Best electronic albums of 2018: sixteen

16 – Orbital – Monsters Exist (ACP)

Fat Roland, why have you buried your favourite band in the mid-teens when surely Orbital’s new album should be number one?

Good question, imaginary interrogator. Nice hat, by the way. On the first few plays, I had Monsters Exist pegged as one of Orbital’s okay-albums, more Blue album than Brown album. Golden Wonder crisps, not Seabrook.

But then saw them play much of this album live and had the skins of my ear-drums flailed by a glorious sonic symphony. Suddenly it all made sense. Hoo Hoo Ha Ha is a bit annoying on record, but in the context of a live set, it’s a killer.

As evidenced by their lively performances of PHUK on YouTube, perhaps this would have been better as a live set. This is a live album at heart, packaged awkwardly as a studio album. A studio album that hoo-haed its way into my ears much better once I’d been on that front rail at the O2 Apollo.



Scroll all of the best 2018 electronic albums by clicking here.