11. KALI UCHIS – ISOLATION[...]Why It Rules: Every song on this album is a banger, and there are 15 songs on the record. Aptly titled, Isolation makes for one hell of a solo dance party. Uchis’ voice is gold, her attitude is fierce, her writing and perspective and lyricism are one of a kind. The artist makes use of brilliant production, savvy sampling, and a kick-ass roster of guest vocalists to lend endless textures and vibrancy to her wildly creative sound. And she maintains cohesive emotional themes about being alone (even around other people) that land with elegant authenticity. –Kayleigh Hughes
[...]
Why It Rules: Every song on this album is a banger, and there are 15 songs on the record. Aptly titled, Isolation makes for one hell of a solo dance party. Uchis’ voice is gold, her attitude is fierce, her writing and perspective and lyricism are one of a kind. The artist makes use of brilliant production, savvy sampling, and a kick-ass roster of guest vocalists to lend endless textures and vibrancy to her wildly creative sound. And she maintains cohesive emotional themes about being alone (even around other people) that land with elegant authenticity. –Kayleigh Hughes
Checking out this LP, based on the above from Consequence of Sound. The blurb doesn't seem to describe the album very well... very few of these tracks are "bangers" (that's not a value judgement; these just aren't "banger"-type songs). The album is light, and pleasant enough; it has a throwback trip-hop/neo-soul vibe in some spots, and a more modern feel in others. But...
― underqualified backing vocalist (morrisp), Monday, 3 December 2018 20:45 (five years ago) link
This is not good blurb writing
Why It Rules: On a personal level, Sivan is an active member of the LGBTQ+ community; he’s paid homage to queer pioneers before him, repeatedly spoken up about the importance of being true to yourself, and even stars in Boy Erased, a new film about conversion therapy. He approaches his music the same way — Sivan both understands pop’s history and context and his specific place within it.He cites High School Musical and Grease as influences, but also engages with Carly Rae Jepsen producers and The Knife’s experimental catalog to marry old and new and bend boundaries. He sings about the timeless topics of love, sex, and relationships, but through his own lens (heck, opening track “Seventeen” is all about hooking up with older men on Grindr).Bloom isn’t a flawless record, but it’s Sivan’s big personality personified and certainly the album to justify calling the 23-year-old artist a queer pop icon.
He cites High School Musical and Grease as influences, but also engages with Carly Rae Jepsen producers and The Knife’s experimental catalog to marry old and new and bend boundaries. He sings about the timeless topics of love, sex, and relationships, but through his own lens (heck, opening track “Seventeen” is all about hooking up with older men on Grindr).
Bloom isn’t a flawless record, but it’s Sivan’s big personality personified and certainly the album to justify calling the 23-year-old artist a queer pop icon.
― underqualified backing vocalist (morrisp), Monday, 3 December 2018 20:55 (five years ago) link
god forbid these lists would overhype dull or otherwise mediocre music
― imago, Monday, 3 December 2018 20:56 (five years ago) link
Like the Wire's list this year. Nice to see Senyawa''s 'Squid' record get some love on a list - that record is really dope.
― BlackIronPrison, Monday, 3 December 2018 21:05 (five years ago) link
it's a run of the mill blend of S Reich/Prince/Brazilian Music/AACM - nothing to see.
― calzino, Monday, December 3, 2018 3:07 PM (fifty-two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
ha well done, I am extremely curious about this now
― rob, Monday, 3 December 2018 21:12 (five years ago) link
the Eiko Ishibashi from The Wire list is beautiful
Hm, yeah, this is pretty cool a few tracks in. I wonder if there's a translation of the lyrics somewhere.
― jmm, Monday, 3 December 2018 21:14 (five years ago) link
soty is bitch I’m a cow
― single bed mentality (||||||||), Monday, 3 December 2018 22:19 (five years ago) link
^ finally someone gets it
― josh az (2011nostalgia), Monday, 3 December 2018 23:05 (five years ago) link
that year where the wire had '56 nights' and 'dirty sprite 2' is such a weird anomaly for them taste-wise, i take that maybe just as deference to noz?
feel like yves tumor dropping from top ten to number 50 is a direct result of his 'mainstreaming' via pitchfork lol
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 01:20 (five years ago) link
pretty funny they had "The Life of Pablo" also
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 01:21 (five years ago) link
I like the "doom/metal folk" description of Senyawa, and that it was released on Sublime Frequencies. looking forward to hearing it
― Dan S, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 01:42 (five years ago) link
Safe in the Hands of Love is one of the best records of the year however the Wire rates it
― Dan S, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 01:50 (five years ago) link
Interesting, that Musicophilia list has a TON of albums I've been digging this year (and is closest to what I'll eventually submit here), and every other list is barren or has 1-3 I even recognize. WTF― octobeard
― octobeard
I'm a little bummed the Musicophilia list is apparently such an outlier, especially re: Nenneh Cherry, Roy Kinsey, Serpentwithfeet, Saba. . . I'm not saying I didn't miss a lot, but these are so great it's just a shame they won't get the attention these lists bring.
