Musoscribe’s Best of 2018
Even having shifted my focus these last few years toward interviews and feature writing, I still manage to listen to and review quite a few albums. In one form or another, I covered some 170 albums of new music in 2018. It’s no surprise that a few have risen to the top, deemed worthy of naming as among the best I’ve heard this year.
Top honors are split, and go to two albums. Jonathan Wilson‘s album Rare Birds draws from the best influences and synthesizes them into something very much his own. And Fantastic Negrito’s Please Don’t Be Dead redefines the blues (trust me: how you feel about blues will have almost no bearing upon your appreciation of this amazing record). It’s a Grammy nominee for this year’s Best Contemporary Blues Album.
The other nine are, in my estimation, nearly as wonderful. There’s power pop, prog, art-pop, new-wave-ish modern rock and even a bit of Americana(!) on the list. Here they are, in no particular order. Details are in the links; I enthusiastically recommend listening to all of these.
- Downpilot – This is the Sound
- Brother Reverend – The Tables Turn Too Often
- Leland and the Silver Wells
- Ron Bonfiglio – Trouble Again
- John Paul Keith – Heart Shaped Shadow
- Steve Hackett – Wuthering Nights: Live in Birmingham
- The Incredible Vickers Brothers – Torch Songs for Swingers
- The Monochrome Set – Maisieworld
- Wreckless Eric – Construction Time & Demolition
Best wishes for 2019.
About the Author
Bill Kopp
With a background in marketing and advertising, Bill Kopp got his professional start writing for Trouser Press. After a stint as Editor-in-chief for a national music magazine, Bill launched Musoscribe in 2009, and has published new content every business day since then (and every single day since 2018). The 4000-plus interviews, essays, and reviews on Musoscribe reflect Bill's keen interest in American musical forms, most notably rock, jazz, and soul. His work features a special emphasis on reissues and vinyl. Bill's work also appears in many other outlets both online and in print. He regularly hosts lecture/discussions on artists and albums of historical importance (including monthly events Music to Your Ears and Music Movie Mondays), and is a frequent guest on music-focused radio programs and podcasts. In Spring 2023 he is co-teaching a history of Rock 'n' Roll at UNC Asheville's College for Seniors. He also researches and authors liner notes for album reissues -- more than 30 to date -- and co-produced a reissue of jazz legend Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's final album. His first book, Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2018, and in paperback in 2019. His second book, Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave, was published in 2021 by HoZac Books. His third book, What's the Big Idea: 40 Great Concept Albums will be published in 2024. Read even more about him here.