The Spin Room's Top 50 Albums of 2018

There comes a time at the end of the year around Thanksgiving when most major music publications start to release their AOTY lists. Thankfully, The Spin Room is not one of those major publications and we can spend more time on more albums. That said, here is The Spin Room's top 50 albums of 2018. #50 Artist: Guided by Voices Album: Space Gun Genre: Indie Rock Bob Pollard will probably continue writing songs until his very last breath. Everything that his legendary band Guided By Voices has done the past decade is proof positive of this, from already announcing two new albums for release in 2019, to releasing two solid albums in 2017. The band has simply been one of the most prolific acts in Indie Rock history, keeping this pace up since the early 1990’s. Another thing remains though and that's Pollard’s skill at writing Indie Rock hooks, and in Space Gun this raw talent is put on full display. Space Gun feels like anything but Guided By Voices putting themselves on autopilot and it brings forward some of the bands best songwriting this decade. Songs like “In My Field” feel like they could be cuts off 80’s REM records (Murmur, Reckoning) and other songs like ‘Space Gun’ present more energy than many bands with singers under the age of 30 today could possibly manage to replicate.

#49 Artist: Snail Mail Album: Lush Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop Lush is the capstone to months of building hype behind Snail Mail perpetuated by critics at major music publications, and for good reason. Snail Mail proved themselves to be an incredibly talented group of young musicians with the release of their Slowcore influenced and strung out Indie Pop E.P Habit in 2016. Although not containing some of the more interesting songwriting elements found in Habit, Lush contains some of Snail Mail’s most personal and introspective lyricism yet and songs like ‘Heat Wave’ capture a nostalgic sound similar to the more poppy cuts off Pavement’s final album Terror Twilight. #48 Artist: Ty Segall and Freedom Band Album: Freedom's Goblin Genre: Garage Rock, Glam Rock Freedom’s Goblin marks a nuanced departure from Ty Segall’s previous material on albums such as 2016’s Garage Rock release Emotional Mugger and 2017’s self-titled album. Freedom’s Goblin still contains, especially in the last half of the record, songs typical of Ty Segall, but the first two cuts of the record ‘Fanny Dog’ and ‘Rain’ exhibit a new Glam Rock sheen upon the bare bones guitar works of his previous records. The change is very welcomed, very interesting, and presents a new stylistic direction for Ty that hopefully will be explored more in the future. #47 Artist: Dedekind Cut Album: Tahoe Genre: Ambient, Drone Tahoe as an album knows its place and knows its time. Clocking in at almost an hour long, Dedekind Cut manages to pace the nocturnal ambient pieces in such a way that their full natural beauty is allowed to blossom. Tahoe’s success comes from its development of the atmosphere that comes as a result of this, listening to it the listener is reminded of wide open spaces, cities in the early morning, or late night travel. #46 Artist: Solar Temple Album: Fertile Descent Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal, Blackgaze Fertile Decent is an intoxicating Blackgaze album laden with beautiful blast beats and a memorably heavy but ethereal atmosphere. Also present is a sharp eye to song structure-nothing lags or feels like it goes on for too long. This is remarkably impressive given the album consists of two nearly 20 minute songs. Solar Temple truly make a mark with this debut album. #45 Artist: Sylvaine Album: Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone Genre: Blackgaze The most impressive part of Sylvaine’s Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone is its ability to toe the line between a harsher version of Blackgaze and Dream Pop rather than solely relying on the drone other Blackgaze bands use to their advantage. Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone is a deeply melodic album and is accessible to people interested in Blackgaze but not ready to jump into the genre headfirst. Still, this does not diminish its capacity to deliver quite a few solid punches to the gut in the midst of its beauty. Atoms Aligned, is a tamed monster of an album. #44 Artist: Nine Inch Nails Album: Bad Witch Genre: Industrial Rock, Experimental Rock Bad Witch is the Blackstar of Nine Inch Nails’ discography, albeit it’s not a David Bowie record and Trent Reznor is not exploring the theme of his own death on the album. However, the albums do compare with each other though is their use of Jazz instrumentation amid dark, heavy, and dreary textures and sounds. For Nine Inch Nails this change in pace is welcomed and works out quite well for the band and songs like ‘Play the Goddamn Part’ are truly their most memorable and interesting this decade. #43 Artist: Tim Hecker Album: Konoyo