Great Music of 2018

Some of the great music of 2018!

Right, supposed to do this on Christmas but I was pretty busy, end of month affair as usual. Things have wind down now and so it's time to do the yearly review of the great music I discovered in this year! Before that let me share with you great music of December, not many though.

Great Music of December:

- Clothed With Sky by Hammock

- Thirst by Hammock

- Close To You by Axel Flovent

- Jetty by Tycho

Great song of December: Clothed With Sky by Hammock

Hammock just released their new album Universalis back on 7th December! It's a 3-part album from last year's Mysterium and it is described as an upward movement, going up (something like that). And yes, it does feel like that, as compared to Mysterium. Hammock is such an incredible band. I enjoy every album that they have released since I discovered them back about 6 years ago. As usual, their songs are a good accompaniment to think about life and our existence here. I am very excited about their 3rd part of this series, cause Universalis is already sounding amazing.

I discovered Axel Flovent from Spotify! He was playing in one of the radios I played and wow it's another amazing discovery of 2018 weee. I did see his name on the Iceland Airwaves poster though. As for Tycho I just found out that he relased this song, even though it was released last month I think hah. It's such a great song and it reminds me of the Awake days. Looking forward to his new album!

Now time to get to business. Great Music of 2018

Let us begin with the new bands/artists I discovered this year! All list are in no particular order.

Great artists/bands I discovered in 2018

[] S. Carey [] Nick Mulvey [] Pale Waves [] Still Parade [] Young and Sick []

[] Rex Orange County [] Wet [] Anna of The North [] Craft Spells [] Sigrid []

[] Boy Pablo [] George Ogilvie [] Katz [] FM 84 [] Axel Flovent [] Wardruna []

Same as last year, I discovered most of these wonderful people from YouTube, and also the new addition for this year: Spotify! Also some of them are introduced by my friends/fellow favourite artists/bands that I love, who share some of the music by these wounderful artists on their social media. I am looking forward to more music from them and also to discover more next year! <3

Breakthrough artist of 2018 for me: Sigrid, S Carey and Nick Mulvey

Great Albums of 2018

[] Ruins by First Aid Kit [] Blood by Rhye [] Hundred Acres by S Carey [] Littleton by Mesita []

[] Wake Up Now by Nick Mulvey [] Cold Fire + Line by Line EP by PREP [] EP III by Yumi Zouma [] 

[] Loves Is Dead by Chvrches [] Community by Favela [] Palo Santo by Years and Years [] 

[] Wilderness by Snow Patrol [] High As Hope by Florence and The Machine [] 

[] re:member by Olafur Arnalds [] Bloom by Troye Sivan [] Young Romance by Roosevelt [] 

[] Chris by Christine and The Queens [] Superclean Vol II by The Marias [] Birthplace by Novo Amor []

[] Infection of A Different Kind (part 1) by Aurora [] Mantra Mantra by Kunto Aji [] 

[] Roy Pablo by Boy Pablo [] Universalis by Hammock [] 

And here are my top ten albums of 2018. Some of them are tied!

1. re:member by Olafur Arnalds

2. Chris by Christine and The Queens (or Chris?)

3. High As Hope by Florence and The Machine

4. Hundred Acres by S Carey

4. Wilderness by Snow Patrol (tied!)

5. Palo Santo by Years and Years

6. Love is Dead by Chvrches

7. Bloom by Troye Sivan

8. Cold Fire & Line by Line EP by PREP

Favourite album of 2018: Community by Favela

Okay I might be biased here but I've been a fan of Favela since 2015 when I discovered him through "Easy Yoke". It is still one of my favourite songs till today. When he released Nevermore My Temples Leave last year, which is also one of my favourite songs ever, I was feeling really eager to more music from him! Well he didn't announce any new album/EP after English Letters. But he did say that more music is on the way, and eventually he did announce the arrival of his debut.

I think Community speaks for itself. Lyrically, musically and emotionally. Favela is truly a talented songwriter and musician. His songs gave me feelings I've never felt before. And I have to agree that he's great in melancholia haha. Songs like Nevermore, English Letters, Slowly, Patience and of course, Medals, they all made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. To me songs that made me feel both happy and sad at the same time are great songs haha. So far there are only a few songs in my life that are able to make me feel this way. Favela's songs are definitely inside the list.

