3 Favourite Debut Albums of 2018

Not really a vote (unless anyone wants to tally it?) but really curious which debut albums you all adored this year.

Top 3s. Short descriptions encouraged.

Murkage Dave - Murkage Dave Changed My Life
Guy has been around forever finally got round to put out an album of top songwriting (even if there isn’t a chippy on Oxford Road)

serpentwithfeet - soil

SOPHIE - Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides
It’s one of the albums of year period.

I was actually struggling for 3 until I looked back through my listening history.

Also Snail Mail, Insecure Men, Kali Uchis. Not been a vintage year for debuts but there have been some (more than I initially thought)

1 Like
  1. Hilary Woods - Colt (Sacred Bones)

The soundtrack to a film set in a misty wood. Has a similar solemn splendour to Nick Cave’s Skeleton Tree.

  1. Dream Wife - Dream Wife (Lucky Number)

Punk. Fever. Hooks with claws. Burning effigies. Rock. Riffs. Gnarly. Sarcastic. Howls. Empowered.

  1. Tess Roby - Beacon (Italians Do It Better)

A party for one. Sad synths rise and fall. The whole record is tinged with that bloodied shade of orange you see throughout Blade Runner.

Honourable mentions: Snail Mail, TT and Loma.

2 Likes

Spielbergs - Distant Star EP - Another chance for me to rave about this! If you like the Japandroids but wished they sort of did more and were really into Spencer Krug, give this a shot. The songs are so tightly written and bursting with urgency and melodies. Incredible debut, I can’t wait for the full length next year.

Tropical Fuck Storm - A Laughing Death in Meatspace - Definitely an AOTY candidate. It’s a perfect soundtrack to getting infuriated by all of the horror in the news. The songs build and boil over or slowly burn out, all while remaining catchy and interesting. It works so well as a whole, and it has fantastic lyrics too.

Mastersystem - Dance Music - Hopefully this counts. So much has already been said about it, but if you like loud guitars and sad melodies and hooks and emotion, this is the album for you. It’s beautiful.

4 Likes

Got the Spielbergs ep recently and I’m enjoying it; it doesn’t half sound like male bonding though.

Camila Cabello
Vera Sola
Lala Lala

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Hilary Woods - Colt
Wonderful, spoooky, atmospheric singer songwriter album.

Tierra Whack - Whack World
Fabulously inventive and creative hip hop - 15 wildly different tracks each exactly 1 minute long. More ideas in 15 minutes than most people manage in a career.

Loma - Loma
A new collaborative project involving Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater but with vocals Emily Cross. A real slow-burner, I thought it was good to start with but the songs have real staying power.

5 Likes

The Orielles - Silver Dollar Moment: bangin weirdo indie dance pop fun. Deceptively good, ive been playing it all year and not got sick of it.

The Beths - Future Me Hates Me: pop punk i suppose, but good. You Wouldnt Like Me is a proper earworm

Havent got a third

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SOPHIE, Haley Heyndrixcks, Cardi B for me :+1:

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Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Hope Downs
Jangly melodic Aussie fun

Moaning - Moaning
American Sub Pop post-punk/new wave inspired stuff

Just Mustard - Wednesday
Gloomy Irish post-punk with Girl Band-esque guitars

Shame - Songs of Praise

Hilary Woods - Colt

Viagra Boys - Street Worms

In any order.

2 Likes

Does J Colleran count, because his previous stuff was under the name Mmoths? Because that’s a beautiful record

Only two spring to mind off the top of my head:
Amnesia Scanner - Another Life
Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy

Tess Roby came up in my new releases list on Spotify, but I was convinced I knew (and liked) the song (Ballad 5) from ages ago. It looks like I had heard it from Spotify when it was released as on an ep last year, so I was impressed that I had remembered! I need to properly give the album a full listen.

My choices:

1. Sam Vance-Law - Homotopia
Produced by the Get Well Soon singer, and easily my favourite debut of the year. It’s maybe a sort of mix of The Divine Comedy and Rufus Wainwright, with excellent orchestration and a mixture of upbeat poppy songs and sad heartfelt ones like this one:

2. 1921 - In My Veins
Swedish duo who I discovered earlier in the year when they supported Loney Dear. Synthy relaxed sounds, sounding like Antony Heggarty. The title track is especially nice:

3. Wished Bone - Cedar Belly
Very lo-fi sounding band, with this Pollinate Me song being incredibly catchy:

Other debuts I’ve enjoyed: Maarja Nuut and Ruum, Sin Fang/Sóley/Örvar Smárason, Hilary Woods, Stephen Kreussel, Conner Youngblood, Of The Valley, Wasuremono

2 Likes

Not heard of Moaning or Just Mustard. Like the descriptions so will check them out.

Some reason I presumed that wasn’t her first record. Really special set of superb sad songs

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Need some more thought on the other 2, but this debut will be in my top ten for 2018. I wouldn’t say extreme progressive metal (or whatever the hell it is) is a big part of my music collection by any stretch, but this blew me away.

2 Likes

Quite Hard to pick 3 actually,

Somni - Bloom Electronic/Beats - heavily layered, really organic feel, full of jazzy little skip beats and vocal touches and (I normally don’t much go in for happy music) but this has a totally celebratory, loving life vibe going on. (some where in between zammuto and mice parade maybe)

Teen Creeps - Birthmarks - Obviously heavily influenced by 90’s style indie rock. Dinosaur Jnr and Archers of Loaf immediately come to mind. So very much a nostalgic sound for me but done with flair.

Many Rooms - There is a Presence Here Folk, Ambient, It’s more folky and the vocals are more prominent, but reminds me a bit of Midwife from last year in places. Feels like an instrospective personal journey laid bare.

big shout out to Good Looking Friends (Emo) Pool Kids (Emo), Mahdyar (Instr hip Hop) and Reveries (Post Hardcore) any of which could just as easily be my 3 picks.

The Wished Bone LP is incredible. Lost myself in it during my paternity leave earlier in the year. Have some lovely fuzzy memories of listening to it with a tiny sleeping baby on my chest

1 Like

Sun June - Years

Tomberlin - At Weddings

Ryan Von Gonten - Truthlikeness

2 Likes