Best Southern Albums of 2018

December 22, 2018 8:10 PM

Music that touches our collective desire, as Southerners, to learn about, to understand, and to have empathy for others. That said, we saw the South’s music evolve in meaningful ways in 2018. Music trails culture, it seems, by about a year. In 2016, the whole nation ran headlong into significant change (some would say trauma). We expected musicians to respond, but in 2017 they were just beginning to write songs in reaction. It takes a while to get albums finished and released.

This year, their responses arrived. We heard fierce, angry protest songs coming from all corners — rappers like Atlanta’s J.I.D, punk rockers like North Carolina’s Superchunk, alt-country acts like Will Hoge and American Aquarium, and from genuine pop stars like Janelle Monáe.

posted by MovableBookLady (11 comments total)

I own only three of these albums so far (Gautier, Prine & Monae), but it looks like there's a lot of great new music there to discover. To help me (and you) do that, I've compiled this Spotify playlist from 28 of the list's favourite tracks.
posted by Paul Slade at 3:58 AM on December 23, 2018 [10 favorites]

This is a really great roundup of albums I would have otherwise missed. Listening to Benton County Relic by Cedric Burnside as I type this and holy shit is this a dirty and groovy album. It has that "toe-tapping" feel to it.
posted by Fizz at 4:32 AM on December 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

The new Superchunk album is great. The sound is their classic sound, but the lyrics are front-to-back trying to make sense of 2018. It's therapeutic.

I will have to check out some of these others, too.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:28 AM on December 23, 2018

I'm in love with Rayland Baxter. https://youtu.be/-6VKdDcDCBY
posted by james33 at 5:53 AM on December 23, 2018

I got to see Lucy Dacus play in a tiny venue and I doubt that I'll have that chance again, I can see her getting much more popular.
posted by octothorpe at 8:12 AM on December 23, 2018

I got 30 great songs and about 5 new t-shirts out of this list. I’m wearing a BA Will Hoge T-shirt right now.
posted by ftm at 8:17 AM on December 23, 2018

That Ashley McBryde album is especially noteworthy. The title track "Girl Going Nowhere" and "A Little Dive Bar In Dahlonega" are part of my 2018 favourites playlist.
posted by HillbillyInBC at 6:34 PM on December 23, 2018

Just +1ing that this seems like a great list. Golden Hour was my most listened to album by far. Just discovered Dirty Computer and holy cow, really check that out if you haven’t. It’s this crazy blend of super fun, fucking furious, and sentimental. Those were the only two I knew so - downloaded the rest!
posted by Buckt at 9:15 PM on December 23, 2018

Thank you for sharing. I have a feeling I will be spending massive amounts of money that I should not.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 9:11 AM on December 24, 2018

Been listening all afternoon to the Spotify playlist from the article and it's amazing, especially Lonnie Holley's "I Snuck off the Slave Ship".
posted by maggiemaggie at 1:47 PM on December 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

The Bitter Southerner Podcast covers the top 12 selections.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:31 PM on January 5, 2019 [1 favorite]