Just when I thought I was out, Steve Angello pulls me back in.

Faithful readers of Write All Nite (hi mom!) may have noticed a lack of albums/singles coverage in recent weeks. I’ve kept up my Veins list, but otherwise, I’m trying to focus more on theatre and film writing. Since I’m a hopeless completist, there’s just too much damn music to tackle, especially since there are only so many hours in the day.

BUT, Steven Angello’s new album Human — his second solo venture after staking his claim to fame with Swedish House Mafia, one of the first EDM supergroups that penetrated the mainstream, popularizing the form in the process — struck a chord (natch) that I’ve particularly wanted to pluck with my own instrument, my pen keys keyboard for quite some time.

DJs famous for their live sets often make the cardinal mistake of approaching their albums in too similar a way to how they construct one of their sets. While listening to these packages, we can almost close our eyes and envision hearing this same collection of songs booming from a club’s speakers while revelers trashily gyrate around us.

Unfortunately, what works on the dance floor often doesn’t translate to headphones.

Whereas the brights lights and big amplification allows a seamlessly flowing set to induce a sort of trance in the ragers, leading them to lose themselves in the music, the moment, they own it, they better never let it go, they only get…sorry, where was I?

See, that’s the sort of cognitive rabbit hole meticulous spinners can descend their rabid followers down. But on an album, while the songs should of course add up to a unified, cohesive whole greater than the sum of its disparate parts, most of the tracks also need to be, well, good in their own right. In a set, each individual song is only evaluated with respect to its place within the overall picture. But on an album, there need to be highlights.

Human’s problem isn’t one of insufficient diversity. From techno to Deadmau5-lite, from four-on-the-floor big room house to EDM pop, from minimalism to orchestral sweeps, from Swedish House Mafia to freaking Pusha T, Angello stuffs the album with as much eclecticism as his dynamite sets usually boast. Even though that list might look impressive, each example from these genres just isn’t up-to-snuff. If I was white-boy-moving in a nightclub, they’d sound electric together. But in the quiet of my apartment, Human proves unfortunately mortal.

Even though I haven’t been writing about music as much of late, I’ve been listening to as much as ever. As such, I thought I’d include my updated power rankings of 2018 albums, the same list that used to appear at the bottom of all my music posts. Most, but not all, of the non-hyperlinked entries are new:

2018 Albums, Ranked

1. Black Panther — Kendrick Lamar
2. Dirty Computer — Janelle Monáe
3. Queen — Nicki Minaj
4. High As Hope — Florence + The Machine
5. NASIR — Kanye West & Nas
6. DAYTONA — Kanye West & Pusha T
7. KIDS SEE GHOSTS — Kanye West & Kid Cudi
8. ye — Kanye West
9. The Color of You — Alina Baraz
10. Redemption — Jay Rock
11. Light of Mine — KYLE
12. Man of the Woods — Justin Timberlake
13. beerbongs & bentleys — Post Malone
14. Swimming — Mac Miller
15. Treehouse — Sofi Tukker
16. Scorpion — Drake
17. Shawn Mendes — Shawn Mendes
18. DAY69 — 6ix9ine
19. Testing — A$AP Rocky
20. EVERYTHING IS LOVE — The Carters
21. ? — XXXTENTACION
22. Culture 2 — Migos
23. Head in the Clouds — 88rising
24. Survive the Summer — Iggy Azalea
25. LIFE’S A TRIP — Trippie Redd
26. K.T.S.E. — Kanye West & Teyana Taylor
27. SR3MM — Rae Sremmurd, Swae Lee & Slim Jxmmi
28. The Now Now — Gorillaz
29. Hive Mind — The Internet
30. My Dear Melancholy, — The Weeknd
31. Bobby Tarantino II — Logic
32. Vacation in Hell — Flatbush Zombies
33. GANGIN — SOB X RBE
34. Sex & Cigarettes — Toni Braxton
35. Isolation — Kali Uchs
36. Blindspotting: The Collin EP — Daveed Diggs
37. D6: Reloaded — Lil Wayne
38. KOD — J. Cole
39. For My Fans — Fetty Wap
40. Little Dark Age — MGMT
41. Blue Madonna — BØRNS
42. TA1300 — Denzel Curry
43. How We React and How We Recover — Jason Robert Brown
44. ASTROWORLD — Travis Scott
45. 44/876 — Sting & Shaggy
46. Amen — Rich Brian
47. Five Five — Pouya
48. It’s Complicated — Wale
49. STAY DANGEROUS — YG
50. I Used to Know Her: The Prelude — H.E.R.
51. Punken — Maxo Kream
52. Expectations — Bebe Rexha
53. 4275 — Jacquees
54. Common Ground — Above & Beyond
55. California — Diplo
56. When We (Remix) — Tank
57. 2.23 — Blac Youngsta
58. Invasion of Privacy — Cardi B
59. That’s A Girl’s Name — DRAM
60. Life of a Dark Rose — Lil Skies
61. Love Yourself Tear — BTS
62. Trapholizay — Zaytoven
63. Cosmic — Bazzi
64. As She Pleases — Madison Beer
65. Lost & Found — Jorja Smith
66. Legends of the Summer— Meek Mill
67. Youngblood — 5 Seconds of Summer
68. Ready — Ella Mai
69. BEWARE THE BOOK OF ELI — Ski Mask the Slump God
70. Activated — Tee Grizzley
71. God’s Favorite Customer — Father John Misty
72. Vibras — J Balvin
73. By the Way, I Forgive You — Brandi Carlile
74. The Big Pescado — Berner
75. Play — Dave Grohl
76. Hoodwolf 2 — HoodRich Pablo Juan & Danny Wolf
77. Rolling Papers 2 — Wiz Khalifa
78. P2 — Dave East
79. Camila — Camila Cabello
80. I Like It Loud — Tiesto
81. M A N I A — Fall Out Boy
82. Victory Lap — Nipsey Hussle
83. MEMORIES DON’T DIE — Tory Lanez
84. Human — Steve Angello
85. International Artist — A Boogie wit da Hoodie
86. Bless Yo Trap — Smokepurpp & Murda Beatz
87. Goodbye & Good Riddance — Juice WRLD
88. Reckless — NAV
89. The Longshot — The Longshot
90. Fate — Tammy Rivera
91. The World is Yours — Rich the Kid
92. 23 — Jaydayoungan
93. Kolorblind — DJ ESCO
94. Edgewood — Trouble & Mike WiLL Made-It
95. Hurtin’ Me — Stefflon Don
96. F.A.M.E. — Maluma
97. Rearview Town — Jason Aldean
98. This One’s For You Too — Luke Combs
99. Obsessed: Hedwig and the Angry Inch — Lena Hall
100. November — SiR
101. The Chocolate Box — Jeremih
102. Sweetener — Ariana Grande
103. Voicenotes — Charlie Puth
104. The Vault — G-Eazy
105. Dan + Shay — Dan + Shay
106. Heart Break Kodak — Kodak Black
107. Die Lit — Playboi Carti
108. Ottopsy — Chief Keef
109. Lil Boat 2 — Lil Yachty
110. Glock Bond — Key Glock
111. Drip Season 3 — Gunna
112. Spiritual Conversations — Mozzy
113. SUPERFLY — Future & Co.
114. Golden Hour — Kacey Musgraves
115. We Beefin? — at Wendys
116. Until Death Call My Name Reloaded — YoungBoy Never Broke Again
117. Harder Than Ever — Lil Baby
118. The Play Don’t Care Who Makes It — 2 Chainz
119. Real Hasta la Muerte — Anuel AA
120. Bad Witch — Nine Inch Nails
121. Mansion Musick — Chief Keef
122. Humble Beast (Deluxe) — G Herbo
123. Rich As In Spirit — Rich Homie Quan
124. Pain and Pleasure — Tink
125. Ray Ray from Summerhill — YFN Lucci
126. Freda’s Son — YFN Lucci 
127. Dex Meets Dexter — Famous Dex
128. Swervo — G Herbo & Southside
129. Forever — Popcaan
130. Age Of — Oneohtrix Point Never
131. Queen Naija — Queen Naija
132. Just Cause Y’all Waited — Lil Durk
133. Apart — Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
134. Karma 2 — Dave East
135. Slime Language — Young Thug & Young Stoner Life Records
136. The Marina — Curren$y & Harry Fraud
137. BEASTMODE 2 — Future
138. Sick Boy…Everybody Hates Me — The Chainsmokers 
139. Hear No Evil — Young Thug
140. Chained to the City — Kevin Gates
141. Master the Day of Judgement — YoungBoy Never Broke Again
142. Until Death Call My Name — YoungBoy Never Broke Again
143. 2 Heartless — Moneybagg Yo
144. Grow God — Money Man
145. Don Talk — Don Q
146. N****S Get Shot — Young Dolph
147. Rich Hood — HoodRich Pablo Juan
148. The Leek 4 — Chief Keef
149. Bet On Me — Moneybagg Yo
150. Pray For The Wicked — Panic! At the Disco