Normally I have this busted out before June is over, but life happens I got the metal one out earlier, it has given me more time to sit with these albums. This list is not to say that the album's that were on the metal list do not hold their own against these, this list is just the top 10 albums that are not metal, you will see how they stack up against the metal ones in December when I make the overall top ten for the year and at this rate December will be here before we know it. What makes them the best is how much I actually listen to them. I guess we will see how these albums hold up over the course of the year. I am posting links to the reviews if you want to check these albums out .
10- Dinosaur Jr - "Sweep it Into Space"
Decades later these guys continue to defend their sonic legacy. This goes to show you do not have to fuck with what works and can still not put out the same album each time.
Abysmal Hymns: Dinosaur Jr : "Sweep It into Space"
9- Cold Cave- "Fate in Seven Lessons"
It's been 10 years since the last full length from this "band" , so we will take what ever we can get. The opening track leads you to believe we are one step further in this progression into darkness chronicled in the 2018 ep .
8-Rome - " Parlez- vous Hate"
Long time fans might feel the neo folk project is selling out by not making the kind of bleakly obtuse that put them in line for Death in June's throne. It does seem like these songs were written with breaking through in the America. There is even a song that kind of parodies Bruce Springteen's "Born in the USA" But all the above works for me
7-St. Vincent-"Daddy's Home"
A drastic change for her. The angular Bowie like guitar is missing and has been replaced for a more soulful Prince like vibe. It takes multiple listens for this to fully sink in for me. If you think about it I guess this might be her Young Americans album.
6-Perturbator- "Lustful Sacraments"
Things have changed for this French synth wave project. It has been a logical progression from album to album. But this marks the first time I have thought now this is a cool song. Much like a great deal of the current crop of synth wave the largely instrumental sub genre tended to focus on capturing synth sounds of yester year and melding them into something not unlike the " Blade Runner" soundtrack .
5-Justin Bieber - "Justice"
Here is an album that I did not review for this blog as the Weeknd and Post Malone have been where I have drawn the line with pop, which might be unfair to the Biebs, because there is not really much of a difference between them. This is a great pop record and he is proving himself a better songwriter than those two with this one , if I keep the suspension of disbelief that there was not an army of producers on this one.
4-Gary Numan - "Intruder"
At 63 who would have guessed Numan would be making some of the best music of his career at this late in the game. I really liked his last album "Savage" it was less future pop and more industrial. The same can be said of this one , but the mood is darker and compositions more lushly colored. His voice sounds great, granted he using a more nuanced and softer approach.
3-The Pretty Reckless - "Death By Rock n Roll"
After 12 years at this they have perfected their craft and created a cool smoky slab of blues cooked rock songs with plenty of hooks to them
2-Pale Waves - " Who Am I? "
I still listen to their last album "My Mind Makes Noises" , and have been looking forward to this one. From the singles leading up to this albums release I was beginning to hear some 90s radio influence . When I actually put the album on it flows much closer to we heard from them without being redundant and still showing growth.
1- Amigo the Devil -"Born Against"
After "Everything's Fine" the bar is pretty high going into this one. It opens with a bigger slicker production sound which along with strings and a more ballad like mood is the biggest change. The first song shifts into more of a rock dynamic when it builds. His voice has really improved here as well.
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