It’s early July…..it’s mid-July, which means it’s time to gush about the best stuff of the year so far. I’m behind my normal numbers, but I’ve still listened to 169 new releases (counting EP’s and live albums). Since I have a tendency to overload myself at the end of the year, I’m limiting my midyear post to just 25 albums. It’s a mix of perennial favorites and new surprises, and hopefully you’ll find something new and wonderful too! If your favorite isn’t here, well there’s currently 130 on my list to listen to as well. I’m sure I’ll write my favorite 1000 at the end of the year or something tedious. Let’s go!
25. The Men – Buyer Beware
I’m a simple man; at the end of the day, I just love some whiplash garage rock. Doesn’t have to be good, just has to be fast and loud. Luckily, The Men are also good, and they’ve delivered another back-to-basics album after last year’s excellent New York. This is the band’s 100th or so album, incredible that they are still so locked-in. This band has done some more experimental or slower works, but they’re at their best with no-frills old-school rock.
24. Beach Bunny – Tunnel Vision
No secret that I’m a huge Beach Bunny fan. Their mix of fun, fuzzy punk and squeaky-clean vocals and lyrics makes for a super unique band, even if there are tons of similar acts out there. Their third album doesn’t change the formula, thankfully, it just locks in and delivers some whipping indie-punk tunes with a saccharine touch. Fun fact: my partner and I’s song is “Cloud 9.”
23. Model/Actriz – Pirouette
The first Model/Actriz album was like nothing I’ve heard before – electro-noise that counts as dance music, but for an indie crowd, with music based largely on staccato notes, and lyrics and vocals that are raw and often frighteningly vulnerable. Their sophomore album digs more into the dance side, more melodic and less noisy, to almost equally good outcomes. The lyrics are more of a focus here, and they’re a lot clearer – this album is a therapy session, and it feels uncomfortable to dance to it. But damn do you have to.
22. Lambrini Girls – Who Let The Dogs Out
A riotous, raucous debut from England that was set to be the punk breakthrough of 2025 before Bob Vylan got censored for truth. Dogs hearkens back to riot grrrl in spirit, blending it with the punk of 2025. It’s a load of fun, and also viciously satirical and angry. Songs like “Company Culture” and “Filthy Rich Nepo Baby” have specific targets behind them. Some of it feels a little like 2010’s-era Tumblr feminism, but when the songs are this good that doesn’t matter.
21. SPELLLING – Portrait of My Heart
This has already been a solid year of me checking out artist I’ve heard of but never heard. I had Spellling pegged as an indie-R&B singer in my head, and while that’s accurate, she’s very rock too. The songs on Heart pull from equally from Motown and Subpop, diving headfirst into sultry R&B or double-bass drums on a whim. The only constant factor is energy, the rest is entirely unpredictable. Really had fun listening to this. Three L’s in the name but none to be found on the record.
20. clipping. – Dead Channel Sky
On the flipside is artists I’ve loved for years. The experimental rap group clipping. are a personal favorite, and their fifth album delivers on all fronts. The band’s abrasive music mixed with Daveed Diggs’ lightspeed rapping make for consistently thrilling tunes. There isn’t necessarily anything new here, but the formula still works – heavy, fast rap songs that very rhythmic but still shun any radio-friendly elements.
I found myself surprisingly disappointed with Pigsx7’s previous album, 2023’s Land of Sleeper. They remained one of my favorite metal bands, but I was worried that their continued trajectory from doom metal into psychedelic rock would render them boring. Alas! Their fifth album is just as good as albums 1-3. Heavy riffs and dense songs abound. There’s classic, doom-y Pigs (“The Wyrm”) and there’s entirely new ideas (“Glib Tongued” which features El-P of all people). This band is about as much fun as you can have in metal. Oh by the way, covered them.
18. Baths – Gut
I hadn’t kept up with Baths after his first two records, both electro-indie albums that presented two sides of a coin; the debut was fun and bubbly, the sophomore record much gloomier. I wasn’t sure what to expect with Gut, but I really wasn’t expecting a Perfume Genius record. This is a set of vulnerable, pretty, shaken and queer indie songs, written in the same manner as Michael Hadreas does. You can make the argument that the album’s front half is too similar, but there’s a lot of open space for this kind of thing. It’s gorgeous, I was floored. Grab the tissues. And as for Perfume Genius himself, well I haven’t worked up the willpower to listen to his new one yet. Expect it on the EOY list.
17. DARKSIDE – Nothing
This one caught me way off-guard. I only really knew on Darkside song prior to this, “Liberty Bell,” and I really love it. But the band’s atmospheric, electro-indie is akin to a handful of other bands that I appreciate but don’t really like. The same goes for Nicholas Jaar’s solo music. But this album is just a blast. These songs are light and vibe-y, but they’re still funky and fun. I listened to this on a morning commute and it really set my brain in a righted mood for a workday. Definitely an album I’d revisit, and I rarely do that. Summer music!
16. Billy Woods – Golliwog
Another perennial favorite of mine, his presence on this list shouldn’t be surprising at all. It’s also one of the most acclaimed albums of the year in general. The indie rap hotshot has already released a number of great records both solo and as a member of Armand Hammer, but this is his magnum opus. A tough record about a tough life, an autobiography the artist’s fascinating life and his experiences in NYC. Sure, that album’s been done a million times, but if it’s earnest then it’s justifiable. This is not only earnest, it’s raw, nervous, and at times still redacted, as if Woods immediately regrets telling the listener something.
15. Smerz – Big city life
It’s rare in today’s music melting pot that you hear something that sounds totally new. This sounds totally new. The best I can surmise Smerz is that they are trip-hop indie, with a little extra -hop, and some jazz. Short, funky blasts that sound like the coolest thing this side of Jon Spencer. I’ve already deep-dived their previous albums – their two prior full-lengths are ones where they serve as a backing band for an indie-pop singer, and an avant-garde choir. This band is hitting originality on all fronts.
14. Paris Texas – They Left Me With A Gun
You may be noticing a trend in the rap that I like the most. Intense but vibrant indie-rap is my go-to; if Denzel Curry drops anything this year then it’s gonna be a heyday. The new PT release is just an EP, and I’m always hesitant on ranking EP’s against LP’s, but when something is this good it’s worth it. A quick, nonstop collection of fast rhythms and big beats, and all without the boisterousness of top 40 rap.
13. Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos
I pity the people who don’t listen to music in languages they don’t speak. I don’t understand a word of this album and, as a pasty white man in Boston, I’m not exactly the target audience. But Bad Bunny has such an inherent skill at taking reggaeton – a genre that comes off as exceedingly repetitive to a pasty White – and making every song feel important and special. Reggaeton, rap, R&B, pop, there’s a touch of everything popular here. And even at 62 minutes, it doesn’t feel overstuffed or tedious. Put this on at a party – any party – and you’ll get everyone moving in no time.
12. Ela Minus – DIA
I went into this one totally blind, having heard one song from it many weeks prior. Obviously, I was floored. I was expecting some light-electro indie, and probably “just another indie album” like the influx I’ve already heard this year. It’s electro-indie, for sure, but it’s very experimental and not afraid to take risks. Pop songs are meshed with ambient drone, and enough dense electronica to make Dave Gahan smile. It’s a truly unpredictable album and had me clapping my hands like a seal.
11. ameokama – i will be clouds in the morning and rain in the evening
The first of three regional Boston* discs to make the list, this is another entry in the “wildly unpredictable” canon. But instead of sticking in the world of electro-indie, this cements itself in black metal. ameokama, who is also the singer for metal group A Constant Knowledge of Death, explores every boundary of black metal, and pushes past them. They’re confrontational at points, atmospheric at others. The defining focus of this album is existing as something you can get lost in. You know how Deafheaven went from black metal to ambient? Imagine all of that across one album (more on them later). There’s still time for some doom and shoegaze elements too, because it simply can’t stay contained.
*- ameokama dropped this album and promptly moved away, but it counts as a Boston album.
10. Little Simz – Lotus
It’s always a safe assumption that Little Simz will make my lists whenever she releases something, but Lotus is excellent even on a grading curve. After the monumental, unexpected success of her album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, she stepped away a bit and released some cold, confrontational albums. But Lotus is plain old fun. The UK rapper sounds like she’s having a blast, with big beats and bouncy rhythms. It’s a different and somewhat relieving direction, as it sounds like Simz has learned to leverage her platform (a guest appearance on last year’s Coldplay album hinted at this too). As expected, there’s a lot of quick, flowing ideas and most of them work very well.
9. mclusky – the world is still here and so are we
And thank your god for that. mclusky could release an album of fart noises and I’d find a way to justify putting in on my list, but luckily I don’t have to. The band’s first album in 21 years picks up exactly where they left off, and why shouldn’t it? The things they satirized so heavily in the early 2000’s have only gotten worse! This is full of short, heavy post-hardcore songs that could easily get mistaken as punk. And as expected, the lyrics range from corny and silly to deeply political and courageously specific. I was a huge fan of Future Of The Left, Andy Falkous’ band he formed after mclusky’s initial break-up, but this album scratches a slightly different itch.
8. TAKAAT – Is Noise, Vol. 1
Remember when I said I always debate whether to include EP’s? This is the same boat. But let me say that this is the exact type of thing I’m into. This 4-track is the first music released by the band, but you may be familiar with them already – it’s Mdou Moctar’s backing band, without Moctar himself. These four songs mix African rhythms with dense, heavy noise production to make something wholly unique and separate from the artist they’re associated with. I saw these guys play a very early show and they managed to stretch these four songs into an hour-long set, it was face-melting stuff. I can’t wait for more.
7. Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power
The kings reclaim the throne. Deafheaven’s Sunbather is arguably the best metal album of the last 20 years, whether you like it or not, and they’ve been on a tear ever since then. But where each subsequent album has explored a different facet of their sound, Lonely People With Power combines everything into one. It’s their best since Sunbather. Pulverizing black metal, blissful ambient, riffs, beautiful lyrics completely lost through guttural screaming, and occasionally just…rock music? Also these are shorter songs than normal, which gives the band more branches to show themselves off. It’s like a Greatest Hits of all new tracks. Bring earplugs.
6. nurse joy – can i say something…?
The second local act to make the list – yes, there’s still another one here. I caught nurse joy by chance at a festival last year when I had downtime, and their set in a cramped Rockwell was a damn party. Their debut full-length is a dance-punk whirlwind, a bunch of raucous loose anthems that transcend genre but never stray too far from being -punk. It’s fun as hell. I’ve seen them twice more since last summer, always a fun show.
5. Backxwash – Only Dust Remains
Another shoo-in, every Backxwash album I’ve listened to has made my best-of lists. There was never any doubt here. The Zambian-Canadian rapper is freed from her now-concluded trilogy of dark, religious albums, but Dust isn’t a whole lot different. We do see some different and more experimental sides of her, making this her most well-rounded album to date. But it’s also dark, heavy, conscious and sometimes just plain nasty. This isn’t something for everyone, it’s deliberately off-putting at points; but it’s yet another triumph in a catalog full of them.
4. Laura Stevenson – Late Great
Laura Stevenson’s classic “Master Of Art” is my all-time favorite song. She’s got one of the best singing voice I’ve ever heard. It’s not necessarily a given that she shows up on these lists, but it’s likely – and Late Great is her best album in a long while. Touching, gorgeous indie songs that can stretch into “fun” or “haunting” territory real quick. Stevenson is excellent at making songs that are drawn-out and dense, and following it up with something minimalistic and catchy. Everything is all under the guise of Stevenson’s beautiful vocals. She’s one of my favorite artists and she’s back even stronger than she has been in many years.
3. Paper Lady – Idle Fate
The third and final local release on this list, this album is nuts. Another debut full-length, this one is somewhere in the realm of heavy alternative/shoegaze, even just rock music. These tunes are dense and unpredictable, sometimes putting everything upfront and other times opting for a slow-burning bruiser. Their live show is feral even as the songs are patient. If you’ve been missing some heavy alternative, then have no fear, Paper Lady is here.
2. Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory – Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory
Time to get the tissues out. I mentioned my favorite song, but SVE’s “Seventeen” is close behind it, and the song guaranteed to make me to weep. SVE’s first album crediting her backing band is her best in a long while. It’s apparent that the band were more involved in the songwriting, as these tunes are denser and more instrumental. Guitars are largely ditched for synthesizers, itself a big change for her traditionally folk-inspired indie (and usually a kiss of death for me). But her gorgeous voice still prevails and makes these songs vulnerable, shakeable. Remarkably beautiful indie record.
