Albums of 2018

I spent a lot of time with music in 2018 to help escape a lot of harsh realities and enjoyed discovering so many new artists. From Sleep to Mutual Benefit, CupCakKe to Low, Leon Bridges to Grouper, there was a lot to unpack. Major releases from Kanye, the Carters, and Drake felt mediocre at best and the return of Solange and Rihanna never came to fruition. (Here's to 2019!) Neil Young dropped TWO excellent archive releases, the Beatles reissued the White Album, and a lost John Coltrane album saw the light of day. Indie Rock was rejuvenated by the likes of Snail Mail, Hop Along, Soccer Mommy, and Camp Cope while Kacey Musgraves and Lucy Dacus gave Country a new look. In all, I listened to over 100 new releases this year and these were my favorites:

Songs of 2018

2018 was a great year for discovering new music. There weren't stellar releases from big name superstars, as was the case in the past few years, so it really felt like a great year to uncover so many rising sensations. I had a really hard time narrowing down my favorite songs this year and could've easily made this list stretch beyond 100 songs, but these were the ones that kept playing in my head.

The Raconteurs - "Sunday Driver" / "Now That You're Gone"

The Raconteurs are back! The supergroup have shared their first new material in over a decade and are set to release a new album in 2019.

American Football - Silhouettes

American Football have announced a new record. The follow-up to 2016's second self-titled reunion record is once again called American Football and it's out March 26 via Polyvinyl.

J Mascis played Rough Trade

The legendary frontman of Dinosaur Jr., Mr. J Mascis, released a new solo record this year and came to Brooklyn's Rough Trade for an intimate acoustic performance to support his latest efforts.

Deerhunter - "Element"

Deerhunter recently announced a new album titled Why Hasn't Everything Happened Already? After sharing the lead single, the band have offered up another track from the album due out in January.