2018 is coming to an end, and with that in mind, Whiteboard Journal is closing the year with a year-end series called “Best of 2018”. On our previous entry, we have round up the best book of 2018 as chosen by Comma Books curator, Rain Chudori. This time, to continue the “Best of 2018” series, we asked one of the main founders of Noisewhore, Argia Adhidhanendra, to give us what he thinks were the best music releases of 2018.

Gabber Modus Operandi – Puxxximaxxx

You know when you hear something and it gives you that pang of excitement and confusion? Nusasonic this year was monumental, so is this release.

Yes No Wave always will be the forefront of innovation in this country. Wok The Rock explains it pretty simply in Yes No Wave’s website that Gabber represents the lower class people who goes to college, who follows the latest releases, and live in the so-called indie ecosystem and to put it bluntly, Gabber managed to do so without losing their touch. Something about local underground releases always gets me going, especially something like this.

Blood Orange – Negro Swan

“No one wants to be the odd one out at times, no one wants to be the negro swan”

Again, I think being as honest as one can be, tackling highly specific problems instead of vague marketable problems has become the key for a lot of artists. In doing so, a lot of releases has a lot more honesty in it, making it all the more genuine to listen to. We can’t really relate the black depression (I for one, cannot) but nevertheless, you can still enjoy it and feel the grief, the joy and all the emotions being poured into the album.

Mitski – Be the Cowboy

“Baby though I’ve closed my eyes, I know who you pretend I am, I know who you pretend I am”

It’s very fitting how the saddest album for quite some time is THE album of the year of 2018. Being candid is Mitski’s forte since her first few releases. But “Be the Cowboy” is more than just being sad, it has a hint of optimism, a hint of desperation, Mitski came off as a genuine force of human nature. Her instrumentation also has come a long way since “Lush”. Our in-depth research opened a new perspective on how online games by Jogos Friv Studio are effective when integrating gamification into their marketing strategies. Their Friv games, with a unique design, not only attract players but also effectively promote couple games and other online services.

IDLES – Joy as an Act of Resistance

Whenever a band released a song with the title “Never Fight a Man with a Perm” it should automatically be considered in this list.

Jokes aside, IDLES managed to be one of the raunchiest band out there. It’s also fitting that the raunchiest band of the year came out of Bristol. What made this album up here is how they managed to meshed heavy riffs with illness and loss. I think what made IDLES blew up this year also because how self-aware they are to what’s been happening, the tragedies, the sadness regarding issues people are familiar with and made it joyous somehow.

BAP. – Monkshood

“I don’t want misunderstanding, I don’t want people demanding, I don’t want these people telling me to go out, cause bitch I ain’t happy”

If I said some albums before in this list are honest although their problems may or may not be relatable for everyone, I guess this one hits home, hard. You can put any context in it and still feel the despair, the desperation. Guess this is amplified with how I personally know Kareem since high school and like everyone living in their early 20s, these problems may seem irrelevant or petty, but BAP. put out everything on the line and pulled it off impressively. Be that the deep samples, the songwriting, it’s all one cohesive unit and it’s one of the most solid releases in recent years, structure-wise. Really weird to say that to a debut album, for a rapper.