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My Favorite Music of 2018



2018 has come to a close, so I have assembled some of my favorite albums and EPs from this year for your consideration. Everything is presented in alphabetical order by artist name, and nothing is ranked. Links to artists' Bandcamp pages are provided where possible. Otherwise, I've linked a label, distro, etc. where the music can be purchased.

Let's get started!


Anna Von Hausswolff - Dead Magic


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

Anna Von Hausswolff is a shape-shifter. She has to be. How else could one woman be capable of such haunting croons, impish cackles, and lupine howls? Though Ms. Hausswolf's voice could easily carry an entire album on its own, it is complemented by Gothic pipe organs, guitar leads full of eerie sustain, and sparse yet purposeful percussion that punctuates Dead Magic's emotional peaks. Whether she is channeling the avant-folk of Comus or the droning, metallic dirges of Chelsea Wolfe, Hausswolff expertly navigates those shadowy regions between dream and nightmare, prayer and invocation, baptism and exorcism. Dead Magic was my first Anna Von Hausswolff album, but it will not be my last.

Favorite tracks: "The Mysterious Vanishing of Electra", "Ugly and Vengeful"

Oh down in the river, down to the bodies below
Oh down in the chaos, driven by black magic glow




Armand Hammer - Paraffin
Stream/buy: Bandcamp

Billy Woods and Elucid don't just spit fire on this album - atop fifteen warped, dystopian instrumentals, these two MCs conduct guerrilla warfare against American hegemony, eyeing capitalism and systemic racism with molotovs in hand. Paraffin is an exceptionally bleak album that sounds like it was recorded in a burnt-out factory. Every beat and syllable hits like a clenched fist. If you're looking for gritty, political hip hop, you owe it to yourself to listen to Paraffin.

Favorite tracks: "Rehearse with Ornette", "Vindaloo", "ECOMOG"

Black crow perched upon chimney pipe
Dark as your worst night




ATKA - Untitled Album 1


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

I'm not easily bewildered by music these days, but ATKA's brand of hyper frenetic grindcore really threw me for a loop during my first listen. Over the course of its 30 minute playtime - which is admittedly fairly long for a grind record - Untitled Album 1 kept me guessing. Any given song can switch between thrash, grind, tech-death, and half a dozen different flavors of metalcore at the drop of a hat. Somewhere in there is a riff that sounds like an homage to Megaman 2. Maybe I'm hearing things, and by things, I mean manic German cybergrind made by weirdos for weirdos.

Oh, and the song titles are ridiculous.

2xs{:777ll.}4xs{/:\}5xs{:j7::}4xs{ll}3xs{//} 




Avantdale Bowling Club - Avantdale Bowling Club


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

With the self-titled Avantdale Bowling Club album, rapper Tom Scott and his merry band of jazz musicians serve up a truly compelling blend of jazz and hip hop - a rare thing, indeed. Horns, winds, keys, guitars, and various forms of percussion provide a lush backdrop for Scott's fluid, emotive rapping. The lyrics, like the organic instrumentals, reward repeated listens. Sure, there is plenty of clever wordplay, but what I found consistently impressive was the quality of the storytelling. Avantdale Bowling Club is a stunning concept album that uses Scott's hometown of Avondale, New Zealand as the locus for his reflections on music, loss, addiction, and fatherhood. I don't often get emotional when I listen to music, but there was something so honest and vulnerable about Avantdale Bowling Club that I couldn't help but get a little misty-eyed. Or maybe my eyes were just sweaty.

Favorite tracks: "Years Gone By", "F(r)iends", "Water Medley"

Trying to paint the days of past, days I never made it past
Looking for an answer for the questions I'm afraid to ask




Black Thought - Streams of Though Vol. 1


Unofficial stream: YouTube
Buy: Amazon | iTunes

About a year ago, Black Thought performed a jaw-dropping 10 minute freestyle on Hot 97. Then, this past June, he released Streams of Thought Vol. 1, ensuring that no one would forget his name in 2018. Black Thought has always been respected for his lyrical prowess, and while I would never refuse another album from The Roots, it is refreshing to hear Mr. Trotter going solo and working with different producers. It would have been easy for Black Thought to just coast off the hype from his freestyle, but instead, he struck gold with Streams of Thought and produced some of the finest bars of his career.

