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Albums of the Year: The best of 2018 in reviews

It's been another fantastic year for music, from superb singles to revolutionary records and dominating downloads.

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It's been another fantastic year of album releases

At the Star, we have been lucky enough to hear a lot of the latest releases before passing on our judgement to readers on what we feel is and isn't worth spending their hard-earned pounds on.

To say goodbye to 2018 we've been back through the archives to see which albums floated our boat throughout the year and which sunk without a trace - from established global stars to our local musicians looking for their big break.

Below is a list of our favourites from the year. It is worth noting these aren't the definitive best records of the year, but the best that we have been lucky enough to review.

There are some who are unlucky not to make the list. West Bromwich's WOUNDEDSPiRiT, singer/songwriter She Makes War and Welsh songstress Bryde all deserve a mention. And at the other end of the spectrum - Arctic Monkeys (2/10), Coco and the Butterfields (4/10) and Seamus Fogarty (4/10) all failed to light our fires.

But these are the best we brought to you, tucked nicely into one list like a great-sounding pig in a blanket of words...

Black Moth, Anatomical Venus - February - 10/10

Black Moth - Anatomical Venus

The only 10/10 we handed out this year, Black Moth's latest record roared into existence in February with the kind of fire and brimstone you'd expect from such a graphically disturbing cover.

Everything came laden with a gritty guitar lick that kicked you square in the nether-regions and dared you to get back up for more. And we did, 10 times in fact, as each and every tune was a stormer.

They backed it up with a sensational show at Birmingham's The Sunflower Lounge. It was the darkest pleasure we discovered in 2018.

Read the full review here.

The Slow Readers Club, Build A Tower - May - 9/10

The Slow Readers Club - Build A Tower

Manchester four-piece The Slow Readers Club dropped their third LP in May, which was this delightful slice of post-punk pie.

As we said at the time: "There are few better feelings for music lovers - that sudden, excited rush in your chest when a record kicks in and 20 seconds into the first song you just think...'I'm going to like this'."

They doffed a few caps to White Lies, Foals, Editors, Joy Division, New order, The Smiths and Sisters Of Mercy along the way in a riveting rock ride. Tracks Lunatic, You Opened Up My Heart and On The TV have to be heard.

Read the full review here.

AWOLNATION, Here Come The Runts - February - 9/10

AWOLNATION - Here Come The Runts

This lighter entry hit the nail on the head with one of our most-loved aspects of creating music - fun.

Aaron Bruno and the AWOL lads brought the zany LED world of LA to a wider audience on record number three. If you could sum up the pompous, absurd side to one of the world's most glamorous destinations it would probably be this.

It had swagger, it had rock, it had dance, and it has spawned a few tasty remixes too thanks to the big-time beats thumping throughout the original material to begin with.

Read the full review here.

High On Fire, Electric Messiah - October - 9/10

High On Fire - Electric Messiah

Electric Messiah frontman Matt Pike had a dream about the late, great Motorhead maestro Lemmy, which led to him deciding to make this record in honour of his hero.

The result was nine tracks of explosive and corrosive metal that varied in speed and ferocity but stayed consistent with thumping undercurrents and gates of hell vocals.

The title track was where the homage to Lemmy began. Fast and gritty, it never let up with its intensity and thrash melodies. Would Lemmy himself have approved? We think he would.

Read the full review here.

Dearist, Sonder - April - 9/10

Dearist - Sonder

Wolverhampton's Dearist are the first of our local unsigned artists to make the list this year.

Following the release of their debut album This House Has No Windows in 2015, the rockers returned this year with this ambitious release.

From sludgy opening track Front Matter through to the raging choruses of Beaches and Fool's Heart, the sophomore release was a tour-de-force from start to finish. Ending on the pulsating Colours, this record hopefully marked big things in the future.

Hear their album here.

Joe Satriani, What Happens Next - January - 9/10

Joe Satriani - What Happens Next

The earliest entry of the year, Guitar god Joe Satriani brought some friends to the party for this riff-roaring romp.

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith kept time, while Cannock's Deep Purple and Black Country Communion (BCC) bassist Glenn Hughes gave the undertones throughout a masterpiece in musicianship.

Local listeners would have enjoyed Catbot - a stomping piece of fun. It felt similar to BCC record BCCIV with its almost tantrum-like percussion and timing. The bassline from Hughes was funky too, like Richard Ashcroft chicken strutting down the street for that famous Bitter Sweet Symphony video.

Read the full review here.

The Bad Flowers, Starting Gun - February - 8/10

The Bad Flowers (now Wolf Jaw) - Starting Gun

They've now changed their name to Wolf Jaw, but this Cannock trio released their debut album last year under their old moniker The Bad Flowers as well as telling The Ticket Unsigned all about it.

Mixing sounds from the likes of Turbowolf, Elevant and Monster Truck they showed they can really craft a riff and rock out 'til the cows come home.

It swung from side to side powered by slick guitars and vocals from frontman Tom Leighton, while Karl Selickis on drums and bassist Dale Tonks provided thumping engines to motor the frontal assault along.

Read the full review here.

DMAs, For Now - April - 8/10

DMAs - For Now

We said at the time: "Nothing really shows the sheer reach and success of 90s Britpop than an Aussie band paying homage to the sound of the era."

And it's true. Here, DMAs plonked their guitars with the swagger of the Stone Roses, constructed swooning choruses up there with Ocean Colour Scene and plucked the most Noel Gallagher-esque melodies out of their brainboxes.