Genre: Ambient, Electroacoustic, Drone His first release since 2016’s mildly disappointing and exceptionally tame Love Streams, Konoyo brings back the dissonant, experimental, and full bodied musical edge that Tim Hecker exhibited at the start of the decade with albums like Ravedeath, 1972 and Virgins. Unlike these two classic albums however, Konoyo spaces its use of time out to longer periods. Songs on Konoyo unravel themselves over 10 to 15 minute intervals rather than the typical five to seven of Hecker's recent work. There is a noticeable shinier production on Konoyo too, which lends a hand in creating a much more bright and staccato Ambient release. Konoyo may not be as good as Tim Hecker's material at the start of this decade, but if this is his close for the 2010’s it is a worthy addition into his discography. #42 Artist: KOAN Sound Album: Polychrome Genre: Neurohop, Drum and Bass KOAN Sound have always had the ability to release a mature album despite their Brostep routes, and Polychrome is the perfect example of that in action. Polychrome is mastered in a truly spectacular way, with sounds coming through crystal clear in an audiophile fashion and bouncing around in a fun and unique way which makes for an album that is anything but boring. Polychrome is also a warm and aquatic album as a result of its crystalline production techniques previously mentioned making it an exceptionally warm and inviting album. #41 Artist: Foghorn Album: Corona Genre: Ambient, Post-Rock, Shoegaze If one were to compare the sound of Polish musician Foghorn to anybody it would be the British Electronic and Slowcore outfit Hood. Although not in any way a carbon copy of Silent 88’ or Cold House, Corona finds it success in its ability to mingle different genres together using droning basslines and texturing them by putting in various field recordings, instruments such as acoustic guitar, and other elements which present the listener with a palate of emotive moods to choose from. #40 Artist: Free Cake For Every Creature Album: The Bluest Star Genre: Twee Pop, Lo-Fi Indie Sporting a much cleaner production than 2016’s cutesy Talking Quietly of Anything With You, Free Cake For Every Creature step up their game with The Bluest Star. The production is anything but crystal clear though, and still present is the beautiful sound of the tape hiss that made the bands previous releases so memorable, nostalgic, and twee. The Bluest Star also succeeds in keeping up the bands reputation for writing solid Indie Pop hooks, and almost every song on the record is a memorable one for the bands career. #39 Artist: Sharesprings Album: Paraparlor Genre: Twee Pop, Shoegaze In Indonesian Shoegazers Sharesprings debut album Paraparlor, the band has no trouble digging into their influences and putting an updated and more modern production twist upon memorable melody after memorable melody. The album is hardly bogged down by any form of derivativeness despite its clear mindset towards replicating old style techniques done before by other bands. Sharesprings is definitely a band to keep an eye on in the closing year of this decade and the next. #38 Artist: Ostraca Album: Enemy Genre: Emoviolence, Screamo Enemy is leagues above Ostraca’s 2017 album Last, which was marred by terrible drum production resulting in an overly metallic sounding record. Enemy however is much more cleanly produced, creating more room for the bands sheer power to break through the surface. However, for as much as Enemy brings raw emotion to the table, it also takes time to subdue itself with Post-Rock builds and interludes resulting in an end product that is incredibly well thought out and structured. #37 Artist: Gang Gang Dance Album: Kazuashita Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Indietronica Kazushita is Gang Gang Dance’s first album since 2011’s Eye Contact and was well worth the wait. Kazushita is a mind bending, winding, and summer tinged expedition into Neo-Psychedelia, taking on a massive amount of influence from the Psybient genre. The flow of the album is strong, and songs seem to flow from one to the next without much need for hard breaks. Although not as experimental as some of their early offerings, Kazushita is a wonderful addition to the Gang Gang Dance discography. #36 Artist: Hermit and the Recluse Album: Orpheus vs. the Sirens Genre: Abstract Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop Animoss and Ka bring an interesting foot forward in the world of Hip Hop with their debut collaboration album Orpheus vs. The Sirens, which is steeped in Greek mythology and produced in a similar fashion an MF Doom release. Credit should also be given to the duos tendency of favoring less rather more in terms of their delivery style, which lends a hand in creating a rap album which is to the point and anything but over bloated. #35 Artist: Luby Sparks Album: Luby Sparks Genre: Shoegaze An extremely energetic and melodic album, Tokyo based Shoegaze act