Last year, we named The National’s Sleep Well Beast our album of the year. It beat off stiff competition from the likes of Fleet Foxes, Kendrick Lamar, Perfume Genius and Bjork. As we hit the half way point of 2018, we thought it would be a great opportunity to have a look at the best releases so far this year.
Our contributors have whittled down the many fantastic records we’ve listened to over the last six months to create our top ten list. This hasn’t been an easy task. We’ve seen megastars like Kanye West, Arctic Monkeys and Jack White miss out. Returning favourites such as Manic Street Preachers, Gwenno, Eels and Mount Eerie are also absent, as well as other albums we loved from the likes of Laura Veirs, Anna Burch, Jonathan Wilson, Ezra Furman, Pusha T, Goat Girl, Soccer Mommy and Ari Roar.
Given the auspicious artists listed above that didn’t make the cut, it underlines just how rich the quality of this year’s early releases have been. So here it is- Secret Meeting’s Best Albums of 2018 So Far.
Click images for full reviews…
10. Nas – Nasir
‘This record is probably the most vital and best work Nas has done since his era-defining debut, Illmatic. The heavy subject matter addressing society as a whole plays like a conflict Nas is fighting within himself against his own personal issues. And despite its concise length, it more than makes up for it with heavy weight content.’
9. Father John Misty- God’s Favourite Customer
‘The humour that has been a fixture in Tillman’s previous works is largely absent, but it is with good reason. He needed to be direct, and he needed to face up to whatever was swirling round in his head. The results of which are stunning. If this is to be an end to the Father John Misty persona, then it is an end worthy of remembrance.’
8. Parquet Courts – Wide Awake!
‘Wide Awake! is a monumental step forward for Parquet Courts. Musically, it is their most expansive record to date and lyrically it is pertinently honed. In carefully channelling their influences, they have harnessed their energy and produced a record that simply effuses bitter joy.’
7. Haley Heynderickx – I Need To Start A Garden
‘Heyndreckx’s exquisitely pitched vocals, plus the way in which she can both serenade and convey the most extreme of emotions, are why I Need To Start A Garden is one of 2018’s best debuts.
6. Snail Mail – Lush
‘Lush is mournfully melodic, while brimming with power-pop choruses and buzzing guitars. And if you give this young songwriter’s debut record a chance to grow, you’ll see exactly why she’s the hottest indie darling on the planet today!’
5. Car Seat Headrest – Twin Fantasy
‘As an outspoken champion of The Life of Pablo, which Kanye West described as “a living, breathing, changing, creative expression”, Toledo has justified his allure of revisionism into a record which buzzes with a new fidelity, rendering it with new contours of narrative beyond a teenage notebook into a disparate comment on depression, obsession, sexual identity and relationships. Fans overly concerned with linear progression may see Car Seat Headrest’s latest project as overly indulgent, yet it should be seen as Toledo sticking faithfully to his original working ethos to remain the fundamental arbiter of the content and creative direction beyond outside control.’
4. Nils Frahm – All Melody
‘For two years, Frahm has been slaving away – not just at his piano to create album number seven – but in converting part of the historical 1950s East Berlin Funkhaus building into his new studio where he can bring the figments of his imagination to fruition under one roof. And, throughout All Melody, the gorgeous acoustics and creaks of the room are as much a star of the show as any of the intricate instrumentations or spiralling vocal arrangements.’
3. US Girls – In A Poem Unlimited
‘Meghan Remy’s follow up to 2015’s 4AD debut, Half Free,’is her most direct and affecting work yet. It’s laced with distantly familiar fragments from the best of the last fifty years of pop music with an arresting set of lyrics that fearlessly touch upon the increasingly prominent issues of gender roles, domestic violence and sexual intimidation in an age of confused uncertainty.’
2. Stephen Malkmus & The Sicks – Sparkle Hard
‘So much of this record, including its centrepiece, Middle America, is quite simply peak Stephen Malkmus. With charming, understated delivery, this is a record that has the hallmarks of Malkmus’ finest moments over the last three decades.’
‘The allure of Beach House lyrics lies in their cryptic ambiguity. Words and phrases are left open to interpretation, conveying feeling rather than meaning, something that can’t be explained but finds you taking comfort in no matter how you’re feeling. The lyrics on 7 seem to carry more weight than ever before, but still retain a kind of inexplainable darkness that leaves you to draw your own conclusions.’
Want to keep up to date with all our latest pieces? Follow us on social media…
