CJLO Best of 2018

December 22 2018 // Magazine // Features

This incredibly long year is coming to an end. If you read any music publications, you've probably noticed it's list season. A season full of controversy, hot takes, safe choices. Just in time for last minute Christmas gifts, here is what the wonderful people at CJLO liked the most this year.

Francella Fiallos - Station Manager and Host of Superconnected, Monday 11 a.m.

Best Albums

  1. Hubert Lenoir - Darlene
    A beautiful, bouncy discovery for me early on in the year that has remained in constant rotation. Hubert Lenoir is a huge force to be reckoned with, so it’s hard to believe that he’s just getting started.

  2. U.S. Girls - In A Poem Unlimited
    It took a while for this album to grow on me, but sometimes genius takes a long time to travel back to you. Meg Remy successfully blended synthy no-wave, disco beats with lyrics about patriarchy and systemic oppression. For me, a winning combination.

  3. Booji Boys - Unknown Pleathers
    Pledging my forever standom to Halifax’s Booji Boys.

  4. Pusha-T - DAYTONA
    I’m not a fan of long (read: bloated) albums, so I was pretty excited to hear an eight-track LP from PUSHA-T. To me, it was a long-awaited antidote to the sprawl found in most modern rap music, most notably with Drake. Also, the first track “If You Know You Know” slaps so hard.

  5. Fucked Up - Dose Your Dreams
    Speaking of sprawling, the latest Fucked Up record is a beast. Complex and layered, while taking influences from several genres that often don’t come to mind when you think of Fucked Up. The last track alone features vocals from Lido Pimienta and Mary Margaret O’Hara, two of my personal high priestesses.

  6. Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer
    Still mad this record did not get Best New Music. To what end, Pitchfork?

  7. THE CARTERS - EVERYTHING IS LOVE
    This record convinced me that Beyonce may be a better rapper than her husband Jay-Z. My one critique of this record was that Beyonce and Jay-Z were not called THE KNOWLES-CARTERS.

  8. Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy
    It’s true that the record is a bit front-loaded, but who among us did not expect - even demand - to hear “I Like It” at any party during the summer? And then “Bodak Yellow.” And then “Bickenhead.” And at that point, you might as well just play the whole record and then hit repeat.

  9. Jeremy Dutcher - Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa
    One of the most stunning records made in ages that confronts the listener with important issues such as language, colonization, and the connection between a people and its land. The 2018 Polaris Prize winner.

  10. Sloan - 12
    A strong offering from Sloan, a band that has never once made a bad record. Do they already have a song in which they tell listeners that if it feels good, do it? Yes. Does their new song about doing what feels good, feel good? Absolutely.

Honourable Mentions:

  • Salomé Leclerc - Les Choses Extérieures
  • S.H.I.T.? - What Do We Stand For
  • Mitski - Be The Cowboy
  • La Force - La Force
  • Brookside Mall - Brookside Mall
  • Jennifer Castle - Angels of Death
  • Bonjay - Lush Life

Best Songs

  1. Hubert Lenoir - “Fille De Personne I-III” - Darlene
    My Donna Summer meets Black Sabbath meets David Bowie dreams have come true.

  2. Ought - “Desire” - Room Inside the World
    Probably tied with Habit for the best Ought song to date.

  3. U.S. Girls - “Time” - In a Poem Unlimited
    It’s a cover, but U.S. Girls makes it entirely their own. My Talking Heads meets ABBA dreams have come true.

  4. Helena Deland - “Perfect Weather for A Storm” - From The Series of Songs “Altogether Unaccompanied”
    I love a good crunchy guitar riff.

  5. Bonjay - “How Come” - Bonjay
    Alana Stuart’s vocals are unbelievable in this song.

  6. Charlotte Day Wilson - “Doubt” by - Stone Woman
    Another vocal stunner showcase.

  7. Janelle Monáe - “Make Me Feel” - Dirty Computer
    If you don’t play this song and then not play Kiss by Prince right after, I don’t even know who you are.

  8. Amen Dunes - “Blue Rose” - Freedom
    My Simple Minds meets U2 dreams have come true.

  9. Jennifer Castle - “Crying Shame” - Angels of Death
    I never relished in shame as much as I have listening to this song.

  10. THE CARTERS - “APESHIT” - EVERYTHING IS LOVE
    I mean, have you REALLY seen a crowd going apeshit?

Best Discoveries of 2018*

*Not bands making records in 2018, necessarily.

  1. Hubert Lenoir
    Talented, brilliant, show-stopper, never-before-seen, once-in-a-lifetime.

  2. DEVO
    I long dismissed DEVO as a novelty band because “Whip It” is both notorious and ludicrous. But, I finally heard the first DEVO record, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, and was blown away by the pulsating, frenetic, nervous energy.

  3. The Clean
    A college rock band from New Zealand making music in the 1980s that’s more enjoyable to listen to than R.E.M. (a hot take, I know.) Their first record, Compilation, has such haunting, mesmerizing songs, such as “Tally Ho” and my personal favourite “Point That Thing Somewhere Else.”

  4. Mister Yellowman
    A reggae star best known for a song called “Zungunzungunzungunzeng,” but really shines through in his debut album, Mister Yellowman.

  5. The Nerves
    High-powered power-pop from L.A. The creators of the song “Hanging on the Telephone,” a song about being left on read with a crush, I think.

  6. Salome LeClerc
    One of the spookiest debut albums I’ve heard. A lush album with vocals that feel like heavy fog descending in the night.

  7. LIZZO
    The people’s rapper. The people’s flautist. The people’s Ursula. LIZZO for World Queen.

Best Obsessions of 2018*

*Not necessarily records or bands from 2018, not ranked either

  1. Queen
    Bohemian Rhapsody, the film, is infuriating because of how wildly inaccurate it is. “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the song, is forever dope.

