Quality year yet again, had a boatload of stuff I could have included so this was pretty difficult to narrow down. I'd say while the highlights weren't quite as impactful as 2017, it was certainly on par as far as consistency goes. Some of these records I've brought up in the other 2018 thread, so a few of these write-ups will be reiterations of what I've already said to avoid turning this into word vomit.
10.
Self Defense Family - Have You Considered Punk Music: This band seems to just improve exponentially with every release. Formed out of the ashes of End of a Year (much to the chagrin of many OG fans), Self Defense Family play a laid back, indie tinged brand of post-punk these days, a stark contrast from the more abrasive post-hardcore they were pumping out under their former moniker. This is an album that works incredibly well with minimalism and space as most tracks are just a simple repeated melody intertwined with backing synths or horns and simple drum patterns. But there's some sort of immersive, subtle beauty evocative of Slint, Tortoise, and even Swans to them and Patrick's half spoken word vocals/lyricism really drive that home for me, especially with songs like "Raw Contempt" and "The Right Kind of Adult". While I wouldn't put it above their work with Touché Amoré or anything by End of a Year, this is easily Self Defense Family's best full length and I'm very excited to hear what they come up with next time around.
9.
Fiddlehead - Springtime and Blind: As soon as I heard Pat from Have Heart was active in a new band and they were releasing an album this year, I knew it was going to be making my year end list. Fiddlehead's amalgamation of emo and post-hardcore essentially fills the void left by the recently split Title Fight (a
lot of this is
very comparable to
Floral Green). Pat holds his own very well with singing with lyrical themes much akin to Have Heart, discussing the hardships of growing up in an abusive household. This opens up a new dimension (to what is these days a normally formulaic style through and through) with some of the slower tracks and adds an underlying disposition of anger and melancholy which really shines through on tracks such as "Spousal Loss" and "Lay Low". Despite this, on the surface, it's a pretty upbeat record with rocking pop tinged punk riffs and simple but effective song structures similar to their contemporaries. This basically the soundtrack to my summer along with the above mentioned Self Defense Family and overall, a fantastic debut. With Title Fight gone, I hope these guys continue forward with more material in the coming years.
8.
KEN mode - Loved: The 3-piece Manitoba outfit have yet again stepped it up and pushed the boundaries with their sound. Coming off the very Albini-esque
Success,
Loved pushes the core sound of that record into more abrasive territory, dropping a lot of the more melodic tendencies for uncommon time signatures and intense, sludgy, jagged riffs very reminiscent to the likes of early Jesus Lizard. Jesse Matthewson's snarled vocals are sadistic, vicious, and downright evil adding to the already foreboding nature of the album. The breakdowns are absolutely killer and work very well in tandem with the oppressive atmosphere. While not quite as immediate as their previous records, this one definitely grew into a favourite. Oh, and props for including a few saxophone appearances and not ham-fisting it.
7.
Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog: In a genre so oversaturated, so stagnant, and so derivative, Hop Along is still shining through with Frances Quinlan proving yet again that she is still one of the best voices in indie today. This album is absolutely loaded with personality, subtle creative intricacies, and infectious melodies. On the surface Frances' trademark powerhouse vocals are the driving force of this record with very personal yet relatable lyrical themes delivered with great passion. Despite being relatively low-key and seemingly sparse, the guitars are constantly doing something interesting, with Joe Reinhardt crafting some of the most beautiful and memorable finger picked melodies and licks throughout the album. The refreshing use of strings and keys are another standout aspect, complimenting the album very well without being overpowering. All of this almost makes the bass and drums an afterthought despite both being compelling performances in their own right that really tie it all together. A fucking 1, congrats to an indie band not making a generic, derivative snoozefest in 2018.
6.
