Thedaddiesofthemall
1. YOUNG FATHERS – COCOA SUGAR I’M GOING to stick my neck out and say this is the best Scottish album of the last decade, and easily the UK album of 2018.
If you’ve heard it, you’ll be obsessed. It’s an album that doesn‘t have a duff track and can be listened to from start to finish.
The Edinburgh trio have already won a SAY Award, and for good reason.
Even songs that are two or three minutes have a mind-blowing array of styles, tempos and little sounds, like the scratchy metal synth on See How, which acts as a riff.
With trip hop for fans of Massive Attack and Tricky, this is the future – a multicultural mash-up from New Scotland. There’s a line on In My View, “Is everything going to plan?”
I’d say absolutely. A STUNNING album from the old Britpoppers. As Brett Anderson sings on Wastelands, “The clock it ticking away”. Gone is the party rock of Coming Up, this is the gothic grandeur of Dog Man Star with added mid-life questioning. 17. THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE QUEEN – MERRIE LAND DAMON Albarn’s attempt to make sense of Brexit. It’s a woozy, melancholic fairground take on the England of Great Britain. LILY’S first album since 2014 has been a battle. But No Shame is a personal album with none of the nod and the wink of debut Alright, Still. 13. PUSHA T – DAYTONA PRODUCED by Kanye West, Pusha T’s go-to raps are once again peppered with drug references. But Ye’s beats and samples are incredible. 11. LET’S EAT GRANDMA – I’M ALL EARS TEENAGERS Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth’s second album is a wonky pop record for Generation Z as It’s Not Just Me attests: “I don’t wanna say goodbye/I guess I’ll see you when the screen is vibrating.” 18. ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN – THE STARS, THE OCEANS & THE MOON Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant celebrate 40 years of the band by re-imagining old classics with orchestral flurries. GUITARIST Nick McCarthy left but Julian Corrie, better known as Miaoux Miaoux, has added a bouncy strut. 14. POST MALONE – BEERBONGS & BENTLEYS Austin Post’s second album continues his mix of rap beats and emo lyrics. After the success of the American’s debut Stoney, this is an album about fame. THE Talking Heads legend’s first solo album since 2004 is a joy. Byrne reminds us of his uncool coolness on the gentle I Dance Like This, which batters with a robotic ravey breakdown, and the outsider freakout of Doing the Right Thing.