DoofDoof
doofy
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Reviews 24
Approval 90%

Soundoffs 145
Album Ratings 9371
Objectivity 87%

Last Active 12-19-22 9:35 pm
Joined 06-08-18

Review Comments 15,016

 Lists
03.22.24 Sputnik’s Sacred Chows02.02.24 Doof: a Top 100... minus My Top 100
01.31.24 Putting the Smile on Radiohead01.27.24 Doof’s Top Shows 2023
01.08.24 Doof 2024 Deep Dive Potential New Favou01.02.24 Doof Top Albums 2023
09.14.23 Recent Doof Digs07.31.23 Genre no 2. Doof Electronic
07.27.23 COMPLETED: 1997 Deepest Dive04.18.23 COMPLETED: 1998 Deepest Dive
01.03.23 COMPLETED: 1994 Deepest Dive01.02.23 Doof’s Top Shows 2022
12.19.22 Doof Top Albums 2022 06.01.22 Top 10 Most Smug Songs
03.15.22 Doof 2022 Deep Dive Potential New Favou03.13.22 200,000 Doof Scrobbles - Most Listened
02.23.22 Lanegan top 10 albums12.11.21 Doof's Top 100 Albums 2021
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Doof's 2018 AOTY Top 100

With percentage scores, hold your excitement. I tried out approx 500 releases this year so consider these the top 20%. Enjoy 'em.
1Exit North
Book of Romance and Dust


[95%]

This album topping this chart says big things about my opinion of the quality of 2018...not the most positive things really. Sure there's been some great stuff...but not so much in the 'world beater' category. You see this album could feasibly have been released at any time in the last ten years - it has nothing in common with anything out there in the musical landscape right now. This is like an old galleon dredged from the bottom of the ocean placed in the same showroom as all the 2018 release motor boats. I'm that one Pugwash dude who still wants to buy the decrepit galleon. At least Tom has saved 2018 the indignity of being the first year to not have a Doof rated 5/5 release, so great timing in a way...
2Ben Howard
Noonday Dream


[92%]

So this could be considered the 'true' first choice offering of 2018, though again, tis a bit of an outlier. Howard seems to be channeling all his most abstract impulses and there's a faint whiff of 'World of Echo' here, combined with a certain natural/pastoral bent. This really feels like an artist following their own muse 100%, a little labour of love. Where to next for Ben?
3Paddy Hanna
Frankly, I Mutate


[91%]

Oh Paddy, where the hell did you appear from? Thank the Lords of RYM I stumbled across this one - if any album has dominated my year it is 'Frankly I Mutate' - so if you want a Sunhouse Doof meme for 2018 then this is your boy I guess. A diverse set of tunes but it all hangs together thanks to Paddy perhaps having some innate feel for such things, the track flow really pops. One to watch if you still need that spelling out to you.
4Thom Yorke
Suspiria


[88%]

...aaaaand a little dip in the scores. And a soundtrack. What the hell? Well yes, I warned you, 2018. Still, this is something special, nearly phenomenally special, but sadly only regular special. The lesser spotted Thommy Knocker spreading his solo wings and entering uncharted territory for him - some of the atmospheres he conjures here are creepy and/or intense as all hell. Bravo.
5Tropical Fuck Storm
A Laughing Death in Meatspace


[87%]

I enjoyed the last Drones album but it was perhaps a bit mannered now you look back after listening to this...rabid thing? The guitars have been unleashed and the sense of mania and frenzy has ramped up exponentially. Similar to 'Feelin Kinda Free' the lyrics pull no punches but always throw some absurdist comical observations in there to make sure things don't get too 'loony with a 'The End is Nigh' sign round their neck'.
6Ex-Isles
Luxury Mass


[87%]

This part should be where I give a big shout out to Anatelier for going above and beyond on Bandcamp in 2018 identifying absolutely stellar releases like this one way ahead of the curve. He has a very identifiable set of tastes and this album is the 100% pure undiluted stuff. Some stunning overlaid male vocals that put much of the competition (think John Grant, Wild Beasts) to shame, and overall this is one of the most meticulously crafted albums of the year.
7Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
Djarimirri: Child of the Rainbow


[86%]

What a swan song for Dr. (yes, doctor to you, pleb) Geoffrey, this is so powerful it can be overwhelming to try and process if you attempt a listen in the wrong moment. Get it right and this is something else, to the point for the longest while I did consider this was going to end up my AOTY 2018. The dude was a true...brace yourselves...Ab-original. Good night, you can stop throwing roses and money onto the stage.
8low
Double Negative


[86%]

They've only gone and pulled a 'FLOTUS'. Again, it works! Except, not quite to a Doof AOTY degree as some of this gets a bit too ordinary. The peaks however are some of the best music of 2018 for me, no doubt.
9Eleanor Friedberger
Rebound


[85%]

My female artist of the year believeitornot. I've talked about this, pimped it to everyone, reviewed it, ducked and dived, hustled...none of you like it. Nonetheless, here it lands.
10A.A.L. (Against All Logic)
2012-2017


