Listmania 2018: Music

Here is the general disclaimer, information, what-have-you preceding all my lists. It is abundantly clear that I am a list fiend-- the sheer concept of making a list of my all-time, top one hundred anything excites me beyond belief. Spending hours debating the minutiae qualifying one piece of art above another is kind of what academia and the voices in my head demand of me; however, I find that each end of year, somehow, critics have found dozens, even hundreds of pieces to evaluate and rank due to the flooding of the proverbial airwaves with content. It becomes somewhat of a wasteland to navigate, and to extend the metaphor, most of it is really garbage. In two hundred years, nevertheless five,  we won't remark how 2018 was the year of the 27 musical masterpieces or the 14 best films ever made. It just won't happen. So I am going to parse down my lists to five, that's right, a mere five pieces in each category with a brief review. Of course, may posterity and your own (however misinformed) subjective opinion be your guide.

Following is my list of the five best new albums released in 2018:

5. Gulfer Dog Bless  Listen on Spotify

Overall Grade: 88/100

Must Listen Tracks: "Baseball" and "Doglife"

Review: Dog Bless by Gulfer is certainly the most obscure album on this year's list. Fifteen years ago, these guys would have had a bigger label and dozens more bands to tour with, but the current music industry being what it is, I am just grateful they are making music, and I get to hear it. It is math rock/post-punk as it should sound. There is a rawness to the sound that isn't produced out of the record, as seems the temptation in the digitally-produced industry. I am often bitter at the internet and the over-saturation of music as it certainly allows for so many sub-standard songs and musicians to be released, but were it not for Spotify, I wouldn't have found Gulfer on my Release Radar this year. After hearing "Baseball," I decided to give the whole record a go. My initial reaction to the opener, "Secret Stuff," was "Wow! This guy can't sing. I love this." The intentional "ugliness" of the opening sets up the disillusionment of the record's lyrical and musical content. A theme of lost innocence and jadedness stemming from youth. The songs make great use of dynamics; the builds and breakdowns line up well with the syncopations, and I find myself lurching back and forth in my seat in the way that only a good math rock record can make me almost seize-dance. A great album for fans of the genre in the late-90s/early 2000s.

4. Cursive Vitriola Listen on Spotify

Overall Grade: 89/100

Must Listen Tracks: "It's Gonna Hurt" and "Ouroboros"

Review: The new Cursive was advertised as, well, the old Cursive. It was, by far, my most-anticipated record of the year. All the early reviews seemed to draw comparisons to The Ugly Organ and even Domestica, and the similarities are certainly there; however, Vitriola is its own beast, as the cover itself kind of implies. Cursive has a penchant for the dark and Kasher doesn't let down this time. The cleverness and playfulness of his solo work have been removed and darkness remains, but some of the delivery of the lyrics (as was pointed out to me by a fellow Kasher fan) is markedly un-Cursive-like. The album's message also seems oddly too general, from a writer who is a master at creating themes and even concept album a la Organ and Game of Monogamy. All being said, the album's depressive abyss fits the message present times Kasher seems to be reflecting upon: a dark time to live in America and a dark time to be an artist. Don't get me wrong, it is still a great record, I just had unrealistic expectations. Kasher is one of the greatest artists of the time and the albums dense lyrics are carefully crafted and invite the listener into the abyss.

3. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Sparkle Hard Listen on Spotify

Overall Grade: 93/100

Must Listen Tracks: "Middle America" and "Solid Silk"

Review: Stephen Malkmus has been hit-and-miss since going solo, so I didn't know what to expect in this year's Sparkle Hard. When the band released the first single, "Shiggy," I was hopeful but held my skeptically bated breath. When I listen to Malkmus, I need parts where I can sing along which is why my favorite Pavement albums are Brighten the Corners, Terror Twilight, and Crooked Rain. Malkmus can tend to go totally jam band with endless postmodern bluesy guitar solos, but that's not the point of Malkmus. I need the seemingly nonsensical lyrics that I can sing along to from Pavement's "There's no coast of Nebraska" to the new album's "Pile into Jackie, he's up for it, he'll never see the butter-side of his daily bread." In fact, lyrically Malkmus has taken a huge leap forward. So many records this year attempted to reflect the disillusionment of America, but fall short and come off trite. Leave it to 52-year-old (yeah, I know) Malkmus to get it right. The album marries the jam band and the sing-along, the ridiculous and the earnest.

 2. Soccer Mommy Clean Listen on Spotify

Overall Grade: 95/100

Must Listen Tracks: "Skin" and "Last Girl"

Review: Welcome to the year of female-fronted indie rock. In the late 90s and early 00s it was rare to see even a girl in a band, save for one fronted, lead, and completely envisioned by a female artist. There were, of course, a few exceptions amongst the Riot Grrl scene and the few that survived the aftermath, such as Sleater Kinney and Rainer Maria. It makes me remorse for what might have been missed through all of that masculine oppression. Getting to the record itself, Sophie Allison, better known as Soccer Mommy, put out what would have been in almost any other year the best indie record. The record's naked and stripped down recording, often just Allison and her chiming, undistorted electric guitar serves as a fitting canvas for the poetry splayed atop it. The message is unapologetically feminist, certainly inspired by the aforementioned Riot Grrl movement, but the delivery is so much more palatable, despite the persistence of lyrics saturated with irony.  Allison writes catchy hooks but maintains indie sensibilities and artistic credibility. The album is skillful, poignant, and intensely relistenable (okay, now I'm just making up words).

1. Snail Mail Lush Listen on Spotify

Overall Grade: 98/100

Must Listen Tracks: "Heat Wave" and "Full Control"

Review: What did you do after graduating high school? Did you head out on a tour with your band circling the U.S., traversing Europe, hitting all the hot spots in Asia? Release an album to critical acclaim? That's what Lindsey Jordan, who plays under the moniker Snail Mail, did. She's still going strong and still on the road. At just 18 years old (now 19), she masterfully crafted the best indie album since Sleater Kinney's 2015 release No Cities to Love. The whole record works as a single piece of art, bookended with "Intro," a prelude to the ender, "Anytime." I first caught the buzz of Snail Mail through Matador's social media. I heard the song "Pristine," one of the album's many standouts prior to the release of the LP, and I wanted, no needed, to hear the rest of the record. The chimy guitars and unapologetic homage to traditional indie takes nothing away from the edge of the lyrics and sound. The songs are easy to sing to, and the songs are sequenced dynamically, transitioning from low to high, fast to slow, and then back again.  The only real flaw I find in the freshman release is that there are only ten tracks. I just want more. To answer the question posited in "Pristine," "Don't you like me for me?" Yes, yes I do, Lindsey Jordan. And I, for one, bow to our new female indie-rock overlords.