midway favourites of 2018

[sevendaughters]

OK it's not quite half the year, but given that people compile end of year lists at the end of November, it is.

BANGERS
Tal National - Tantabara (polyrhythmic pontillist Niger broken-meter funk)
Mamuthones - Fear on the Corner (Italian guitar band discover Remain In Light)

BUBBLING UNDER
Parliament - Medicaid Fraud Dogg (funk vet returns, doesn't disgrace legacy, hates Trump)
John Maus - Addendum (off-cuts from last half decade, but what glorious off-cuts)
Frog Eyes - Violet Psalms (grizzled Canadian yowler's last hurrah)
JPEGMAFIA - Veteran (dark rap for people with attention deficit issues)
The Sea & Cake - Any Day (do you wish Tortoise and Stereolab would play together?)
Chris Reimer - Hello People (ex-Women guitarist, now dead, made a lot of interesting ambient recordings in his time)
John B McLemore - Witness Marks (ex-S Town subject, now dead, made a lot of interesting ambient recordings in his time)
MGMT - Little Dark Age (continuing their 'one for the label, one for us' streak, a grower)
Himelvaruwe - Het onkenbare (one man Dutch black metal with a bit of a Shining-esque groove)
Occelensbrigg - The Cosmic Winter State (crushing black metal demo)
Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mundo (restrained Isley Bros informed guitar pop with some more esoteric grabs)
Apostille - Choose Life (posi-pop on synths from guy who should NOT have broken up Anxiety imo)

what have you got?

[Sebastian Cobb]

Rm Hubbert/Aidan Moffat - Here Lies The Body

[Ornlu]

The Lovely Eggs - This Is Eggland
Kraus - Path
Iceage - Beyondless
U.S. Girls - In A Poem Unlimited
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!
Ganser - Odd Talk
FACS - Negative Houses
Oneohtrix Point Never - Age Of

YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN - Dirt
The Body - I Have Fought Against It, But I Can't Any Longer.
Wrekmeister Harmonies - The Alone Rush
Evil Blizzard - The Worst Show On Earth
Turnstile - Time & Space
Slugdge - Esoteric Malacology

[purlieu]

Strong
The Future Sound of London - My Kingdom Reimagined
Simple Minds - Walk Between Worlds
Abul Mogard - Above All Dreams
The Long Light - Hiraeth
Current 93 - The Stars on Their Horsies
Danish String Quartet - Last Leaf
Sophie - Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides
Jakob Bro - Returnings
Shinya Fukumori Trio - For 2 Akis
Steve Tibbetts - Life of
Bobo Stenson Trio - Contra La Indecisión
Cleaners From Venus - Star Cafe
Matthewdavid's Mindflight / HOLOVR - Schleißen 6
Autechre - NTS Sessions
Zaumne - Emo Dub

Not bad but the artists are capable of much better
Chvrches - Love is Dead
Manic Street Preachers - Resistance is Futile
Biosphere - The Hilvarenbeek Recordings
Tangerine Dream - Sessions II
The Orb - No Sounds Are Out of Bounds

[Malcy]

August Greene (Common, Karriem Riggins & Robert Glasper)  - August Greene. What an album, could have done with more Bilal though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jUmER_WcQM

Their NPR Tiny Desk Concert is as good as the album too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5p8Bmv0NSQ

[SteveDave]

From 2018

Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino- Arctic Monkeys
God's Favorite Customer- Father John Misty

Not from 2018

Honky Chateau- Elton John
Belladonna Of Sadness- Alexandra Savior
Muswell Hillbillies- The Kinks
Permanent Damage- The GTOs

[holyzombiejesus]

Bonny Doon (the first album on Melodic)

https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,43796.msg3446475.html#msg3446475

[Neville Chamberlain]

The Ex - 27 Passports

An absolute fecking banger of an album.

[Kane Jones]

Albums

TOP 10
No. 1: Jon Hopkins - Singularity
Cavern Of Anti-Matter - Hormone Lemonade
Anna Von Hausswolff - Dead Magic
Ghost - Prequelle
Head Technician - Profane Architecture
Roland Sebastian Faber - RSF
Hookworms - Microshift
Klaus Schulze - Silhouettes
GoGo Penguin - A Humdrum Star
Ceephax - Camelot Arcade

TOP 20
Nils Frahm - All Melody
Airsculpture - Travelling Light
Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids - An Angel Fell
The Advisory Circle - Ways Of Seeing
Beautify Junkyards - The Invisible World Of Beautify Junkyards
Rival Consoles - Persona
Daniel Avery - Song For Alpha
Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mundo
Tom Middleton - Sleep Better
Thy Catafalque - Geometria

