ILM’s Top 77 Tracks of 2018

I went from thinking this was ill-advised to brilliant over the course of just a few listens

strings are very nice, and i love the subtle minor-chord substitutions throughout. it's not living was my 75 jam of choice this year, but this one was close behind (along with inside your mind)

all end is fine in a monolithic way but as a lot of people said, absolutely not what I come to Autechre for.

Impressed that Smoko did so well. I kicked off the summer jams thread with it, expecting it to be ripped to shreds but instead it was roundly ignored (at least in terms of follow up posts). I like it enough but maybe wouldn't have voted for it. Novelty punk treads a fine line mind

Are dudes from the 1975 still working with that girl aka The Japanese House (sry, can't remember her name). I have high expectations for the album and hope it blows up when it comes out.

amber bain and yes

:)

i half expected to hear kirk say "space: the final frontier" at the end of that 1975 track

I voted for this! glad it made it.

― resident hack (Simon H.), Tuesday, January 29, 2019 1:14 PM (seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

really begging for a "I'd love it if this hadn't made it" retort here :)

Ok, finally had the proper chance to listen to most recent tunes, here's some thoughts:

Jon Hopkins – “Emerald Rush”: This starts really well, always loved some chopped-up techno, but I think it builds up too big, sound like doesn't really seem to fit the anthemic mood towards the end. Would've preferred this approach to something more minimal.

Christine and the Queens – “Doesn’t Matter (Voleur de soleil)”: This nice, the arrangement is a bit too busy, but well-crafted pop music nevertheless.

The Chats – “Smoko”: Already mentioned how it makes me feel... This is a joke, I guess someone's laughing, but I ain't.

Talaboman – “Dins El Llit (Superpitcher Remix)”: Banging tune, best dance music in the poll so far.

Mitski – “Geyser”: This kind of stuff is not for me, but it's admirable nevertheless, certainly I can see why it would strike a chord with those of you who like guitar music.

Autechre – “all end”: Always found Autechre to be boring conceptual engineermans' favourite, I'm not gonna listen an hour-long track to see if it changes my mind.

Róisín Murphy – “Plaything”: Wow, how haven't I heard this one before? Love Murphy, and this is certainly the sort of stuff she does the best, affective, deep-felt, enormous. The best song in the poll so far, besides Braxton.

Die Wilde Jagd – “2000 Elefanten”: Post-punk's not my thing either, but as with the Mitski tune, I can understand why people rate it.

Hop Along – “How Simple”: I guess the nineties really are back, haha. Didn't care for alternative rock back then, don't care about it now.

The 1975 – “I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)”: Completely inoffensive power ballad. This could be by U2 or something?

Loving the Talabot/Superpitcher. This might be my favourite of the poll.

http://i.imgur.com/5krT6qI.jpg

47: Natalie Prass – “Short Court Style” – 196 points – 8 votes
video

A thread for Natalie Prass

http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=25260

Light airy pop with a soulful tint that reminds of the jokes Mayer Hawthorne was so crudely sketching a few years back, or of Hall & Oates jabbing at the arches of your foot when you weren’t looking. There’s a retroactive conservatism at play that at times feels dangerously close to being designed to serve as backing for moments of trite superficial Technicolor sentiment, a pleasant antidote from the smudgy oily of the present with its sparse and crisp pristinity. Yet despite that troubling regiment, there’s a light airiness that manages to keep it feeling less about stance and more about softness. – Maxwell Cavaseno

Prass has said the song was inspired by a new relationship, and you can feel the heart beat stronger with every note. This is the sound of clouds parting, of hearts mending, of walking — no, dancing — on air. (Even the cuíca in the background sounds like it’s cheering her on.) Yet this is not a story of puppy love or the illusion of perfection. This is an ode to love that lasts, to hard-won happiness, to going through hell and coming out stronger on the other side. – Julian Axelrod

love this song so much, but voted for a different one from the album (again)