[85%]

My AOTY decoy! Always unlikely to hold onto a 5/5 and so it proves...although this is still a high quality sideline from Jaar and for the first four tracks you can kid yourself into thinking 'could this be a classic?'. The truth is there is a little flab, but only a little. It's impressive how Jaar manages to put in his usual sonic ticks and personality into a very different format- basically yer more straightforward n' danceable soulful house.
11Damien Jurado
The Horizon Just Laughed


[84%]

Soulful folk
12Bearcubs
Ultraviolet


[84%]

'Shout-out-to-Potsy-glitchy-James Blake-y-r n' b-informed-electronic' is the genre
13Anna and Elizabeth
The Invisible Comes to Us


[83%]

Trad Appalachian folk meets avant experimental flourishes
14Harmony Rockets
Lachesis Clotho Atropos


[83%]

Psychedelic part improvised jam rock spectacular featuring everyone
15Yves Tumor
Safe in the Hands of Love


[82%]

Ambient/noise electronic meets art pop
16Beach House
7


[82%]

Beach House make their 'rock album', it all sounds more widescreen/fuller
17Daughters
You Won't Get What You Want


[81%]

Jesus Lizard-y noise rock given an apocalyptic experimental drench
18Anna von Hausswolff
Dead Magic


[81%]

Church organ and witchy/banshee vocals to chill the bones
19Suss
Ghost Box


[80%]

Ambient meets country is my new favourite sleepytimes genre
20Sons of Kemet
Your Queen Is a Reptile


[80%]

Free wheeling nu-jazz with some conscious spoken word perfectly woven in
21David Byrne
American Utopia


[80%]

The king of quirky intelligence returns
22The Necks
Body


[80%]

Hour long 'more rocking' effort from the jazzy minimalists that feels more like three interlinked 'suites'
23Advance Base
Animal Companionship


[79%]

Grandaddy-ish near-concept album about why dog lovers > cat lovers for now and ever more, peaceout
24Skee Mask
Compro


[79%]

Old school referencing ambient techno bliss
25Astronauts, etc.
Living In Symbol


[79%]

Kitsch low key pop nuggets
26Richard Swift
The Hex


[79%]

Faintly psychedelic rambling pop experiments
27Oneohtrix Point Never
Age Of


[79%]

'Logical continuation of 'Garden of Delete' but not as vital' typically strange sound collage plunder stuff, this time with half an eye on eighties pop
28Colter Wall
Songs of the Plains


[78%]

A 'better voice than Johnny Cash' country artist, without quite the same charisma mind
29Will Oldham
Songs of Love and Horror


[78%]

Rerecorded versions of Oldham classics allowing Will to showoff his 'as close to buttery smooth as I go' singing
30Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Hope Downs


[78%]

Easy breezy jangly indie rock
31Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids
An Angel Fell


[78%}

Afro spiritual jazz
32Ed Schrader's Music Beat
Riddles


[78%]

Spiky art rock/post-punk
33Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Sparkle Hard


[78%]

'No longer lo fi' indie pop
34Cloud Nothings
Last Building Burning


[77%]

Back to propulsive and noisy indie rock/a little post-hardcore
35Matt Maltese
Bad Contestant


[77%]

Oh so very droll indie pop/chamber pop
36Parquet Courts
Wide Awake


[77%]

'More Parquet Courts'-core
37Protus Opus
Screaming Eagle


[77%]

Mixed genre sample based electronic
38Cult Of The Damned
Part Deux: Brick Pelican Posse Crew Gang Syndicate


[77%]

UK Hip hop - also calling this hip hop of the year
39Elvis Costello
Look Now


[77%]

Costello goes Bowie as dame/show tunes
40Avantdale Bowling Club
Avantdale Bowling Club


[77%]

Jazzy conscious hip hop
41Leon Vynehall
Nothing Is Still


[77%]

Downtempo/near ambient with experimental embellishments
42No Age
Snares Like A Haircut


[77%]

Retro '90s referencing alt rock
43********
The Drink


[77%]

Bedsit weird post-punk/experimental YouTube non-hit now officially released
44Evil Blizzard
The Worst Show on Earth


[76%]

Clowncore
45gas
Rausch


[76%]

Ambient that sounds a lot like Gas...oh, it's actually Gas
46Bill Ryder-Jones
Yawn


[76%]

Red House Painters 'Rollercoaster' referencing shoegaze/slowcore/indie
47Rosehall
The First Requisite Is Life


[76%]

Indie folk/field recording/experimental with a little Sufjan/Grizzly Bear in the mix
48Melody's Echo Chamber
Bon Voyage


[76%]

Psychedelic 'anything goes'
49Toby Driver
They Are the Shield


[76%]

Ever more grandiose neo classical flavoured pop
50Turnstile
Time and Space


[76%]

Hardcore with a helluva big hard on for Nirvana
51Dogwood Tales
Too Hard to Tell


[76%]

Understated alt country
52Viagra Boys
Street Worms


[76%]

