Again, I found LOTS of great music to enjoy in 2018, and almost none of it showed up on most of the annual "Best Of" lists (I'm talking to you, Allmusic, NPR Music, etc). But these are great, especially in the rock genre. Give them a listen, they may not change your life, but there's a good chance they will improve it!
I'll start right off with one of the best, by a favorite band, Sloan, and their concisely titled album 12 (named after their 12th album). Every track is amazing, after 27 years they show NO signs of slowing down.
Then there's Gunship and their excellent, smooth, emotive album Dark All Day. I love this song as much for the fun video with lots of low-budget re-creations of 1980's iconic movies as the excellent music.
Gaz Coombes, formerly of Brit-pop masters Supergrass, continues his strong solo career with the moodily excellent World's Strongest Man. This track has a groove that doesn't let up:
You like Welsh power-trios led by a woman who can really sing, and play guitar with amazing power and feel? Well you came to the right place, as The Joy Formidable adds another excellent album to their growing discography, with Aaarth (the title being a play on the Welsh word "arth" for bear, adding two more a's for emphasis, like a roar. This is one of my favorite tracks, bolstered by arresting visuals:
Speaking of power trios, this four-piece band, YYNOT started as a Rush tribute band, but this year released their self-titled debut, which is packed with excellently tasteful rock with amazing musicianship. This track is a real powerhouse in every way:
For a change of pace, Liverpool's The Coral plays a melodic, cinematic and just amazingly tuneful brand of music. They've been around almost 20 years now, and just get better and better with their latest album, Move Through The Dawn.
Ah, let's go back to Wales for a moment, with a Super Furry Animals spin-off band, Gulp, which makes lush electronic sounds with etherial female vocals on their latest album, All Good Wishes. This is feel-good music at its finest.
One of my favorite indie bands going today, The Magic Numbers, creates memorable hooks, with wonderful vocal harmonies and crunchy but not overbearing guitar tones. Slight shades of mid-70's Neil Young on their newest album, Outsiders:
Then there's Wooden Shjips (yes there's a "j" in there). They formed in San Francisco but recorded this years "V." in Portland, Oregon, and I believe they may be living in my fair city now. Prove me wrong, or prove me right, please! These guys create a low-key hippie style groove, and I LOVE it. If you like this, there's plenty of back catalog to explore.
Another indie band (started indie, went major labor, then went back to indie, and now released on their own label) and one of my favorite American bands of all-time, period, is the Poster Children, with their new album Grand Bargain! More political than ever, songwriter/singer Rick Valentin tells it like it is in the title track:
Longtime indie favorite Juliana Hatfield weighed in this year with an interesting effort, which was WAY more enjoyable than I thought it would be: An all-covers album of Olivia Newton-John songs, as sung through Hatfield's lens and done with much love and respect. Wonderful stuff:
The band Field Music just release one excellent album after another, with this year's Open Here. They somehow create music that sounds mathematical in rhythm and structure, and yet is extremely melodic and tuneful. This is "comfort music" at its finest. If Field Music were a beverage, they would be a fine wine, just getting better with age.
UK's Django Django strike melodic gold again with Marble Skies. Somehow simultaneously anthemic and intimate, and always with a great beat, this is another band I come back to frequently.
And how about David Byrne, 30 years into his solo career, with the amazing album American Utopia (and even more amazing live tour which I was lucky enough to see this year). This song is right up there with his best:
I really liked Awolnation's newest Here Come The Runts. It's a little uneven, but the highs are REALLY high, and this song truly embodies Passion:
Finally, Angelique Kidjo released a song-for-song cover of Talking Head's album Remain In Light, but re-imagined with stronger African roots. And it's amazing:
So, another great year! Again I ask, WHY AREN'T THESE ALBUMS on popular best-of lists? Makes no sense to me. I understand that there are a lot of high-profile and yes, excellent albums to choose from, but these are the ones I was really drawn to this year, and are getting the repeated listenings.
Enjoy!
