Pipes's Picks: Top Albums of 2018

2018 brought with it an array of great albums from familiar artists and new faces.  In particular, this was a year where Milwaukee artists really shined on a local and national level.  In fact, four of the artists on this list call our fair city their home. Milwaukee rocks, as we know, and it gives me great pleasure to see our music scene in the city flourish.  Special thanks to Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch for all of the photos in this piece unless otherwise noted. Blending together my favorite releases of the year, I hope you enjoy this year's Pipes's Picks Top Albums of 2018.  

Kurt Vile- Bottle It In

Vile delivers his most eclectic and diverse array of tunes to date with Bottle it In, a record of 13 songs that spans an hour and twenty minutes- a rarity in today’s music landscape.  Blending folk sensibilities, fuzzy jams, psychedelic arrangements, and quirky storytelling as only Kurt Vile can deliver, Bottle it In invites the listener into Vile’s world and provides new surprises with each and every listen.  Who else could write, “Christmas in Siberia with a little bitty case of the delirium tremens, for some reason I picture Roger Clemens, but Mike Schmidt’s more of the city I came with.” Seriously!  What’s best about Bottle it In is that these melodies and odd lyrical comparisons simply bore into your head and stick there.  

Notable tracks include, “Loading Zones,” “Bassackwards,” “Cold As the Wind,” and “One Trick Ponies.”  

Collections of Colonies of Bees: HAWAII
Making a bold move to add vocalist Marielle Allschwang into the mix proved to be a genius move for Chris Rosnau’s experimental rock outfit, “Collections of Colonies of Bees.”  HAWAII marks the band’s most innovative and accessible album to date.  Rosnau is a mad scientist with guitar pedals and along with his band creates some dazzling sounds on a record that I found myself revisiting time and time again this year.  The great thing about HAWAII is how well it works both as a whole piece, as well as stand-alone tracks.  

Notable tracks include, “Killerers,” “HAWAII,” and “Ruins.”

Liz Cooper and the Stampede: Window Flowers

The debut LP from Nashville’s power trio, Liz Cooper and the Stampede, pushes all of the right buttons mixing blues-rock, psychedelia, strong narrative lyrics, and even creative use of vocals (Cooper fluctuates from using a distortion mic and her natural singing voice).  Cooper is a one-woman wrecking crew on the axe, delivering jams that sound like vintage My Morning Morning or Jefferson Airplane. The grooves are infectious and Window Flowers just plain rocks.

Notable tracks include, “Dalai Lama,” “Outer Space,” and “Mountain Man.”

Jeff Tweedy: WARM

Wilco’s songwriter is perhaps at his most intimate and exposed on WARM as he’s ever been as an artist.  With songs that sound like they could fit in on really any Wilco record to date, albeit in a different form, Tweedy delivers a collection of strong, provocative and moving tunes.  Reading Tweedy’s autobiography Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) at the same time as listening to this record certainly gives the listener/reader a very personal insight into Tweedy’s mind and psyche as an artist. The collection of eleven songs certainly stands up or surpasses much of Tweedy’s more recent Wilco recordings and shows that the artist has a boon of more stories to share with his audience.

Notable tracks include: “Let’s Go Rain,” “I Know What It’s Like,” and “Bombs Above.”

Buffalo Gospel: On the First Bell
Buffalo Gospel is like a broken-in flannel shirt; relaxed, warm, and above all else, sincere.   There is a palpable sense of compassion and earnestness that emanates from Ryan Necci’s vocals. Their second LP On the First Bell sees the Milwaukee-based group at the top of its game blending elements of country, rock, and Americana to create a unique sound that invites listeners to shine their boots, sit back and basque in a truly soulful band.

Notable tracks include, “High Time to Hang Fire,” “Lonestar,” “On the First Bell,” and “18 Wheeler”

photo courtesy of Bangordailynews.com

The Mallett Brothers Band: Vive L’Acadie

Vive L’Acadie is a record that embodies all things that make Americana music great.  Catchy fiddle licks, mandolin fills, sing-along refrains, strummy guitars and full-bodied vocals are evident on each of the tracks of this ten song LP.  There is a gritty soulfulness that draws listeners into this band and makes them revisit Vive L’Acadie more and more.  With trading off lead vocal duties between several musicians, each track takes on its own unique flavor on the record.