Jon Hopkins - Singularity: I pretty well summed up my thoughts on this in the other thread when it came out, so this will pretty much just be an expansion of that. I did not at all expect that this album would meet my expectations after the legendary
Immunity but here we are. This album is just so full of pulsating energy and life, never once sounding even remotely mechanical or vapid like a fair bit of other IDM albums these days. An hour and change trip of stellar, lush, pulsating soundscapes coupled with a few more downtempo, moody, modern classical piano pieces all capped off with that Hopkins' immaculate production job. For me, best experienced outdoors in a nocturnal setting, like on a midnight walk in the summer or something as this album absolutely envelopes the listener in a certain warmth I just fail to get from most other electronic artists. It
breathes.
5.
Daughters - You Won't Get What You Want: Absolutely worth the 8 year wait, this record is a slow burning pyre of anger, ferocity, and pure fucking hatred. This makes the abrasive nature of the aforementioned
Loved look like child's play, as Daughters bring to the table 10 tracks of tempo shifting, menacing noise rock. The twisted, jangly guitars, the oppressive bass, the pummeling drums, and Alexis Marshall's unsettling, Gira-esque delivery all come together in absolute chaos. The production is completely on-point with the added synths and industrial elements giving the album a very jarring, almost hellish vibe from start to finish.
4.
Tropical Fuck Storm - A Laughing Death in Meatspace: Gareth Liddiard's offshoot project from The Drones, this album delivers a mind bending melting pot of punk blues, noise rock, as well as hints of post-punk and psyche. Not totally unlike The Drones and many of the same facets are showcased here, with Liddiard taking some of the more contrasting elements of each album and smashing them together into a 47 minute long nihilistic fever dream. The album is also very politically driven, again, much like the a great of The Drones' recent output. I'll be interested to see in the future where Liddiard takes this project and what it may mean for The Drones but in the meantime, this is a fantastic records that can easily stand among his best works. Also, c'mon, that band name is just fucking great.
3.
Birds in Row - We Already Lost the World: Another album that completely surpassed my expectations as I figured there was no way these guys would top
You, Me & The Violence, a post-hardcore album I hold in very high regard. The French trio managed to outdo themselves as this record is packed with raw emotion and impeccable songwriting in, again, a genre that has started to wane in quality over the years. The vocals are delivered with intense passion and urgency, the riffs are driving and memorable, and the bass really plays an interesting, elevated part that I didn't expect, almost acting as more of a rhythm guitar role on quite a few tracks. This was a
very pleasant surprise this year and I'm hoping it won't be another 6 years until we hear again from these guys.
2.
IDLES - Joy as an Act of Resistance: Probably my most anticipated album this year after their previous album,
Brutalism wound up being my AOTY last year. This time around, they've shifted to a bit of more upbeat, anthemic sound with a few of the tracks and it's more lyrically focused on social issues this time around as opposed to the blue-collar, middle class themes of their previous outing. Every single track on here (with the exception of "June") is just loaded with the same visceral energy that defines their sound and makes them a stand-out in the scene today. Joe Talbot's idiosyncratic vocals are again the driving force, shining through just as they did with
Brutalism complimented by Bobo and Lee yet again churning out some incredibly fun and memorable punk riffs. While just a small step below in quality, overall it's still just as British, pissed off, sarcastic, and quotable as the mighty
Brutalism1.
Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!: Parquet Courts' blend of indie and punk continues to progress as they seem to just be getting better with each record. This one is another mixed bag of influences from Talking Heads to The Fall to Archers of Loaf and meshes them together with their own brand of quality, southern influenced, guitar driven indie rock. Savage's barked vocal delivery and lyrics describing today's political and social landscape fit the sound perfectly and the riffs are incredibly well crafted alongside the album's more eclectic instrumentation. The basslines, however, are the real MVP here, and are some of the best I've heard since last year's Protomartyr album. The diversity and songwriting prowess throughout is honestly unlike anything I've heard in recent years. I'd safely say this album has propelled them into "future classic" territory.
So yeah, there was some pretty ok stuff I guess.
EDIT: Didn't have time to attach this earlier, but I did another one of these collage things as a sort of "rest of the best" as there was plenty of great albums this year. Didn't put a whole of time into it so the order is relatively loose outside of the top ~20. I know the OP said limit of 10 so I'll spoiler this and let anyone who cares enough peep it at their own discretion.