NPR 100 Best Songs of 2018
During a turbulent year rife with personal and political trauma, the most memorable songs pulled no punches in the pursuit of pop.
#1 - Childish Gambino "This Is America"
Dec 8, 2018
Best of 2018 - boygenius - ‘Bite the Hand’
“When we met, Lucy and Phoebe and I were in similar places in our lives and our musical endeavors, but also had similar attitudes toward music that engendered an immediate affinity.”
I can't hear you, you're too far away
I can't see you, the light is in my face
I can't touch you, I wouldn't if I could
Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus have formed a new band. Together, they are boygenius.
Dec 5, 2018
Best of 2018 - Wussy - What Heaven Is Like
The Ohio band has been quietly crafting one of the great rock catalogs of the decade. But their latest album, ‘What Heaven Is Like,’ is too good to be kept secret… What Heaven Is Like is their day-dreamiest and least-rootsy record to date, subsuming rock ’n’ roll into a broader, rainbow-colored sonic palette. But the formal experimentation is always intelligent and controlled. Wussy’s stylistic reach never exceeds its members’ ironclad grasp on the eternal verities of riff-verse-chorus structures. ringer
Glass Dove "Cigarette Sunset" feat. Liz Cooper - 2018
Glass Dove, the new group led by Josh Benus (Modern Inventors), released today the video for their debut single "Cigarette Sunset." Produced by Grammy-winning producer and writer Owen Biddle (The Roots, John Legend), "Cigarette Sunset" features guest Liz Cooper (of Liz Cooper & The Stampede) and is the first taste of what's to come from the Nashville-based indie rock artist.
Dec 4, 2018
Best of 2018 - Quietus Albums Of The Year
The Quietus albums of the year chart returns, with our favourite 100 records released in our tenth anniversary year. Read the countdown and find out how you can support us in our work bringing you the best new music
Best of 2018 - wished bone - yellowstoned
dreaming of you in my head, dreaming of things that you said
walking around, feet like lead and i just can't get out of bed
watching the clouds go by, over and over again
think i'll just stay inside, ever and ever again
wished bone are an act we’ve mentioned in passing in the past, with their EP pseudio recordings representing one of the best experimental folk releases on Bandcamp. For the most part, they have remained something of a cryptic presence, keeping a low profile within a culture that seems to reward (or even demand) those willing to release as much music as possible in the shortest time possible…. read more
Best of 2018 - Barbarisms - West in the Head
While the songs are described as brutal in emotional suggestion, it’s Faraone’s disarming confessional tones and the overall, cumulative lo-fi and often shimmering folk beauty that draws you in and keeps you in its arms.
Man kann sich dem liebevollen, Laid-Back-Singer-Songwriter-Charme der 70er-Jahre einfach nicht entziehen. Und so reihen sich zahlreiche Highlights wie Perlen auf der Schnur auf diesem Album. Beginnend mit dem schwelgerischen Auftakt von „Bone Beach“, wo smoothige Bläser auf sehnsüchtige und windschiefe Harmonie-Backing-Vocals treffen, über das elegante „Focus Group“, hin zu dem an Bob Dylan erinnernden Closer „Common Tongue“. Dazwischen der pittoreske Indie-Folk von „Moaning Teresa“, der ohrwurmträchtige Indie-Folk-Pop von „First Try“ und das romantisch-melancholische „Soulful Lingo“. Zehn neue Barbarisms-Songs zwischen Poesie und Humor, die von Herzen kommen und das Herz treffen.
Silent Forum - Robot - 2018
Robot is a jittering, adrenaline fuelled shot of energy. The song speaks from the perspective of a jaded and stressed office employee against an unlikely dance punk backdrop. "I feel a shortage of high pressure in my life/ I need the office chair/ I need spreadsheets I hold dear/ I love coffee, I hate beer".
