[potsie]

Rolling Stone recently published a piece titled "Why Mainstream Rock Sucked in 2018". It certainly did. I consider most of the Hip's output to be "mainstream rock" and I didn't hear much in this musical vein that was worth listening to over the past year. It's the sub-genres, like Americana and Indie-Folk, where the interesting music is being made these days. At a time when there has never been more music at your finger tips, it's actually been difficult over the past year to find good rock music. 2018 just seemed to be bereft of big, kick-ass rock albums, more than any year in recent memory. I hope 2019 brings us a rock album that creates seismic waves in the mainstream and helps slow the ongoing marginalization of guitar-based music.

All that being said, there were many albums that I enjoyed this year. In no particular order:

AlascA - Plea for Peace
A Dutch band that plies their trade in English. Great indie pop-rock sensibilities with chiming 60's guitars and some haunting vocals. Check out "Song for Nick Drake", "Red Herring", and "Plea for Peace" and impress your next dinner party guests with your musical obscurantism.

Lord Huron - Vide Noir
A criminally underappreciated band who continues to improve with each album. Heavier psychedelic tunes this time around, while not completely abandoning their folk-pop roots. Well-crafted songs and a solid album top-to-bottom. My year end Spotify review tells me it's my most listened to album from 2018, racking up 33 hours. Check out "Vide Noir", "Ancient Names", and "Secret of Life".

Postdata - Let's Be Wilderness
Side project for Wintersleep frontman Paul Murphy with involvement from the always fantastic drummer Loel Campbell. Beautiful songs shift between folk-pop and indie-rock with some occasional synth scapes added in. This is the second album from Murphy's group and is a more varied and interesting listen than the 2010 album. Check out "Gravity", "Black Cloud", and "Ithaca".

Gaz Coombes - World's Strongest Man
An album of varied sounds from buzzing electric guitar to slow-build piano grooves, all laid over some introspective and emotionally vulnerable lyrics. Check out "Walk the Walk", :"The Oaks" and "World's Strongest Man".

A Perfect Circle - Eat the Elephant
The guitar takes a backseat at times on this album but when Billy Howerdel does decide to put down some power chords, he does it beautifully. Check out "By and Down the River", "Feathers", and "Disillusioned".

Jack White - Boarding House Reach
Weird and challenging in spots, but never dull. Jack continues to grow and evolve.

First Aid Kit - Ruins
An album from a Scandinavian band that sounds like they came of age in 1960's Nashville. A raw look at failed relationships. Check out "Rebel Heart".

American Aquarium - Things Change
Like direwolf, this album is one that I quite a bit this year. Anything that shares musical through lines with DBT is always going to grab my attention. Check out "Crooked+Straight".

Throwback Album: David Gilmour - David Gilmour
I'm a long-time lover of all things Pink Floyd but have never owned this 1978 solo release. It has an "Animals" guitar-like feel (having been recorded in close proximity to that masterpiece). I discovered it for the first time this summer, and while lyrics have never been Gilmour's strong suit, the distinctive atmospheric guitar is present here in spades. Check out "No Way Out of Here".

New Favourite Song of the Week: Amy Ray "Sure Feels Good Anyway". I had no idea who Amy Ray was when I first discovered this song on a Spotify playlist and only later realized she is one half of the Indigo Girls. This song follows the great Americana tradition (in a similar vein to Patterson Hood) of grappling with the contradictions and baggage that go along with Southern pride, set to music that would fit well on an Isbell record.

I didn't see many movies this year as I've become obsessed with True Crime documentaries and podcasts. I highly recommend "The Keepers", "Evil Genius", "Wormwood", and "The Staircase", all found on Netflix.