18 Predictions To Echo In 2018
You thought list season was over? Think again. Here are my 18 most likely extremely over confident but more than possible predictions for the fine year that will be… 2018.
1. Ball Park Music will release the album of the year.
We're two singles into Ball Park Music's 5th album GOOD MOOD and it's already impossibly evident the band is onto something special... Like they always are.
Australia's musical answer to a Wes Anderson movie, Ball Park Music have claimed a special place in the Australian music scene after an ever changing, boundary pushing and faultless career. Beloved and lauded after by critics and fans alike, Ball Park are back with some of their best work to date and come 23 February you will already be itching to write your Top Albums of 2018 list.
2. Antonia & The Lazy Susans are going big.
The first time I saw Antonia & The Lazy Susans live I was instantly flooded with the exact same feeling as the first time I saw Camp Cope. An impeccably tight and talented group of friends riding the 4th wave of emo with a conviction and passion that is going to see them break it.
Having already played alongside Slotface, AJJ and Wil Wagner amongst a plethora of the genres' biggest and best from around the world, it's clear ATLS have pricked up the ears of right people and with some incredible unreleased songs up their sleeves, will continue to do so in 2018.
3. Gang Of Youths will continue to conquer.
Gang Of Youths have carved a path through death, defeat, rehab and redemption in a story of heartbreaking sorrow and life fulfilling passion that has been completely unrivaled in the music industry for decades. It has been a grind and it has been gradual but it has been grandiose in it's vision from the very beginning and Gang of Youths' epic crescendo is becoming deafeningly present, powerful and poignantly beautiful.
Having worked their way into the hearts of Australian audiences on the back of two of the very best albums this country may have ever produced, a hell of an EP and years of hard work, Gang of Youths have started to make waves that are breaking through Europe and the US. I'm excited to watch these rock n' roll revivalists and Western Sydney losers conquer every mountain they set their vision on in 2018.
4. Bridget Hustwaite is going to be a champion.
If you asked anyone in the Australian music industry who the most passionate lover of new Australian music was last year, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't answer Bridget Hustwaite.
An incredibly hardworking professional who has fought their way tirelessly through community radio, blog work and graveyard shifts, Hustwaite has been handed the reigns of Triple J's flagship show Good Nights... And she is already knocking it out of the park. With a huge gap left at the station through the departure of Dom Alessio watch Aus' number one tunehound shine.
5. Max Quinn will release something and it will be great.
Max Quinn in my mind is one of the most endearing and sharp songwriters in the country. 2016 release Carpool Tunnel Syndrome is easily the most frequently played 7-inch in my collection. A perfect summation of what it is to be twenty something, awkward and figuring it all out that has become a soundtrack to my own struggles with the same. Open and honest, odd and brilliant... Max is back in the studio and sure to be producing something to be mighty proud of be it a single, EP or album.
6. YOUNG MONKS are going to deliver on all that promise.
Some say the best gigs of 2017 happened in the bedrooms, backyards and studios graced by YOUNG MONKS during their year of solitude. Dropping a single early in the year, playing a handful of shows and then disappearing into the studio for the rest of the year, YOUNG MONKS have been working on something incredibly special. Hold tight for a breakout year from this frankly brilliant band.
7. Quinton Trembath will release two of the best EPs of the year... Again.
With the goal of releasing a body of work every 6 months, the DIY scene's greatest champion, Quinton Trembath will track tales of his life, friendships and saying "fuck that" to the 9-5. They will be two EPs that echo with your inner crust punk and bring a tear to the eye of every crowd member this beautiful man plays to up and down the country in 2018.
8. You're going to fall in love with Pathongofaus.
Patrick Hong aka Pathongofaus is a one human force of nature figuring out how to seemingly do everything a media personality could be asked to do at breakneck speed. A diehard music fan who will stand proud in the frontrow of shows, 2017 saw Pat become a Triple J Unearthed Superuser, buy a camera (and take some killer shots), start his own blog and score interviews with some major artists. He's sweet, earnest and asking interesting questions of his favourite artists with absolutely no fear... You're going to love Pat.
9. Newy will continue it's reign as the music capital of the country.
With bands like RAAVE TAPES, Paper Thin, Vacations, Grace Turner, underachiever, Rachel Maria Cox, Safe Hands, FRITZ, Wavevom, PALS and Introvert being propped up by incredible groups like No-Fi Collective and Boys Don't Cry and being gifted stages from The Cambridge to This That Festival... Newy is a bloody special place. Nowhere punches above their weight harder than Newy; making it easily the per capita, single most impressive city in Australia for producing incredible music, shows and venues... In turn it could be argued as one of the music capitals of the world. I will stand by that statement. I will stand with Newy.
