Albums
of the year
2018
This was a strange year, in the sense that without even planning it I ended up listening to more new releases than any past year. I think it was a subconscious thing, being in the middle of a "oh yeah I'll just build my own house and it will go perfectly with no hiccups whatsoever" type of situation. I was looking for something new and perfect to replace the new home which has yet to arrive. Luckily all this listening paid off as there were some really excellent albums this year. It started off slowly, only for some of the best output to come out towards the end. Killer climax, man.
This year I have not put together a playlist, but instead included a song or video for each review as a taste for the rest. And even though these are numbered as you can see, they are not in any order whatsoever. Except for #1 - that one truly rises above all else this year.
9
Lowtide
Southern Mind
It was weird enough to find a shoegaze album as perfect as the aforementioned Airiel, but then in the same year to come across another like this, well perhaps this year is truly the peak renaissance year for the genre. Lowtide's first album from a few years ago was a huge disappointment to me. The first single was magnificent, but then the full-length came nowhere close to that song's genius. This however, their second, is shoegaze heaven, and exactly where I hoped that first LP would go. It's not the classic that the Airiel so clearly is, but its darn close. A must listen.
Label
Rice Is Nice Records
Released
16 February 2018
Running time
43:00
Tracklist
Southern Mind
Alibi
Elizabeth Tower
A.C
Olinda
On The Fence
The Fear
Window
Fault Lines