1.Bartees Strange – Horror
I’ve been a fan of Bartees for a while, but I never predicted that he would put out a record this good. Horror does indeed dig into the macabre, adding yet another element to his already-stewing melting pot. The indie/rock/rapper delivers a chaotic album of high-speed rap, pretty R&B and catchy indie songs. It’s fun, wildly so, and delivers from start to finish. It’s easy to see an influence of TV On The Radio here, although the more macabre parts come from elsewhere. Some of these songs absolutely boom, but not all of them do, it’s a very well-rounded affair. Fun as hell.
Note: While compiling and writing this list, I did listen to two more releases that would probably slip in somewhere here, so let me do two little flashes. You had to know this wouldn’t actually stay at 25:
Songs By Jonas – “The “Everything Is Wrong” Album” – I know nothing about this artist, but this was a whirlwind of bedroom emo and experimental noise. Most songs are short and acoustic, and make clever use of double-tracking to make it sound like a full band instead of one person. But there’s plenty of fuzz and glitch, too – it’s wildly unpredictable.
The Croaks – Menagerie – Another favorite local band (and one that features Paper Lady frontwoman Alli on bass), this is some Ren Faire indie. A 4-track EP of songs with full minstrel influence, even though some of them go off the rails into punk territory. Seen them live multiple times, one of the most fun bands you’ll find in Boston.
Key Tracks: “Out Of Time,” “Won’t Find The Answers”
I continue to get mountains of submissions for this blog even though I have mostly shifted focus to journeys through discographies and rankings, when I have time to pay it any attention at all. But every now and then, a pitch catches my eye. That’s exactly what happened when I was sent Burn, the debut album from rookie indie singer Liam Peroyea. While I never like to describe an artist based on unchangeable characteristics, it’s also what caught my attention – Peroyea is only 13 years old. And Burn sounds wise well beyond those years.
Burn is a quick album, ten tracks and 24 minutes, but it accomplishes a lot, especially as a showcase. The biggest songs here are ones that edge closely to rock songs. “Won’t Find the Answers” is the most full-fledged tune here, the only song with percussion. The penultimate track “Icarus” follows suit, marrying a wonderful vocal rhythm with a more full-band feel.
But many of these songs are not striving to be rock songs. The key to this album is sparseness. In both production and songwriting, the album’s other eight songs are all odes that have a lingering emptiness to them. Maybe the best example of this is “Out Of Time,” the first song with lyrics. It is a vocal-forward song, and Peroyea has some truly affective vocals throughout the album. It’s got guitar and some interesting rhythms, but there are fits of silence in between ideas that make for a particularly haunting listen. The same goes for “Castles,” maybe the best vocal track on the album, with Peroyea (who is, again, 13 years old) singing “You don’t know the meaning of love ‘til you lost it” over a nice piano rhythm. His vocals sound pained, like those of an older man who’s tasting his own medicine.
The album gets even sparser during the instrumental songs, too, and there are four of them. “Shattered” opens the album with a cool dual-guitar piece, with help from Callan Simpson. “Lost” and “Sojourn” are both acoustic instrumentals, the latter of which has some handclapping that offsets the tone of the scarcer tunes. And there’s an aptly-named interlude, “Interlude,” that is just lush piano.
The production on this album is even more disarming than the sparsely-constructed tunes. It may be the result of circumstance, but these songs sound like they’re being transmitted from a few rooms over. The recordings are fuzzy and dense, in a way that highlights the use of silence within the songs and the power of Peroyea’s voice. They’re reminiscent of early John Darnielle recordings, done alone over a boombox – with the power of making you feel like you know he’s recording alone. These songs do not sound like they were recorded in a studio, and that factor makes the album more mystical. This is loose, quiet music with a number of abrupt, varying ideas.
The combination of piano and guitar make for a well-rounded debut album here. There is a lot of great songwriting here, and no idea sticks around too long. Every year is overstuffed with indie these days, but you should carve out a half hour to spend with Burn, especially if you’re into the more heartfelt, raw folksy side of indie. Keep the fire lit!
Well, we did it. We made through another year. I’m proud of you, I’m proud of us. If you’ve been through these lists with a magnifying glass, then thank you. If you’ve just clicked on this one to see a top 10, I still appreciate the time. This has been an extraordinarily fruitful year for new music, and narrowing this list down to 101 was so difficult. Narrowing out a top 24 was brutal, I mean brat didn’t even make the cut.
Curiously, this year was unbelievable for new albums, but I personally felt that it was missing that album. There was not an obvious #1 for me, no dominant album, no Rat Saw God shoo-in. Even now as I’m writing, I’m not confident that my #1 pick is actually my #1. Maybe it’s on me for not spending enough time with most of these albums, but I don’t know that there’s any here I’ll be revisiting for years. However only time will tell for that. All 24 of these albums are near-perfect barnburners regardless.
Nearly all of these write-ups are copied directly from other previous posts on this blog. I’m editing them but please keep that in mind in case there’s a nonsensical reference or anything. Alright – final 24.
#24. Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future
The hot streak continues. You may know Lenker best as the singer of Big Thief, a band seemingly incapable of writing a song even slightly mediocre. Well, she’s racked up more than enough songs to make a runoff solo album. Donned with just an acoustic guitar, Lenker delivers another set of heart-wrenching ditties, as well as a solo version of Big Thief’s “Vampire Empire,” one of my favorite tunes from 2023. Simple and devastating, it’s what you expect from indie’s best songwriter. Also, she released a Bandcamp-only accompany EP with all proceeds going to Gazan relief efforts, which is a nice 180 from what I had heard about her previous politics (possibly hearsay!).
#23. ScHoolboy Q – Blue Lips
2024 has been a year for form-returning albums. St. Vincent and Vampire Weekend improved on their respective weakest releases, and the same goes for ScHoolboy. His previous album, 2019’s Crash Talk, was a change of pace, as the rapper opted for much shorter tracks. Rather than his normal 5+ minute journeys, the album was full of 2-minute bursts. It was also a change of pace in quality, as everything felt incomplete or off-hand. Blue Lips is a welcome return, technically “more of the same” for a rapper who always wears his heart on his sleeve, but the formula still pays dividends. Emotional, funny, raw and absolute banging: this is what you want from a ScHoolboy album. And there aren’t even any 5+ minute songs – there’s just a lot more energy and effort put in here.
#22. JPEGMAFIA – I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU
I’m sorry that I’m the flavor of caucasian who loves Peggy specifically but I am, and this is his finest set since Veteran. It’s also the most manic thing he’s ever released, closer to hyperpop than anything else. It’s absurdly beat-heavy, dense, and thrilling. Peggy even gets somewhat lost in the front half, in songs that focus heavily on the bass beats. He shines through on the more measured back half, with some songs that get much more earnest. His guests on this album are Vince Staples and Denzel Curry, two guys known just as much for their intense and mainstream-eschewing rap. So you know what you’re gonna get – paranoid and catchy music that’s too abrasive to play on the family speakers. One of my favorites of the year. I think Knocked Loose still has the best album with a cross on the cover, though.
#21. Jack White – No Name
I sometimes forget how much I love Jack White. Across his works with the Stripes, the Raconteurs, the Dead Weather and solo, there’s only four albums I would say I dislike. He’s always been an impatient songwriter, but his records have had measured levels of ambition. No Name might be his most down-to-earth set since the middle of the White Stripes run – just a good ol’ collection of no-frills blues rock. It’s the most White Stripes album since, to be honest, Get Behind Me Satan. There’s some of that garage-punk energy, a lot of bluesy riffs, and just compact songwriting everywhere. Some of the back half gets a little repetitive, there is a bit of an itch for some of Jack’s more ambitious stuff to be had. But overall, this is just a slambang rock record. “It’s Rough On Rats” into “Archbishop Harold Holmes” into the manic “Bombing Out” will go down as one of the best three-song runs of any 2024 album. And the closer “Terminal Archenemy Endling” – maybe the only patient song on the album – may be better than all of them. Another critical strike against the tedious and harmful “Rock is dead!!” crowd.
#20. Uniform – American Standard
These next three albums get pretty abrasive. Uniform’s first few albums were solid but I kept waiting for a breakout release. 2020’s Shame was that record, a mix of industrial guitars and guttural post-hardcore that seemed to come out of the same catacombs that were on the cover. The band’s newest album is impossibly even bleaker, complete with a smog-heavy cover of industrial, rural anywhere. The band also sounds even bleaker, and stretches themselves way out of a comfort zone. That comfort zone is reasonably-lengthed songs. Side A of this record is one, 21-minute song. Side B is only three songs. By stretching their songs out, the band can hammer home the innate misery of their music. This is angry, humorless stuff, just the absolute depths of unhappiness. Uniform is not an easy band to classify musically, even harder here because they stretch into doom-metal for the first time. But this isn’t really metal, and not really post-hardcore. It exists in it’s own dimension, a hell dimension of some sort. This is not something that’s appealing to most people, but I love this band and they crushed my highest expectations. I also finally saw them earlier this month alongside our #101 entry Pharmakon – one of the best live bands I’ve seen in a long while.
#19. Knocked Loose – You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
Knocked Loose are one of those bands that I absolutely love but never know how to write about. The metal group doesn’t exist within the bounds of any specific subgenre, but they aren’t so radical as to define a new one, either. What they do is absolutely rip, and their third album rips even harder than their first two. They’re technically metalcore, a genre I usually don’t pay much attention to due to sheer repetition between bands. But Knocked Loose infuse metalcore with elements of hardcore punk and death metal, emitting short and brutal transmissions that always make sure to be on the fun side of things. The songs on this album (especially the first half) don’t so much start and end as they do operate as one puzzling suite. There’s an assist from Poppy that should go down as one of the best guest verses of the year, too. This is absolute fire start to finish. The band were already big prior to this album, but made a lot of waves recently as they appeared (with Poppy) on Slim Jim Kimmel’s late-night show and pissed off a lot of very vulnerable older folks.
#18. The Body – The Crying Out Of Things
The Body’s second album of 2024 is also their second to make this list. I love this band dearly, and this instantly became one of my favorite albums of theirs. These two guys always take their template sound, which is already intensely unique because of Chip King’s squawked vocals, and tweak it differently for each album. This time around, they’ve largely diluted their already flimsy song structures and added a lot of chopped elements into the vocals. It’s more directly synthy than most of their albums, while still unrelentingly heavy. It comes off a tad like Merzbow but with more restraint. It’s an album for metalheads even though it is not metal, it’s just noise music. But for anyone who likes dark, extreme or just heavy music, or a singer that sounds like a chicken, prioritize this one. One of the best from one of the best.
#17. Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood
After three unrelentingly heavy records, here’s an overcorrection. My expectations were set pretty high, given that “Right Back To It” was already my favorite song of the year before this was released. I’m also just a lifelong Waxahatchee fan, although she’s not someone who I listen to often. The rest of the record isn’t 100% consistent, but it often hits. While the lead single is her most straight-up country song yet, the rest of the album is familiar indie-folk, with occasional bursts of guitar. These tunes are very sweet, very casual and just extremely well-developed. Katie’s voice is as good as always, but this album is more about summer-y vibes anyways. These are songs for aimless car rides with the windows down, songs for drinking a beer on the front lawn. And yet, I can tell this is a record I’ll come back to during all seasons. As expected, one of the best of the year.
#16. Torres – What an enormous room
Okay so I actually spun this one twice back in January in preparation of (finally!) seeing her live, but I gave it a proper headphones whirl in April. The indie singer has been bubbling under the radar for a good decade now, and I’m hoping this propels her forward. It might be her best album yet, a culmination of all the ideas she’s put forward till now. It’s got threatening guitar jams, tender ballads and poppy synth tunes. She continues to blend sexual and religious references like a more deranged Sufjan Stevens. There’s more individual ideas here than on previous Torres records, but she makes them all coalesce. Something for everyone, at least in the indie world. The third spin of this will certainly not be my last.
#15. Denzel Curry – King of the Mischievous South Part 2
Hot damn. I accidentally slept on this one for a while despite loving basically everything Curry has done so far. Curry has made a name for himself making rap that’s intense without straying too far from genre conventions. This is more of a down-to-basics hip-hop mixtape that shows he can knock something a little more “normal” out of the park too. As a mixtape it is looser and more low-stakes than an album would be, but he puts in no less effort. Bombastic to the core. It’s a quick affair, maybe even a little too short. But Curry can practically do no wrong to this reviewer. Not a magnum opus or mission statement, just excellent, high-energy hip-hop.
Note: I listened to and reviewed the mixtape, not the subsequent album that featured mostly the same songs in a different order with a few more tracks. I don’t really understand what the deal was there?