10. Moaning Lisa will deliver the first anthem of the year.
I've been lucky enough to hear Moaning Lisa's upcoming single Carrie and it is nothing short of fucking fantastic. An anthemic, surging song about being queer and loving women that is going to resonate with a community that has been holding out for a voice as bold, brash and brilliant as that of Moaning Lisa's. Canberra's biggest buzz band are set to stand tall early in the new year on the back of this brilliant single.
11. Our Most Important Voices Will Keep Getting Louder
Whilst fuckwits like Kirin J Callinan and Sticky Fingers continue to get far too much time in the sun, 2017 was a brilliant year for the voices that matter in Australia to claim centre stage. Camp Cope's It Takes One campaign and their beautifully venomous single The Opener. A.B. Original standing side by side with Paul Kelly and calling bullshit on January 26 and the treatment of our nation's first people. Baker Boy standing proud in front of 1000s of people and singing in his native tongue. Gang of Youths using their ARIA acceptance speech to reach out to downtrodden people like themselves to keep on looking up. SPORTSBRA releasing a blistering debut album about fitting in when you're still trying to find a way to fit in your own skin. This is a time for voices that matter and fortunately this is a time that they are being given a stage to be heard on.
12. Dead Roo are going to be sick.
They haven't actually got any music out and I've only ever actually heard them through Instagram Stories from other bands... But I have it on good authority Dead Roo is going to be incredible. I mean shit, they've already played Gizzfest. Jump on the bandwagon, drink some Kool Aid with me.
13. Didirri is going to melt your heart.
With every show he plays Didirri makes a room full of diehard fans. A spellbindingly powerful performer solo or with band in tow, there is something about Didirri that completely breaks you. Australia’s answer to Marlon Williams, Didirri reminds his audiences of the importance of still seeing romance in the world.
With only a handful of singles out and recently signed record deal with UNIFIED, 2018 is going to see Didirri deliver in a big way.
14. Camp Cope will play the stages they belonged on 2 years ago.
Camp Cope are one of Australia’s biggest bands. Yet somehow, despite all of their accolades, achievements and success they still face day to day bullshit based upon their gender. Latest single The Opener is a scathing look at men and women in the music industry, Bassist Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich wrote one of the best pieces of music journalism of 2017 detailing their experience as an all-female band in the Australian music industry and the whole band took the industry to task at Falls Festival this year. They will not go quietly, but they will go onto the main stage festival spots they deserved to own two years ago. Frankly if any festival booker doesn’t recognise them as a main stage artist at this point in their career they shouldn’t be in their job.
Also, the new album is going to be brilliant.
15. Underachiever will release your favourite film clip of the year.
Look, I’m biased because I made it… But it’s very good and you’re going to love it. Expect a big year from this group of angels.
16. Cool Party will be the big buzz act this year.
St. South and Nick Acquroff (nyck) are custodians to two of the most distinct yet beautiful voices in the country and now they’re working together. Debut single Lights Out is an incredibly intricate dance of vocals and pin point perfect production that combines to make a song that doesn’t stray from the path of perfection. Fans of Bon Iver and Big Scary should be pricking their ears up in a big way to Cool Party.
Watch this incredible duo go from strength to strength in 2018.
17. Kanye is coming.
I don’t really care what your thoughts on Kanye West are. Here are two facts.
Kanye West is one of this generations greatest creatives with a continual drive for innovation that has allowed rap music to be what it is today. Look at any body of work from Kanye West and watch the flow on effect of influence cause shock waves through what is produced from then on in.
Another fact that can’t be ignored is that 2017 was awful for Kanye West. Struggles with mental health, a total shutdown of social media and Taylor Swift releasing a targeted single on the anniversary of his mother’s passing. It was a shit year, but Kanye is Kanye.
A surprise live cameo with Kid Cudi just over a month ago has been our first glimpse of Kanye being Kanye in far too long and it’s a glimpse of things to come in 2018. Be it a diss track, a full length album or a feature film… Kanye will be Kanye again in 2018.
18. Life will be life.
Get ready for another year of the unexpected, awful, glorious and all round beautiful. Just remember you’re not alone in it. Share the highs, hold someone through the lows and stop worrying about lists trying to predict how the year will go… Just live it.
