best of uvie's best of 2018 ☁️?? ilysm | album time! |

[Eeveelution]

adddjf I feel like everyone is finishing all of a sudden.

 

Caution is surprisingly high, but it's good so I ain't mad.

Great gowns for Chrish and EIL.

don't know... I don't know what Ben and ex:re sang.

Be the Cowboy, that was a classic. A Horse Named Cold Air is one of her best songs 

I heard one Anna song and I don't think she's for me.

Low and Kacey both snapped.

Deserving #1.  though no points on Drunk in LA.

Edited December 28, 2018 by Eeveelution

[Unoriginal]

Wow you snapped  all of these are good

Caution the distance is a cute sing

Chris :grimes: it's so gorgeous, honestly there's not a song I don't like

surprised to see EIL so high glad it's getting some recognition tho!

Ex:Re :yas: I feel like we're the only two people who listened to it but it's what it deserves. Liar being a least favourite though... no points

thought noonday dream would be way higher ngl but glad to see it in a top ten nonetheless

ahnca being your least favourite on btc... who hurt you?

the favourites on dead magic. points were made, though my three favourites are probably the first three

low there's really nothing like it that came out this year

slightly surprised to see high horse as a golden hour favourite the writeup though you did what you had to do

the 7 drag... no points but go off x

glad it's your #1 though, seems like SITHOL snatched 7's #1 spots from everyone

 

another great list taste came thru as expected

 

 

 

[ultraviolence.xx]

3 hours ago, ultraviolence.xx said:

 

 

2018 TOP 30 ALBUMS: #10-1

 

THE TIME IS NOW, BITCHES!
the reveal of my top 10 albums of 2018, which i'm sure you all were holding your breath for.
anyway...

 

10 – caution

mariah carey

if you told me a year ago that mariah carey would be in my top 10 albums of the year, i would've laughed at you. hard. in the face. it's either a testament to her talent at writing and curating material, or 2018's lack of oomph overall (or both, probably). but this album did something remarkable: in the front, it's a well-fitting collection of singles (aside from the wimpy orgasm of the album, "with you"), ranging from chill and sassy ("GTFO") to chill and sensual ("caution") to chill and nostalgic ("the distance"); in the back, it's a smooth, lax collection of R&B cuts. what i love about these two halves is that they meld so well together. this album definitely impressed me and got a lot of spins.
 

favorites: caution, the distance, GTFO, eighth grade

least favorites: one mo' gen (though it's grown on me)

 

 

9 – chris

christine and the queens

the french chanteuse finally returned, with an album devoted to the sensuality of her more masculine alter ego. though i still think i prefer chaleur humaine, this album is full of wonderful moments. "comme si," opening the album with a sound reminiscent of a freshly-popped VHS, has a groove so sick, it signals right away that chris is pulling us in a slightly different direction. "damn (what must a woman do)," "feel so good," and "girlfriend" sparkle with that same throbbing lust. there are other songs here, however, that get more tender, which is my favorite of chris's moods: "the walker," "what's-her-face," and "make some sense" exist in this zone. the only song i'm still not sold on is "the stranger," because i'm not a fan of that harpsichord.

 

favorites: what's-her-face, doesn't matter, the walker, make some sense, comme si

least favorites: the stranger

 

8 – everything is love

the carters

i love the statement this album makes, and the statement the cover makes. i love the easygoing groove of "summer," the hard-hitting production of "apeshit" (and beyoncé's bars!!!), the menacing synth chords and bass rumbles of "friends," the sunny production of "heard about us," the ownership and modulation of "black effect"....there isn't anything i don't love. everything is love.

 

favorites: summer, heard about us, black effect

least favorites: none

 

7 – ex:re

ex:re

nobody tells stories like elena tonra. as a member of daughter, she's previously captivated in woodsy acoustic tunes ("candles") and heavier shoegaze-leaning tracks (not to disappear). now, she's taken on the persona of a late-night lounge singer who's had a bit too much to drink, who bares just a bit too much of herself. most of the songs remain in this zone, accompanied by casual guitar lines and lazy drums, with a few exceptions. along the way, pleasantly surprising, is an ominous interlude at the club ("romance"), with a throbbing kick, ominous synths, and weeping layers of cello. toward the end, "5am," which details an early-morning (or, more likely, very-late-night) assault outside her building, supplements its slow piano with a glitching electronic beat, one of the more unusual pairings on the album.
this album, overall, was a bit of a letdown at first, as i expected something more along the line of daughter's material. nirvana came when i understood the album for what it was: downtrodden, haunted, spiked with moments of energy ("crushing," "i can't keep you," the gritty chorus of "too sad") but dark, tired, and beautiful on the whole.
 

