The Best Music and Films of 2018

Looking back on the year of 2018 and looking forward to how the year of 2018 will be perceived, I feel like a fool publishing this so soon – there's still so much released in this year that I haven't seen or heard! But sadly, year-end lists should probably be shared at year-end to be of much interest. This grievance aside, here's a few lists of albums and films which I've greatly enjoyed, broken up into categories which I deem as avant-garde and popular.

Click a title to jump directly to that category:
Avant-Garde Music
Popular Music
Avant-Garde Film
Popular Film

Avant-Garde Music

10. Minami Saeki, Wakana Ikeda, Yoko Ikeda, Taku Sugimoto, Stefan Thut & Manfred Werder – Sextet (Ftarri / Meenna)

When I hear this music, I can't help but wonder when this style of ultra-minimal chamber music is due to become old-hat, but it seems the answer is not quite yet. Sextet brings together reductionist composers from Japan and Europe to play each other's music, and the results are as cutting edge as they are beautiful. Kicking off with compositions by the young Ikeda sisters we hear music that recalls the earlier days of onkyo / Wandelweiser music, but rarely has it ever felt so lush and comforting. Next we have compositions by genre classics Sugimoto, Thut and Werder, whose music is a constant source of innovation and inspiration.

9. Cassandra Miller / Quatuor Bozzini – 'Just So' (Another Timbre)

Cassandra Miller is one of Canada's most talented young composers, and 2018 has been lucky enough to see her major CD debut as released by Another Timbre. 'Just So' is a wonderful collection of minimalist string quartets that come as a massive breath of fresh air into the genre. By taking ideas baroque and romantic music, classic minimalism and totally new music, Miller has been able to create a music which sounds innovative yet timeless. I was lucky enough to see About Bach, the album's longest cut by far, performed live by the same quartet and it absolutely blew me away – and I'm happy to report the music is just as powerful here on CD.

8. Santiago Astaburuaga / Cristián Alvear, Makoto Oshiro & Hiroyuki Ura - La perpetuidad del esbozo #3 (Inexhaustible Editions)

Now here's an album that sounds like very little I've ever heard before. La perpetuidad del esbozo #3 comes off as less of a composition than a collage made from live performance, field recordings, archived sounds and sine tones. The album treats us to a thick mystical soundworld which shifts on regular intervals into something completely different. The trio of performers are great and bring great style to the already ground-breaking composition. If nothing else, La perpetuidad del esbozo #3 sounds to me like an exercise in pure creativity – an example of how to find true freedom within thick constraints.

7. Francis Plagne & Crys Cole – Two Words (Black Truffle)

Lots of albums have existed to ask what is music and why do we enjoy it, but few have done as profoundly, and certainly not as enjoyably, as Two Words. The first half of the album is a thick assemblage of sounds: field recordings, contact mic improvisations, keyboard drones, scrunching objects and plastic sheets – fans of contemporary avant-garde music know the type. But at some point, towards the middle of the half-hour piece, those subtle keyboard drones begin to grow into melodies and rhythms, and even grow into a full-fledged sung song which completely dominates the sound. It forces the listener to reevaluate their enjoyment of the first half in contrast, and vice versa.

6. Michael Pisaro / Michael Pisaro & Reiner van Houdt – Shades of Eternal Night (Gravity Wave)

American composer Michael Pisaro has been breaking new musical ground for a long time now, but if his 2018 output has proven anything it's his refusal to stagnate. On Shades of Eternal Night we're treated to his contemporary take on ambient music, which is built from field recordings, soft piano performances and hefty sound manipulations. The music feels simultaneously epic and beautiful – not an easy accomplishment, but Pisaro has never been a composer to settle upon 'easy'.

5. Yan Jun – Unconditional Love (Room40)

If Toshimaru Nakamura's no-input mixing board performances are starting to feel a bit tired after all these years, the cure likely rests in the hand of Chinese sound artist Yan Jun. Unconditional Love was created from live feedback mixer performances, which have since been brought to the studio to be assembled into two simple compositions of sequenced electronic drones. Jun's idea of a drone is little more than static buzzing and stagnant tones with little timbral shifts, but when they're heard in sequence, they sound entirely fresh and otherworldly. A difficult listen no doubt, but one pumped full of intrigue.