Favorite tracks: "Twofifteen", "Dostoyevsky"

Where I reside is the dark side of the glory
The fury I manipulate is the arc of the story




Convulsing - Grievous


Stream/pay what you want: Bandcamp

Depending on who you ask, "atmosphere" can be a bit of a dirty word in metal circles. Some believe that if a band focuses on "atmosphere", its music is inherently less interesting due to the lack of engaging riffs. Well, those people should probably listen to this sprawling black/death metal epic written, performed, and recorded by Brendan Sloan, the lone man behind Convulsing. Grievous is an unmistakably personal album, haunted by melancholy even in its most ferocious and pummeling moments. Everything here is Sloan's, from the titular grief to the ghastly roars and whirlwinds of seven-string guitars. This may not be the most aggressive metal release this year, but it packs a hell of an emotional punch.

Favorite tracks: "Beaten", "Were"

Silent soil, dead as dreams,
Waits patiently to claim the past




Daniel Bachman - The Morning Star


Stream/Buy: Bandcamp

In the 60s and 70s, artists like John Fahey and Robbie Basho pioneered the genre that would become known as American primitive guitar. Bachman's music is very much a continuation of their legacies, combining  bluegrass fingerpicking with the soothing drone of Indian raga. However, compared to Bachman's earlier work, The Morning Star is almost an ambient album. Field recordings and hand organs give each song a tangible sense of location, with some tracks situated in fields full of chirping insects, others in dimly lit rooms filled with gently humming harmonium. Bachman and his trusty open-tuned Martin are still the stars of the show, but they benefit greatly from the added layers of atmosphere. The Morning Star is a curveball for sure, but it is also a bold artistic statement and the start of a fresh new direction for one of my favorite modern guitarists.

Favorite tracks: "Sycamore City", "New Moon"

Songs for the setting sun




Early Eyes - Decorating


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

Full disclosure: this band's drummer is a former student of mine. With that out of the way, I can say that this EP is simply delightful. It's easy to find indie pop/rock that is competently performed, but the young fellas in Early Eyes have chops for days. Come for the upbeat, funky grooves and infectious pop hooks, but stay for the impeccable songwriting and the little instrumental flourishes that give this band's music so much personality.

Favorite tracks: "Feathers", "Good Morning"

I've been getting lost in your morning coffee
Your crowded city streets




Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog 


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

With their third full-length album, Hop Along continues to walk the fine line between whimsy and earnestness. This balancing act is present in everything from the lyrics' quirky narratives to the unexpectedly lush arrangements filled with bells, strings, and tambourines. Frances Quinlan's voice is as acrobatic as ever, transitioning from throaty Janis Joplin growls to soaring falsettos with relative ease, sometimes within the same line. Despite the fact that this is Hop Along's most streamlined and accessible release to date, Bark Your Head Off is still a superb indie pop/rock album manages to warm my ice-cold heart every time I hear it.

Favorite tracks: "How Simple", "The Fox in Motion", "Prior Things"

Afternoon vanilla sun 
crawls away across the lawn 




HWWAUOCH - HWWAUOCH


Stream/pay what you want: Bandcamp

Somewhere on Youtube, there is a video of a Tickle-Me-Elmo being disintegrated by a jet engine. I only mention this because that video provides a good approximation of what listening to this album feels like. HWWAUOCH, the latest band to emerge from the enigmatic Prava Kollektiv, plays unnerving, claustrophobic black metal that is the perfect soundtrack for your next existential crisis. Thunderous blast beats, gnarled guitar riffs, and tortured howls echo from within the abyss. Those brave enough to return HWWAUOCH's gaze will find themselves face-to-face with one of the year's most relentless metal albums.