  2. Metallica
    Covered Queen and won a Grammy! But, I revisited the band late this year after binging (but not purging) Metallica documentaries, of which there are several. I think I have listened to “Eye of the Beholder” off of ...And Justice For All 50,000 times in one night.

  3. Sloan - Twice Removed
    An album I asked my friends to listen to so that they can appreciate finer details such as the lyrics to the song “Penpals” and Jay’s vocals in “Snowsuit Sound.” Officially requesting this to be on my tombstone: “It’s not the band I hate, it’s the fans.”

  4. The B-52s - The B-52s
    “Rock Lobster” isn’t even the best song off the record. I would put my money on “Dance This Mess Around.”

  5. The Replacements
    I read Trouble Boys by Bob Mehr and I fell very much in love with these frustrating, obfuscating weirdos from Minneapolis. Every Replacements record to me is perfect, even All Shook Down.

  6. Ringo Starr
    The Beatles, ranked:
    1. Yoko Ono
    2. Ringo Starr
    3. John Lennon
    4. George Harrison
    5. Pete Best
    6. Billy Preston
    7. Paul McCartney. (Don’t @ me.)

  7. Prince
    Another weirdo from Minneapolis who made incredible records. I once had to DJ an art gallery drag show and my instructions were to play “artsy, quirky, oldie, contemporary songs.” So naturally, I played a lot of Prince.

  8. Steely Dan
    People around CJLO (read: Allison and Zach) are starting to know me as The Steely Dan Person, which is such an honour.

  9. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
    Celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and its quirkiness still lives on in the hearts of outcasts in high schools everywhere. When I first heard this album in 11th grade, I didn’t really understand the appeal. But upon further reflecting on the time that was 1998, a (kind of) pre-internet, post-grunge world, it’s bizarre to me that here was this album with a bagpipe jam, lyrics about Anne Frank, and loving Jesus Christ. I’ve thought a lot about this record, maybe more than any of the records listed here.

Allison O’Reilly - Program Director and Co-Facilitator of the CJLO Women’s Collective

Top 15 Releases

  • American Pleasure Club  - A Whole Fucking Lifetime of This

  • Soccer Mommy - Clean

  • Booji Boys - Unknown Pleathers

  • Jeff Rosenstock - POST

  • BBQT - ALL FOR SHOW

  • Rotten Column - Are We Not Bags

  • Cloud Nothings - Last Building Burning by

  • Swearin’ - Fall Into the Sun

  • IDLES - Joy as an Act of Resistance

  • SOPHIE - Oil Of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides

  • Superchunk - What a Time To Be Alive

  • Mitski - Be The Cowboy

  • Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

  • The Body - I Have Fought Against It, But I Can’t Any Longer by

  • JPEGMAFIA - Veteran

  • Iceage - Beyondless

  • FRIGS - Basic Behaviour

TOP 15 SONGS OF 2018 AKA SONGS I PUT ON REPEAT A LOT

  • SOPHIE -  “Immaterial”

  • The 1975 - “TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME”

  • Cloud Nothings - “Leave Him Now”

  • Kurt Vile - “Check Baby”

  • Nap Eyes - “Every Time the Feeling”

  • Ryan Hemsworth - “Four Seasons”

  • Washing Machine - “Saint Rita’s Baby”

  • Mineral - “Aurora”

  • Playboi Carti - “Shoota (ft. Lil Uzi Vert)”

  • Parquet Courts - “Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience”

  • Motherhood - “Pick of the Pugs”

  • Frankie Cosmos - “Accommodate”

  • U.S. Girls - “Incidental Boogie”

  • Car Seat Headrest - “Bodys”

  • Camp Cope - “The Opener”

TOP 10 BEST SHOWS OF 2018

  • Radiohead at Bell Centre

  • Martha at The Clocktower (Ottawa Explosion Weekend)

  • Rotten Column and Washing Machine at the Sackville Legion (Sappyfest)

  • Hubert Lenoir at La Sala Rossa

  • Fiddlehead at La Plante

  • Yaeji at Centre Phi

  • Mitski at Club Soda

  • Superchunk at Bowery Ballroom

  • Thou at Saint Vitus

  • The Breeders at Theatre Corona

Most Memorable CJLO Moment of the Year

A three-way tie between the zine launch for SCORNED, our outrageously chaotic Big Shiny Tunes cover show, or my favorite metal band Pallbearer (!!!) doing a live session in the Oven. Every moment at CJLO is memorable!

Zakary Slax - Music Director & Host of Slax Trax, Monday 6 p.m.

10 LPs

  • Daughters - You Won't Get What You Want

  • Kamasi Washington - Heaven/Earth

  • La Luz - Floating Features

  • Lonely Parade - The Pits

  • Low - Double Negative

  • Noname - Room 25

  • Sleep - The Sciences

  • Stephen Malkmus - Sparkle Hard

  • Tim Hecker - Konoyo

  • Yo La Tengo - There's a Riot Going On

5 Trax

  • Bernice - "He's The Moon"

  • Rotten Column - "I'm a Bag"

  • Rick White - "Tomorrow"

  • Sick Thoughts - "Black Leather Glove"

  • Yee Grlz - "S.A.D."

Best CJLO Memories

Interviewing Jean-Hervé Peron of Krautrock legends Faust, Meeting the drummer of 60's garage rock obscuros 'The Zakary Thaks' and having him call out my stage name, and getting a photo with Nardwuar the Human Serviette

Andrew Wieler - Metal Music Director and Grade A Explosives, Sunday 4 p.m.

