Listed below are the best albums of 2018 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 58,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 3 hours ago).
"Right from the Tonetta-like opener Charlotte’s Thong through to the weepy Les Be Honest, NZ’s Connan Mockasin keeps you transfixed by his mopey adolescent narrative, even if most of the lyrics are unintelligible. His yodelly whine occasionally grates, but set amidst the greasy guitar and snippets...""Right from the Tonetta-like opener Charlotte’s Thong through to the weepy Les Be Honest, NZ’s Connan Mockasin keeps you transfixed by his mopey adolescent narrative, even if most of the lyrics are unintelligible. His yodelly whine occasionally grates, but set amidst the greasy guitar and snippets of dialogue, it tells the story perfectly. James Blake’s feature on Momo’s might be the best thing he’s done in years."[+]Reply
"Thank You For Today represents, what should be, a breath of fresh air for Death Cab - two new members in the fold. And if it's anything Death Cab needs at this moment in their career is some new wind. Though the loss of Chris Walla is often seen as a detriment to the band's future, it seemed that...""Thank You For Today represents, what should be, a breath of fresh air for Death Cab - two new members in the fold. And if it's anything Death Cab needs at this moment in their career is some new wind.
Though the loss of Chris Walla is often seen as a detriment to the band's future, it seemed that the band was already on, what most would consider, a downwards trend with albums such as 'Codes and Keys' and 'Kintsugi'. Walla's departure is felt in the band's production following Kintsugi. I personally enjoyed the production of Kintsugi, I won't deny that it is overproduced at times, but I felt it fit for the more electronic sound DCFC was experimenting with. However, Thank You For Today takes Kintsugi's sanitized production and ups it to eleven. On some tracks, Gibbard's vocals are filtered through strange effects and he just seems alien at times. And while that could certainly fit, it never does. And for such an album that seems more nostalgic in lyrical content - the in-personal production on Gibbard's voice does not benefit.
'I Dreamt We Spoke' is an unusual introduction to the album. I felt that it should've been a second track - the despondent chords the resolution to something prior. But there is nothing prior - this is the introduction to the album: strange given the otherwise cohesive mood that the album creates through its 38 minute run. The track is okay; it runs out of ideas by the end of the first chorus however and you can't help but feel there should be something greater on the horizon - as if the filter on Ben's vocals should disappear but nothing quite resolves.
Thank You For Today represents a softer turn for DCFC. It is a mesh of the pop sounds of Codes and Keys and the clean production of Kintsugi. And its softer side is where it shines. Tracks like 'When We Drive', 'You Moved Away' and '60 and Punk', tracks where the guitars don't control the primary melodies, are perhaps the best on the album. 'When We Drive' has clean, spacey synthesizer chords and some nostalgic lyrics from Gibbard - it is a pretty, atmospheric pop cut. '60 and Punk' has a odd flanger piano melody with Gibbard recalling a fallen hero, a beautiful closer to the album. 'You Moved Away' has a interesting warped synth melody panning throughout, and the additional acoustic guitars that pop up later through the song are a nice touch. However, the song is hindered by a rather weak chorus.
When DCFC decides to go back to its rockier roots, they falter. 'Summer Years' sounds like a song made by fans of the band rather than the real deal: it's fine, the melodies are fine - the track is fine, but just fine. 'Summer Years' just seems to be on the tracklist for people to recall the days of old DCFC (but with less interesting guitar melodies). 'Your Hurricane' sounds like Title Track but, simply put, not as good. A 30 second teaser was released near the announcement of the album, aiding my personal theory that these tracks were included merely to appease old school DCFC fans.
Tracks such as 'Gold Rush' and 'Autumn Love' are somewhat forgettable and represent a shift into poppier territory. However, they are far from the most egregious attempts on Thank You For Today at crafting a generic pop song - that award goes to 'Near/Far'. The track in question sounds like a Mylo Xyloto era Coldplay track with its danceable guitar melody and Gibbard's faded vocal production. Yet, in spite of its energy, the track is simply boring. The poppier tracks on this album aren't terrible, they're simply too devoid of captivating melodies for pop fans and a far cry from the standard of writing that DCFC were once used to (debatably a decade ago, but still).
The track 'Northern Lights', personally, reminds me of X&Y era Coldplay. It's also boring. There really isn't much to say about a lot of tracks on the album in all honesty: pretty guitar melodies that go nowhere, and you want the track to be over at the 2:40 mark and the song goes on for another minute.
This is Death Cab's worst album. At times, it barely feels like a DCFC album. Tracks such as 'Near/Far' and 'Gold Rush' are so devoid of what made Death Cab, well, Death Cab and the good tracks are few and far between.
Maybe the album will grow on me, but right now I'd give it somewhere around a 4 to a 5. "[+]Reply
"Metric achieve their most consistent and well-put together record since Fantasies in this indie rock album. With engaging and varied material and quite possibly their best lyrical content ever, Art of doubt is sure to get the respect it deserves, given some time. My pick for best album of 2018. T...""Metric achieve their most consistent and well-put together record since Fantasies in this indie rock album. With engaging and varied material and quite possibly their best lyrical content ever, Art of doubt is sure to get the respect it deserves, given some time. My pick for best album of 2018.
The first half of the album is more consistent but the second half has some true gems.
Best: Now or Never Now, Dressed to Suppress, No Lights on the Horizon
Worst: Art of Doubt"[+]Reply
"The eleven track version of the album is nice enough, quite relaxing considering the theme, but I still prefer the record that was released in early '75. The 'original' lyrics on this release seem a little clunky and clumsy on some tracks (mainly, Tangled up in blue, and, Idiot wind), not to say ...""The eleven track version of the album is nice enough, quite relaxing considering the theme, but I still prefer the record that was released in early '75. The 'original' lyrics on this release seem a little clunky and clumsy on some tracks (mainly, Tangled up in blue, and, Idiot wind), not to say weird (although I just did), probably because i'm so used to the official versions. You can see why, Up to me, didn't make the final tracklist, being so similar musically to, Shelter from the storm, too. Would, Blood on the tracks, be thought of a classic in the same way it is now if it had been originally released like this? It's certainly Dylan's strongest set of songs since, Blonde on blonde, but I do think the '75 album is the right one, although this record certainly works in it's own right, just different. This album is much more than just a collection of bare boned versions of songs that would appear fully formed later. A good addition to the Bootleg series. "[+]Reply
"A few relistens helped me understood how to appreciate this album. It definitely is an album of texture. I love it for how it sounds and the subtleties in its texture."Reply
"Sometimes this is somehow plain, but at other times it's a very happy album and perfect for some background noise. I really dig this even though I never heard about White Denim until now. Somehow the frontman's voice reminds me of FJM but in a more upbeat kind of way. Favorite songs: "Magazin", "...""Sometimes this is somehow plain, but at other times it's a very happy album and perfect for some background noise. I really dig this even though I never heard about White Denim until now. Somehow the frontman's voice reminds me of FJM but in a more upbeat kind of way.
Favorite songs: "Magazin", "Moves On", "It Might Get Dark""[+]Reply
"This album tells a story about a natural disaster ,its mainly orchesteral instrumental with Laurie Anderson speaking poetry in parts. Atmospheric 55/100"Reply