Ahead of your favourites among this year’s Carte Blanche Music recommendations, which I publish on New Year’s Day, I round off 2018 with my personal choice.

The last year, I introduced you to 1104 great new songs via my container playlist Carte Blanche Music; over 65 hours of music. Exactly 500 of those translated into a written endorsement through this blog. In other words: only one out of each 11 suggestions (and one fifth of all of my posts) made it onto the Carte Blanche Music Top 2018.

I’m very proud of this year-end list, as it differs largely from the majority of charts you’ll find. Just a few statistics:

• 58% of the tracks feature female lead vocals (up from an already impressive 43% in the Carte Blanche Music Top 2017)
• 43% of the tracks are guitar-based (rock is dead? Think again!)
• Apart from British and American acts, my list contains artists from Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, France, Belgium, Ireland, Estonia, Germany, Sweden, Hungary and South Korea
• By consequence, you’ll not only hear lyrics in English, but also in French, Hungarian, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean
• Needless to say, my year-end list contains no proper hits whatsoever 😉

The Carte Blanche Music Top 2018 features 100 tracks by 100 different artists. As making that choice was hard enough, the songs are sorted alphabetically. Just use the shuffle button if you prefer another order 😉.

I hope you enjoy listening to the list via the Spotify player. Meanwhile, you can read my original recommendations through the links below.

• Ali Barter – Girlie Bits ^(WC)
• Angèle – Je Veux Tes Yeux
• Arcade Fire – Put Your Money On Me
• Art Brut – She Kissed Me And It Felt Like A Hit ^(*)
• Babyteeth – Cocoon ^(WC)
• Bang Bang Romeo – Shame On You
• Bernhoft & The Fashion Bruises – Humanoid ^(WC)
• Big Data – Evolution Once Again
• Black Honey – Into The Nightmare
• Blackbird – The One
• Blackbook – Love Is A Crime ^(WC)
• Bob Moses – Heaven Only Knows
• Bob Mould – What Do You Want Me To Do
• Bonnie McKee – Sleepwalker ^(WC)
• boy Pablo – Losing You ^(WC)
• Buika – Deadbeat
• Calogero – 1987 ^(WC)
• Carlos Jean feat. Teyou & Annya – Yucatán ^(WC)
• The Cat Empire – Stolen Diamonds
• Chvrches – Get Out
• Clara Luciani – La Grenade
• Cookin’ On 3 Burners feat. Kaiit – Warning ^(WC)
• Corine – Un Air De Fête ^(*)
• DRMS & L’Isle – La Vague
• Ed Struijlaart (feat. The Hornaments) – Guitar
• Efecto Mariposa – Mágico
• Fall Out Boy – Church ^(WC)
• Fanclub – Leaves
• FIDLAR – Can’t You See
• Florence & The Machine – Patricia ^(*)
• Gecko Turner – Un Limón En La Cabeza
• Grimes feat. Hana – We Appreciate Power
• Harlea – Beautiful Mess
• Harts – Shake Ya Pants ^(WC)
• Hooverphonic – Romantic ^(WC)
• Hozier (feat. Mavis Staples) – Nina Cried Power
• I Wear* Experiment – Almere ^(WC)
• Inge van Calkar – Imaginary
• Isaac Gracie – Show Me Love ^(WC)
• Jade Bird – Uh Huh ^(WC)
• Janelle Monáe – Americans ^{(WC) (*)}
• Jealous Of The Birds – Marrow
• Jenifer – Hey Jen ^(*)
• Jerry Williams – Grab Life
• Joe Bonamassa – Evil Mama
• Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde – I Think Of You I Cry ^(WC)
• Just Loud feat. Debbie Harry – Soul Train
• JZMN JYN – Going Under ^(WC)
• Kate Nash – Life In Pink
• Lauren Daigle – Still Rolling Stones ^(WC)
• Leoniden – People
• The Lighthouse – Catch Fire ^(WC)
• Lilly Among Clouds – Listen To Your Mama
• Lissie – Best Days
• Lizzo – Boys ^(WC)
• Lou Doillon – Burn
• Lova – You Me And The Silence
• Maïa – Laisse-Moi Libre
• Manic Street Preachers – People Give In ^(WC)
• Margaret Island – Hóvirág
• Mokono – Signs ^(WC)
• morgxn & Walk The Moon – home ^(WC)
• Moscow Apartment – Orange
• The Nectars – Heaven ^(WC)
• Nilüfer Yanya – Thanks 4 Nothing
• Only Yours – Everlasting
• Paloma Faith – ’til I’m Done ^{(WC) (*)}
• Paramore – Rose-Colored Boy
• Peggy Gou – It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)
• Priest – Lost Lions
• The Proclaimers – Then It Comes To Me ^(WC)
• Reel Big Fish – You Can’t Have All Of Me
• Roads To Roam – Believe
• Ruby Bones – Not Enough
• Sabrina Carpenter – Paris
• Sam Fender – Dead Boys
• Say Lou Lou – Golden Child ^(WC)
• Shanguy – King Of The Jungle ^(WC)
• Shed Seven – People Will Talk
• Sigala feat. Ella Eyre, Meghan Trainor & French Montana – Just Got Paid ^(WC)
• Sir Notch – Gimme That Sunshine
• Sloes – Misunderstood
• The Slow Readers Club – On The TV
• Sofi Tukker & Pabllo Vittar – Energia [Parte 2] ^(WC)
• Sophie & The Giants – Bulldog
• Starcrawler – Hollywood Ending ^(WC)
• Stars – Ship To Shore ^(WC)
• The Struts – Body Talks
• Sunflower Bean – Come For Me
• They Might Be Giants – The Communists Have The Music ^(WC)
• Tom Grennan – Sober
• The Vaccines – All My Friends Are Falling In Love ^(WC)
• Victor Manuelle & Juan Luis Guerra – Quiero Tiempo ^(*)
• We Are Scientists – One In, One Out ^(WC)
• Welshly Arms – Down To The River ^(WC)
• Yonaka – Fired Up
• You Me At Six – Back Again
• Young Gun Silver Fox (feat. Seaweed Horns) – Kingston Boogie ^(WC)
• Zazie – Speed
• Zuzu – Beauty Queen

^(WC)   ex Carte Blanche Music Wildcard
^(*)       album track

Werner Schlosser

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.