4. Magnus Granberg / Magnus Granberg, Anna Lindal, Anna-Kaisa Meklin, Cyril Bondi, d'incise & Christoph Schiller - Es schwindelt mir, es brennt mein Eingenweide (Another Timbre)

It may seem like Magnus Granberg has been releasing the same album over and over, but what we're lucky enough to hear with Granberg's Another Timbre releases is an artist given privilege to play with and hone his work into something which simultaneously becomes more personal and more collaborative. Comparing this with previous releases we learn to appreciate the nuanced differences in his thick semi-improvised chamber music, and it becomes with little doubt that this is one of the composer's best offering yet.

3. Biliana Voutchkova & Michael Thieke – Blurred Music (elsewhere)

The new American label elsewhere may have peaked a little early in their first batch of CDs with this one, because Blurred Music is something special. On Blurred Music we get three discs of improvised music performed on violin and clarinet. What Voutchkova and Thieke do that's so interesting here is that they pre-record improvisations which they then play in the live environment and perform over top, usually performing very similarly to the recordings so it becomes impossible to tell what's what – creating a truly blurred music.

2. John Cage / Mark Knoop & Philip Thomas - Two² (Another Timbre)

Here we hear two British pianists stretching John Cage's classic piano duo, Two², into a slow two-hour monolith. It's absolutely gigantic in comparison to any other recordings. The liner notes suggest that perhaps this is how Cage would have wanted it – but it's hard to say what it is that a dead man would have wanted. Whether this be Cage's intentions or a fresh new experiment, there's no denying that the simple repetitions gain a much stronger potency in this format. It may not have been previously clear, but this release proves Two² to be one of Cage's strongest works.

1. Christian Wolff & Antoine Beuger – Where Are We Going, Today (Erstwhile Records)

There's been a lot of great music this year, but I can't think of any album which we're luckier to have than Where Are We Going, Today. This album showcases a meeting by two of experimental music's most awarded veterans, and I could hardly imagine the meeting going any better. The music is a strange mix of composition, improvisation and poetry reading – but just explaining the music is to do the album a disservice. Where Are We Going, Today is a 70-minute slab of musical wisdom, and it's something that just about any experimental musician could benefit from hearing.

Popular Music

10. Daughters – You Won't Get What You Want (Ipecac Recordings)

God damn is this heavy. Listening to You Won't Get What You Want is one of the most exhausting musical experiences of the year – it's like someone smashing a bottle over your head again, and again, and again. The music is full of creativity and inspiration, but that can go overlooked due to how crushing the music is. To write about the talent of a single bandmember would be a disservice to the rest of the excellent performances.

9. Jakob Bro / Jakob Bro, Thomas Morgan & Joey Baron – Bay of Rainbows (ECM Records)

Although hardly the most innovative jazz album of the year, Bay of Rainbows is the one I've found the most enjoyable. There isn't a single bad thing I can say about Jakob Bro's compositions – they are so exciting, they are so beautiful, they are so nuanced. The performances are all amazing – Bro's guitar is so soft and comforting so he makes for a perfect frontman, while Joey Baron's imaginative drumming lands somewhere in between immaculate support and completely stealing the show.

8. Kanye West & Kid Cudi – KIDS SEE GHOSTS (G.O.O.D. MUSIC)

There are few hip-hop albums which I've enjoyed more than KIDS SEE GHOSTS. Each of its seven tracks are busting at the brims with colorful ideas. The production is all over the place and so full of energy that could only be matched by Kanye West's and Kid Cudi's over-the-top vocal performances. Like all of Kanye's work it has its share of creative misfires, but at its strongest it is so exciting. The Cudi-centric songs which dominate the album's second half are a welcome surprise as well – they're incredibly well written, some of the best pop songs of the year.

7. cv313 – Analogue Oceans (echospace [detroit])

Contemporary ambient techno par excellence. All the pieces in this two-hour set are so excellently fine-tuned that they'll fly right back without you even realizing how intricate they are. It has this unbreakably soft texture to it that's so engrossing. Whether it be used as background or foreground music, it is one of 2018's most beautiful musical releases.

6. The Third Eye Foundation – Wake the Dead (Ici d'ailleurs)

Matt Elliott's electronic music project is back, and on Wake the Dead it's harder hitting than ever. Wake the Dead rides a thin line between ambient and overwhelming which is rarely heard. Unlike The Third Eye Foundation's last offering, Wake the Dead is more of a collection of songs than a unified experience. Perhaps that makes for a less engaging listening experience, but not one of the album's 6 tracks is a misfire. Even the aggressive vocals which seem to come from nowhere on That's Why are great – much better than I would have expected. Perhaps it isn't TEF's strongest release, but it does give me the strongest rush.