There were heartfelt moments, and there was some real attitude that evoked images of Ian Brown slinking around the front of the stage. The opening title track did this most, maybe what Kasabian could have had produced had their latter career trod a different path.

Read the full review here.

PUKK, Feckless - August - 8/10

PUKK - Feckless

Another entry from a former The Ticket Unsigned act is this deput LP from PUKK which encompassed everything DIY about music-making.

It was like a brooding dream that wouldn’t let you rest - a dark, smooth, dystopian record that was an absolute masterstroke.

There were hints of the great British rock bands of the 90s. The backing vocals on Rank Amateur could have been Noel Gallagher, the melancholic lyrics of the title track sounded like the equally downhearted Manic Street Preachers tune My Little Empire. There was also something distinctively Richard Hawley about the deep, drawling vocals on Cabin Crew.

Read the full review here.

Jonathan Davis, Black Labyrinth - June - 8/10

Jonathan Davis - Black Labyrinth

KoRn frontman Jonathan Davis gave us this fantastical journey into his mind at the mid-point of the year.

In fact, KoRn fans could breathe a sigh of relief. There was enough here to appease their love of the uber-popular nu metal giants. But there was also much more to the expansive sound - mainly Eastern influences through long percussion instrumentals and huge, classically-infused choruses.

It was a riff-heavy record full of the aggression and unhappiness at life's pitfalls that made his band's lyrics so popular before this.

Read the full review here.

Jorja Smith, Lost & Found - June - 8/10

Jorja Smith - Lost & Found

Walsall lass Jorja Smith had been making quite a stir across the music industry before finally dropping her eagerly-awaited debut full-length in the summer.

It was polished, with a full sound consisting of a mixture of pop and R&B that sounded intimate and delicate given her often softer approach to vocals. The less-is-more approach to the beats and rhythms powered her forward without drowning her out.

It garnered her this year's BRIT Critics Choice Award, while getting her on the bill of the American super-festival Coachella alongside the likes of Beyonce, Eminem and The Weeknd.

Read the full review here.

IDLES, Joy As An Act Of Resistance - September - 8/10

IDLES - Joy As An Act Of Resistance

Bristolians IDLES took the mantra for the album with the most attitude this year.

Punk was fully alive and kicking when this, their second record, arrived in autumn.

Lyrically clever, musically ferocious, it's like Joy Division got into a scrap with Sleaford Mods while The Libertines played an off-kilter musical accompaniment to entertain onlookers.

Bass-heavy and full of delicious little guitar hooks, the vocals of Joe Talbot powered the rhythms along with his half-screeched, half-sung style designed to stick it up those who swear solely by auto-tuned pop stars.

Read the full review here.

MeMe Detroit, Life In The Now (EP) - December - 8/10

MeMe Detroit - Life In The Now EP

This is the most recent release to make the list, coming earlier this month, as well as being the first of two EPs by local unsigned artists to be included.

Former The Ticket Unsigned star MeMe Detroit is the grunge queen of Birmingham. Her powerful vocals and ferocious guitars are a staple of her music, and this EP really captured the aggro of her stage show on recording.

Across five tracks MeMe - real name Maria Rodriguez - and her band delivered a large slice of guitar scuzz pie which had thunderous drumming piercing through the pastry at every turn.

Read the full review here.

The Coral, Move Through The Dawn - August - 8/10

The Coral - Move Through The Dawn

As well as being one of our records of the year, this was also the most majestic album cover of 2018.

Album number nine saw the lads nail it once again. This was perhaps closer to 'the norm' than some of their usual deep bass psychedelic folk - it boasted saddened guitar and key tracks. But there were still moments which were undeniably them.

Among them was Eyes Of The Moon. Its dancing bassline from Paul Duffy was killer, throwing its hips into full wiggle mode as it waltzed by.

Read the full review here.

Kim Wilde, Here Come The Aliens - March - 8/10

Kim Wilde - Here Come The Aliens

And straight off the back of The Coral comes another exceptional album cover from returning pop star Kim Wilde. Referencing the great sci-fi film posters of the 50s and 60s, her niece Scarlett, also a singer with her band, created it for her.

This was her first new album of original material to have a UK release since way back in 1992. And it was based on a close encounter she says she experienced in her back garden in 2009.

We crossed over from 80s camp pop to Gwen Stefani’s rock-pop persona when she first left No Doubt and went her own way on tracks like the brilliant Birthday.

Read the full review here.

Leigh Bucknall, M.A.N.G.O (EP) - April - 8/10

Leigh Bucknall - M.A.N.G.O EP

The final entry on the list is also the second EP to be included - from Wolverhampton musician Leigh Bucknall.

The frontman of former The Ticket Unsigned act Flatline Stereo!, Wolves-mad Leigh released his debut solo work which saw him recording, producing, singing and playing every instrument you heard.

It carried a very light rock sound, like those big Brit groups of the early-to-mid-90s who graced festival stages and encouraged huge sing-alongs.

There was a bit of aggy attitude to Is There Something I Should Know. Its main strengths lay in the musical interludes.

Read the full review here.

Do you agree with our choices?

Maybe your favourite record didn't make the final cut, or perhaps you hated one of those that did?

We welcome readers' opinions on the matter. To have your say, tweet your choices to @LSanders_Star, @EandS_Ents or @ShropsStar_Ents or email the address below to join the debate.