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Well, Dozens Of Donuts effectively ended this year. Five years of running this blog, falling deeper and deeper in love with music along the way, just became too burdensome to bear. That being said, I still eagerly anticipated compiling and releasing 2018's best of lists. Over the course of this week - with some treats at the top of 2019 - we'll cover Dozens Of Donuts' top 100 tracks and top 50 albums of 2018, taken from a batch of roughly 2,000 songs and 180 albums.
Musically, 2018 was magnificent, which makes DoD's demise that much more somber. Rating solely in my head, there would've been three - potentially four - 9+ albums, a statistic that would've matched 2015's trifecta (Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly, Death Grips' Powers That B, Beach House's Depression Cherry). Compared to 2017, which I felt lacked in substantial releases, 2018 was rife with powerful albums and striking tracks that won't soon be forgotten. Contained below are albums 10-1. Enjoy.
And don't forget about the past. Let's take a look back at the best of 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014.
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10
Clarence Clarity | Think: Peace
Glitch Pop | Listen
Tease, toy, and prod: That's Clarence Clarity's motto. Lead a hungry flock to Leave Earth - the now-abandoned project - with a slew of singles, only to subvert expectation by suddenly dropping Think: Peace; an official LP of glorified remixes. Songs that were once understood now receive an elaborate facelift. 'Vapid Feels Are Vapid' becomes Vapid Feels Ain't Vapid.' 'Same' becomes 'Same?.' The eccentric Glitch Hop of 'Fold Em' gains a subverted Ambient wonderland in 'Silver Lake Reservoir.' It's all incredibly disorienting, which allows Think: Peace's infinitely catchy Pop to profit off unsuspecting subservients.
Clarence Clarity threads the needle between cheap and advanced, kitschy and emotional, tame and explosive. On tracks like 'Adam & The Evil' and 'Next Best Thing,' uplifting chants best suited for a family-friendly sitcom from the 90's excel thanks to unabashed commitment, while simultaneously providing gravitas to abrupt tonal shifts like 'Law Of Fives' exceptional hook ("I kill people in my dreams, yeah!"). Above all else though, Think: Peace is an organic and highly-entertaining Pop record, one whose primary goal is to be irresistible.
__________________________________________________________Clarence Clarity threads the needle between cheap and advanced, kitschy and emotional, tame and explosive. On tracks like 'Adam & The Evil' and 'Next Best Thing,' uplifting chants best suited for a family-friendly sitcom from the 90's excel thanks to unabashed commitment, while simultaneously providing gravitas to abrupt tonal shifts like 'Law Of Fives' exceptional hook ("I kill people in my dreams, yeah!"). Above all else though, Think: Peace is an organic and highly-entertaining Pop record, one whose primary goal is to be irresistible.
9
Anna von Hausswolff | Dead Space
Neoclassical Darkwave | Listen
Neoclassical Darkwave. There's something about that genre title that screams greatness. Four components compose the title, each adding to the composition Anna von Hausswolff thrives under. Bridging the gap between new and old (Neoclassical), while building ominous atmosphere to amplify theatrics (Darkwave), Dead Magic operates unlike any album in the year 2018. Tales of destructive romance through Shakespearean fantasy dominate the LP's five lengthy proses.
At the center, von Hausswolff as untamed, but ultimately hapless idealist. The music, like a Victorian painting come to life, drifts from idyllic wanderlust to morbid solemnity, often times within the same song. On 'The Mysterious Vanishing Of Electra,' von Hausswolff evokes the maniacal hysteria of Swans or Chelsea Wolfe, a particularly eye-catching moment of pure artistry. The two, double-digit mammoths sandwich her breakdown with weighted doom and gloom, a staple of Dead Magic's histrionic prowess.
__________________________________________________________At the center, von Hausswolff as untamed, but ultimately hapless idealist. The music, like a Victorian painting come to life, drifts from idyllic wanderlust to morbid solemnity, often times within the same song. On 'The Mysterious Vanishing Of Electra,' von Hausswolff evokes the maniacal hysteria of Swans or Chelsea Wolfe, a particularly eye-catching moment of pure artistry. The two, double-digit mammoths sandwich her breakdown with weighted doom and gloom, a staple of Dead Magic's histrionic prowess.
8
Death Grips | Year Of The Snitch
Experimental Hip-Hop | Listen
Open mouths of various sizes licentiously penetrating a disgusting yard table. Death Grips, as they've been prone to do, never fault when instigating the uncomfortable. Where Year Of The Snitch strays from that norm however, lies in the relative pleasantry the music provides. Despite the synth vomit of 'Flies,' the constipated grunting of 'Shitshow,' or the suicidal pandemonium of 'The Fear,' there's an irresistible air of convivial accessibility. With Death Grips now an understandable commodity and not an enigmatic outsider, their rampant branch of experimentalism has bore such gratifying fruit.
