2018 Albums • Page 14

June

123. mouse on the keys - tres ++
124. kimi no orphee - you inhale, I exhale ++
125. lyrical school - world's end ++
126. Ai Higuchi - hibi rinrin ++
127. the elephant kashimashi - wake up *
128. Sonoko Inoue - mine (mini album) +
129. Sakura Fujiwara - green (mini album) +
130. {.que} - endless journey ++
131. MAN WITH A MISSION - chasing the horizon +
132. Airi Suzuki - do me a favor ++
133. SECONDWALL - beautiful lie ++
134. yeti let you notice - ori, kodomotati ++
135. Doctrine Doctrine - Darlington +

 

187. Panic! At The Disco - Pray For The Wicked (2018)
188. Teyana Taylor - K.T.S.E. (2018)
189. Vacationer - Mindset (2018)
190. Inara George - Dearest Everybody (2018)
191. Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite - No Mercy In This Land (2018)
192. Lymbyc Systym - Split Stones (2015)
193. Jay Rock - Redemption (2018)

 

June:

40. Kanye West - ye *
41. Tancred - Nightstand +
42. Anthony Green - Would You Still Be In Love? +
43. Tove Styrke - Sway +
44. Lykke Li - so sad so sexy ++
45. Playboi Carti - Die Lit *
46. Le1f - Blue Dream EP +
47. Ben Howard - Noonday Dream +
48. Kids See Ghosts - Kids See Ghosts *
49. Snail Mail - Lush ++
50. serpentwithfeet - soil +
51. Robb Bank$ - Molly World +
52. Mount Eerie - Now Only +
53. Petal - Magic Gone ++
54. Beyoncé and Jay-Z - EVERYTHING IS LOVE +
55. SOPHIE - OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES +
56. Natalie Prass - The Future and the Past +
57. TT - LoveLaws +
58. Freddie Gibbs - Freddie ++
59. Death Grips - Year of the Snitch +
60. Rico Nasty - Nasty +
61. Teyana Taylor - K.T.S.E. +
62. Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch +
63. Jay Rock - Redemption +
64. Drake - Scorpion +
65. Gorillaz - The Now Now +

 

Everything new I listened to in June...

1.) "ye" by Kanye West
2.) "Angelic 2 the Core" by Corey Feldman
3.) "Viva la Vida, or: Death and All His Friends" by Coldplay
4.) "Because the Internet" by Childish Gambino
5.) "Machina: The Machines of God" by Smashing Pumpkins
6.) "Prospekt's March" by Coldplay
7.) "(I am) Origami, Pt. 2: Every Power Wide Awake" by John Van Deusen
8.) "Devil May Care" by Annisokay
9.) "Kaleidoscope" by Coldplay
10.) "Awaken, My Love!" by Childish Gambino
11.) "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!" by The Eels
12.) "Machina II: The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music" by Smashing Pumpkins
13.) "Kids See Ghosts" by Kids See Ghosts
14.) "Imperfect Harmonies" by Serj Tankian
15.) "Artificial Selection" by Dance Gavin Dance
16.) "At War with the Mystics" by The Flaming Lips
17.) "Zeitgeist" by Smashing Pumpkins
18.) "Teargarden by Kaleidoscope, Vol. 1: Songs for a Sailor" by Smashing Pumpkins
19.) "Ultrarare" by Hundredth
20.) "Nasir" by Nas
21.) "Daytona" by Pusha T
22.) "Teargarden by Kaleidoscope, Vol. 2: The Solstice Bare" by Smashing Pumpkins
23.) "Orca" by Serj Tankian
24.) "Live at Town Hall" by The Eels
25.) "Harakiri" by Serj Tankian
26.) "Shifted" by Knuckle Puck
27.) "Bad Witch" by Nine Inch Nails
28.) "Pray for the Wicked" by Panic! at the Disco
29.) "Post Traumatic" by Mike Shinoda
30.) "The Hurt Will Go On" by Code Orange
31.) "Errorzone" by Vein
32.) "Petaluma" by This Wild Life
33.) "Less Noise" by The Maine
34.) "The Now Now" by Gorillaz
35.) "Elect the Dead Symphony" by Serj Tankian
36.) "Oceania" by Smashing Pumpkins
37.) "Sunday Brunch" by Chapel

 

June update.

