We’ve pretty much always had a “top album” list here at Freedubya, but we’ve essentially been doing a more detailed version of it for the past five. Five years. That’s a milestone! Something to reflect on, I suppose. It feels like this list gets weirder and weirder every year, as Williamsburg gets… well, more and more “normal,” via J Crews, Apple Stores and Chipotles. I’m not sure what that says about us? Probably that we’re increasingly contrarian? I’d like to think it’s that we’re more authentic. Such is the time-tested conundrum of the North Brooklyn resident. I guess you, the reader, will be the judge of that. Anyway – peep these albums. We liked ’em a whole lot.
25) Big Bliss – At Middle Distance
LISTEN: Constants
In the two years since I first saw Big Bliss (playing the last ever show at the greatly missed Cake Shop), they have probably played more local shows than any band I can think of; indeed, At Middle Distance is the sound of an incredibly tight band not losing any of their intensity on record. Some bands struggle to make the transition from stage to studio but Jeff Berner’s production is immaculate, there’s a lot of reverb in all the right places and a myriad post-punk influences, with that Peter Hook-esque bass delighting throughout in particular, and all throughout a strong sense of melody that shines through.
– Chris Quartly
24) Earl Sweatshirt – Some Rap Songs
LISTEN: Azucar
We’ve got some hip-hop records that are ranked higher this year, but I’m pretty sure that when the dust settles, Some Rap Songs will be the album that will be most revered when we’re looking back at the best albums of the decade. By doubling down on the sad-boi minimialism from I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside and embracing the left-field weirdness of MF Doom or early Antipop Consortium, Earl essentially created the record Kanye wishes he could have made with Ye. It’s pure catnip for rap nerds, several of which I’ve heard refer to the album lovingly as “Sadvillainy.” It’s structured and produced similarly to Donuts, with all of the bravado of Imani, updated for an audience that, for better or worse, came up listening to Lil Xan. Here’s to hoping that Some Rap Songs opens up a whole world of quality “emo” for those kids, similar to how Full Collapse did for me almost twenty years ago.
– Peter Rittweger
23) Noname – Room 25
LISTEN: Blaxploitation
We told you about Noname last year when she released her wonderful debut, Telefone. Now the earnest, lowkey Chicago rapper (Fatimah Nyeema Warner) is back with a wonderful collection of jazzy rhymes. This time she’s getting tons of buzz and it’s warranted. Room 25 features plenty of noteworthy guests like Smino and Saba, two of her stylistic peers who, incidentally, both put out great records this year. Noname’s delivery is understated, verging on the matter-of-fact, but she’s never upstaged. Her self-described shyness is part of her charm and Room 25 solidifies her as an important artist and an unlikely star.
– Robert Lanham
22) Spirit of the Beehive – Hypnic Jerks
LISTEN: Hypnic Jerks
Philly quintet Spirit of the Beehive hit the jackpot this year with Hypnic Jerks, a record with something for every alt-indie fan but everything for a few. In lesser hands, the whole mishmash of styles and tempos would fall apart in a blundered mess, but they have managed to craft a masterful blend, mixing layered psych harmonies one minute with laid-back stoner folk to driving rock and roll, peppered with psychedelic and sampled interludes throughout. Hypnic Jerks is an album in the truest sense, greater than the sum of its collected parts, best consumed as its own snaking, all encompassing experience.
– Chris Quartly
21) Ovlov – TRU
LISTEN: The Best of You
You wouldn’t know it unless you inhabit a very specific corner of the world, but TRU was probably the most anticipated album of the year, on a per capita basis. Ovlov’s reach is modest, but profound. They have soundtracked hundreds of break-ups, and inspired maybe a half-dozen regrettable tattoos. There aren’t a lot of people who “feel” them, but the ones that do REALLY “feel” them. And their (and our) outsized love for the band, and their excellent new LP, is enough to land them on our humble top twenty-five list this year. You know what you’re getting here – the dream of 90’s indie is alive and well with Ovlov, but few, if any bands going today execute guitar-worshipping fuzzy indie as well as they do here.
