2018 may have seen several female pop stars break into the mainstream yet none of them are as cool, smart or as effortlessly sexy as Kali Uchis. With her début record 'Isolation' Kali brings together artists as diverse as Steve Lacy, Tyler the Creator, Boostsy Collins and Thundercat. The result is a gorgeous ride through the best bits of vintage funk and soul, 60's girl groups and even Kali's take on the Latin trend. Yet it's her modern take on classic funk and soul where Isolation is at it's best.
Check out - Flight 22
Playboi Carti - Die Lit
Die Lit is where Playboi Carti takes trap to its logical conclusion. While the subversive cover looks more like the sleeve of a hardcore punk record, Die Lit can be judged by its cover. Carti embraces a minimalist punk aesthetic using psychedelic tinged yet minimalist backing tracks. Carti's bizzare style of rapping could almost be seen as anti-rapping, constantly ad-libbing, changing his flow and his voice. Die lit comes across as being completely improvised and off the cuff, much like the punk bands proved you didn't need to be a virtuoso to play rock, Carti proves that you don't even need to rap to be a rapper. Check out - Poke it up
Parliament - Medicaid Fraud Dogg
Parliament's first new album in over 30 years can be a daunting prospect, clocking in at 1 hour 46 minutes and 23 songs, it's hard to take in one listen. Instead of simply trolling for streams, MFD, sounds more like the work of a band with too many ideas to fit into a single 40 minute record. Sounding both retro and cutting edge at the same time, MFD may be the album that brings Patliament a new generation of fans, mixing the classic P-Funk sound with trap bangers and a running commentary on the ethics of the pharmaceutical industry.
Check out - Mama Told Me
Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!
After many years Parquet Courts have delivered what may be their definitive album. Wide Awake is the NYC punks at their smartest, catchiest and most diverse. The title track bursts with funky energy, while 'Back to earth' is the sound of the punks gone Prog. Best of all is the saloon bar Ballard 'Tenderness'. A Savage lyrically focusses on the era we live in with his usual sharp, funny wit, and his observations are backed by the best songs PC have written yet.
Check out - Tenderness
Arctic Monkeys - Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino
Some fans may disagree but Arctic Monkeys have always been at their best when at their strangest. Tranquillity base... is by far the strangest that Arctic Monkeys have ever sounded and therefore probably their best. While AM smoothed out their quirks until they had little personality left, TB mixes Alex Turner's surreal ramblings and piano into an odd mix that has been compared to Robbie Williams and David Bowie alike. The rambling off beat nature of the songs here only makes them more lovable and memorable. The best Arctic Monkeys album to date is their biggest reinvention yet.
Check out - She looks like fun
Peace - Kindness is the new rock n' roll
The title track of this album is an example of what Peace
have always done best, taking a simple idea and ramping it up until it's as
epic as possible. Mixing all the charisma that people miss from Oasis with a
beating heart and soul that makes it far more endearing than one of Noel
Gallagher's surreal platitudes. The songs here sound more like a Harry Koisser
solo album than a new Peace record. Writing honestly about depression, and 'lying
in my empty room on my broken bed...left alone with my big fucking mental head.
While early albums found Peace naive and in love with the idea of love itself. ‘Kindness’
finds Harry maturing as both a songwriter and a person. For all the heartbreak
that Peace have been through, they conclude that not only is 'Kindness the new
rock 'n roll, love is also the salvation that we sometimes need.
Check out - You don't walk away from love
I also liked...
Jon Hopkins - Singularity
Beach House - 7
Courtney Barnett - Tell me how you really feel
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