2018

[Ben_j]

What are your musical highlights of 2018, best tracks, best albums, best concerts? (Appart, of course, from Free Yourself and the Chems concerts)

[MIKL]

Didn't get to check out much live music as much as I wanted to this year unfortunately but from memory From January onwards best concerts were:

Sevdaliza came down to this end of the world as part of a boutique indie music festival that happens in Melbourne only and she was by far the highlight that day. She hypnotised the crowd and not everyone knew who she was as she's mainly an internet artist that got found that way.

The XX same month, tight performance from each member and was great to see more Jamie XXs production influence the live setting.

GUM (guy from Pond and plays for Tame Impala) at a small bar live by himself was good. He was quite humble being up there by himself on the small stage compared to on a bigger stage with a bigger band.

In terms of music not much, I'm just getting fussier as the years go on or maybe good artists just don't get much recognition/exposure anymore. That or its just hard to navigate online where to look all the time sifting through so much garbage and content. But heres what I manage to remember and find:

Albums:

Blood Orange 'Negro Swan'
The Voidz 'Virtue'
Simian Mobile Disco 'Murmurations'
Tirzah 'Devotion'
Smerz, 'Have Fun'
Nine Inch Nails 'Bad Witch'
Justice redeemed themselves with the live version of Woman World Wide for albums.

Tracks:

Kali Uchis 'After the Storm'
A Johnny Jewel remix of 'At least the sky is blue' featuring Ariel Pink on vocals by SSion.
Hand it Over and When You Die by MGMT from there album for best tracks.
2 tracks from Superorganism: 'Nobody Cares' and 'Reflections on the Screen'

(may get updated but can't remember shit from this year)

[ThePumisher]

Album(s)
Mattiel - Mattiel

Track(s)
St. Vincent - Slow Fast Disco
Chaka Kahn - Like Sugar
Mattiel - Count Your Blessings
Mattiel - Bye Bye
Wolf Alice - Don't Delete The Kisses (ok, this was a 2017 reelase, but i discovered it 2018)
John Hopkins - Emerald Rush
Róisín Murphy & Ali Love - Jacuzzi Rollercoaster
Anna Calvi - Hunter
Emika - Run
Japanese Breakfast - Boyish

[neorev]

The Prodigy - No Tourists 
Lorn - Remnant
Sonoio - Fine
Meat Beat Manifesto - Impossible Star
Orbital - Monsters Exist 
Justice - Woman Worldwide 
Fatlantic - Offshore Breaks 
Aphex Twin - Collapse EP
Carpenter Brut - Leather Teeth
S U R V I V E - RR7400: LA041717
Dance With The Dead - Loved To Death 
Rival Consoles - Persona
Rabbit Junk - Rabbit Junk Will Die: Mediations On Mortality 
Underworld & Iggy Pop - Teatime Dub Encounters EP
Underworld - Drift Episode 1 Dust EP

And on December 17th, Orbital will be releasing a live audio recording of their Hammersmith performance tonight! So add that to the list after getting to see them live in Brooklyn the other week.

[Ben_j]

In no particular order,
Albums I loved:
Justice - WWW
Soulwax - Essential
Albums that we're good or ok:
Simian Mobile Disco - Murmurations
Prodigy - No Tourists
Ross from Friends - Family Portrait
Mefjus - Manifest
Orbital - Monsters Exist

Tracks:
Simian Mobile Disco - Defender (hands down my favorite this year)
Ross From Friends - Thank God I'm a Lizard
Justice - Heavy Metal (WWW)
Dima (Aka Vitalic) - Tushuss
Tom Demac - White Flowers
Myd - Muchas
Asa Moto - Kifesh
Modeselektor - Wealth
Prodigy - Resonate
Childish Gambino - This is America
Thom Yorke - Suspirium
Bicep - Rain
Orbital - Vision One
MGMT - Little Dark Age
Claude Von Stroke - Grenade (feat. EPROM)
Soulwax - Essential 8
Noisia & Former - Cleansing
Ivy Lab - Cake

As for concerts, I think I only went to 2, The Chems and Nine Inch Nails, both of which were amazing

[Bosco]

Albums:

Spiritualized - 'And Nothing Hurt'
MGMT - 'Dark Ages'
Dr. Octagon - 'Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation'
Czarface/MF Doom - 'Czarface Meets Metal Face'
Orbital - 'Monsters Exist'
Kurt Vile - 'Bottle It In'
Gorillaz - 'Now Now'
Mitski - 'Be the Cowboy'
Underworld/Iggy Pop - 'Teatime Dub Encounters EP'
Father John Misty - 'God's Favorite Customer'
Parquet Courts - 'Wide Awake!'
Simian Mobile Disco - 'Murmurations'


Songs:

Spiritualized - 'Let's Dance'
Ty Segal - 'I'm a Man' (cover)
Ty Segal - 'She'
Franz Ferdinand - 'Always Ascending'
Dr. Octagon - 3030 Meets the Doc (Pt 1)
Peter Bjorn and John - 'One for the Team'
Gorillaz - 'Fire Flies'
David Byrne - 'Every Day is a Miracle'
MGMT - 'Me and Michael'
MGMT - 'She Works Out Too Much'
Kurt Vile - 'Loading Zones'
Kurt Vile - 'Bassackwards'
Prodigy - 'Timebomb Zone'
Orbital - 'P.H.U.K.'




