Tanka are 31-syllable poems that originate in the Japanese poetic tradition. Through the tanka in this article, you will find ten great albums you already missed in 2018.
Chances are, you’ve come across a number of this year’s most critically acclaimed and popular albums. You’ve seen Kali Uchis’ hypnotic music videos for “Tyrant” and “After the Storm”. Kacey Musgraves has knocked you off your high horse and given you your space, cowboy. Cardi B has done this, and that. Superorganism have delighted and confused you. We may be just shy of four months into 2018, but there is much to be heard already. Fear not, my child. This list is here to help.
Some ground rules: first, no hit singles. You won’t find a song with over a million streams on Spotify on any of these albums. That means Car Seat Headrest’s re-recorded Twin Fantasy and Ravyn Lenae’s remarkable Crush EP are ineligible. Likewise, EPs and cover albums will not be included; apologies to Kero Kero Bonito’s disorienting TOTEP EP, St. Beauty’s eclectic and confident Running to the Sun, and Joan Baez’s elegant Whistle Down the Wind. And, of course, singles are not albums, so you will not find Natalie Prass’s retro confection “Short Court Style” or SOPHIE’s clever and menacing “Faceshopping” here. This list will primarily consist of albums that probably flew under your radar, tragically.
1. Mount Eerie – Now Only
A Crow was so sad,
and we thought this wouldn’t be.
Oh, but we were wrong.
Mourning yields introspection
and a slowcore masterpiece.
Listen if you like
Bon Iver and Sun Kil Moon,
Sufjan Stevens,
or the sorrow you can find
in folksy sadcore albums.
Standout lyric: “But I don’t believe in ghosts or anything / I know that you are gone and that I’m carrying some version of you around / Some untrustworthy old description in my memories” – “Distortion”
If you only have time for one song: “Now Only”
2. Typhoon – Offerings
Grass ripples in rows
under shadow of storm clouds.
The orchestra swells.
Let’s talk about our lives and
read Flowers for Algernon.
Listen if you like
Grizzly Bear and Real Estate,
The Shins, chamber pop,
or any band with a name
that is too hard to Google.
Standout lyric: “A woman slouched in her chair disrupts the silence to say / ‘The part of you that I love is still in there even if it doesn’t know my name.’” – “Algernon”
If you only have time for one song: “Rorschach”
3. U.S. Girls – In a Poem Unlimited
Take no prisoners.
This is political war.
Pres. Obama who?
It’s time for revolution:
let’s make a freaking album.
Listen if you like
Natalie Prass, liberty,
Julia Holter,
the band Purity Ring, or
Senator Bernie Sanders.
“Standout lyric: It’s all just friction / But don’t forget the revenge / Act like you got some velvet for sale / Then, you destroy their hope for deliverance / Don’t offer no reason / Instill in them the fear that comes with being prey” – “Velvet 4 Sale”
If you only have time for one song: “L-Over”
4. Cecil Frena – The Gridlock
Watch my beard vibrate
like my pulsing guitar strings.
Let’s get excited!
This is a huge mood booster!
I gotcha! It’s about death.
Listen if you like
Paramore, Jeff Rosenstock,
or Car Seat Headrest.
Highly recommended if
you like jumping up and down.
Standout lyric: “In malls you watch the folks consigned / To gods you’d never give the time / ’Cause prayer requires / You set your coffee down again” – “Nerves Grow Rust”
If you only have time for one song: “I Want to Guard You from Boredom”
5. Ezra Furman – Transangelic Exodus
Excuse me, gender,
grow wings and soar to heaven.
Lipstick-stained bleachers
and turbulent road trips:
teenage triumph and prayer.
Listen if you like
Julien Baker, Big Thief,
Mitski, rock and roll,
saying a little prayer,
and letting out all that angst.
Standout lyric: “But you’re sleeping on the floor / Don’t come to my bed / It’s too soon for you to see me / With my wings spread” – “Psalm 151”
If you only have time for one song: “Driving Down to L.A.”
6. Tracey Thorn – Record
Tell it like it is.
Read the news, sing me the blues.
I want to dance now –
let’s go out and make some friends,
because I’m bored of malaise.
Listen if you like
Jens Lekman, Saint Etienne,
or Amber Coffman.
It’s like the sonic version
of heartwarming wholesome memes.
Standout lyric: “Oh but where I’d like to be / Is on a dancefloor with my friends all pissed at me / Someone singing and I realize it’s me” – “Dancefloor”
If you only have time for one song: “Queen
7. Frankie Cosmos – Vessel
Magician Greta
whips up another good one.
Twee pop fans rejoice!
Now I really want a dog
and maybe some friends as well.
Listen if you like
twee pop, Mac Demarco,
(Sandy) Alex G,
lo-fi, Japanese Breakfast,
and cute little puppy dogs.
Standout lyric: “When the heart gets too tender / Return it to the sender” – “Caramelize”
If you only have time for one song: “Jesse”
8. Porches – The House
Electropop haze,
digital incantations
bouncy and sullen –
“Break the water with your arms”;
break my heart with your songs.
Listen if you like
Frankie Cosmos, Parquet Courts,
extra synthy songs,
celebrating the mundane,
Thee Oh Sees, and fresh iced tea.
Standout lyric: “Can you make it light / Can you do no harm / Break the water with your arms” – “Country”
If you only have time for one song: “Find Me”
9. Jeff Rosenstock – POST-
Is his throat okay?
“All This Useless Energy”:
the song of the year.
power pop is popping off,
and, boy, am I here for it.
Listen if you like
The Go! Team or Joyce Manor.
This is indie rock
for those who rant and rave and
reach catharsis by yelling.
Standout lyric: “At first he thought it was the undertow / But he was dragged to the bottom of the lake / By a couple of kids saying, ‘it’s a joke’ / Though he didn’t know any of their names” – “USA”
If you only have time for one song: “All This Useless Energy”
10. Marlon Williams – Make Way for Love
“Wait, is that Elvis?”
No, a kiwi guitarist –
smoother than butter –
midcentury romantic.
Wanna buy a Chevrolet?
Listen if you like
King of Rock, Elvis Presley,
long walks on the beach,
romance and nostalgia and
the country of New Zealand.
Standout lyric: “Down on the beach with pale and spade / No shelter from the sun and the rain / No, you’re spreading the pain / Digging holes just to fill them again” – “Come to Me”
If you only have time for one song: “What’s Chasing You”