Just before we get stuck into the Albums of the Year list, I always find it particularly important to highlight the plethora of stand-out EPs that we receive each year. I feel like I've listened to almost as many EPs in 2018 as I have LPs, and so it's been pretty difficult to narrow down my most memorable. Even then, to now narrow them down further was a serious challenge but just as with 2017, I've curated a playlist of the longlist, before shouting out the particularly golden nuggets.

RAY BLK - Empress
This glorious body of work walks the tightrope of full length album and EP both in run-time and in quality. Ray BLK has one of the most distinctive vocals coming from the UK at the moment and her positive and empowering lyricism works to set her apart from the pack for all of the right reasons. No doubts that I will have this spinning consistently until next year's list.



SIPPRELL - I Could Be Loved
Since the release of her debut EP Letter D in 2015, Sipprell's musicianship has truly gone from strength to strength. "Journey" was the first song to capture me and so to have it on an EP where each and every song rivals it, and for different reasons - talk about spoilt. This EP will lift your spirits and meld with your emotions in even the murkiest of times.



MOSES SUMNEY - Black In Deep Red, 2014
Just three tracks in less than 10 minutes and we have one of the most original EPs of the Year. I wish that I wrote every single one of the songs on this. It took me a while to even realise that "Call-To-Arms" had no lyrics in it. The instrumentation and production on this album is special and something entirely unique to Moses.




AUSTEL - Unfold 
After discovering Austel earlier this year I've caught a couple of their live performances since and with each one I was just more and more excited for their debut EP to come out. Unfold is a well thought out yet experimental body of work. Their ability to manipulate rare sounds to tell as much of a story as the vocals do is admirable to say the least.


MAYPINE - Bend/Break
MAYPINE have come a long way from last year's EP In The Back Of My Mind - moving in the direction of a moodier, more mature sound. "Kodokushi" was a clear stand-out for me on first listen, drawing me back to the music I'd mostly associate with labels like No Sleep Records (and we all know how much I love them). MAYPINE are continuously growing and shaping their sound and I don't foresee this changing come 2019.


YAZMIN LACEY - When The Sun Dips 90 Degrees
One of my favourite new vocal discoveries from 2018 and this EP is a large testament to that. Yazmin's silky, soulful tones will stick in your mind long after the tracks come to an upsettingly swift end. She's had an amazing year selling out shows around the country and after her collaborations and work with names like Brownswood Recordings and Skinny Pelembe, I know I'll be hearing her jazzy croon again soon.


AMBER MARK - Conexão
The title track opens up with a spacious, sexy instrumental; which then leads to one of my favourite singles of the year "Love Me Right". This song has potentially the best execution of a key change that I've heard this year. Amber's voice has been the strong carrying force in her work for a long time now and I can hear the instrumentals and lyrics now rising up to match that.


ROBERT GLASPER X KAYTRANADA - The ArtScience Remixes
The collaboration I didn't know that I needed until I saw it in writing. Two of my favourite producers have finally come together to create jazzy, R&B gold. I sincerely hope that this isn't the last time we'll see these two names on a piece of work together. I only wish that this was an entire album.



RAYVN LENAE - Crush 
One of the most recognisable female vocals to come out of the US in the past two years. Ravyn's touch on a track - be it her own, or another artist's - is always memorable and original. Her work with Steve Lacy (of The Internet) both this year and last has pushed her towards the limelight and her unique soprano and steady tone has keep her firmly in it.


BOYGENIUS - boygenius  
Another fantastic collaboration that I didn't realise I was desperate for until it was shown to me. Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Pheobe Bridgers together make up boygenius. Rarely have three separate artists, each with quite distinctive voices been able to unite and compliment each other so well. Their harmonies flow like they've been singing as one for years and their melancholic lyrics leave a lasting taste in your mouth after every listen.




Check out the Spotify playlist including songs from these EPs and more memorable gems here.

As we get into what might well be one of the saddest months of the year, with Autumn and Winter rearing their heads, it's nice to know that we have a heap of new music to fill our mundane morning commutes and dreary late night walks with.


PETITE NOIR - LA MAISON NOIR/THE BLACK HOUSE
I have been following Petite Noir since I had my first ever touch screen iPod and I feel like whenever we get something fresh from him, it comes in dribbles. Now after this drought, Petite Noir is back to quench our thirst and about time to. His recent single "Blame Fire" is easily the best work I've heard from him since discovering him in 2012. The production sounds SBTRKT-esque at points with a political sample edge akin to Moses Sumney. I'm over the moon that this gets to be in my ears so soon (the 5th of October).

