2018 in music (so far)
It is June and 2018 is halfway over. I thought it would be a good time to go through this year in music.
Here are 10 of my favorite releases from this year (not in particular order):
Favorite songs of 2018 (so far)
To me, 2018 has been shaping up to be a fantastic year in music (my personal life is another story). There have been one killer release after another,and there are more to come from Helalyn Flowers, Hanzel und Gretyl, Ladytron (I hope their new album comes out this year), VNV Nation, De/Vision to just name a few.
There were so many albums that I have heard and loved this year I thought I would figure I would just keep it to a ten for this list. Besides nothing is set in stone, that will come at the end of the year or early next year (depending on if there are any end of the year releases). I do love the new albums by Nordika, Brandi Carlile, Junksista, Mercury's Antennae (well, EP, not a full length album to be technical), and Cesium 137 a lot. Those artist and bands put out some great music that is just as good as those on my list. I didn't include them only because I wanted to allow myself some space to write out my thoughts.
Autumn finally released their long awaited third album Chandelier. It had been 17 years since their album Return to the Breath. The wait was definitely worth it. I have been listening to it since it came out at the end of March, and June is now half way over. That says a lot about the album's staying power with me. I have yet to get sick of any of the songs on the album. I could hear how time has affected the band (in a positive way). Their music isn't nowhere as dark as their first album The Hating Tree, it is more upbeat and positive with some glimmer of melancholy and angst. Julie Plante sounds still amazing with her powerful, soaring vocals. The musicianship of Jeff Leyda (bassist) and Neil McKay (guitarist) is impeccable and both men have definitely gotten better over time with their skills on their instruments. Time has definitely been very kind to the band, I could hear it in their lyrics and music. I was thrilled to finally see the band perform a good chunk of the album life last weekend. I was not disappointed. Autumn has always put a wonderful live show and the new songs really sounded great live. Don't be surprise if Chandelier ends up on the top of my annual best of list.
The other albums that I had been waiting with excitement was Blume's third album Ashes and Kirlian Camera's Hologram Moon. It had been five years since both bands had put out new music. The wait was worth it. I am glad I dropped $70 for the 2 disc version of Hologram Moon. There are some great tracks on it that you can't hear on the single disc version of the album. I probably already talked enough about Blume's new musical direction on past blog entries for some people but it is true. I really was surprised in their change in sound which is similar to Pride and Fall's brand of futurepop but I love it. It is perfect. "Desolation Road' though does bring the listener back to their early days when Rise From Grey first came out.
Lightflare by Psy'Aviah was the first 2018 I bought. I bought the deluxe edition with two discs. I particularly enjoyed the second disc which consisted of remixes and some new age/ambient tracks which is quite a huge departure for Yve Schelpe. I particularly love Yve's collaborations with Mari Kattman. The work those two do is nothing short of stunning.
Last week when I was putting together my post-punk playlist on Spotify, I discovered the band VV and The Void. Their album The Upper Room is wonderfully hynpotic and sent chills down my spine when I first listened to the album.
Fellow Minnesotans synthpop act Astronomique and rapper Dessa put out some solid new music. I was really happy to see Astronomique to finally put out a full length album. 2018 has been a great year for local music with Astronomique, Autumn, and Dessa putting out some fantastic music and getting on my mid-year review list. I started listening to Dessa' music on a regular basis when I checked out Parts of Speech from the library 2 years ago (I think) and would listen to it so damn much I ended up buying my own copy. I bought Chime within days it came out this year. "Half of You" is easily my favorite song off the album. Hip hop music is a hit or miss with me but Dessa makes the genre palatable for this casual fan. I love her personal, intimate stories she tells in her music and her delivery too.
I am going to admit it, I was wrong about Love is Dead by Chvrches. It is a great album to this music fanatic, it is a mixed bag for those who review music for a living. The album sounds a lot better as a whole entity. Just hearing a few tracks just wasn't cutting it with me.
Loreena McKennitt really can't do no wrong. I am so glad that she finally put out an album of original material. It had been too long. Yeah Lost Souls is no Mask and the Mirror or Book of Secrets but no album can be like its predecessors. Look at Autumn with their third album. The band took a more modern direction by adding more electronic music into their sound without totally ditching one iota of classic their post punk/darkwave sound . Some of Loreena's fans who have been complaining about Lost Souls not sounding like her previous albums drives me up the wall. Some people can never be satisfied I tell ya.
I have also included my updated playlist of my favorite songs from 2018 (so far). I couldn't help myself but have a couple of tracks by Autumn,Loreena Mckennitt, and Blume ;).