#14. St. Vincent – All Born Screaming
St. Vincent’s now ten-year-old self-titled will always be my favorite release of hers; it’s a top ten favorite album of mine. For me, she’ll never top it – but this comes damn close. I was really not into her last album, Daddy’s Home, a set of mostly tepid ballads centered around a tone-deaf concept, and her trajectory into duller rock was a familiar one across the indie landscape. So shocking, then, when she dropped a record of heavy, industrial-inspired tunes instead. While the album fluctuates between crushing songs like “Flea” and softer ones like “Reckless,” the influence of heavier, offbeat alternative is clear throughout. Cate Le Bon steps in for a crucial assistance on the lengthy, flowing final track, and it’s a fitting welcome. I could write and probably will write something about how Jack Antonoff is ruining pop music – this record proves that artists can shake the stink of him off and still be alright.
#13. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Wild God
I’ve mentioned a few times that this flash review exercise has mostly become me showing my own ass, and here I must do it again: I am not very familiar with the Nick Cave catalog. I’ve listened to (and loved) his earliest and most recent records, but there’s 20 years in the middle I haven’t heard. In my limited experience though, I’ve realized the best Nick Cave songs are ones where there’s just minimal piano or static noise and Cave talking lyrics. He does that a lot here. There’s also songs that have full-band with choir backups, and they’re just as stunning. It’s unbelievable that Cave still stuns this much, but every track on this album works well. Most of them work tremendously well. Cave is one of music’s premier storytellers, and this is another legendary release. It’s one of the best albums of the year. No question. I’m in awe.
#12. Foxing – Foxing
I’m floored. This is a gamechanger. I wasn’t familiar with Foxing before their year-end-list-dominating record Nearer My God in 2018, so that album’s radical left turn in sound was lost on me (although I adored the record nonetheless). This is another shift, into something heavier and darker. This record is unclassifiable, a mix of indie, emo and hardcore that often deteriorates into walls of harsh noise. Yet it is still indie rock. It’s got the harsh vulnerability and self-loathing of the 90’s emo scene that spawned Foxing, with added dissonance, anger and confusion. It has lighter moments for sure, and touches of everyday life, and these separate the more intense moments into individual spirals. It’s still an exhausting affair, and maybe even a touch too long at 56 minutes. But for those of us with depression, we’ve got a new magnum opus.
#11. MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
Let’s not mince words – this was my most anticipated record of 2024. The first single off this album, “Rudolph” was one of my favorite songs of 2023. The second single, “She’s Leaving You,” is easily making my 2024 list. Lenderman’s primary band, Wednesday, handily won my Album of the Year mark in 2023. I set my sights ridiculously high for this one. Lenderman’s solo music bridges the gap between Neil Young and Kurt Vile; it’s off-the-cuff guitar playing and talk-sung vocals, with intricate and specific lyrics that detail American loneliness and wasted youths. Lenderman’s previous album focused on the grungier side of those artists, and this one is heavier on the Americana side. There’s enough Southern gothic here to make Flannery O’Connor happy but, predictably, there’s a lot of humor and just unpredictable references that make these stories entertaining. I don’t think Neil Young ever sang about Ferraris, Guitar Hero or the Cars film franchise. I always love specificity in lyrics even if it makes the songs less applicable – to me, it shows personality and care. Lenderman is always all about that. Only complaint here is that the energetic/somber balance is off in favor of the latter, but it’s a minor complaint. This guy is just on a different level from everyone else.
#10. Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us
Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut will always be one of my favorite albums, but the aura of “rich (mostly) white boys repurpose African music” aged like milk almost immediately. In the years since, the band has taken different approaches to incorporate maturity into their works. Their fourth album, Father Of The Bride, is easily their worst, a set of adult-alternative yawners only one step above CVS radio. For this album, they overcorrected, releasing what is actually their most manic and experimental set to date. Every song on this album has crafted, unpredictable elements, and many of them are absurdly high-energy. Fifteen years after their debut, this is the record that builds upon that album the most – even going so far as to sample “Mansard Roof.” The lyrics remain a mix of serious and tongue-in-cheek. Even though I really dug the singles I heard in advance, I didn’t expect something this remarkably engaged from them. One of the highlights of the year so far.
#9. Melt-Banana – 3+5
Japan’s Melt-Banana served as my intro to noise music. They were the first, and for a long time only, noise band I really heard and digested; I’ve been a huge fan for almost 20 years now. Although the duo has gotten older and quainter, their hyper-aggressive punk is no less gnarly. Their first album in 11 years is short, and the songs are neither the experimental seconds-long chunks of Cactuses Come In Flocks nor the longer, more developed tracks of Cell-Scape. They’re the closest thing to true punk songs the band has done, and they absolutely rip. Every song rocks, and nearly all have the expected 1000BPM. Easily one of my favorite albums of the year, the duo was going to have to work hard to not make that cut. Also, I finally got to see them this spring – best show I’ve seen all year.
#8. Kal Marks – Wasteland Baby
Kal Marks are one of my favorite Boston bands, and yet this album still obliterated my expectations. The Kal Marks wheelhouse is midtempo post-hardcore that’s very bass-y in both music and vocals. Generally, their songs are ones that are heavy and divisive, but not exactly inaccessible. Here, they branch out a bit, introducing some poppier elements and some more optimistic lyrics. There’s plenty of just heavy shit, too, though; it’s a well-rounded record. Quite frankly, it’s one of the best heavy albums I’ve heard all year, local bias or not. Nearly every song floored me in some way. If you’re into a variety of post-hardcore bands like METZ or Protomartyr, then add this one to your list. They’ve done it again. This record hangs with the A-listers. Favorite local release of the year. Finally, a good album with the name “Wasteland Baby.”
#7. Mount Eerie – Night Palace
The best film I’ve watched this year for the first time is Lawrence of Arabia. I knew going in that I was going to love it, but the 3+ hour runtime looked daunting even for someone who loves long movies. The eleventh Mount Eerie album is 26 songs and 81 minutes long, extremely daunting for an artist who deals in gloom. But like Lawrence, I had trouble even pausing this once I got into it. The album is an amalgam of everything Phil Elverum has done to date. There’s short, ripping rock songs, drone tracks, gothic folk and a touch of metal. It’s like a greatest hits for a guy who has always stayed on the fringe. And when you follow the trajectory of Elverum’s last decade, it all makes sense. He’s had a child, with a wife who passed shortly after, married and quickly divorced Michelle Williams, and has gotten into meditation. These tumultuous ups and downs are all over this record, which changes on a dime so many times you’d have enough cash to buy the double vinyl. It’s purely one of the best albums of the year.
#6. Mannequin Pussy – I Got Heaven
This album had a lot to live up to. Mannequin Pussy are one of the only bands where I generally love every song they’ve put out. Ferocious, unpredictable and catchy, they’re a punk band that doesn’t really seem to think they’re a punk band. And on their fourth album, they do branch out a lot more. I don’t think the 100% streak continues, however, the best songs here are the best they’ve ever done. It’s a ripper of a record, and one that has more ideas and, *ahem,* patience than previous releases. Missy Dabice gives her best-yet vocal performance on “Sometimes,” a song that stretches closer to indie than anything else. But there’s still punk bruisers everywhere, too. Tremendous stuff.
#5. The Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy
It’s been a long time since an indie debut was this hotly anticipated, the fervor was nearly at 08 Vampire Weekend levels. What I’m saying is, if you’re interested in this type of thing, then you’ve probably heard it already. But! It so lives up to the hype. This is a set of well-balanced, bombastic indie tunes with a lot of spunk and even more intelligence. These ladies have a tinge of chamber pop in their songs, with a lot of raucous elements. It’s a unique blend that calls back to the early riotous live shows – but not recorded material – of Arcade Fire. In fashion, this band allegedly has wild and destructive shows themselves. Also a small tic, but I love when a band doesn’t just chuck the singles at the front of the album but places them in where they make sense sequentially. The second single and my favorite track, “Sinner,” comes near the end!
#4. Ty Segall – Three Bells
It’s probably no secret that I’m a Ty Segall fanboy across all his projects, but I do generally prefer his barebones garage punk stuff more – Slaughterhouse, Freedom’s Goblin, Pre Strike Sweep. Some of his more recent, more experimental releases have been a bit above my head (First Taste in particular). So I approached this one with apprehension – only to find that this album ties the knot between Freedom’s Goblin and Manipulator, a great whale sized album that is lighter and more varied in tone, but doesn’t stray too far from Ty’s garage roots, too. It’s maybe his most well-rounded album yet, lengthy but varied where every song feels important and unique. It’s experimental and exciting, but warmer than an average Segall release all the same.
#3. SPRINTS – Letter To Self
Live music can be transcendent. Legend has it that Stu MacKenzie was inspired to start a band (King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard) while at a Tame Impala show. Sprints was birthed by a couple people at a Savages gig – one of the best live bands, and most dearly missed bands of the last 15 years. They realized they could simply make the music they want to hear, and years later, we’ve got their debut. It sounds like Savages. That couldn’t be more of a compliment for me. Loud, noisy, melodic and just restrained enough to fall under indie. It should be clear from this post that I love music that’s boisterous and stressful, and this band nailed it from moment one. This was the very first album I listened to this year, and it withstood hundreds of challengers.
#2. Pissed Jeans – Half Divorced
In direct opposition to a lot of albums in this post, and the norm in general, Pissed Jeans have gotten louder and more immature. This is the leanest and meanest version of Pissed Jeans we’ve ever seen. The post-hardcore band has always treated its aggressive music as a pseudo-joke, as they satirize specific topics like middle managers and guys who have humiliation fetishes. There’s some of that here, specifically in screeds against used underwear sales and guys who disturb you when you’re on break. But there’s also a general, visceral anger here. These songs are way shorter than normal, most under two minutes, just ferocious punk blasts from a band that normally stretches things out. The best song is still tongue-in-cheek; “Everywhere is Bad,” a parody of songs where singers get easy clout by listing cities, instead decrying every city, planet, galaxy, and dimension. Sure, they rag on Boston, Portland and Austin, but they also rag on Proxima B and nonexistence. It’s goofy while being menacing. The chaos balance feels like 2024 in a nutshell. It’s one of their best albums, and one of the most riveting and overlooked releases of the year.
#1. Kim Gordon – The Collective
Haha what the hell. The beautiful thing about listening to the solo projects from Sonic Youth members was seeing what influences they individually brought to the table – Thurston Moore brought the noise guitars, Lee Ranaldo brought the classic rock vibes, and Kim supplied the most experimental elements. On her second solo record (mind you, she is SEVENTY-ONE years old), she creates something entirely new and diabolical. This is noise-trap. It’s a noise-rock record centered around hip-hop beats, but not in any kind of Death Grips way. It sounds like something that isn’t supposed to be heard. Some of these songs were intended for Playboi Carti, but somehow ended up in her lap. And that’s really the only way to describe them. I’ve never heard anything like this, even from Kim. She’s back and she’s still the coolest person around.
And that does it! Another year in the books. I hope you enjoyed this and found some new music through it, or at least gave me a pageclick out of support. I am not planning on keeping my flash reviews going into 2025 – it was a one-year project. It was fun, it was exhausting. I’ll think of new ways to use this blog in the future. See you next December!
Because I can never help myself, here’s five albums that just missed the cut: Never Broke Again – Compliments of Grave Digger Mountain (trap), Melvins – Tarantula (doom/alt-metal), MGMT – Loss Of Life (indie), Undeath – More Insane (death metal), Wishy – Triple Seven (alternative rock). To be honest, Wishy should’ve made the list. I regret this.
Tired of me yet? I hope not, because we’re only halfway through my favorite albums of 2024! As stated, there was an insurmountable amount of excellent new music this year, even more so than other years. There’s tons of probably excellent albums still on my list, unlistened to. This top 101 is only a small sampling of the excellent music released this year. I hope you find something on this list that’s appealing to you, and that you fall down a rabbit hole because of it. I rated everything I listened to this year, and this portion of the list is in the healthy 8/10 to 8.5/10 range.
Nearly all of these write-ups are copied directly from other previous posts on this blog. I’m editing them but please keep that in mind in case there’s a nonsensical reference or anything.
#49. Tyla – TYLA
This one came to me via recommendation, and I’m indebted because I loved this. I’m normally hit-and-miss on R&B, but this was pretty much all hit for me. It’s worth noting that I chose to listen to this on an evening where it was very nearly 100 degrees, and this is hot weather music. It expertly blends many different pop music influences, roping afrobeats and R&B into African pop. It’s also very sultry music, as sweaty as this heat-stroked listener was. This has the makings of a third or fourth album from a big-name artist who is priming themselves for an arena tour – not a debut from a hot but still underground artist. It’s an extremely impressive debut, one of the best of the year. She’s gonna be huge in no time.