Luby Spark’s debut presents a band comfortable with their craft. At 42 minutes long, Luby Sparks never seems to lose it’s untethered energy and songs like ‘Thursday’ jaunt along at a quick pace all while retaining a carefree twee vibe to them. Luby Sparks manages to draw their influences together in a unique fashion as well from Slowdive to early 2000’s Pop Punk and Midwest Emo to 2010’s DIY bands. It is this technique that makes Luby Sparks one of the most nostalgic albums of 2018. #34 Artist: Little Kid Album: Might As Well With My Soul Genre: Indie Rock Little Kid has made a surefire impact this decade with bringing thematic and stylistic ideas reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens into the Bedroom Pop and DIY scene. Often times much more rooted in ambient progressions, Little Kid’s latest effort Might As Well With My Soul is decidedly Indie Rock, and takes many ques from artists such as Sandy (Alex G). Might As Well With My Soul also contains some of Little Kid’s best lyrics and themes to date and songs like ‘Two Invitations’ feel remarkably homey and personal. Also brought over from a his Sufjan Stevens influence is Christian imagery and lyricism within the tracks, however this is anything but overbearing or preachy and aids the album in creating a more personal and cloistered atmosphere that still maintains a bit of pep in its step. #33 Artist: Haru Nemuri Album: Haru to Shura Genre: Noise Pop, J-Pop Haru Nemuri makes genre hopping look easy in her debut album Haru to Shura. Jumping between Noise Pop, J-Pop, Post-Hardcore, and even Hip Hop, Haru to Shura is an album that has its eggs in many baskets but still manages to pull them all together in the final product that is both playful, strangely experimental, and catchy. Transitions between songs are mastered as well and nothing on the record feels out of place despite its wide range of influences, sounds, and textures. #32 Artist: Tropical Fuck Storm Album: A Laughing Death in Meatspace Genre: Art Punk, Punk Blues, Noise Rock Without prior knowledge of the band beyond the name, one could easily expect the material put out by Tropical Fuck Storm to be juvenile at best. In reality though, A Laughing Death In Meatspace is an extremely well put together Art Punk release that breathes life into the musical pathway that the members of The Drones who put together the act have chosen to follow. Unraveling in a noisy, gravely, and manic fashion, A Laughing Death In Meatspace takes listeners on a very colorful journey that shows that the album is more than able to live up to its hype and prospective energy. #31 Artist: Saba Album: Care for Me Genre: Conscious Hip-Hop, Jazz Rap Saba’s Care For Me is perhaps the best rap record to come out of Chicago this year. Saba’s delivery is smooth and reminiscent of Kendrick Lamar during his Good Kid, Mad City years. Lyrically, Saba also wears his major influence, Kendrick Lamar, on his sleeve, but never in a fashion that becomes derivative of it, and songs like ‘PROM/KING’ come close to matching Kendrick’s best material. The Jazz-Rap style on Care For Me is also well thought out and executed and makes for a rap album where one can find solace in the dreary and nocturnal beats that bleed Chicago. #30 Artist: Toby Driver Album: They Are the Shield Genre: Art Rock, Chamber Music In They Are The Shield Toby Driver puts on display exactly what put him on the map in the first place-his ability to mend the abstract with the explicitly tangible. Mixing traditional chamber music with sweeping synths, progressive instrumentation, and Berlin School styled electronics, Driver brings forward an extremely solid piece of art that reminds listeners of Laughing Stock era Talk Talk. #29 Artist: Armand Hammer Album: Paraffin Genre: Abstract Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop, Hardcore Hip Hop Armand Hammer’s Paraffin is a rap album which finds its strengths in it’s textures which lead to an inescapable and frigid atmosphere. Eliciting feelings of walking down an alleyway or side street on a dreary, cold, and overcast day, both Billy Woods and Elucid work together masterfully, delivering tight verse after tight verse. The industrial production on this album also works wonders with delivering the cold atmosphere mentioned beforehand. It will be truly interesting to see where this project goes in the future. #28 Artist: Ovlov Album: TRU Genre: Indie Rock, Shoegaze, Noise Rock In 2013 Ovlov released the delightfully noisy and messy album am, which quickly earned the band a slot at the top of the paragon of Indie Rock bands seeking to bring back the energy and DIY attitude of the scene that existed in the 90’s and early 2000’s. What followed was more or less radio silence by Ovlov besides a spit EP in 2014 with fellow Indie Rock revivalists Krill, LVL UP, and Radiator Hospital, which continued until TRU was announced this year. Production wise, TRU is a much cleaner album than anything Ovlov has released