10. Dream Wife – Dream Wife: Dream Wife’s self-titled debut project is the latest in installment in the already storied female lead punk rock outfits. The cadence of Rakel Mjöll’s vocal delivery stands out to me the most in a casual listen, particularly on tracks where the same lyrics are retread throughout the track (like “Somebody” or on the dynamic “F.U.U.”), I find it engaging the different ways she adjusts the inflexion of her voice or the emphasis on specific syllables, while it’s a simple artistic decision, the group gets plenty of mileage out of this style. Alice Go on lead guitar offers a diverse array of sounds, she goes from sweet, subtle riffs on tracks like “Love Without Reason” to explosive anger on “F.U.U.”. Since I’ve already mentioned it twice, “F.U.U.” is simple in its idea, but damn is it a great track. People will knock the lyrics as simple, to which I would say when was the last time you were eloquent when you were experiencing unbridled rage? Dream Wife is a spectacular debut, the group knows what they do well and they stick to it.

Notable Tracks: Somebody, Love Without Reason, F.U.U.

9.New Levels New Devils – Polyphia: One of the most common critiques I find of instrumental groups like Polyphia is the lack of lyrics makes it hard to make a connection to the music beyond “I like how it sounds” (this critique is in no way exclusive to instrumental music, how many times have you heard an old head say “you wouldn’t like [flavor of the month rapper] if he didn’t have a hard beat”). I would challenge folks who have this critique for instrumental-centric music to defend this position against the rough, muddy sounds of Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” or the several triumphant guitar solos on Boston’s “Foreplay/Long Time”. Polyphia’s third studio album New Levels New Devils is a showcase of personality through instrumentation. The melodic, Spanish, influences on the opening guitar arrangement of the track “Death Note” sets the tone for a funky, yet fluid experience. “Rich Kids” is another highlight on this album, the track opens with this whining, spacey guitar chords, then we’re treated to a medley of timbre changes in the guitars’ sounds, you would think this would sound jarring, but Polyphia pulls this off in a way that makes it all blend together into one harmonious final product.

Notable tracks: Nasty, Death Note, Rich Kids

8. Superorganism – Superorganism: If the online collective of Superorganism is a glimpse into the future of music collaboration and the creative process in a digital age, then man am I stoked for what’s to come. For those unfamiliar, the latest indie darling started making music entirely online before they ever met one another in person. Their self-titled debut album is an exercise in bringing a hodgepodge of musical talents together to form a cohesive whole (some might say a superorganism of sorts! I’ll show myself out). Anything and everything is transformed into a musical instrument on this album, you’ll hear bird chirps, bubbles popping, a way too realistic horn honking, a tab cracking open a soda can (and the satisfactory sigh after the first sip shortly thereafter), and of course more traditional musical instruments a la synths, guitars and drums. Altogether, the cacophony comes together to make a fluid, almost lazy, experience that makes for the perfect summer album. The mash-up of sounds can feel a bit overwhelming at times, but Orono Noguchi’s monotone voice becomes quickly familiar and becomes a consistent ceterpiece that grounds the whole project. Superorganism is a whimsical, breezy project that always found its way into my rotation thanks the group’s natural chemistry.

Notable Tracks: It’s All Good, Nobody Cares, Reflections on the Screen, Relax

 7. Tierra Whack – Whack World: 15 track, 15 minutes. That’s all Tierra Whack needs to win you over on her 2018 project Whack World, and she makes every second count. My main gripe with this project is so many of these tracks deserve a “full” version (which I would say is a testament to Tierra’s ability as an artist to captivate her audience from track to track). The brisk pace of this record is a nice change of pace in the current streaming landscape where artists release bloated albums that lack any cohesion and just see what sticks. Given the album’s gimmick, I think of this project as Tierra’s highlight reel as she showcases the many different she’s capable of performing, including traditional R&B, contemporary trap, including some kooky sounding tracks that I could only describe as electronic country (I’m not entirely sure, just listen to “Fuck Off” and tell me if you have a more appropriate descriptor than what I came up with). This project is charming, brisk, and serves as the perfect introduction to an artist that I’m sure will be wowing us for years to come.

