There was a time when January was a slow month for music and very few albums came out. That’s not entirely the case anymore. Sure, you don’t get many huge albums in January, but with the internet carrying the hype for music, the industry doesn’t slow down too much in any given month.

A handful of albums from January are certainly making my 2018 year end list, but there are more that I think are worth your time from “the most depressing month of the year”. Here are the best albums of January 2018.

Jeff Rosenstock – POST-

Pop punk is a genre that has shown very little in terms of progression and innovation in the past 10 years. This is, of course, excluding Jeff Rosenstock, who put out one of the best albums of 2016 with the frantic and chaotic WORRY.

Although POST- doesn’t have the same amount of enthralling chaos, it is still a very passionate album that shows a political side to Jeff. A lot of artists have been doing this in the wake of Trump’s presidency and it’s become a little stale. Not many artists have much to say, but Jeff Rosenstock shows a different side.

Basically, he’s pissed off and bored. Not with anything in particular, he’s just fed up with everything and he displays that extremely well. He doesn’t have all the answers, no one does, but what separates him from everyone else is that he’s self-aware. He knows that he’s not a great singer, but he still screams and stretches his vocals as far as possible because he cares greatly about what he says, and that, to me, is admirable.

First Aid Kit – Ruins

I wasn’t even anticipating this album at the start of January. I’ve heard FAK’s material before and it was nice enough on the ears, but it never stuck with me. But Ruins? Yeah, this is something special.

They stripped this down to their country and folk roots and made a lush and organic album. Their vocals soar on these tracks and it’s clear that they’ve improved together since their earliest days.

It’s not the most original album you’ll hear, but the atmosphere they crafted on this album is incredible. Make sure you play this on some high quality headphones and soak it all in.

Maxo Kream – Punken

Trap albums don’t often offer much new to the style; it’s typically a genre that works in small doses (Migos apparently don’t know this since they released an album longer than most Pixar movies). Mainly, it’s a genre good for party jams.

Maxo Kream is more about the rapping. He spits continuously on this album and doesn’t often slow down. The beats are grimy enough to keep you invested and there are some good hooks every now and then. Although it gets a little old by the end, I guarantee rap fans will take a few songs away from this.

Shame – Songs Of Praise

Shame are new post-punk band from the UK and they show a lot of promise. Their influences are very clear as of now, but I can see that they’ll come into their own in the next few years. They’re not quite as exhilarating as Protomartyr yet, but they have a lot of gems in the track listing.

There are a couple of tracks that go in a more indie rock direction and then the closing track is a Britpop anthem that even Liam Gallagher can’t pull off well anymore on his solo material. It’s a solid debut and rock music fans should be giving this one a listen.

Lylo – Post Era

This Scottish indie rock band dropped an album under thirty minutes that is packed with so much flavour. Their usage of sax is extremely refreshing for this style. It’s more pop focused than it is rock, which works in Lylo’s favour.

The vocalist adds a lot of melody with his vocals and the drumming on this record is exceptional, an album that may fly under the radar but it’s one you must try.

Patawawa – Bedroom (EP)

Patawawa are a disco influenced indie pop band from the UK. This EP is groovy and funky in ways I’ve not heard for a long time in music. The 2 vocalists play off each other in a very fun way. This is what pop music is lacking in the current music climate, tracks that have groove and melody to them.

We never replaced Hot Chip when they slowly lost relevancy, but Patawawa could be the band to replace them. I can see these guys filling up festival slots in a few years time.

Those were all the highlights from January 2018. Other albums that you should try are the ones from Cupcakke (if you want some overtly sexual hip hop), Sylvan LaCue (for conscious hip hop heads that want some smooth, vibing, and low key music) and Ty Segall (psych rock and garage rock music that uses its influences very well).