I am looking forward to more music from him in 2019 and please do check him out guys!

Great songs of 2018:

[] Should Have Known and Fields by Still Parade [] Ojai by Young and Sick [] Hollow by Katz []

[] Fireworks and Rebel Heart by First Aid Kit [] Count To Five and Waste by Rhye []

[] Ayahuasca by Vancouver Sleep Clinic [] Loving Is Easy and Happiness by Rex O.C []

[] More I See, True North and Yellowstone by S Carey [] Wander and Future by Mesita [] 

[] New Year's Eve by Pale Waves [] Don't Kill My Vibe, Strangers and Sucker Punch by Sigrid []

[] Graffiti, Miracle and Graves by Chvrches [] Medals, Patience and Slowly by Favela []

[] Mountains To Move and Cucurucu by Nick Mulvey [] Empress and Life on Earth by Snow Patrol []

[] Helvegen by Wardruna [] No Place by Rufus du Sol [] Komorebi by Craft Spells [] Dew by Pynkie [] 

[] Hunger, South London Forever and Sky Full of Songs by FATM [] Bloom and My my my by Troye []

[] Hypnotised, Up In Flames and If You're Over me by Years and Years [] Missing U by Robyn []

[] re:member, saman, nyepi and unfold by Olafur Arnalds [] Time In A Tree by Raleigh Ritchie [] 

[] Damn, dis-moi, 5 Dollars and Le Mercheuse by Chris [] Queendom and Soft Universe by Aurora []

[] Clueless and Ruthless by The Marias [] Powder Blue and In Camera by Yumi Zouma [] 

[] Don't Bring Me Down, Line by Line and Leaning on You by PREP [] Rehat by Kunto Aji []

[] Sick Feeling by Boy Pablo [] Stone by Stone by Arnor Dan [] Light On by Maggie Rogers []

[] I'm Still Here by Sia [] Give Me Fire, Give Me Rain by The Paper Kites [] Lovers by AOTN []

Okay too lazy to write out everything, but there's definitely more to this! Here are my top 10:

1. More I See by S Carey

2. Don't Bring Me Down // Line By Line by PREP

3. Loving Is Easy by Rex Orange County

4. Hunger by Florence and The Machine

5. Empress by Snow Patrol

6. re:member by Olafur Arnalds

7. Queendom by Aurora

8. Damn, dis-moi by Chris

9. Powder Blue by Yumi Zouma

Favourite song of 2018: Medals by Favela

To me it is pretty rare for a song to click with my heart right away after I listened to it for the first time. Medals is definitely one of those songs. I remember when I first heard it on BBC Radio One (where it premiered in Phil Taggart show), I saved the link for the show and couldn't stop listening to it, till the album is finally released! It is such a melancholic song, and it truly speaks volume about the world that we're living in today. How we seem to be caught in a chase for money and wealth.

Personally, I've faced a lot of encounters in life where I'm... Speechless and disgusted knowing the things that some people do for money. Also how recently I feel that we live in a world where we can never feel enough. All of these confusion and feelings are beautifully summarised and expressed in this amazing song by Favela. The line "I don't want golden medals, I don't want golden medals" truly ring in my mind and my heart. And how in the chorus where he sang "Help me see through eyes that only focus on medals" is like a silent prayer that I tell myself whenever I listen to it.

I am still listening to Medals almost every day ever since I discovered it. It's such a great song. Thank you Favela for this incredible song, and a beautiful album. I look forward to more music from him in 2019 and also ultimately, I hope I can see him live one day! That'll be a dream come true.

Last but not least, here are some of the artists/bands that I am excited for in 2019! Maggie Rogers with her debut album in January eeep. IOADK part 2 by Aurora, Sucker Punch by Sigrid and a new album from Yumi Zouma! Potential new albums from: Soak, Lapsley, Shura, Rex Orange County, Phum Viphurit, Asgeir, PREP, Oh Wonder, Tycho, Mesita and many many more! Also here's to discovering more new artists/bands in the new year, as always.

Also I'm gonna write another blog post about Spotify! Coming soon.

That's all for the great music of 2018! Thank you for adding colours to my life and as always,

for keeping me sane.