Music director Will Moore's Top 10 albums of 2018
- Serpentwithfeet- soil
This spring Baltimore born singer Josiah Wise came out with the dark and haunting sophomore album that took his embellished jazzy style of gospel-inspired singing to new heights. With an unbelievable range and hypnotic choruses that swell like storms, Wise established himself as an artist to watch in the future.
- Lake Street Dive - Free Yourself Up
Rachael Price doesn't just have a great voice. She has THE great voice - maybe the most powerful in popular music right now. Free Yourself Up has Price and her incredibly strong trio of bandmates at their absolute peak. They bring along plenty of muscle to go along with their poppy hooks to make some great good ol' fashioned rock and roll.
- Jack White - Boarding House Reach
Hey speaking of rock and roll, the Hendrix of this generation, Jack White, put out his wildest and weirdest record this year- which given his discography is saying something. But White continues to push himself on a record that's as downright funky as it is experimental. The single "Over and Over and Over" is probably the most infectious riff he's concocted since Seven Nation Army.
- Phosphorescent - C'est La Vie
Matthew Houck returned after a five-year drought with his best album yet. His long, rambling and soft-spoken style of indie Americana ranges a full spectrum of emotions from jubilant to hopeless, with an array of instruments to express them. Vocoders blend with pedal steel guitar on sweet somber numbers, but others just rock out in the hardest way. C'est La Vie turned an artist I only sort of liked into a new favorite.
- Caroline Rose - Loner
This was my most pleasantly surprising album this year. Rose writes catchy, poppy songs with undercurrents of punk an B-52's style campiness. But her lyrics are substantial, dealing with growing up, trials of dating in the modern age, and sexism. She also had my favorite album cover this year - just a photo of her in a bright red Adidas tracksuit smoking a whole pack of cigarettes at once. For some reason, It fit this breakout record perfectly.
- Kamasi Washington - Heaven & Hell
Washington has to be the biggest and brightest new influence in jazz today. A virtuosic saxophone player, he creates epic, multilayered pieces that draw from a myriad of American music styles and blends them into something new. Beneath stellar solos, you'll hear hip-hop beats, funk basslines from Thundercat, even electronics mixed with gospel choirs chanting against oppression.
- John Prine - Tree of Forgiveness
The American music legend released his 23rd album at 71, and even after a long career and recent health problems, Prine is still a full well of wit and clever, heartwarming songwriting focusing on simple pleasures and thankfulness. Every song a gem, even the ones that barely last two minutes With songs that reflect on his own life with a smile, you'll be hard pressed to not do the same when listening to Tree of Forgiveness.
- Low - Double Negative
Believe it or not, the Duluth band gave the world one of the most critically acclaimed albums this year, mostly because, well they created something that sounds like nothing anyone has ever done. Double Negative is a clinic in pure sound manipulation that hits you in waves and is just too eerie to stop listening to. It's a far cry from their drone-rock sound, but the dark soul of their craft has never been more pure and unbridled.
- Christine and the Queens - Chris
From the moment I heard their 2014 debut, I wanted more of this French Band led by Heloise Letissier, their gender-defying singer-songwriter known for her stage presence and killer dance moves. Their sophomore album blew away all my expectations. Described as a more muscular album, Chris melds modern pop with vintage Europop to make music so much cooler and more meaningful than both. And it was recorded in two languages! This is an album and band that just can't be missed.
1. Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer
I'll be honest, the number one spot was not even a competition this year, and many similar lists agree. Dirty Computer is next-level pop music perfection beginning to end. It's as unceasing in its flow of hip-hop and Prince-inspired jams as it is unyielding in its subject matter of sexuality, race, feminism, and political critique. But it presents everything with pure unfiltered joy and celebration. And that's the element that elevates Monae and her third record to be not just the best this year, but one of the best albums of the decade.
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