favorites: romance, where the time went, crushing

least favorites: ...not really any, but if i had to pick, liar

 

 

6 – noonday dream

ben howard

ben howard had a difficult task ahead of him, following an album like i forget where we were. he nearly met the challenge. the opener, "nica libres at dusk," is nearly seven minutes of mode-mixing paradise. as always, his lyricism is escapism, incorporating nods to classic works of literature. the album overall is hazy and somnolent, though there are bursts of energy in centerpiece "the defeat" and the penultimate "there's your man." "agatha's song," a five-minute ambient piece with incomprehensible vocals, carries a stunning emotional weight. this album was in my top three for most of the year, but toward the end it dipped down a few spots as i realized it didn't have quite as much staying power as i'd hoped. still a marvelous record, from beginning to the slightly soured "murmurations."
 

favorites: nica libres at dusk, agatha's song, murmurations
least favorites: someone in the doorway

 

 

5 – be the cowboy

mitski

"be the cowboy you wish to see in the world": the phrase that inspired the album title, a silly twist on gandhi's aphorism. also an indication to me, in hindsight, that this album doesn't carry the same reverence of her past material.
"geyser" was (somehow) my introduction to mitski, a two-and-a-half-minute slice of an album that covers a lot of emotional ground. i wasn't particularly blown away by it at first, nor by "nobody." it wasn't until she released the closer, "two slow dancers," that i found love. a beautiful song has the power to recontextualize the songs around it: suddenly, "geyser" made sense in its brilliance; suddenly i understood the pain "nobody" masked behind its seventies-glam sparkle. the rest of the album pleased me too (with one exception): the opening couplet of "why didn't you stop me?" that leads to a fun breakdown; the twisty metaphor at the center of "a pearl"; the couplet at the center of "lonesome love"; the irresistible bounce of "washing machine heart." my favorite song here, and one of my favorite mitski songs probably forever, is "two slow dancers." the metaphor, the slow e-piano chords, the swells of synths, the chorus melody, the climax... i'm nearly crying just thinking about it.
 

favorites: two slow dancers (and now i'm for real crying), pink in the night, washing machine heart, why didn't you stop me?
least favorites: a streetcar named desire

 

4 – dead magic

anna von hausswolff

this is it: a five-song, 47-minute masterpiece. i'm going to fail, trying to put any words down about it, so let me just say these 3 things:
every time i put on "the truth, the glow, the fall," i'm overcome with emotion.
it's 12 minutes, but i wouldn't complain if it were 22.
i want the opening minutes of "källans återuppståndelse" to play when i die.
 

favorites: yes

 

 

3 – double negative

low

the first time i put this on, i think i about had a stroke. the sharp buzzing that opens "quorum" was something i'd been looking for for a long time: something different, something captivating, something i hadn't quite heard before. it still happens: every time i put that track on, i get swallowed up into the album. the moments of overwhelming noise are balanced beautifully, between quieter, more pensive tracks. the emotional highlight, of course, is "always trying to work it out," turning something as mundane as a grocery-store encounter into a full-blown sensory trainwreck. "everybody says the war is over / it isn't something you forget so easily." my god.
 

favorites: always trying to work it out, quorum, disarray, tempest, always up
least favorites: none

 

2 – golden hour

kacey musgraves

this has got to be the album i spent the most time with this year: in my house, in my car, in my mom's car, in the 9847234 late-night TV performances she did. i know every word, every melody, every ad-lib, every instrumental flourish. and kacey makes it so easy to hang with her forever: her melodies are so gorgeous, her lyrics simple and sweet, her voice gorgeously spacious. my favorite part of this album, and what sets it apart from her other albums: the atmosphere. if you listen closely, behind her voice, there's a grand canyon of reverb at all times. it gives the whole album this sprawling sense that i've never felt before. the production flourishes are subtle—the psychedelic delay on "butterfly"; the spacious vibraphones on "wonder woman"; the tear-jerking key change to climax in "space cowboy"—but they add up to such marvelous effect. props to kacey for making country-disco banger "high horse" and vocodered slow-jam "oh, what a world" fit together so organically. i haven't even mentioned the barely-a-minute-long "mother," which guts me nearly every time i listen to it in such a short amount of time, and the crushingly beautiful "rainbow" that closes the album. or perhaps my favorite of them all, "love is a wild thing," which feels like the most classic-country song of all in lyricism and melody, and has the most stunning bridge in the history of music, country or otherwise. god, this is stunning.
 