Best Albums

10. Ghost - Prequelle
Though I joke that this is by far the greatest 80's stadium rock record of the year, Ghost seems to be perpetually pulling a case of giving people what they didn't even know they wanted. Catchy, dark, and full of Satan, this album has is great though it does fall a bit flat at places.

9. The Ocean - Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic
Oh those crazy Germans and their superbly done albums about another one of the geologic periods of Earth's history. What will they perfect next?

8. A Perfect Circle - Eat the Elephant
A Perfectly solid album that feels like a logical progression. Not as good as their first two records, but it holds its own. But really "The Doomed" makes this record glorious and cannot be denied.

7. Mantar - The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze
Despite the bad grammar in the title, this record rocks hard the way Mantar has come to be known. A heavy, sludgy, and ultimately awesome record delivered by just two people. Oh Germany, what can't you do?

6. Pig Destroyer - Head Cage
Pig Destroyer make a truly ugly record that in its ugliness shows us great beauty. Sure it's slower than previous albums, but being a sludgy, Southern influenced bit of grime is really the shining part of this record.

5. Author & Punisher - Beastland
As an industrial kid, I always hold out hope that it will make a triumphant return, and Beastland reinvigorates my hope that new artists want to jump into the industrial realm and innovate. This record is Skinny Puppy in 2018, and nothing is wrong with that.

4. Dirt Cannon - What Eats You
Southern metalcore still lives and it is embodied by the fine gentlemen in this Quebec group. A bit short, but it makes up for its length with catchy hooks. If you're looking for a bit of a throwback or the second coming of Every Time I Die's The Big Dirty, look no further.

3. Harakiri for the Sky - Arson
Still one of the best "post black metal" bands releasing things today, Harakiri for the Sky is able to produce a heavy, haunting record. Again, this is just two guys, and between them and the fine NYC gents in So Hideous, whatever post black metal is sits in good hands. Deafheaven wishes they could make songs like this.

2. Coheed & Cambria - Vaxis I: The Unheavenly Creatures
After a dismal record about family, Claudio Sanchez finally puts out a record about space bullshit and it's pretty solid. Able to have great jams like "Walk Among Us" and "The Dark Sentencer" next to Prize Fighter Inferno-esque things like "Unheavenly Creatures" really shows the varied ability of the band, and they are better off for it.

1. Zeal & Ardor - Stranger Fruit
It's hard to be original, and Zeal & Ardor is doing more original things than anyone has any right to. Mixing elements of black metal and Southern slave spirituals to a sound that I am calling "Blackened gospel," this second record somehow manages to still sound original even as it gives us more, albeit with more polish, of the first. It even manages to throw in some social commentary starting with the album title. If you slept on this and the last record, you need to get on it, because it is great.

Honorable Mentions

Gost - Garruth
Do you like black metal vocals in your harsh electronica? Then Detroit's Gost has you covered.

CJLO Presents: Burned in The Oven: Volume 2 - It felt wrong of me to put this in the top 10 since I worked on it, but I would be remiss if I didn't take another opportunity to push a record that we at CJLO made thanks to so many bands coming in and rocking out in our recording studio. You can judge how much you love it by going to CJLO's Bandcamp and downloading it for free dollars.

Most Memorable CJLO moment:

A tie between CJLO bringing Destroyer of Light to play at Piranha and Pallbearer stopping by and doing a session in the Oven.

DJ Lady Oracle - Hip Hop Music Director and Co-Host of The Limelight, Saturday at 6 p.m.

Best Albums

  • The Internet - Hive Mind

  • Jai Nitai Lotus - Affirmations

  • Aiza - Adieu

  • Anderson .Paak - Oxnard

  • Bas - Milky Way

  • J Cole - KOD

  • Shad - A Story About War

  • Marco Polo Masta Ace - A Breukelen Story

  • Black Thought - Streams of Thought

  • Stimulator Jones - Exotic Worlds and Masterful Treasures

Favourite Single

  • Childish Gambino - “This is America”
Best Shows

  • Rapsody at Female Hip Hop Showcase SXSW

  • Jai Nitai Lotus Album Launch at Espace Knox

  • H.E.R. at MTELUS

 

Holden Carroll, Electronic Music Director and Host of Multiple Tabs, Wednesday at 11 a.m.

Great Releases of 2018:

Assorted Trax of 2018:

Mixlist 2018:

* denotes hosted by Multiple Tabs

Autotuned Soundcloud Single of the Year:

Alexandre Denis - Mag Editor & Host of Transmission, Tuesday 11 a.m.

Best Albums (in no particular order)

  • Brockett Parsons - The Brockettship

  • Kamaal Williams - The Return

  • U.S. Girls - In a Poem Unlimited

  • Ought - Room Inside the World

  • Yonatan Gat - Universalists

  • Jon Hopkins - Singularity

  • Shopping - The Official Body

  • Superorganism - Superorganism

  • Lydia Kepinski - Premier Juin

  • Knife Knights - 1 Time Mirage

Best Reissues and Rediscoveries (in no particular order)

  • Ayalew Mesfin - Hasabe (My Worries)

  • John Coltrane - Both Directions at Once

  • The Beatles - The Beatles

  • Bob Dylan - More Blood, More Tracks

  • Amnesty - Free Your Mind

Best Concerts

  • Yonatan Gat/TEKE::TEKE at Distorsion Psych Fest

  • Ought/Snail Mail at Theatre Fairmount

  • Shopping at Bar Le Ritz PDB

  • IDLES at Theatre Fairmount

  • Bush Tetras at Pop Montreal

  • Femi Kuti & The Positive Force at MTELUS

  • !!! at Montreal Jazz Festival

  • Tough Age at Brasserie Beaubien

  • LCD Soundsystem at Place Bell

  • Lady J and the Jazz Cigarettes at Casa Obscura

Angelica - Host of BVST, Wednesday at 7 p.m.

