FLOOD's Best Albums of 2018

FLOOD's Best Albums of 2018

Original Source →

22.

March 16, 2018
Critic Score
74
31 reviews
The album is all grace notes—something that’s underscored by Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley singing with total, unflappable zen; they let themselves be untroubled here, and invite you to join them for as long as these tranquil tunes reverberate.

20.

February 16, 2018
Critic Score
82
28 reviews

In theory, a Twin Fantasy redo seemed unnecessary and pompous, a misguided detour in service of soothing an artist’s ego over past shortcomings. In execution, it’s as vital as anything released yet this year.

17.

May 11, 2018
Critic Score
72
44 reviews

Should Arctic Monkeys remain cozily in that era forever, no one should fault them. And yet, unlike many nauseatingly nostalgic acts today, it never sounds pastiche.

16.

September 14, 2018
Critic Score
85
26 reviews
The band sounds as good as ever here, and pleasures abound—whether they’re leaning into their mighty roar or savoring their vocal chemistry in passages of hushed murmurs.

14.

July 13, 2018
Critic Score
82
32 reviews

Not only does OCHL feel more balanced than the band’s three previous releases—which each placed an enormous burden upon their few moments of passive instrumentation to maintain an even keel—it also feels entirely more transparent.

12.

November 2, 2018
Critic Score
76
17 reviews

6.

May 18, 2018
Critic Score
81
27 reviews

Sparkle Hard possesses a little bit of everything Malkmus does well, from heart-snatching guitar hooks to wistful ballads and psych-rock wig-outs. But Malkmus doesn’t stop there—he chucks in spare parts from disparate genres, and the unlikely hybrids work well.

5.

May 18, 2018
Critic Score
84
35 reviews

Wide Awake! finds Parquet Courts spreading themselves in multiple genres, developing as many formulas as possible for corporeal mobility—and by that, I mean not just dancing, but physical reactions, from excitement’s range of kicking and screaming to pliés of joy.

3.

April 27, 2018
Critic Score
87
41 reviews

The record is big and colorful, its production drawing equally from hip-hop’s visceral impact and psychedelia’s strange weather, its pacing perfect and its songs casually bleeding into one another. It works so well as a big-picture record that it’s easy to forgive Monáe for leaving the edges a little fuzzy.

2.

May 11, 2018
Critic Score
80
38 reviews

With 7, Beach House has done nothing to disturb their status as one of indie rock’s most consistent bands. They’ve done a whole lot, though, to demonstrate a willingness to reimagine what it is that Beach House can be.

1.

August 17, 2018
Critic Score
85
40 reviews
These songs, jostling up against one another in the album’s mad dash, add up to a portrait of the artist in transition and at her peak—expanding her vision, refining her sense of self.
Original Source: http://floodmagazine.com/55575/the-best-albums-of-2018/
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