 

June. Family & Friends and morgxn are the two big highlights for me.

Mid year update. Top 20 are bolded.

 

June in Review:
This month was bookended by projects from my two favorite rappers that disappointed me in predictable ways. Though their albums are complete opposites in form, functionally both Kanye and Drake indulge their worst tendencies to create subpar additions to their catalogs.

Right off the bat, Kanye's sloppiest rollout yet led to his most slapdash (and worst) album to date. Though I can appreciate how his album ye tried to touch on themes of how mental health has affected his life and marriage, the perfectionist craftsmanship that he's known for has been completely set aside in favor of "first thought, best thought" patchwork that's defined his last 5+ years of music making. It's disappointing songwriting from someone who was on an incredible run, and it's made worse by how stellar his production run has been for all 5 of the Wyoming projects. Every great artist has a fallow period, hopefully his ends soon.

While ye was over and done with in 22 minutes, Drake's double album Scorpion seemed to err on the side of quality over quantity with a runtime more than 4 times that. There's a ton of good-to-great music on it, especially his flirtations with bounce music, but (as we already knew) 25 songs is just wayyyyy too much at once from this man. (Here's my one-disc "summer version" edit.) On a perhaps-too-personal note: Drizzy can tack on whatever lyrics he wants to about his child, but it's pretty clear from the self-centeredness on display throughout Scorpion that there's no way he thought that information would come out. As a result, the majority of the songs feel like he's retreading emotional ground that's been completely worn out, all while he had the opportunity to push the boundaries of his topic matter.

Ultimately, the most fruitful of the Wyoming projects was the album that got the least attention. Teyana Taylor's K.T.S.E. is a monster of a project, with Taylor showing off an incredible voice and personality over lush soul production. Some of the songs suffer from Wyoming-itis (I firmly believe that "Gonna Love Me" could have been a modern R&B classic with a true second verse), but they're a warm introduction to an artist who could be on the same level as SZA if she were given the resources.

Midway through the year and it's fair to say that 2018 has been uncommonly generous with new music. So many incredible albums came from all corners, and just keeping up has been a project of its own. I don't believe that ANY of the albums in my Top 20 (see below) were on my radar as possible EOTY contenders as of January 1, which says a lot about the quality of discoveries. Hopefully you'll find some you like as well, and here's to the next 6 months of the year!

Top 2018 albums of the month:
Teyana Taylor, Natalie Prass, Petal

Recommended Songs I discovered this month:
Dan + Shay - "Stupid Love"
Teyana Taylor - "Gonna Love Me"
Charli XCX - "No Angel"
Mitski - "Nobody"
Petal - "I'm Sorry"

Favorite 20 Albums at Mid-Year
1. Soccer Mommy - Clean
2. Father John Misty - God's Favorite Customer
3. Lucy Dacus - Historian
4. Field Report - Summertime Songs
5. Caroline Rose - LONER
6. Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour
---
7. Teyana Taylor - K.T.S.E.
8. Wooden Shjips - V.
9. Brothers Osborne - Port Saint Joe
10. Brian Fallon - Sleepwalkers
11. Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy
12. Natalie Prass - The Future and The Past
13. Charlie Puth - Voicenotes
14. Petal - Magic Gone
---
15. Mt. Joy - Mt. Joy
16. Fickle Friends - You Are Someone Else
17. Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer
18. Camp Cope - How To Socialise & Make Friends
19. Snail Mail - Lush
20. American Pleasure Club - a whole fucking lifetime of this[

 

Teyana was my favorite of the 5. Definitely a gem.

