My sentiment exactly. By Jove, they've pulled a pitchfork this year. It's so mainstream & safe. I have exactly 3 titles from the npr list (khruangbin, low & courtney barnett). Don't they like electric guitars no more?
Man, I'm even more unhip than you! I only got one (khruangbin), out of about 20 new releases I've bought this year (a few via recommendations here)
I like the NPR list and I have a lot of overlap, outside of ranking. The only one of their top 10 I haven’t heard was Lucy Dacus. All the others are great records, and well deserving of accolades. If I wanted to be rude I might say “aren’t you over electric guitars by now?” It’s been a pretty weak year for rock IMO compared to another strong year for hip-hop and pop.
Garage Sweet Garage. TH' LOSIN STREAKS "This Band Will Self-Destruct In T-Minus" LP, by Th' Losin' Streaks
2018 was automatically bad because no LPs released by Radiohead, Slowdive, Steven Wilson or Arcade Fire.
Especially since there were pretty great records released by Maarja Nuut & Ruum, Virginia Wing, Rutili & Ross, Ian William Craig, Rival Consoles, Eiko Ishibashi, Lake Ruth, Penelope Trappes, Alison Cotton, Egyptology, Jon Hassell, Say Sue Me, Augie March, Brian Eno & Kevin Shields, Marissa Nadler, Limiñanas, Lowtide, Pram, Psychic Lemon, Emma Ruth Rundle, Kikagaku Moyo, Minami Deutsch, Julia Holter, Anna Von Hausswolff, Michael Price, Erik Friedlander, Lubomyr Melnyk, Sons Of Kemet, and so many more. Really a good time to be a fan of adventurous music, so many creative artists out there. I mean, there must be at least a few hundred more that our buddy @Ironclaw has posted that hardly any of us have heard before
My opinion is that popular music has gotten better every year. More to explore and the old stuff isn’t going anywhere, especially now that it’s more accessible than ever.
Speaking of that idea, I recently got several of the new (2018) double compact disc compilations by Trojan Records. There are: This is Trojan Roots, This is Trojan Dub, This is Trojan Rock Steady, This is Trojan Boss Reggae, and a few other new ones. It’s very cool that a lot of classic big and small labels are rolling out their back catalogs for new comps and new archival releases, especially for Record Store Day. Not to mention Analog Africa and Light in the Attic and all the labels around the globe finding lost gems.
Couldn’t agree more! There’s a huge push to reissue underserved albums from the past, meaning you can still hear “new” stuff if you dig older styles. I’d also add Now This, Awesome Tapes from Africa, Anthology Recordings, and Cultures of Soul to the list of great reissue labels over this decade.
Well that's a whole lot of fun. I feel like I should check out the many other fine artists on the Slovenly Recordings label too.
I didn't even notice that. That's how un-sexist I am. Or maybe just lit. I did notice, however, that they neglected the two best female releases of the year: Beach House - 7 and Laura Gibson - Goners
well i'm glad i sparked a bit of a discussion here, i also hadn't noticed the female top 10. it must have been on purpose with all the hasjtag u2 this year. i can understand the move, though it feels to me quite pc. I especially agree with davey here that it's an adventurous time to be alive in music and i guess my dissappiontment is to not see it reflected in the npr list, granted i haven't heard all of the records listed, but it seems compiled for a target audience. Where is any psych or experimental or parquet courts? As for the wave of reissues, it has been going on for while i think (thank you mississippi records) and 2018 didn't feel particularly busy in that department compared to the trend in the last decade. Except maybe for the King Gizzard reissues!!!! That WAS special.
The Beach House one is ok but lacks depth and energy imo. It wont be in my top 10. I like Pay No Mind but even in that I feel there is something lacking.
Beach House is one of my favorite bands but IMO 7 is not as good as Devotion, Teen Dream and Bloom. That was a great run. I think their albums since have been great, but seem to be derivative of those 3.
Laura Gibson's Goners is wonderful! Big thanks to Davey for tipping me off to it (and her whole catalog).
Found this recently, only after hearing him perform while on tour with Thom Yorke. Oliver Coates-Shelley's On Zenn-La Popping up on EOY list as well.
My top 5 for 2018 (new music only, no reissues) 1. Elvis Costello - Look Now 2. Shinya Fukumori - For 2 Akis 3. David Crosby - Here if you listen 4. Marcin Wasilewski - Live 5. Blackberry Smoke - The Southern Ground Sessions.
This got a good review in Pitchfork and I gave it a listen. Very bedroom pop, think Emitt Rhodes or Elliott Smith with a dash of electro pop. Not groundbreaking, but the album is very good.
Yea, this is a good one, I've streamed it a couple times since originally posting, but haven't bought a copy yet so not on my best of the year list, may have to fix that oversight, just bought a few other records (Penelope Trappes, Alison Cotton, Eiko Ishibashi, and Julia Holter) and thought I was done for the year, oh well, maybe I can still get in a late message to Santa ...