20 From 2018: The Albums That Stuck
Addison Paterson
Looking back at the records released in those first few months of 2018, its hard to believe the sheer volume of music thrown at us in the space of a year. Unlike 2017, artists speaking up where politicians had failed was no longer new, but no less necessary. In a post-Brexit vote UK, it fell to young, unassuming bands to pick up the slack, and that they did. Spanning and revolutionising genre, some records brought new light to conversations already hashed out by generations before them. By no means an extensive list, here are the albums we cared for most, and continue to take with us as we leave 2018 behind.
20. Superorganism - Superorganism
"It’s like a joining of the digital world and the organic world – it’s a weird thing of ‘90s and 2000s internet culture," Superorganism's Tucan told us in an interview back in October. Their self-titled album is the brain-child of frontwoman Orono Noguchi, fleshed out by the many-membered band of electronic synths, guitar, fruit-shaped percussion, and raincoat-clad back-up vocalist/dancers. An experiment in jangly, synthy electro-pop, Superorganism is a glimpse into a present-day utopia based on the philosophy of being a prawn (don't question it).
19. Brand New Friend - Seatbelts For Aeroplanes
Northern Irish Music Prize nominees Brand New Friend had a whirlwind of a year; releasing their debut album, supporting Ratboy and Starcrawler at their London shows, and hammering away at the festival circuit. An 'accidental' album, recorded by the band without a budget or any intention of ever releasing it, Seatbelts For Aeroplanes (and Brand New Friend) was picked up by Xtra Mile Recordings and released as was. The result, beautifully candid takes that talk through the highs and lows of being young, in love, and sometimes, hungover.
18. Slaves - Acts Of Fear And Love
Long considered the nicest guys in UK garage punk, Slaves' Acts of Fear and Love took a slightly more gentle and pointed angle than their previous albums. Adjusting their humour and delivery to the times, the current political climate and societal obsessions with being 'Instagrammable' took the brunt of their sardonic humour. Still channeling a lost-generation anger into raspy howls, vocalist and drummer Isaac Holman strips it back to about as bare as Slaves could go on tracks like 'Daddy', showing a sweetness yet to have been seen from the punk duo.
17. Caroline Rose - Loner
Ridiculously fun, Caroline Rose's third LP sarcastically laments hanging out at parties attended by hipsters ('More Of The Same') and the ridiculous standards women are held to within the industry ('Bikini'). Full of crunching guitars and heavy, infectious synths, Rose makes subtle moves away from the indie-country twang of her previous sound toward one more deserving of her . Loner is playful, honest, and personal; the stories told are of life, with Rose owning and revelling in every unfortunate, beautiful aspect of it.
16. Shame - Songs Of Praise
Striding onto the scene this year, Shame slotted themselves in amongst the indispensable voices of a disgruntled and disillusioned generation with their debut album Songs of Praise. Fed up with the lack of transparency in a post-Referendum Britain, the Shame boys provide a rallying point of sincere, no-holds-barred commentary delivered with the kind of confidence that comes from not caring about success.
15. The Orielles - Silver Dollar Moment
One of Heavenly Recording's finest, The Orielles' polished, jangly grunge record is as sonically strong as it is fun. Buried ambiguously under offbeat humour and nuanced storytelling are deftly made statements (and some lessons). Songs like 'I Only Bought It For The Bottle' can be taken to have deeper implications than would first appear, or just as fun twists on overthinking the mundane. Shiny and gritty with a whole lot to unpack, this one's well worth the hype.
14. SOPHIE - The Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides
Scottish producer, DJ, and artist Sophie's avant-garde debut album ranges from soft pop-ballad ('It's Okay To Cry') to abrasive electronic/dance tracks ('Ponyboy' and 'Faceshopping'). Genre-bending in a way that no album or artist should be able to get away with, The Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides is indulgent, rich, and determined; succeeding in every sonic aspect it attempts to capture. As a first glimpse into the formerly obscured artist, it shows her at her best: striking and uncontainable.
13. Breathe Panel - Breathe Panel
Almost like a product of The Smiths meets Alvvays, the Brighton bunch breathe nostalgia-soaked indie into a dreamy, breezy, yet high-energy jangle-pop. Comprised of four friends, Breathe Panel's guitarist, Josh, doubles as a bassist for Our Girl, also of Brighton and with a debut album out this past year. No sign of business on the record, though, as there's a kaleidoscopic feel to the tempo of this shimmering debut.
12. Adrianne Lenker - abysskiss
The delicately soul-bearing leader of Big Thief, Adrianne Lenker added solo album abysskiss to her previous work with the band, the aptly named Masterpiece and sophomore album, Capacity. abysskiss consolidates Lenker's status as the most captivating and evocative songwriter of a generation, “Baby you’re still too proud to come down / Maybe I’m still too loud to hear / All the waves ascend and disappear" ('cradle). Influenced lyrically by Springsteen, Lenker's ability to incite and capture feeling is unmatched.
11. Matt Maltese - Bad Contestant
Dousing his lyrics with irony and melancholic humour, Matt Maltese comes as South London's answer to Father John Misty. His debut album 'Bad Contestant' takes a string of unlucky circumstances and turns them into quick-witted poetry: "I wish that I could fill his shoes / But I'm only a seven" ('Like A Fish").
