It’s time for us to take up the sticks and beat this drum again. Here’s our never-complete (but still pretty comprehensive) look at what Charlottesville-area artists released this year. We’ve focused mainly on albums and EPs, but there are dozens of other bands and artists releasing single after single, or playing songs that haven’t been recorded yet. Support your local scene: click the “Charlottesville” tag on Bandcamp, or search it on Soundcloud. Buy the music when you can (it helps the artists make more music). Go to shows. We repeat, go to shows. Let this list serve as a reminder that you never know what you’ll find right in your own backyard.
5pm Worship Team at Christ Episcopal Church, Songs of Comfort (Christian, folk)
7th Grade Girl Fight, Summer Is Over and Jump Back (rock, garage pop)
A University of Whales, Everything is Beautiful (chamber pop)
A.D. Carson, Sleepwalking 2 (hip-hop)
Read more: Well-versed: A.D. Carson finds his place in the bridging of hip-hop and academia
Abbey Ness, Winterized (dark folk)
Adam’s Plastic Pond, Better and Trouble (Southern pop)
Age of Fire, Obsidian Dreams (metal)
akenobeats, backyard ep 2 (hip-hop, lo-fi)
Andrew Neil, Merry Go Round (alternative, indie folk)
Read more: Musical return: Andrew Neil lets the truth flow on Merry Go Round
The Atmospheric Science, ZIG ZAGS (alternative, trance)
The Attachments, II
If you ask Sam Uriss, frontman of garage, punk, and rock ‘n’ roll trio The Attachments, advertising is “a totally out-of-control and insane part of society.” It takes advantage of us in ways we don’t always notice. “It’s so pervasive that I can’t not write songs about it,” he told C-VILLE of the band’s second tape.
Read more: The Attachments play sane punk as art reaction
AUTODIVA, Duality (pop, electronic)
Bear Punchers, Not All Dogs are Depressed; Carnival; Shitty Singer-Songwriter; Merry Christmas, I Love You (acoustic folk-punk)
Big Lean x SaVAge, Outer Zone 1.5 (hip-hop, soul)
Breakers, Rewrite (garage rock)
Read More: Album reviews: Robyn, MihTy, Jeremih, Ty Dolla $ign, Breakers, The Struts, and Bad Moves
Cameron Taylor, Grey (Christian rap)
The Can-Do Attitude, If There Is a God, I Hope She Kept the Receipt (acoustic punk/not punk)
Read more: The Can-Do Attitude gets it done in unexpected ways
Carry, Live at Low, 27 Sept. 2018 (Appalachian, drone, gospel)
Cassidini, Birthday Greetings Vol. 3: Anyone & Everyone and Chiptune for Productivity (electronic, pop, drone, chiptune)
celebrity crushed, Ltd. and o y s t e r_ (ambient, electronic)
Choose Your Own Adventure, Choose Your Own Adventure and Aussie Rules (jazz, jam, funk)
Chris Murphy, Grow and Disconnect (folk, pop, indie rock)
Cico, Island (analog, ambient, synth)
Comtist, Comtist (metal, instrumental, progressive)
Daniel Bachman, The Morning Star (experimental guitar)
Dais Queue, Infinite Projection and The Line Begins Here (experimental)
Dave Petty, Waiting to Be Filled (acoustic, alt-folk, spiritual)
Davis Salisbury and Mike Gangloff, Live at Low 9-08-2018 (experimental)
Davis/Salisbury/Snider/Thatcher, Live at Low 7-11-2018 (experimental, improvisational)
Dear, Black Gold, Part I: Petrichor; Part II: Speak, Memory; Part III: Delicate Arsenal; Part IV: False Idyll (ambient guitar, indie-folk)
Devon Sproule and Paul Curreri, 20 Patreon songs (roots, electronic)
Disco Risqué, If You Don’t Like Hits You’re Gonna Hate This (dance rock)
Don Jr., Don Jr. (doom, metal, grunge)
Emily Rose, (re)Placement/Communion (indie rock, lo-fi)
Equally Opposite, Sinergii (hip-hop, experimental)
Eric Knutson, Other Ways of Being Here (singer-songwriter, country)
Evelyn Rose Brown, Edges (singer-songwriter)
Fanciful Animals, Gondwana Rumpus (instrumental math rock)
Read more: Clocking in with math rockers Fanciful Animals
First of Three, The Hills Like Young Sheep; Deer in the Headlights (indie folk)
The Fluffy Space Bunnies, Agape and Eros (acoustic, electronic)
Forest Brooks, Learning To Swim (lo-fi,folk-rock)
Read more: Monticello seniors share inspiration and creativity
Forté, dysfyg9-an album(?) and Temple Escape—Uncharted OST (soundtrack, indie rock, jazz, video game)
Free Union, Free Union (rock, soul, R&B)
Read more: Free Union pushes social positivity on new EP
Fried Egg, Beat Session Vol. 4 (punk, hardcore punk)
Garrison Primeau, Daydreams (R&B, soul, rock)
goddess ov mindxpansion, My Dying Bestie (death metal, noise, punk)
Gold Connections, Popular Fiction (indie rock, pop)
Grand Banks, various live sets (ambient guitar rock)
The Graphic World, Gossip is a Fearful Thing (avant-garde, math rock, noise)
Greg C. Brown, Greg C. Brown (classical guitar)
Guion Pratt, Drone for the Holidays, Vol. II (ambient, electro-acoustic, drone)
Hadnot Creek, Winter (alternative, folk rock)
Ike Love, ADhD (rap, hip-hop)
Inning, D.C. Party Machine (indie rock)
J. Perla, Phantom from Afar (acoustic, lo-fi)
Jacob Lourie, Sad Boi Bops Vol. 1 (experimental pop, R&B, folk)
Jan Coleman, Bored/Silver to Organ; Black Hole; Guitar Music (alternative, rock)
Jeff Roberts, Living in the Trees (power pop, rock)
Jordan Peeples, The End of the Movie (folk, indie rock)
Jordan Perry, Witness Tree
Anyone who’s seen him play knows that Perry accomplishes a lot with a guitar. His experimental solo guitar record, Witness Tree, is rife with atmosphere and emotion, building tension and ushering in relief to create an experience that’s not unlike reading a series of related short stories.
