Presenting our favorite songs of 2018*...
Presenting the list of our favorite releases from an overwhelming year, posted up way too soon like we always do:
SASAMI follows up her run of sold-out Brooklyn shows with Mitski over the weekend with the vibrant and charming video for her sweetly buzzing new single "Not the Time"...
Earl drops his dizzying new record Some Rap Songs, on which he beautifully channels the legends Lord Quas and DOOM, conjures the spirit of Dilla's living, breathing Donuts-era beats, and even elicits vibes of Mica Levi's flickering and soulful but sometimes mournful loops that glowed up the brilliant new Tirzah record, all in under 25 minutes. Plus he shouts out Ish Butler in the first 20 seconds of track one, quickest way to our hearts. Incredible, haunting stuff. Listen below:
The creators of our favorite song of all of last year, Montreal group Men I Trust have already released two of the best songs of 2018, and today they share another stellar new one, taken from their forthcoming LP Oncle Jazz, coming in February 2019...
Young Montreal band Pottery are making some big waves these days for a group that, until right this very moment, had zero music online. But after seeing them play two of the most thrillingly visceral and endearingly brash packed-out shows I've experienced all year up in their hometown in the last couple months, I can confidently report back that these dudes are for real...
2018 has been such a bountiful year for incredible new music from favorites new and old that it's been almost impossible to keep up, but I'm doing my best...
We are beyond excited to announce our new endeavor Luminelle Recordings, a record label formed in collaboration with Fat Possum/House Arrest...
As the internet's collective attention span continues to dwindle away and the clickbait economy slowly ruins everything good, we made a conscious effort this year to spend more time listening to fewer things. Discovering new favorites will always remain a priority around here, but it felt good to devote more quality time to absorbing ambitious, flawed, elaborately nuanced and layered masterpieces like Dust, Quazarz, Party, and The OOZ. And the more immediate records that we fell in love with at first listen -- TOPS’ Sugar at the Gate, the super charismatic Carti mixtape, and Kelly Lee Owens’ enveloping debut full-length, to name a few -- felt more like all-time favorites with each spin. While anyone in our top 5 could have staked a legit Album of the Year claim depending on the day, we had to put the two EPs that announced the arrival of dance music's brightest new star in their rightful spot at the top of our list. Here are our favorite records of 2017:
Presenting our favorite songs of 2018*...
We've always thought Hana had just a twinkle of a Nicks-ian quality to her soulful, beyond-her-years voice, so it's pretty sweet to hear her take on one of Fleetwood Mac's classics. Listen to Hana's glittery, heartfelt rendition of "Gypsy" (which Stevie wrote almost 40 years ago!) below, and catch Hana live at Noise Pop in 2019.
Robyn shares the Max Vitali-directed official video for the title track from one of the best records of 2018:
Jessica Pratt shares another intoxicatingly gorgeous highlight from her brilliant new record Quiet Signs, coming in February 2019 on Mexican Summer. Listen below + pre-order the record on limited white vinyl here.
SASAMI follows up her run of sold-out Brooklyn shows with Mitski over the weekend with the vibrant and charming video for her sweetly buzzing new single "Not the Time". Beautifully shot on 16mm and co-directed by Kate Hollowell, written, co-directed, + edited by Sasami Ashworth, and featuring the LA Municipal Dance Squad, the adorable and ripping the Linda Lindas as SASAMI's backing band, and a regal extended french horn solo outro...
Rosalía shares the Helmi-directed visuals for one of the highlights from our #3 album of 2018:
Paris born, L.A.-based artist Amélie Rousseaux, aka Sofia Bolt, shares the visuals for the lead single from her excellent new album Waves, a dreamy union of classic French pop and West Coast psych vibes, coming in 2019...
Toro y Moi drops another shimmery funk jammer from his new record Outer Peace, coming early next year on Carpark. Listen to "Ordinary Pleasure", which shares an opening line with one of the best songs of the last decade, below:
Presenting the list of our favorite releases from an overwhelming year, posted up way too soon like we always do: