#ie nil and crew

[tiktaaliker]

so i decided to update some refs for artfight and i started with fane. so here's the original sundog in all his sparkledog glory

[thisisnotacomp]

Best Albums of 2018 40-31

31 Aqueduct Ensemble - Improvisations on an Apricot  - By my count this is the 4th ambient release on my list so far. Honestly none of them reach the heights of the albums released in the last 15 years or so. That said, they are not also rans. They are great and Improvisations on an Apricot was the best of the year in my book. It is more Jazzy then some of the others and is absolutely beautiful. Listen to it on a rainy spring day, or a hot summer morning. Beautiful music. 

32 Vince Staples - FM!  - 2018 was the year of short albums. Vince released FM! and while its not all killer no filler(mainly due to the interludes) it is a cohesive statement from the 2nd best MC in the game, Kendrick is still number 1. Hopefully we will get a full release from both of them along with the long awaited LP from Chance. That is what I am looking forward to in 2019. 

33. MIKE - Renaissance Man  - MIKE is not for everyone, but his releases are more forward thinking than just about anyone in Hip-Hop right now. JPEGMAFIA is getting a ton of year end press and his 2018 release Veteran is great, but my vote goes to MIKE. 

34 boygenius - boygenius EP  - I usually don’t include EP’s on my best of the year lists but broke the rule this year. boygenius is solid gold start to finish. My favorite track is Bite The Hand while Me & My Dog is the track that the rest of the internet loves. Honestly every track is great. 2018 had more good releases by women than men.

35. Soccer Mommy - Clean  - I stayed away from this album when it was first released thinking it was just another rock artist release tracks I have heard a million times. When I finally listened to it, I couldn’t keep the hooks out of my head. Just listen to Your Dog and get back to me in a week if it isn’t stuck in your head. You won’t because it will be or you will be streaming Clean at the time. You can thank me later. 

Side Note: There was one other great Soccer related album released this year that I need to mention. Rewind by Soccer96. It is 30 plus mins of great background beat music. The highlight is Harmonious Monk. Check it out here. 36. DJ Healer - Nothing 2 Loose /  Prime Minister Of Doom - Mudshadow Propaganda  - Breaking rules. 2 albums slide in at number 36. Both are by the same artists. You can stream them both via YouTube. Listen to Nothing 2 Loose when you are in a positive mood. Check out Mudshadow Propaganda when you are looking for something darker. Both are great.

37. Smino - NOIR  - Honestly, this album is too high on my list. I say that because I most likely will forget about it in 3 years if he doesn’t follow it up with something else great. It is so high due to recency bias. But it is really great and I have been listening to it a ton over the last few months. Now for the list of most overrated hip-hop albums of 2018:  1: Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy  2: Anderson .Paak - Oxnard  3: The Carters - Everything Is Love  4: J Cole - KOD  5: Brockhampton - Iridescence  6: Drake - Scorpion  7: Nipsey Hussle - Victory Lap  8: Travis Scott - Astroworld  9: Kanye West - Ye

38. Mick Jenkins - Pieces of a Man  - Most underrated Hip-Hop Releases of 2018:  1: Mick Jenkins - Pieces of Man  2: Saba - CARE FOR ME  3: MIKE - Renaissance Man  4: Jay Rock - Redemption  5: Chuck Strangers - Consumers Park  6: Husalah - H  7: Maxo Kream - Punken  8: Freddie Gibbs / Curren$y / The Alchemist - Fetti  9: Suicideboys - I Wanna Die in New Orleans  10: Octavian - SPACEMAN

39. Erland Cooper - Solan Goose  - I am impartial to the Max Richter / Nils Frahm sound and just loved Erland Cooper’s Solan Goose. All Melody by Nils was great but Whitemaa is just so darn beautiful I had to go with this release instead. If you are into this style of music you already know about Nils but you might have missed Solan Goose. Track it down. 

40. Nils Frahm - All Melody  - When I first listened to this album I didn’t fully appreciate it. I was hoping to hear something more like Chilly Gonzales’ Solo Piano series or previous modern classical releases from Nils ie Solo & Solo Remains. It wasn’t until I watched his live performances that I was able to understand how incredible his music was. The way he creates a melody on piano and transfers it over to multiple keyboards to turn it into something otherworldly. Just watch this video of him and his crew setting up for a live performance. Amazing stuff.