5. Autechre – NTS Sessions (Warp Records)

In 2018 Autechre, the patron saints of mind-bending electronic music, decided to bless us with eight hours of music. Unsurprisingly, it's amazing. Few acts in contemporary music are as constantly pivoting and challenging themselves as Autechre, and even after 2016's massive elseq, NTS Sessions is still a challenge – both for performer and listener. NTS Sessions, like their live releases, is largely defined by its semi-improvised feel which makes the long durations of the tracks exciting. NTS Sessions likely won't go down in history as one of their most essential documents, but it's still some damn good music from the kings of the genre.

4. Maison book girl – yume (Pony Canyon)

If the question is how good can Japanese idol dance-pop get, the answer is Maison book girl's yume. Simply put – this is some of the finest pop music production I've ever heard. Everything is so slick and subtle – there's never a single sound out of place. The songwriting is consistently on point and every chorus is beautifully catchy. The album has a strong melodramatic flair due to some dark subject matter that's lost on English listeners like me. The album is just so stylish and creative that I couldn't possibly imagine not loving it – even the interludes are phenomenal!

3. Julia Holter – Aviary (Domino)

After the disappointingly poppy Have You in My Wilderness which brought in many new fans while letting down some old ones, it seems Julia Holter has decided to apologize to the more experimental fans with her most avant-garde pop release yet. The album clocks in at an hour and half and combines pop songs, reductionist compositions and contemporary improvisations into something completely new. It's so engrossing and beautiful yet mystical and challenging. It's an album full of ideas and styles nearly every one's a great success. To me, there's little denying that Julia Holter is one of the best songwriters we have right now.

2. SOPHIE – OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES (Transgressive Records)

I had no expectations to like this as much as I did. SOPHIE is a musician I've always had mixed feelings about – she brings plenty of interesting and innovative ideas where ever she goes but tends to bathe in contemporary trends which do very little for me. But here, on her first proper album, SOPHIE holds no punches and puts forward 9 of her best songs directly from the heart. The production is nothing short of amazing – every song is completely original and true to its emotional content. It is prey to the occasional falling into pop music clichés, but its best tracks firmly sit on top of the best tracks of the year - and that's most of them.

1. Current 93 – The Light Is Leaving Us All (The Spheres)

People have been saying it over and over again since its release – The Light Is Leaving Us All is Current 93's best release in many, many years. I'm a big fan of some of C93's latest work, but even I must say that they're exactly right. Current 93 is back in top form, and this is one of the best albums that neofolk has to offer. The Light Is Leaving Us All pushes a relatively stripped back approach which makes the album feel incredibly intimate. The lyrics are mysterious and beautiful, and the performances are engrossing, but the biggest selling-feature is the emotional content – The Light Is Leaving Us All feels like a love-letter from a bleeding heart, and I couldn't imagine it being any more moving.

Avant-Garde Film

10. Björn Kämmerer – Arena (Austria)

In this 5-minute single take film, Björn Kämmerer walks us through the aesthetics of the seats in an arena. The camera slowly pans around the arena as the arena itself turns, creating bizarre 3-dimensional that feel as though they should be impossible. This film plays with our sense of attention and begs us to find interest in the little things in a beautiful and original way.

9. Faraz Anoushahpour, Parastoo Anoushahpour & Ryan Ferko – If All That Changes Quickly (Canada)

After seeing a presentation of the films by this trio it became incredibly clear that their most recent work, If All That Changes Quickly, is by far their best yet. The trio fuses documentary with video art to create something truly engrossing and original. This film specifically presents a broad look at the climate, both politically, artisitically and perhaps even environmentally, in North America and compares it to our various Eastern counterparts. It's hard to say exactly what the film is getting at, but it works wonders in getting the viewer to question their personal politics and beliefs.

8. Sky Hopinka – Fainting Spells (U.S.A.)

Through abstract environmental visuals, experimental music and various video art stylings, Sky Hopinka retells and reimagines a native American fable. Visually it is absolutely gorgeous and pumped full of bizarre ideas which come and go. The concept of the film is evocative as well, paying homage to the natives in such a stylish new way.

7. Wang Bing – Dead Souls (China)

Wang Bing's latest documentary clocks in at just over 8 hours and feels like his most important film yet. The movie is primarily comprised of survivors of Mao's largely undocumented 1957 anti-rightist campaign where a massive but unknown number if citizens starved to death in reeducation camps. Every interviewee is given long periods of time to tell their stories, resulting in an incredibly powerful and informative experience. On top of this, the film contains sections where Bing takes his handcam to the sites of the reeducation camp to see how they are today, giving a potent look at a long-forgotten tragedy.