Max C Bud - I Guess It Has To Be That Way - 2018
“IGIHTBTW is my most boundary pushing track to date. Sam and I wanted to use a range in my vocals that I hadn’t explored before, and the result is a cruisy melody that is a lot of fun to sing, and hopefully gets people moving along” - Max C Bud
Voyou - Les bruits de la ville ft. Yelle - 2018
In a demonstration of carefree being, Voyou paints a well-intentioned view on his time, choosing to place compassion and friendship at the heart of his music. “Les Bruits de la Ville” [“noises of the city”], his new single, tells the story of a girl discovering a big city. “Even when I talk about myself, I lend my voice to characters” Voyou, who recently arrived in Paris from Nantes, confesses. He therefore proposed Yelle to play the lead role. With “an upturned heart and eyes that devour the cities delights” [“le cÅ“ur en l’air et les yeux qui dévorent toutes les saveurs de la ville”] Yelle perfectly embodies this character.
Always The Same - HAVVK - 2018
“…stunning…” - Noisey
"…a raucous dip into empowerment…" - The Line Of Best Fit
"a ridiculously moreish grunge rock-pop ballad... An updated and improved The Cranberries."
- Louder Than War
Dec 2, 2018
Caoilfhionn Rose - Awaken - 2018
LiQuiD FuSioN Absolutely wonderful album. Well-balanced, blissful melodies and vocals. Great work on the sound engineering and production. On repeat!
Taylor Janzen - New Mercies - 2018
"Produced and mixed by Mike Mogis (Phoebe Bridgers, Bright Eyes, Cursive), Janzen transitions comfortably into the bigger sound, and creates a fine-tuned sound that’s a little bit folk, a little bit rock, but not at all forced—it feels like she’s found exactly where her literal and lyrical voice is meant to flourish."
- NYLON
"The powerful simplicity of a voice, a guitar, a restrained melody and a raw emotion has been rediscovered by songwriters like Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and now Taylor Janzen."
- Jon Pareles, The New York Times
Parish f/t, Daphne Willis - Release - 2018
“’Release’ truly feels like the work of a veteran musician — not in a way that feels predictable, but rather that freely pushes boundaries and experiments in ways that many starting out in the industry would be too afraid to do. The song begins softly over a simple guitar riff, as Willis sings with conviction about the panic and anxiety that weighs many of us down.”- Earmilk
Elley Duhé - SAVIOR (Live) - 2018
A year ago Duhé was an impressive talent standing in the shadows. But after a wild summer riding her Zedd collabo "Happy Now," and making a dent on her own with "Way Down Low," the Alabama native is enjoying the spotlight a bit. Deservedly so. You can hear Duhé's pop skills from a mile away, so it seems right that she's hitting a stride as we move toward 2019.
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Music For Sleep - The Lost Zen Meditation Tapes - 2018
The Lost Zen Meditation Tapes it’s a headphone experience.
Listening at low volume is highly recommended.
The Lost Zen Meditation Tapes has been extracted from found sounds of improvised studio session recordings - archive.
Frederick the Younger - “Everyone’s Changing” - 2018
Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, some of Jenni Cochran’s earliest memories are of writing songs. Returning to the USA after working in Vietnam for a few years, she met Aaron Craker (guitar, keys, vocals) who was performing with his band Dr. Vitamin. The two immediately bonded over their shared love of Elliott Smith and The Beatles. They formed Frederick The Younger a few years later, releasing their first full length record “Human Child” in 2017.
The band is their bond, formed on groovy garage pop, soulful vocals, a hint of Broadcast and 60s pop with a modern twist. There is an earnestness to their newest songs on a forthcoming EP, due out early 2019, that rings true - the kind of sincerity born from experience. These songs feel alive and well-lived, tragic, nostalgic, beautiful, and contemplative, all with a solid hook. “Everybody Wants To Take You For A Ride”, the first track taken from that EP, is a beautifully delivered, moody alt-pop piece that introduces a slower sound aesthetic to what they have to offer
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