Image L - R: Facebook, Facebook, YouTube, Photo by Kathryn Farmer
Ok, we've done the worst things in music so far this year so it's time for us to look at the year as a glass half full. It's been an amazing year for music, from some incredible albums to shows that will go down in history. Here are our favourites.
Janelle Monae's Dirty Computer
Monáe is somewhat incapable of producing a bad project and Dirty Computer is no exception. It took elements of the old android-loving Monáe but also presented us with something totally fresh. She's always been cinematic, cohesive and conceptual but this time around she added something to the blend - intimacy. We learnt more about Monáe than ever on Dirty Computer. It's an album full of bangers that simultaneously manages to celebrate sexuality (Make Me Feel), empower (Django Jane) and cast a worried eye to the future (So Afraid).
Drake's Nice For What
Goddammit Drake. Every time we think you're not capable of a banger, you deliver once again. Nice For What is Drake's best songs in years. It's a joyous, New Orleans bounce-inspired cut that celebrates women. Given Drizzy is usually criticising girls for barring his texts, this is a welcome switch-up.
Client Liaison's Fashion Line
Client Liaison are having a big year. As well as dropping a new tune Survival In The City, they launched a fashion line with by far the most entertaining show at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Sydney. Their Deluxe Line is nostalgic, playful and also business-ready.
Check out pictures from their show here.
#BEYCHELLA
We all knew Beyoncé was going to nail her debut Coachella headline slot but we weren't quite prepared for just how mindblowing it was going to be. With almost 200 people on stage, many wielding brass instruments, she blew us away with what could be the greatest festival spectacle of all time. Bey alone was enough to win us over but she also reunited Destiny's Child, got JAY-Z on stage and danced with sister Solange. It was ambitious and faultless, a performance that artists will try to match for decades.
The Carters Finally Dropped A Joint Album
Rumours about a joint Beyoncé and JAY-Z album have been circulating for years but it was preceded by a messy period for the pair which resulted in their own albums themed around infidelity, rebuilding and forgiveness. One Saturday last month, with their relationship now stronger than ever, the pair dropped Everything Is Love out of nowhere. It's only nine tracks but it's a mammoth effort, helmed by the Migos-assisted Apeshit. They're currently on tour together and we need to see Apeshit live here ASAP.
Kendrick Lamar Curating The Black Panther Soundtrack
We weren't ready for more Kendrick so soon after DAMN. but he delivered earlier this year with the Black Panther soundtrack. Rumour has it, he wasn't up for doing it until he saw the movie and then decided he was all in. Thank goodness for the mind-change because he loaded this soundtrack with gold. 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, SZA, Schoolboy Q and heaps more all appear and while Lamar stands upfront, he makes sure everyone's voices are heard.
Childish Gambino's This Is America
Childish Gambino had already bagged Grammys and launched season two of his hit show Atlanta this year but that wasn't enough apparently. He had to hit us with the most politically and socially powerful song of the year This Is America, driven by an absurdist video that explored black life in America. It was carefree at times, furious at others, showing America's ability to protest until a new distraction comes along.
Kanye West's 7-Track Projects
Ok, Kanye definitely hasn't had one of the best years (see the worst thing in music this year) but you can't deny that the 7-track Wyoming records were entertaining. In a five-week space we got five records that ranged from mediocre to brilliant,driven by a new Kanye record. They were delayed, flawed and wildly unpredictable, just like every Kanye release, except this week we had to endure it for five weeks. It was exhausting and somehow we miss it.
Cardi B's Rise And Rise
We thought 2017 was a good year for Cardi B but it turns out 2018 has been even better. She performed at the Grammys, delivered her debut album Invasion Of Privacy and gave birth to a baby girl. Invasion Of Privacy shot straight to number one in the US and she clocked her second number one single with I Like It.
Charli XCX Dropping Liquid Gold
Charli XCX gave us two mixtapes last year but she's not taking a break at all this year. So far, she's dropped three A+ singles of her own 5 In The Morning, Focus and No Angel all while supporting Taylor Swift on a massive world tour. On top of that she's featured on songs with Lil Xan, Rita Ora and Tove Lo.
Lily Allen's Return To Form
Lily Allen reckons her fourth album No Shame is her best to date and we have to agree. It was a huge return to form for Allen, one that traded entirely in honesty. She details motherhood, addiction and fame in the most straight-up tone we've ever gotten from her. All the while, she's still managed to deliver bop after bop with Trigger Bang and Lost My Mind just the beginning of the list.
Queer Anthems Reigned Supreme
It's the year of the "free ass motherfucker" (thanks Janelle Monáe for the term). Many of the best songs of the year have been gigantic queer anthems, all of them celebrating or detailing different dimensions of sexuality, giving pop music a depth that it's been lacking at a mainstream level. Troye Sivan's My My My!, Janelle Monáe's Make Me Feel, Hayley Kiyoko's What I Need and serpentwithfeet's Cherubim are just a handful of our faves.