6. Cristóbal León & Joaquín Cociña - The Wolf House (Chile)

Visually speaking, The Wolf House is one of the most imaginative animated films I've ever seen. Shot in stop-motion, the duo uses the entirety of a house and all materials within to create an ever-morphing surrealist wonderland to tell their story. The story may seem nonsensical upon an initial watch, which is likely intentional, but upon further inspection it can be taken as a provocative allegory about Pinochet's dictatorship and the country's struggles.

5. Apichatpong Weerasethakul – Blue (Thailand)

I am hardly the first to say that Apichatpong Weerasethakul, aka Joe, is one of the 21^st centuries finest filmmakers, but I think that what many may not notice is how much his style is growing. The surrealist short film Blue is perfect evidence at that. In Blue, Joe simultaneously experiments with the notions of dreams, images and film in a way that, as far as I know, nobody has done before. The visuals are immaculate, and the sounds are nuanced. I don't know for sure if Joe is at the top of his game quite yet, but it's hard to imagine him getting much better.

4. Irene Lusztig – Yours in Sisterhood (U.S.A.)

Although the movie may present itself as a straight-forward documentary about Ms. Magazine, the United States' first major feminist magazine, the truth is much more profound. Lustzig retrieved many unpublished letters sent to the magazine during the 1970's and had them read by women who lived near the address where the original letter was sent from, then invited the women to reflect on what they just read. The result is a mosaic portrait of American feminism in the 1970's, American feminism in the 2010's and what has changed over those 40 long years.

3. Jean-Luc Godard – The Image Book (France)

Just as Jean-Luc Godard was turning heads and innovating in the 1960's, he continues to break creative ground in 2018. The Image Book uses a massive array of found footage, whether it be from newsreels or old films, to explore the culture of the Arab world and how it is viewed in the west. It feels more like a sprawling political poem than an essay with a proper thesis, which turns it into one of the most engrossing cinema experiences of the year.

2. James Benning – L. COHEN (U.S.A.)

In the latest film from slow cinema's greatest stoic, a single shot of an Oregon farm holds, and holds, and holds for what seems like forever. After a lifetime goes by and the viewer becomes part of the landscape something happens – in almost no time at all everything changes, and not long after it's back as it was. But it can never really return to as it was, not after so much has changed. This revelation is accompanied by a song by the great Leonard Cohen.

1. Tsai Ming-Liang – Your Face (Taiwan)

Ever since Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-Liang's 2013 retirement from film, he's been a surprisingly productive avant-garde filmmaker – and out of all his abstract works, Your Face is likely the best. Your Face spends nearly its entire runtime focused in on its subjects' faces in crisp digital photography. Sometimes they laugh and tell stories, and sometimes they just state into the camera. When you spend so look with a face, as Tsai has surely noticed, you start to feel a very special connection with it, and with the human behind it. Earlier I said "nearly" its entire runtime – that's because at the end of the film, Tsai pulls one last surprising punch which ends up as one of the strongest shots of 2018. Oh, and it also has a brilliant score by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Popular Film

10. Bo Burnham – Eighth Grade (U.S.A.)

Eighth Grade's strongest trait is its pure relatability. It's a movie everyone should be able to see a bit of themselves in, and that everyone should be able to learn a little from. It's so cringey, it's so awkward and it's so funny. Although Bo Burnham's simplistic direction may still need some work, it should come as no surprise to fans of his stand-up that he's a damn good writer.

9. Katharina Mückstein – L'animale (Austria)

In a year of wonderful coming-of-age films, L'animale is likely the most emotionally powerful. It tells the story of a teenage girl awkwardly coming to terms with her homosexuality, as her father struggles to deal with his own. There's no denying that it's not an overly original plot – but the sheer level of nuance and heart in L'animale makes it a standout in the genre. It's also worth noting that Katharina Mückstein studied under Michael Haneke – the film carries many of his aesthetic stylings, but little of his cruelty.

8. Radu Jude – "I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians" (Romania)

"I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians" tells the story of a female artist who's attempting to stage a play to inform her own people about the often-ignored Romanian genocide. Her countrymen tend to ignore her – but at least we were better than the Germans, they say. If this films massive political message can be narrowed down to just a few words, it's that one tragedy does not cancel out another. The film often feels as if it's bashing the viewer over the head with its politics, but perhaps this is for the best – sometimes it's good to be upfront, especially when you want to make a point. On top of the purely political narrative, we also get to see one of the strongest performances of the year from leading lady Ioana Iacob.