#48. Perennial – Art History
I have had the absolute pleasure of interviewing two members of this band, two people as bubbly as the music is. I’m a massive sucker for mid-00’s dance-punk, a la The Hives and Be Your Own Pet, and that’s exactly what Perennial does. Their third album continues the trend, just a bunch of quick little blasts of melodic punk. No song sticks around long – the record is 12 songs and 21 minutes. Most of them are sonic blasts, high-energy party songs, with a couple more experimental tracks (or segments) thrown in to break the pattern. Clean guitars, dual vocals and nonstop ferocious energy will make you feel like you’re in a club in 2005 seeing a great short-lived band with a terribly long and stupid name all over again. This is punk for everyone, get to this one immediately. Long live Perennial.
#47. Julie Christmas – Ridiculous And Full Of Blood
I almost made it all the way through the year without knowing that Julie Christmas put out her first record in a decade. This utterly deranged lady used to sing for a band that is quietly one of my favorites, Made Out Of Babies. Her third solo record follows in that band’s footsteps exactly, with a number of intimidating and turbulent post-hardcore songs. Her screamy vocals sound exactly the same as they did a decade ago, she hasn’t lost the touch. These songs are loud, relentless and quite frankly, a bit unsettling. Her vocals have always had the urgency of someone who needs to go to the hospital. The music is boisterous, but always stays restrained enough to really let Christmas shine vocally. It’s intense stuff – and not on enough radars.
#46. Yard Act – Where’s My Utopia?
I somehow completely missed Yard Act’s first album, but their 2023 standalone single “The Trench Coat Museum” completely roped me in. Their second album regrettably doesn’t feature the song, but it follows in the same trend – tongue-in-cheek music that blends post-punk through indie. It’s one of a hundred great post-punk albums this year, and maybe the best of the lot. The band is a lot heavier and faster than, say, Cheekface, but with the same humor and spoken-word vocals. “We Make Hits” is one of the best songs of the year, a meta song about selling out in the face of global destruction that sounds ripped from the LCD Soundsystem playbook. The band never stays quiet or complacent, adding riotous elements to practically every song. Even the lengthy “Blackpool Illuminations” seems to be a self-reflective ballad, before it turns into James Smith arguing with himself through two mics like an old Jim Gaffigan bit. It’s riveting stuff. Maybe it’s a little difficult, but I can see it having a broad appeal.
#45. Los Campesinos! – All Hell
I feel like I’ve grown up with Los Campesinos! Truthfully, I have. You look at the bouncy, quirky and goofy indie they were doing in 2009 and compare it to this record. I’ve been around since day one, and it’s so great to see the band come back to take a victory lap like this. This is the most mature they’ve ever sounded, a healthy mix of bombastic songs and quiet burners, an expected mix of lyrics that are both tongue-in-cheek and brutally emotional. The band has always been openly left-wing, but they’re unfiltered here, to great success. They’ve shaken off the directly catchy, vocals-and-bells rhythms of yesteryear in favor of indie that’s patient and introspective. That’s been the case for a while, but even more so here. The band sounds both calmer and angrier, an effect of maturity. But don’t think that it’s all a serious affair, we’ve still got songs like “Adult Acne Stigmata,” “Hell In A Handjob” and “The Coin-Op Guillotine.” Yet another winner from one of the strongest catalogs out there.
#44. Tyler, The Creator – CHROMAKOPIA
Few artists have grown and changed like Tyler. This is so flagrantly not the same man who made Goblin. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Tyler is the musical equivalent of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, in that he always manages to play off the zeitgeist. In 2011, he was making homophobic jokes and brash public statements. In 2024 he’s vulnerable and telling stories about trauma. Sure, chalk it up to maturity, but I think it’s more calculated than that. Tyler innately knows what gets people going. In fairness, I totally shunned Tyler because of his lyrics until Flower Boy, never gave him a fair shot. I still haven’t listened to his older music. But I loved Call Me and I pretty much love this. He’s a full-on raconteur now, embodying characters that blur the line of reality (including a first-person from a female POV). Most of these songs are self-reflective and depressing, but not in the paranoid way that a lot of other rappers have adapted. These are just songs about pointing out your failures and flaws. It’s one of the most earnest records of the year, even as Tyler sings in character. But also, some of them are just funky and funny, too. It’s well-rounded!
#43. Porridge Radio – Clouds In The Sky There Will Always Be There For Me
Another winner from one of the most unique acts in indie music. The British trio makes indie music that is at home with bands like Built to Spill, but might make listeners a little uncomfortable. Singer Dana Margolin has a gritty voice resembling Francis Quinlan from Hop Along, but with a backing band that’s filtered through the looseness of Hole. The whole album is off-the-cuff and extremely raw. It could even be more Tom Waits than anything. The music this band makes is wholly unique, and it’s fair to say that some normal indie fans will be turned off by it. But I’ve them hot on them for a few years now, and this is a real standout.
#42. The Messthetics/James Brandon Lewis – The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis
I love jazz, but I simply never keep up with any new jazz. The description for this hooked me, though, due to who the Messthetics are – they’re the rhythm section of goddamned Fugazi. And this album is exactly what you get when you take a bunch of punk veterans who have transitioned into jazz. It’s hot, often very free-form and improvised but never so much so that the songs lose structure. Most of the tracks are uptempo, aided by the full-album collaboration with saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. This album is, just to put it simply, hot and undiluted fun. A hearty recommendation to anyone, even folks who don’t spin jazz.
#41. Latrell James – Running In Place
If I had to pick a word to describe this album, it would be: vibrant. The local (Boston) rapper’s new album is quick and diverse, a bunch of short songs that range from muddied to sweet. Mostly, the album is very fun. Pristine production is a key factor here, making the brightest songs pop with effortless energy. No idea sticks around too long, making every song seem like a fleeting thought in a complicated mind. There’s some easy, brilliant stuff happening here.
#40. Gouge Away – Deep Sage
I love Gouge Away, some good ferocious hardcore with melodic punk woven in. There’s tons of bands that sound like Gouge Away, and yet they’ve always had something distinct I can never put my finger on. It might be Christina Michelle’s profoundly intense vocals, or the fact that the band always seems to straddle the hardcore and post-hardcore line – two genres similar in name only. Their newest release takes a slightly softer approach, with more patient songwriting and more downtime across the record. It’s still mighty, it’s just more vulnerable as ever, too. I’m not sure if the enhanced formula works quite as well as the original one, but I think further listens will truly determine that. It might just be that this album is more of a grower than previous ones. Either way, it’s still one of my favorites of the year. The grading curve is high.
#39. Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk
I was hesitant to even put this on my radar because the year is so clogged with excellent indie and the record is so long that I wasn’t sure I’d get around to it. But rave reviews of both professional and personal manners convinced me – and it’s fun as hell. A loaded but never bloated indie-pop record, this one is not afraid to take chances. One song might be bouncy, standard indie-pop a la Charly Bliss, the next might be jazzy indie. The duo jump into 70’s ballads and drone guitar on a whim. A curated tracklist means the more ambitious tunes elevate the more standard tunes, so they all bounce off each other rather than seem like hits-and-filler. It’s nearly an hour and yet there isn’t a skippable moment. I’m not sure if I ever heard their debut album, but this sophomore release feels like a true mission statement. Don’t sleep on this one.
#38. The Cure – Songs of a Lost World
I’ve never been the biggest Cure fan, mildly appreciating their hits but never digging much further in. I’ve stated this elsewhere, but a lot of new wave and 80’s alternative bands are ones I’ve only recently gotten into, Cure included. This album is not close to my base knowledge of the band, but/and it is extraordinary. Every song is agonizing slow, often several minutes until we hear Robert Smith’s gorgeously pained vocals. This is a personal and grim album, even by Cure standards, but it isn’t totally bleak. It’s the musical equivalent of grieving, with the sparks and pains of the ups and downs. It’s all midtempo, which is almost always a death knell for me – but it all works. Every song is excellent. The Cure could’ve hung it up or kept touring on legacy status, but their first album in sixteen years is an instant bonafide classic. Occasionally, the biggest bands really do put out the best music.
#37. Geordie Greep – The New Sound
Geordie Greep has lost his goddamn mind. The former frontman for black midi is on his own after the band’s sudden break-up. The indie band was already bizarre, but now Greep is in full control and he’s unrestrained. The core of this album still sounds like black midi, with rapid-fire songs filled with staccato and unpredictable rhythms and a lot of talk-singing, to where the end result feels like musical vertigo. But he’s also added Latin elements, jazz, blues, bongos, a lot of paranoid oomph, and just even more unpredictability. Oh and there’s the genuinely moving cover of a 40’s pop song that closes it all out. It’s an impressive solo debut, especially for one as wildly ambitious as it is. If you liked black midi, as I often did, then you’ll like this.
#36. Avalanche Kaito – Talitakum
I have no clue where I pulled this one from, and I wonder if I stumbled on it while forgetting the name of Hiatus Kaiyote (who put out a great record this year). I put this one on completely blind, and my god, I loved it. It combines two things I love – noise music and African music – into one. Traditional African rhythms are deployed courtesy of singer Kaito Winse, while he’s backed by a noisy duo from Belgium. The result is a downright thrilling and unpredictable album that stays on the fun side of experimentation without sacrificing energy. This is the type of thing designed exactly for me, and I can’t wait to dig into their previous albums. It’s tough to talk about highly experimental music like this, but if it sounds up your alley, then it probably is. Definitely one of the better releases this year.
#35. BRICKLAYER – BRICKLAYER
Haha this rocks, what a surprise. Another local winner, and one I’ve stumbled onto while knowing absolutely nothing about the people behind it. This quick little debut (I think?) album comes rife with indie-punk jams, guitar-heavy and fun as can be. The band describes their own music as danceable thrash, which is pretty accurate. It’s not out of league with, say, The Hives. These songs are quick, many of them raucous but clean and bouncy. Can’t wait to hear them on a stage at some point. “Gay Breakfast” is already one of my favorite songs of the year. Editor’s note: This band has already, unfortunately, broken up.
#34. Full Of Hell – Coagulated Bliss
If you asked me to list my favorite metal bands, I’d list a couple of heavy-hitters before spouting Full Of Hell right out. The extreme metal band has been pushing the sonic limits of metal and noise for years now, in between more experimental collaborative albums. But their latest solo (?) album takes a half-step back. Sure, these songs are still ostensibly grindcore, often clocking in at under 120 seconds, but there’s elements of hard rock and classic heavy metal thrown in. There are breaks, and more development to (some) songs. I mean look at the cover – their previous non-collaborative albums all feature dismal black and white art, but this one is vibrant. It represents a minor but maybe necessary shift in their music. This record fits in with the others, but has enough going to stand out, too. Plus, there’s plenty of classically abrasive bruisers. Great stuff from an always excellent band. People going in thinking “metal” may mean something like Sabaton are going to be shocked and disappointed, but for those that like the experimental noise, this is the one to beat.
#33. Xiu Xiu – 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips
Let this be a lesson to all musicians out there – you can just call your albums anything you want. The experimental band’s fourteenth (!) album tones things down a little bit, but still brings in a lot of competing ideas and emotions. It’s riveting at times, other times just funny or horny. It’s always fun, even if it challenges your preconceived notions of song structure. If you must toss Xiu Xiu into a genre, it’s alternative, but only some songs really resemble anything indie. I can’t say I’m an expert in their music, but I will be soon. This is the third album of theirs I’ve heard, and the third I’ve adored.
#32. girl in red – I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY!
I’ll admit that I went into this one with low expectations – girl in red’s debut album was a bold mix of indie and trap influences, but something about it really didn’t grab me personally. Obviously I was alone, as it immediately launched her into a stratosphere rarely seen by indie artists. Well I’m aboard now, because this sophomore album is a blast start to finish. These songs are abrupt, and mostly very energizing and manic. When they’re not, they’re sweet and earnest. It’s a mix of stuff more chaotic and varied than her debut, and all the better for it. At only 27 minutes, the only real downside is that it could’ve used some more.
#31. Lily Seabird – Alas,
Another local indie artist I know little at all about. Shout out to Allston Pudding radio for introducing me to this one (hey Andrew, when does it air? Every Monday 4-6pm and Tuesday 10-noon EST!). This album has all the makings of a quaint little affair, but some of these songs get deep and heavy. The heavier songs start to take on a 90’s fuzzy quality, even shoegaze-y at points. But not all the time, often Lily keeps things softer. Everything works, there isn’t too much of a good thing. Every song feels introspective, some feel vulnerable while some feel distant and cold. This is earnest music, and that something so well-developed and well-produced can come from an upcoming indie solo artist like this is just impressive. To be blunt, I loved this.
