The best music of the year so far as chosen by the writers of A Journal of Musical Things (Part 3)
One more shot of opinion regarding the best music of 2018 so far by the writers of this site.
Zoe Orion, Curator of Thursday’s “New Music from the Inbox”
1. Son Lux, Brighter Wounds
Son Lux does not make passive music: unless you are a robot be ready to feel everything while listening to Brighter Wounds. This latest album is an exceptional maturation of their sound (think: orchestral pop with complex rhythms- then think farther) as well as an honest and refreshing product of the world’s current climate, which makes it a perfect album for life in 2018.
2. The Dig, Moonlight Baby EP
The Dig are totally making my 2018 the best by releasing one song per month all year. The first ep compilation called Moonlight Baby is out now and it is everything I love about their music: anthemic, dynamic, and impossible to not move along to.
3. Janelle Monae, Dirty Computer
Dirty Computer is an album that not only uplifts and entertains, but also addresses important themes of race, gender, and sexuality with a masterful grace. The accompanying film (which stars herself alongside Tessa Thompson and depicts an android trying to break free from a totalitarian society) only further proves what a boundary pushing artist and visionary she is.
4. To Kill a King, The Spiritual Dark Age
To Kill a King’s latest album The Spiritual Dark Age is more experimental and willing to take risks than their previous work while at the same time more polished and anthemic than ever before. The result is a body of work that is innovative, confident, and overall uplifting: everything I have loved about their past indie rock releases and more!
5. Morgxn, Vital
Morgxn’s debut album Vital is unforgettable in its vulnerability and grandeur. This is a cathartic and empowering dance party, a place that is very distinctly Morgxn’s own, but also somewhere where everybody can belong.
If you missed parts one and two, you can go here and here.
Gilles LeBlanc, ROCKthusiast and occasional site contributor
1, Jack White, “Over and Over and Over”
Eccentricities aplenty were revealed on Jack White’s Boarding House Reach. “Over and Over and Over”, however is a straight ahead ripper whose riff supposedly has roots as far back as 2005 with Jack’s old band The White Stripes.
2. The Voidz, “Leave It in My Dreams”
Julian Casablancas is still known for being in The Strokes. He also fronts The Voidz, who bring a hazier hallucinogenic quality to his compositions. (PS, Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. put out another solo record called Francis Trouble in March which ain’t too shabby either.)
3. Ty Segall, “She”
A laid-back Californian is the music antithesis of who Ty Segall is. He’s released eleven full-length albums in the past ten years alone encompassing a range of rock styles, with Freedom Goblin’s “She” seeing him go glam metal for a full six minutes.
https://youtu.be/rQl7Wyk2I_k
4. Parquet Courts, “Total Football”
It’s too bad the United States didn’t qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, as they had this ready-made rah rah sis boom bah-er available to them. Maybe it’ll become the next anthem for Parquet Courts’ adopted home team New York Red Bulls!
5. The Vines, “Slide Away”
In all the hoopla surrounding Drake’s Scorpion, a lot of song streamers may have failed to hear how The Vines of all artists dropped a new album. Yeah, their time as rock revolutionaries has definitely passed, but it’s still good to hear a (hopefully) healthy Craig Nicholls cussing and howling again.
