Brendon's Beats
Album Reviews & Music Discussion
A Perfect Circle, Lil Wayne, Death Grips, and More! 2018's Honorable Mentions!
In no particular order, here are a few albums that got very close to making my top ten and why!
A Perfect Circle – Eat the Elephant
After nearly a decade and a half of radio silence from the Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel side project, APC is finally back in 2018 with a daring and unique project. While the album's unexpected town and softness maybe have turned off a few longtime fans, I felt it was a welcome change and gave an opportunity for MJK to sing over more than a few unique instrumentals. Additionally, the lyricism was as thoughtful and the vocal melodies as singable as we've come to expect from the group, several tracks that land squarely in the top tier of their discography. The record certainly goes down a few dead ends and that likely kept it out of my top ten, but nothing feels better than hearing one of my favorite bands finally back in the studio.
Amanda Shires – To the Sunset
With her third studio release, Shires brought back much of what has made her previous work enjoyable. Her thoughtful lyricism his here in spades, her husband and last year's best album choice, Jason Isbell returns to lay down some excellent guitar work and her voice is, as always, a great mix of sweet and powerful. To the Sunset brings with it, however, a strong sense of concept and cohesion that makes all the difference. Every track feels like a chapter in a larger book, though each is still tight and well paced in it's own right. Dave Cobb's production is as wonderful and ever and the blend of glitzy, synth pop with more classical americana songwriting is perfectly balanced and forms something that I want to hear further developed on future outings.
Loretta Lynn – Wouldn't It Be Great
https://open.spotify.com/album/4Uk33jRr1FKDvYBDy8J3Xr
2018 was quite a year for comebacks and icons, and Loretta Lynn was no exception. Wouldn't It Be Great does everything right from wonderful orchestration to excellent, tight songwriting. Lynn's voice is still as radiant as ever and the production from John Carter Cash, who's legacy as a producer is quite impressive beyond just his lineage, is vibrant and dynamic. The only complaint levied against this album is its lack of original material, with many of the tracks having appeared on earlier Loretta Lynn records, but aside from "Coal Miner's Daughter," most of the updates felt interesting and necessary. Above all, it's an album that genuinely stacks up against any project from her time on the top, an excellent listen for new and old fans alike.
Lil' Wayne – Tha Carter V
https://open.spotify.com/album/50yFYgKdwJANZ5O9MIbMkg
The wait is finally over, after legal battles, lean addictions, legal battles, and more, Tha Carter V arrived to massive fanfare and definitely didn't disappoint. The very long gestation period shows as this album dances through the popular influences of last decade, from bling to trap to emo rap. A feature list that included Kendrick Lamar, XXXTentacion, and Travis Scott while mercifully lacking a Drake feature is a veritable who's who of modern rap. While the album lacks the prescience and modernity of earlier Carter entries, it makes that up in its tour through the last several years of rap music. Best of all, Wayne's flow is as hard hitting as it's ever been.
The 1975 – A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships
This album surprised me more than any other in 2018 as The 1975's work had been rather unimpressive up to this point.However, it's clear from the first few tracks the Brief Inquiry has fixed nearly every issue that had plagued the previous two outings. The instrumentation is glitzy, well produced, and even abrasively bright at times. Matty Healy's lyricism is heavily matured and is, in fact, the overwhelming highlight of the record. The soup of cynicism, sarcasm, apathy, and drug references that he cooks up on this project is truly fantastic and it elevates an already good album to a great one, and by far the band's best work to date.
Death Grips – The Year of the Snitch
One of the strangest and most divisive bands of all time, Death Grips keep up their relatively prolific pace with maybe their most despondent and chaotic release yet. The Year of the Snitch is easily their least hip-hop influenced work yet, pulling instead from elements of noise and industrial rock, EDM, avant guarde, and hardcore punk. It's really quite the experience, and it'll need to be heard a few times before it can be processed Attempting to track the influences and ideas through out is a challenge for even the most avid music fan, especially as the complex mis of elements that exists is warped in the end stage by the group's powerful absurdist tendencies. Nevertheless, The Year of the Snitch is a must listen for fans of underground and extreme music.
Author: brendonsbeats
I'm a Sophomore at Middle Tennessee State University, studying audio-production while writing and playing music in Nashville. I love music more than anything else in the world, and I run this blog with the hope of introducing people to some great music that I love!	View all posts by brendonsbeats
Author brendonsbeatsPosted on December 28, 2018 February 1, 2019 Categories Yearly ListsTags 2018, a perfect circle, album, Amanda Shires, death grips, end of year, lil wayne, loretta lynn, Tha Carter V, The 1975
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Blink-182 is Stiff and Out of Touch on Ninth Album
Zac Brown Band Releases Disappointing Seventh ALbum
Charli XCX Drops Exciting Third LP
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