before. The opening song, ‘Baby Alligator’ makes this clear right off the bat. Although there is a noticeable lack of noisiness that put Ovlov on the map in the first place, the album is hardly bland and plenty of fantastic moments can be found within. It is truly a record whose material deserves to be covered by college bands at house shows around the globe. #27 Artist: Daughters Album: You Won't Get What You Want Genre: Noise Rock, Industrial Rock Dark, noisy, loud, abrasive, and harsh are all perfect adjectives to describe Daughters new album You Won’t Get What You Want, a record that has been years in the making for fans of the Rhode Island Noise Rock and Mathcore band. Taking cues from early Swans records such as Filth, Cop, and Greed, Daughters find their style in good historical company and build upon the tracks previously laid down to create an album which brings a 2010’s sheen to the genre. In a decade that has revolved around genre defining Hip Hop and R&B records, Daughters truly manage to make a crater sized mark on 2017 by bringing an interesting direction to louder guitar music. #26 Artist: Beach House Album: 7 Genre: Dream Pop, Neo-Psychedelia Beach House have made a career out of their ability to create atmospheric and light dreamscapes in music which contain little to no edge, and for most of the past decade, album after album released by the band has followed this direct course until now. 7 marks the first radical change in stylistic direction for Beach House since 2010’s Teen Dream, which was released during a time where Chillwave was all the rage. With 7 however, Beach House have cast aside their previous thematic design of creating music that one can simply ‘vibe’ to. in favor of music feels far more pointed, far more conceptual, and far more forward thinking. Songs like ‘Lemon Glow’ with its trumpeting guitar feedback are proof of this. Hopefully Beach House continues to innovate going forward from 7 and into next decade. #25 Artist: Pusha T Album: DAYTONA Genre: Hardcore Hip Hop, Southern Hip Hop Both Pusha T and Kanye West have had very eventful years, with both artists working on the GOOD label coming out arguably on top of the controversy they both managed to cause. However, only one artist has the bragging rights of releasing a better solo album, and that’s Pusha T. Daytona is a short, sweet, and pointed album with loads of spirit and fantastic production provided by Kanye West. The short run time of the album also allows for songs to mean more in the grand scheme of the project and everything in the end comes across much larger thematically as a result. #24 Artist: Parquet Courts Album: Wide Awake Genre: Art Punk, Indie Rock Parquet Courts have never been a band to be at the forefront of anything. Plagued for most of their existence with undue comparisons to their influences, and releasing Human Performance to relatively lukewarm praise in 2016, the band finds itself in new territory both critically and stylistically with Wide Awake. Wide Awake’s biggest successes come from three points, the first being the bands uncanny ability to write political music without making it come across as too heavy handed to actually enjoy it and the political takes on this album are in your face, but only if you intentionally seek them out. The second component of Wide Awake which makes it so successful is its playfulness. Songs like ‘Freebird II’ and ‘Wide Awake’ being perfect examples of this. It also should be said that the fact that they redid 'Freebird' in such an ironic way and made such a good song out of it is commendable. The third and deal sealing positive quality about Wide Awake is that the album contains a conceptual flow from song to song that never truly lets up. Everything fits within the album in its right place, and everything works as a solid body. If there were any doubts about Parquet Courts ability to write something compelling, Wide Awake makes these concerns totally illegitimate #23 Artist: Storm{o} Album: Ere Genre: Screamo, Mathcore Italian Mathcore and Screamo band Storm{o} bring their absolute best to the table on their sophomore album Ere, giving listeners a short but deeply intoxicating album of well produced pure aggression. The intensity of this album is its best quality, and Lucca Roco sounds stellar screaming against the wailing guitars and monolithic drumming techniques which incorporate some of the most well executed blastbeats of 2017. The songs often have a progressive nature to them as well, meandering around with various chord progressions and tempo variations that make Ere a must listen. #22 Artist: Eli Keszler Album: Stadium Genre: Electroacoustic On Stadium, Eli Keszler’s virtuosic skills as a percussionist shine through making for an album which is mechanical and cold, yet in the end turns to be rhythmic and almost jazz-like. The textures that work themselves out on Stadium as a result of this are anxiously warm and inviting making for a record that does