KELELA - TAKE ME_APART, THE REMIXES
After making it pretty high up on my list of favourite albums from 2017, Kelela is collaborating with some of the biggest names in production and some of the most groundbreaking people in music over the past couple of years - both underground and more mainstream. My favourite remix right now, unsurprisingly comes from resident favourite - Kaytranada - and is an effortless classic. However, I'm most excited to hear the contributions from LSDXOXO, Bad Sista, GAIKA and serpentwithfeet. The album drops on the 5th of October a year after the release of her amazing debut.

JESS GLYNNE - ALWAYS IN BETWEEN
I must admit, I never did listen to Jess Glynne debut album in 2015 but after seeing her live at Lollapolooza Festival in Berlin in 2016 I definitely think I had more respect for Jess as an artist. She was slaying the charts across both of those years with both solo and featured material however something about her never fully clicked in my mind. Her latest single "123" is a little bit vocally lazy but is undeniably catchy. The sophomore drops on the 12th of October and I'll definitely be tuning in to see if I've been missing out all these years.

BASEMENT - BESIDE MYSELF
One of my favourite new discoveries of 2016 - I was a little bit late on the bandwagon but I've done my catching up and I can happily say that Basement are one of my favourite UK Pop Punk bands at the moment, both live and on record. After having their last album Promise Everything on a loop for months it will be nice to have something new from them to spin. This will be their first release via Fueled By Ramen too and whilst I do love most of the material that comes from the FBR camp, I will be interested to hear how this changes the band's sound. Listen in with me on the 12 of October.

DJANGO DJANGO - WINTER'S BEACH EP
Another blessing from Django Django this year - what have we done to deserve all of this new music?! Their album earlier this year Marble Skies was the soundtrack to my trips around Australia and with winter hot on our tails, what better way to march through frosty streets than with Winter's Beach in our ears? Their latest single "Swimming at Night" wouldn't have gone amiss on the last album however, I love how robust the instrumental sounds on this. It actually reminds me a bit of Dutch Uncles' "Big Balloon" at points. Out on the 12th of October I expect that these six new tracks will feature heavily in my wintery days.

MØ - FOREVER NEVERLAND
After battling in MØ's corner for years before she broke the mainstream with Major Lazer, I have to say that I was a little bit disappointed with her debut record No Mythologies To Follow. Although it included some of my favourite singles of hers including "Maiden" and "Glass", I felt like the album had a lot of filler to it and some of the previously released singles now sounded a little bit too polished in my ears. However, I still stand by MØ's talent and expect that there will be a few sweet heavy hitters on this sophomore release. Out on the 19th of October.

NAO - SATURN
Nao is another artist that I will be campaigning for until she gets all of the credit that she's due. That said, her latest singles from the upcoming album have each made pretty big waves, and her most recent single "Drive And Disconnect" was going round and round in my head for days after the first listen. On her debut album Nao was able to highlight the most subtle and something unusual sounds giving her voice the experimental touch that she's often labelled with. I suspect that this flair will still be present on Saturn however I anticipate a very different sound for this one. Closing out the month for us on the 26th of October.


Alongside these we also have potential gems to listen to from these artists later this month - Tom Walker, Neneh Cherry, Farao, Tom Odell, Lil Yachty, Robyn, Nothing But Thieves, Ty Segall and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. I'm always overwhelmed with the amount of music being delivered every single day and this is not even close to half of it. Sometimes I wonder with music where the balance between quality and quantity should lie but as this list shows, this month we may just have the best of both worlds.

I've been away from my laptop for the past month back in Melbourne, hence the overly lengthy break in posts. However, whilst I've been away in Australia I've come across and been introuced to quite a few new discoveries that I'm stoked to bring over to the UK with me. There's so much quality new talent coming from Australia, and this is just the tiniest snippet of what I found out about there.

CLOWNS
Luckily for me whilst I was in Melbourne, Foo Fighters were on tour. If you've been following this blog for any amounth of time you're probably aware of my love for Foo Fighters and so obviously there was no wat I was going to pass up seeing them; which brings us to Clowns. Hailing from Melbourne themselves they brought this "take notice" attitude to stage and backed it up with some serious, serious tunes. The lead singer's stage presence was electric and to be able to shine through on a bill supporting both Weezer and Foo Fighters, you've got to be doing something right.


SAMPOLOGY 
A friend of mine told me about a DJ set that was happening at Melbourne Museum and even before I'd even heard about the DJs playing I was onboard. After having a look at the bill and having a listen to Sampology's tracks on Spotify I was even more excited about the show. His beats reminded me of so many different things I've been vibing with these past couple of years (mt. Marcy and Kaytranada to name a couple), and they translated 10 times better live.