TOP 30
Moomin - Yesterday's Tomorrows
Simian Mobile Disco - Murmuration
Northaunt - Istid III
Gwenno - Le Kov
Miracle - The Strife Of Love In A Dream
Steve Roach - Molecules In Motion
The Go! Team - Semicircle
Shame - Songs Of Praise
Vive La Void - Vive La Void
Bombino - Deran

TOP 40
The Orb - No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds
Gazpacho - Soyuz
The Soft Moon - Criminal 
µ-Ziq - Challenge Me Foolish
Death & Vanilla - The Tenant
Chris Carter - Chemistry Lessons Volume 1
Ty Segall - Freedom's Goblin
Joan As Police Woman - Damned Devotion
U.S. Girls - In A Poem Unlimited
Chrvches - Love Is Dead

TOP 50
Mint Field - Pasar De Las Luces
Brian Eno - Music For Installations
Retep Folo - Galactic Sounds
MGMT - Little Dark Age
Simple Minds - Walk Between Worlds
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Hope Downs
Ryley Walker - Deafman Glance
Poliça &  s t a r g a z e  - Music For The Long Emergency
Beach House - 7
Wooden Shjips - V

TOP 60
Tracey Thorn - Record
Fischerspooner - Sir
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Sex & Food
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Gumboot Soup
Mark Pritchard - The Four Worlds
Aukai - Branches Of Sun
Eels - The Deconstruction
Flug 8 - Leuchtkraft
TT - Lovelaws
Johnny Jewel - Digital Rain

EPs, compilations, re-releases

TOP 10
No. 1: Majeure - Timespan Redux
Dosem - Not A Coincidence EP
Yotto - Radiate EP
Eskimo Recordings Presents: The Purple Collection
Daniel Avery - Projector EP
Global Underground: Afterhours 8
Applied Music Vol. 2 - Plastics Today
Martin Roth - Hypno Seq EP
Peggy Gou - Once EP
Gumba Fire: Bubblegum Soul & Synth Boogie in 1980s South Africa

TOP 20
David Hohne - Soft Landing EP
Daniel Avery - Slow Fade EP
A Year In The Country: Audio Albion
Erased Tapes Collection IX
Portico Quartet - Untitled (AITAOA #2)
Kuniyuki Takahashi - Early Tape Works 1986-1993 Vol. 1 EP
Uneven Paths: Deviant Pop From Europe 1980-1991
Ministry Of Sound: 80s Soul Jams
Brown Acid: The Sixth Trip
Serge Gainsbourg & Jean-Claude Vannier - Les Chemins de Katmandou


Stuff I've listened to and like but haven't got around to rating yet

DJ Kicks - Forest Swords
Late Night Tales - Agnes Obel
Soul Jazz Records Presents: Yoruba! Songs and Rhythms for the Yoruba Gods in Nigeria 
Steve Tibbetts - Life Of
Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch
Leon Vynehall - Nothing Is Still
Melody's Echo Chamber - Bon Voyage
Jon Hassell - Listening To Pictures (Pentimento Volume One)
Surgeon - Luminosity Device
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Panic Blooms
John Maus - Addendums
Autechre - NTS Sessions 1-4

[Neville Chamberlain]

Cavern Of Anti-Matter - Hormone Lemonade

Oooh yes, this is good, too. Saw them live a couple of weeks back.

[sevendaughters]

need to check this US Girls thing.

[Z]

Song of the year: track 2 of that Nicolas Jaar album

Albums of the year:
Daytona
Kids See Ghosts
That Nicolas Jaar album


Far better year than last year already for me

[alan nagsworth]

SOPHIE's album is probably the best thing I've heard this year so far, but there's some cracking stuff about, namely:

Ty Segall - Freedom's Goblin
If types of rock music were trees, and riffs were vines, Ty would be Tarzan, effortlessly swinging from from to the next and dominating the fuck out of every single one. This album pretty much cements him as king of the jungle. An eclectic and damn near flawless display. That cover of Every1's A Winner, fuuuckinell.

Amen Dunes - Freedom
2018 the year of freedom. Always been a fan of this guy from his woozy Velvet Underground vibes on the Love album, but here it's probably closer to David Gray, except... well, this is good. Really fucking good. Just naturally really damn good.

Ceephax - Camelot Arcade
Sprawling melodic electronica keeping Jenkinson's love for baroque music, and tying it in with more of a lush Italo disco/Tresor vibe which works wonders and might be the best thing I've heard him do.

