It’s that time of the year again. The music magazines are already publishing albums of the year from their perspective. Over recent times I’ve made it slightly easier on myself by dividing the year into two. So back in June I posted in three separate instalments the standout albums for me up to that point. And now here are the my favourites from the second half of 2018.

Before I post any further, I recognise there is always a risk, whenever you post a list like this, that another fantastic album or EP is just around the corner. I’ve got that covered anyway, I will post an addition in a few weeks from now should I stumble upon a few brilliant new releases that are too good to leave out.

Oh, and one other thing. I’ve always struggled with brevity, if you listen to the show regularly and my conversation between tracks you’ll understand I’m sure. So this is not a lovely neat list of 10 or 20 records. That’s just impossible to slim all the great records to that small number. And finally it’s not a list that is in any sort of order. It’s simply a random posting up of the records that have meant something to me with wherever possible a video of a track I like from the album or EP. I’ll filibuster no more, here’s the list…. Enjoy exploring and please feel free to post up any comments and indeed recommendations you may have for me for releases that are your favourites from 2018.

Jess Morgan – And I can’t keep still EP

Eliza Gilkyson – Secularia

Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus – Boygenius EP

Katherine Priddy – Wolf EP

Kristian Kjellvander – Faux Guernica

Rab Noakes – Welcome to Anniversaryville

The Milk Carton Kids – All the things that I did and all the things that I didn’t do

Jess Morgan – Blue Jay single

Steve Tilston – Distant days

Robby Hecht and Caroline Spence – Two People

Alden Patterson and Dashwood – By the night

Jason McNiff – Joy and Independence

Lera Lynn – Plays well with others

The Innocence Mission – Sun on the square

Lachlan Bryan and The Wildes – Some girls quite like country music

Amanda Shires – To the sunset

Drew Morrison and the Darkwood – Electric-Notes Wild

Elephant Micah – Genericana

Lori McKenna – The Tree

Kerry Devine – Away from the mountains

The Cowboy Junkies – All that reckoning 

M G Boulter and the Free – Blood Moon EP

Dan Webster – Devil Sky

Vanessa Peters – Foxhole Prayers

Grace Petrie – Queer as folk

Treetop Flyers – Treetop Flyers

Tunng – Songs you make at night

Drew Morrison and the Darkwood – Electric Notes Wild

Curse of Lono – As I fell

Me for Queen – Loose end

Gilmore and Roberts – A problem of our kind

Annie Dressner – Broken into pieces

Austin Lucas – Immortal Americans

Glorietta – Glorietta

The Willows – Through the wild

Ciara O’Neill – Arrow 

Martyn Joseph – Here come the young

Sinnober – Projection

David Berkeley – The Faded Red and Blue

Ed Harcourt – Beyond the end

Kitty MacFarlane – Namer of clouds

Phillip Henry – True North

Jesse Matas – Tamarack

Kelly Oliver – Botany Bay

John Smith – Hummingbird

Marc Ribot – Songs of Resistance 1942-2018

Nathan Bell – Love bones and stars

Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou Fair Lady London

Cam Penner – At war with reason

Karine Polwart, Steven Polwart and Inge Thomson – Laws of motion

William Fitzsimmons – Mission bell

Benjamin Folke Thomas – Modern man

Laura Gibson – Goners

Jess Vincent – Lions

Ben Kunder – Better human