#30. Cindy Lee – Diamond Jubilee
I realize the placement of this one is actually low compared to most other blogs and publications. This album – originally only available in physical formats and YouTube – is quietly dominating the year-end list game. The expansive indie album from the drag queen persona of former Women frontman Patrick Flegel is a throw-everything-at-the-wall release. It’s an eclectic mix of psychedelic pop, 60’s R&B, indie rock, garage music, and about 100 other things. The album embodies the old school feeling of dumpster diving through the $1 bin at a vinyl shop and finding some forgotten Motown gems. The album intentionally doesn’t flow, so that one idea sounds different from the previous one, yet all fits within one wide umbrella of 60’s influences. Detractors will say the length is a problem – and to be honest, I agree. At 32 songs and 122 minutes, it’s too much; every song is neat, but the ones where Lee is really cooking make some of the more meandering, noodly ones feel a bit unnecessary. However, this one is a massive achievement, and simply unlike anything else released this year. Or, possibly, ever.
#29. Charli XCX – BRAT
The other album dominating the year-end list game. For years, Charli XCX has been in sole possession of a sweet spot in pop music. She’s consistently made music poppy enough for wide appeal, but weird enough to avoid Top 40 weight and arena tours. It’s allowed her to keep getting blank checks to make big-budget weirdness, with time to exist in the fashion and modeling worlds. Put simply: she’s the coolest artist around. So I was disappointed in her 2023 album Crash which, despite the literal car crash cover, was her most conventional album since her rudimentary debut. I was afraid to address it at the time, solely because I was worried that that path would continue. It didn’t. BRAT is completely wild. This is hyperpop at its finest: boppy and melodic, but extremely unpredictable and glitchy everywhere. No, not on the level 100 Gecs or anything, but still chaotic. Save a couple of more tender songs, these are jams.
Charli has spent years branding herself as a cold, partying brat with an impressive clique – “Mean girls” backs this up. But despite this image, Charli is very upfront with her emotions on this record. There’s songs of self-doubt and gender questionings. These are vulnerable songs, sung loudly, but still masked behind boisterous music. The lyrics are there for dissecting, but they’re easy to miss as well. That I picked up on all of this in one listen is itself impressive – I normally don’t pay attention to lyrics much on the first go-around. This is such a complete portrait of an artist who knows her personal strengths and weaknesses. I don’t really listen to full records multiple times unless they’re instant favorites, but I will for this one. It demands it. Maybe it’ll be a favorite anyways. One of the best pop records of 2024, easily.
#28. Salt Cathedral – Before It’s Gone
I heard one of the songs from this album on the radio many moons ago and kept a mental note to check back for an album. Finally, it’s here, and it’s glorious. There’s nothing particularly inventive happening here, yet it all feels original. I know little about this duo, but what they make is beautiful. This is atmospheric indie, almost gospel-like. There’s always rhythms, but some are fainter than others. Some exist only on a breeze and a vocal lick, others bring in hand drums and conventional pop songwriting. Add in some authentic and balanced lyrics, and you’ve got a multi-influenced gem of a record. This is pop music for people who don’t like pop music. Real winner!
#27. Amyl & the Sniffers – Cartoon Darkness
I’m a simple man, if a song has fast guitars and Amy Taylor yelling some curse words at me in a thick Australian accent, then I like that song. I absolutely adore Amyl & the Sniffers, and their third album is chock full of drunk-punk goodies. These songs are exactly what you expect and exactly what they need to be – a collection of fast and loose punk songs that are sometimes about vulnerability, and sometimes about hammering down some beers. While the band ventured out into more exploratory terrain on the second album, they double back down into fun punk here. Uncoincidentally, I like this record more than their second one (their debut remains an all-time favorite, though). Put it on and destroy your own house.
#26. Father John Misty – Mahashmashana
If you look closely, Papa John’s has slowly deconstructed his character. For years, the indie-folk god was making constant headlines with ridiculous and provocative statements, simply for his own amusement. But he’s been quite as of late, and this album might be an indicator. His sixth album (under this moniker) is probably his most “adult” one yet, though his music has always had an older-crowd appeal to it. He’s still making some wild swings lyrically, but generally he’s more honed in on ennui and personal troubles. He’s also stretched his songs out even further, with multiple 6+ minute epics here. Most of the songs are measured and seem to have a Highway 61 influence, of full-band folk that grabs an unchanging rhythm to match poetic meanderings. It’s also maybe his best album yet, and certainly features his best individual songs (check my favorite songs of 2024 post for more). Folksy, earnest and consistently catchy, this one has broad appeal.
#25. The Bridge City Sinners – In The Age Of Doubt
Give a quick shoutout to water. A couple years ago I was at Riot Fest in Chicago when I took a break to refill my water at the sole water station on festival grounds. Right next door is the smallest stage, where the Bridge City Sinners were playing and readers, I was hooked immediately. Bands shouldn’t still be finding new ways to combine genres, but here we’ve got hardcore bluegrass. The band – and I was already a huge fan by the time the plane wheels touched back down in Boston – sings about heavenly bodies and beasts and mythical creatures, complete with occasional gnarly screaming, all done through acoustic Appalachian instruments. I imagine there’s other bands out there like this, and they’re not far removed from psychobilly, but I don’t know of anything in this alley. Their new album is as great as their previous ones. This is certainly one of the more niche entries on this list, but I will make it my mission to get them their widest audience.
This was really a struggle, some of these deserve a top 25 spot and would surely get it in a quieter year. I’m not even confident in my own list placement. But! Check back tomorrow for the finale, 25 absolutely enormous, unavoidable and truly wonderful records.
Since I can never help myself, here’s another five records I wanted to include: Folterkammer – Weibermacht (operatic black metal), The Smile – Wall of Eyes (Radiohead offshoot prog-indie), J. Mascis – What Do We Do Now (guitar indie from an all-time legend), Laura Jane Grace – Hole In My Head (punk from an all-time legend), Thee Oh Sees – SORCS 80 (a thought experiment where Jon Dwyer recorded garage rock with no guitars).
Hello again, welcome to another edition of me writing way too much about albums you haven’t heard of or didn’t like. There’s a massive range here, from Latin pop and country to industrial metal. I’m not going to repeat everything I said in the intro to my first post, just know that this year was truly remarkable for new music. There’s definitely some albums in here that topped other year-end lists, so if you’re mad about something being low, please understand that we’ve entered the territory of albums I truly loved. There was just a lot of them this year.
Also – these mini-reviews were copied directly from earlier posts, I edited but if there’s a reference that doesn’t compute, that’s why.
I hope you find something new through these posts! On with it:
#74. Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere
I’ve said elsewhere that death metal is one genre where bands don’t have to be innovative and often aren’t – because even the most template death metal bands will still find a big audience. But some bands do experiment, none more so that Blood Incantation. Their 2019 record Hidden History of the Human Race is no less than one of the five or so best metal records of the last decade. The band has only grown more experimental, as this record edges hard on progressive rock alongside death metal standards. It’s only two songs – six on streaming, each song broken up into three sections – both over 20 minutes. Both tracks are odysseys, with sections of unfiltered death metal in parts. But both songs embrace prog rock just as much. The second track, “The Message,” takes an obvious inspiration from Animals, the best Pink Floyd album. It’s a purely unique record top-to-bottom, and an obvious candidate for metal album of the year.
#73. Katy Kirby – Blue Raspberry
An album as sweet as its title. This is standard-fare pretty indie, to the point where one of the singles sounds a little too reminiscent of Angel Olsen’s “All Mirrors.” But when everything works as well as it does here, who cares? I was taken aback by how much I liked this one, something I mindlessly threw on based on two songs I’d heard. Very patient, gorgeous indie-folk that knows when to be soft or bombastic. The focus is on melody above all, with obvious care put into every track. And while it mostly stays soft, the whole album builds to a much grander, 2-minute finale that takes you by surprise. Genuinely loved this one.
#72. Shellac – To All Trains
Rest in peace Steve Albini. If you’re reading this, then you’re probably well-versed in Albini’s work already, but he was a god in the music scene. A talented musician who utterly despised the industry, most of his work was production behind the scenes. He produced records for anyone ranging from Nirvana to your shithead neighbor’s weird noise band – and never took a penny for his work. His last record as a musician came only days after his sudden passing, and it’s hauntingly beautiful. It’s also a pretty normal Shellac record; chunky and bass-heavy post-punk with snarled and often witty lyrics. The band was self-described as “minimalist,” I wouldn’t exactly use that term but these songs are all surprisingly easy. Most of them are perfectly digestible and just off-putting enough to drive away casual folks. Opener “WSOD” jams on a fun riff for a while. But the real ominous standout is “I Don’t Fear Hell,” where Albini sings about waiting to join all his friends down below. Classic Albini – dark, funny, groovy and hauntingly prescient. Albini was one of the best guys around but if he ended up in Hell, then brother, we’ll all see you there.
#71. Chick Corea & Béla Fleck – Remembrance
I am but one man who mostly loves garage rock, so I simply don’t keep up with modern jazz like I wish I could. Imagine my surprise at seeing two of my favorite jazz artists collaborating, hit immediately by the shock of remembering that the former artist has passed. This record is technically a compilation, a mix of studio songs, improvisations and live tracks, but it doesn’t feel like one. Everything is coherent and similar, and the smatterings of applause throughout signify a captive, sometimes nonexistent live audience. With Corea on piano and Fleck on banjo, you likely know what you’re going to get – and there’s a lot of it. It’s a beautiful set of collaborations, often just the two men alone, together. Very pretty and very fun music for any jazz fan.
#70. Fange – Perdition
Like some of the best metal albums I’ve heard this year, I don’t actually know where this recommendation came from. The French band is on their seventh album, but were totally off my radar until this year. It’s catch up time for me, because I loved this. The French band does a punishing mix of industrial, death metal, sludge and a touch of rock (for melody seasoning). The vocals are menacing and the music is both metrical and unforgiving. It’s all very heavy and intense, but the band finds ways to warp a little melody in there as well. It’s closer to industrial than anything else, but you wouldn’t even confuse this with Nine Inch Nails. It’s straight metal, too.
#69. Vince Staples – Dark Times
This album shares much in common with the rapper’s 2021 self-titled album, and the reasons why I didn’t like that album are why I do like this one. Staples made his name doing bass-heavy, aggressive rap that married huge beats with lyrics that were often shockingly blunt and depressing. But he’s always one for making what he wants to, instead of falling to fan service. Dark Times is much more minimalist, calculated and jazzy. While he explored this side on his self-titled, it was ultimately very repetitive. This album is an unpredictable delight through and through. Vince even directly references that he’s not making another Big Fish Theory. This record is patient and unique, and represents a proper shift in tone while remaining distinctly Vince. Almost definitely going to be one of my favorite rap records of the year.
#68. The Body & Dis Fig – Orchards of a Futile Heaven
The Body are a band who can do basically no wrong by me. If you read my favorite songs of 2024 post, I went into what makes them special. The song chosen for that list does not in fact come from this album, so more on that later. This release is a full-album collaboration with Dis Fig. The band is used to these collabs, they’ve done a ton of them. This is standard Body stuff, which is to say purely dissonant, extreme noise music. It isn’t metal, but it’s less anything else. Dis Fig is an artist I’m wholly unfamiliar with, but her vocals help cement these otherwise exploratory or nonconformist extreme songs, in one of the band’s more logical collaboration efforts. This is music for a small audience but damn is it good.
#67. E L U C I D – Revelator
Although I’ve been a fan of the duo Armand Hammer for a few years, I didn’t know E L U C I D by name until he popped up on the excellent album that Shabaka released earlier this year. This new solo record is a whirlwind of avant-garde rap. Much of it is low-key, opting for bars over vibes. The first few songs are electrically thrilling, high-energy bangers with totally unpredictable instrumentation. The running thread is a nonadherence to traditional song structures, a very free-form work similar to the jazz album he popped up on. It’s all smooth, and his flow is excellent. It’s funny at points, at other points daring. The whole thing is unpredictable, even as it settles in a more relaxed state. It’s just extremely fun. I always seem to love the rap that’s on the fringe of the mainstream.
#66. Kali Uchis – Orquídeas
My knowledge of Latin music is limited, and my knowledge of the Spanish language is nonexistent, so I will always have to view music like this as an outsider. This album is a companion piece to last year’s Red Moon In Venus – an English language album and #63 on my 2023 year end list. Orquídeas is a blast, a comprehensive album that both sticks to traditional reggaeton and strays well beyond it. Even as a companion piece, it feels distinctly separate from Red Moon, highlighting Uchis as a multi-threat artist. Have fun with this one.