This year, I'm flipping my list on its head a little bit. Instead of favorite albums and tracks to taste, I'm picking my favorite tracks (in no particular order) in hopes that you might like them enough give the rest of the record a try! I've even made it easy for you - you can listen to (almost) all of my song picks on a playlist.

  • Andrew W.K. - “Music is Worth Living For" from You're Not Alone
    I heavily considered just making this squealing, synthy insanity, repeated ten times over, the entirety of my list for this year, mostly  ̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶j̶o̶k̶e̶ because it's such an epic, over-the-top ode to persevering by the king of partying (and positivity).

  • Ghost - "Pro Memoria" from Prequelle
    Upping the ante with full-on 70s style piano-heavy pomposity, this song has everything I fundamentally hate: keys, strings and clean vocals. That said, I can't not include a song whose chorus is "Don't you forget about dying / Don't you forget about your friend Death / Don't you forget that you will die". Inspirational.

  • Zeal & Ardor - "Ship On Fire" from Stranger Fruit
    Once again combining black metal elements with Satanic spirituals, this song adds a dancehall stomp to the mix to great effect. By the time the monastic chants chime in, intoning spells from a 15th century grimoire (!), you'll be a believer.

  • Nashville Pussy - "Testify" from Pleased to Eat You
    This is about as Southern-fried as it gets... organs, church choir choruses and finger-lickin'-good guitar melt together in a high-energy handclapper that'll have you rolling in the pews.

  • Nightseeker - "Thunder and Lightning" from 3069: A Space-Rock Sex Odyssey
    This song sounds like it straight up time-traveled from the early 70s directly into my life, and transcends its FUBAR joke band origins as well as the mostly cock-rock bombast of the rest of the record (which is still excellent). Slot this one in between "Radar Love" and "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" for the roadtrip of your life.

  • Monster Magnet - "When the Hammer Comes Down" from Mindfucker
    Faint shades of T. Rex's "Children of the Revolution" tinge this colossus, which is fitting for Monster Magnet's signature 70s spacemetal sound. Packed wall-to-wall with swagger, Dave Wyndorf knows the key to rock is to not fix what ain't broke, and this song, and the album it's pulled from, is working just fine.

  • Le Kraken - "Orgue" from De paille et d'or
    An extremely late entry to the list, these Montrealers are back with their first new record in six years, and it's a monster. Their signature super-heavy post-metal sound is back, and I forgot how much I missed the dueling vocals, which absolutely pummel this track.

  • ASG - "Lightning Song" from Survive Sunrise
    Bringing desert rock to the Wilmington, NC coastline since 2001, I've always loved this band's shining, soaring stoner sound, polished to perfection on this track. Unrelenting riffs with a sunbleached haze, this will bring a bit of summer to your coldest days.

  • Dirt Cannon - "Hire Consciousness" from What Eats You
    This year's list seems to have collected quite a few motivational tracks, and this one is perhaps the granddaddy of them all. "Today, if I'm busy doing / I won't get caught thinking / And I'll thrive", scream the lyrics, over Southern metalcore breakdowns that hearken back to simpler times, when skinny jeans and circle pits were all that mattered.

  • Spectral Wound - "Slaughter of the Medusa" from Infernal Decadence
    Living up to its album's name, this song manages to sound majestic and terrifying in equal measure. This is black metal without the bullshit, a pure distillation of the genre with riffage for days. Listen to it here.

In honorable mentions, plenty of other bands had great releases this year, including Clutch, High on Fire, High Priestess, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, King Witch, Behemoth, Psychedelic Witchcraft, and Zeke!

Most Memorable CJLO moment

Without a doubt, my most memorable CJLO moment of the year was our live broadcast from the Heavy Montreal site. In a picturesque garden surrounded by flowers, we talked about our experiences at the festival while bands stumbled in and out to be interviewed live on air. There's no better way to spend a Sunday afternoon! On a personal note, after attempting (and failing) to see Monster Magnet live for the better part of a decade, it finally happened for me this year, and it was everything I had hoped for!

Alex - Host of Ashes to Ashes, Tuesday 1 p.m.

Top Albums of 2018

  1. Lydia Képinski - Premier juin

  2. Kali Uchis - Isolation

  3. Bagarre - CLUB 12345

  4. For Esmé - Righteous Woman

  5. Fanny Bloom - Liqueur

  6. Cam Maclean - Wait for Love

  7. Buddy - Harlan & Alondra

  8. Let's Eat Grandma - I'm All Ears

  9. Ragers - Raw Footage

  10. Cadence Weapon - Cadence Weapon

Honourable Mentions

  • Ariane Moffatt - Petites mains précieuses

  • Choses Sauvages - Choses Sauvages

  • George Clanton - Slide

  • Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour

  • Metric - Art of Doubt

  • Yes Mccan - OUI (tout, tout, tout, toutttte)

Top EPs of 2018

  1. Helena Deland - From the Series of Songs "Altogether Unaccompanied", Vol. I-IV

  2. LaF - Hôtel délices

  3. Bad Nylon - Bébé t'es unique

  4. Marie-Gold - Goal : Une mélodie

  5. Dylarama - Certified Cutie

Sylvain Verstricht - Host of The Rest of Us, Tuesday 7 p.m.