Their last LP, Bottomless Pit, proved they could unleash an infestation of ear-worms. Their last EP, Steroids, proved they could pummel you into accepting sadism. YOTS combined those forces with an unrelenting array of styles that combed all corners of their expression. Tracks like 'Death Grips Is Online,' 'Hahaha,' and 'Streaky' unveiled Ride's inner braggart, 'Black Paint' and 'Dilemma' Zach Hill's penchant for Metal, and 'Flies' and 'Little Richard' Andy Morin's capability of augmenting cheap electrics for artistic refinement. YOTS excelled by being a consummate, textbook Death Grips.
__________________________________________________________Their last LP, Bottomless Pit, proved they could unleash an infestation of ear-worms. Their last EP, Steroids, proved they could pummel you into accepting sadism. YOTS combined those forces with an unrelenting array of styles that combed all corners of their expression. Tracks like 'Death Grips Is Online,' 'Hahaha,' and 'Streaky' unveiled Ride's inner braggart, 'Black Paint' and 'Dilemma' Zach Hill's penchant for Metal, and 'Flies' and 'Little Richard' Andy Morin's capability of augmenting cheap electrics for artistic refinement. YOTS excelled by being a consummate, textbook Death Grips.
7
MGMT | Little Dark Age
Psychedelic Pop | Listen
Five years removed from their disappointing self-titled and it felt as good as gold that MGMT's time as an Indie staple was no more. But alas, Little Dark Age ditched the obtuse humdrum in favor of rectifying their animated psychedelics, this time through the gothic romance of New Age. The pairing was apt, and decisively one of the best Synthpop records in recent memory. Simple hooks as seen on 'Me & Michael' and 'Hand It Over' entice the pleasure principles while dense multi-layering like 'When You Die' and 'One Thing Left To Try' carried the load.
The result entertained from all perspectives, best seen on the standout title track. On 'Little Dark Age,' Andrew VanWyngarden excelled by combining the sophistication found in the production with MGMT's vanilla choruses to compose a magnificent behemoths that never ceased to delight. Whether inspired by Ariel Pink (on the kooky 'She Works Out Too Much') or Dan Deacon (on the scorched autotune of 'One Thing Left To Try'), Little Dark Age shined in cultivating a sophisticated touch, one that's been absent in MGMT's music since 2010's Congratulations.
__________________________________________________________The result entertained from all perspectives, best seen on the standout title track. On 'Little Dark Age,' Andrew VanWyngarden excelled by combining the sophistication found in the production with MGMT's vanilla choruses to compose a magnificent behemoths that never ceased to delight. Whether inspired by Ariel Pink (on the kooky 'She Works Out Too Much') or Dan Deacon (on the scorched autotune of 'One Thing Left To Try'), Little Dark Age shined in cultivating a sophisticated touch, one that's been absent in MGMT's music since 2010's Congratulations.
6
Sons Of Kemet | Your Queen Is A Reptile
Afro-Jazz | Listen
In today's firestorm, it's easy to make a political record. The daily news flooding in basically writes itself. However, it's another feat entirely to make it poignant. On Your Queen Is A Reptile, Sons Of Kemet accomplished that with grace. Through riotous Dub, Funk, Jazz, and Afrobeat - genres whose lineage trace back to revolution - the U.K. based ensemble attacked conservative morals in a fight for racial and gender equality. In a stroke of genius, the group abstained from artsy allusion, deciding instead to be explicit in their intentions, praising female activists while denouncing reptilian obsolescence.
Using two instances of riotous Hip-Hop poetry to bookend the album - 'My Queen Is Ada Eastman' and 'My Queen Is Doreen Lawrence' - Sons Of Kemet emulated that insurrection through hectic percussion that, more often than not, built to an annihilative climax. 'Anna Julia Cooper,' 'Angela Davis,' and 'Albertina Sisulu' three prominent examples of the group's inability to lie down and bare the weight of resistance, escalating each instrumentalists intensity until pandemonium was reached. The war of injustice rages on, but with Your Queen Is A Reptile there's now another landmark soundtrack in play.
__________________________________________________________Using two instances of riotous Hip-Hop poetry to bookend the album - 'My Queen Is Ada Eastman' and 'My Queen Is Doreen Lawrence' - Sons Of Kemet emulated that insurrection through hectic percussion that, more often than not, built to an annihilative climax. 'Anna Julia Cooper,' 'Angela Davis,' and 'Albertina Sisulu' three prominent examples of the group's inability to lie down and bare the weight of resistance, escalating each instrumentalists intensity until pandemonium was reached. The war of injustice rages on, but with Your Queen Is A Reptile there's now another landmark soundtrack in play.