#65. Machine Girl – MG Ultra
There’s nothing out there like Machine Girl. They have a lot of elements that I theoretically shouldn’t like, but I love their music. I guess the way to describe the duo is techno-hardcore, hardcore music with a lot of glitchy electronic elements and unpredictability. More often than not, this album is heavy and gonzo, which is right up my alley. It’s fun as hell, while still being mildly off-putting to anyone trying to embrace traditional electronic or hardcore music. Though Machine Girl have been at it for over a decade, I can see this unholy hyperpop-metal concoction being a new scene soon.
#64. Fontaines D.C. – Romance
The previous Fontaines D.C. records were inconsistent in how much they grabbed my attention, but they were consistent in that the songs all kinda sounded the same. The (very) Irish post-punk band has had a relatively standard sound prior to Romance. Well the book’s out the window. This record actually has a majority ballads, but the band hits the highest energy of their career too. They rap, there’s punk, and there’s tender love ballads. The band has always sounded a little inauthentic in their emotions previously; not here. This is earnest and real from a band that has never sounded so ambitious or energized. Don’t go in expecting the high-octant energy of the singles, but do go in expecting what is easily the band’s best album to date. This will go down as a highlight in a stacked indie year.
#63. Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well
There’s been a few examples this year of artists I love rebounding from weaker albums (Vampire Weekend, St. Vincent, ScHoolboy Q). Add Kacey to the mix. Coming off her breathtaking and Grammy-crushing country album Golden Hour, Kacey turned to a more pop-focus for Star-Crossed, and it was, bluntly, meh. For Deeper Well, she’s gone back to the atmospheric country that made her an arena star. It’s a welcome return, as the whole here is excellent. It’s a dreamy album, the same summer-y camping vibes as before. She’ll probably never make another record as good as Hour, but that’s an immense bar to clear. This one doesn’t really have standout songs like that record did, but the full product is wonderful. She’s also shifted her lyrics into a more serious zone. So many of her previous songs coupled breezy music with lyrics about wasting time and days spent milling around. Here, she’s quitting weed and strengthening her relationships. This serves as both a sequel and companion piece to Hour. Loved it.
#62. The Only Humans – It’s a Beautiful Night. I Think I’ll Disappear Forever.
Full disclosure – I know most of the members of this band. I’m ex-coworkers with three of them, and am actively friends with one. But removing any bias, I’m including a lil review here because this album is genuinely excellent. The band has the proper and orchestral look of the Decemberists, with the music to boot; and, singer Tim Howd sounds like a dead ringer for John Darnielle. The expansive album is a conceptual one, as death invades from all angles. But the record is a lot of fun, and no two songs are really the same. My personal fave is the maximalist “Esplanade.” I know it’s a way overinflated year for indie, but if you’re trying to look beyond the headliners, please check this one out.
#61. Hinds – VIVA HINDS
It’s been a long four years since the last Hinds album. In that time, the bassist and drummer both left, reducing the band back to the two vocalist-guitarists that initially formed it. That might be a disaster for some bands, but for Hinds it was freeing. I’ve been in their camp since the first album from the Spanish indie group (duo), and this record is probably their best one yet. These songs are sweet and unassuming, but confident and broader. That last note is important – this is the widest-ranging Hinds album, with tender songs, rousing ones like the excellent “En Forma,” and space for both Beck and Grian Chatten to show up and do their own thing. The 2024 indie pot has way overflowed, and in a different year this would be a standout. It’s still a real winner.
#60. Cursive – Devourer
When all is said and done and the dust on Cursive’s career is settled, they’d better be recognized as one of the most underrated groups in music history. Ask a casual indiehead and they’ll say they love The Ugly Organ. Well folks, Cursive is still putting out records that good twenty years later. Their tenth album Devourer is simply one of the best rock records of the year, and it doesn’t even have a damn Wikipedia page. It’s apocalypse time on Devourer, in case you were expecting the mood to have softened. But it is very fun, the band is still treading the same thin line of emo, indie and rock, and in the last few years they’ve expanded to include a full-time trumpeter and cellist. It’s a unique affair even if it doesn’t sound like one at a first glance. People are sleeping on Cursive, y’all should get with them.
#59. Camera Obscura – Look To The East, Look To The West
Another legacy indie artist, and one that I have relatively kept up with. Or at least I did during their original run, as this is their first album in eleven long years. It’s utterly fantastic, likely going to be one of the best indie albums in a severely crowded year. These songs are patient, mature and lowkey, and practically every one of them is extraordinary. My three picks are the opener “Liberty Print,” “The Night Lights” and the closing title track, but nearly every song works. Oddly, the only one that struck me as dull was “Big Love,” which seems to be the most popular so far. But, for all the hip parents out there still spinning Yo La Tengo and Hold Steady records, this is another entry for the record cabinet.
#58. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD
I never know how to write about Godspeed. I don’t even really like drone music that much or post-rock at all. But these folks operate on another level, and even a “lesser” album from them can still be extraordinary. Despite being fully instrumental, the band manages to capture the plague and despair of the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in touching and intense pieces. There’s also some of the inspirational music that has touched their more recent albums, too. If you’ve never listened to GY!BE, this may not be the best place to start. But their music can only be heard to be experienced.
#57. Torey D’Shaun – Come And See.
I’ll take music recommendations from anywhere – including music a Lyft driver is playing that I like. I don’t know much about the rapper, but a song came up on shuffle on the drive home from the airport and I saved it, only to see a full album coming out ~2 weeks later. It’s a gem. The self-described Christian rapper does tackle the concept of faith across this album, sometimes more devout than others. Some songs here are life-affirming, others are doubtful tales of tragedy, sometimes with no resolution. The songs here are earnest and poetic, whether you’re religious or not. And if you’re not, well the beats are great and his flow is solid anyways. Well-rounded lyrics, big beats, and a ton of pathos. This was an unexpectedly great find.
#56. GUHTS – Regeneration
A decade removed from Deafheaven’s tectonic plate-shifting black metal album Sunbather, another band is going the pink cover route. While the book cover-judging comparison can be made, this album packs a different punch. Sludgy, unpredictable post-metal dominates this release, hitting all points between smooth and sinister. It’s abrasive, but not the point of, say, Full Of Hell or anything. It’s one of the most well-rounded metal albums of the year so far – and one of the best of the genre in any capacity. Don’t sleep on this one, if it’s your tune.
#55. Little Simz – Drop 7
I debated on even considering this one eligible for my list – it is a drop, after all, and clocks in at just under 15 minutes. But when you’ve got the dark horse candidate for best current rapper in play, even the one-offs are extraordinary. While some of Little Simz’s previous works have been steady and heady, this is her at her most impatient, firing a bunch of short songs off the cuff. Big beats and quick tempos make this a whirlwind of a little EP.
#54. Thou – Umbilical
Historically I’m very hit-and-miss on sludge metal, but Thou holds a special place in my heart. The prolific group hasn’t been consistent over the years, but when you release as much music as they have, some of it is going to hit. The worst thing a Thou album can be is boring, and Umbilical is never boring. The band hasn’t really changed their tune – grim opining, screeching, riffs with the thickness and speed of molasses, and morose black and white imagery. But they’re completely checked in, pummeling the listener with relentless guitar and screams, making sure to fill (nearly) every song with unique elements. Hopefully, this won’t get lost in the sea of their other releases. It’ll certainly be one of the best metal albums of the year.
#53. Chat Pile – Cool World
Chat Pile had an incredibly high bar to clear on their sophomore record and, if we’re being honest, they didn’t clear it. Their debut God’s Country remains one of the best records of the past 5 years. But the rafters aside, this record rips. The band continues their manic blend of post-hardcore and sludge metal into something that seems obvious but is wholly unique. The riffs are heavy as hell, the lyrics political and the vocals anguished and immediate. These guys are simply a band with a lot to say. The first two tracks on this album haven’t stuck with me, but the run of songs in the middle is nuts. “Frownland” and “Funny Man” are two of the best heavy songs of the year. Unpredictable and urgent, and loud as all hell. Chat Pile are here to stay.
#52. Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown
I’m not overly familiar with Portishead, what I’ve heard I’ve liked, but it isn’t music I feel any nostalgia for personally. I’m even less familiar with solo endeavors from their singer, Beth Gibbons, who dropped her first proper solo album 33 years after the first Portishead record. It’s a gorgeous album, one that starts innocently before expanding into something grander. The cover implies a folksy affair, and at most times it is. It’s brooding chamber pop, sometimes soft but sometimes sinister, like slipping back into a nightmare. It’s also usually acoustic, but when the guitars kick in, they really kick in – some of these songs drone and shout loudly, unexpected explosions after multiple songs of slumber. It’s a gorgeous record, one of both extremes, yet often just restrained chamber pop. We expected nothing less.
#51. Bruiser Wolf – My Stories Got Stories
Bruiser Wolf and Danny Brown go way back, and it shows here – this album is full of darkly comic tales of binges and dangerous situations. Brown guests early too, on a whiplash track. Bruiser Wolf builds his lyrics in the same way DB does, poetic and funny with dense meters. But he also couldn’t sound different, rapping matter-of-factly and methodically, like he’s teaching a lesson. His vocals and lyrics are engaging, all bolstered by booming and exciting beats behind him. This is my first foray into his music, I’m gonna check out the previous album now too.
#50. Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
I love the harmless pun of the title, referring to both the 36-minute runtime and Carpenter herself. Now, surely you’ve already heard this album, I got to it a bit late. It’s utterly delightful, I loved it. It scratches the same itch that Carly Rae Jepsen does – bouncy pop songs that deal with the complexities of relationships that also aren’t plastic. It can be difficult in today’s landscape to make pop music that’s truly authentic but this album is top-to-bottom. It’s raunchy and clever, nearly every song is a winner. It’s easy to see why this is the album that’s really broken her out of Disney containment; if it wasn’t for Chappell Roan, this would’ve been Carpenter’s year to lose. And if it wasn’t for Charli, this would probably be the best pop album of 2024. Those aren’t exactly setbacks, this is an album we’ll be talking about for years to come.
That’s a wrap on this part of the list, which has grown long and sour. Check back tomorrow for the next installment!
Because I cannot ever help myself, here’s five more albums I wanted to include: The Bug Club – On The Intricate Inner Workings of the System (lo-fi post-punk with goofy lyrics), Bat For Lashes – The Dream of Delphi (atmospheric indie legend), Full Of Hell & Andrew Nolan – Scraping the Divine (noise), Couch Slut – You Could Do It Tonight (gritty post-hardcore), Esh & the Isolations – Nowhere, To Be Found (indie rap)
It’s that time of year again. The time of year where I write thousands of words about albums and you skip over it because you’ve already read all the major publications who rush to get their best of lists out by early November. I always like to wait until last minute, because I am but one man and I never clear out my playlists. True to form, this was an incredible year. 2024 was maybe the best year for new music since I’ve begun tracking and reviewing. My list of 2024 albums I still want to listen to sits at 145 entries, and includes albums from established artists I love like Fucked Up, Zeal & Ardor and James Blake that I still haven’t even gotten to.
My final count as of writing (12/27) is 333 albums and EPs from 2024 that I listened to. Pulling a top 100 out of 333 might sound easy, but this year was so stacked that it truly wasn’t. Why am I doing 101? Because #101 is an album from one of my favorite artists and it would be criminal to not include it, and there was one very short EP that I debated cutting – but that also felt criminal (check back tomorrow for #55).
I live in Boston and I’ve been covering the local beat for a few years, but I did a much better job this year keeping up with local releases, and there’s 14 local releases in here (though Clairo and two from The Body are much bigger than the rest). I will always stress checking out your local scene, you may find something extraordinary.
Nearly all of these write-ups are copied directly from other previous posts on this blog. I’m editing them but please keep that in mind in case there’s a nonsensical reference or anything. Enough from me, let’s get going.
#101. Pharmakon – Maggot Mass
Pharmakon is quietly one of my favorite artists, just not one I listen to often – her music is extreme industrial, pushing the sonic territories of noise. Her songs are often expansive, harsh and pulsating, but with hints of melody too, which sets her apart from the goofy pure harsh noise. Lyrically, she sings largely viciously raw songs about skin, bodies and illnesses. Maggot Mass is no different, as every song here is menacing and uncomfortable. This record is missing the one key song of her previous works, which hampers it a bit. No track feels like a standout, they’re all a muddy slog together. But if you’re into extreme music, you can’t do wrong with her catalog.