 

June

123. mouse on the keys - tres ++
124. kimi no orphee - you inhale, I exhale ++
125. lyrical school - world's end ++
126. Ai Higuchi - hibi rinrin ++
127. the elephant kashimashi - wake up *
128. Sonoko Inoue - mine (mini album) ++
129. Sakura Fujiwara - green (mini album) +
130. {.que} - endless journey ++
131. MAN WITH A MISSION - chasing the horizon +
132. Airi Suzuki - do me a favor ++
133. SECONDWALL - beautiful lie ++
134. yeti let you notice - ori, kodomotati ++
135. Doctrine Doctrine - Darlington +

July

136. Now, Now - saved +
137. Tancred - nightstand +
138. Petal - magic gone +
139. McCafferty - yarn +

 

june

mid-year top 10 by release order:

Jeff Rosenstock – POST-
Fall Out Boy – MANIA
Judas Priest – FIREPOWER
Pianos Become the Teeth – Wait For Love
Vance Joy – Nation of Two
Kali Uchis – Isolation
Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer
CHVRCHES – Love Is Dead
BTS – Love Yourself: Tear
Panic! At the Disco – Pray for the Wicked

this might just be my worst year for music ever -- not because the releases have been bad, but because i've had trouble connecting with most stuff on an emotional level. no idea why. send help

 

Mid-year top ten:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Father John Misty - “God’s Favorite Customer”

BEST OF THE REST
Against All Logic - 2012-2017
MGMT - Little Dark Age
The Sidekicks - Happiness Hours
Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog
Soccer Mommy - Clean
Jeff Rosenstock - POST—
Bahamas - Earthtones
Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy
Porches - The House

 

My Favorite Albums of 2018 So Far

1. Kids See Ghosts - S/T
2. SOPHIE - Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides
3. Let's Eat Grandma - I'm All Ears
4. Pusha T - Daytona
5. The Voidz - Virtue
6. Beach House - 7
7. Jorja Smith - Lost & Found
8. Florence + The Machine - High as Hope
9. The Weeknd - My Dear Melancholy,
10. Natalie Prass - The Future and the Past

It hurt to omit Janelle Monae, Royce and Phonte. It's been a pretty damn good year so far.

 

update

 

194. Ziggy Marley - Rebellion Rises (2018)
195. Death Grips - Year of the Snitch (2018)
196. Kindo - Happy Ever After (2018)
197. Drake - Scorpion (2018)
198. Florence + The Machine - High As Hope (2018)
199. Gorillaz - The Now Now (2018)
200. serpentwithfeet - soil (2018)
201. Lights - Scorpion Side B (2018)
202. Aerosmith - Pump (1989)
203. M. Ward - What A Wonderful Industry (2018)
204. The B-52's - Cosmic Thing (1989)
205. Bazzi - Cosmic (2018)
206. Sigrid - Raw (2018)
207. The Venus Project - Vol. 1 (2018)
208. King Princess - Make My Bed (2018)
209. Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)

 

140. Hotel New Tokyo - Bison EP +
141. MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS - no new world ++
142. Daichi Miura - Kyutai ++
143. guitarsisyo - a day in the girls life ++
144. Plot Scraps - vital signs +
145. CY8ER - hello new generation +
146. Mikako Komatsu - personal terminal +
147. ZOMBIE-CHANG - petit petit petit +
148. tio - tiny island orchestra ++
149. callme - please callme! -20152018- +
150. WEDNESDAY CAMPANELLA - Galapagos ++

 

210. Fitness - Karate (2018)
211. Dirty Projectors - Lamp Lit Prose (2018)
212. Freddie Gibbs - Freddie (2018)
213. Wet - Still Run (2018)
214. Prince - Batman (1989)

 

Quarter 3 2018

July

145. Captain - Fog Lake *
146. Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love ++
147. Real Friends - Composure ++
148. Dirty Projectors - Lamp Lit Prose +
149. Hopesfall - Arbiter *
150. Wet - Still Run +
151. Dollar Signs - This Will Haunt Me +
152. Wild Pink - Yolk in the Fur *
153. Denzel Curry - TA13OO +

August

154. Deaf Havana - RITUALS *
155. YG - STAY DANGEROUS *
156. Another Michael - Land - EP +
157. Bad Bad Hats - Lightning Round +
158. Foxing - Nearer My God ++
159. mewithoutYou - [Untitled] E.P. ++
160. Mitski - Be the Cowboy ++
161. Death Cab for Cutie - Thank You for Today*
162. Ariana Grande - Sweetener *
163. Fall Out Boy - Lake Effect Kid ++
164. Murder By Death - The Other Shore +
165. HONNE - Love Me/Love Me Not ++
166. Blood Orange - Negro Swan +
167. Big Red Machine - Big Red Machine ++
168. Alien Boy - Sleeping Lessons +
169. Muncie Girls - Fixed Ideals +
170. Alkaline Trio - Is This Thing Cursed? *