Notable tracks: Black Nails, 4 Wings, Pretty Ugly

6. St. Paul and the Broken Bones – Young Sick Camellia: While on the press tour for Young Sick Camellia, Paul Janeway, lead singer of St. Paul and the Broken Bones, described himself as “I’ve always felt like a little broken Southerner” in reference to his love for his upbringing. If I were to condense the ideas of this funky, soulful project into one statement, that’s about as good as you’re going to get. Everything from the frail, withered camellia (Alabama’s state flower) on the album cover, the band’s clearly southern influence, and not to mention the lyrics throughout the album, all contribute towards this conflict of loving something that exists in conflict with your personal values. Janeway’s vocal performance has a personality befit a Baptist preacher, his voice bursts on every track as he pleads with the listener to heed his message. “GotItBad” is a stand out song that brings all these characteristics together into a concise, earnest message, wrapped in charming presentation that you can expect from St. Paul and the Broken Bones. Even the concluding track “Bruised Fruit” where Janeway take a holistic view of his heritage in a stripped back, near silent moment, his voice is still packed with power that envelops the listener, it’s a touching performance as he confronts this conflict head on.

Notable Tracks: GotItBad, Apollo, Bruised Fruit

5. Mick Jenkins – Pieces of a Man: The poet turned rapper pays homage to Gil-Scott Heron on his second studio album Pieces of a Man (a title he borrows from one of Heron’s albums). The comparisons are apparent from the opening track “Heron Flow” as Jenkins re-writes Heron’s “The Ghetto Code” to make himself the speaker and derive his own meaning from the idea of “dot dot dit dit dot dot dash” aka “The Remorse Code” aka “Damned if I know”. Comparing Heron and Jenkins is appropriate, the use of jazz production, speaking truth to power and the importance of knowledge have always been prevalent themes in Jenkins’ work, and I think that Pieces of a Man is a touching tribute to Heron’s legacy and not a cynical cash grab. For specific tracks, “Reginald” is about as classic as it gets for Jenkins, a classic jazz beat, sophisticated word play, and an unparalleled flow to tie the track together, the same can be said for “Understood”. After many were disappointed Jenkins’ debut studio album (NOTE: I am NOT one of those people), I would be shocked if those doubters didn’t dub Pieces of a Man as a return to form thanks to Jenkins’ pen and his artistic vision.

Notable Tracks: Heron Flow, Stress Fracture, Reginald, Pull Up, Understood

4. Room 25 – Noname: There are fewer voices in music that I find more genuine than Fatimah Nyeema Warner, better known by her stage name Noname. I was quick to fall in love with her brilliant 2016 mixtape Telefone, a coming of age tale about Warner’s growth, insecurities, and early life in Chicago, all to the backdrop of stringed instruments and doo-wop type beats. Room 25 is the natural extension of Warner’s previous work, although this time she brings a bit more sass and wit, allowing for a more three-dimensional view of the soft spoken emcee. The opening track “Self” serves as a sort of thesis to the project as Warner floats all the different ideas of what the album could be. Her line “Y’all really thought a [expletive] couldn’t rap huh?” is one of my favorites of the year, Warner’s delivery with a slight chuckle, the smooth way she speaks this line, it’s packed full of sass that you could almost feel her making a sideways glance as she speaks. There’s a laundry list of spectacular lines throughout this project like the gut check towards her former lover, “You wanna nasty [expletive] psychiatrist that cooks like ya mamma” on “Window” or the bait-and-switch line “I’m just writing my darkest secrets/like ‘wait and just hear me out’/saying ‘vegan food is delicious’/like ‘wait and just hear me out’” on “Ace”. Noname grapples with tough questions throughout this album that don’t necessarily have an answer, like the lack of useful solutions in inner city communities on “Prayer Song” or the fleeting love that fame brings on the track “Don’t Forget About Me”. Warner brings her scars to bare on Room 25, and we’re all better people for the opportunity to hear her story.

Notable Tracks: Blaxploitation, Prayer Song, Window, Ace

3. TA13OO – Denzel Curry: The rapper of “Ultimate” meme fame has always struck me as the most impressive from the crop of Miami rappers. I’ve always thought of him as the most polished product from the area without giving up the aggressive vocal quality/flows that’s characteristic of the scene. It feels as though Denzel Curry finally came through and delivered a complete studio project with TA13OO. There was no doubt that there would be a handful of monstrous bangers that have become a sort of calling card for Curry at this point in his career, I was much more impressed by the more melodic, restrained tracks. I find myself coming back to “BLACK BALLOONS | 13LACK 13ALLOONZ” more often than any other track on this album, it’s feel good, clean baseline and generally breezy production makes for an infectious beat. While the track has some serious summer vibes, it’s far from a generic top 40 hit as Curry thinks about the pain in his life through the vehicle of the titular black balloons in his life. “MAD I GOT IT | MAD 1 GOT 1T” is another highlight on this project, it has a dreary yet simple beat that pairs fantastically with the paranoid lyrics, this track feels a perfected version of the sad boy rap that a lot of the current up and coming rappers are experimenting with (a la Lil Xan, Lil Peep, etc). While I’ve spent most of my time lauding artistically divergent tracks on this album, that’s not to say that the more classic Curry tracks didn’t deliver (fans of Curry’s work will love “SUMO | ZUMO,” “SUPER SAIYAN SUPERMAN | ZUPER ZA1YAN ZUPERMAN,” and every other hype track on this album, they’re fantastic). It’s safe to say that Denzel Curry made a huge step forward with “TA13OO,” by expanding his toolbox of styles and production choices.