Top Pop Albums

  1. Hatchie - Sugar & Spice

  2. MorMor - Heaven’s Only Wishful

  3. Half Waif - Lavender

  4. Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour

  5. Florence + The Machine - High as Hope

  6. Helena Deland - From the Series of Songs “Altogether Unaccompanied” Vol. I & II

  7. Rae Morris - Someone Out There

  8. Mistki - Be the Cowboy

  9. AURORA - Infections of a Different Kind (Step I)

  10. MGMT - Little Dark Age

Top Pop Singles

  1. Mitski - “Nobody”

  2. Kacey Musgraves - “High Horse”

  3. Florence + The Machine - “Hunger”

  4. AURORA - “Forgotten Love”

  5. Hatchie - “Sugar & Spice”

  6. MorMor - “Heaven’s Only Wishful”

  7. Taylor Swift - “Getaway Car”

  8. Flower Face - “Baby Teeth”

  9. ATTLAS - “Want”

  10. The Goon Sax - “We Can’t Win”

Top Concerts

  1. Beverly Glenn-Copeland at La Sala Rossa

  2. Limp Wrist at  La Sala Rossa

  3. Let’s Eat Grandma at Bar Le Ritz PDB

  4. Jessica Moss at Casa del Popolo

  5. Hatchie at Bar Le Ritz PDB

  6. Kraus at l’Escogriffe

  7. Moses Sumney at La Sala Rossa

  8. Girl Ray at Théâtre Plaza

  9. Drip at Bar Danse Entre-Nous

  10. Cheap Wig at Casa del Popolo

Sarah Boumedda - Host of Hallyu Central, Wednesday 2 p.m.

Top 10 Albums of 2018

  1. NCT- NCT 2018 EMPATHY
    NCT’s concept, as a group, is fascinating: while all (eighteen!) members belong to the supergroup NCT, they are then divided into smaller performing units, or groups of themselves, according to a variety of criteria and exploring a wide range of genres, from cheerful teen pop to intricate urban hip-hop. While subunits such as NCT Dream or NCT 127 have put out great music this year as well (the latter’s first full album also being included in this list), it is NCT 2018 EMPATHY that takes the cake for me as best album of the year, as it regroups all eighteen members in all their various units to explore NCT’s skills both in musicality and performance potential. To be fair, the rest of this list might be stronger in terms of music—but NCT’s strength as a group goes far beyond their talent as singers, rappers, and performers; it also takes root in their wondrous versatility, and NCT 2018 EMPATHY couldn’t have been a better way to prove it.

  2. DAY6 - Shoot Me or DAY6 - Unlock
    It’s impossible to choose. As I’m writing this, DAY6 is set to release yet another EP, titled Remember Us, and it definitely would have made this list if I had had the chance to hear it beforehand. There’s an undeniable pull to each and every DAY6 song there exists that always speaks of honesty and raw talent, and the tracks on both Shoot Me and Unlock are no exception. I find it hard to have just one favourite band, but if I had to choose, DAY6 would take the title, no questions asked.

  3. Coeur de Pirate - en cas de tempête, ce jardin sera fermé.
    Béatrice Martin. Queen of music. Queen of being a woman. Queen of being French-Canadian. Queen of turning herself into a meme on the Internet, owning up to that image, and still remain a socially aware and outspoken individual, using her platform to talk with people while also shining light on issues that are dear to her heart and important to discuss. The album is a masterpiece and includes Béatrice’s most honest lyrics to date—and the best music, too. What a woman. I’m in love with her. You should be, too.

  4. Jorja Smith - Lost & Found

  5. Shawn Mendes - Shawn Mendes

  6. NCT 127 - Regular-Irregular

  7. EXO - Don’t Mess Up My Tempo

  8. Daichi Miura-  Sphere

  9. Khalid - Suncity (EP)

  10. Troye Sivan- Bloom

Top 10 Songs of 2018

  1. NCT U - “Baby Don’t Stop”

  2. DAY6 - “Falling”

  3. EXO - “Ooh La La La”

  4. Coeur de Pirate - “Combustible”

  5. NCT 127 - “Fly Away With Me”

  6. DEAN - “instagram”

  7. TEN - “New Heroes”

  8. DPR LIVE - “Action!” Featuring GRAY

  9. Red Velvet - “Bad Boy”

  10. Jorja Smith - “The One”

Honourable mentions (albums)

  • Colde - Wave (EP)

  • Milk & Bone - Deception Bay

  • Roosevelt - Young Romance

  • SALTNPAPER - More Than Just Circles

  • Jung Ilhoon - Big Wave (EP)

  • EXO-CBX - Blooming Days

  • Now, Now - Saved

  • YESEO - Damn Rules

  • divin’ - The Puzzle of Time (EP)

  • Deepshower - COLORS (EP)

Omar Sonics - Host/Producer of Hooked on Sonics, Thursday  6 p.m.

Top albums  

  1. Fiddlehead - Springtime and Blind

  2. Soccer Mommy - Clean

  3. Low - Double Negative

  4. IDLES - Joy as an Act of Resistance

  5. Grouper - Grid of Points

  6. Culture Abuse - Bay Dream

  7. Kelly Moran - Ultravolet

  8. Pusha T - Daytona

  9. Soft Moon - Criminal

  10. Spiritualized - And Nothing Hurt

  11. Mariah Carey - Caution  

  12. Beach House - 7

  13. A Place to Bury Strangers - Pinned

  14. Drug Church - Cheer

  15. Fucked Up - Dose Your Dreams

  16. Ovlov - Tru

  17. Tinashe - Joyride

  18. The Beths - Future Me Hates Me

  19. mewithoutYou - [Untitled]

  20. Superchunk - What a Time to Be Alive

Honourable Mentions

Nick Schofield, Failure, Deafheaven, Slow Mass, Playboy Carti, Jeff Rosenstock, Chastity, Hot Snakes, Daughters, Cardi B, Sumac, Spectral Wound, Janelle Monáe, Glenn Jones, Frigs, Kali Uchis