Juliana Daugherty, Light
Daugherty, a poet, flutist, and singer, challenged herself to make a record, and wrote Light, a folk record about the imperatively “well-trod territory” of love, released earlier this year on Western Vinyl to critical acclaim.
Read more: Weight lifted: Juliana Daugherty finds release with Light
Kat Somers, Bloom (indie pop, electronic, songwriter)
Kate Bollinger, Dreams Before (indie pop, lo-fi, folk)
Keese, Higher Learning, Vol. 3 (rap, hip-hop)
Kendall Street Company, RemoteVision Pts. 1, 2, and 3 (jam, groove rock)
Kingdom of Mustang, Kingdom of Mustang (pop rock)
Kiodea, Many A Moon (folk, indie, singer-songwriter)
Kristen Rae Bowden, Language & Mirrors (singer-songwriter, orchestral rock)
The Lantern Music, Mosaic (compilation by Albemarle High School students)
LaQuinn, LaQuinn and Some Friends Made a Dope Album; Low Income Theory; Crybaby (L.L. Cool Quinn) (hip-hop)
Larkspur, Larkspur (indie folk)
lil shovel, weary (experimental, ambient)
Lord Nelson, Through the Night (Americana, alt-country)
Read more: Lord Nelson explores heritage and movement
Lowland Hum, Early Days (minimalist folk)
Madly Backwards, Wasting Days (Americana, rock)
Maria DeHart, Fade (bedroom pop)
Matéo Amero, Promontory Wildcat (Americana folk, bluegrass, country)
Matéo and Ezra, Demos (folk rock)
Matthew Burtner and Rita Dove with the EcoSono Ensemble, The Ceiling Floats Away (experimental, poetry)
Read more: Imagination boost: Matthew Burtner-Rita Dove collaboration takes flight
Maxwell Mandell, Stand Up (alternative, rock, electronic, singer-songwriter)
Milagros Coldiron, Belgian Whistles (electronic, funk, post-rock)
Mitch Wise and Linz Prag, Act I (hip-hop)
The Modesty Martyrs, Built on Principle (hip-hop)
Molly Murphy, Songs About Trains (folk, indie)
MrsAmerica and Tony Testimony, Pain and Pagent (rap, hip-hop)
Music Resource Center, You Do The Math (rap, rock, indie, and alternative)
Naomi Alligator, BATTERY-OPERATED SUNBEAM OF LOVE; Weapon; Married (lo-fi singer-songwriter, pop)
Nat-Blac (Nathaniel Star and BlackMav), Es-Uh-Ter-Ik (neo-soul, R&B, hip-hop)
Nathan Colberg, Silo (pop)
Nate Emmanuel, Unraveling (alternative hip-hop, pop)
Nathaniel Star, C.R.A.C.K. (neo-soul, R&B, hip-hop)
Read more: Time to play: After nearly a decade, Nathaniel Star returns to the stage
New Boss, No Breeze (twee boogie, indie rock)
Old-Time Snake Milkers and Hoot and Holler, Milkers and Hollers (folk, bluegrass, traditional)
Ordinary Chris & Doughman, 80434 (rap, hip-hop)
Orion and the Melted Crayons, Space Lab Demos and Breathe (acoustic folk, indie jazz, dream pop)
Out on the Weekend, Nate Live @ Old Ox Brewing (indie rock)
Pale Blue Dot, Anatomy (indie rock)
Read more: Pale Blue Dot makes the unknown beautiful
panda slugger, friends (alternative, ambient, sad trap)
Patrick Coman, Tree of Life (blues, Americana, honky tonk)
Paul Zach, God Is The Friend Of Silence (acoustic, folk, Christian)
Personal Bandana, [sic]
When listening to the debut tape from Travis Thatcher and Dave Gibson’s electronic/synthwave/krautrock/kosmiche project, close your eyes and consider what you see amid the bleeps and bloops, swirls and swoops.