#100. Wooll – Unwind
One of the best debuts of the year came from Providence’s Wooll, who have given us a remarkably consistent indie record that is far more patient and collaborative than a normal debut record. The band operates as one unit throughout, bouncing intricate guitar rhythms, smooth and dreamy vocals and crisp work from the rhythm section against each other. These are well-worn songs, ones that are never too eager to get the pace going and aren’t afraid to noodle around. These tracks are low-stakes and warm, some small love labors that are just incredibly pleasant. The band teases some shoegaze influences, but never really leaves the realm of agreeable indie. In a rough year, this is just some cozy and enjoyable music. I covered this one for the release, wonderful album from wonderful folks.
#99. Lord Dying – Clandestine Transcendence
Don’t judge a book by its cover, don’t judge a metal subgenre by its band name/album name/album art. I went into this one blind, expecting some good old pounding death metal, but what I got was much more. There’s elements of stoner metal, heavy metal, even hard rock. No two songs are the same, not even close really. This isn’t a recommendation for those close-minded metalheads who only like their ONE style, this is for all the metal freaks. It’s a little too long, and it feels like it’s missing that one key song to really sell it. But, it’s unique and basically every song is fun and original in some way.
#98. Alisa Amador – Multitudes
Just like some other great recent releases, this record blends Latin & American influences well. Amador is a local, another album that I feel has broken containment from the corner I relegate local stuff to. If you’re a fan of NPR’s Tiny Desk shows, then this name may seem familiar; Amador won the contest they ran a few years back. Her debut album, one I’ve been quietly anticipating for a long while, is a delightful and glistening indie-pop romp. Spanish-language ballads and American bedroom pop songs live in harmony, and are often better than anticipated. There’s a number of sneakily excellent songs here, and they’re all unique from each other while still being familiar in concept. Get in on the ground floor here!
#97. Unto Others – Never, Neverland
It’s always interesting to hear a band and think that they’re not making the album they want to make. I normally cringe when a hard-edged band makes a more mainstream push, but here it just makes sense. The first Unto Others album was a mix of goth and metal that sounded ripped from the 80’s. Curiously though, the band sounded more engaged on the goth elements. Their divisive new one strips away some of the metal influence and focuses just on goth, to incredible effect. It’s bold, there’s synthesizer on the first track! There’s still metal songs, but there’s rock songs, some poppier stuff, and a teaspoon of hardcore punk. The central focus is Gabriel Franco’s classically goth vocals, and it all works. Check the title, a reference to Metallica’s unexpected mainstream thrust – this is band unafraid to announce a new direction.
#96. Charly Bliss – Forever
What a gem! Take everything I just said about Unto Others and transpose it here. Charly Bliss’s first two albums cemented the band as a pop-heavy indie group with some punk spirit, in the same realm as the Beths. After a brief break, the band is back – with pure bubblegum pop-rock. This record is the same overproduced, big beat pop that I have lamented elsewhere this year, but it’s used to full effect here. This record is fun as all hell. The best songs are mostly the bangers, and they come early. But the back half has a couple sneakily exceptional ballads, too. This is truly exceptional pop music. For more on this one, check my concert review.
#95. Megan Thee Stallion – MEGAN
I’m historically bad at writing about hip-hop and you developed an opinion on Megan long ago, so this is a throwaway review. Let’s just say, this album solidifies Megan as a star. Even without the shit in her personal life, this would be a bombastic and confident record for the ages. But knowing what’s gone down, it’s downright glorious. It’s sexy, it’s funny and most importantly, it’s freeing. It’s a home run trot of a record. Like nearly every modern rap album, it’s too long – there are not enough different ideas to satisfy the 52 minute runtime. But, there’s a lot of songs that are just fun winners, and what else do you expect from Megan? There’s an extended edition of the album I have not yet heard, which has a tantalizing feature from metal band Spiritbox !
#94. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Flight b741
I came into this one with a lot of worry – I’m a King Gizz obsessive, one of the Gizzhead cult members, but I’ve never been much into their groovier stuff. I had heard that this one was a spiritual sequel to Fishing For Fishies, the penultimate entry in my ranking of their 26 albums. This was a lot of fun, however. KGLW had a few years where they got a bit lost in the quality v quantity debate, but they’ve now delivered three straight winners – in metal, krautrock and boogie, no less. This album is funky and bluesy, and often very spirited. A lot of Gizz’s lighter albums have been partially or fully improvised, but this album benefits from a locked-in band playing songs they’ve already jammed on before. This won’t go down as one of the best KGLW albums, but it’s one of the better recent ones – and certainly the best of the groove ones. No two Gizz fans will ever fully agree, so you probably don’t feel the same.
#93. Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard And Soft
I really respect the boldness of this record. Eilish’s first two records both had distinct identities, and were wholly separate from each other. Her third seems to intentionally go against this idea, combining elements from her first two dichotomous albums and filtering in new ideas, too. The album opens with “Skinny,” a stripped down and powerful vocal ballad. The second track is “Lunch,” a synth-heavy tongue-in-cheek song that sounds ripped from her first album. This album is clearly one made by and for Eilish, and she throws everything at the wall. While some songs stay within familiar territory, others are unpredictable. After some time, we may agree that “L’Amour de Ma Vie” is her best song yet, a track that starts as a ballad and ends with wild club beats. While I don’t think this album quite stands up to her enigmatic debut album, it’s still a very solid pop release – and a refreshingly bold direction for a star at the top.
#92. Big|Brave – A Chaos of Flowers
Big|Brave are a fascinating trio. They belong to the same circle of extreme metal like The Body and Full of Hell, and they belong to the same circle of Gothic folk like Chelsea Wolfe and Marissa Nadler. They’ve carved out a niche with practically no contemporaries. Flowers is a beautiful album, the songs are as haunting and gorgeous as the band has ever recorded. Every now and then, they remind you that they can get heavy and deeply inaccessible, but often they keep it quiet. Sometimes these songs edge on pure minimalism – the band works to hit both sides of the spectrum, and they do so very successfully. This isn’t a metal album, but it’s an album best appreciated by metal fans. A fascinating record by a fascinating band.
#91. Nilüfer Yanya – My Method Actor
I haven’t heard the British singer’s first two albums, but it appears that her third album is her best so far. It’s tough to imagine something that surpasses this. It’s the melding of indie and pop, but in a wholly different way than the American indie-pop albums that have flooded the year. This is suave, cool and loud – there’s a lot of pumping guitar that disrupts the soulful songwriting. The end result is almost unclassifiable, as if rock and R&B have been jammed together. Her voice is excellent, confident but smooth, and these songs are unique and just fun. I feel that this is a record I’ll be revisiting, as these songs need more attention from me. This is one rocks, folks.
#90. serpentwithfeet – GRIP
I simultaneously went into this one having never really heard the music of serpentwithfeet and still getting exactly what I expected – sultry, beautiful R&B. This exists in the realm of artistic R&B artists like Janelle Monae that make rhythmic, seductive music that nonetheless feels like it eschews any kind of “radio value.” Chalk it up to the homoerotic album cover, maybe, but this is absolutely on the alternative, experimental side of things. Breezy and hypnotic, this is a gem.
#89. Rick Rude – Laverne
A chronic issue with me is that I’ll listen to something I moderately enjoy, but wait so long to grade and/or review it that it leaves my brain entirely. The new album from Rick Rude – no, not the king of the camel clutch – fell victim to my lethargy. I’m glad I revisited it, because I loved it more the second time around. The band seems to tease the audience by inviting in specific, familiar sounds and brush them off just as quickly. They’re not truly emo, but they’ve got the sensitive guitar licks. They’re not really indie, but they’ve got the fuzz. They sometimes rock harder than both genres (especially on the rollicking opener “Wooden Knife”). They’re appealing to anyone who likes shows in basements, be it acoustic guys or punk weirdos. Add in a very effective dual-singer approach, and you’ve got a winning record. Ravishing work.
#88. Friko – Where we’ve been, Where we go from here
I’d been itching to get to this one! I’ve been loving both singles I’ve been hearing on the radio (“Crimson to Chrome” and “Get Numb To It!”). Both songs are guitar-forward bangers ripped from 90’s alt-rock, and with enough maturity and emotion in the rhythms and lyrics to hide the fact that this is a debut. But it is a debut, and these two youngsters seem like they already have a world of travel under their belts. The opener “Where We’ve Been” is a deeply patient ballad, something akin to Interpol’s “Lights” (or many other of their tunes). Truthfully, more than half of the album is slower songs, representing a wide range for a debut. It mostly all works, although there are a few too many down moments across the softer songs. The strength doesn’t lie in just the singles, there’s some other great bangers and a couple very effective ballads. There does need to be just a touch more energy, but it’s an impressive debut nonetheless.
#87. Clairo – Charm
Boston has always been a hub for all things punk and indie, and it only makes sense that the city would claim someone to rule over the current indie-pop movement. A lot of the over-produced, saccharine indie-pop can get repetitive easily, but Clairo’s new one is genuinely beautiful. I wasn’t super into her last album, but this one is full of small, pretty and balanced songs. The production is minimalist, avoiding the trappings of many of Clario’s cohorts. Instead, the focus is on her gorgeous vocals and the threadbare instrumentation. I need to give this one a second listen – the back half was hampered by getting on a train full of inebriated boomers going to a Journey concert and I could earnestly barely hear the album. And yet – it grabbed me fully.
Also, please check out the music video for “Juna.” While I am not in the video, it was clearly filmed before a wrestling event I went to. Most of these wrestlers are local ones that aren’t known outside the area, and now there’s millions of eyes on them. My little wrestling boys are in the stars!
#86. Brittany Howard – What Now
The fun thing about Howard’s debut solo album was the way it expanded well beyond the scope of her band Alabama Shakes. Her sophomore solo release sharpens her broader influences, incorporating elements of blues, punk, R&B, whatever, into an album that’s equally comprehensive but more singular than Jaime. Her vocals are, of course, incredible. That’s always been her strength. But everything works very well across this one. It’s a ton of fun, a winding and unpredictable experience.
#85. Cardinals – Cardinals
Alright, we need to talk about British indie. Amidst the growing group of talk-sing indie punk bands (IDLES, Dry Cleaning, etc), there’s a thread of aggressive, artsy alternative. Bands like Cardinals – who I would liken to Black Country, New Road – feel born from the same womb. Though this is just a short EP, it’s riveting. It’s got that same feel as BC,NR, where it feels both jazzy and cynical despite never straying from alternative. Cardinals are more guitar-focused, but the feel is the same. These are super intriguing songs, and they hit a wide range of emotions in a short amount of time. “Unreal” is a great banger, while “If I Could Make You Care” is a wonderful closing ballad. Get your foot in the door on these guys, I think they’re gonna go places.
#84. Maggie Rogers – Don’t Forget Me
I’m incredibly down with the y’allternative movement. Waxahatchee and Hurray For the Riff Raff have already released great albums this year, and we’re staring down a full release from Orville Peck. I was into the last Maggie Rogers record, but I’ve been waiting for a great one. I think she delivered one here. Some songs work better than others, but the combination of strong but sparse guitar, Maggie’s excellent vocals, and nostalgic tunes about slow American life are designed to win. The best songs here are the melancholic personal ones, the ones that describe real personal experiences done in a Glory Days haze of relatable pining. Some songs get a little too quaint, or a little too individualistic to really grab ahold of. But, as someone who was also once young, many of these hit me in the heart. And Rogers, like many others currently, is expert at diluting these elements of country music and running them through a faint alternative structure. It’s music practically designed for me.
#83. Bark Dog – i’ll eat you, i love you
Whoops, I never wrote a review of this one back when I listened to it. This is a great indie record that I found the old fashioned way – a digital record store. There’s a few great albums I found by simply perusing the “Boston” tag on bandcamp, this one being the best. I know nothing about this artist, but he’s quite prolific. This is some very interesting, very fun lo-fi indie. A lot of smooth synth, grizzled production and healthy guitar. Even in the local scene, this one seems slept on.
#82. Beeef – Somebody’s Favorite
Beeef is one of Boston’s most prized groups right now, and Favorite showcases why. The band plays patient indie, nostalgic tunes about regional memories. The songs are conventionally appealing, but don’t have a forced alignment to radio structures. Some songs barely hit two minutes, some stretch past six. There’s a maturity here well beyond their goofy band name. Beeef has been great for years, and this only elevates them further. Please, check them out. This Beeef has some mustard on it.
#81. Good Looks – Lived Here For A While
I was way behind on reviews when I initially covered this, so let’s be quick – this is a wickedly fun indie album, mostly standard indie but with some threatening shoegaze elements. I think I was just in the right mood for something like this, because it scratched an itch that I didn’t realize I had. There’s a handful of great songs here, and nearly all of them are inherently listenable. Very fun stuff!