Favourite Tracks

  1. Soccer Mommy - "Your Dog"

  2. Fiddlehead - "Lay Low" & "Poem You"

  3. Tinashe - "Stuck With Me" featuring Little Dragon

  4. Let's Eat Grandma - "Hot Pink"

  5. Iris - "Away"

  6. Chastity - "Children"

  7. Culture Abuse - "Calm E"

  8. IDLES - "Colossus"

  9. Mariah Carey - "Giving Me Life" featuring Blood Orange & Slick Rick

  10. Our Girl - "Being Around"

  11. Low - "Poor Sucker"

  12. Mitski - "Nobody"

  13. Cigarettes After Sex - "Crush"

  14. A Place to Bury Strangers - "Never Coming Back"

  15. Ella Mai - "Boo'd Up"

  16. Slow Mass - "Suburban Yellow"

  17. FRIGS - "Talking Pictures"

  18. Carly Rae Jepsen - "Party For One"

  19. Cloud Nothings - "The Echo of the World"

  20. Snail Mail - "Heat Wave"

Favourite Shows  

  1. Fiddlehead at La Plante

  2. Afghan Whigs at Danforth Music Hall

  3. Grouper at Sala Rosa

  4. IDLES at Fairmount

  5. A Place to Bury Strangers at Fairmount

  6. Radiohead at Bell Centre

  7. Wolf Parade at Sala Rosa

Most Anticipated Record of 2019   

Chromatics - Dear Tommy

Paul Lafond - Contributor, Hooked on Sonics, Thursday  6 p.m.

Top albums  

  • Coombes, Gaz - World's Strongest Man

  • Low - Double Negative

  • Mastersystem - Dance Music ( MOST LISTENED)

  • Failure - In The Future Your Body Will Be The Furthest Thing From Your Mind

  • Thom Yorke - Suspiria Soundtrack  

Favourite Shows

  • Moses Sumney at La Sala Rossa (2018-07-03)

  • Foo Fighters at Festival D'été De Québec (2018-07-09)

  • Beck at Place Bell (2018-07-10)

  • Radiohead at Centre Bell (2018-07-17)

Favourite Films  

  • Suspiria

  • The Night Comes For Us

  • Upgrade

  • Annihilation

  • You Were Never Really Here

  • Chuck Steel: Night Of The Trampires

Dr, Nana Dawson-Andoh - Contributor, Hooked on Sonics, Thursday  6 p.m.

Top albums  

  • Kamasi Washington -  Heaven and Earth

  • Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mundo

  • Tune-Yards - I can feel you creep into my private life

  • Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Hope Downs

  • Saintseneca - Pillar of Na

  • Phosphorescent - C’est La Vie

  • Robyn - Honey

Honourable Mentions

  • Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Sex & Food

  • Santigold - I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions

  • Meshell Ndegeocello - Ventriloquism

  • La Luz - Floating Features

Favourite Tracks

  • Childish Gambino - “This Is America”

  • Neko Case - “Last Lion of Albion

  • Parquet Courts - “Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience”

  • Kamasi Washington - “Fists of Fury”

  • Young Fathers - “In My View”

  • Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - “Talking Straight”

  • Saintseneca - “Frostbiter”

  • Robyn - “Honey”

  • Father John Misty - “Mr. Tillman”

  • Khruangbin - “Evan Finds the Third Room”

  • Meshell Ndegeocello - “I Wonder If I Take You Home” (cover of Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam)

  • Cat Power - “Woman”

  • The Decemberists - “Once In My Life”

Simon Howell - Contributor, Hooked on Sonics, Thursday  6 p.m.

Top albums  

  1. Tropical Fuck Storm -  A Laughing Death in Meatspace

  2. Rolo Tomassi - Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It

  3. The Amazing - In Transit

  4. Natalie Prass - The Future and the Past

  5. Low - Double Negative

  6. Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino

  7. Foxing - Nearer My God

  8. Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit

  9. Mournful Congregation - The Incubus of Karma

  10. Let's Eat Grandma - I'm All Ears

  11. Donovan Wolfington - WAVES

  12. Pianos Become the Teeth - Wait for Love

  13. Kero Kero Bonito - Time n' Place

  14. Hot Snakes - Jericho Sirens

  15. The Armed - Only Love

  16. Tomb Mold - Manor of Infinite Forms

  17. Drug Church - Cheer

  18. Yob - Our Raw Heart

  19. Joyce Manor - Million Dollars to Kill Me

  20. The Beths - Future Me Hates Me

Favourite tracks

  • The 1975 - "I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)"

  • Sarah Mary Chadwick - "Sugar Still Melts in the Rain"

  • Cupcakke - "Quiz"

  • Lana Del Rey - "Venice Bitch"

  • Fucked Up - "Normal People"

  • Hop Along - "Prior Things"

  • Lonnie Holley - "I Snuck Off the Space Ship"

  • Kitten - "I Did It!"

  • Loma - "Black Willow"

  • Mitski - "Between the Breaths" ft. Xiu Xiu

  • Kacey Musgraves - "Space Cowboy"

  • Meg Myers - "Numb"

  • Protomartyr - "Wheel of Fortune" ft. Kelly Deal

  • Rae Sremmurd - "Powerglide" ft. Juicy J

  • Marc Ribot - "Bella Ciao" ft. Tom Waits

  • Jeff Rosenstock - "USA"

  • Screaming Females - "I'll Make You Sorry"

  • SOPHIE - "Faceshopping"

  • Andrew WK - "Music is Worth Living For"

  • YG - "Suu Whoop"

Sarah Velk - Host of Sunglasses Inside, Wednesday 12 p.m.

TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2018:

  • King Krule – The OOZ  

  • Helena Deland – From The Series of Songs "Altogether Unaccompanied" Volumes I-IV

  • Puma Blue – Blood Loss

  • Mac Miller – Swimming

  • Mitski – Be The Cowboy

  • Peach Pit – Being So Normal

  • Her's – Invitation to Her's

  • Beach House – 7

  • Jorja Smith – Lost & Found

  • Snail Mail – Lush

Most memorable CJLO moment of the year

Big Shiny Tunes 2018

Aviva Majerczyk - Host of The Alley, Wednesday 4 p.m.

Top Albums

  1. IDLES - Joy As An Act of Resistance.

  2. KIDS SEE GHOSTS - Kids See Ghosts

  3. HMLTD - Hate Music Last Time Delete EP

  4. Blood Orange - Negro Swan

  5. Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel

  6. Corey Gulkin - All Things I’ll Forget

  7. Against All Logic - 2012 - 2017

  8. SOPHIE  - The Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides

  9. Tony Molina - Kill The Lights

  10. Denzel Curry - TA13OO

Top Tracks

  1. IDLES - “Danny Nedelko”

  2. boygenius - “Me & My Dog”

  3. Kids See Ghosts - “Feel The Love”

  4. Courtney Barnett - “Need A Little Time”

  5. Hop Along - “One That Suits Me”

  6. Helena Deland - “Claudion”

  7. Car Seat Headrest - “Sober to Death”

  8. Hatchie - “Sugar and Spice”

  9. Iceage - “Pain Killer”

  10. Look Vibrant - “Numb Your Spirit”

Honourable Mentions

  1. Mitski - Be the Cowboy

  2. Hinds - I Don’t Run

  3. Waahli - Black Soap

  4. Let’s Eat Grandma - I’m All Ears

  5. Look Vibrant - The Up Here Place

  6. U.S. Girls - In a Poem Unlimited

  7. Kali Uchis - Isolation

  8. The Marias - Superclean Vol. 1

Favourite Show:

Albert Hammond Jr. with The Marias @ L’Astral

Chris the Frog - Host of Sewer Spewer, Monday 12 p.m.

Best Montreal Albums

  • The Great Sabatini - Goodbye Audio
  • Chemical Way - Chilling Spree
  • Spectral Wound - Infernal Decadence
  • Vantablack Warship - Abrasive Pulmonic Speak
  • The BCASA - I Don’t Friggin Give a Heck!
  • Grimskunk - Unreason in the Age of Madness
  • Dopethrone - TransCanadian Anger
  • Tunguska Mammoth - Breathless
  • Mountain Dust - Seven Storms

Hood Rats - Trash Party

Best Canadian Albums (outside of Montreal)

  • KEN Mode - Loved
  • Cancer Bats - The Spark That Moves
  • Fucked Up - Dose Your Dreams
  • Greber - Cemetery Preston
  • Sinner - Sanity In the Mouth of Hell

Best International Albums (outside of Canada)

  • Author & Punisher - Beastland
  • Cult Leader - A Patient Man
  • Skating Polly - The Make It All Show
  • Pagan - Black Wash
  • Pig Destroyer - Head Cage

Most Memorable CJLO Moment

Performing an industrial noise cover of Kid Rock’s “Only God Knows Why” with Sean of Sublime State of Doom for Big Shiny Tunes 5 Fundraiser

Hunter Walwaski, Co-Host of The Iron Club, Monday 2 p.m.

Top 10 Albums of 2018

1. Ripped to Shreds - 埋葬
2. Tomb Mold - Manor of Infinite Forms
3. Taphos - Come Ethereal Somberness
4. Ulthar - Cosmovore
5. Torture Rack - Malefic Humiliation
6. Hyperdontia - Nexus of Teeth
7. Skeletal Remains - Devouring Mortality
8. High on Fire - Electric Messiah
9. Diabolic Force - Praise of Satan
10. Extremity - Coffin Birth

Top 10 non-album singles, EPs, demos, and splits of 2018 (artist-album):

1. Bog Body - “Through the Burial Bog”
2. Coffin Rot/Molder - Split
3. Snorlax - Splintering Demo
4. Tomb Mold - Cerulean Salvation
5. Undergang/Gorephilia Split EP
6. Sleep - "Leagues Beneath"
7. Crurifragium/Abysmal Lord - Crurifragium/Abysmal Lord
8. Draghkar - The Endless Howling Abyss
9. Cadaveric Fumes/Skelethal - Heirs Of Hideous Secrecies
10.毒蠱  - Demo II

Most Memorable CJLO Moment

This was my first year at CJLO, as we started our show in November. I'm still pretty new at this, but my favourite moment has to be running my first "show" with Allison and getting to press all the buttons and move all the faders and such. So much power!

Phil Aveline - Host of Turn On The Darkness, Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Top 10 Albums of 2018

  1. Haken - Vector
  2. Mellevons - Covets
  3. Steven Wilson - Home Invasion (Live at Royal Albert Hall)
  4.  Architect - Holy Hell
  5. Between the Buried and Me - Automata
  6. Obscura - Diluvium
  7. Tesseract - Sonder
  8. Palm Reader - Braille
  9. Ghost - Prequelle
  10. Slugdge - Esoteric Malacology

Best shows of 2018

  1. Wintersun at Club Soda
  2. Steven Wilson at Olympia
  3. Insomnium at Foufounes Electronique
  4. Revocation + Rivers of Nihil at Foufounes Electronique
  5. Tesseract at Club Soda
  6. Heavy Montreal 2018
  7. The Contortionist, Palm Reader and The Dali Thundering Concept at O'Sullivan's in Paris
  8. Nightwish at Metropolis
  9. Any of Ashbreather’s shows this year
  10. Mellevon's Memorial show

Jacob Carey - Co-Host of Trappin’ in Traffic, Tuesday 5 p.m.