Notable Tracks: BLACK BALLOONS | 13LACK 13ALLOONZ, MAD I GOT IT | MAD 1 GOT 1T, VENGEANCE | VENGEANCE, BLACK METAL TERRORIST | 13 M T

2. Charli XCX – Pop 2: (NOTE: Pop 2 was released in 2017, since it was a December release it was not considered for my 2017 list, hence its inclusion here). I was surprised that I liked this release as much as I do. Pop 2 is a collection of boundary pushing electro-pop tracks that have adopted an almost “prog-pop” nature, by which I mean each track isn’t quite content with staying in one place for the course of a 3:00 minute track. Rather, with most songs on Pop 2, you’ll find that once a core beat concept has been established, it evolves multiple times throughout the rest of the song to keep it feeling fresh. “Backseat” and “Out Of My Head” serve as the perfect opening pair of tracks to this project. They’re both airy, playful builds towards a larger payoff that you might find on say an early 2010 Katy Perry or Ke$ha project, both are familiar enough to help the listener ease into the back half of the project. I’m a huge fan of “I Got It” as a hype track, the progression of the beat on this track gives lends to a sense of uncontrollable rambunctiousness Charli and her featured artists all lend to selling, cupcaKKe especially goes berserk on her verse here. “Track 10” is an amazing way to cap this project off, it’s progressive beat, Charli’s conflicting tones of voice throughout the song, the simulated choir that comes in towards the 3:00 minute mark of the track, the whole package comes off as a triumphant capstone that ties the rest of the album together. I’m of the opinion that few people are doing what Charli XCX is doing right now in any genre of music, her willingness to borrow from other genres, the prog-pop beats that she chooses on all of her tracks, and her overall vision for a song, all makes Pop 2 an exceptional experimental pop project.

Notable tracks: Backseat, Out Of My Head, I Got It, Track 10

1. Veteran – JPEGMAFIA: As I come up with these lists, I always want to make sure that the number one spot is held by the album that most appropriately captures the mood of the year. Which one found itself in my rotation so often because it just felt appropriate anytime I opened Spotify? I cannot think of a better answer to that question than JPEGMAFIA’s Veteran. It’s a cornered animal that has no other options than to lash out at anything it can sink its claws into, it’s chaos incarnate that wants to make sure you know exactly why it hates everything in arms reach, including the listener, all while making you laugh along the way. “Real Nega” is the perfect example of this style in action, the relentless, yet focused percussion is only the second most overwhelming sound on this beat, next to the operatic vocal sampling of ODB’s voice (as a note, if you listen to anything from this album, it NEEDS to be “Real Nega”). The song’s beat sets the perfect tone for JPEGMAFIA’s violent flow and fearless lyrical content. Fair warning to new listeners to this project, this music can be uncomfortable, in one listen you’ll feel threatened, offended, angry, and hopefully you’ll laugh with Peggy when he makes a dig at something you find objectionable.
To me, Veteran is a uniquely “internet” album. It takes the digital “leftovers” of soundbites that practically litter YouTube and Soundcloud at this point and crashes them all together into these beautiful abominations of sound, repeat listens reward after you start to piece together each sound’s origin (my personal favorite that I found was the sound of a Super Saiyan’s energy field on “Rainbow Six”). You’ll find there’s a lot of doing stuff for the sake of being able to on this album, which to me feels unique to modern internet culture (coming from a guy who finds this funny). The nihilistic nature of this album further lends to this feeling, as many young people that devote themselves to online culture continue to find themselves devoid of purpose. I love this album, it’s provocative, it’s challenging, and it’s a musical roller coaster that everybody should attempt to ride at least once.

Notable Tracks: Real Nega, Baby I’m Bleeding, Rainbow Six, 1488, Curb Stomp