The two smoothest cats in town, producer and well-travelled instrumentalist Shawn Lee and singer/songwriter Andy Platts, have combined their considerable talents once more to give us a sophomore sailing experience. The overall dynamic is surprisingly versatile, jumping between soulful folk-rock toetapping ('Midnight In Richmond'), some deft horn sections and some Earth Wind & Fire-esque backing choruses ('Love Guarantee', 'Kingston Boogie') and even a weird story where Lenny Kravitz owns a bar ('Lenny').

All that said, the album is immaculate and punchy in all the right ways. These guys probably adore this kind of music even more than I do. While I really enjoyed their debut West End Coast a few years back, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically, with AM Waves. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost.

So unless you have an axe to grind in your highrise, take a few minutes and catch some waves. It's great stuff.

Some ridiculously potent and heavy space rock madness straight outta Finland, and gloriously hypnotic without falling into the usual repetitive traps that their competitors get snagged on. There's also a plethora of instruments, including some generous Mellotron on the aptly labeled 'Floating' and some rippin' sax on 'Tyhjyyden Mantra', which thrums away at lightspeed and doesn't look back once it gets rolling.

Dynamism is not something I find all that often in space rock these days: too many players concerned with the groove and not enough on the song structures. But somehow Deep Space Destructors have succeeded where so many others don't, and Visions From The Void jams adamantium-hard as a result.

Lengthy yet consistently engaging black metal with a Western cinematic bent here n' there. These guys hail from Denver, which puts them in decent proximity to the kind of scenery that would inspire them. More often than not, World's Blood comes across as a radically alternative soundtrack to some Director's Cut of the epic Jeremiah Johnson or perhaps the notoriously unfilmable Blood Meridian. Definitely not a scary black metal album, but a lonely, expansive one. It conjures images of mountainous desolation rather than guys in goatskins spit-roasting a baby. I even hear hints of Morriocone and late 80's Steve Roach, though not in some emotionally derivative sense.

Very subtly done all in all, but just open enough to where you can get a sense of what lies behind the curtain. Take a gander.

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Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion

Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND:

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Although founded relatively recently, Kikagaku Moyo have a deft, entrancing approach to psychedelia that makes them sound like decades old masters at the practice. And, for what it's worth, the hype is definitely well deserved: they come across as one of those missing link ensembles that dwell between the breezy classic Krautrock of Can (their early 70's period) and the harder edged sound of, say, The Boredoms at their mindbending peak. My favorite cut actually shows up in the second half: the dreamlike and vaporwave-tinged 'Orange Peel', which comes in like a breeze off the ocean and wouldn't be out of place on a "Great A E S T H E T I K Studying Music To Mushrooms" playlist on YouTube.

This particular record (and it's South Korean twin, which will show up later on my top ten) have an amazing sense of atmosphere, whatever your proclivities as a listener. If you haven't picked this one up, you are definitely missing out!

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Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion

Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND:

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Some of you know that I was pretty enamoured by that debut Fever Daydream by The Black Queen awhile back...AKA Greg Puciato's first major post Dillinger Escape Plan outing. Along with two ex-Nine Inch Nails members (Joshua Eustis and guitarist Steven Alexander), Puciato really channels his inner New Romantic to wonderful effect with this project. Where Infinite Games differs from the first album, however, is in a willingness to embrace a more consistent overall mood and sense of experimentation across the breadth of the songs, feeding into what feels almost like a concept record at times. Like Trent Reznor, some tracks here explore abstract textures that border on postmodern electronica (like 'Your Move') instead of going for dark pop grandeur.

That's not to say there isn't some hooky fun to be had. 'Thrown Into The Dark' is a killer mix of NIN-production theatrics and late 80's Depeche Mode that might have had a home on the charts back then alongside Fine Young Cannibals and the like, though Greg and friends are far better songwriters than some of the usual suspects. The bouncy IDM flavored 'Spatial Boundaries' and emotionally pulsative closer 'One Edge Of Two' have some fairly compelling melodies too, though your mileage will vary depending on how much you like this album's bass-heavy style.

This album was one of my most anticipated for 2018 overall and it ended up delivering in spades. If you aren't struck by a massive sense of immediacy during your first spins, don't fret: this is wraithlike, beautiful music that will blanket you like a moss before your none the wiser.