Favorite tracks: "Three Phantoms, One Heart", "Emanations of Forgotten Futures"

Thou shalt feed the ergosphere




Hyperdontia - Nexus of Teeth


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

It's been a while since I've heard or seen such a perfect thematic trifecta. The band is called Hyperdontia (after the gruesome medical condition), the album is called Nexus of Teeth, and the album cover...well, it looks like that. All joking aside, Hyperdontia caught my attention with their 2017 demo, which demonstrated the band's ability to seamlessly transition between churning death metal mayhem and huge mid-tempo grooves. Considering the members' pedigrees (which include such bands as Undergang, Phrenelith, and Burial Invocation), it's no wonder that Nexus of Teeth had me grinning grotesquely for its entire 34 minute runtime.

Favorite tracks: "Teeth and Nails", "Euphoric Evisceration"

Too vile to live
Existence denied




Kevin Hufnagel - Messages to the Past


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

Kevin Hufnagel has never been shy about trying new things. Whether he's making metallic mathematical mayhem in Dysrhythmia and Gorguts or experimenting with guitars and ukuleles on his solo recordings, Hufnagel is an artist who is constantly reinventing himself with every release. What makes Messages to the Past a surprising record is its relative simplicity and purity Where its predecessors were about toying with instruments until they were unrecognizable, Messages to the Past embraces the guitar as spiritual center of rock music. There are no drums, no synthesizers, and no wild sound manipulations. This is an electric guitar odyssey in ten parts, a fantastic voyage through the space and time between individual stars and seconds. If these are Hufnagel's dispatches to days gone, I am excited as always for what the future will bring.

Favorite tracks: "Pulse Controller", "Secret Shelter"

A flame to guide




Kikagaku Moyo - Masana Temples


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

On first listen, Kikagaku Moyo sounds exactly what you would think a psychedelic rock band would sound like if a) they were from Japan, and b) they had a lead sitar player. Their songs range from hazy, laid-back numbers to groovy krautrock jams (with a few two brief drone interludes sprinkled in for good measure). This all seems par for the course, but thankfully, Masana Temples is much more than just the sum of its parts. The album washes over you like a cool breeze...if the wind could be played through a Fender Twin with plenty of wah and reverb.

Favorite tracks: "Fluffy Komisch", "Nana", "Gatherings"

Dripping sun / Rain shelter




Mahr - Antelux


Stream/pay what you want: Bandcamp

This is the second Prava Kollective album to appear on this list, and while Mahr shares some members and influences with the aforementioned HWWAUOCH, this is an entirely different beast. Antelux sounds huge, like a Warhammer 40k capital ship laden with all the grim darkness of the 41st millenium. Imagine if Darkspace had shorter songs, fewer ambient sections, and a punchier mix that emphasizes the low-end rumble of the bass guitar. Mahr's style of spacey, atmospheric black metal may not be the most original, but Antelux is nonetheless an impressive debut from a circle of artists that continues to impress with every new release.

Favorite track: "Noctaeon"

Onirism / Hypnophobia




Milo - Budding Ornithologists are Tired of Weary Analogies


Stream/pay what you want: Bandcamp

"[T]his album doesn’t have an arc or a point or a moral to preach", Milo explains on this album's Bandcamp page. This separates it, somewhat controversially, from his previous efforts, which were much more conceptual hip hop records with certain axes to grind and soapboxes to mount. Instead, what we hear are "little aphorisms and landmines to burst your mind out of the mundane a moment," and on that front, Milo delivers as he always does, weaving a staggering variety of allusions into his philosophical battle-rap and abstract yet introspective musings on art and life.

Favorite tracks: "Tiptoe", "Gallahad in Goosedown", "Stet", "Sansoucci Palace"

Vitreous, odd fellow reveler, nimbus cloud heckler




Pinegrove - Skylight


Stream/pay what you want: Bandcamp

In 2016, Pinegrove was a minor obsession of mine. I had Cardinal (their latest album at the time) on near-constant rotation. I learned most of their discography on guitar, though singing along was a bit harder. Most embarrassingly, I pulled a 21 Jump Street and pretended to be a college student so that I could attend a free show that they were playing at a local university. Two tumultuous years later, Skylight has a lot to live up to, and what it lacks in surprises it makes up for with a quiet, earnest sort of intimacy. Musically, it's a similar sort of alt-country tinged indie rock that put Pinegrove on the map, but unlike its predecessor, Skylight rarely raises its voice. There are moments of intensity, and there is catharsis to be found - there's no need to yell, though. Let's just sit down and talk about it.

