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Title : 12 Greatest Albums of 2018 So Far
link : 12 Greatest Albums of 2018 So Far
12 Greatest Albums of 2018 So Far
So far, 2018 has given us Janelle Monáe's android funk, Cardi B's bloody-shoed boasts, J Balvin's internationalist reggaeton and an all-star dispatch from Wakanda. Here's some of best of the year's first five months and change.
We Say: Released in tandem with a film of the same name (like Purple Rain) and with music that engages with apocalyptic politics without undermining the party (like 1999), it's a pop-culture salvo that's rooted in the present while recognizing and building on the past. In its own way, its as artful, ambitious, determined, joyous and inspiring, as Lemonade or To Pimp a Butterfly. It's a sexy MF-ing masterpiece. W.H.
Various Artists, 'Black Panther: The Album'
We Say: The Black Panther soundtrack album has been nearly as feverishly anticipated as the film, and no wonder: It is helmed by another improbable straddler of cultural categories, Kendrick Lamar, A-list pop star and Black Lives Matter-era protest poet nonpareil. ... It is tempting to compare Black Panther to Curtis Mayfield's Superflyand Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man, classic blaxploitation soundtracks that channeled the social consciousness and sonic adventurism of early Seventies soul. But the analogy is imprecise. Lamar co-executive produced the album, has writing credits on all 14 tracks, and appears throughout, in starring roles and cameos. His main job, though, is a definitively 21st Century one: musical curator. Lamar corrals old friends from L.A. (Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul), southern rap hitmakers (Future, Travis Scott), nu-soul leading lights (the Weeknd, Anderson.Paak), and a host of lesser-knowns, including a handful of South African musicians with no little commercial presence in America. J.R.
Cardi B, 'Invasion of Privacy'
We Say: The Bronx queen's long-awaited debut Invasion of Privacy is even better than everybody was hoping it would be, a whirwind tour of Planet Cardi, a place where female warriors reign supreme, taking occasional breaks to plant a Louboutin heel on a rival's throat. Cardi expands on the flash of "Bodak Yellow," one of the most glorious pop hits of this century – all over Invasion of Privacy, she puts on her bloody shoes and dances the blues. As Cardi declares in the fantastic opener "Get Up 10," "I started speaking my mind and tripled my views/Real bitch, only thing fake is the boobs." R.S.
Camila Cabello, 'Camila'
We Say: Although Cabello was the most high-profile member of Fifth Harmony, this group wasn't built to last, and Cabello broke away in one of the messiest, most shade-intensive pop splits of recent years. ... Cabello's long-awaited solo debut is a personal statement, low-key and mellow even when it's infused with the rhythms of her Cuban-Mexican heritage. Her massive 2017 radio smash "Havana" is the centerpiece, as she rides a steamy piano groove with Young Thug. Camila is sleek pop that gets straight to the point, just 10 songs around the three-minute mark, eschewing celebrity guests or big-name producers. R.S.
Rae Sremmurd, 'Sr3mm'
We Say: A 27-song record of all new material is not the kind of thing you'd associate with a pop-friendly hip-hop duo that had its first hits just four years ago. ... Where recent marathons like Migos' gratuitous Culture II felt more about streaming algorithms than art, Sr3mmrarely wears out its welcome. The project's spiritual predecessor, Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, marked the beginning of the end for André 3000 and Big Boi's creative partnership; but Swae and Jxmmi's solo turns crackle with promise — and there's nothing matching their electricity when they're in the zone together. M.G.
Kacey Musgraves, 'Golden Hour'
We Say: [Y]ou might not recognize the weed-loving cowgirl troublemaker of "Follow Your Arrow" on this moony set, a throwback to easy-listening pop that's only "country" by the loosest definition. Joined by a familiar dream team of Music City co-writers – Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey, Luke Laird and Shane McAnally – plus new partners Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian, the newlywed Musgraves is uncharacteristically cooing love songs; see the swooning title track and "Butterflies." But she hasn't lost her wit: "Northern lights in our skies/Plants that grow and open your mind," she muses on "Oh, What a World," a vocoder intro shimmering in the distance amid plinking banjo. Who knew Americana and robot rock were a thing? W.H.