Best Albums

  1. Travis Scott - Astroworld

  2. Various Artists - Black Panther: The Album

  3. Lil Baby & Gunna - Drip Harder

  4. J. Cole - KOD

  5. Pusha T - Daytona

  6. Post Malone - Beerbongs & Bentleys

  7. Drake - Scorpion

  8. Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy

  9. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter V

  10. XXXTentacion - ?

Best Artists

  1. Drake

  2. Travis Scott

  3. Post Malone

  4. Cardi B

  5. Lil Baby

  6. Kanye West

  7. Swae Lee

  8. Gucci Mane

  9. Young Thug

  10. Offset

Rookie of the Year

  1. Trippie Redd

  2. Juice WRLD

  3. Lil Baby

Biggest Disappointment

  1. Kanye West & Kid Cudi - Kids See Ghosts

  2. Playboi Carti - Die Lit

  3. A$AP Rocky - Testing

Most memorable moment of CJLO

Unexpectedly starting my own hip-hop radio show with an awesome classmate and co-host.

Louis Pavlakos - Co-Host of Trappin’ in Traffic, Tuesday 5 p.m.

Best Albums:

  1. Kids See Ghosts - Kids See Ghosts

  2. Saba - Care for Me

  3. Pusha T - Daytona

  4. Travis Scott - Astroworld

  5. Mac Miller - Swimming

  6. Tierra Whack - Whack World

  7. ODIE - Analogue

  8. Blood Orange - Negro Swan

  9. Brockhampton - Iridescence

  10. Kali Uchis - Isolation

Honorable Mentions

  • Vince Staples - FM!

  • Smino - Noir

  • Earl Sweatshirt - Some Rap Songs

  • THE CARTERS - EVERYTHING IS LOVE

  • Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy

Best Songs

  1. Kids See Ghosts - "Reborn"

  2. Childish Gambino - "This is America"

  3. Pusha T - "The Games We Play"

  4. Travis Scott - "Stargazing"

  5. ODIE - "North Face"

  6. Drake - "Nice for What"

  7. Saba - "Life"

  8. Cardi B - "I Do (feat. SZA)"

  9. Kali Uchis - "Just a Stranger (feat. Steve Lacy)"

  10. Daniel Caesar - "Who Hurt You?"

Best EPs

  1. Lou Val - Lonely in Paradise

  2. Black Thought  - Streams of Thought Vol. 1

  3. Curren$y x Freddie Gibbs - Fetti

  4. Young Thug - On the Rvn

  5. Zach Zoya - Misstape  

  6. Jack Larsen - Push-Ups

  7. Cautious Clay - Blood Type

  8. THEY. - Fireside

  9. Ravyn Lenae - Crush

  10. Lucky Daye - I

Remi Caron - Host of At The Movies, Tuesday 9 a.m.

Best albums of 2018 (In No Particular order)

  • Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Hotel & Casino

  • Beach House - 7

  • THE CARTERS - EVERYTHING IS LOVE

  • Death Cab for Cutie - Thank You For Today

  • Gorillaz - The Now Now

  • J. Cole - KOD

  • Jack White - Boarding House Reach

  • Pusha-T - Daytona

  • Lily Allen - No Shame

  • Kids See Ghosts - Kids See Ghosts

Discovery Album of the year

  • The Walker Brothers - Night Flights

Most Anticipated Records of 2019   

  • Kanye West - Yhandi
  • Vampire Weekend's new album

Best Soundtracks and Scores (In No Particular order)

  • Anna Meredith - Eighth Grade

  • Colin Stetson - Hereditary

  • Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper - A Star is Born

  • Matthew Herbert - Disobedience

  • Jonny Greenwood - You Were Never Really Here

  • Cliff Martinez  - Game Night

  • Daniel Pemberton - Oceans 8

  • Cody Carpenter, Daniel Davis & John Carpenter - Halloween

  • Hans Zimmer - Widows

Favourite Track

Colin Stetson - “Reborn” - Hereditary OST

Best Films

The year is not over yet but these films are the best so far. If I can find a thematic element for this years list it is the tenacity and perseverance of these characters.

10. A Quiet Place Dir. John Krasinski
9. Roma Dir. Alfonso Cuarón
8. Isle Of Dogs  Dir. Wes Anderson
7. Mid 90’s Dir. Jonah Hill
6. Won’t You Be My Neighbour? Dir. Morgan Neville
5. Sorry To Bother You Dir. Boots Riley
4. BlacKkKlansman Dir. Spike Lee
3. Hereditary Dir. Ari Aster
2. You Were Never Really Here Dir. Lynne Ramsay
1. Widows Dir. Steve McQueen

Nicholas Di Giovanni - Host of CJLO Sports, Monday at 3 p.m. and The Calcio Guys, Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Best Concordia University Sports Moments of 2018

  1. Women's hockey: Wins RSEQ championship; finishes third at nationals.

  2. Men's rugby: wins second-straight championship and goes undefeated for two years.

  3. Men's hockey: Anthony Beauregard sets Concordia record with 60 points in season.

  4. Men's hockey: Captain Philippe Hudon carries Stingers on his back in playoffs.

  5. Women's basketball: Team ranks third in the country after going 4-12 last season.

  6. Football: Offensive lineman Maurice Simba ranks among top prospects in the country.

  7. Wrestling: Team finishes second at nationals.

  8. Women's hockey: Former captain Marie-Joëlle Allard drafted by Les Canadiennes; second captain in a row drafted by them.

  9. Men's basketball: Stingers make finals for first time since 2012, lose to McGill

  10. Women's soccer: Imane Chebel plays for Algerian national team in April