but yay, at least it did place (I think I had it as my #2).

(xps to rob)

Charlie Puth.

How credible.

Curious about the Jon Hopkins. I loved the track that placed in the Tracks 77.

Enjoying Outside after two or three listens although 'Ye' is still very much the highlight for me.

didn't really discover Outside until around the time of the voting thread, would've voted for it if I had started listening earlier

I thought the Jon Hopkins album as good as it was didn’t reach the heights of the Skee Mask

xp
Yeah I thought Outside had escaped the rolling thread bubble, but it's ok. Maybe there's no connection between them, but I wonder if this means Popcaan won't be appearing at all, or Simmy?

https://i.imgur.com/YjjDZ9k.jpg
#57: Wye Oak - The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs - 243 points – 8 votes

Wye Oak

Evan Lilly: "It’s hard not to fully engulf yourself in what they’re producing at this point. Far too many bands have been faced with panic in the face of progression, and under the pressure hurry themselves into something forgettable. Not Wye Oak: they gracefully ride the crest of change, and the confidence it affords them is apparent – they execute a particular mood that evokes and generates presence."

A.V. Club: "This is Wye Oak drawing as much from the looping, hypnotic compositions of Terry Riley as it is Beach House and Björk, and while some of the headier experiments fail to rise above their inherent monotony, the results are usually singularly beautiful and beautifully dense."

I really need to give this album a proper listen, enjoyed the previous two a lot

Seeing Wye Oak on here makes me hopeful a related album shows up too.

the last 3 songs are my favorite part of this one

I'm not really familiar with Wye Oak (I'd heard If Children but that's it) but yeah, this was a nice record.

starting to breathe a sigh of relief that i won’t place in this poll

Civilian is still my favorite indie record of the decade

can't rly place what this is, which might be a good thing

Can’t imagine Popcaan placing higher than Burna tbh

Also fear that Simmy might have missed the 77 boat...

All hopes resting on Sun-El now!

xps

https://i.imgur.com/IiPPE0m.jpg
#56: Foxing - Nearer My God - 247 points – 9 votes

thread of foxing on the occasion of their 2018 extremely warped and fragmented emo album nearer my god

Holly Hazelwood: "Nearer My God is 2018’s bravest record, and despite the sonic risks taken, Foxing have emerged with the best reward possible: an actual, honest-to-God classic."

HELL YES BUT ALSO TOO LOW