5
A.A.L. | 2012-2017
Deep House | Listen
Fans of mine know how much I value artists who move forward. Treading on well-worn roads to relive the past or profit on the present rarely interest me. The same can't be said for 2012-2017, a secretive side project from famed beatnik Nicolas Jaar under the pseudonym A.A.L. On it, Jaar embraces the trance of Deep House, paying homage to the turn-of-the-century genre like a museum curator unearthing prized possessions. Unlike Jaar's other works, 2012-2017 does nothing new apart from perfecting the old.
The result is a collection (quite literally, given the title) of hypnotic loops designed to innervate you into losing control. Sensational standouts 'I Never Dream' and 'Some Kind Of Game' flit across percussion like a hamster in a wheel, all while crate-digging Soul samples spark the imagination. Whether entrenched in the confines of House ('Flash In The Pan,' 'Know You') or enraptured by Jaar's ability to escape it ('Cityfade,' 'Such A Bad Way'), 2012-2017 never runs short on reinvigorating the outmoded.
__________________________________________________________The result is a collection (quite literally, given the title) of hypnotic loops designed to innervate you into losing control. Sensational standouts 'I Never Dream' and 'Some Kind Of Game' flit across percussion like a hamster in a wheel, all while crate-digging Soul samples spark the imagination. Whether entrenched in the confines of House ('Flash In The Pan,' 'Know You') or enraptured by Jaar's ability to escape it ('Cityfade,' 'Such A Bad Way'), 2012-2017 never runs short on reinvigorating the outmoded.
4
IDLES | Joy As An Act Of Resistance
Post-Hardcore | Listen
With or without superb music backing them, IDLES excels off concept alone. Venturing into the hostile exclusivity of Hardcore Punk with liberal ideologies and blatant criticism of testosterone-driven rites of passages couldn't have failed. At least in the eyes of critics. In the eyes of pent-up consumers however, it's their relentless music that draws a crowd. Joy As An Act Of Resistance spelt out its goal in the title, releasing tension, angst, and trepidation with exultant release. 'Colossus,' the album's opener and one of the year's best tracks, a perfect synopsis of that dilemma.
Controversy may arise from the following statement: IDLES' message wouldn't have been as salient had they not spoken by a male. Joe Talbot's progressive beliefs - and more so his intimidating figure - cause tracks like 'Samaritans,' 'Never Fight A Man With A Perm,' and 'Cry To Me' to have extra significance. For through violent yelps, animalistic grunts, and visible anguish, there's a man inflicted with the negative connotations of masculinity. Beyond the maelstrom lies a conflicted man and a brilliant group. One who knows the solution of peace is through unity and not division.
__________________________________________________________Controversy may arise from the following statement: IDLES' message wouldn't have been as salient had they not spoken by a male. Joe Talbot's progressive beliefs - and more so his intimidating figure - cause tracks like 'Samaritans,' 'Never Fight A Man With A Perm,' and 'Cry To Me' to have extra significance. For through violent yelps, animalistic grunts, and visible anguish, there's a man inflicted with the negative connotations of masculinity. Beyond the maelstrom lies a conflicted man and a brilliant group. One who knows the solution of peace is through unity and not division.
3
Beach House | 7
Dream Pop | Listen
Who ever doubted Beach House? Since releasing their self-titled debut in 2006, Victoria LeGrand and Alex Scally have been purveyors of consistency, never deviating from their stalwart Dream Pop path. They've dabbled in intimate fiction, soared with booming gascon, and lurched in the imperfection of idealism. On 7, each essential Beach House era collided in the stark grayness muddling up our dream states. The pristine production glistened off sheen drapes of velvet awash with multi-layered reverb and emanative sonic urges of sentimentality.
LeGrand's vocals, as wistful as ever, serenade the listener through a controlled descent from the stars to the clouds on the halcyon 'L'Inconnue' or 'Lose Your Smile.' They roar with impassionaied cries of maudlin lust on 'Drunk In LA' and 'Woo.' And they jauntily sway across upbeat perusals in 'Pay No Mind' and 'Dark Spring.' Combine those efforts - and every Beach House-ism from years past - and you get 'Dive;' the band's best effort to date and a future staple of Dream Pop's pinnacle. If it wasn't obvious before, 7 cemented Beach House as one of modern Indie's greatest bands.
__________________________________________________________LeGrand's vocals, as wistful as ever, serenade the listener through a controlled descent from the stars to the clouds on the halcyon 'L'Inconnue' or 'Lose Your Smile.' They roar with impassionaied cries of maudlin lust on 'Drunk In LA' and 'Woo.' And they jauntily sway across upbeat perusals in 'Pay No Mind' and 'Dark Spring.' Combine those efforts - and every Beach House-ism from years past - and you get 'Dive;' the band's best effort to date and a future staple of Dream Pop's pinnacle. If it wasn't obvious before, 7 cemented Beach House as one of modern Indie's greatest bands.
