Scott’s Musical Obsessions 2018

By Scott

In no particular order: 

Sleep, The Sciences (2018).

I was surprised when this album suddenly appeared last spring, but not all that surprised by how consistently appealing—and heavy!—it is. 

Neko Case, Hell-On (2018). 

For me, Case’s last album was meandering and underwhelming (although I get that it was more personal and restrained by design). This one feels like a huge improvement. 

Clutch, Book of Bad Decisions (2018). 

A little more padded out than 2015’s excellent Psychic Warfare—they could have shaved off three or four songs—but, as with pretty much any Clutch album, I’ll take it. 

Charles Lloyd and the Marvels and Lucinda Williams, Vanished Gardens (2018). 

It took me a little while to finally get this album—I wasn’t really familiar with Charles Lloyd or the band he’d assembled, which includes Bill Frisell and some other excellent musicians—but I’m very glad I finally did. Lucinda Williams’s recent albums have been excellent and the music here, a little drowsy but intricate, complements her voice perfectly, although Lloyd’s saxophone is the centerpiece. 

The Obsessed, Sacred (2017). 

I picked this up at the tail end of 2017 and listened to it straight through the year. 

Khemmis, Hunted (2016). 

Certain albums become attached to a particular memory, and, for me, this one forever belongs to a long train ride I took through upstate New York during a snowstorm last February. I think of Khemmis as a kind of ecumenical metal band that isn’t attached to one particular subgenre but doesn’t come across as random and eclectic either—they just kick ass. 

Elder, Reflections of a Floating World (2017).

I bought this on the strength of SoDak’s recommendation (and I think it appeared on a few other Ticklers’ year-end lists, too), so thank you for that! 

Jethro Tull, Heavy Horses (1978, 2018 Steven Wilson remix). 

I will admit that my interest in Jethro Tull this year was piqued by the series of remixes by Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree (in recent years, he’s remixed a whole bunch of classic prog albums in addition to Tull). I’ve had Aqualung since I was a kid but never really felt the need to dig deeper; now, I’m sorry I neglected this band for so long. 

Wes Montgomery, Movin’: The Complete Verve Recordings (2011). 

Montgomery is probably the best known jazz guitarist, and the albums he recorded for Verve include some of his most pop-oriented material, but if you’re ok with a little commercial smoothness and orchestration, this collection is a treasure trove of great stuff. Plus, it includes two fantastic albums with the organist Jimmy Smith and many bonus tracks. 

Best concert: Although I didn’t see too many in 2018, they were mostly excellent (Clutch, Richard Thompson, Sleep topping the list), but for sentimental reasons I will choose Slayer’s farewell tour with Anthrax, Testament, Lamb of God, and Behemoth. To my eternal shame, we missed Testament (not realizing how early they went on), but otherwise a great show.