For the next edition of our end of year guest posts, we have Mike Cummings of math rock band Backwoods Payback and his Top Albums of 2018. Backwoods Payback just released their new album Future Slum and toured all over making a bigger name for themselves. Mike Cummings shared his not-quite-top-ten list with us, but here at Ghost Cult, we are a judgement free zone for guest posters! We’ll be sharing more lists, memories, and other shenanigans from our favorite bands, partners, music industry peers, and other folks we respect across the globe all month long.
My top records of 2018:
I only listed 6 albums because these are the 6 that have not left my stereo. There were a ton of great demos and EPs I was able to score along the way this year, but these 6 albums are the ones that I will remember 2018 for.
Drug Church – CHEER
This is a record I have been waiting for all year. When Drug Church started releasing singles for the record (Weed Pin) earlier in 2018 I knew whenever CHEER finally saw the light of day that it was going to top my list for favorite records this year. The music, the melodies and especially the cynical but completely relatable lyrics are what drove this right to the top. “Hard to choose a career, when you’re bad at everything”
Amigo The Devil – Everything is Fine
I had the chance to tour alongside Amigo The Devil back in 2015. We did two weeks of solo shows in dive bars and listening rooms across the country. In that time I was lucky enough to hear the formation of some of the songs on this long awaited full length from him. These songs are stories from the darkest corners of Americana. Heartbreakers through and through. NO ONE is doing this like Danny. Dare I say no one ever has.
Boygenius – Boygenius EP
This record came out of nowhere for me when my best friend sent me the link to it. I have been a fan of Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers for a bit now and this record they made with Lucy Dacus just blows me away. Its 6 songs, its like 20 minutes long and I have had it on repeat since the day it was released. We got to see their second performance of it ever in Brooklyn last month and it gave me shivers. Ketchum, ID is about as close as you can get to describing this life we live making songs and being on the road to the folks we leave at behind at home.
Brandi Carlisle – By The Way, I Forgive You
Another record that kind of hit me at a moment I wasn’t expecting it to. I grew up listening to folk and country records from the mid-70s. This record takes me right back to those moments playing tapes in my first car. Driving to nowhere, and taking my time getting there. “by the way I forgive you, after all maybe I should thank you for giving me what I’ve found, because without you around I’ve been doing just fine, except for any time I hear that song”
Hold Down The Ocean – The Symmetry of Odd Numbers
This band is made of members of one of my all-time favorite bands (that I ended up joining!) All Else Failed. Think early 90s, massive open sonic waves. Each one layering on top of the last building like a tidal wave until finally…again lyrically just absolutely soul-crushing stuff. Hits way hard the darker the days get at the end of the year.
https://holddowntheocean.bandcamp.com/album/the-symmetry-of-odd-numbers
Windhand – Eternal Return
Windhand’s brand new record is their best. Hands down. It has such a hook through the whole thing. ‘Grey Garden’ became my go to song getting in the car the day it was released. The total Sub Pop vibe, Jack Endino’s production gives this thing is unmistakable. It’s so refreshing to hear a band continue to not so much reinvent themselves but fully embrace the intricacies that make them so memorable. This record is the record I have always hoped to hear them make!
Honorable mention:
Backwoods Payback – Future Slum
Its cliché to pick your own record for a list like this, but it’s the best thing I have ever been a part of making. This record is the sound of Backwoods Payback finally settling into ourselves. We are super proud of it.