Produced by Danger Mouse, the album combines a more propulsive sound and more insistent hooks with often-politically charged lyrics aimed at gun violence, police brutality, climate change, corruption and other ills.Ħ CAR SEAT HEADREST TWIN FANTASY (Matador) This Brooklyn-via-Denton, TX band's excellent sixth album brings a more expansive, beat-oriented approach to their jagged post-punk by adding elements of hip hop, funk, reggae and more. It's a much more personal set, with frank lyrics revolving around sexuality, identity, freedom and oppression, while a strong Prince influence also runs through the album's bright, hook-filled blend of funk, R&B, hip hop, synth-pop and more.ĥ PARQUET COURTS WIDE AWAKE! (Rough Trade) This Atlanta-based artist sets aside the sci-fi concepts of her first couple albums for her third and finest full-length to date. This Baltimore duo's seventh album is another masterful set of atmospheric dream-pop with a hazy sound combining fuzzy guitars, shimmering keyboards and hypnotic rhythms with Victoria Legrand's haunting vocals and bittersweet lyrics exploring the dark side of glamour and the duality of love and loss.Ĥ JANELLE MONAE DIRTY COMPUTER (Wondaland/Bad Boy/Atlantic) This British band’s second album is an excellent set of intense punk combining raw, buzzing guitars and pounding rhythms with Joe Talbot’s gruff vocals and often-politically charged lyrics railing against injustice, inequality, xenophobia and toxic masculinity while celebrating love, tolerance and community. This Australian artist's second regular solo album is a sharply crafted blend of grungy garage-pop, hazy psych-rock and buoyant power-pop, combining a raw, hook-filled sound with her conversational vocals and often-wry lyrics ranging from personal issues of anxiety and depression to the ills of sexism.Ģ IDLES JOY AS AN ACT OF RESISTANCE (Partisan)

1 COURTNEY BARNETT TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL (Mom + Pop)

Best holiday albums 2018