– Peter Rittweger
20) Locktender – Friedrich
LISTEN: “Wreck in the Sea of Ice”
There’s something about Ohio that produces music with demons. Maybe it’s the long summers and cold winters. The flat fields and shuttered factories. Perhaps it’s just the Browns. Whatever the case may be, Locktender’s Friedrich makes a case for this year’s most devastating export—blending the influence of forebears like Red House Painters and Songs: Ohia into a blurry post-screamo triumph. Locktender base their records on the oeuvres of classic artists—and certainly Caspar David Friedrich’s life as a shipwrecked monk who, wrestling with his faith in god, returns to the sea to drown himself is a compelling framework—but you don’t need a textbook to be swept away by Friedrich. Only ears and a heart.
– Coleman Bentley
19) Shame – Songs of Praise
LISTEN:: One Rizla
“My nails ain’t manicured / My voice ain’t the best you’ve heard / And you can choose to hate my words / But do I give a fuck.” This great lyric from Shame’s “One Rizla” sums up the youthful irreverence of the UK band’s debut record. Channelling The Fall, Echo & The Bunnymen, and The Birthday Party, Songs of Praise is an impressive collection of anthemic punk that only a cynic could deny enjoying. Actually, scratch that. I’m a cynic and I loved it. The name Songs of Praise is a reference to a long-running show broadcasted on the BBC that plays Christian hymns. Shame is assuredly taking the piss by adopting the title as their own, but their music is joyful enough to, at its best, be a nice placeholder to the profane.
– Robert Lanham
18) Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Hope Downs
LISTEN: An Air Conditioned Man
We’ve been following this breakout Aussie group for a while now and included their EP, The French Press, on our ‘best of’ list last year. Hope Downs is their first first full length and it delivers. With jangly guitars, propulsive drumming, and jams that threaten to float away before returning to solid ground, Hope Downs is what Real Estate would sound like after snorting lines of Adderall. The Melbourne quintet has three vocalists who take turns at the lead, which adds to the fun. If you missed their tour this year, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever always put on an energetic show. Be sure to catch them next time they come around.
– Robert Lanham
17) Svalbard – It’s Hard to Have Hope
LISTEN: “Unpaid Intern”
– Coleman Bentley
16) Mint Field – Pasar De Las Luces
LISTEN: Ciudad Satelite
Whenever I play this record, I can’t help but get caught up in it and I’ve not heard a more beautiful sounding album all year. Mint Field are duo Estrella Sanchez (vocals & guitar) and Amor Amezcua (drums & synths), hailing from Tijuana in Mexico. Over the course of 13 tracks, Pasar De Las Luces ranges from shoegaze, soundscapes and krautrock, with soaring vocals painting an extra layer of texture rather than a lyrical one; think My Bloody Valentine meets Cocteau Twins feel in that regard. While the album at times wears its influences on its sleeves a bit too unabashedly, the jump between their albeit promising 2015 EP and this, their debut full-length, shows a band massively growing in confidence. I’d say the sky is the limit for Mint Field, but their music already sound like it’s in the clouds as it is.
– Chris Quartly
15) Cut Worms – Hollow Ground
Listen: Till Tomorrow Goes Away
Hollow Ground feels like a throwback to simpler times, which was exactly what many of us needed in 2018. It’s a simple pop record, deeply indebted to bygone masters like Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, and early Beatles. Cut Worms — aka Brooklynite Max Clarke — brings joy to the ten tracks recorded for Hollow Ground. “Til Tomorrow Goes Away” is the standout among the group of gems represented here and would feel right at home beside any of the pop classics on the Rushmore soundtrack. Thanks for adding a little sunshine to 2018, Max.
– Robert Lanham
14) The Dirty Nil – Master Volume
LISTEN: “That’s What Heaven Feels Like”
Exes and beer. Friends with dependencies and falling down stairs. Living life on the floor of a Super 8 motel. The Dirty Nil’s Master Volume is a rock n’ roll record for a post-rock n’ roll world—the Pete Weller-and Malcom Young-DJ’d party in the sky that Adam Levine didn’t get invited to. It’s a tip o’ the trucker hat to sweat, blood, tears, cum, and well whiskey, but most of all, it’s a reminder that rock n’ roll isn’t dead. You are.
