The Top 50 Albums of 2018
#50) serpentwithfeet-soil
R&B artist Josiah Wise has created a kaleidoscopic listening experience with his debut album soil. The project’s distinct blend of Wise’s roots as a classical/gospel singer with distorted instrumentation is enigmatic, spiraling around lyrics dealing with love, religion, and sexuality (“I get to devote my life to him, I get to sing like the cherubim”).
Standout Tracks: Cherubim, Bless Ur Heart, Messy
#49) Vessel-Queen of the Golden Dogs
Bristol producer Sebastian Gainsborough/Vessel has created an exceptionally mysterious electronica project. Dogs was conceived and recorded “over eighteen months of solitude in rural Wales”, as shown through its erratic and unpredictable passages. Throughout the album plucky elements of chamber music such as harpsichords and violins appear seemingly at random, constantly being cycled out for ambient buildups and unprovoked flurries of harsh noise.
Standout Tracks: Argo, Paplu, Arcanum
