Many truths bubbled up to the surface during 2018. The once hidden greatness of certain artists revealed itself in the work they released this year. With streaming services diminishing the significance of full albums with every year that goes by, these artists were able to fight the good fight on behalf of “the album” and prove some things never change. All the work listed below is worthy of your record collection.
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Kanye West, for all the controversy and political ignorance he was a part of, produced 5 albums beginning with Pusha T’s Daytona and ending with Teyana’s K.T.S.E. All 5 albums featured 7 tracks, pushed boundaries, and were in this humble editor’s opinion, brilliant. Kanye produced Nas’ best album, Nasir, since God’s Son in 2002. Expect to see more than one Kanye produced album on any blog’s year-end lists. 2018 was one of the most dramatic years hip hop has had in awhile with beef between Pusha T and Drake reaching a fever pitch that culminated in Pusha T’s check-mate move, “The Story of Adidon”. Eminem resurrected Slim Shady and dropped Kamikazi, an album that reminded people he wasn’t just some white guest in the house of hip hop.
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Veteran bands that people thought were over the hill released albums that could compete with the work they put out in their heyday, albums like Judas Priest’s Firepower stands up against their material from the 80’s. Also in the world of metal, Sleep finally released a new album, The Sciences, which you will see appears multiple times on these lists.
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Los Angeles artists also kicked the doors down and finally reached the national acclaim they deserved. Death Valley Girls released Darkness Rains, an album that with the help of a video featuring Iggy Pop eating a hamburger, took the band to a new height. Twin Temple released their debut album, Twin Temple Bring You Their Signature Sound… Satanic Doo-Wop, and blew the cemetery gates open for a new genre that could’ve only come from a city like L.A.
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Dais Records had an incredible year, proving once again they are the king of the hill when it comes to post punk in this decade. With scene-defining releases by multiple artists such as Adult.’s This Behavior and SRSQ’s Unreality, Dais is creating a new community for all post-punk musicians to aspire to be a part of.
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Across the country, representing the East Coast and bridging the concept of cool from New York to Los Angeles, Surfbort gave punk rockers new hope for the genre as well as new style to rip-off with their release Friendship Music.
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Hardcore had a great year too. All the bands that rolled into town for Sound and Fury and For The Children came bearing the gifts of new material. Some of the stand out albums of 2018 were Turnstile’s Time and Space, Candy’s Good to Feel, Vein’s Errorzone, Drug Church’s Cheer, and though they’re not exactly hardcore, Culture Abuse (who are friends with everyone in LAHC anyway), released their first landmark, Bay Dream.
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So without further ado, the following are the favorite albums of 2018 as chosen by Janky Smooth contributors.
Danny Baraz, Publisher at Janky Smooth
- Aphex Twin – Collapse EP
- Pig Destroyer – Head Cage
- Beach House – 7
- Earl Sweatshirt – Some Rap Songs
- Iceage – Beyondless
- Deafheaven – Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
- Sleep – The Sciences
- Pusha T – Daytona
- Vince Staples – FM!
- Ty Segall – Freedom’s Goblin
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Rob Shepyer, Editor at Janky Smooth
- Adult. – This Behavior
- Bleeding Through – Love Will Kill All
- Post Malone – Beerbongs and Bentlys
- Pusha T – Daytona
- Yob – Our Raw Heart
- Clutch – Book of Bad Decisions
- Spiritual Cramp – Television
- Current 93 – The Light Is Leaving Us All
- The Black Queen – Infinite Games
- Fischerspooner – Sir
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Dave Smith, Author for Janky Smooth
- Kurt Vile – Bottle It In
- Thom Yorke – Suspirium
- Kids See Ghosts – Kids See Ghosts
- Sleep – The Sciences
- Kali Uchis – Isolation
- Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
- Red Pears – For Today, For Tomorrow, For What It Is, For What Could’ve Been
- Fucked Up – Dose Your Dreams
- Earthless – Black Heaven
- Fiddlehead – Springtime and Blind
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Jonathan Reyes, Author at Janky Smooth
- Freddie Gibbs – Freddie
- Kanye West – Ye
- Pusha T – Daytona
- Ski Mask The Slump God – Stokeley
- Travis Scott – Astroworld
- A$AP Rocky – Testing
- Vince Staples – FM!
- Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy
- Idles – Joy as an Act of Resilience
- Sleep – The Sciences
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Anthony Mehlhaff, Photographer for Janky Smooth
- Cancerslug – Beating A Dead Whore
- Andrew W.K. – You’re Not Alone
- Surfbort – Friendship Music
- Gama Bomb – Speed Between The Line
- Daughters – You Won’t Get What You Want
- A Perfect Circle – Eat The Elephant
- MGMT – Little Dark Age
- Sleep – The Sciences
- Glowing Brain – Glowing Brain
- Dumb Fucks – Dumb Fucks
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Maggie St. Thomas, Photographer at Janky Smooth
- LP – Heart to Mouth
- Culture Club – Life
- Sick of it All – Wake The Sleeping Dragon
- Snoop Dogg – Bible of Love
- Slightly Stoopid – Everyday Life, Everyday People
- Skating Polly – The Make It All Show
- Tash Sultana – Flow State
- Vaughn Williams – A Sea fo Symphony
- A Perfect Circle – Eat The Elephant
- LAW – There And Back Again
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Albert Licano, Photographer for Janky Smooth
- Voivod – The Wake
- Suburbanite – Suburbanite
- Sleep – The Sciences
- Systematic Death – Systema Eleven
- Alice Bag – Blue Print
- Parquet Courts – Wide Awake
- Arctic Flowers – Straight to the Hunter
- Hank Wood and the Hammerheads – Hank Wood and the Hammerheads
- Hot Snakes – Jericho Sirens
- Judas Priest – Firepower
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Robert Cohen, Author at Janky Smooth
- Franz Ferdinand – Always Ascending
- Travis Scott – Astroworld
- Pusha T – Daytona
- Islamiq Grrrls & oOoOO – Faminine Mystique
- J. Cole – KOD
- Kids See Ghosts – Kids See Ghosts
- St. Vincent – Masseducation
- The-Dream – Sextape Vol. 1,2,3
- Earl Sweatshirt – Some Rap Songs
- Justice – Woman Worldwide
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Michael Haight, Photographer at Janky Smooth
- The 1975 – A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships
- Kali Uchis – Isolation
- Poppy – Am I A Girl?
- Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour
- Skating Polly – The Make It All Show
- Soccer Mommy – Clean
- DeathbyRomy – Monsters
- The Grinning Ghosts – Youth On The Rack
- Death Valley Girls – Darkness Rains
- The Aquadolls – The Dream And The Deception
Dillon Vaughn, Photographer at Janky Smooth
- Sting and Shaggy – 44/876
- Black Moth Super Rainbow – Panic Blooms
- Leon Vynehall – Nothing is Still
- Bad Rabbits – Mimi
- Khruangbin – Con Todo El Mundo
- Zeta – Magia Infinita
- Funeral Chic – Superstition
- Mammoth Grinder – Cosmic Crypt
- Connan Mockasin – Jassbusters
- Electric Six – Bride of the Devil
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