My Top 50 Albums of 2018
So many great new artists this year |
50 | | Jesus Piece Only Self
Straightforward, but somehow refreshing, hardcore |
49 | | Toundra Vortex
Solid post-rock with more emphasis on the "rock" |
48 | | Frontierer Unloved
A bit long as a full album listen, but some crazy metalcore sounds on here |
47 | | Tides of Man Every Nothing
Tides of Man continues releasing some of the catchiest post rock |
46 | | Just Friends (CA) Nothing But Love
A ska/pop-punk/hip-hop album in 2018 seems a little late to the game, but this is just a fun listen to me |
45 | | Self Defense Family Have You Considered Punk Music
A journey of an album narrated by Patrick Kindlon's calmer alter ego |
44 | | Rolo Tomassi Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It
Not as high up as on other lists, I just thought the clean and hectic parts weren't blended as well as I liked. Still an enjoyable and intense listen |
43 | | Emma Ruth Rundle On Dark Horses
Think Fleetwood Mac, but slower and sadder |
42 | | Yashira Shrine
They're heavy, but know when to give a little space with some lighter moments |
41 | | Beach House 7
I've listened to Beach House before this, but for some reason nothing really pulled me in until this album |
40 | | Tangled Hair We Do What We Can
This album took a long time to release so some of the songs may sound dated, but this doesn't take away from the fact that they know how to write catchy math rock |
39 | | Screaming Females All At Once
Solid album from a consistent rock band |
38 | | Deafheaven Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
It's Deafheaven. It's good |
37 | | Trash Boat Crown Shyness
Did not expect to like this pop-punk/post-hardcore album as much as I did |
36 | | Snail Mail Lush
All the songs are good, but Pristine is one of the catchiest songs this year |
35 | | Parquet Courts Wide Awake
Can't help but love wordy rock, and this one has an old school twist |
34 | | Hop Along Bark Your Head Off, Dog
Very pleasant listen all the way through this indie rock album |
33 | | Thou Magus
More unsettling doom metal from Thou |
32 | | Seattle's New Gods Burnpile
Dirty, and slightly concerning, punk rock |
31 | | Sleep The Sciences
I'd listened to Dopesmoker before, but this is the first work from Sleep I've gotten into |
30 | | Big Bite Big Bite
Great reverby and occasionally heavy guitar sounds here |
29 | | Black Peaks All That Divides
Modern progressive metal with better songwriting and without the squeaky clean production that most of its contemporaries have |
28 | | Slow Mass On Watch
Took me a few listens to appreciate the subtleties, but this is a well-written and dynamic indie/punk record |
27 | | Between the Buried and Me Automata II
The better half of BTBAM's Automata releases this year |
26 | | Greyhaven Empty Black
Blood-pumping metalcore with captivating vocal and instrumental passages |
25 | | Slothrust The Pact
Cleaner production than their previous work, but no song is skippable on this indie/punk record |
24 | | Drug Church CHEER
Catchy and smart punk music |
23 | | Listener Being Empty : Being Filled
Listener's wordy rock style finally feeling like a fully produced album |
22 | | Svalbard It's Hard To Have Hope
Black metal-tinged screamo with a strong message |
21 | | Fiddlehead Springtime And Blind
Filling the void that Title Fight's absence left |
20 | | Single Mothers Through A Wall
Most aggressive release from the Canadian punk band |
19 | | The Ocean Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic
Intense post-metal hitting in similar ways that Precambrian did |
18 | | The Dirty Nil Master Volume
Rock and roll with a modern punk twist |
17 | | IDLES Joy as an Act of Resistance
Wasn't as good as Brutalism in my opinion but still a great set of British punk songs |
16 | | Birds in Row We Already Lost The World
Solid French post-hardcore |
15 | | Animal Flag Void Ripper
Carefully crafted emo & pop-punk |
14 | | Camp Cope How to Socialise and Make Friends
This album was very divisive for some reason, but I thought it had a great and refreshing emo sound |
13 | | Hot Mulligan Pilot
Calls back to the early 2000's pop-punk sound to create a super fun listen |
12 | | Holy Fawn Death Spells
Some beautiful and massive sounds on here |
11 | | Super Unison Stella
The screams on this hardcore album are scary, and I'm loving it |
10 | | Gouge Away Burnt Sugar
Gouge Away experiments with their aggressive sound and it pays off |
9 | | Culture Abuse Bay Dream
There was a lot of backlash for softening their sound, but all I see here are 10 infectious beachy punk songs |
8 | | Spanish Love Songs Schmaltz
Maybe a little too influenced by the Menzingers, but what's wrong with that? |
7 | | mewithoutYou [Untitled]
Some of the mellow songs prevented this from being higher, but still a lot of intense moments and lyrics to unpack |
6 | | Worlds Greatest Dad Get Well Soon
Underrated album of the year. Incredible sounding emotional pop-punk and emo songs |
5 | | Pianos Become the Teeth Wait For Love
Another album with mixed reviews, but the vocals are even better than Keep You and I just keep going back to it |
4 | | Daughters You Won't Get What You Want
They weren't lying about this one. Love the sounds here |
3 | | Hopesfall Arbiter
Covers so many genres at once. Combine the spaciness of Rosetta with the intensity of Poison the Well. Great listen all the way through. |
2 | | Vein Errorzone
The album that shook hardcore in 2018 |
1 | | Night Verses From the Gallery of Sleep
Everything I've wanted to hear from an instrumental album. Extremely technical without the lack of song structure. Fairly easy choice for number 1 this year |
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