Rough around the gills post-punk from Sweden
53Jennifer Castle
Angels of Death


[76%]

Old school '70s singer songwriter style folk
54Aidan Moffat and RM Hubbert
Here Lies The Body


[75%]

Spoken word/folk
55Eleventeen Eston
At the Water


[75%]

Hypnagogic electronic with added nostalgia
56Blawan
Wet Will Always Dry


[75%]

Intense techno
57Voivod
The Wake


[75%]

Metal album of the year/ 'progressive but actually not too extreme' thrash
58Richmond Fontaine
Don’t Skip Out on Me


[75%]

Instrumental alt country soundtrack album based around the novel of the same name
59Nils Frahm
All Melody


[75%]

Minimal ambient/piano
60Currensy, Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist
Fetti


[74%]

Definitively the short (under 25 minutes) hip hop album of the year - eat your heart out Kanye West, ah hahahha
61Devon Welsh
Dream Songs


[74%]

Spiritual sounding art pop/chamber pop
62John Prine
The Tree Of Forgiveness


[74%]

'Wise old bird can still crease you up' deadpan country
63E Ruscha V
Who Are You


[74%]

Balearic sunshine-y ambient wooze
64IDLES
Joy as an Act of Resistance


[74%]

Clever arse and quite pop-y punk
65Mid-Air Thief
Crumbling


[74%]

Folktronica exists in Korea
66Wasuremono
Something Left Behind


[74%]

Experimental indie/dream pop
67Hookworms
Microshift


[74%]

Psychdelic indie rock, a bit of kraut - 'it's all over now, whoops -metoo' core
68S. Carey
Hundred Acres


[73%]

Pastoral easy listening indie folk fluff
69Jon Hopkins
Singularity


[73%]

'Impressive but a bit overly cerebral' ambient/house
70Stick In The Wheel
Follow Them True


[73%]

Trad UK folk with a bit of experimentation bubbling under
71Kurt Vile
Bottle It In


[73%]

'Someone's found a nice niche to sell records haven't they just?'-core
72Amen Dunes
Freedom


[73%]

Widescreen a bit like War on Drugs anthemic indie pop/rock
73Cowboy Junkies
All That Reckoning


[73%]

Decent alt country/dream pop comeback
74George Clanton
Slide


[73%]

He's on the slide. Literally. It's more polished than before. Somehow not quite as good.
75Beak (UK)
>>>


[73%]

Experimental rock/kraut from Portishead chap now realising this might be his main gig
76Angelique Kidjo
Remain in Light


[73%]

Uh uh, oh no she didn't. Oh yes she did.
77Iceage
Beyondless


[72%]

'Art punk' they call it
78Mark Kozelek
Mark Kozelek


[72%]

The most Mark Kozelek thing ever, 10 out of 10.
79The Voidz
Virtue


[72%]

Mix tape aesthetic indie pop confection, sometimes annoying
80Hermit and the Recluse
Orpheus vs. The Sirens


[72%]

Thinking man's hip hop according to the sticker on the cover
81Palberta
Roach Goin' Down


[72%]

Art punk grrrrrls with a GSOH
82Frog Eyes
Violet Psalms


[72%]

Indie experimental oddness
83Nickelus F
Stuck


[72%]

Abstract n' bespectacled hip hop/trap
84The Field
Infinite Moment


[72%]

This sounds like The Field...oh it's actually The Field
85Gavin Miller
Meander Scars


[72%]

Waft away ultralight folk beam
86Mr. Fingers
Cerebral Hemispheres


[72%]

'Party like it's a long time ago' house
87Hot Snakes
Jericho Sirens


[72%]

Punk-y garage rawk looking rad surfin that tube bro - where my wig go?
88City Calm Down
Echoes In Blue


[72%]

Goth-y 'we smell like Robert Smith's armpit crust' post-punk
89Denzel Curry
TA13OO


[71%]

Probably has something to do with 'cloud' hip hop/trap
90ESCAPE-ISM
The Lost Record


[71%]

DIY doofus electro-punk funnies
91Micah P. Hinson
When I Shoot At You With Arrows...


[71%]

Croaky americana/folk
92Buffalo Tom
Quiet and Peace


[71%]

Old school alt rock
93sleep
The Sciences


[71%]

Sleeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Always sound the same.
94Cat Power
Wanderer


[71%]

Not bad singer/songwriter amricana folk-y return from a one time great
95Tim Hecker
Konoyo


[71%]

'Put this up here to look intelligent but I only listened to it once in full' - The Album
96Nathan Salsburg
Third


[71%]

Lovely acoustic minimalism
97kraus
Path


[70%]

Noisy DIY shoegaze
98Phosphorescent
C'est La Vie


[70%]

Cheesy 'I'm sick of looking at these beards now' hipster patter americana/pop rock
99Robyn
Honey


[69%]

Over half of this is a really impressive pop/dance crossover record.
100rhye
Blood


[69%]

Not so hot second effort but I listened to it a lot anyway and it's still pretty nice so it gets the 100 spot.
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