Kali Uchis - Isolation

Score: 8.6 

The debut album from the Colombian-American singer-songwriter rarely feels real. It is like a universe all of her own; in just 45 minutes, she's completely capable of taking, stretching and dominating her sounds and words in admirable ways. And her alluring voice, persona and lyrics are backed up with some gorgeous production that goes as far as Damon Albarn, BADBADNOTGOOD, Thundercat and Tame Impala's Kevin Parker. Isolation pays close attention and tribute to its title, but does so with a remarkable ability to switch, turn, possess, enchant, stab and manipulate. It's, in other words, a tremendously asserting starting point for the artist.

Tracks I like the most: Just A Stranger, Your Teeth In My Neck, Tyrant, Dead To Me, Nuestro Planeta, In My Dreams, Tomorrow, Coming Home (Interlude)

Tracks I like the least: Flight 22

Artist: Kali Uchis

Country: Colombia/United States

Album: Isolation

Released: 06/04/2018

Genres: Alternative R&B, Hypnagogic Pop, Neo Soul, Bossa Nova, Reggaeton, Hip Hop, Funk

Length: 46:30

Sons Of Kemet - Your Queen Is A Reptile

Score: 9.0 

British ensemble's third album is the record we've all been waiting for since the group started releasing music: nine extraordinary pieces of exhilarating jazz that seamlessly fuse with African and Latin rhythms to concoct cerebral, magnetic, highly organic and, at times, unstoppably frenetic homages to different women who made history at their times but are not as recognised, valued or remembered nowadays. 

Yes, we might be admiring reptiles and ghosts from past eras, but this collection of tracks is nonetheless among the most colourful, original and life-affirming pieces of art anyone with at least a pinch of social sensibility can come across throughout 2018. It's music this heavy that can change the world. Let it change yours too!

Tracks I like the most: My Queen Is Ada Eastman, My Queen Is Mamie Phipps Clark, My Queen Is Harriet Tubman, My Queen Is Angela Davis, My Queen Is Yaa Asantewaa

Tracks I like the least: My Queen Is Albertina Sisulu

Artist: Sons Of Kemet

Country: United Kingdom

Album: Your Queen Is A Reptile

Released: 30/03/2018

Genres: Jazz, Latin, Afrobeat, Experimental, Free Improvisation

Length: 55:14

Cardi B - Invasion Of Privacy

Score: 8.5 

It had to happen. Not since Missy Elliott did we see a female rapper this ferociously confident about her own capacities and flaws, and this highly charismatic and hungry for success. Invasion Of Privacy explodes in its own hyperkinetic verses, jungly beats and utterly asserted collaborations, but it's on Cardi's most unstable, vulnerable moments where the record takes off and positions itself as, one may even say, a Lemonade younger sister. What's more, this album is harder proof that B's potential goes way beyond hit "Bodak Yellow" - a rising star to keep both eyes on.

Tracks I like the most: Drip, Bickenhead, Bodak Yellow, Be Careful, I Like It, Thru Your Phone

Tracks I like the least: Money Bag

Artist: Cardi B

Country: United States

Album: Invasion Of Privacy

Released: 06/04/2018

Genres: Hip Hop, Trap, Latin, R&B

Length: 48:13

Jack White - Boarding House Reach

Score: 8.1 

On his third album since going solo, American singer and multi-instrumentalist Jack White defies everything we know about him, his art and persona and, going deeper, about what rock music should stand for. In thirteen cohesive songs, he manages to sound both out of his mind and completely insane as well as in full control of what's going on. Some tracks are tender and thought-provoking, but the vast majority of the record feels as challenging as jaw-dropping. Boarding House Reach, ultimately, is a divisive work that will raise standing ovations and total rejection in equal measures; and it's the most entertaining for that.

Tracks I like the most: Connected By Love, Corporation, Hypermisophoniac, Over And Over And Over, Respect Commander, Get In The Mind Shaft, What's Done Is Done

Tracks I like the least: Why Walk A Dog?, Abulia And Akrasia

Artist: Jack White

Country: United States

Album: Boarding House Reach

Released: 23/03/2018

Genres: Blues Rock, Experimental Rock, Funk, Electronic Rock

Length: 44:07

Dabrye - Three/Three

Score: 7.6 

The third album from Tadd Mullinix finishes a trilogy where he aims to mix his glitchy and sample-based electronic lines with lyrics played by MCs. Three/Three is 19-tracks, almost-an-hour long and is as varied and entertaining as one can imagine, with clever verses expressed by as many voices and song structures. It's a collective force that punches with gut and fear and enthralls with courage and self-sufficiency.

