Contrary to most, I quite enjoy recapping the best music of the year a bit later, in January, just in case something incredible pops onto my radar in deep December. Of course, it has nothing to do with the holiday malaise or anything like that… In any case, let there be no doubt that this list was dutifully crafted to include all my best discoveries down to the very last day of 2018. Cheers to another year of great tunes!

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10 | Young Scum

From: Richmond, USA
For fans of: Felt, C86

Upcoming shows: nothing scheduled in Berlin yet, but they’ll be playing Madrid Popfest in March, so who knows!

 

9 | Kathryn Joseph

From: Glasgow, Scotland
For fans of: Julia Holter, Julianna Barwick

Upcoming shows: she’s currently on an extensive UK tour through March

 

8 | Whyte Horses

From: Manchester, England
For fans of: The Go! Team

Upcoming shows: only SXSW, if you fancy a roadtrip

 

7 | Råå (pronunciation: a bit like how Cyndi Lauper would say “raw”)

From: Malmö, Sweden
For fans of: Neu!, Les Big Byrd

Upcoming shows: sadly, no

 

6 | Mari Kalkun

From: Võru, Estonia
For fans of: Joanna Newsom,  Vashti Bunyan

Upcoming shows: Munich in mid-March

 

5 | Say Sue Me

From: Busan, South Korea
For fans of: Pavement

Upcoming shows: UK tour in late April-early May

 

4 | Fontaines D.C.

From: Dublin, Ireland
For fans of: Idles, Shame, The Fall

Upcoming shows: January 24 at Schokoladen

 

3 | Örvar Smárason

From: Reykjavik, Iceland
For fans of: Sin Fang, JFDR

Upcoming shows: unless you live in Reykjavik and count all his other projects, no

 

2 | American Pleasure Club

From: Baltimore, USA
For fans of: Teen Suicide, Car Seat Headrest

Upcoming shows: USAUSAUSA

 

1 | Winter

From: LA, USA
For fans of: Alvvays

Upcoming shows: Murrhardt, Germany early March