Top Albums of 2018
“You Think You’re a Comic!” – Gus Dapperton
Genre: Indie Pop
The New York native first blew up on the scene in 2017 when releasing “Yellow and Such.” In February, he did not disappoint with his latest EP titled “You Think You’re a Comic!”
The EP is only four songs, but the diversity and songwriting of Dapperton makes it one of the best albums of the year.
Since Dapperton exploded on the scene, his take on new indie rock mixed with synth-pop has been a breath of fresh air.
“You Think You’re a Comic!” has an ‘80s feel, with a distinct, raspy vocal range coming from a skinny 21-year-old artist. As for song arrangements, the keys on each track sell the sound and creativity, bringing the electronic-pop with a vocal arrangement similar to King Krule.
“You Think You’re a Comic!” brings a jazzy upbeat tempo with the hit song “Prune, You Talk Funny” but also brings a dramatic depression feel with other tracks on such as “I Have Lost My Pearls.” This EP brings out emotion with each track, coming from Dapperton’s distinct rasp and eerie vocals that scream originality.
“You Think You’re a Comic!” leaves a hole in the heart wanting more, but with his songwriting ability, Dapperton will become a household name in no time.
“I Loved You At Your Darkest” – Behemoth
Genre: Black Metal
With punishing intensity, “I Loved You At Your Darkest” leaves its lasting impression upon its audience by demanding an emotional response.
Stoic guitar melodies are interwoven effortlessly amid bouts of bludgeoning fury and snarled vocal performances.
Chanted male choir passages on tracks like “Bartzabel” and “Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica,” further declare the call for that aforementioned visceral cooperation between listener and music.
The sporadic, recurring sound of children chanting anti-Christian phrases throughout the album is undoubtedly unconventional, but in the opening track “Solve” the children enthusiastic chant, “Living God! I shall not forgive! Jesus Christ! I forgive thee not!” and it makes sense.
The intense, dark embrace of this record is something difficult to achieve in the way Behemoth has, which, when paired with the band’s striking visual factor, will leave an indelible mark on metal music.
“Sweetener”– Ariana Grande
Genre: Pop
There is something about “Sweetener” that doesn’t quite sit right– in the best way, of course. A slight dissonance is present in many scenes of the album.
Examples of this dissonance can be found in “Borderline,” “The Light Is Coming,” and most notably the title track “Sweetener.” Pharrell Williams makes his mark as one of the album’s more prolific producers in these songs.
The production of this album is much of what gives the songs their creative flair. Ariana Grande’s soaring vocal performance and soulfully flirtatious attitude paired with the disjointed synth melodies of songs like the title track form a strange, precarious bond.
In the best way possible, “Sweetener” sounds like a very interesting mess at times but otherwise is beautiful and lush throughout.
The tracks produced by Ilya and Max Martin (e.g. “Breathin,” “Everytime,” and “No Tears Left to Cry”) act as more traditionally structured, grandiose pop songs. This is not to say that Ilya or Martin’s parts of the album are in any way trite or overstated. Rather they are graciously textured, catchy nuggets of sonic stability among Pharrell’s wonderfully off-kilter tracks.
One of the best aspects of this album is the lack of filler. For a pop album, this is outstanding. Almost every song seems purposeful with consistent levels of creativity.
“Livingsucks” – Bones
Genre: Rap
In 2013, the underground rapper Bones blew up on the scene when he released “Scumbag” and “Paidprogramming.”
The young Michigan-raised rapper has a different feel compared to most the underground rappers, with his unordinary beats and jumping from a fast-paced rap to his monotone voice.
“Livingsucks,” released in August, is just another well-written album from Bones. He undoubtedly has some of the best producers in the scene producing for him time and time again.
This is the second album released by Bones this year, and under the name, he has released 35 albums since 2012.
Bones continues to release new material every year but sticks to his roots with the depressive monotone sound he puts out. The diversity of his writing creatively tells stories about his lifestyle, along with talking smack about other mainstream rappers for selling out.
Bones continues this in “Livingsucks,” and without question, his sound is like no other rapper with his dark sound. The 16-song album “Livingsucks” shows off his talents and distinct beats yet again in another album added to his discography.
“Soy Pablo” – Boy Pablo
Genre: Indie Rock
This is the second album by Boy Pablo, and “Soy Pablo” takes a huge step in the right direction for the young Norwegian.
“Soy Pablo” is a poppy, catchy album filled with guitar riffs similar to a Mac Demarco.
The whole album has a recurring theme of falling in love, referencing relationships of his own. Beyond the lyrics, the music is written in a way that no one can really tell a lot of these songs are sad love songs, with the exception of “Sick Feeling” and “Limitado.”
Boy Pablo shows off his vocal range especially well in the chorus section and bridges of songs like “Feeling Lonely” and “T-shirt.”
“Soy Pablo” is overall a well-composed album that will take the young songwriter far in the scene he is in competing with the surf rock and surf pop genre that has blown up in the last couple years.
“Collapse” – Aphex Twin
Genre: Electronic
“Collapse” delivers the twisted, glitchy signature electronic music that has been missing from Richard D. James’ recent catalog.
James, the man behind the moniker Aphex Twin, delves into a synthesis of his haunting synthesizer sequences and spastic drum patterns.
The EP’s rigidly chaotic opener “T69 collapse” offers a reminiscence of his earlier works, which were often filled with pummeling splices of sound sometimes reaching the point of cacophony.
Low, ominous synth passages throughout “Collapse” exist entirely synced to James’ wide array of drum samples, firing off with little regard for direction. Tracks like “1st 44” and “abundance10edit[2R8’s, FZ20m & a 909]” exhibit James’ flirtation with Chicago-style footwork music.
The song “pthex” is a dark, synthy ender that wraps up the release, leaving listeners wanting to circle back to “T69 collapse.” His subtle openness as an artist on “Collapse” is a gentle reminder that Aphex Twin’s level of pioneering experimentation is still expansive and unmatched by others in his genre.