not feel similar to other Electroacoustic releases. Despite maintaining its deep seated art-house image, the record accomplishes much more than avant-garde noodling put on display for a small audience and goes above and beyond the pale in creating something that is truly unique and special. #21 Artist: Sleep Album: The Sciences Genre: Stoner Metal, Doom Metal Released on 4/20, The Sciences is the first record released since 2003 by the genre defining Stoner Metal band Sleep. Listening to The Sciences you’d hardly walk away with that impression though because the music sounds remarkably fresh in the context of their discography making it feel like they never truly left. Listeners are met with an album that is wonderfully feedback heavy, and almost experimental in nature. The greatest highlight of the album though is the bass solos which are executed in a well put together fashion and serve to bring the whole album together in a meaningful way. #20 Artist: Kero Kero Bonito Album: Time 'n' Place Genre: Twee Pop, Synthpop Kero Kero Bonito’s 2016 release Bonito Generation was a divisive album among music fans despite the relative critical acclaim it received for bringing accelerationist and more experimental J-Pop to a western audience. With Time ‘n’ Place though, Kero Kero Bonito find themselves on a different path than they were before, trading in their straightforward pop music for something with deeper routes. While Time ‘n’ Place still retains the overall pop atmosphere Kero Kero Bonito have created a niche for themselves in, it is a noisier, more Indie Rock oriented record that never truly figures out what it wants to be but manages to pull everything together into a solid final form. Time 'n' Place is a collection of parts flying together in close formation resulting in an album that is delicate but has sharp teeth to it. #19 Artist: Birds in Row Album: We Already Lost the World Genre: Post-Hardcore, Hardcore Punk, Screamo Emotional and visceral, We Already Lost The World by Birds In Row is one of the best Post-Hardcore records put out this decade. With a heavy dose of Screamo influence to it, We Already Lost The Worst is a frantic album, with an energy that flows from song to song almost seamlessly. While maintaining its rawness and youthful vigor, We Already Lost The World also manages to make a more artistic statement than Birds In Row’s previous release You, Me, & The Violence. Everything about this record is quick, aggressive, and well managed making for a truly memorable release. #18 Artist: MGMT Album: Little Dark Age Genre: Synthpop, Neo-Psychedelia, Psychedelic Pop Little Dark Age already feels and sounds like a classic album, and it’s only been about a year. Their first record since 2013’s underwhelming self-titled, MGMT truly had a lot to prove when it came to the material on Little Dark Age. The band had cemented themselves into the greater musical ethos in 2008 with Oracular Spectacular and its anthemic singles, but as time went on this decade it seemed as it the band was ever slowly losing the creative edge that had put them on the map in the first place. With the release of Little Dark Age, MGMT managed to recapture that lost creativity like lightning in a bottle and present something with wit, with glamour, with substance, and with style. Little Dark Age does everything it needs to right, from the conceptual flow of the album to its memorable songs to its playfulness. #17 Artist: A Beacon School Album: Cola Genre: Dream Pop Influenced by everything from Progressive Electronic to Chillwave, Cola is a forward thinking and surprisingly experimental Indie Pop album that showcases some new tricks in a style that's remained incredibly stagnant in the later half of this decade. On Cola one can find looped guitars set against an IDM production style and progressive synths, combos rarely utilized in as great of an effect as they are on this record. It should also be pointed out that although Cola is a very rhythmic album, nothing ever destroys the summer fueled atmosphere that it sets up, and the record remains a carefree affair unobsessed with its own unique creativity. Perhaps the best moment on the record is the song ‘Jcult’, a rhythmically addicting song that underpins everything done right in this record. #16 Artist: Anenon Album: Tongue Genre: Ambient, Post-Minimalism Anenon throws away the Nu-Jazz influence of albums past with the soothing and delightful ambient album Tongue. Instead of focusing on more maximal compositions, Anenon works with the minimal in a way that almost reflects the simple complexity of nature. Field recordings interact with the music presented within Tongue as well, helping to further this calming and relaxing atmosphere of simplicity. #15 Artist: Steve Hauschildt Album: Dissolvi Genre: Ambient Techno, Progressive Electronic Taking cues from Berlin School and 70’s Progressive Electronic acts such as Klaus Schulze and Ashra, Steve Hauschildt's Dissolvi puts a fresh