favorites: love is a wild thing, space cowboy, rainbow, mother, high horse, slow burn, golden hour
least favorites: happy & sad, velvet elvis

 

 

1 – 7

beach house

 

i'm tired and don't feel like writing much about this. it's not my favorite beach house album, not by any means, but they've done something successful here: reinvigorated their sound. i'd say this is their most sonically and stylistically diverse album since... ever. there's all sorts of weird **** here: shoegaze, acoustic guitar, 2016-pop-radio marimba, minecraft-style piano, warbling synths. they're still as cinematic as ever, though. "girl of the year" is that song that comes on at the end of the film, when the adventurous lead character has said their goodbyes, hops into their car, and drives away; we see their vehicle disappear down the street, veer around a corner, and they're gone. (i wish it were the closer.) "pay no mind" is the slow song that comes on at the roller-skating rink, when the lights go dark and the characters link eyes for the first time; "woo" soundtracks the summery drive through the winding neighborhood streets; the midpoint of "dive" is when the two clasp hands and leap into the water together.

there are some songs that don't enchant me quite as much—"drunk in LA" feels like the most typical-BH track here, a slightly-too-maudlin-for-teen-dream leftover; the initial magic of "l'inconnue" wore off quickly for me, so now it feels like it runs too long; and that reddit guy nailed his description of "black car" as a 7/10 BH song with a splashy instrumental—but they aren't skips by any means. this album isn't perfect, but it's damn magical.
 

favorites: lemon glow, girl of the year, pay no mind, alien (  ), lose your smile, dark spring, dive, woo
least favorites: l'inconnue, drunk in LA



thank you all for coming. i'll do something with my top songs, i haven't figured out what yet.

bump!

[Vilppu]

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least favorites: lifetime

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favorites: better off, god is a woman, goodnight n go
least favorites: sweetener, the light is coming, successful

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favorites: not okay
least favorites: immaterial

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14 – high as hope

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least favorites: drunk in LA

that's... a lot to unpack

 

a lot of points to make up for these tho fantastic #1, i love you for loving everything is love and the kacey writeup is cute

[Pink Matter]

re: 

what, you don't like the artwork or sumn?  

thanks king! which least fave picks are choices?  

I'm actually v impressed at how Nicki was able to be superimposed over Sophie so seamlessly  

And these:

 

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least favorites: elevator2k20

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least favorites: immaterial

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least favorites: sweetener, successful

are some choices luv, fix iT 

 

OT: A v interesting top 10! Mitski and Chris are my faves but I get the appeal to BH and Kacey (to an extent).

And I suppose someone has to love EiL  Great albums list!

[fossora]

5-3 is a SLAY, 7 was also a slay...but kacey?? yeah NO

 

also wtf?  

[World Eater]

On 12/28/2018 at 10:45 PM, ultraviolence.xx said:

1 – 7

 

That top 5 tho  Chris and Caution as well  We love a LIST

 

On 12/28/2018 at 10:45 PM, ultraviolence.xx said:

least favorites: l'inconnue, drunk in LA

I mean... 

[madonnas]

the ex:re album looked interesting until I read the word "acoustic" lmao.

The top 5 is good besides Low which I haven't heard.

Good top picks for Mitski (besides two slow dancers, like wtf) but why didn't you put the singles on there?  They deserve it.

[ultraviolence.xx]

 

100 – The Carters – “FRIENDS”

99 – Charli XCX – “5 in the Morning”

98 – The Carters – “HEARD ABOUT US”

97 – Alessia Cara – “All We Know”

96 – Lauv / Julia Michaels – “There’s No Way”

95 – Billie Eilish – “when the party’s over”

94 – Cardi B / SZA – “I Do”

93 – Betty Who – “Between You & Me”

92 – Pardison Fontaine / Cardi B – “Backin’ It Up”

91 – ASAP Rocky – “Fukk Sleep (feat. FKA twigs)”

90 – Cat Power – “Wanderer”

89 – Lil Wayne – “What About Me”

88 – Empress Of – “When I’m with Him”

87 – Jessie Ware – “Overtime”

86 – The Japanese House – “Follow My Girl”

85 – Phoebe Bridgers – “It’ll All Work Out”

84 – Adrianne Lenker – “from”

83 – Rae Morris – “Dancing with Character”

82 – James Blake – “Don’t Miss It”

81 – Victoria Monét – New Love”

80 – Empress Of – “Just the Same”

79 – Grouper – “Parking Lot”

78 – Mariah Carey – “GTFO”

77 – Florence + the Machine – “June”

76 – Marissa Nadler – “Are You Really Going to Move to the South?”

