Shining due to its marvelous world building, 2018's Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino was Arctic Monkeys most disparate release at that point, marking a profound change in direction for the band's career. Following the overwhelming commercial success of 2013's AM (which, on the other hand, did not get showered with praise by the critics), Arctic Monkeys take us on a lunar adventure, exploring the halls and relationships within a lush, sci-fi hotel-casino on the Moon.
This 2018 release by German collaborative project The Ocean Collective (a.k.a. The Ocean) takes a very interesting approach to conceptual music: The record is themed around a geological era, and the songs represent the different geological periods the era contains. This, along with the collective's willingness to experiment and thread new waters makes Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic an intriguing listen.
From Finland, the demonic Oranssi Pazuzu make their debut on Nuclear Blast Records with Mestarin Kynsi, their fifth LP. The band's name literally translates to "Orange Pazuzu", referencing a mythological entity from Mesopotamian myths, while Mestarin Kynsi literally translates to "The Master’s Claw": Everything about the naming scheme of this release points to a quasi-mythological psychedelic experience.
LDA, as Little Dark Age is commonly abbreviated to, is the 2018 studio album by MGMT, who famously blend psychedelia with catchy synth-pop. It is the fourth record in the band's discography, and is the first where the songwriting process wasn't exclusive to members Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser, since it features contributions from other artists, namely Ariel Pink, who is known for the lo-fi, home-recorded aesthetic of his music. The artwork features an illustration by Jim Taber, originally published on the cover of horror zine Witness to the Bizarre, drawn on a bright yellow background.