Awesome! Ended up just voting for her album, but this was one of my most played tracks of the year. It was sad to see her not get the success she deserved this last year, commercially and critically.

whoa the autechre song started playing as i scrolled past brad's GIF and i stared at it for like 10 seconds before i even read why it was posted

This is sweet, reminds me of the sort of 80s boogie/post-disco I really love.

for those unsure about listening to Autechre's "all end," may i recommend you play it for three minutes? It's roughly the same experience no matter where you drop the needle (mostly different textures) so you can get a taste fairly painlessly.

fuck yeah

this wasn't my fave from the album but it's a great single on its own

for those unsure about listening to Autechre's "all end," may i recommend you play it for three minutes? It's roughly the same experience no matter where you drop the needle (mostly different textures) so you can get a taste fairly painlessly.

It doesn't seem to be on Youtube, can I listen to it anywhere without having to sign up for a streaming service?

you can go to a nearby factory and sit near an industrial fan

or you can listen to it here: https://autechre.bleepstores.com/release/98703-autechre-nts-sessions-1-4

"short court style" is the fucking best

even if this Prass song doesn't do it for you I really recommend checking out the whole album, which demonstrates way more range than I had any notion she was capable of

Tuomas, "Plaything" is a part of a series of singles Roisin did with Maurice Fulton this year. They're pretty much all great

I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes) does indeed remind me of Little Kix-era Mansun!

no one edited that maxwell blurb

Oh wow, I love Fulton too, that's really a match made in heaven!

(xxpost)

imagine writing crisp pristinity when pristine crispness was just lying there

but is it light and airy?

I really like Roisin Murphy - that is not new.
Also really like Frances Quinlan - that is new. My first thought of comparison was the singer from Throwing Muses for some reason - wild, passionate and always on the brink of breaking down. (Though I guess you could also say The Cranberries). The album seems to leave her all the space, and that's good.

'Short Court Style' is so likeable.

It doesn't seem to be on Youtube, can I listen to it anywhere without having to sign up for a streaming service?

― Tuomas, Tuesday, January 29, 2019 1:40 PM (seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

All you need is a keyboard, a speaker, and a sleepy cat

simon otm, i had very low expectations for the new prass album based on the first one, which i didn't like at all, but i was intrigued by "short court style" and the rest blew me away, especially "hot for the mountain"

I think his misgivings are similar to mine tbh but he's expressed them even more awkwardly than I would have done

listening to this Roisin song after 58 minutes of autechre is weirdly unsettling

lol

http://i.imgur.com/4PVa6Qr.jpg

46: Mr. Twin Sister – “Jaipur” – 198 points – 6 votes
video

Mr Twin Sister

fuck yes

somehow my first vote to place, my #3

Aww was hoping this would land higher, but can't complain

help me be
strong enough

make my heart
kind enough

Oh dear, more of this!

like it more than the other Mr Twin Sister track. this is freaky

Is Tuomas the Geir of dance?

59: Prince Kaybee featuring Busiswa and TNS - “Banomoya”

This is my favourite discovery of today's rollout. Not so keen on the male vox coming in, but the construction of space and movement with the bass & synths kills.

Also into Die Wilde Jagd, which somehow I'd missed before, though it feels thinner than it should be in places, not quite as epic as I want it to be.

(fuckin' ilx and the 1975 tho', ffs)

Trying to work out if I'm going to have any other placements aside from that Helena Hauff track... surely Blackpink will make it? Maybe Hen Ogledd & Yemi Alade?

This Roisin track makes me want to listen to Dreamer by Livin' Joy. More bland comments as they arrive.

I really like Jaipur and a couple of the other songs on Salt, but overall I didn't find the album anywhere near as compelling as their previous album which was perfect. Really wish they'd put Power Of Two and Echo Arms on there.

the 1975 is a psyop

I've been sleeping on this twin sister record too much probably