I won't know what my AOTY is before the year is over, but I'm seeing some front runners. That Beth Rowley album I've got is great, and so are the albums from Alela Diane, Dir En Grey, Stam1na and Arkona. Halo Maud, Mitra Sumara, Hop Along, Ana Burch and Barbara Morgenstern probably belong up there as well, but I need to give them more time to get more of a feel for them.

Tried to get onto it one or two times and was bored. Sounded like polished Swans for teenagers. I'll have to give it a proper listen though, before I can really judge.

Lol I'm surprised there haven't been any fights about that statement yet. I feel like there would have been if Elph or Zhanthemi had said it.

I'm not more in love with the album that I haven't bought it on CD and probably wont either. I enjoy it but feel fine with knowing it's waiting for me on spotify if I wanna dive in. I get enough after just a couple songs too, but I feel like the album has some really attractive vibes.

I guess the album has plenty of that dark angst that probably spoke to most of us as teenagers. I've got Dir En Grey for that now, so it's not like it's lost all of it's appeal, but I'm mostly looking for other vibes in my music now. The cliché about mellowing out with age, basically.

EDIT: Listening to the album again, btw. The first track is pretty lame. But I like where the album goes after that.

I just want to listen to music until I go to bed, so I'm taking some time to revisit various 2018 albums. Maybe I can move closer to having any idea what I think is the best album of the year if I give all of the ones I've liked so far another listen.

Daughters - You Won't Get What You Want
https://media.pitchfork.com/photos/5.../daughters.jpg

I think I'm over the initial "wow effect" with this album. The songs feel mostly underdeveloped and the vocalist is mostly not very interesting to listen to. I like him most in the songs where he puts in some more energy, like The Reason They Hate Me. When he's sticking more to his flat, moany style like in Daughter, he's just dragging the song down.

Some tracks feel very underdeveloped. The Reason They Hate Me is a pretty fleshed out progression compared to most tracks here. I guess I'm kinda over this album already. It's not bad, but I don't care that much either.


Halo Maud - Je Suis Une Ile
https://ecsmedia.pl/c/je-suis-une-il...xt52868972.jpg

Definitely being reminded how good this album is. It's modern French electronic indie pop with a vocalist that has a bit of that Francoise Hardy vibe. The whole album is rich with fully fleshed out compositions, full of memorable melodies and progressions, catchy beats and plenty of interesting feels and sounds. Plenty of surprises throughout the album. Pretty much does a whole bunch of things that I like an album to do.

Very likely a top 10 album of the year for me.

Proof that it's got some very good songs:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-fgAmQ3niA


Alela Diane - Cusp
https://i0.wp.com/www.musicomh.com/w...diane-cusp.jpg

Definitely has the songs and the delivery down. Sounds great too in terms of sound/recording quality. So that leaves... Not a lot to complain about. One of the top hitters of the year for me. Simply gorgeous. Top 10 material for sure!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEX6xp8yREo


Barbara Morgenstern - Unschuld und Verwüstung
https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2856896586_2.jpg

Barbara always brings a good album to the table, so this one is not surprisingly in the top 10 running for me as well. Might even end up number 1. I really love what she's doing with chord progressions on this album. Some of them are kind of unusual. Her voice sounds like it always did and her approach is pretty no frills, but it hits something in me somehow. I just love to listen to her voice. Lots of interesting electronic sounds and a fair bit of piano on this album. Her songs are very memorable, but relatively low key, so give them a moment to breathe.

I think it's weird that there aren't more fans of Morgenstern on MB, but oh well.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUr2Rq3moKI


Beth Rowley - Gota Fría
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....mL._SY355_.jpg

Simply. Gorgeous. I'm dying.

Top 10 album for sure.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6TrffGM-uo

Just wanted to throw my hat in the ring to say that I think that Daughters record is insanely, overwhelmingly overrated. It rides on hype. It will not be on my list.

Coming back to it, it kinda bothers me how forced the vocals sound. Like he's trying super hard to sound as depressed/detached as possible. I'm somehow not buying into him having any emotional connection with what he's singing. Not saying that he doesn't have, just that it doesn't register for me as I'm listening.

Mostly I just think the songs are often simplistic to a fault. The album lacks meat.

Stam1na, Arkona and Dir En Grey brings their A game this year as well. The 3 best metal albums of the year for me. I've posted several times about all three before and nobody in here cares about any of them. All of them have been well received elsewhere on the interwebz at least.

Listening to Stam1na right now. Last album before bedtime.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxCU7EzQ5Nw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdTprUIOz8w

Soooooooooo ****ing good!

