Red’s 18 Favorite Records of 2018 (second half)
2018 was not the best year. Personally speaking it was a rough one and in a lot of ways I think that etched its way into my desire to keep up with a lot on the music and creative end of things. I won’t bore you with the gory details, but in reviewing No Depressions initial list for nominating the reader’s best I realized just how many incredible artists released music this year that I didn’t give the proper time to. But I digress, because while there was a lot that flowed right past my ears and didn’t make it inside, there was still a lot of music that inspired me, made me dance, made me cry and just touched me in a way that music is supposed to.
So, here’s a year end list because thats what publications do at the end of the year. They write lists about shit and hope that it gets a bunch of traffic. My hope is that you may have missed some of these albums and in seeing them here go out and buy music from these wonderful artists.
Back in the summer (summer, summer tiiiime) I wrote up my first half favorites. Rather than fully write up something “new” (or simply re-posting what I already said) I’ll let you head over and read the original article for yourself.
So, rather than expound further on a year that perhaps wasn’t the greatest of my years here on the planet, here are the 9 (second half of the year) records that kept me going, made me feel hope, or just made me rock the fuck out…
Aaron Lee Tasjan – Karma For Cheap – Tasjan has been like a chameleon these past few years. Hitting hard with 2015’s ‘In the Blazes’, perhaps a bit more dust kicked Americana than the following year’s glam rock infused ‘Silver Tears’. With his 2018 release he further expanded on the exploration that makes him one of the most captivating songwriters in the community today. Sonic exploration across genre and space is surely a staple of ALT’s music, but even though the din of roaring electric guitars and trippy arrangements the core of the artist’s being always shines through: its all about the song and the message in it. In that respect, Tasjan always triumphs.
Andrew Marlin – Buried in a Cape – Instrumental music is hard. Its even more difficult when you have cemented yourself as one of the most pensive and thoughtful lyrical songwriters in roots music today, but Andrew Marlin and the excellent band he built around his ‘Buried in a Cape‘ pushed the boundaries of just how much story a song without words can tell. Bobbing and weaving from soaring feats of instrumental prowess to a slow dance of emotion and melancholia. Urgency and desperation move to jubilance and hope. Songs like “Wooden Spoon Over by the Sink” and “Life Without Coffee” perhaps give a glimpse into where and how these songs took shape and its easy to get lost in the melody and feeling of the songs. Never has a record with no words said so much.
Wood & Wire – North of Despair – A good bluegrass song with a forward drive and finely tuned chop is hard to beat in my eyes and Wood & Wire garnered themselves a Grammy nod for an expertly crafted collection of them. There is that dance around a central microphone that bluegrass is known for and can be so hard to capture the feeling of. That live, electricity that lives in a performance on a stage and that feeling can so often be lost in a recorded work, but so is not the case with Wood & Wire’s latest…and we will keep on dancing and singing along.
Gregory Alan Isakov – Evening Machines – I don’t know how, but somehow this was one that almost got by me. Isakov doesn’t write songs, he crafts them and time and time again I have heard other songwriters wax poetic on just how much they love his songs. There is something so purposeful about his writing and arrangements. He just makes plain BEAUTIFUL music. The entire experience of listening to his songs is like an out of body experience. Difficult to explain unless you experience it for yourself…so, go ahead and do it.
Lindsay Lou – Southland – Soul. I could leave it there, but Lindsay Lou and the band expel so much more across the course of Southland. Jumping back and forth from roots to jazz to soul and R&B. There is just a delicate dance of genre contained within and the celebration of a band that is a family, a community, is evident throughout. Its a collection of songs where you can hear how much the band enjoys performing together. Its a record and music that keeps you on your toes and not knowing what you are going to get next. Exciting. And isn’t that what a listening experience should be?
Rachel Sumner – Anything Worth Doing – While we may have come to know Rachel’s voice through solo/duo performances or within the blunt force of Twisted Pine’s bluegrassy machine, her new release explored sonic territories that may seem uncharted for the songwriter. The sonic swirl that engulfs you when you listen from the very first track is mesmerizing. The arrangements are lush and full, but never overly pretentious. Everything in the mix has a definitive reason to be there and the range and control that she commands vocally is what we have come to know her voice. In the end, whether its on the frontlines of a bluegrass quartet or trailing along in an indie rock track, Sumner’s voice is the steadfast standout and we will always be thankful for that.
Phil Cook – People are my Drug – Taking musicianship out of the equation, Phil Cook is probably one of my favorite people on earth that I have only met a handful of times. His social intelligence and empathy is, well, it just makes him an incredible human. I mean, just look at the title of his 2018 release. It (and Cook) kind of have it all. We often times say how artists “pay tribute” to those who came before them, but Cook is able to approach this with a humility and genuine nature that few are able to do. I mean, the dude rocks, his music has such an incredible groove and vibe, but the importance of his songs and this record cannot be overstated.
Rachel Baiman – Thanksgiving – Some artists are undeniable. When you hear their voices, there is no mistaking who is singing that song, Rachel Baiman is on of those singular artists. Its easy to get swept up in how easy it is to listen to these songs and perhaps miss the point. There is a cultural declaration in these songs of the state of the world and its there where the importance of that unmistakeable voice comes into play. So listen up and listen deeply. My only regret with this EP is that its only 4 tracks, but I suppose that just leaves us more time to play it on repeat and truly listen to the words that Baiman has to sing.
John Faraone – Light Upon – There is such an understated brilliance in Faraone’s delivery that if you aren’t the type to listen deeply to music, you may just miss it. There is such a gentle feel to his voice. Sweeping with emotion and deep expression. John casts a cavernously deep sea of sounds on this record. Its near impossible to not get swept up in the waves of his music when you listen and the careful softness he approaches each phrasing with is tempered with the sheer weight that that softness can impose on a listener.