– Coleman Bentley
13) Tim Hecker – Konoyo
LISTEN: This Is Life
Konoyo is a striking listen, like all of Tim Hecker’s releases, but it’s also perhaps his most interesting record, academically speaking. Its ambient drone is the product of his collaboration with a Gagaku group, which, for the uninitiated (and you can count me amongst them) is a type of Japanese classical music which has been performed at the Imperial Court for several centuries. It’s generally comprised of musicians playing the flute, drums, strings, and a pipe horn. Hecker lead the group through improvisational performances over a few days in a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, mixing and distorting his recordings and continuously editing and adding layers atop of his mixes. The result is something a bit more minimal than what we hear from Hecker, but just as compelling as anything he’s ever released. Primo sleepy-time music here.
– Peter Rittweger
12) Ought – Room Inside the World
LISTEN: Desire
Montreal quartet Ought made the move to Merge Records this year for the release of their third album, Room Inside the World, and it seems like a perfect fit. While the band’s first two albums, More Than Any Other Day and Sun Coming Down perfected Fall-esque pummeling repetition (and would be contenders for my favourite albums of 2014 and 2015 respectively), they’ve somehow managed scale things back and take a left turn while possibly creating their best album to date in the process. It’s quite the feat to make a stylistic change whilst still staying true, for want of a better word, to previous efforts, and Ought have managed to do that exceptionally. The production, and the musicianship for that matter, is immaculate, the sound of a group who have taken their time writing and recording this material as opposed to capturing the raw sound of their live shows – though it should be added that Ought are one of the best live acts in the last few years and remain so – the point is that the band have used the studio to craft a piece of art to their full potential.
– Chris Quartly
11) La Luz – Floating Features
LISTEN: Cicada
La Luz’s blend of surf rock, doo-wop, and psych-rock is a veritable smorgasbord of Southern California’s trademark sounds. Floating Features is the third record by the all-female quartet, it’s lush production and infectious melodies making it their best to date. Dan Auerbach produced this one for his new label, giving it a shine that emphasizes the band’s spot-on harmonies and their driving riffs. Floating Features comes across as an exercise in notalgia at times, especially when the hammond organs kick in, but it’s all so much fun who are we to complain.
– Robert Lanham
10) Thou – Inconsolable
To call 2018 a huge year for Thou would be a massive understatement. The Baton Rouge sludge lords captivated us, year round, with a seemingly endless array of releases – an embarrassment of riches that would make Ty Segall or King Gizzard blush. I’ve seen their masterful full-length, Magus, make a lot of lists, but our favorite of the bunch (2 LPs and 3 EPs, to be precise) was their acoustic EP, Inconsolable. In fact, Inconsolable was arguably our favorite release of THE WHOLE bunch. Meaning… every album released this year. It’s a total departure from anything Thou has ever done before, featuring uncredited female vocalists on each track, sounding more at home alongside the Numero represses of Codeine or Bedhead on your shelf than anything you’d see written up in “This One Goes To Eleven.” If it weren’t an EP, it’d would be number one. If you listen to one thing this year, listen to this.
– Peter Rittweger
9) Denzel Curry – TA13OO
If we gave out “Most Improved” awards here at FREEwilliamsburg, then it’d without question go to Denzel Curry, who has ascended from the trappy depths of Soundcloud to release the best pop-rap album of the year with TA13OO. The production is crisp, Curry spits his bars confidently, and while the vibe is party-ready across the record’s three acts, Light, Gray and Dark, the tracks are eclectic enough to keep things interesting, while renaming cohesive. There’s an instant trap classic in “Sumo | ZUMO,” top flight radio pop in “Cash Maniac | CAZH MAN1AC” and even some charming leftist political rap a la pre-crisis Lupe Fiasco with “Sirens | Z1RENS,” to name a few highlights. It’s a record bursting with ambition, that may sound bloated on paper, but Curry delivers on said ambition, and the record feels lean if anything.
– Peter Rittweger
8) Anna Calvi – Hunter
Anna Calvi certainly takes her time between records, Hunter is her third full length, coming five years after previous effort One Breath. The wait has been worth it, however, and Hunter seems like a personal triumph for the artist, bringing sexuality and gender roles that had bubbled under the surface of her prior work, to the fore. While Calvi remains a virtuoso both as a guitarist and vocalist, the former takes a bit of a step back for more of a subtle touch, and if there was even room for a touch of extra class, Adrian Utley of Portishead and Martyn Casey feature on keys and bass. There’s a dash of Kate Bush meets Julie Cruise on some of the songs but Calvi still comes across in a league of her own and has crafted an album that befits such high standards.
