Underrated records 2018

Mih-Ty!!

Maybe new objekt ...

as per usual, most of the albums I have enjoyed this year are unloved.

the black dog - post truth/black daisy wheel
kenneth james gibson - fields of nothing
blood wine and honey - fear & celebration
oddzoo - future flesh
microfilm - cherry amore
fahrland - mixtape volume #1
thomas fehland - lagos
gui boratto - pentagram
gost - possessor
john tejada - dead start program
master boot record - direct memory access
hollywood burns - invaders
chrome sparks - s/t
jacco gardner - somnium
l'enfant de la foret - strangled

also the soho rezanejad LP is so amazing

Roy Montgomery's Suffuse is new to me and quite beautiful. He's got different vocalists on each track (including Circuit des Yeux, Grouper, Purple Pilgrims, Julianna Barwick) singing over some multi-tracked ambient guitar soundscapes. Perfect Northern Hemisphere December listening.

I'll second NA's above endorsement of the EXEK and Exploded View records.

Haven't seen much EOY hype on the following:
State Champion - Send Flowers (calling all Silver Jews fans)
Thee Open Sex - White Horses (single-minded Krauty psych done right)
Primo! - Amici (charming ramshackle indie-pop from Australia)
Constant Mongrel - Living in Excellence (more Aussies, fans of the punkier side of
Total Control would dig)

I was gonna mention Constant Mongrel

some other stuff I've liked from this year that I haven't seen mentioned:

Beta Blockers - Stiff Prescription
Candy - Good To Feel
Life Fucker - Z
Permission - Drawing Breath Through A Hole In The Ground
Shopping - The Official Body
Snob - Snob

and Bib - A Band In Hardcore which is a comp of singles etc from before 2018 but is excellent snotty hc punk

I really dug the Lonnie Holley record on my first listen, cool stuff, reminds me of Van Morrison's more amorphous side with a healthy dose of Lonnie Liston Smith vocal styles

plus "I Woke Up In A Fucked Up America" is one of the year's best song titles

may be that it's just a more digestible amount but the new E-40, gift of the gab, has become my favourite of his in a minute

The Rezzett LP is not on very many lists so I guess it's underrated. Really thought it'd be on the FACT list.

Hollow Hand - Star Chamber

It’s arguable that Hollow Hand’s first full release trumps the lot; an assured, inspired record that mixes English eccentricism, glorious pop, folk and psych, and which matches Ray Davies at his best. It’s that good.
https://www.thefourohfive.com/music/review/review-hollow-hand-find-a-blissful-melodic-balance-on-star-chamber-154

Sums it up well enough for me. My favorite release of the year.

― afriendlypioneer, Friday, December 7, 2018 2:35 PM (one week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I like this one. Thanks for the tip

Die Nerven - Fake
German tuneful punk from Stuttgart. The loudest concert I have ever been to. Ferocious hypnotic stuff.

keysha’s “stop it”

diana gordon’s “wolverine”

Amanda Shires - To The Sunset

keysha’s “stop it”

100% otm

agreed, but isn't it from like ~1990 or something?

one of my favourites is this cheeky bassline banger from sharda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqC1RtSIdRI

also this song is incredible imo but no-one is talking about it or the album it came from...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRbR7qKcZrM

Fatima - Westside

Gouge Away- Burnt Sugar
https://gougeawayfl.bandcamp.com/

Self Defense Family - Have You Considered Punk Music
https://selfdefensefamily.bandcamp.com/album/have-you-considered-punk-music

Closer - All This Will Be
https://closernyc.bandcamp.com/

agreed, but isn't it from like ~1990 or something?

Plus not sure it's really underrated as it's got lots of love from the Balearic (and connected) communities

$320 for an original copy on discogs ugh

Hilary Woods - Colt

Jack Drag - 2018

the amen dunes guy kinda lost me with that new one, surprised people think it's his breakthrough. still think 'love' is their best

― global tetrahedron, Friday, December 7, 2018 1:55 PM (two weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm, i also think he's pushing the goat warble vocals to the breaking point and like i just can't vibe with it

not all the way through the record yet, but the debut full-length by the babe rainbow ("double rainbow") out of AUS is sounding very good to my ears! subdued, good hooks, mellow mood, interesting textures, less '60s worship-y than they get credit for, just very enjoyable, pleasant, MOR indie rock. which isn't a diss at all.

recommended if you are flappy bird

:)

https://thebaberainbow.bandcamp.com/

And on a totally different tip the Catherine christer hennix is a nice spooky slice of fucked up just intonation noodling

R.Seiliog - Megadoze is nice if you need a 'doze' of some ambient, minimal techno. I've been aware of hm for a couple years, but wasn't aware he had a new release in 2018--November 2018. Looks like it even got reviewed by a couple outlets. I think it's a pretty good record that could've hit a wider audience, but that name! I get some early MOM vibes from this, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4VnSt1BVVU

The Roves LP is flying way under the radar, but it's the best jangle-rock album I've heard in a long while:

https://theroves.bandcamp.com/album/the-roves-lp

And on a totally different tip the Catherine christer hennix is a nice spooky slice of fucked up just intonation noodling

― Vapor waif (uptown churl), Thursday, December 27, 2018 7:07 AM (four weeks ago)

Catherine Christer Hennix yes yes

the No Age record

Miss Red - K.O.

which I only found a couple of days ago. This album is amazing, surprised that there is almost no mention of it anywhere on ilx. I guess this is something like techno industrial dancehall, I don't know I've never been very good at adequately describing music.

I haven't heard that album yet, but I know one of her earlier mixtapes and that sounds about right. There should probably be a dedicated thread for mutant dancehall / descendants of The Bug; Gaika seems well liked out in the non-ilm world too

Big Kitty: "...A Legend in the Field of Entertainment" - https://letspretendrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/big-kitty-a-legend-in-the-field-of-entertainment-tape
La Mecanica Popular: "Roza Cruz" - https://nyctrust.bandcamp.com/album/roza-cruz
Koenjihyakkei: "Dhorimviskha" - https://koenjihyakkei.bandcamp.com/album/dhorimviskha
Jon Hassell: "Listening to Pictures" - https://jonhassell.bandcamp.com/album/listening-to-pictures-pentimento-volume-one
Hailu Mergia: "Lala Belu" - https://hailumergia.bandcamp.com/album/lala-belu

oooh, that mecanica popular record is indeed good!