Finally!

Eh it is overrated but I still think that it's a great album with a damning atmosphere.

The Daughters' record doesn't really jive with me either, cause I'm not a huge industrial noise rock fan, but that doesn't mean I don't recognize it's quality. I think it's a solid 4 star album, even if it's not something I come back to again and again.

I don't think anything gonna be able to beat Crumbling by the year's end.

The Daughters album for me has been sitting between 4/5 and 5/5. I listened to it again yesterday and loved it more.

I remembered liking it but hadn't heard it since it came out, then decided to come back to it since I was looking for something to listen to.
Didn't quite say it sucks. There's some things about it that I think are a bit weak, but it's still mostly enjoyable overall. Just not an album I care too much about.

I liked it a lot, but there's an album near the top of my list with industrial qualities that won out for me in the long-term.

Is it by The Body?

Ihsahn - Ámr
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....BL._SY355_.jpg

I also thought the album Ihsahn (of Emperor fame) released this year was very good. It's really only by the strength of the 3 metal albums I mentioned a few posts back that I feel like it isn't obvious top 10 material. It's left in the dust by those 3, but on it's own, it is very strong. I'd have liked a slightly rawer sound and having the guitars higher in the mix, but the songs are very well done at the end of the day. Ámr certainly beats Ihsahn's previous album, Arktis by quite a distance.

Basically, it's very good but it didn't blow my mind like Stam1na, Dir En Grey and especially Arkona's new albums did.



Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen anyone in here talk about Ihsahn either. So I guess no one was anticipating this one earlier this year like I was.

For those who don't know, it's basically black metal infused prog metal of some kind.

surely some will be forgotten but this is still a list I'm comfortable with

1. Esoctrilihum — Inhüma
2. The Armed — Only Love
3. uSSSy — Voyage
4. Guerilla Toss — Twisted Crystal
5. Black Dresses — WASTEISOLATION
6. Haru Nemuri — harutosyura
7. Swarrrm — こわれはじめる
8. Convulsing — Grievous
9. Horrendous --- Idol
10. Bosse-de-Nage — Further Still

I've heard two of these. I thought the Gorilla Toss album was fun, but I do not get the point of Horrendous. Or at least what's so great about them.

for me it's the good instrumentation and song writing and production

That Esoctrilihum album's a ****ing winner. Makes their other (great) album look irrelevant.

So like, everything, basically.

I thought they were just a load of competent but uninspired Death worship. Especially the melodies struck me as very uninspired. Loads of mediocre guitar leads all over that album.

I might owe it a second chance.

:laughing:

sharp as a nail

never mind this is the AOTY

I actually really dig First Aid Kit's Ruins album that was released this year. Double Negative by Low was also a real joy to listen to.

Thanks, I do my best.

Ruins is one of many 2018 albums on my Christmas wishlist, so my year-end top 10 will remain uncertain up to the very end of the year.

Forgot about the new Neanderthal (Solo guitarist Mick Murphy, not the Grindcore/Power Violence band) album:
https://neanderthal.bandcamp.com/album/cave-math

That Ripped to Shreds album might still beat this one, but this is definitely a contender as aoty for me. Instrumental metal at it's finest, Hellzone Overload especially is a beast. It's unfortunate that Mick Murphy goes so unnoticed, he's doing a lot better than the classic shredders these days.

Nothing is remotely settled yet, because I still haven't even heard the new Anna Calvi album, Hunter. Her first two albums were excellent, so...

https://media.pitchfork.com/photos/5...na%20calvi.jpg

With only days to spare, here are my top 50 releases of the year. These are mostly albums, but includes a few EPs, too- also, while Coltrane and Prince's albums this year aren't really new recordings, they are newly discovered and therefore count. Don't @ me if you disagree. Oh, and if an artist released more than one thing that I consider to be a part of a series (see: Thou, Iglooghost) I just stuck them together.

These are all good, if not great albums, though for different reasons. If the genres they're tagged as pique your interest, even if they're not in my top 20, you should still listen.

Enjoy.

