TOP ALBUMS OF 2018

Unexpected....Sandro Perri releasing an ambient pop album with four songs; one 24 minutes followed by three versions of the same song that all combine to create what Pitchfork best describes as a masterful, dreamlike world. 

Unexpected....Twenty One Pilots, a band that I have never taken seriously, putting out my favorite of the year. Trench was the album that I had been waiting for all year, but didn't know it.

Unexpected....A Perfect Circle...back after 14 years with an album as bold as ever. As All Music wrote, "the band balances brute force with softer moments that may surprise, yet digging deeper reveals a wealth of poetic lyricism and social commentary."

Unexpected....Nils Frahm's All Melody. An ambient, electro album that I still cannot quite categorize after many listens. It's a creation that as NPR put it, will still sound vital 10 years from now.

Unexpected....Boy George and Culture Club. Feeling, flair, and fun...35 years after the release of Colour By Numbers.

Unexpected....every album on my favorites list....except Chromeo. Their Head Over Heals was exactly what I expected, wanted, and needed this year. Thank you very much!

1. Sandro Perri, In Another Life 

   

2. Hippo Campus, Bambi

   

3. The Pineapple Thief, Dissolution

4. Lo Moon, Lo Moon

   

5. Twenty One Pilots, Trench 

   

6. Nils Frahm, All Melody

   

7. Tunng, Songs You Make at Night

   

8. Gaz Coombes, World's Strongest Man

   

9. Villagers, The Art of Pretending to Swim 

   

10. Foxwarren, Foxwarren 

   

11. Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness, Upside Down Flowers 

   

12. Boy George, Culture Club, Life 

   

13. Ziggy Marley, Rebellion Rises

14. A Perfect Circle, Eat The Elephant 

   

15. Death Cab For Cutie, Thank You For Today 

   

16. Chromeo, Head Over Heals 

   

17. Rainbow Kitten Surprise, How To: Friend, Love, Freefall

   

18. Shame, Songs of Praise 

   

19. Young Fathers, Cocoa Sugar

   

20. Burna Boy, Outside