― Soundslike, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 02:11 (five years ago) link
Low (and maybe Neneh Cherry) aside, the Musicophilia top ten definitely feels like a statement about where they feel the energy and excitement is right now, though of the relevant records the only one that will end up in my top ten is Roy Kinsey.
The response to the Lotic album has seemed strangely muted compared to all the hype he was getting previously?
― Tim F, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 02:22 (five years ago) link
Lotic - Power is incredible, like the Objekt album it's so out there it's hard to absorb
― Dan S, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 02:48 (five years ago) link
xps Senyawa is excellent, recommended. unperson was the first person I heard talk about them and then someone else recommended their recent 10" which is on Bandcamp
― sleeve, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 04:08 (five years ago) link
Gorilla vs. Bear: http://www.gorillavsbear.net/gorilla-vs-bears-albums-of-2018/
01 TIRZAH | Devotion02 HELENA DELAND | From the Series of Songs “Altogether Unaccompanied” Vol. I – IV 03 ROSALÍA | El Mal Querer04 AMEN DUNES | Freedom05 ROBYN | Honey06 EARL SWEATSHIRT | Some Rap Songs07 ARIANA GRANDE | Sweetener08 GROUPER | Grid of Points09 BELLA BOO | Fire10 CAROLINE SAYS | No Fool Like an Old Fool11 TESS ROBY | Beacon12 JULIA HOLTER | Aviary13 DJ HEALER | Nothing 2 Loose14 CHANNEL TRES | Channel Tres15 CINDY LEE | Model Express16 SOPHIE | OIL OF EVERY PEARL’s UN-INSIDES17 MR TWIN SISTER | Salt18 TIERRA WHACK | Whack World19 SUN JUNE | Years20 PLAYBOI CARTI | Die Lit21 THE SAMPS | Breakfast22 SMERZ | Have fun23 LENA RAINE | Celeste (original soundtrack)24 NU GUINEA | Nuova Napoli25 BEACH HOUSE | 726 U.S. GIRLS | In a Poem Unlimited27 DJRUM | Portrait with Firewood28 PYNKIE | Neoteny29 OKLOU | The Rite of May30 GIA MARGARET | There’s Always Glimmer
― monotony, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 04:59 (five years ago) link
we talked about it a little above, I like that list
want to hear the earl sweatshirt
― Dan S, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 05:13 (five years ago) link
its crazy to be not even that deep in rap discourse & then check these critic lists & see how differently its translating to critics
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 05:21 (five years ago) link
it really feels like a complete aesthetic backpedal from the early 2010s but i guess soundcloud rap will do that
xps ah oops I did a Ctrl+F for Tirzah rather than the name of the site
― monotony, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 05:35 (five years ago) link
https://medium.com/@joshuacopperman1/what-your-favorite-album-of-2018-says-about-you-1e076340217b
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 05:43 (five years ago) link
You’ve been screaming internally and externally since like around puberty.
Wrong. Only internally.
― Dinsdale, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 05:56 (five years ago) link
xp D-40 are you talking about the earl sweatshirt? isn't that record supposed to be about a particular vibe (haven't heard it yet)
― Dan S, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 05:58 (five years ago) link
i think the earl album is pretty good, or at least is aesthetically distinct ... the thing i'm noticing is a major retreat from charting rap, club rap, regional rap, street rap, and most rap that exists in the intersection of these styles
in part i understand it ... i find the super popular ATL rap pretty boring this year, w a couple exceptions; soundcloud obv has always been super hit or miss and that's not even counting the problematic aspects... but there's definitely been a bunch of projects (as ever) worth listening to, it just feels like critics took a big 180 away from all populist forms of the genre
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 06:08 (five years ago) link
ok I'm processing this
― Dan S, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 06:27 (five years ago) link
Good to see Cucina Povera getting a place in The Wire's list
― paolo, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 09:09 (five years ago) link
14. Proc Fiskal - Insula
Oh wow someone actually repping for this, endearingly playful melodic eskibleep stuff, Dizzee and Wiley cut-ups interspersed with random aggy Scottish vocal samples.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 09:45 (five years ago) link
I feel kind of weird how hard my taste in weird music and Wire's have diverged so utterly
How many of the 50 records on that list have you heard?