MGMT - Little Dark Age
They're not always, great, are they? But they were on Congratulations and they are here once more. When You Die is an absolutely cracking tune.

U.S. Girls - In a Poem Unlimited
I won't pretend to know anything of her back catalogue which I'm told is a lot more experimental than this, but what I know for sure is this is a magnificent, textural pop record. At times she really sounds like Kylie too, and that's by no means a bad thing.

Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino
I don't just like this because it's a middle finger to the Strongbow Dark Fruits-skulling bucket hat-wearing fans they'd swept up with AM, I also like it because it's a daft, indulgent and laid-back lounge affair with just enough smugness to not hamper what is a very nicely written record. An interesting direction which could have bombed, but for me, did not.

Oh and all of those Kanye-associated albums: DAYTONA, Kids See Ghosts, NASIR, ye and K.T.S.E., they're all fucking top banana.

[BlodwynPig]

Christina Aguilera - Liberation
Twink - Think Pink III
Telefuzz - Chimps in Space
Spiralmaze - Dunes of Dorlmeus
Space Ghost - Endless Light
Seahawks - Eternal Beams
Moomin - Yesterday's Tomorrows
Koan - It's the Quiet Ones You've Got to Watch
Juno Reactor - The Mutant Theatre
International Debris - Ambisphere
Gracerooms - Surfin' the Scratchness
Future Beat Alliance - FBA21 Remixed
Eartheater - Irisiri
Cosmic Ground - IV

[phantom_power]

No love for The Breeders new one? Was that this year?

I have listened to a lot of older stuff this year but I did like these that I heard that are new:

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Gaz Coombes
That Aiden Moffat collaboration

[poodlefaker]

Joe Armon-Jones / Starting Today - brilliant snapshot of the current London jazz scene: a bit dubby, a bit afrobeaty, a bit jazzfunky. Moses Boyd is on it, Nubya Garcia, Oscar Jerome...talking of which:

Oscar Jerome / Subdued

[non capisco]

LIST

Cheers, Kane-o. This'll keep me busy. Been finding myself mired in one of those 'just listen to your old faves' cycles recently.

Also, I had no idea that Idris Ackamoor and the Pyramids had had a new one out, so that'll do for a kick off.

[Z]

The Story of Adidon by Pusha T might be song of the year in terms of the one I got most fascinated with. So mean spirited that it's bordering hilarious, like a heel wrestler that's so good the crowd are just impressed by how talented he is.

[chveik]

Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet - Landfall
of Montreal - White is Relic/Irrealis Mood
Flatbush Zombies - Vacation in Hell
Anna von Hausswolf - Dead Magic

[Kane Jones]

Cheers, Kane-o. This'll keep me busy. Been finding myself mired in one of those 'just listen to your old faves' cycles recently.

Also, I had no idea that Idris Ackamoor and the Pyramids had had a new one out, so that'll do for a kick off.

No worries, P. Coltrane. The Idris album is fucking ace. Get on that shit.

Some stuff I've not heard of in t'other lists here. Will get amongst it. Cheers all.

[purlieu]

International Debris - Ambisphere

You are much too kind. *blush*
(Although really it's just a polished up version of a 2015 album.)

[Porter Dimi]

Still very behind on releases, but some stuff I've been enjoying:

Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
Beach House - 7
Father John Misty - God's Favourite Customer
Jonny Greenwood - Phantom Thread (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Kadhja Bonet - Childqueen
Melody's Echo Chamber - Bon Voyage
Snail Mail - Lush
U.S. Girls - In A Poem Unlimited

And one of the best albums I've heard this year but one that isn't at all enjoyable and is actually bleak as fuck:
The Caretaker - Everywhere at the End of Time Stage 4

[alan nagsworth]

I should also note that Vundabar's new album Smell Smoke is a little under-the-radar gem that deserves a lot more attention, especially from folks on here as I know a lot of people would enjoy it. Sharp post-punk/indie stuff, great licks, inventive song structures.

Here's a really good song from the album and it's called Tonight I'm Wearing Silk. Enjoy!

[non capisco]

In complete agreement with any nominators of 'Freedom's Goblin' by Ty Segall. There was a period about four years ago when that bloke was releasing an album or an EP every lunchtime and accidentally forming bands on his way to the shops, and most of it fell into the category of 'yeah, this is alright, sounds like Ty Segall' so being made aware of another new 19 track album by him didn't really make my pulse quicken. It sounds like his magnum opus though, endlessly catchy, playful, eclectic and FUN. My favourite thing he's put out in years. It really sounds like he's given this one his all which sometimes isn't true of his output. Plus I adore the word 'goblin', always have, always will.