J Balvin, 'Vibras'
We Say: Balvin is leading a new breed of Latin stars who can cross over without watering down their roots – an interesting development in this ostensibly wall-building era. The video for last year's "Mi Gente" – a mighty club jam that shares its title (meaning "My People") with the signature song of salsa legend/Balvin hero Hector Lavoe – has racked up 1.8 billion YouTube views at last count, and even scored a remix cameo from Beyoncé, who invited Balvin up for her epic Coachella set last month. Produced by Parisian producer/featured co-singer Willy Williams with co-writes by French radio VIP DJ Assad and Swedish-Congolese pop journeyman Mohombi, "Mi Gente" kicks off Vibras, and its dubby, chilled-out, internationalist take on reggaetón is a template for the entire set. W.H.
John Prine, 'The Tree of Forgiveness'
We Say: Prine's kept at it steadily, despite a muse evidently grown less insistent, for nearly 50 years, and The Tree of Forgiveness is his first set of originals in over a decade. ... After neck surgery in 1998 to remove a squamous cell carcinoma, and more surgery to treat lung cancer in 2013, Prine's plainspoken tenor creaks like an wide-plank old floor in winter. ... And of course, it nails the death meditation "When I Get to Heaven," a mix of punchlines, sweet sentimentality and looming void. It's precisely what Dylan – a major fan who offered to sit in on harmonica at Prine's first New York gig – was referring to when he famously described Prine's writing as "pure Proustian existentialism. Midwestern mindtrips to the nth degree." W.H.
David Byrne, 'American Utopia'
We Say: American Utopia – abetted by an old comrade (Brian Eno, contributing beats) and new ones (Daniel "Oneohtrix Point Never" Lopatin, Sampha/XX producer Rodaidh McDonald) – boasts some of the most exciting music Byrne has made in years. The balance of light and dark is especially compelling on "Bullet," a travelogue of just that ("His skin did part in two/Skin that women had touched") and "Everybody's Comin' to My House," a sort of agoraphobic's kidnapping fantasy. W.H.
Willie Nelson, 'Last Man Standing'
We Say: Just one year after his unsuspecting opus God's Problem Child, Nelson, 84, is back with Last Man Standing, the latest in his series of late-career ruminations helmed by producer Buddy Cannon. Whereas last year's God's Problem Child found Nelson staring down death in the mirror on meditations like "Old Timer" and "True Love," this record finds the honky-tonk prophet satirizing the slow march of time with humorous musings set to a comfortable blend of Western swing and roadhouse blues. ... On Last Man Standing, Willie Nelson continues to turn his ninth decade into a classic country song full of remembrance, regret and resilience. J.B.
Beach House, '7'
We Say: 2015's Depression Cherry was Beach House's lushest album to date, raising the question of how they could possibly top it, short of tapping a team of quantum scientists to develop even headier reverb pedals. 7 ... is the duo's first attempt since then to push their sound forward. ... This is the least introverted record Beach House have ever made; it'll still blow your mind with candles lit and headphones on, but it's the first time they've sounded like a band you might want to hear at a party with more than one guest. S.V.L.
Playboi Carti, 'Die Lit'
Playboi Carti repeats phrases with an incantatory command over beats that mimic Japanese video game composers, resulting in songs that feel oddly yet infectiously rhythmic. It's a style template that blossomed on last year's self-titled album. Die Lit is more of the same as the Atlanta rapper strikes the repetitive chords with audible glee. He's not in danger of wearing us out yet, although at 19 tracks Die Lit is better at establishing a dopamine-pumping red-eyed gamer vibe than coalescing into a concise body of work. "Long Time (Intro)" sounds like an 8-bit melody emanating from a broken cartridge as Carti chants, "I ain't felt like this in a long time." Skepta's hard spitting nearly overwhelms "Lean 4 Real," while Young Thug's atonal crooning adds visceral intensity to the hallucinatory keyboard stabs of "Choppa Don't Miss." Despite a plethora of cameos including Nicki Minaj and Lil Uzi Vert, no one upstages Carti, who looms above it all, pleasantly lost in his own Mushroom Kingdom. M.R.
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