Favorite tracks: "Rings", "Portal", "Easy Enough"

If we could learn to love ourselves better
Maybe we could commit




Ripped to Shreds - 埋葬


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

Disclaimer #2: Ripped to Shreds is a one-man band, and I personally know that one man in the band. Mr. Ripped, AKA Andrew Lee, is both an insanely talented musician and an old-school death metal connoisseur. He puts these qualities to good use on his first full-length album, 埋葬, which is as much a love letter to legendary bands like Entombed, Dismember, and Bolt Thrower as it is a legitimately fascinating introduction to some of the darker aspects of Chinese history. Stay a while and listen to these razor-sharp buzzsaw riffs - you might learn a thing or two.

Favorite tracks: "Craven Blood", "Open Grave", "Red Annihilation"

Grinding cogs in a violent engine
Set about their gruesome work




Sleep - The Sciences


Unofficial stream: Youtube

The Sciences has no right being this good. People can joke all they want about these guys just being three stoners with too many amps - Sleep are acolytes of The Almighty Riff, and after nearly three decades of praying at that altar (in this band and in side projects like Om and High on Fire), the boys continue to deliver heaps of pentatonic goodness like no one else. Older live staples "Sonic Titan" and "Antarcticans Thawed" receive long-overdue studio recordings, while new tracks like "Giza Butler" pay tribute to all of the band's influences: weed, Black Sabbath, mysticism, Dune, and weed.

Behold as he enters the clearing
Planet Iommia nearing




Teleport - The Expansion


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

Teleport is an extremely promising Slovenian band that has been making sci-fi themed technical thrash metal (a la Obliveon and Vektor) since 2012. With the release of their latest EP, titled The Expansion, Teleport has maintained their progressive flair while simultaneously assimilating elements of death metal and black metal into their sound. As a result, The Expansion is darker, more menacing, and substantially more interesting than Teleport's previous efforts. The cover art does a good job of capturing this band's aesthetic: the remains of elder gods, awakened by some arcane combination of science and black magic, hurtling through nebulae and trailing stardust in its wake. That's pretty metal in my book.

Favorite track: "Beholder of the Silent Sea"

Lest we forget the second coming, 
As a new life in silence unfolds. 




Thou - Rhea Sylvia


Stream/pay what you want: Bandcamp
(Note: I've use the vinyl artwork here)

Thou put out so many releases in 2018 that I had a tough time deciding on my favorite. The band released three radically different EPs followed by their fifth full-length album, Magus (and an additional split EP for good measure). After waffling for a few weeks, I eventually settled on Rhea Sylvia, the middle child of the bunch, for its surprising marriage of Thou's trademark sludge-infused doom metal with the melodic sensibilities of grunge. Don't get me wrong - the music can still be absurdly heavy at times, propelled by lurching down-tuned riffs and ragged vocals full of venom and despair. However, the band puts those grunge influences to use in the form of truly spectacular choruses that are among my favorite moments in Thou's entire discography. Simply put, Rhea Sylvia is both a perfect starting point for those new to Thou's music as well as a treat for longtime fans.

Favorite track(s): "The Only Law", "Restless River"

In this cage of melody, we wait.
In this state of memory, we wait.




Tim Hecker - Konoyo


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

Ever since I heard Harmony In Ultraviolet way back in 2007, I've been fascinated by how Tim Hecker paints aural collages with layers and layers of distorted synthesizers. What makes Konoyo different is that the album began with a form of traditional Japanese music called gagaku. Hecker recorded a small ensemble as they jammed on bamboo flutes, zithers, and assorted percussion, improvising around ideas like "dark smoke clouds" and "negative space".  On Konoyo, these instruments' unique sounds are exploded and magnified with Blade Runner precision, then gently subsumed by those whitecaps of white noise that I've come to love.

