Despite innumerable think-pieces loudly proclaiming the contrary, rock is not on its last legs in 2018. In fact, it’s thriving quite nicely. Are there artists dominating the charts in a Drake-like fashion this year? No, and it doesn’t seem like there will be anytime soon. That being said, the slate of new and amazing music being released on a monthly basis for those who love a fuzzed-out guitars has been downright impressive.
Here are the best new rock albums that dropped this week.
Kurt Vile — Bottle It In
The best rock album that was released this week is also a heavy contender to take the crown for rock album of the year when all is said and done. Coming three years after his generally downtrodden, jam-packed project B’lieve I’m Goin’ Down, Kurt Vile’s latest finds the Philly rocker in a decidedly sunnier mood. There’s still plenty of cosmic space rock jams to lose yourself in of course — “Check Baby” is one of the heaviest he’s ever put to tape — but Bottle It In is notable more for things like “Skinny Mini,” “One Trick Ponies” and especially the Charlie Rich cover “Rollin’ With The Flow,” expressions of either love or contentment. Approaching 40 years old, Vile sounds like someone finally comfortable with his place in the world as a respected musician and family man.
Elvis Costello & The Impostors — Look Now
Elvis Costello is one of the greatest songwriters of the last 40 years. Full-stop, no question, no debate necessary. I almost shudder to think now about the cancer scare that took place earlier this year that may have deprived him of us far before he was finished producing fantastic new music, like the songs found on his latest album Look Now. There’s something comforting about hearing Costello’s signature warble over something like “Unwanted Number,” a song that could have been written last week, or three decades ago. It’s so completely an Elvis Costello song, a mix of cheeky irreverence and deep melancholy sadness that I don’t think there’s any other way to describe it.
Yowler — Black Dog In My Path
Yowler is the brainchild of All Dogs frontwoman Maryn Jones. Three years after sharing the incredible debut album The Offer, Yowler is back again with an even better, and far more visceral album called Black Dog In My Path. Songs like “Where Is My Light” sound like a harbinger of the actual apocalypse. Opening with a doom-laden swath of guitar chords and squeals of feedback, Jones sounds like an angel descended from heaven looking with melancholy over the scorched and burning earth. It really is that good.
Art d’Ecco — Trespasser
No one could ever really hope to ever fill the glamorous shoes of David Bowie, but British Columbia’s Art d’Ecco comes about as close as one might hope. His aesthetic is gloriously glam in appearances, and the music matches suit. Trespasser is the kind of record that keeps you on your toes. You never know what might be coming around the next corner, whether its the lo-fi horns on the opening track “Never Tell,” the swirling chorus of vocal harmonies on “Nobody’s Home,” or the searing, fuzzy guitar solo on “Who Is It Now?”