 


TOTAL GIOVANNI 
Next up on the very same bill for that show was Total Giovanni. My friend let me know that they were a pretty big deal and so I had to really do my research with this one. They took a little bit longer for me to get into if I'm honest. Their beats had a nostalgia attached to them that I couldn't quite get my head around at first, but nonetheless I could never get past a funky beat, and they do funky well.




MALLRAT 
Towards the end of my trip I went to St Kilda Festival to check out some of Australia's upcoming and established talent. Unfortunately (as is alway the case with festivals), I didn't get to make it to all the sets I was hoping to, however a friend of mine strongly recommended checking out Mallrat. I didn't get to see the set but I definitely did my research and loved what I heard. Next time, I see her name on a line up, I know who I'm choosing to see.




HELLIONS
After doing a little bit of browsing at 24hundred, I'd seen a few bands' names pop up a fair amount - Tonight Alive (whom we know and love), Violent Soho, and of course, Hellions. I made a mental note of the names I hadn't listened to before and vowed to check them out. Before I could even think twice about it, I'd struck up a conversation with somebody who turned out to be a pretty big Hellions fan. After listening through some of their material it brought back those ADTR, Dangerkids-esque riffs I haven't heard in so long and refreshed it for me. Definitely want to see these guys live as soon as possible.

We've made it to the top ten and ushering us in is At What Cost by Goldlink - giving listeners a little look into pockets of the music scene in DC.

This album actually really crept up on me this year. I listened to almost as soon as it dropped and liked it but didn't love it. Nothing stuck out at me much right away. I mean there were a couple of songs that I jammed to on repeat but as more albums started dropping this one just kind of fell off the list for me.

It wasn't until late summer this year when I listed to the whole album through again and it was like I was listening to it with fresh ears. Goldlink has always had fire beats, one thing you can never fault his music on is instrumentals but I think I've only just recently caught on to how his witty lyricism shone through on the record. Being his "major label debut record", I feel like he's come out of the blocks really strong, however there may still be things about his sound that will be improved on in his next few records. Don't get me wrong this is not a major criticism this more just acted as a reminder that although Goldlink's been around for quite a few years, it's only just the beginning for his music.

The tracks that have been getting the most plays these past few months are "Some Girl (feat. Steve Lacy)", "Pray Everyday (Survivor's Guilt)", "Roll Call (feat. Mya)", and "We Will Never Die (feat. Lil Dude)". There were so many highlights throughout to be honest, and the features on this album were pretty much spot on. Nobody that was featured sounded like they didn't belong there. It's album for you to listen to on a sunny day, walking around your neighbourhood with not much to do, or even an album to listen to on an evening commute walking in the dark. It has pockets of each of these moods with an overall satisfying feeling. It can only be onwards and upwards from here really.

Have a look at what I thought about last year's number ten pick here.

The album that's probably jumped about on the list the most, in at seven here's Kaytranada's 99.9%. It's crazy to think that this time last year, the only thing I really knew about Kaytranada is that he produced The Internet's song "Girl" and now his album is taking up the majority of my most played list this year.

Essentially, my entire summer was sponsored by Kaytranada. Almost every single flight, car journey, heck even tram journey I took after this album was released, featured at least one song from it. I actually remember the day that I listened to this album for the first time - I was sitting in the office trying to get on with some kind of work and I know my colleagues must've been annoyed because my foot was tapping for damn near every single song! The instant hits for me were "Vivid Dreams" and "Bullets". The instrumental on Vivid just comes through so hard, I was close to flailing my arms in the office on first listen and as soon as I heard Yukimi's voice on "Bullets" I was sold (and obviously that first drum fill was pretty convincing too).

Since the release of this album nobody has been able to stop Kaytranada - he. is. EVERYWHERE. Some of my favourite albums this year include features from him, production credits from him, wherever there is good music, there's usually some help from Kaytranada there. He has one of the most unique production sounds around at the moment - as soon as I hear one of his beats, I know that it's him. As well as being a huge plus for him this may become a bit of a vice - nobody really wants one of their songs to sound like it would go better on somebody else's album. However, let's not count him out, as good as he is now, he hasn't hit the glass ceiling yet - the next few years for him will be interesting for sure.

After catching his set at Sonar Festival earlier this year, although great, I could see room for improvement there. The only reason I say this is because, Kaytranada is one of the most talented producers around at the moment and he still has mounds of potential - more is indeed possible! I look forward to the sophomore.

Finally, here's a quick clue about what the rest of the days of Christmas might look like - this album is the only debut album to make the list! I guess that says enough.