7. Johan Hill – mid90s (U.S.A.)

I certainly didn't expect this to the list, but on top of the list of 2018's coming-of-age films is Jonah Hill's directorial debut mid90s. It's true that it's one of the least ambitious and least polished of the bunch, but maybe that's for the best because in mid90s Jonah Hill has managed to capture one of the most genuine love letters to nostalgic youth which I've ever seen. The plot is simple, often even missing, and the dialogue is often cheesy and clunky, but I can't help but feel that this is a film coming straight from the heart – also, it has some seriously great spur-of-the-moment humour. Between Sunny Suljic's adorable performance as pubescent skater Stevie, the beautiful original and non-original music and Jonah Hill's nostalgic direction, mid90s is an absolute treat.

6. Wes Anderson – Isle of Dogs (U.S.A.)

What bad could I possibly say about Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs? It's such an utterly enjoyable film. It's true that it's not so serious or profound, and some have even called it racially insensitive, but these things are so quickly forgotten when you watch the film. Every element of the film is impeccable and brimming with ideas and care-free innovation – and it's so damn funny. Let me make it simple: I don't even like dogs, but I love Isle of Dogs.

5. David Lowery – The Old Man & the Gun (U.S.A.)

The Old Man & the Gun is so much fun. It's so much fun that it's hard to believe that this is the follow-up to last year's slow but brilliant A Ghost Story, but it makes up for it, again, by being so much fun. It's the story of a bank robber in his 70's, played by Robert Redford in his farewell role – think an elderly Badlands – it even has Sissy Spacek in a surprisingly similar role! The movie is beautiful, it absolutely oozes charm, the entire cast is amazing – don't be turned off by the cheesy-sounding plot, because The Old Man & the Gun is a gem.

 

4. Boots Riley – Sorry to Bother You (U.S.A.)

If you told me that in 2018, we'd see a directorial debut from a rapper which would simultaneously be one of the most politically biting and one of the funniest movies of the year, I'm not sure I'd believe you. Boots Riley's Sorry to Bother You is all of that tied up in a beautifully convoluted Pynchon-esque adventure. The movie is constantly off the walls, but close to earth enough to have a crushing and intelligent anti-Capitalist message on top of its various cultural and racial themes. If it wasn't for a few amateurish misfires, Sorry to Bother You would surely be a film we'd be talking about for years to come – or at least I would.

3. Luca Gudagnino – Suspiria (Italy)

I must admit that the original Suspiria never did much for me, but the new one blew me away. Suspiria is likely the most imaginative remake I've ever seen. The movie is consistently bizarre and electrifying – the bizarre plot of a witch coven operating as a dance company gives just enough exposition to suck you into its world, but never enough to truly understand. The horror moments are terrifying, and the films climax is one of the most bone-shaking sequences of film I've ever seen. It's true that I'm in no rush to see this again, but as a single theater experience it was like little else.

2. Hu Bo – An Elephant Sitting Still (China)

An Elephant Sitting Still is Hu Bo's debut film, and tragically his final film due to his suicide shortly before the film's release. I was lucky enough to catch this one at TIFF where it was presented Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr, who Bo studied under. Tarr expressed what a creative loss we've had with Bo and shed a tear before the movie began – a perfect introduction for a heartbreaking film. The film sits at a hefty four hours and gives as spectacularly new insight into the face of mental illness. Hu Bo paints the world as he sees it, and that's aggressively bleak, but to call the film nothing more than a monolith of depression is to undersell it – An Elephant Sitting Still has a thing or two to teach us about human compassion and understanding. If there's any films from 2018 which we'll be discussing in years to come, it's this.

1. Lee Chang-dong – Burning (South Korea)

I went into Burning expecting a masterpiece. Everything pointed towards it being great: It's Lee Chang-dong, one of Korea's strongest filmmakers, directing a story by Haruki Murakami, one of Japan's strongest authors – not to mention that it received record-breaking acclaim from the Cannes jury. With all of this in the back of my mind, the movie still managed to jump right over my expectations. The story is amazing, and it's been re-written by Lee into one much stronger than the original short – it's mysterious, it's surprising, it's patient, it's conceptual, it's political, it's emotional, it's everything you might want from a movie like this. All the lead actors are offbeat yet brilliant, and Lee ensures that every single image in the film is beautiful and evocative. I can comfortably state that Burning is indeed a masterpiece.