Notable tracks, “Vive L’Acadie,” “Losing Horses,” “Too Much Trouble,” and “Headed Home.”  

Dead Horses: My Mother The Moon

Dead Horses in many ways is a band that purely captures the modern Americana sounds. With Sarah Vos’s warm soaring vocals and Daniel Wolff’s steady upright bass, My Mother The Moon is a record that you can envision being performed in your living room while listening to it.  The addition of mandolinist Ryan Ogburn has helped add depth and rich timbres to the group’s music and makes My Mother the Moon a start-to-finish introspective modern Americana classic.

Notable tracks: “On and On and On,” “Darling Dear,” “Swinger in the Trees,” “Turntable.”

Courtney Barnett-Tell Me How You Really Feel

On her most recent record, Tell Me How You Really Feel, Barnett continues to hone her chops on the guitar and paint vivid stories for her listeners.  Often fuzzy and grungy, Tell Me How You Really Feel is a more introverted and introspective record, as the songwriter wrestles a bit with her rise in popularity internationally.  Great lyrics drive the record, but the guitar work is noticeably more rocking than on her previous releases.

Notable tracks include: “Hopefulnessless,” “City Looks Pretty,” “Nameless, Faceless”

Field Report: Summertime Songs

Field Report’s third album finds the band in a tighter and brighter place. Christopher Porterfield is on top of his game as a lyricist, using creative similes and masterful imagery to bring Summertime Songs alive for the listener.  Field Report continues to mature and get tighter as an ensemble and this collection of songs showcases the band exploring its sonic landscape like never before.

Notable tracks include: “Everytime,” “Healing Machine,” “Summertime Songs, “Tightrope”

Father John Misty: God’s Favorite Customer
There is no other artist on the planet like Josh Tillman.  As Father John Misty, Tillman embodies a sound that melds classic “AM Gold,” with progressive rich soundscapes and quirky lyrics that draw listeners into Misty’s world like a Hunter S. Thompson tale.  The prolific Tillman has released a series of stellar albums recently, and God’s Favorite Customer is no exception.

Notable tracks include, “Mr. Tillman,” “Date Night,” and “Hangout at the Gallows.”

Jim James: Uniform Clarity/Uniform Distortion

In a totally “Jim James move,” Jim James released a pair of records that are both similar and uniquely different at the same time.  Uniform Clarity showcases the compositions with just James and a guitar, whereas Uniform Distortion showcases the same tunes with electronic instrumentation and backing musicians.  No matter which way you slice it, James writes darn fine songs that relate to our present state of human affairs. These two records catch James in a very raw state as a songwriter and musician and in a very weird way, these songs work almost equally well in both an acoustic and electric arrangement. Funny how that works with a great artist!

Notable tracks include: “Just A Fool,” “Yes to Everything,” “Over and Over,” and “Throwback”

Phil Cook: People Are My Drug
Phil Cook personifies the word soulful.  The Americana singer-songwriter’s second full solo recording, People Are My Drug, finds Cook digging deeper into gospel music. The nine tracks that comprise People Are My Drug range from ballads to juke-joint boogie tracks.  It is hard not to smile, nod or tap your foot while listening to Cook’s music.  His positive energy and vibes are infections.

Notable tracks include: “Another Mother’s Son,” “Steampowered Blues,” “Now That I Know”

King Tuff: The Other

Kyle Thomas, aka King Tuff, delivers one of the more fun and funky releases of 2018 with The Other, a downright groovy record.  Thomas’s songwriting is on point and takes the listener on a tour of modern times while having a darn good time in the process.  Catchy hooks and clever melodies dot The Other from start to finish.

Notable tracks include: “Infinite Mile,” “Psycho Star,” “Raindrop Blue”

The Decemberists: I’ll Be Your Girl

The Decemberists push beyond their nautical boundary waters with a collection of songs that draw on pop sensibilities and also push their traditionally acoustic sound forward.  I’ll Be Your Girl is a refreshing return to form for one of indie rock’s most tried and trusted groups.  Colin Meloy and company sound as fresh as ever, and I’ll Be Your Girl live translated even better than on the album.  “Rusalka, Rusalka/Wild Rushes” holds up as one of the band’s best songs from any era.


Notable tracks include: “Once In My Life,” “We All Die Young,” “Rusalka, Rusalka/Wild Rushes”


Enjoy this Spotify playlist featuring the artists on this list along with many others who made kiler music in 2018!