Tracks I like the most: Emancipated, Lil Mufukuz, Pretty, Culture Shuffle

Tracks I like the least: The Appetite, Vert-Horiz

Artist: Dabrye

Country: United States

Album: Three/Three

Released: 16/02/2018

Genres: Hip Hop, Rap, Electronic, Downtempo

Length: 57:28

SOB X RBE - Gangin

Score: 7.0 

The rap group consisting of Yhung T.O., Slimmy B, Lul G and DaBoii presents their newest album Gangin on Empire records. The quality and synchronicity that the quartet displays within each other and with guests is remarkable, and some songs contain truly heavy, catchy beats to bounce your head and body with. On the other hand, there are also moments where you feel the songs repeat themselves a bit too much. Though just 43-minutes long, the record sometimes falls largely dense. A solid package, to say the least; an excess, to say the most.

Tracks I like the most: Carpoolin', Anti Social, Always

Tracks I like the least: The Man Now, List

Artist: SOB X RBE

Country: United States

Album: Gangin

Released: 23/02/2018

Genres: Hip Hop, Rap

Length: 43:19

Lo Moon - Lo Moon

Score: 5.4 

The dream pop American band Lo Moon debuts with a thoroughly crafted record with songs that melt cinematically into one another. Except for the standout track (the already known Loveless) there's little here to appreciate as ground-breaking, or even special. This take on shoegaze-y pop has been made a thousand times in the past, and with much better results. I can't help but think Lo Moon will be as celebrated as archived in music libraries for the years to come, depending on people's current approach and mood.

Tracks I like the most: Loveless, Real Love

Tracks I like the least: The Right Thing

Artist: Lo Moon

Country: United States

Album: Lo Moon

Released: 23/02/2018

Genres: Indie Rock, Dream Pop

Length: 49:35

Starchild & The New Romantic - Language

Score: 7.1 

Bryndon Cook, under his name Starchild & The New Romantic, delivers his first full-length album and delights with his nuanced and complex take on retro-futurism and soul-funk melodies. The record is plagued with rhythm and mood, but the songs are nonetheless somewhat undercooked and lacking vigour or ambition to surpass the album's already established intentions on first place. It's a small victory for the artist, but one cannot help but imagine that bigger ones will come in the future.

Tracks I like the most: Language, Hands Off, Black Diamond

Tracks I like the least: Ophelia's Room, Doubts

Artist: Starchild & The New Romantic

Country: United States

Album: Language

Released: 23/02/2018

Genres: Indie Pop, Funk, Soul, R&B, Hip Hop, Electronic

Length: 48:42

Abhi The Nomad - Marbled

Score: 7.8 

The newest full-length album from Austin-based rapper and singer Abhi The Nomad sweetly fuses hip hop with indie rock and pop to create smooth, groovy tracks that usually feel like inner conversations and realizations about life, friends, society, religion and the inevitable cycles of life. Marbled itches with its alluringly kitschy tones and ambitious production, and it's a captivating manifesto from a self-proclaimed outcast that knows and enjoys his game.

Tracks I like the most: Dogs, Marbled, Sex N' Drugs, Letter For God, So Long

Tracks I like the least: Somebody To Love

Artist: Abhi The Nomad

Country: United States

Album: Marbled

Released: 09/02/2018

Genres: Hip Hop, Rap, Indie Rock, Indie Pop

Length: 46:58

Young Echo - Young Echo

Score: 7.4 

The newest release from Young Echo Records mixes hip hop with dub, ambient and pinches of jazz. Most of the tracks are soaked in reverb and effects, but it's curious to see through and within them and catch the introspectively emotional lyrics that the songs contain. The album cannot sustain its momentum throughout its 24 tracks, but it's at least a pretty interesting addition to prove what experimental rap can achieve.

Tracks I like the most: Rocksteady, Oh, Won't You, Baron, Home

Tracks I like the least: Transmission, Pt. 1

Artist: Young Echo

Country: United Kingdom

Album: Young Echo

Released: 16/02/2018

Genres: Experimental Hip Hop, Rap, Electronic, Dub, Noise, Jazz

Length: 58:43