Like Ben, I Only saw two shows this year. One was David Byrne which was straight out fantastic and the other one was The Smashing Pumpkins which was, meh. Great setlist though!Not the right energy from crowd, however.

[Earthbound]

Albums/EPs:

Skee Mask - Compro
Yuno - Moodie
Djrum - Portrait with Firewood

Tracks:

Kilo Kish - Elegance
Braids - Collarbones
Djrum - Showreel, Pt.3
Yuno - So Slow
Joy O & Ben Vince - Systems Align
Skee Mask - Vli
Shida Shahabi - Pretty In Plums
IDLES - Television
Channel Tres - Jet Black

Gigs:

Khruangbin - Berlin
Braids - Prague
Slaves - Ostrava

[Born In Planet Dust]

Best live sets:

St. Vincent - Just fucking cathartic. 

They Might Be Giants - 2 sets.  1 of new material and classics.  1 set of Flood backwards.  Fingertips encore.

Smashing Pumpkins - I know Billy is crazy, but they played Drown, Soma, Mayonaise, Hummer, Porcelina, Blew Away (James sang!), Siva, Rhino, etc.

Bellwether fest: Flaming Lips (for the 9th time), Echo & The Bunnymen (who did a Doors cover, but not People Are Strange, Roadhouse Blues), Psychedelic Furs (Holy Shit!  They are amaze ball live), Japanese Breakfast, and my favorite bartender from 2 of my spots, Erika Wennerstrom (of Heartless Bastards).

The Orb - not as playful as my previous time seeing Lx (on the Moonbuilding tour), but I heard Blue Room, Towers Of Dub, and Outlands.  I was in my happy place.

[MadPooter]

I've been playing Soma on piano lately. Like, the past year. And it's a song that moves me in a way that very few others do. Especially when I'm alone playing piano in the dark...

[Enjoyed]

I've mixed the K-Pop in with the other tracks this year, maybe you'll accidentally listen to some and fall in love. Who knows...

TOP ALBUMS
------------------
77:78 - Jellies
Bob Moses - Battle Lines
DJ Koze - knock knock
Hayley Kiyoko - Expectations
Jon Hopkins - Singularity
Kali Uchis - Isolation
Maps & Atlasses - Lightlessness Is Nothing New
Mr Twin Sister - Salt
Pogo - Ascend
Rhye - Blood
Simian Mobile Disco - Murmurations
Tunng - Songs You Make at Night

TOP TRACKS
------------------
태연 (TAEYEON) - Something New
The Chemical Brothers - Free Yourself
Darwin Deez - The World's Best Kisser
Dorian Concept - J Buyers
Disclosure - Midnight
The Glitch Mob, Mako & The Word Alive - Rise
Gorillaz - Humility
Jungle - (More and More) It Ain't Easy
K/DA - POP/STARS
Mr Twin Sister - Power of Two
Mr Twin Sister - Echo Arms
Mutemath - Voice in the Silence
Orbital - Hoo Hoo Ha Ha
Red Velvet (레드벨벳) - Hit The Drum
Red Velvet (레드벨벳) - So Good
Tune-Yards - Look at Your Hands
Underworld & Iggy Pop - Bells & Circles
Underworld - Another Silent Way

TOP ANJUNADEEP/LAST NIGHT ON EARTH TRACKS
------------------
Ben Böhmer feat. Margret - Dive
Ben Böhmer - After Earth
Ben Böhmer - Velvet Rebellion
Cubicolor - Boxed Out
Dosem - Not a Coincidence
Nuage - Whirl
Tinlicker feat. Thomas Oliver - Nothing Without You (Tinlicker Rework)
Zoo Brazil - Mentor
Zoo Brazil - Socialism

HONOURABLE MENTIONS
------------------
Chad Valley - Imaginary Music
Delta Sleep - Ghost City
Dirty Projectors - Lamp Lit Prose
Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mundo
Leon Vynehall - Nothing Is Still
Mikel  - Zelda & Chill
Palm - Rock Island