Favorite track(s): "Keyed Out", "In Mother Earth Phase"

The world over here




Tomb Mold - Manor of Infinite Forms


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

Over the last two years, Tomb Mold has become one of the most hyped bands in the underground metal scene. Manor of Infinite Forms makes it easy to see why. This is a behemoth of an album that deals in pure, unadulterated death. It sounds like a cross between a Dark Souls boss and the DOOM Marine. While the band has shed some of the slime that gave their previous releases a certain charm, Manor of Infinite Forms more than makes up for this with an absolutely crushing mix.  Tomb Mold also puts on one of the loudest live shows of any death metal band that I've seen - that has to count for something, right?

Favorite track(s): "Blood Mirror", "Gored Embrace"

Align your withered limbs
Dissection imminent




Vastum and Spectral Voice - Split EP


Stream/buy: Bandcamp

Two of America's heaviest death metal bands join forces to bring a pair of absolute bangers, each clocking in around 6 minutes. Previously, these tracks had been recorded for other releases, but they perfectly complement each other on this EP. Vastum's offering is a B-side from the Hole Below sessions, and as a result, it is packed with those stomping, gargantuan grooves that we have come to love. Spectral Voice's contribution is probably their most concise and aggressive song since their split with Phrenelith back in 2016. Even when the track makes a brief foray into slower, gloomier territory, it's only a minute or so before the band launches into a monstrous riff assault. This is some good old-fashioned, no-frills death metal that will either get your head moving or leave it looking like the cover art (or both).

Wandering through dismal realms
Final death revealed




Vilkacis and Turia - Vilkacis/Turia



Another split with black and white artwork? Yes, but this time, we turn our attention to two black metal artists from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Vilkacis, one of Michael Rekevics' many creative outlets, serves up two fiercely melodic tracks that sound like the Charge of the Light Brigade and the somber aftermath, respectively. Those familiar with Rekevics' other work have likely heard his motto, which is particularly apt here: "Black metal as spiritual war". Side B, presented by the mysterious Dutch collective known as Turia, is cold and brooding in a way that is reminiscent of early Ash Borer. Turia excels at building swirling maelstroms of riffs that swell and recede, delivering both the storm and the calm . Both bands are in top form on this release, and I will go so far as to say that this is essential listening for fans of atmospheric black metal.

Favorite track(s): "In the Night's Grip", "Tuchtroede"

The bloodied shroud of man is cast aside
The cycle repeats and the wolf is born again




Voivod - The Wake


Stream (track preview): Youtube

Last entry! Time to go big or go home.

Until this year, I had lost track of Voivod. I had enjoyed their classic trio of Killing Technology, Dimension Hatross, and Nothingface since first hearing them in college, but I remained a fairly casual Voivod fan for years, never venturing past those three albums even after the band's revival in 2013. Imagine my surprise when I decided to listen to "Iconspiracy" when it popped up in my Youtube recommendations. It soon became clear that this new lineup was plenty adept at cranking out some top-shelf cosmic weirdness, and that I needed to perform a long-overdue course correction.

 The Wake is not perfect, but it is impossibly good in a number of ways. Daniel Mongrain's warped, spacey riffs continue the legacy of the late Denis "Piggy" D'amour, whose playing defined Voivod's sound for over two decades. Snake manages to deliver his trademark snarl with more swagger than ever before, but he also proves himself capable of delivering one catchy chorus after another. The rhythm section, composed of new bassist Dominic Laroche and original drummer Away, plays with clockwork precision, keeping the band on course even during the most twisted, dizzying passages.  There are plenty of standout moments throughout The Wake, but the most profound would have to be the final track's deconstruction and recontextualization the rest of the album. It is surely one of the songwriting triumphs of the year as far as I'm concerned.

Favorite track(s): "Iconspiracy", "Spherical Perspective", "Sonic Mycelium"

These kinds of things can't be revealed.
Who would have thought? Who will believe?




All in all, 2018 was a great year filled with quality releases. Here's to 2019, which will hopefully bring more rad tunes and more time to work on this damn blog. I've got to get my money's worth out of this ridiculous domain name. 

Cheers,

Alex

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