Afternoon all! List month rages on! Overall, I feel like 2018 had a ton to love in the music world. But when this year was bad, it was REALLY bad. Let's chat about 10 of this year's darkest moments.
10. The Shins - The Worms Heart
If you thought last year’s “Heartworms” was disappointing, let me tell you, this is even more disappointing. James Mercer had this concept of sending an album he already recorded and “flipping” it, reversing the tracklist, making fast songs slow and vice versa. The only issue with that is, James only really keeps up with that concept for a select few tunes here. His re-imaginings of tracks like “Mildenhall” and “Half a Million” show that this could have been at the best, an interesting counterpart to “Heartworms”. But the rest of these tracks show James really dropping the ball in a big way, not “flipping” these tracks for any artistic value, but more than anything seemingly doing it just to fit the concept of this album. If this was a short EP with a handful of re-works, this could have been really pleasant. But it just gets out of control really fast, and James doesn’t sound like he can handle it.
9. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Panic Blooms
Black Moth Super Rainbow return after a few years with their safest and most puzzling album to date. Throughout the years, I feel like this project was absolutely hard to dissect and very heady. But at the very least, it was a fun project. But this, whatever the hell this is isn't fun. I don't want to vibe out to any of these songs, most of them are just boring and seriously bland. There are a few interesting detours into ChillWave and SynthWave. But outside of that, sure there are some cool sounds here and there, but the bulk of this album is massively disappointing.
8. Drinks - Hippo Lite
Cate Le Bon and Tim Presley come together for their second album under the DRINKS name, and it might just be the most awkward collaboration you'll hear this entire year. Cate is a truly accomplished Singer-Songwriter, and I've loved Tim's production in the past, this should be a match made in heaven. But there are only a very few moments on here that DRINKS sound like they're on the same page. The performances are genuinely awkward, the instrumentals are amateurish, and if this album has a direction I don't know what it is. What's sad is, some of the most memorable tracks here are brief, one-minute interludes, it's that bad. I still think they've had true chemistry in the past, and they can easily have it again. But this is a shining example of just recording whatever the hell you want and putting it with some off-kilter production doesn't make for an Experimental Rock record.
7. No Joy / Sonic Boom - No Joy / Sonic Boom
Now, I've been a fan of No Joy's work in the past, and I was actually really curious about where they were going to take this EP with Sonic Boom. Sadly, this 4 track EP is some of the most incredibly safe and quite frankly boring Synth Pop I've heard in ages. I give Sonic Boom credit because he did wonders with the production of this EP. His beats are often refreshing and the atmospheres he brings to the table are legitimately cool. Sadly, it's Jasamine White-Gluz who brings these recordings down, who sounds absolutely lost without Guitars ad a Shoegaze base. This EP is hard to sit through altogether.
6. Wet - Still Run
I mean, hey, if literally the blandest, most emotionally barren Synth Pop and Indie Pop is your thing you’re going to love this. Sure, some of the band’s more solid singles are one here. But ballad after ballad, heartache after heartache is just not something I’m into, at least not from Wet. The vocals here are great, and when they decide to bring some hazy Alternative R&B beats things actually get funky and fresh. But too much of this album just seems like recycled tracks that weren’t good enough to make the first album.
5. CHVRCHES - Love Is Dead
CHVRCHES ever since their debut album has seemed to slowly go fall from grace in a big way, and trust me this is far from the exception. The band seems like a shell of their former selves. At one point, they wrote anthems that demanded immediate listening, but the material on here seems like CHVRCHES aren't even too sure of what they're doing anymore. From sounding like a cover band to giving faceless, emotionless ballads, this album is a mess. All I can say is, thank God CHVRCHES can still write a catchy chorus that will stick with you, because if they couldn't this may have been the biggest snoozefest of the year.
4.Okkervil River - In The Rainbow Ruin
Okkervil River expands on their sound that they began experimenting with on their last album, "Away". There are Strings and Jazzy elements and synths galore. And while at a glance this album sounds really nice, there's no heart in sight. This was once a Folk project built on passionate performances and sharp lyrics. But the material on this album shows those days are long gone. Will Sheff sounds exhausted and often is sort of just a backdrop to the sea of instrumentals here. Sure, a track or two goes over well and comes off like a genuinely interesting experiment for the band. But too much of this album has me scratching my head and falling asleep rather than coming back for seconds.
3. Justin Timberlake - Man Of The Woods
This is by far Justin's most diluted and self-indulgent project, period. Justin promised us something new, something special, something combining elements of all sort of great genres. Which we do get, on about 3 or 4 tunes. But the rest of this album is bloated, with most tunes coming off as leftovers from his last 2 albums, tracks that were left off for a reason. This isn't the definition of "Cool" as Justin has come to be the usher of, and this certainly isn't groundbreaking. But sadly, some of the more focused moments like "The Hard Stuff" and "Montana" show what this album could have been. This album may be worth a listen out of curiosity, but for me, I'll be sobbing in my closet with my copy of “FutureSex/LoveSound"
2. AWOLNATION - Here Come The Runts
Boy oh boy. For years, I've honestly thought that while Awolnation has been able to put out some solid singles. But as far as an album goes, time and time again I feel like they just end up being corny when it comes to the big picture. But if that was the case years ago, that goes double for this album here. Every once in a while, Aaron Bruno and company have a decent sound on here, even enough to put out a solid tune in its entirety. But the remainder of this album is corny, ridiculous, and takes itself way too seriously. Awolnation for most of this album does strip down their sound, getting rid of most electronics. But to be honest, that electronic element was the only thing that would occasionally lead me to enjoy an Awolnation track. And when that's taken away, we're left with Awolnation desperately trying to write straightforward Rock tunes, which somehow come off more ridiculous than their Electro-Rock Conspiracy tunes. Not a good album.
1. Lykke Li - so sad so sexy
After a few albums of crafting her sound and becoming one of the most passionate and well-rounded voices in Indie-Pop, Lykke Li proceeds to throw it all out of the window. Very quickly. This is barely an Indie Pop album, this sounds like any Pop songstress trying to go for a more nocturnal sounding album and bringing in elements of Trap. No, it's not pretty, it's actually the worst album I've heard this year. Lykke's songwriting is laughable, sounding like a child wrote half of these songs. And in general, she just comes off remarkably unlikable.
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