10 Best Pop Albums Of 2018

6. Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour

Kacey Musgraves gambled a portion of her loyal (and large) country following when she spectacularly diversified beyond previous expectations in 2018, but the spellbinding results hopefully justified the left turn into scintillating synths in place of an extra banjo pluck.

Not least because "Golden Hour" is a luxurious slice of both. The eponymous track flatters to deceive, adding earnestness to an otherwise hazy ballad, whilst Space Cowboy skews country's lowkey pomp with a track first scaled back before a luscious grand finale. Lyrically, she bloodies homophobia with Rainbow, and kudos for an artist with roots in country for fighting such a good fight rather than not bothering in engaging in one at all. Mother is a lament to the pain of missing a parent far away, crafted - by her own admittance - whilst on an LSD trip.

Golden Hour's biggest triumph - and Musgrave's most beloved donation to 2018 - is High Horse. The surgical fusion of disco, house and country combines with scalpel-sharp lyrics to ensure its place as the album's deepest cut. An instant infectiousness - despite the disparate desperation expressed within the lyrics - elevates the album amongst the year's elite.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 70,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.