Music is constantly evolving and there is no shortage of new music in 2018. These are the music trends you’re going to notice most this year.
Forget the song of this summer, you want to know the song of next summer and the song of the winter after that.
Kendrick Lamar has a Pulitzer Prize, so we know hip-hop defines the culture.
Beyonce’s internet-breaking Coachella set and Cardi B’s record-breaking chart dominance show us ladies lead the pack in pop and rap. Arcade Fire won a Grammy for what feels like a lifetime ago, and the line between indie and mainstream has been blurred ever since.
“But,” you ask, “what is that new new thing? Who are the artists on the cutting edge in 2018?”
We’ve got you covered, so pay attention. Your ticket to the newest and hottest music trends of the moment has arrived.
So sit back, pop open the streaming service of your choice, and keep reading.
The Most Important of Music Trends: Women Who Rock
There’s been enough dude-rock to last a lifetime. The only rock music we want to hear from now on is made by women.
Fortunately, there’s a giant wave of ladies making rock music, and that wave is crashing against our eardrums.
One of the most exciting of these new artists is Soccer Mommy. Soccer Mommy is the indie rock band of Nashville songwriter and singer Sophie Allison. Allison writes intimate and vulnerable love songs with an attitude that’s irresistible.
To get started with Soccer Mommy, check out “Your Dog.” It’s a vulgar kiss-off to a lover who probably didn’t deserve the song’s narrator in the first place. Clean, the album “Your Dog” comes from, is one of this year’s best records.
Once you’ve hipped yourself to Soccer Mommy, here’s the rest of your homework for Women Making the Best Rock Music 101:
- Jay Som. The Bay Area-bred bedroom songwriter and producer released a monster of a sophomore album in last year’s Everybody Works, but her debut–2016’s Turn Into–is stellar as well.
- Girlpool is an L.A. duo who also have two albums under their belt. Start with last year’s Powerplant and then go back to 2015’s Before the World Was Big.
- Diet Cig isn’t an all-female band, but they win the award for funniest and coolest name on this list. Swear I’m Good at This, their album from last year, keeps up their penchant for placing their tongues in their cheeks.
- Frankie Cosmos doesn’t need any help from us. Her parents are Phoebe Cates and Kevin Cline. But the music Greta Kline has made over three albums is too charming to deny. Start with 2016’s Next Thing before checking out this year’s Vessel and then jumping back to her official debt, 2014’s Zentropy.
Idiosyncratic Yorkie Rap
Another of this year’s most exciting music trends is one name: Valee.
The proud Yorkie owner continues Chicago’s rap dominance but breaks new ground with a unique flow that Twitter user @gabra_cadabra nailed by tweeting that Valee “raps like an old timey tiptoeing burglar.”
No less than the New York Times quoted that tweet in a glowing profile of Valee that depicts the rapper as a guy who is independent, humble, and weird in the best way.
Valee recently signed to Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint, so we suspect he’s about to blow. He just released an EP on the label, GOOD Job, You Found Me. Check out “Miami,” which features G.O.O.D. Music President Pusha T.
OK, One Song of the Summer Candidate
We’d like to pretend that when it comes to music trends we’re above the search for a song of the summer, but we’re not. So we’ll leave you with our pick.
Khalid’s “OTW” features 6LACK and Ty Dolla $ign. It’s a straight-up R&B jam, and we feel it speaks for itself.
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