2
SOPHIE | Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides
Deconstructed Club | Listen
Since its release in June, SOPHIE's Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides has had my AOTY on lockdown. That was until a dark horse entered the race at the witching hour. Regardless of the wresting power shuffle, SOPHIE's transcendent debut reflected 2018's dynamic - and often unpredictable - societal shifts better than any piece of art released over the past twelve months. Oil is delirious, disorderly, depressed, and dispirited. It's also embracive, eager, empathic, and empowered. In other words, it's the indescribable mixture that defines us all.
A benchmark for LGBT music, SOPHIE's calamitous collide of infectious Bubblegum Bass and dreary Post-Industrial acted as the perfect summation of a life defined by strife. Impassioned motivators ('It's Okay To Cry') clashed with unsettling insecurities ('Infatuation'), while criticisms of modern branding ('Faceshopping') merged with confrontational BDSM fetishes ('Ponyboy'). Oil is an enrapturing look at SOPHIE the multi-dimensional human, able to construct stomach-turning Dark Ambient, uplifting Twee Pop, and nine minutes of apocalyptic Acid Techno in one dying breath. A masterclass of art.
__________________________________________________________A benchmark for LGBT music, SOPHIE's calamitous collide of infectious Bubblegum Bass and dreary Post-Industrial acted as the perfect summation of a life defined by strife. Impassioned motivators ('It's Okay To Cry') clashed with unsettling insecurities ('Infatuation'), while criticisms of modern branding ('Faceshopping') merged with confrontational BDSM fetishes ('Ponyboy'). Oil is an enrapturing look at SOPHIE the multi-dimensional human, able to construct stomach-turning Dark Ambient, uplifting Twee Pop, and nine minutes of apocalyptic Acid Techno in one dying breath. A masterclass of art.
1
Daughters | You Won't Get What You Want
Industrial Rock | Listen
In recent years I've distanced myself from most music publications on account of their integrity loss - refusing to voice dissenting opinions on mediocre albums - and their inculcation in regards to culturally-relevant artists. Best of 2018 lists have been teeming with projects that leech onto trends to conform to the zeitgeist, rather than ones whose existence is more rewarding and deserving. By the day, Alexis Marshall's bitter bites towards critics on 'The Reason They Hate Me' has seemed less satirical and more a reflection of the times.
Daughters' You Won't Get What You Want is the best album of the year. It is not the most culturally-relevant (that's number two), nor is it the most socially-acceptable. It is a brutal, unforgiving, schizophrenic look into the deranged underbelly of humanity. Unearthed in musical form through pulverizing Industrial Rock that uses Daughters' former Math Rock roots as a pressure cooker, You Won't Get What You Want beats the heart into a resuscitative panic over what lurks in the unknown. From the menacing shriek of 'City Song' to the terrorizing mental breakdown of 'Guest House,' there is not a moment where skin doesn't crawl.
Intent almost assured, Daughters succeed at making one uncomfortable. The droning sirens of 'Satan In The Wait' tickle with tension, 'Ocean Song' grows with fear and trepidation, and 'Less Sex' -perhaps the most unnerving for straying from the uproar - confronts sexual sadism through a glacial heart. The Halloween release during a year of growing paranoia that something sinister is mounting in the shadows could not have been better. You Won't Get What You Want isn't here to bestow satisfaction or conform to societal ideals. It reflects the reality we all endure. Confront the vile, the wicked, the depraved, or suffocate from the depression they inflict.
__________________________________________________________Daughters' You Won't Get What You Want is the best album of the year. It is not the most culturally-relevant (that's number two), nor is it the most socially-acceptable. It is a brutal, unforgiving, schizophrenic look into the deranged underbelly of humanity. Unearthed in musical form through pulverizing Industrial Rock that uses Daughters' former Math Rock roots as a pressure cooker, You Won't Get What You Want beats the heart into a resuscitative panic over what lurks in the unknown. From the menacing shriek of 'City Song' to the terrorizing mental breakdown of 'Guest House,' there is not a moment where skin doesn't crawl.
Intent almost assured, Daughters succeed at making one uncomfortable. The droning sirens of 'Satan In The Wait' tickle with tension, 'Ocean Song' grows with fear and trepidation, and 'Less Sex' -perhaps the most unnerving for straying from the uproar - confronts sexual sadism through a glacial heart. The Halloween release during a year of growing paranoia that something sinister is mounting in the shadows could not have been better. You Won't Get What You Want isn't here to bestow satisfaction or conform to societal ideals. It reflects the reality we all endure. Confront the vile, the wicked, the depraved, or suffocate from the depression they inflict.
50-21 | 20-11 | Top 100 Tracks
Great list! There's a few albums on here I've not heard so will need to get them listened to. 2018 has been such a great year for music, so much variety.
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