Hey there music lover! You like new stuff? Great! You’ve stumbled into the perfect corner of the internet. Each week all sorts of audiolicious goodies are unleashed onto the masses and this is where they come to be judged. I’ll tell ya what’s good, what’s bad, and what’s a waste of your precious time. So strap on your headphones and let’s take a ride!
The Big News
Round two of the end of the year list extravaganza! Last week we did the first half of the list, numbers 20-11, and this week we move on to the big boys – full freaking albums!! The list comes from a pool of about 400 albums, the majority of which were covered in the 50ish editions of NMW. It also includes things I sort of stumble into and stuff that is sent to me for consideration by labels and agents and whatever. Couple of rules – every album must be released in 2018, must contain only original music, and, if you release a record and die shortly afterward you cannot be on the list. Unless you’ve released the album of the year. Get it? So you cannot release the ninth best album of the year, but you can be number one. It’s called the Blackstar rule because of David Bowie’s Blackstar. We reviewed past winners in the last list so let’s just get to work.
10. Ben Miller Band Choke Cherry Tree, New West Records
9. Sons of Kemet, Your Queen is a Reptile, Impulse!
8. Behemoth, I Loved You at Your Darkest, Metal Blade Records
7. Fucked Up, Dose Your Dreams, Merge
6. The Bad Plus, Never Stop II, Legbreaker Records
5. Pious Faults, Old Thread, Feel It Records
4. Shawn Ames, The Last of My Kind, #9 Productions
3. Mary Halvorson, Code Girl, Firehouse 12
2. Death Grips, Year of the Snitch, Third Worlds Records
1. Low, Double Negative, Sub Pop