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 09:53 (five years ago) link
imago is someone else who needs to hear the vessel record they had on their list tbh
https://open.spotify.com/album/4wVHohBynJ5eFHw6Cc1WzD
― my name is leee john, for we are many (NickB), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 09:57 (five years ago) link
think jordan popped it up over on the experimental electronica thread
good album that
― nxd, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 10:01 (five years ago) link
I found that Vessel record super-frustrating, maybe I've heard one too many albums of hypercompressed electronic noises being crashed into one another, but I kept findind myself craving another one of the weird choral interludes.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 10:03 (five years ago) link
in a way it kind of reminded me of the maximalism of that rustie album from way back when but with faux baroque madrigals instead of wonky space war noises. personally i love the balance of its beauty and its physicality, but yes you do have to be in the mood for a bit of a bruising
― my name is leee john, for we are many (NickB), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 10:10 (five years ago) link
The Quietus list is up - http://thequietus.com/articles/25755-albums-of-the-year-2018
1: Gazelle Twin - Pastoral2: Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids - An Angel Fell 3: Insecure Men - Insecure Men 4: Suede - The Blue Hour5: Objekt - Cocoon Crush6: ILL - We Are Ill7: Sons of Kemet - Your Queen Is A Reptile8: Low - Double Negative9: Audiobooks - Now. (In A Minute)10: Årabrot - Who Do You Love11: Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer12: Hen Ogledd - Mogic13: Daughters - You Won’t Get What You Want14: Marie Davidson - Working Class Woman15: Pusha T - Daytona16: Tropical Fuck Storm - A Laughing Death In Meatspace17: Chris Carter - CCCL Volume One18: Hawthonn - Red Goddess (Of This Men Shall Know Nothing)19: Blawan - Wet Will Always Dry20: Julia Holter - Aviary21: Panopticon - The Scars Of Man On The Once Nameless Wilderness22: Senyawa - Sujud23: Grouper - Grid Of Points24: Gábor Lázár - Unfold25: Erland Cooper - Solan Goose26: Eric Chenaux - Slowly Paradise27: Planningtorock - Powerhouse28: SOPHIE - Oil Of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides29: Todd Barton - Multum In Parvo30: The Yossarians - Ambition Will Eat Itself31: Jenny Hval - The Long Sleep32: Laibach - The Sound Of Music33: Aidan Moffat and RM Hubbert - Here Lies The Body34: Mouse On Mars - Dimensional People35: Skee Mask - Compro36: Gabe Gurnsey - Physical37: Laura Cannell - Reckoning38: Yves Tumor - Safe In The Hands Of Love39: Szun Waves - New Hymn To Freedom40: GNOD - Chapel Perilous41: Blocks & Escher - Something Blue42: 700 Bliss - Spa 70043: Tirzah - Devotion44: Guttersnipe - My Mother The Vent45: The Caretaker - Everywhere At The End Of Time V46: Kali Uchis - Isolation47: Bruce - Sonder Somatic48: Alexander Tucker - The Look Away49: Alison Cotton - All Is Quiet At The Ancient Theatre50: Deena Abdelwahed - Khonnar51: Pig Destroyer - Head Cage52: Eartheater - Irisiri53: Goat Girl - Goat Girl54: Cardi B - Invasion Of Privacy55: Ben Vince - Assimilation56: Bas Jan - Yes I Jan57: тпсб - Sekundenschlaf58: Darren Hayman - Thankful Villages Vol III59: Cucina Povera - Hilja60: Big Joanie - Sistah61: Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch62: Synth Sisters - Euphoria (WAV)63: AJA - AJA64: The Body - I Have Fought Against It, But Can’t Any Longer65: Manni Dee - The Residue66: Rezzett - Rezzett67: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - King Of Cowards68: The Armed - Only Love69: Helena Hauff - Qualm70: Jake Muir - Lady’s Mantle71: ZULI - Terminal72: Primitive Knot - Thee Opener Of The Way73: Melting Hand - Faces Of Earth74: Miss Red - K.O.75: Vanishing Twin - Magic And Machines76: Lucrecia Dalt - Anticlines77: East Man - Red, White And Zero78: JPEGMAFIA - Veteran79: Warmduscher - Whale City80: Xenony - Polish Space Program81: Lotic - Power82: Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet - Landfall83: Gaika - Basic Volume84: Jerusalem In My Heart - Daqa’iq Tudaiq85: Ian William Craig - Thresholder86: AMOR - Sinking Into A Miracle87: Bliss Signal - Bliss Signal88: Dizzy Fae - Free Form89: Drew McDowall - The Third Helix90: Capitol K - Goatherder91: Nonpareils - Scented Pictures92: Richard Skelton - Front Variations I & II93: Creep Show - Mr Dynamite94; BROCKHAMPTON - iridescence95: David Terry - Sorrow96: Gwenno - Le Kov97: Hailu Mergia - Lala Belu98: Anthroprophh - Omegaville99: Simian Mobile Disco - Murmurations100: Maryam Saleh, Maurice Louca and Tamer Abu Ghazaleh - Lekhfa
― paolo, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 10:39 (five years ago) link
No Autechre o_O
Great list though, as always, and plenty to check out still.
― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 10:42 (five years ago) link
yeh always like going through tQ list
― nxd, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 10:47 (five years ago) link
What on earth is Suede doing that high on that list
― resident hack (Simon H.), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 10:56 (five years ago) link
Because it's an excellent album, obviously.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 11:04 (five years ago) link
theyre one of the groups that the quietus have long had a soft spot for despite the way their taste usually skews, but that's high even considering that
― ufo, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 11:07 (five years ago) link
The album is fine and all but sheesh
nice to see my boys and girls at 16
― resident hack (Simon H.), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 11:16 (five years ago) link
Dutch music magazine OOR (based on individual lists from their writers but also music journalists from newspapers and radio etc.)
1. Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer2. Low – Double Negative3. Kali Uchis – Isolation4. Christine And The Queens – Chris5. Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino6. Idles – Joy As An Act Of Resistance7. Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour8. Kamasi Washington – Heaven And Earth9. The Ex – 27 Passports10. Jon Hopkins – Singularity
― Joris Stereo, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 11:19 (five years ago) link
yay for the ex.
― nxd, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 11:29 (five years ago) link
many xps to morrisp those are both horrible blurbs indeed
― niels, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 12:15 (five years ago) link
The Ringer's best albums: https://www.theringer.com/music/2018/12/4/18124867/best-albums-2018
10. Action Bronson - White Bronco9. Pistol Annies - Interstate Gospel8. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Sparkle Hard7. Smino, Noir6. Nils Frahm, All Melody5. Janelle Monáe, Dirty Computer4. Vince Staples, FM.3. Soccer Mommy, Clean2. Pusha T, Daytona1. Cardi B, Invasion of Privacy
― galaxy brian (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 14:10 (five years ago) link
Hot Press - Top 20 Tracks of the Yearhttps://www.hotpress.com/music/hot-press-tracks-year-2018-22763113
1. Childish Gambino - This Is America2. Gorillaz - Humility (ft George Benson)3. St Vincent - Fast Slow Disco4. Hozier - Nina Cried Power5. Versatile - Ketamine6. George Ezra - Shotgun7. Janelle Monáe - Make Me Feel8. Arctic Monkeys - Four Out Of Five9. Saint Sister - Twin Peaks10. Fontaines DC - Boys In The Better Land11. Sorcha Richardson - Can’t We Pretend12. Villagers - A Trick of the Light13. Snow Patrol - Don’t Give In14. Hudson Taylor - Old Soul15. Dermot Kennedy - An Evening I Will Not Forget16. Lana Del Rey - Venice Bitch17. Sigrid - Sucker Punch18. Picture This - When We Were Young19. Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper - Shallow20. Dua Lipa - IDGAF
― my name is leee john, for we are many (NickB), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 14:12 (five years ago) link
be fun to have a tracks list that doesn't have this is america at the top. and i like this is america
― imago, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 14:16 (five years ago) link
*looks again at that list* actually wait no this is america needs to be at the top of that, it is indiana jones surrounded by crocs
― imago, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 14:17 (five years ago) link
ah bloody hell i totally forgot about guttersnipe and grouper. both solid releases.
― meaulnes, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 14:20 (five years ago) link
the gorilla vs bear list is very good. or at least heavily resembles mine
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 14:23 (five years ago) link
Snow Patrol released a record this year? Then again I somehow managed to forget about the weird Justin Timberlake fake-country album that came out this year.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 14:51 (five years ago) link