10. IDLES - Joy As An Act Of Resistance
Idles' second album, Joy As An Act Of Resistance is gristly, angry, and hopeful. Another voice of political discontent in an already very loud 2018, Idles' spirit shines through. The record is a lot more than that, though. In the wake of his daughter's death, Joe Talbot penned 'June', a harrowing track containing unrelenting grief, "A still-born is still born / I am a father" and undoubtedly the hardest to hear lyric of this year taken from a work of flash fiction: "Baby shoes for sale / Never worn". Beautifully multi-faceted, Idles' use Joy to work through it all, and come up fighting.
9. St Vincent - Masseducation
A masterful re-imagining gives new life to tracks from 2017's electronic/art-pop album Masseduction. Performed by St Vincent (Annie Clark), and Thomas Bartlett over two days in Manhattan, it was intended to house the various incarnations Clark had envisioned each song to be capable of becoming – including 'Slow Slow Disco' (preceded by 'Slow Disco' and 'Fast Slow Disco'). The stripped-back arrangement of sparse piano and Clark's voice alone showcases her lyrical capacity, from her quick-witted social commentary on 'Pills' to her devastating laments on 'Smoking Section'.
8. Anna Calvi - Hunter
Calvi's raw and visceral art-rock LP pushed both genre and gender to breaking point. Hunter is Calvi at her most intuitive and self-aware. (Full review here).
7. Boy Azooga - 1, 2, Kung Fu!
The work initially of a single musician, producer, and a home recording, 1, 2, Kung Fu! fused together indie and funk from an array of influences. The Wales-based band, now a four-piece, use complex and intricate melodic layering to create tracks that hearken back to each other throughout the album, looping certain riffs to pull it all together. A mix of classically indie-dancefloor style tracks, and melancholy-tinged heart-wrenchers, Boy Azooga cover all bases.
6. Dream Wife - Dream Wife
Formed as an art school project done good, Brighton's Dream Wife tore their way through 2018 with their self-titled debut album. A riot with the best of intentions, Dream Wife tackles misogyny with a searing urgency, giving the appropriate amount of weight to the cause: "I am not my body / I am somebody" ('Somebody'). Friends foremost, the wives pack fun into every second of the album, and opening that friendship up to us, too.
5. Bill Ryder-Jones - Yawn
From start to finish, Yawn harnesses the kind of sadness you want to wrap around you. The album follows Ryder-Jones' previous albums with a short break of self-doubt shaken off in the process of producing Our Girl's debut album. Digging the pen into subjects like the tragic death of his brother, Daniel, at age nine and the impact of anti-depressants, Yawn carries a heaviness that comforts instead of lifting as the record goes on. Lyrical revelations are followed by swirling, distorted guitar breakdowns that swallow these thoughts like clouds as soon they're ever-so-softly sung.
4. Soccer Mommy - Clean
An absolute masterpiece of confessional, diary-esque indie-rock, Soccer Mommy'sClean saw 20-year-old Sophie Arela spill herself completely. Walking through every stage of heartbreak and longing, Soccer Mommy's very heartfelt, personal thoughts struck at relatability like no other record this year. Clean lacks any semblance of pretence or disingenuousness; Arela's plain, pointed lyrics lay bare the feelings most would want to cover: "I guess I'm only what you wanted for a little while" ('Still Clean'), "I want to be like your last girl... I wanna be that cool" (Cool). A perfect balance of tenderness and unbridled attitude, Clean's mark will last.
3. Goat Girl - Goat Girl
Goal Girl's 19-track debut is an image of South London in all its grit and glory. The Brixton four-piece combine a contradicting unaffected, slacker rock style, brought across mostly by Clottie Cream's drawling lead vocal delivery, with an unrelenting energy. A slightly wonky, country twang colours their instruments underneath the telling of honest, disturbing thoughts. A bold and brilliant move of a debut, Goat Girl make no attempt at making you comfortable. Their gory imagery and menacing harmonies are fantastically unsettling on tracks like 'Creep', a song where, without humour or regret, Clottie unwaveringly repeats "Creep on the train / I wanna smash your head in". Their signing to Rough Trade the same day that the Brexit vote was cast feels fitting – Goat Girl bring brilliance out of chaos.
2. Our Girl - Stranger Today
“It’s really refreshing to hear music like that these days,” jokes Our Girl's Soph Nathan in an interview with QR earlier this year. all mocking aside, she hit the nail on the head. A rarity, Stranger Today is visceral at every level, felt in every way Brighton trio intended it to. From the radiating giddiness of 'I Really Like It' ("What's the sun with you around? / All night, I love your sound") to guttural howls on 'Josephine' ("You make my head hurt / And fuck my breathing"). Scuzzy, grungy guitars morph into live-wire, shoegazey breakdowns courtesy of Soph's ferocious intensity. Stranger Today is incredibly poignant as a debut, borne out of something that feels very special already.
1. Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel
Barnett's way with observational anecdotes and conversational lyricism packaged into a slacker-rock approach has made her work seminal for the generation of young bands and artists around her. With a knack for taking the mundane and working it into the most touching of stories, Tell Me How You Really Feel furthered that conversation. Like a kind word of advice to herself, the album chipped away at insecurity and a myriad of other stresses (internet trolls, everyday misogyny) with the message of not being too hard on yourself. Her most commanding yet, Barnett speaks for us all on this soothing sophomore record. Full review here.
2019, here's looking at you.