ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2018

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.