75 – DJ Koze – “Seeing Aliens”

74 – Empress Of – “Timberlands”

73 – The Carters – “SUMMER”

72 – The 1975 – “I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)”

71 – Yves Tumor – “Economy of Freedom”

70 – Grouper – “Blouse”

69 – Marissa Nadler – “I Can’t Listen to Gene Clark Anymore”

68 – LANY – “If You See Her”

67 – Jon Hopkins – “Feel First Life”

66 – Christine and the Queens – “What’s-her-face”

65 – Nas – “Cops Shot the Kid”

64 – Ex:Re – “Where the Time Went”

63 – Ariana Grande – “thank u, next”

62 – Cardi B – “Bickenhead”

61 – Maggie Rogers – “Fallingwater”

60 – Childish Gambino – “This Is America”

59 – Tinashe / Future – “Faded Love”

58 – [redacted]

57 – Mitski – “Why Didn’t You Stop Me?”

56 – Carly Rae Jepsen – “Party for One”

55 – Mariah Carey – “Caution”

54 – Ariana Grande – “God is a woman”

53 – Teyana Taylor – “Gonna Love Me”

52 – [redacted]

51 – Ben Howard – “Murmurations”

50 – The Japanese House – “Lilo”

49 – Cardi B – “Be Careful”

48 – Betty Who – “Just Thought You Should Know”

47 – Drake – “Summer Games”

46 – Marissa Nadler – “Blue Vapor”

45 – Troye Sivan / Ariana Grande – “Dance to This”

44 – Ben Howard – “Agatha’s Song”

43 – Emma Ruth Rundle – “Dead Set Eyes”

42 – The 1975 – “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)”

41 – Christine and the Queens – “La marcheuse”

40 – Emma Ruth Rundle – “Darkhorse”

39 – The Paper Kites – “Deep Burn Blue”

38 – Courtney Barnett – “Nameless, Faceless”

37 – Maggie Rogers – “Light On”

36 – Rosalía – “PIENSO EN TU MIRÁ”

35 – Julia Holter – “Words I Heard”

34 – Kacey Musgraves – “Rainbow”

33 – Ariana Grande – “better off”

32 – The 1975 – “Love It If We Made It”

31 – Sharon Van Etten – “Jupiter 4”

30 – Mitski – “Washing Machine Heart”

29 – SOPHIE – “Pretending”

28 – Jon Hopkins – “Emerald Rush”

27 – Mariah Carey / Ty Dolla $ign – “The Distance”

26 – Troye Sivan – “Animal”

25 – Lykke Li – “hard rain”

24 – Grouper – “Driving”

23 – Kacey Musgraves – “Love Is a Wild Thing”

22 – Christine and the Queens – “Doesn’t matter”

21 – Adrianne Lenker – “cradle”

20 – Beach House – “Alien”

19 – Laurel Halo – “Raw Silk Uncut Wood”

18 – Low – “Quorum”

17 – Beach House – “Girl of the Year”

16 – Kendrick Lamar et al. – “King’s Dead”

15 – Ariana Grande – “everytime”

14 – Kacey Musgraves – “Space Cowboy”

13 – Beach House – “Pay No Mind”

12 – Anna von Hausswolff – “Källans Återuppståndelse”

11 – Anna von Hausswolff – “The Truth, the Glow, the Fall”

10 – Big Thief – “Black Flowers”

9 – Mitski – “Two Slow Dancers”

8 – Ben Howard – “Nica Libres at Dusk”

7 – Low – “Always Trying to Work It Out”

6 – Ex:Re – “Romance”

5 – Lana Del Rey – “Venice Bitch”

4 – Florence + the Machine – “The End of Love”

3 – Lykke Li – “better alone”

2 – Robyn – “Honey”

1 – Beach House – "Lemon Glow"

[thecptz]

we stan [redacted]