1. Tomb Mold, “Manor of Infinite Forms” (death metal)
2. John Coltrane, “Both Directions At Once” (jazz)
3. Brandi Carlile, “By the Way, I Forgive You” (country, americana)
4. Imperial Triumphant, “Vile Luxury” (experimental metal, blackened death metal, jazz)
5. Jeff Rosenstock, “POST-“ (pop punk, indie rock)
6. Obliteration, “Cenotaph Obscure” (cavernous death metal)
7. Portal, “Ion” (experimental metal, cavernous death metal)
8. Rolo Tomasi, “Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It” (mathcore, metalcore, pop rock)
9. Earl Sweatshirt, “Some Rap Songs” (hip hop)
10. Mitski, “Be the Cowboy” (power pop, indie rock)

11. Prince, “Piano & A Microphone 1983” (blues, pop, solo piano)
12. Robyn, “Honey” (dance pop)
13. Body Void, “I Live Inside a Burning House” (doom metal, sludge metal, crust punk)
14. Grouper, “Grid of Points” (ambient, solo piano)
15. Makaya McCraven, “Where We Come From” (jazz, instrumental hip hop)
16. Ben Lamar Gay, “Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun” (jazz, spoken word, experimental hip hop)
17. Infernal Coil, “Within a World Forgotten” (war metal, deathgrind)
18. Vince Staples, “FM!” (hip hop)
19. Sleep, “The Sciences” (doom metal)
20. Thou, “The House Primordial / Inconsolable / Rhea Sylvia / Magus” (sludge metal, dark ambient, atmoblack, folk rock, grunge)

21. Ripped to Shreds, “Mai-Zang” (death metal)
22. Sumac, “Love In Shadow” (post-metal)
23. ROSALIA, “El Mal Querer” (flamenco, pop)
24. Cult Leader, “A Patient Man” (mathcore, slowcore)
25. Neckbeard Deathcamp, “White Nationalism is for Basement Dwelling Losers” (black metal, noise)
26. Armand Hammer, “Paraffin” (hip hop)
27. The HIRS Collective, “Friends. Lovers. Favorites” (grindcore)
28. Schnell, “Live at Sowieso” (avant garde jazz)
29. Margot, “Busy & Lonely” (americana, folk)
30. Bog Body, “Through the Burial Bog” (death metal, doom metal)

31. Freddie Gibbs, “Freddie” (hip hop)
32. Binker and Moses, “Alive in the East?” (avant grade jazz)
33. Mortuous, “Through Wilderness” (doom metal, death metal)
34. Iglooghost, “Clear Tamei / Steel Mogu” (wonky, breakcore, IDM)
35. Tony Molina, “Kill the Lights” (power pop, psychedelic rock, pop punk)
36. Sepulcher, “Panoptic Horror” (crossover thrash, cavernous death metal)
37. Sectioned, “Annihilated” (mathcore)
38. The Myrrors, “Borderlands” (psychedelic folk, krautrock)
39. Gaerea, “Unsettling Whispers” (black metal)
40. Duval Timothy, “2 Sim” (ambient, spoken word, field recordings)

41. Messa, “Feast for Water” (doom metal, post-metal)
42. boygenius, “boygenius” (indie rock, folk)
43. Spiritflesh, “Spiritflesh” (techno, dark ambient, industrial)
44. Anna von Hausswolff, “Dead Magic” (experimental, doom folk)
45. Primitive Man / Unearthly Trance, “Split” (harsh noise, sludge metal)
46. Beta Boys, “Late Nite Acts” (punk)
47. Feminazgul, “The Age of Men Is Over” (atmoblack)
48. Beach House, “7” (indie rock)
49. Warthog, “Warthog” (hardcore punk)
50. Leon Bridges, “Good Thing” (RNB, pop)

Yes, definitely: the Coltrane and Prince are newly discovered releases for 2018.
I included reissues in my batch of picks too, so I think it's very fair game.
Good list!

Nice

What's your AOTY 2018?
 

1. Metric - Art of Doubt. Electronic/Synth/Guitar/Alt.
2. Olympus Sleeping - Razorlight. Garage.
3. Black Holes (Solid Ground) - The Blue Stones. Blues+
4. Young & Dangerous - The Struts. Glam.
5. Francis Trouble - Albert Hammond, Jr. Garage/Pop/Alt..

I'm comfortable with this. Had to choose between a lot of awesome albums, what a great year!

