As our ongoing series looking at different recaps, meoirs and ‘best records’ of 2018 draws toward its conclusion, we are joined by vocalist/guitarist Fernando Obregòn of Mexican genre-bending post hardcore act JOLIETTE to give you his thoughts on the past year and 6 varied records recommendations to keep you occupied.
2018 has been a pretty dark year to say the least. There’s tension and uncertainty and the future doesn’t look bright for most of us. We are all now deeply immersed in this technological world and relationships are becoming less and less personal. That being said, it’s not all that bad. Within this climate of chaos there is always music as an act of resistance. I can safely say we’ve had excellent albums coming out for a few years now, indistinct to the genre.
This year was pretty good for us as a band. We were able to tour Europe once again during the summer, had the opportunity to play many amazing festivals and all around it’s probably the best tour we’ve had since we’ve been a band. We’re getting older but still fully committed to music. We’ve been working throughout all this year on a new album and we really can’t wait to share it with everyone.
This year has had so much good music coming out that it’s going to be hard for me to enlist all of my favorites so I’ll share only a few of the albums that had a strong impact on me.
JOLIETTE released their latest 7” “El Alphabiotista” on June 25, 2018 via Epidemic Records (Europe and the rest of the world) and Deathwish Inc. (North, Central and South Americas).
Continued below…
Daughters – You Won’t Get What You Want
This is my absolute favorite album of 2018. There’s something about this album that I just find highly addictive and it’s still on heavy rotation since it came out. The hypnotic, almost tribal rhythmic patterns and the constant build-ups throughout the record keep me coming back to it.
Toby Driver – They Are The Shield
Kayo Dot’s vocalist new album is surprisingly not weird or hard to digest at all. On the contrary, it’s a pleasant listen and it’s a beautifully crafted, arranged and executed album.
Many Rooms – There Is A Presence Here
Beautiful and haunting bedroom music (or something like that) that it’s accentuated by its adequately fitting production. This has been on constant repeat since it came out and it’s definitely a must.
Monobody – Raytracing
These jazz/prog sweethearts are one of the best bands I have ever seen live and with “Raytracing” they push their boundaries even more to make a both rewarding and astonishing listen. Spacey and intense.
Sangam – Soulless Other
Beautiful, introspective and haunting ambient/electronica that demands attention from start to finish. It is a long album but it is totally worth the listen.
Улыбайся Ветру – Иллюзии
This has got to be one of the craziest albums I’ve heard and one of my absolute favorites ever. This is ridiculously mathy and technical screamo with lots of emotion. I had been anticipating this album for years since I first heard them and they absolutely did not disappoint. All of the songs have memorable moments, even if they get really hard to follow structure-wise.
Learn more about this abum through our official premiere feature HERE.
