It’s been a very inconsistent year when it comes to albums. There have been a lot of releases that have fallen short of expectations, or failed to make a lasting impression. Thankfully to counteract that fact we’ve also seen some of our highest scoring records to date. It’s been a year full of new discoveries and subverted expectations, and these are our picks for the best albums from the past twelve months. Continue reading
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Top Ten Songs of 2018
Though this past year has had it’s fair share of ups and downs, 2018 has consistently delivered some killer songs. In previous years my number one song of the year was obvious, it would spark something within me, ignite a fire that would keep burning all year. This time round I’ve had that same feeling about half the songs on my list! Continue reading
Top Ten EPs of 2018
These lists aren’t final until they are up on the site to give a chance to those November and December releases that often get forgotten. That said, a basic list usually gets drafted quite far in advance as a guide. This list however is the exception. It took a long time to narrow down to a top ten, and even longer to decide on the final order. It’s been an impressively consistent year for EPs across the board, but after much deliberation I’ve settled on my final rankings. Continue reading
Top Ten Music Videos of 2018
While 2018 has been a very inconsistent year as a whole, it has really delivered when it comes to music videos. There have been some incredibly inventive and entertaining visuals over the past twelve months, and here’s my pick of the best of the best. Continue reading
Top Ten Album Covers of 2018
We’ll be starting this year’s list season with a brand new one. They say you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, but often album covers can say a lot about the music within. Many times I’ve bought a record simply because the artwork has drawn my eye every time I see it, and not once have I come away disappointed. As great as these albums are however, we’ll be ranking them solely on how eye-catching, unique and memorable the cover is. Continue reading
In Defence of One Hit Wonders
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There are few things in music that are looked down on as much as One Hit Wonders. This idea that people can suddenly be thrust into the spotlight with an otherwise unassuming song, revel in their fifteen minutes of fame, and then descend back into obscurity never to be heard from again. It’s a perennial industry punchline. A scary story that artists tell each other: “work hard or else you might end up like them!”. When most people think of One Hit Wonders their mind goes to silly guilty pleasure tracks, but they have so much more to offer. Continue reading
Time is of the Essence
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The music world is always abuzz with talk surrounding one topic or another. The latest talking point just recently revolves around bands and venues sharing set times for gigs. It seems such an innocuous thing to end up becoming a divisive topic and prompting arguments, but even so that seems to have become the case. While I can understand the reasoning from both sides, I’m of the mind that sharing set times does far more help than it does harm. Continue reading
A Blogger’s Life
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A month ago I found myself meeting the artists behind some of my favourite music that I’ve written about over the past couple of years. When I was writing about their music it never really registered that my words might actually make a difference. Even when writing about music that you love and feel a deep connection to there’s still a real disconnect at work. So to have artists tell you in person how much your comments mean to them, and even quote them back to you word for word, was such a moving and gratifying encounter. It’s one of the many reasons that night was the highlight of my year. However, to then sink back into the daily grind, I found myself dwelling on the ordinary, everyday struggles. Continue reading
My Top 5 Record Labels
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It’s easy to think of terms like “the music industry” and “record labels” in the same vein as some evil faceless corporation that plays the role of the villain in a spy thriller. In fact, there are probably plenty of big labels that are thoroughly deserving of such infamy. But it’s not all just businessmen in suits looking to make money, there are plenty of smaller labels out there that are dedicated to helping artists grow and sharing great music with the world. Normally I don’t pay too much mind to labels, but when you see the same name pop up time and time again besides artists you love you suddenly start to sit up and take notice. I spend plenty of time writing about the music I love and the artists I admire, so I thought it was high-time I gave a shout out to the labels that keep the wheels turning and make sure all that great art reaches our ears. Continue reading
Are The Charts Beyond Saving?
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While not every song that graces the charts is worthy of derision, it’s no secret that the charts do very little to properly represent both music and the music industry as a whole. Songs that are just products of lazy corporate entities designed to make profits, that constantly clog up the single charts, do nothing to alleviate the age-old mentality of “modern music is rubbish, music was better back in my day!“. But why are the charts so broken and can they be fixed? Continue reading
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