– Chris Quartly
7) Stephen Malkmus – Sparkle Hard
Stephen Malkmus has been making music so long, people tend to take him for granted. It’s a shame because his latest record may be the best one he’s recorded in his seventeen years with The Jicks, not to mention some of the most compelling music he’s made since Pavement. The record is playful and breezy, with a majority of its songs coming in under the three-minute mark. The hooks hide the complexity of the production and often the bleakness of the lyrics, especially on standout tracks like “Middle America” and “Future Suite.” The penultimate track “Refute” is a country duet with a breathy vocal by Kim Gordon and pedal steel guitars. It’s not to be missed and helps solidify Sparkle Hard as the most criminally underrated album I heard all year.
– Robert Lanham
6) Daughters – You Won’t Get What You Want
Everyone has bands that they just never really get around to listening to. Daughters was one of those for me, and not because I ever really intended to get into them, but because I was always dismissive of them for all the wrong reasons. The name, to me, painted a picture of a super-forgettable, garden variety indie rock band. And hey, I love super-forgettable, garden variety indie rock (see my above blurb about Ovlov.) If you’ve ever heard Daughters, you know that the last thing they are is super-forgettable. The second to last thing that they are, are a garden variety indie rock band. I bought into the considerable hype around this reunion record and FUCK, what the FUCK was I thinking? I can’t believe I’ve missed out on having this band in my life for the past decade. I don’t have to feel shitty about listening to Swans anymore! You Won’t Get What You Want is an album marked by its chaotic dissonance, from the ferocious hardcore jaunt “The Lords Song” to the terrifying fever dream of “Guest House.” Every once in a while, a transfixing riff cuts through the auditory pandemonium, and it is in those moments (“Satan In the Wait” and “Less Sex,” the best Nine Inch Nails song since The Downward Spiral) – the juxtaposition of frenzied noise and hypnotic melody – that the record truly shines.
– Peter Rittweger
5) Horrendous – Idol
– Coleman Bentley
4) Parquet Courts – Wide Awake
I admit to being dubious when it was announced that Danger Mouse was producing the latest Parquet Courts record, Wide Awake. Was one of Brooklyn’s best bands going to transform into a Gorillaz caricature, create cartoon avatars of themselves, and belt out cheesy pop diddies best relegated to a Starbucks playlist. Thankfully no. Instead, Mr Mouse (can I call him that?) rounded out some of the band’s rougher edges and challenged them to explore new directions in their songwriting. Sure, there are a few less successful experiments on the record like the loungey “Back to Earth,” but that’s just a minor quibble. Wide Awake thrillingly moves from punk, to garage rock, to funk, and the end result is a hook-heavy record that’s so much fun, it feels like a Greatest Hits project.
– Robert Lanham
3) Birds in Row – We Already Lost the World
It may not seem like it on paper, but preaching love instead of vengeance is about the punkest fucking thing you can do in 2018. Then again, punk wasn’t built for a spreadsheet and neither was We Already Lost the World, the second full-length from cathartic French trio Birds in Row. At once clear-eyed and red faced—simultaneously pessimistic about the human condition and optimistic about our capacity to fix it—We Already Lost the World finds, within its whiplash war of post-punk gloom and searing screamo, the devil and god raging inside all of us. Which wins is anybody’s guess, but hey, isn’t that half the fun?
– Coleman Bentley
2) The Beths – Future Me Hates Me
I like to think I listen to a pretty wide range of music, but ultimately if you perfect the upbeat music/downbeat lyrics combination then I am helpless to resist. In terms of metrics, Future Me Hates Me is by far the record I have listened to the most this year, and is one of those power-pop gems that keeps on giving with each listen – this isn’t just a simple jangle-infused delight with an instant sugar high. Most of Elizabeth Stokes’ songs deal with the good old subjects of anxiety, unrequited love, self-doubt, self-deprecation, obsessing over minute details, the kind of stuff most normal people relate to… right? The key to those perennially-downer topics is the dashing of hope, and the occasional nod and wink that this might all be ok in the end. Throw in some perfectly timed guitar solos and backing harmonies and you have a surefire hit. While we’re at it, given the time of year, they have recorded a lovely version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
– Chris Quartly
1) Low – Double Negative
– Coleman Bentley