Here are 10 of my favorite releases from this year (not in particular order):
Favorite songs of 2018 (so far)
To me, 2018 has been shaping up to be a fantastic year in music (my personal life is another story). There have been one killer release after another,and there are more to come from Helalyn Flowers, Hanzel und Gretyl, Ladytron (I hope their new album comes out this year), VNV Nation, De/Vision to just name a few.
There were so many albums that I have heard and loved this year I thought I would figure I would just keep it to a ten for this list. Besides nothing is set in stone, that will come at the end of the year or early next year (depending on if there are any end of the year releases). I do love the new albums by Nordika, Brandi Carlile, Junksista, Mercury's Antennae (well, EP, not a full length album to be technical), and Cesium 137 a lot. Those artist and bands put out some great music that is just as good as those on my list. I didn't include them only because I wanted to allow myself some space to write out my thoughts.
Autumn finally released their long awaited third album Chandelier. It had been 17 years since their album Return to the Breath. The wait was definitely worth it. I have been listening to it since it came out at the end of March, and June is now half way over. That says a lot about the album's staying power with me. I have yet to get sick of any of the songs on the album. I could hear how time has affected the band (in a positive way). Their music isn't nowhere as dark as their first album The Hating Tree, it is more upbeat and positive with some glimmer of melancholy and angst. Julie Plante sounds still amazing with her powerful, soaring vocals. The musicianship of Jeff Leyda (bassist) and Neil McKay (guitarist) is impeccable and both men have definitely gotten better over time with their skills on their instruments. Time has definitely been very kind to the band, I could hear it in their lyrics and music. I was thrilled to finally see the band perform a good chunk of the album life last weekend. I was not disappointed. Autumn has always put a wonderful live show and the new songs really sounded great live. Don't be surprise if Chandelier ends up on the top of my annual best of list.
The other albums that I had been waiting with excitement was Blume's third album Ashes and Kirlian Camera's Hologram Moon. It had been five years since both bands had put out new music. The wait was worth it. I am glad I dropped $70 for the 2 disc version of Hologram Moon. There are some great tracks on it that you can't hear on the single disc version of the album. I probably already talked enough about Blume's new musical direction on past blog entries for some people but it is true. I really was surprised in their change in sound which is similar to Pride and Fall's brand of futurepop but I love it. It is perfect. "Desolation Road' though does bring the listener back to their early days when Rise From Grey first came out.
Lightflare by Psy'Aviah was the first 2018 I bought. I bought the deluxe edition with two discs. I particularly enjoyed the second disc which consisted of remixes and some new age/ambient tracks which is quite a huge departure for Yve Schelpe. I particularly love Yve's collaborations with Mari Kattman. The work those two do is nothing short of stunning.
Last week when I was putting together my post-punk playlist on Spotify, I discovered the band VV and The Void. Their album The Upper Room is wonderfully hynpotic and sent chills down my spine when I first listened to the album.
Fellow Minnesotans synthpop act Astronomique and rapper Dessa put out some solid new music. I was really happy to see Astronomique to finally put out a full length album. 2018 has been a great year for local music with Astronomique, Autumn, and Dessa putting out some fantastic music and getting on my mid-year review list. I started listening to Dessa' music on a regular basis when I checked out Parts of Speech from the library 2 years ago (I think) and would listen to it so damn much I ended up buying my own copy. I bought Chime within days it came out this year. "Half of You" is easily my favorite song off the album. Hip hop music is a hit or miss with me but Dessa makes the genre palatable for this casual fan. I love her personal, intimate stories she tells in her music and her delivery too.
I am going to admit it, I was wrong about Love is Dead by Chvrches. It is a great album to this music fanatic, it is a mixed bag for those who review music for a living. The album sounds a lot better as a whole entity. Just hearing a few tracks just wasn't cutting it with me.
Loreena McKennitt really can't do no wrong. I am so glad that she finally put out an album of original material. It had been too long. Yeah Lost Souls is no Mask and the Mirror or Book of Secrets but no album can be like its predecessors. Look at Autumn with their third album. The band took a more modern direction by adding more electronic music into their sound without totally ditching one iota of classic their post punk/darkwave sound . Some of Loreena's fans who have been complaining about Lost Souls not sounding like her previous albums drives me up the wall. Some people can never be satisfied I tell ya.
I have also included my updated playlist of my favorite songs from 2018 (so far). I couldn't help myself but have a couple of tracks by Autumn,Loreena Mckennitt, and Blume ;).
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