ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2018

The smoothest, slickest, most put-together synth duo in the biz. My #8. Settle in for an evening of sweet relaxation, folks

hell yeh black dresses, another vote here

I tried Black Dresses but found it unlistenable, just can't hang with abrasive synths I guess

eiko ishibashi is nice, one of my december discoveries. soundtracked some very long flights and made them a lot more bearable.

I was surprised prom / king didn't get nominated in the tracks poll. I was somewhat randomly driving about MLK Dr on the ss of chicago earlier this winter, going to eat, and it came on a shuffling spotify mix I'd made. Eerie to hear the whole song at that moment but what jumped out was "Sometimes I fucking hate Chicago, cuz I hate this feelin/ Innocent niggas get shot at, in the broad day the AM" ... meanwhile I'm driving past bucket boys at noon on a weekday. They contend with this place - obligations, family, the police, money - every day.

Saba flips the script on Chance's optimism, giving voice to the darkness that can take hold as a member of this community. Children walking to school in a war zone, friends and family killed with unimaginable regularity - and they're just supposed to be hardened to it all.

The song on the album that crushes me and speaks to this most viscerally is "calligraphy": "We cannot bear all of the fucked up shit we been through/ Why God keeping us here?" then the close with "Runnin" on repeat....ugh.

yeah simon the * picks are ones I think will place

If the mature and delicate sounds of Black Dresses have put you in the mood for more, check out the new album (which came out today!) https://blackdresses.bandcamp.com/album/thank-you

It looks like quite a few significant members of #teamafroetcetera didn’t vote, not just dog latin...

genuinely dislike black dresses

they're working thru some shit

really enjoying the Eiko Ishibashi so far, lovely and chill

black dresses sometimes seem like they could be cool but the vocals are way too raw for me

i can get with 'thoughts and prayers," but the rest of the album just sounds like silverware stuck in a garbage disposal

https://i.imgur.com/dw6Ptkr.jpg
#42: Gang Gang Dance - Kazuashita - 300 points – 13 votes

Ben Cardew: "On their first album in seven years, the New York fusionists tap into a welter of global styles; the result is soft-edged and idyllic, yet hides a subtle political undercurrent."

Dave MacIntyre: "
On their sixth studio album Kazuashita, the New York band continue to develop the diversely influenced rhythms and soundscapes that have defined their career to date, while doubling down on the more electronic direction the group took starting with their previous LP."

fuck yeah

ok rollout just got good, care for me is a big sigh of an album, don't normally like 'confessional' stuff but I think he's just abt charming/sly enough to pull it off. hauff has lots of rusty bangers and is good altho weirdly overrated here, the ishibashi album sounds how I imagined the new julia holter album would. albums with trains are always better. kazuashita was oddly overlooked, has some incredible highs

according to my 'albs i heard in 2018 list,' i listened to this, but i don't remember a note.

this record is fucking amazing

lovely album!

silverware in a garbage disposal is a strong and accurate compliment haha

'slither' doesn't even come close to resembling my life but it made me cry. the rest of the album is this mad horrendous joyful deathly thing and then that is such a suckerpunch

Cosign on Black Dresses' vocals' being too much. It'd be a clear contender for me otherwise.

not an all time masterpiece like eye contact but a very worthy follow up, great album

definitely felt a little overlooked this year, i know they'd been gone for a while but they picked up right where they left off

I wondered if this would make it. A gorgeous record that I don't remember placing in any other list.

really enjoyed the two lead tracks but hardly went back to this after a listen

ruby, ochre, white, lilac, orange, violet, emerald, lavender, ebony, fuchsia, eggshell, blue, eucalyptus, lime, amber, cerulean, khaki, onyx, kazuashita

yes GGD record owns too. a record I forgot about actually

i rate this one over eye contact, completely ridiculously gorgeous

Sorry for letting down Team Black Dresses in the tracks poll, but it was v high on my album ballot, so I feel like I can be re-embraced into the fold now.

Conversely, GGD (although I kinda liked Saint Dymphna) are the sort of gloopy artpop that I mostly can't abide, but let's wait until the business end of the poll before getting into all that properly. Besides I may have to listen to more than the advance singles before judging

wb emil.y lol

missed this! will have to listen

imago don’t read this

someone w good taste do I want to listen to black dresses y/n

black dresses don't resonate with my personal experience

ha youll get a good idea if you listen to 'wiggle'

black dresses *do* resonate with my personal experience. still terrible

https://i.imgur.com/6MTtzaw.jpg
#41: Ashley Monroe - Sparrow - 304 points – 12 votes

Robert Ham: "Choosing instead to work with Dave Cobb, the man behind the boards for Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton’s recent triumphs was a brilliant move on her part. Their collaboration has resulted in one of the strongest and most grown up country albums to be released this decade."

Josh Hurst: "Monroe is unparalleled at fusing classicist country songwriting with a modern sheen, something she proved on The Blade, which deftly balances traditional country sounds with bubbly pop. With Sparrow, she's topped even that achievement, creating a rich and emotional album that feels deeply connected to the past but also fully engaged with the present."

Black Dresses...not my thing

guhhhhh listening to GGD again. J-TREE so good

lol a ton of record from my ballot placed today

bought a copy of this for the folks

This is not the final album of the day.... I have to go do some errands probably will come back in 35/40 mins to post another 5 or 6 albums.

nice! Sparrow is just slightly her third best album but that's more a personal thing than a quality thing. I think The Blade is her peak, Like a Rose just slightly behind that. This is super fantastic whatever the case.

yes keep going imo xp

sparrow > like a rose > the blade

all great so who cares

this wasn't *quite* consistent enough to make my ballot but def some fantastic highlights

ggd think they're best at big climaxes but are actually best at a sort of quiet, beatific focus

It depends on what I'm feeling like at the moment, they're all awesome.

I saw her live in a 150 capacity joint last year and via her keyboardist passed along some fan art our kid made for her (he's made fan art for a few musicians he likes!) and after i tagged a live photo from the venue on IG coupled with a pic of him holding the art she tracked me down and left a very sweet on the photo for him.

*a very sweet comment

wholesome!

omg omar