1. John Coltrane - Both Directions at Once
2. Earl Sweatshirt - Some Rap Songs
3. Julia Holter - Aviary
4. Demdike Stare x Il Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza - The Feed-Back Loop
5. 700 Bliss - Spa 700
6. Armand Hammer - Paraffin
7. Esoctrilihum - Inhüma
8. Anna & Elizabeth - The Invisible Comes to Us
9. Konstrukt + Keiji Haino - A Philosophy Warping, Little by Little That Way Lies a Quagmire
10. The Caretaker - Everywhere at the End of Time - Stage 5
11. The Caretaker - Everywhere at the End of Time - Stage 4
12. Open Mike Eagle - What Happens When I Try to Relax
13. William Parker - Lake of Light
14. Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt - Brace Up!
15. Mamaleek - Out of Time
16. Clarence Clarity - Think: Peace
17. Lost Girls - Feeling
18. Death Drag - Shifted
19. Autechre - NTS Sessions 1-4
20. Mika Vainio + Ryoji Ikeda + Alva Noto - Live 2002
21. Lack the Low - One Eye Closed
22. Hermit and the Recluse - Orpheus Versus the Sirens
23. Drew Daniel & John Wiese - Continuous Hole
24. Actress x London Contemporary Orchestra - LAGEOS
25. Low - Double Negative
26. Ben Lamar Gay - Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun
27. Ash Koosha - Stamina
28. Christoph el Truento - LWMP18
29. Anguish - Anguish
30. Aïsha Devi - DNA Feelings
31. Dolphin Midwives - Live on KBOO.fm
32. Jpegmafia - Veteran
33. Meitei - Kwaidan
34. Young Echo - Young Echo
35. Jean Grae & Quelle Chris - Everything's Fine
36. PinioL - Bran cocou
37. Alameda 5 - CDTE
38. Ondřej Adámek - Sinuous Voices
39. Wolf Müller & Niklas Wandt - Instrumentalmusik von der Mitte der World
40. Denzel Curry - TA13OO
41. Merzbow / Keiji Haino / Balázs Pándi - Live @ Metz 17​/​02​/​2018
42. Jad & David Fair - Scuse Us While We Kiss the Sky
43. Machine Girl - The Ugly Art
44. Special Interest - Spiraling
45. Beans - Night Without Smiles
46. Dan Lao - Functioning Anoomie
47. DJ Khalab - Black Noise 2084
48. East Man - Red, White, and Zero
49. Tim Hecker - Konoyo
50. JID - Dicaprio 2

It was really hard to figure it out this year. I feel like this is one of my favorite musical years in a long time, but I may have just been more plugged in. And with mine, some of my placements were purely because of the number of times I listened, and the songs just got stuck in my head. For instance, objectively, I don’t really give a **** about that Leon Bridges album- but my wife had wildly different taste than me, and it was something she liked, so I ended up hearing it a lot. Now I like it alright. Some of my albums I would only listen to as hype for the gym. It works, I guess?

Listening time played a big role in my ranking as well. That's how the OME album ranked so high.

Yeah, I saw you listening to that on Spotify all the time lol. I’m surprised it didn’t rank higher, since I’m sure you listened more than I saw you listening!

PS- I love that Spotify lets me creep on my friends lol.

Obviously a great list but I don’t think anything in your top 50 is in my top ten (the Coltrane is ineligible by the rules I’m using). Honestly, there are so many records that got 5 stars on Free Jazz Collective Blog that I haven’t heard then add a bias to things I stumbled on Vs things recommended I don’t know. I do know everything on my top ten is hella unassailable. I’m also wearing jazz tinted goggles this year. But very justifiably. I’d say my top six are all gonna be jazz records.

I like how different all these lists are turning out. Gives me a reason to continue hunting for new music even as I finish up my AOTY thread.

True, I did go a bit light on the jazz. Hamid Drake, Vinny Golia, Evan Ziporyn, Halvorson, Sylvie Coursier, and a few others dropped some amazing stuff that could've made the list if I made it in a different mood.

EDIT: oh **** I forgot about Kurushimi's new album, that's a top 10er.

I’m pretty sure you’ll love this one

Abandonnée​/​Maléja by La Tène & Jacques Puech et Louis Jacques & Jérémie Sauvage et Guilhem Lacroux

I was trolling a lot the day I put it in the 2018 drone thread but uh I think it’s very much up your alley

Here's a top 20 of the 2018 albums I've heard, there's a handful more that I enjoyed, but these are the ones that have made a lasting impression on me:

1. Ripped to Shreds - 埋葬
2. Neanderthal - Cave Math
3. Judas Priest - Firepower
4. Black Label Society - Grimmest Hits
5. Clutch - Book of Bad Decisions
6. Iron Angel - Hellbound
7. Sleep - The Sciences
8. ExCx - World Domination
9. Mystic Sons - Mystic Sons
10. Trouble Salad - The Red Candle Fiasco

11. Lucifer - Lucifer II
12. Fu Manchu - Clone of the Universe
13. Riot V - Armor of Light
14. Loudness - Rise to Glory
15. Voivod - The Wake
16. Dir en Grey - The Insulated World
17. Cruachan - Nine Years of Blood
18. Psychostick - Do
19. Deathstorm - Reaping What is Left
20. Oak - Oak III