Wanna give a special shout-out to Bandcamp Daily for this month’s edition of Recommended Albums. Usually I go off my general knowledge of what’s being released, reviewed and talked about that month, but it seemed like everyone was just focusing on Best Of 2018 lists. It seemed like every site was shut down for the holidays. That is, except the good folks at Bandcamp. I found a good amount of records there that were treats to listen to, most of which I had never seen featured anywhere else.

What I’ve collected is an eclectic array of projects, ranging from potentially the biggest artist in the world, to a reissue of West African funk, to twinklecore emo, to gospel. Didn’t do any abstract comparisons this month, just a quick description for each. Enjoy listening & hope these don’t make you regret posting your Best Of 2018 list too early.

Algernon Cadwallader – Some Kind Of Cadwallader & Parrot Flies Reissues [Lauren Records]
Defunct, foundational twinklecore emo band got their catalog reissued. If you haven’t spent any time with this band but enjoy rock music, do yourself a favor and listen to these. I can’t listen to this type of music all the time but when it hits, it HITS. Big rippers.

Bad Bunny – X 100PRE [Rimas Entertainment LLC]
Possibly the biggest artist in the world right now. Latin trap, as they call it. If you don’t hear it here, you’ll likely hear it anywhere else. Production is for the most part insane.

Budgie – Holy Ghost Zone [HGZ]
Gospel samples with Bay Area bounce. The material in the samples themselves is incredible, so whatever is surrounding it is just icing on the cake. Moving both emotionally and physically. Reminds me of the 90s.

El Búho – Camino De Flores [Shika Shika]
Downtempo electronics fused with rainforest field recordings and traditional folk instrumentation from South & Central Americas. A constantly flowering, bubbling and evolving sound.

Hammock – Universalis [Self-Released]
Soothing, emotionally open post rock & ambient. Not a lot of dramatic swells, more music for guided introspection. Goshdarn pretty to boot.

MIKE – War In My Pen [10k]
It’s no wonder MIKE and Earl Sweatshirt are friends. Taps into that same woozy, dimly-lit, chopped-up airspace as Some Rap Songs.

Orchestre Abass – De Bassari Togo [Analog Africa]
Collection of tapes and singles from 1970s Togo, led by organist Malam Issa Abass. Aggressively funky, in a way that kicks up dust and spurs the body to thrash in rhythm.

박혜진 park hye jin  – IF U WANT IT [clipp.art]
A winning combination: house & techno from South Korea with an ice cold emcee. Very barebones and low-key. No barnburners on here, but that’s totally cool.

Silent Servant – Shadows Of Death and Desire [Hospital Productions]
Dark, harrowing, maze-like goth techno + post-punk fusion. Is a techno + post-punk fusion just industrial? Not quite, I don’t think. Sounds like a terrifying villain chasing you.

Twist – Distancing [Buzz Records]
Ultra breezy indie pop rock with an emphasis on guitar lines and subtle psychedelic songwriting maneuvers. Not chock-full of hooks, but the ones present are STRONG. I predict I’ll be seeing a lot of Twist in 2019.