September

171. The Night Game - The Night Game ++
172. Ruston Kelly - Dying Star +
173. Boston Manor - Welcome to the Neighborhood *
174. Paul McCartney - Egypt Station +
175. Swamp Dogg - Love, Loss, and Autotune +
176. Joey Purp - Quarterthing ++
177. Spiritualized - And Nothing Hurt *
178. Noname - Room 25 +
179. Thrice - Palms +
180. The Dirty Nil - Master Volume ++
181. The Spirit Of The Beehive - Hypnic Jerks +
182. Emma Ruth Rundle - On Dark Horses +
183. BROCKHAMPTON - iridescence ++
184. Joyce Manor - Million Dollars to Kill Me +

 

I may have fallen extremely behind just a little bit. Oops. That's only up through March listed. Here's to fucking up.

 

New Meg Myers album is up on spotify, and as much as I liked her debut, this album is that much better.

 

fav of 2018 so far

Shinya Fukumori Trio - For 2 Akis
A Needle Under A Nail - The Third Impact
Tomb Mold - Manor of Infinite Forms
Terekke - Improvisational Loops
SeeYouSpaceCowboy - SGKF Split
Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour
Between the Buried and Me - Automata
Foreign Hands - Summer '18 Promo
Ihsahn - Ámr
Immortal - Northern Chaos Gods
Skeleton - Pyramid of Skulls 7"
Sugai Ken - Tele-n-Tech-Da
Emerson Kitamura - The Countryside is Great
Hopesfall - Arbiter
XOR Gate - Conic Sections
Of Feather And Bone - Bestial Hymns of Perversion

 

215. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Mother's Milk (1989)
216. Punch Brothers - All Ashore (2018)
217. The Spill Canvas - Hivemind (2018)

 

Big update to catch myself up. On pace for my biggest year since college.

 

218. Denzel Curry - TA13OO (2018)
219. Stevie Nicks - Rock A Little (1985)
220. Found Wild - Found Wild (2018)
221. Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever (1989)
222. Underworld - Change The Weather (1989)
223. XTC - Oranges and Lemons (1989)
224. Stevie Nicks - the Other Side of the Mirror (1989)

 

Everything new I listened to in July...

1.) "Warped Tour 2018 Tour Compilation" by Various Artists
2.) "Slip" by Quicksand
3.) "X & Y" by Coldplay
4.) "Monuments to an Elegy" by Smashing Pumpkins
5.) "December" by River Becomes Ocean
6.) "A Rush of Blood to the Head" by Coldplay
7.) "Keep That Same Energy" by Teyana Taylor
8.) "Manic Compression" by Quicksand
9.) "Parachutes" by Coldplay
10.) "Fragile Future" by Hawthorne Heights
11.) "Foo Fighters" by Foo Fighters
12.) "Interiors" by Quicksand
13.) "Triptych Continuum" by Quicksand
14.) "Beautiful Ruin" by Converge
15.) "The Color and the Shape" by Foo Fighters
16.) "LANY" by LANY
17.) "One by One" by Foo Fighters
18.) "The Dusk in Us" by Converge
19.) "The Dethalbum" by Dethklok
20.) "You Fail Me" by Converge
21.) "In Your Honor" by Foo Fighters
22.) "Who We Are" by Descendents
23.) "The Slim Shady LP" by Eminem
24.) "Skin and Bones" by Foo Fighters
25.) "No Heroes" by Converge
26.) "Dethalbum II" by Dethklok
27.) "The Marshall Mathers LP" by Eminem
28.) "Axe to Fall" by Converge
29.) "Wasting Light" by Foo Fighters
30.) "Dethalbum III" by Dethklok

 

July:

66. Future - BEASTMODE 2 +
67. Rome Fortune and Toro y Moi - Toro y Rome Vol. 1 EP +
68. Wet - Still Run +
69. Birds in Row - We Already Lost the World +
70. Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love +
71. The Internet - Hive Mind +
72. Denzel Curry + TA13OO +
73. Santigold - I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions +