Local MN music of 2018
2018 has been an amazing year for new music. I have been inundated with new music which is going to make my annual best of list immensely challenging to create. It also been a great year for local music too. I thought I would post some of my favorite releases that I have heard this year (so far).
Hands down Autumn's long-awaited third album Chandelier is in my top spot of my favorite 2018 release in the local music scene. Their album couldn't have arrived at a better time (when I was still dealing with the effects of the trauma from the previous summer which was then followed by the death of my father all within a 90 day time span). Their music was the one of the albums I could listen to without getting into one of my infamous mood swings and just shut down). Their previous albums The Hating Tree and Return to the Breath were quite dark so I was pleasantly surprised by how more upbeat the new album was. Time has definitely had a positive effect on the band, and it can be heard in the deeply personal lyrics and the band's ever changing sound.
The only album that could give Autumn a serious run for its money for the top of my best of 2018 (local and national) is the new album by Promidal Magnum Tenebrosum which was just released five days ago. Their second album Simul iustus et peccator is excellent but Magnum Tenebrosum just steamrolls over it with its crushing brand of black industrial/metal. It is a strangely beautiful album in very dark, bleak way. There have been moments when I feel like I am listening to old Combichrist especially on the track "Throat Fucked With a Gun", very Combichrist-like on that track. I have been listening to the album once or twice a day at work. The music is also perfect for my afternoon commute home for those moments when there is some asshole speaking loudly over the phone.
Tiny Deaths and Astronomique kicked out some killer synthpop music with their new albums Magic and Sharp Divide. They are probably too poppy for those in the local goth scene but I have been a fan of these groups' music for a few years now and unapologetically so too.
Once again, Dessa cranked out another beautiful hip hop/pop album with Chime. I was though a bit surprised by how short the album was but as I have said on numerous occasions on my blog, better to be left wanting more than thinking that the album was too long with mediocre filler tracks.
Over the last couple of years, I have started losing interest in EBM and began more interested in post punk and dream pop music. When I hear the same beats over and over again, I want to rip my ears off. It was a huge breath of fresh air when Zwaremachine released Be A Light. I was like "Yes! Finally something that is in the vein of Front Line Assembly, KMFDM, and early Ministry". Don't be surprised if you see it in my top 20 best of 2018 list which I will post at the end of the year.
I also have some interesting albums by artists/bands whose genres I am really not into but lately I have been trying to expand my musical horizons. Gully Boys and Scrunchies were mentioned in this year's City Pages annual Picked to Click so naturally I was curious about their music. I definitely understand why they were chosen. I particularly enjoyed Scrunchies's straight forward brand of punk music.
Over the summer I got to see The Lioness perform live as an opening act for hip hop artist Psalm One. She (as well as Psalm One) are so grossly underrated in the hip hop scene. Her new album Greater Vision is excellent. Side note, I love seeing some queer representation in a music scene that isn't always queer friendly, and a female hip hop artist that isn't like Cardi B or Nicki Minaj, and whose music has actual substance in her lyrics.
Hands down Autumn's long-awaited third album Chandelier is in my top spot of my favorite 2018 release in the local music scene. Their album couldn't have arrived at a better time (when I was still dealing with the effects of the trauma from the previous summer which was then followed by the death of my father all within a 90 day time span). Their music was the one of the albums I could listen to without getting into one of my infamous mood swings and just shut down). Their previous albums The Hating Tree and Return to the Breath were quite dark so I was pleasantly surprised by how more upbeat the new album was. Time has definitely had a positive effect on the band, and it can be heard in the deeply personal lyrics and the band's ever changing sound.
The only album that could give Autumn a serious run for its money for the top of my best of 2018 (local and national) is the new album by Promidal Magnum Tenebrosum which was just released five days ago. Their second album Simul iustus et peccator is excellent but Magnum Tenebrosum just steamrolls over it with its crushing brand of black industrial/metal. It is a strangely beautiful album in very dark, bleak way. There have been moments when I feel like I am listening to old Combichrist especially on the track "Throat Fucked With a Gun", very Combichrist-like on that track. I have been listening to the album once or twice a day at work. The music is also perfect for my afternoon commute home for those moments when there is some asshole speaking loudly over the phone.
Tiny Deaths and Astronomique kicked out some killer synthpop music with their new albums Magic and Sharp Divide. They are probably too poppy for those in the local goth scene but I have been a fan of these groups' music for a few years now and unapologetically so too.
Once again, Dessa cranked out another beautiful hip hop/pop album with Chime. I was though a bit surprised by how short the album was but as I have said on numerous occasions on my blog, better to be left wanting more than thinking that the album was too long with mediocre filler tracks.
Over the last couple of years, I have started losing interest in EBM and began more interested in post punk and dream pop music. When I hear the same beats over and over again, I want to rip my ears off. It was a huge breath of fresh air when Zwaremachine released Be A Light. I was like "Yes! Finally something that is in the vein of Front Line Assembly, KMFDM, and early Ministry". Don't be surprised if you see it in my top 20 best of 2018 list which I will post at the end of the year.
I also have some interesting albums by artists/bands whose genres I am really not into but lately I have been trying to expand my musical horizons. Gully Boys and Scrunchies were mentioned in this year's City Pages annual Picked to Click so naturally I was curious about their music. I definitely understand why they were chosen. I particularly enjoyed Scrunchies's straight forward brand of punk music.
Over the summer I got to see The Lioness perform live as an opening act for hip hop artist Psalm One. She (as well as Psalm One) are so grossly underrated in the hip hop scene. Her new album Greater Vision is excellent. Side note, I love seeing some queer representation in a music scene that isn't always queer friendly, and a female hip hop artist that isn't like Cardi B or Nicki Minaj, and whose music has actual substance in her lyrics.
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