face an old style of electronic music without sounding derivative or overly familiar. Dissolvi is soothing, putting the listener in a trance with its arpeggiating chords and gentle rhythms. The atmosphere created on Dissolvi is warm and inviting, unlike many other electronic acts today which seek to create cold and desolate soundscapes. Hauschildt is not the only musician to shine on the album though, and collaborations with Julianna Barwick and GABI serve to add an ethereal vocal element to the already dreamy electronic album. #14 Artist: Rosehall Album: The First Requisite Is Life Genre: Avant-Folk, Contemporary Folk, Psychedelic Folk The First Requisite Is Life is Avant-Folk done right. It’s meandering and dramatically changing songs seem to set their own course individually, yet in the end everything comes together almost seamlessly making for a complete listening experience. There is something delightfully refreshing about The First Requisite Is Life though found within its manic ability to switch between musical thoughts and that is its fantastic attention to detail. None of the songs on the album show a band on autopilot but rather a band invested in every single note recorded. This is both admirable and shows in the end product which is a remarkable testament to DIY musicianship. #13 Artist: Death Grips Album: Year of the Snitch Genre: Experimental Hip Hop, Abstract Hip Hop By now Death Grips have cemented themselves as one of the most provocative and forward thinking artists of the 2010s and perhaps the past twenty years. Since the release of The Powers That Be in 2015 though, the band seems to have settled down slightly. Recent releases by Death Grips have felt more polished, more conceptual and more like the group is scorning the mystique that was built around them in favor of a relatively normal release cycle, roll out, and presentation. Make no mistake though, the music on Year Of The Snitch is anything but tame though, and Death Grips take listeners on a 37 minute long chaotic rollercoaster of a ride in it. Ride remains as cryptic as ever with his delivery and Zach Hill’s manic percussion still reigns supreme, but the truly interesting thing about Year of the Snitch is its flow from song to song. Throughout most of the album there is never an energetic break, and the first half of the record is perhaps the most solid 15 minutes of music ever presented by the band. Influences are drawn together and quartered in the most abstract way possible yet everything still fits perfectly. Year of the Snitch is proof positive that Death Grips have not lost in the slightest what made them such a powerful force in music in the first place. #12 Artist: Kraus Album: Path Genre: Shoegaze, Noise Pop Path is a DIY shoegaze album. It feels rough around the edges, like it should belong at a house show during the summer months, it feels like it lives in suburbia watching the sky turn bright red as the sun goes down in the last half of July and as kids ride their bikes around the cul-de- sac, it is an album of place and and of time. Short, sweet, and to the point, Kraus strikes gold on Path by boiling Shoegaze and Noise Pop into their essential components and distilling them into a intoxicating mix of nostalgic pop melody. Songs like ‘Bum’ explode into short, anthemic pieces of art that are hard to forget and easy to keep listening to over and over again. Path is certainly one of the most interesting takes on Shoegaze this decade. #11 Artist: Julia Holter Album: Aviary Genre: Progressive Pop, Art Pop, Ambient Pop, Experimental Pop Despite its length, Aviary cements Julia Holter's legacy as one of the 2010’s best solo singer/songwriters and composers. Aviary for all its expanse is an incredibly detailed record reminiscent of the style presented in Post-Rock era Talk Talk releases (Spirit of Eden, Laughing Stock) and it is abundantly clear that every note is played with purpose on the record. As a direct result of this, Aviary never legs and never feels overextended. Ideas are allowed to flourish to their full extent and Holter is able to showcase her top shelf skills as a musician in their full brilliance. #10 Artist: Melody's Echo Chamber Album: Bon voyage Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Progressive Pop Bon voyage is a sultry, hazy, drugged out, and strung out Dream Pop record best suited for laying in 80 degree heat next to a pool or on a beach. Remarkably forward thinking for a Dream Pop record, at times Bon voyage feels heavily influenced by Brazilian genres like MPB and Samba, although quite clearly the French Pop influence shines the brightest. Bon voyage is also very progressive in nature, with songs unfolding themselves over their four to seven minute time frames. The best example of this in progress is delightfully trippy ‘Quand les larmes d'un ange font danser la neige’ in which the song is broken up by spoken word right in the middle before chaotically re-emerging as a washed out power