This year we put it to our readers to vote for their choice as to what music released in 2018 was the best. We chose to split up the voting by ALBUM and EP. Well the votes have been tallied, and we are happy to announce our two winners!
Album Of The Year 2018
Winning Album Of The Year by a considerable amount is Endless Heights‘ Vicious Pleasure! Releasing early this year on 16th February, Endless Heights’ sophomore album has clearly left an impression upon listeners. With Vicious Pleasure, Joel Martorana, Julian Diaz, Matt Jones, Christian Hrdina, and Jem Siow directed their attention toward the known ‘pleasures’/crutches/comforts that are also damaging or not necessarily helpful.
From the foggy mystique of “Taste It” through to the freeing conclusion of “Heart Of Your Lie”, the album hits gritty peaks of finger pointing frustration as well as breathtaking moments of intimacy. We’re never not in love with the ethereal presence that Endless Heights seems to craft, and that stunning guitar tone, not to mention how well they nail these songs in a live setting.
Read our review | Read more articles about Endless Heights | Spotify
EP Of The Year 2018
Winning the majority of the votes for EP of the year was Thornhill‘s Butterfly. I’m not entirely sure what the odds are of a website’s Album Of The Year and an EP Of The Year both being released on the very same day, but that’s exactly what’s happened here! Another February 16th release, Butterfly got everyone talking about ‘this Thornhill band’, and seemed to be something of a breakthrough for the fresh UNFD signee, despite their earlier release of 13 – EP, and stunning singles “Temperer” and “Limbo”.
Melbourne based Jacob Charlton, Ethan McCann, Ben Maida, Nick Sjogren, and Matt Van Duppen took the opportunity of the six tracks to paint multilayered sonic pictures that are complex as well as drawing. Unified in driven moments through to whispered pensiveness, Thornhill’s tight guitarwork and and rhythmic assault keeps a leash enough on the runaway train of Butterfly for listeners to embrace it. Relative ambiguity of the lyrics also seemed to form a mystique for those who seek to understand more of what is being shared. It seems like Butterfly is something that calls listeners back for more, regardless of where their specific appreciation for music lies.
Read our review | Our interview with Jacob about Butterfly | Spotify
Thank you all for your votes! We also appreciated your feedback about what we do with Depth and what more you’d like to see in 2019.