Poe Raskin, Dusty Dungeon Demos (hard rock, Southern rock, blues, funk)
PONY, Faceplant (pop punk)
Quin Bookz, Cruddy’s World (hip-hop)
Reagan Riley, Grown Since (neo-soul, electronic, R&B)
Restroy, Restroy
“I’m always trying to do something a little impossible,” Restroy leader Chris Dammann told C-VILLE about blending jazz, grunge, electronic, classical, and mbira music into compositions for his avant-garde jazz group. “There’s something beautiful about impossible things.”
Rob Cheatham, Villains and Ghosts (alt-country, folk rock)
Sarah White, High Flyer (country, rock, folk)
Read more: Sarah White reaches new heights with High Flyer
Sauce is Matisse, Reflection of the Self (alternative, hip-hop)
Sea Grey, Hold out your courage/Five steps (alternative, indie)
shortstop sleepover, with friends like you who needs luck (lo-fi hip-hop, chill)
Sid Hagan, Sere (singer-songwriter, rock)
The Silver Pages, Part III (devotional, ambient electronic)
The Slog, Demo 2018 (punk, hardcore)
Sondai, imightbehappy (hip-hop, R&B)
Space-Saver, SAVE YRSLF (experimental thrash-sax)
Stray Fossa, Sleeper Strip (indie rock)
Read more: Playing it out: Stray Fossa is a new band with a long history
Studebaker Huck, Tahoogie (Southern rock)
Sundream., Sundream. (indie pop-punk)
Read more: Sundream. rocks hard with an emotional core
The Boy Cries You A Sweater of Tears and You Kill Him, I Wanna Be A Televangelist (garage, noise)
TreasureBuddy, wips, abandoned, drafts, and covers (post-folk, post-punk)
True Spirit, True Spirit (punk, hardcore, noise rock)
Tunes for Goons, In A Society (art rock, experimental hip-hop)
The Unholy Four, Final Notice (hard rock)
varenka, Lost Traditions (ambient)
Various artists, 9 Pillars: Mixtape Volume 1 (hip-hop, rap)
Various artists, Together (Oxtail Recordings compilation tape featuring a number of Charlottesville ambient/experimental/electronic artists past and present such as Tanson, Winterweeds, Grand Banks, Voice of Saturn, Sugarlift, and others, to benefit Tyler Magill, who is an Oxtail musician, and SURJ)
Vibe Riot, Vibe Riot (hip-hop, neo-soul, reggae, R&B)
Read more: Vibe Riot wants to know what’s on your mind
Voice of Saturn/Anticipation, Voice of Saturn/ Anticipation split cassette (electronic)
Waasi, Betterdaze
“It’s like life is just starting,” Waasi told C-VILLE about his debut record full of thoughtful verse, easy flow, hard work, and big dreams. Betterdaze is a peek inside the mind and the heart of a young rapper.
Read more: Rapper Waasi breaks out with Betterdaze
Wild Rose, Fanatic Heart (rock ‘n’ roll, punk)
Read more: Poetic edge: Punk quartet Wild Rose is beholden to beauty
yessirov, Small Comfort (indie-folk, post-rock)
Read more: Yessirov lets the songs out on new EP
Reissues
Age of Fire, Age of Fire (metal)
The Landlords, Hey! It’s A Teenage House Party! (punk, hardcore punk)
Read more: Punk band The Landlords’ first album gets a slick reissue
Singles…and a hint at what’s to come in 2019
Alice Clair, “Keep Talking” and “Trail of Gold,” from her upcoming full-length release (folksy rock and soul)
Autumns Ocean, “Winter Season” (acoustic, grunge, alternative)
Cass, “Tesla”; “System”;;“Jiggy”; and others (rap, hip-hop)
Fried Egg, “Apraxia,” from the band’s forthcoming full-length, Square One (punk, hardcore punk)
Harli & The House of Juniper, “Is This Life…” (alternative, jam, rock, soul)
Inning, “White Girls, Black Jackets”; “I Like Your Name”; “Frash Brad” (indie rock)
Naomi Alligator, “Simon”; “Sweetness”; “Accordion People”; “Love Song” (lo-fi, singer-songwriter, pop)
Shagwüf, “Sweet Freak” (gutter glam, swamp rock)
Wild Common, “Downhill Specialist” and “Mama Played the Snare Drum,” off the band’s forthcoming record (Americana, soul, Appalachian, folk, R&B)