ballad. Songs like this show a compositional flexibility which doesn't feel overdone or hamfisted in the name of attempting to be overly experimental. #9 Artist: Grouper Album: Grid of Points Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Ambient Pop At only 21 minutes long, Grid of Points functions more as an idea than an album and more of an artistic statement of direction than a grand plot of concept. In the end however this unorthodox method of short handed approach works wonders for Grouper allowing for a minimalistic album that feels like a single strand of uninterrupted artistic consciousness. Bare-bones instrumentation on Grid of Points creates music that is both elegant and fragile but never overblown, overexpressed, or over exaggerated. #8 Artist: Kids See Ghosts Album: Kids See Ghosts Genre: Pop Rap, Experimental Hip Hop, Alternative R&B [Review originally published on RYM] Kids See Ghosts represents something unique that is currently going on in critically acclaimed rap scenes-a turn towards a much more downtempo, atmospheric direction, bundled in a short package and infiltrated with a mood that is 'chill' but provides an almost cathartic experience for the listener. The burnt out remnants of Cloud Rap have morphed into something seemingly more substantial, smaller, and directed. In essence this new wave of hip-hop is a white dwarf of creativity born from a red giant of material from the burning sun that has been rap music in this decade. It's lasted like this for a while, but sooner or later something had to change and Kids See Ghosts serves as the capstone to that movement. Fundamentally Kids See Ghosts is meant to be a 'live' album; but not in the traditional categorization of what a 'live album' is ala King Crimson every time they do a concert anywhere and release it. No. Kids See Ghosts feels organic, it feels like a morphing body of music with a spirit and a free flowing mind of its own constantly pointing towards something higher which is never grasped but comes so close. But this is not a bad thing in the slightest. By keeping the album in what almost feels like emotional and stylistic limbo teetering on the edge of its seat through its entire run time Kanye West and Kid Cudi create something that imitates life and the world as a dynamic structure. Gone are the overproduced motifs of rappers, the 'trap beats' and 'rattling high-hats" of the previous waves of rap. Kanye has not pandered towards any one sound or movement but rather has succeeded in developing one for himself. #7 Artist: Leon Vynehall Album: Nothing Is Still Genre: Ambient House, Ambient In the spring of 2016 Deep House producer Leon Vynehall released the Balearic flavored Rojus (Designed to Dance) to critical acclaim among electronic music enthusiasts. Rojus had sharp drums, layers of danceable complexity, an atmosphere fit for summer, and strong basslines. It was, for all intents and purposes, an album suited for dancing and an album with a strong focus on the more rhythmic side of electronic music. Nothing Is Still is a different beast though with a different motive to it. Unlike Rojus, Nothing Is Still has a thematic concept behind it-Vynehall's grandparents immigration to the United States. To best represent this, Vynehall presents an album with an ear towards the concert hall rather than the dance floor. Nothing Is Still is a record deeply influenced by Modern Classical and Ambient instead of Balearic Beat with trap influences. Gone are the heavy basslines and in are the ambient interludes, gone is the danceability and in is a slowly unraveling complexity and beauty. Nothing Is Still may sound sonically less excitable than the rest of Vynehall’s discography, but his execution of style on the record is golden. #6 Artist: Ichiko Aoba Album: qp Genre: Contemporary Folk, Singer/Songwriter Channeling her inner Nick Drake, Ichiko Aoba flies to high heights with her new album qp. Fragile and light, Aoba uses minimal instrumentation to create high substantial beauty on qp and song after song quickly unravels its true colors in front of the listener. Aoba’s voice is pristine, and serves to further this heavenly and retrospective atmosphere by working with the acoustic guitar that is presented in . Also present on qp is a balance between Aoba’s technical proficiency and her strong sense of immediacy, Aoba knows how and when to bring the most important aspects of her music forward and create true beauty. #5 Artist: Deafheaven Album: Ordinary Corrupt Human Love Genre: Blackgaze Ordinary Corrupt Human Love is an album with finds its success in its sheer unbridled power. Every single cut from Ordinary Corrupt Human Love is larger than life both vocally and instrumentally. In today's music culture, this approach to music is risky, maximist and overblown production and stylistic techniques are very rarely rewarded at all and artists are often expected to release tight and clean albums to reach a critical success, but on Ordinary Corrupt Human Love that notion is thrown to the wayside in favor of screeching guitars, anthemic vocal lines, and stadium sized production. Deafheaven also find ways to genre hop between Blackgaze and Dream Pop on Ordinary Corrupt Human Love and many of the songs don’t fully take off until the very end. This results in an album with takes its time to fully reveal its full strength to the listener, but when it does it does so at the speed of light. #4 Artist: Anna von Hausswolff Album: Dead Magic Genre: Neoclassical Darkwave It’s hard to find an album with as great of conceptual flow than Anna Von Hausswolff’s latest album Dead Magic. Every single song on the record, despite their longer lengths at times, feels right and feels correct thematically-dark and ethereal. The atmosphere that unravels on this album is absolutely fantastic and carries over from song to song, never pausing for breaks in direction or concept. Despite this, each song on Dead Magic is different from each other and each song on the record manages to explore different textures without much in the way of awkward transition. Anna Von Hausswolff knows how to provide a full album experience and as a result Dead Magic is one of the best Neoclassical Darkwave albums since the 1980’s. #3 Artist: Mid-Air Thief Album: Crumbling Genre: Folktronica, Neo-Psychedelia, Psychedelic Pop Mid Air Thief’s sophomore album Crumbling is an extreme example of genius exploration of texture and melody. With the albums light and psychedelic atmosphere everything feels so detached and free floating, songs meander and drift in and out with different Sweet Trip-esque synths blasting or crescendoing in before leaving as quickly as they came. Nothing feel repetitious on the album and each song stands on its own in a way that makes them feel like independent journeys just as interesting as the album itself if listened to separately. The folk element to Crumbling is abstract yet completely tangible and although influences run deep that album feels remarkably and refreshingly original making Crumbling one of the best listening experiences of 2018. #2 Artist: Puce Mary Album: The Drought Genre: Death Industrial The Drought is a tour-de-force of unbridled and unparalleled production making for one of the most gripping and overpowering Death Industrial albums ever released. Metallic noises bounce around the listeners headphones in a way that elicits sensory responses from the body in a way that most music is unable to do and everything is crystal clear. Timing is also essential to this album with loud bursts of noise hitting being thrown at this listener like a ton of bricks in a way that can’t be hated but surprises and terrifies. The Drought’s atmosphere is wholly univinting and it is impossible to approach the album slowly and ease into it as the music sucks you into its void almost immediately and never lets go. The Drought has razor sharp teeth and a razor sharp edge making it a truly invigorating experience to listen to that won’t let up and won’t let you down. #1 Artist: Curling Album: Definitely Band Genre: Power Pop, Indie Rock Indie Rock has been looking for a savior for quite some time. For many, that savior is Car Seat Headrest and on the surface that would make sense-Will Toledo is by far the most successful Indie Rock artist from the age of online DIY and Bandcamp releases. Car Seat Headrest hardly maintains that atmosphere of DIY glamour now though and the latest Twin Fantasy record feels devoid of what made it popular in the first place-it’s ability to emotionally connect with the audience amid songs that were deeply memorable and inspiring to many up and coming artists.Curling’s sophomore album Definitely Band may not have that personal edge and vulnerability going for it, but it doesn't have to, it masters in every possible the concept of crafting melodically sound songs. Definitely Band finds its massive success in combining Bandcamp DIY styles with Power Pop similar to Teenage Fanclub and Big Star. The writing is nostalgic, solid, and incredibly infectious. Every single song on the record never overstays its welcome and every single song is chocked full of memorable guitar solo after memorable vocal lead making for a release that is almost entirely an earworm in the best way possible.Even the longer songs, like the closing track ‘Mallow’ find ways to connect with the listener in a deep way by slowly building up into anthemic ballads. There is also a degree of wit and humor to the album and the band never takes themselves too seriously-the record sounds fun and amateurish but skillful at the same time. Definitely Band may not be the most experimental or forward thinking album of 2018 but it is one of the most consistent and solid Indie Rock records released this decade. There is not a single song out of place, not a single note done poorly, not a single melody that isn't memorable on this record and it deserves far more attention and praise than it has now.