Sunday, December 30, 2018

Brief 2018 Music Retrospective

I just don't remember 2018 being as good a year for music as last year was. Old fave Neko Case's new album opened with a nice single, with Bad Luck having some cute lyrics (I particularly like her description of love as 'the most contrary asset of them all'):





The one album that I most eagerly awaited in 2018 was the debut LP by Australian band Middle Kids, who I posted about last year. The first single of their album was the fantastic Mistake, which has a heavier sound than their earlier releases:





I'd have to say that my expectations were exceeded with this release. If I can think of more outstanding songs from this year, I will post addenda. Now, readers, have there been any 2018 musical releases that stood out for you?

ADDENDUM: No sooner did I hit 'post' when I remembered that Courtney Barnett's Nameless Faceless, a brilliant sendup of toxic male behavior on the internet, was released this year. The video perfectly captures the subject matter:





I even posted about this one when it first came out here in the 'States.

SECOND ADDENDUM: This year also saw the release of Leon Bridges' second album. He's got a great 'retro' sound, and the song Bad Bad News is fantastic:





His vibe is so smooth, it's smoove, and the backing vocals are terrific.

2 comments:

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

We saw the New Pornographers this last year, and Neko was with them She was awesome, but seemed to have problems keeping her hair tamed during performance. Waitaminnit.....Neko is Medusa from the old comic books? THAT WOULD EXPLAIN SO MUCH!

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Also local boy Trapper Schoepp just scored a co-songwriting credit with Bob Freakin' Dylan, having taken an uncompleted song from Bob's early years - "On Wisconsin", and adding music and a couple of versions to complete the song. It'll be on his upcoming album. Of course, he is a CLOSE PERSONAL FRIEND....