Right before embarking into the second half of 2018, June thought it’d be cheeky and lay down some of the best music the year has seen so far. Not only were there plenty of albums that I loved personally, there was just an outpouring of star power this month. With G.O.O.D. Music doing its thing, Jay & Bey doing theirs, FJM’s eternal press cycle somehow going another mile, Drake sneaking in an absurdly long double LP at the last second, Gorillaz & Death Grips disappointing the hell out of me, and a bunch of great new artists coming into the fold. Very happy with how 2018 is turning out, as you can see on my 2018 So Far posts. Hope you enjoy!

Dusk – Dusk [Don Giovanni]
Seeing some of the same old, charming items (fridge magnets, plastic cups, fake plants, plastic tablecloth) from your grandparents’ house in a thrift store, miles & miles away.

Flasher – Constant Image [Domino]
A sporadic mental condition that makes the person in question think each of life’s problems must be physically solved like a Rubik’s cube.

Gang Gang Dance – Kazuashita [4AD]
Like laying in the tall grass and letting the Earth slowly consume you, allowing electricity-like travel throughout the ecosystem.

Kadhja Bonet – Childqueen [Fat Possum]
Merging heirlooms and jewelry into a painter’s canvas to make elaborate, gold-encrusted portraits of fictional characters from your family tree.

Kamasi Washington – Heaven And Earth [Young Turks]
The life’s story of the team of space-fascinated friends that together built a rocket, launched into space, and discovered new galaxies.

Kate NV – для FOR [RVNG Intl.]
A TV show profiling the tiny home decor inside hermit crab shells, overturned pails, thickets of reeds, bottom of wells, knots in trees and mountainside nooks.

LUMP – LUMP [Dead Oceans]
Deep within the branches of a great willow, a murky, bioluminescent fantasy realm awaits.

Natalie Prass – The Future And The Past [ATO]
The fastest way to get home is to cut through a bunch of empty film sets, where our main character usually stops alone and re-enacts scenes from their favorite movies.

serpentwithfeet – soil [Dead Oceans]
A pyromancer delivers a harrowing sermon of love and loss through curling, vibrant, mourning flames.

SOPHIE – Oil Of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides [Future Classic]
Getting trapped in a bright, LCD-covered room and being forced to find the key to exit by popping hundreds of balloons filled with sticky, pink goo.

OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES:: 

• Barker – Debiasing
• Chancha Via Circuito – Bienaventuranza
• Container – LP
• Cool Maritime – Sharing Waves
• Eartheater – IRISIRI
• Father John Misty – God’s Favorite Customer
• Freddie Gibbs – Freddie
• Hilary Woods – Colt
• Kanye West – ye
• Kareem Lotfy – QTT10
• Kevin Krauter – Toss Up
• Kids See Ghosts – Kids See Ghosts
• Laura Jean – Devotion
• Leon Vynehall – Nothing Is Still
• Let’s Eat Grandma – I’m All Ears
• Lykke Li – so sad so sexy
• Mazzy Star – Still
• Melody’s Echo Chamber – Bon Voyage
• MorMor – Heaven’s Only Wishful
• Mourn – Sorpresa Familia
• Oneohtrix Point Never – Age Of
• Pablo’s Eye – Bardo For Pablo
• PYNKIE – Neoteny
• Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Hope Downs
• Sam Evian – You, Forever
• Sean Nicholas Savage – Screamo
• Snail Mail – Lush
• Sun June – Years
• Uniform & The Body – Mental Wounds Not Healing
• Various Artists – S&S Presents: Dreams
• Vicktor Taiwò – Joy Comes In Spirit
• Virginia Wing – Ecstatic Arrow

GR8 SONGS OF JUNE::

Listen to all of these songs and more on my BEST OF 2018 SPOTIFY PLAYLIST!

• Barker – “Look How Hard I’ve Tried”
• Chancha Via Circuito – “Nadie Lo Riega (feat. Miriam García)”
• Charli XCX – “Focus”
• Charli XCX – “No Angel”
• Cool Maritime – “Forest Bathing”
• Dusk – “Eyes In Dark Corners”
• Flasher – “Skim Milk”
• Gang Gang Dance – “J-TREE”
• IDLES – “Danny Nedelko”
• Kadhja Bonet – “Joy”
• Kadhja Bonet – “Mother Maybe”
• Kamasi Washington – “Hub-Tones”
• Kate NV – “жук BUG”
• Kate NV – “дуб OAK”
• Kevin Krauter – “Keep Falling In Love”
• Kids See Ghosts – “Feel The Love (feat. Pusha T)”
• Laura Jean – “Girls On The TV”
• Leon Vynehall – “English Oak”
• LUMP – “Late to the Flight”
• Lykke Li – “Deep End”
• Melody’s Echo Chamber – “Quand Les Larmes D’un Ange Font Danser La Neige”
• Mitski – “Nobody”
• Mr Twin Sister – “Jaipur”
• Mourn – “Bye, Imbecile!”
• Natalie Prass – “Never Too Late”
• Natalie Prass – “Short Court Style”
• Oneohtrix Point Never – “Babylon”
• Oneohtrix Point Never – “We’ll Take It”
• Pllush – “Big Train”
• PYNKIE – “LooneyTune”
• serpentwithfeet – “mourning song”
• serpentwithfeet – “whisper”
• Snail Mail – “Golden Dream”
• SOPHIE – “Immaterial”
• SOPHIE – “Infatuation”
• SOPHIE – “Whole New World/Pretend World”
• Sun June – “Underneath”
• Virginia Wing – “The Second Shift”