#80. MIKE & Tony Seltzer – Pinball
I’m generally not into rap that’s on the more lowkey side, but when it’s as effortless as this is, then it’s undeniable. I’ve never listened to MIKE but I keep seeing his name as a critical darling, and for good reason. Pinball is a masterpiece that doesn’t feel like one; quiet and short tunes that hide their bluntness in plain sight. Only three of the eleven songs are over two minutes, tunes that feel more like daydreams and out-loud musings. There’s a run in the middle of the album that’s just extraordinary. Great lyrics, great beats, great ideas. Real winner here.
#79. Sheer Mag – Playing Favorites
Sometimes you just need some good ol’ rock & roll. I was raised on classic rock and I will always have a deep appreciation for it. I love all of it, but the bluesy hard-rock of ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy, Foghat, etc, is music I particularly like. That’s what Sheer Mag has always done at least somewhat, and they lean way into it here. Good old guitar rock. The song “Eat It And Beat It” – an obvious play on “Hit It And Quit It” – will certainly be the best straightforward rock song I hear this year. It’s fun as hell. The best songs on the album are. There’s a lot of complacency here too, to be fair – a handful of rock songs that don’t really bring the heat and just exist. They prevent this from being an excellent album, but it is still a very good and fun one. In fact, it helps them align even more with classic rock bands – it’s all about the singles.
#78. Les Savy Fav – OUI, LSF
If you can follow the trends across this blog, then it should come as no surprise that I adore this band. I mostly missed them on their original run, only really latching on once I saw a reunion set at Riot Fest on a whim. Their first new album in a real long time is both a continuation and an extension of their sound. LSF have always been comparable to a band you’ll see in a few posts, Pissed Jeans – fun, raucous post-hardcore that’s often fast and heavy but not quite abrasive. Some songs here carry on the tradition – “Guzzle Blood,” “Void Moon” and “Oi! Division” are all old school LSF classics. But there’s more patient and mature tracks, too; a symptom of reuniting. The balance works remarkably well, and the resulting album is one that’s emotionally complete. Even if half of the songs are on the softer side, the band is still melodic, funny, and just a blast to listen to. These guys deserved a bigger spotlight, maybe this time around they’ll get it.
#77. Jane Weaver – Love In Constant Spectacle
You’ll have to forgive me because I’ve fallen way behind in my reviews, and this one won’t be getting the proper unconditional praise that it deserves. Like many albums this year, I tossed this on completely blind. The descriptions of Weaver toss around terms like “experimental” and “free jazz” but this is mostly woman-and-a-guitar music; if that sounds like denigration, it isn’t. I was floored by how beautiful these songs are. They’re minimalistic, a small sound in an open space, and yet captivating. Tons of singer-songwriters over the years have tried to capture the feeling of playing in the same room as the listener, and many would be jealous to do it the way Weaver does on every single song here. The rhythms are so simple yet riveting across the board. Some songs are certainly better than others – but the best ones propel this album into an elite territory. Some really special stuff.
#76. Knoll – As Spoken
Look at the cover of this record – an ominous, black and white photo of a mirror, pointing diagonally away from the camera. It’s unsettling. I put this record on knowing it was metal, but not much more. This is powerful black metal. Abrasive, pounding, sounding like the depths of Hell. What I’m saying is, it’s extremely me music. I love raw black metal. Oddly, this album eschews one of the normal characteristics of black metal – lengthy songs. It’s a genre devoted to wearing you down through both repetition and ferocity, but the band does away with the former. Only four of the album’s eleven tracks are over five minutes, and the rest are all under four. Instead of repetition, the band gives you whiplash transitions. It’s just as effective. Great stuff.
#75. Ducks Ltd. – Harm’s Way
I’ve been hearing lead single “Train Full Of Gasoline” on the radio pretty regularly, a rollicking, fun guitar tune. But with all guitar indie, I approached the album with a little apprehension, as singles are often livelier than the album. Not so! I know next to nothing of this duo, but this is a collection of fast-paced, clean indie-punk. At only 27 minutes, it doesn’t overstay the welcome, honestly could use a little more. While “Train” is one of the more rambunctious tunes, the whole release is just unfiltered fun. Think the song “Money” by The Drums – born of the surf-punk movement of the 2010s, but distinctly indie. Wide appeal on this one I think.
And that’s all for now! Check back in the coming days for 74-1.
Because I can’t help myself, here’s five albums I wanted to include: 070 Shake – Petrichor (gorgeous and haunting R&B-indie hybrid), Sugar Pit – Shh, Don’t Jinx It (rapid fire funk/dance-punk), A Place For Owls – how we dig in the earth (old-school Midwest emo), Heems – VEENA and LAFANDAR (two excellent comeback albums from an indie rap god).
Well, that’s done. Welcome to the first installment of my yearly series where I write thousands of needless words on all the music I loved this year. If you actually read what I do on this blog (why?) you may know that I attempted to chronicle every new release I listened to in blast reviews. I mostly kept up until mid-November, when year-end posts started looming. There’s a stalled-out half-post in my drafts that probably won’t ever get finished. It was a bad year to try and do this project – because this may have been the best year for new music of my whole life.
Every year I say the same thing – I prefer listening to and discussing full albums as opposed to songs. There are never as many songs I’m eager to discuss at year’s end as there are albums. But, I couldn’t narrow my list of songs down to any fewer than 40 (and I narrowly avoided a last-minute bump up to 45). One interesting trend in this list is collaborations: there’s five collabs on this list, and two more that initially made the cut but got dropped. I’m not sure why that is, exactly, but it really caught my eye. It’s also, much more predictably, an indie-heavy year. Most of my favorite albums this year were indie releases, which is the standard. It follows true for individual songs; 31 of the 40 songs here are ones I would describe as indie, and I’m being conservative. I promise I like every kind of music, I’m just an indie kid at heart. Alright enough talking, here’s 40 great ones.
#40. Orville Peck & Willie Nelson – “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other”
Sure, the song is a joke, but it was written for a reason. The culture of cowboys being hyper-masculine and tough is one that really isn’t true historically, and this one takes a delightful dig at homoeroticism from cowboy to cowboy. Who better to do it then the most famous outlaw country singer, and the gay upstart in his wake? The song was initially made famous by Nelson in the 80’s, but was already a cover then. Nowadays it’s a lot less controversial, but the tongue-in-cheek lyrics remain provoking. Also, it’s just a great country collaboration. Hearing Peck’s bass voice sing about sexuality and even gender questioning is itself comical, if also lending credence. It’s a light, fun and eye-opening tune.
KEY HUSH HUSH: And a small town don’t like it when somebody falls between sexes / No, a small town don’t like it when a cowboy has feelings for men
#39. TORRES – “Collect”
There’s always two sides of TORRES. The side that’s more common is the easy-going, tender side of her music, emphasized by the recent surprise collaborations with Julien Baker. But TORRES separates herself from indie contemporaries by sneaking in some menacing songs every so often. No secret that “Strange Hellos” is one of my favorite indie songs. The centerpiece of her new album – the best TORRES album yet – is this song that’s got a nice vocal melody undercut by lyrics that sound ripped from a gangster movie. It’s a tense song, and much the album surrounding it is softer and sweeter. People have been sleeping on TORRES for far too long; wake up before she comes to collect.
KEY TORRES MISSION STATEMENT: Did I hit a nerve?
#38. Sheer Mag – “Eat It And Beat It”
I’m usually against singers changing genders when they do a cover (looking at you, Buble), but this one I’ll allow. And no, this isn’t a cover, but it is a tune that sounds ripped from the 70’s. An obvious play on P-Funk’s “Hit It And Quit It,” this song has the aura of a classic rock tune, and inverted gender dynamics via singer Tina Halladay. Sheer Mag have always adapted a 70’s-rock style sound, but this might be the best and most unfiltered 70’s song yet. It’s Thin Lizzy or Deep Purple reawoken in 2024. Outside of some cool glitchy production that happens during the guitar solo, this is just a straight old-school rock song. Halladay sounds excellent on vocals, and the whole band is energized. I feel like I’ve been waiting for Sheer Mag to let loose on a song like this for a while. You like rock music? It’s alive and well.
KEY DOUBLE ENTENDRE I THINK: And when you hear that dinner bell ringin’ / You’re for whom it tolls
#37. The Body – “A Premonition”
The mark of a great band is one where you can hear a song you don’t know by them but instantly recognize who it is. The mark of a better band is when they can still experiment within their own unique style and produce something new. There is no band out there like The Body, and they’ve never made the same album twice. Chip King has some of the most, erm, distinctive vocals in all of music, and the band always finds new ways to incorporate them into the songs. This song takes King’s signature squawking and chops it into little metrical bits, as if it’s a remix of some sort. To be clear – this is not a song that will be enjoyable to most people. It’s relentlessly heavy, moody, devoid of rhythm and centered around unintelligible yelling. The Body are the kings of extreme music and this is one of the more rousing songs they’ve put in the last few years. Layers of suspiciously dormant synths sit under drums and squawks without a true song structure. This is far and away the most inaccessible song on this list (though I challenge the common man to test #15). Ready yo have your concept of music challenged?
KEY TOTALLY UNINTELLIGIBLE LYRIC: Flames reflect on the low clouds
#36. Misuser – “Behind the Fence”
I did a much better job at paying attention to regional New England music this year, and it was a truly fruitful experience. This isn’t the only Boston artist on the list! I stumbled onto Misuser totally blind while wandering around Nice, A Fest this year in between sets I had mapped out. I stepped into a goth party at the Rockwell, and this new one is the epitome of the sensation. This sounds ripped from the 80’s with breathy vocals, layers of synths and damp production. It’s a moody and engrossing song, one that’s easy to get lost in. Dark pop at its finest. Add in some excellent vocals and you’ve got a real great local gem.
KEY VOCAL BREAKTHROUGH: On the outside!
#35. Ducks Ltd. – “Train Full Of Gasoline”
I mentioned at the top that there’s a few truly dissonant and disruptive songs in this playlist, and you may think this is one based on the title. Nope! This is a very fun little indie ditty, just one that moves at a lightning speed. I wasn’t familiar with Ducks, Ltd. before this year, but it seems that most of their songs to date are like this one. It’s jangly, fun and clean guitar pop, not too far out of the realm as a band like The Hives. The lyrics are gleefully bombastic, and the vocal melodies are catchy as he*k. Despite the violence in the lyrics, there’s something about this song that feels purely innocent. Had I not heard this one a million times on indie rock radio I may not have warmed up to it so much, but I did, and it’s been stuck in my head since maybe March.
KEY PLEASE SEE THE MOVIE SORCERER: A way to get yourself set Up to roll back down that same long track / Set up to explode like a train full of gasoline
#34. Arab Strap – “Allatonceness”
You can thank my constant indecisiveness for this song making the cut. Initially this hefty Arab Strap tune sat at #41, only making the list at the last minute because I didn’t feel like writing about (spoilers) a second Decemberists song. My list is mostly full of soft indie anyways, so let’s get some chugging bass going. This song is a mission statement, one that feels ripped from the IDLES song “Colossus” – an album opener with spoken-word vocals, bluntly left-wing lyrics and bass that sounds like it’s going to kill you. This is an intimidating song, one about the slow conservative takeover of the world. There’s no love lost in the lyrics, taking aim at grifters, groomers, rapists and the freaks who imploded their own lives because Buzz Lightyear kissed a guy or whatever. What I’m saying is: bring this energy into 2025.
KEY SAY THIS WHILE IT’S STILL LEGAL: They’ve got your attention / The groomers and griftеrs and they’ve all done thеir own research / They’ve got your attention / Antagonized fanboys while Nazis and rapists sell merch
#33. Katy Kirby – “Hand To Hand”
Angel Olsen didn’t really do much in the public eye in 2024, so Katy Kirby was here to pick up the reigns. Her excellent second album is full of indie-folk tunes, but this one in particular sounds like Angel Olsen. Maybe a backhanded compliment to highlight it for sounding like someone else, but it’s here because it’s a gorgeously sung and expertly crafted song.I love music that’s ambitious and experimental, but sometimes a warm, beautiful indie song can really scratch an itch. This is mid-00’s forest indie at its best.
KEY LYRIC: It’s a pact, it’s a covenant / Handshake deal, turning hand to hand
#32. Sasami – “Honeycrash”
Sasami is largely unclassifiable, and the fact that I heard this song on indie rock radio sort of proves that. Her previous album Squeeze saw her take a more industrial approach to her music, coupled with the very nu-metal album cover. And yet she’s still welcomed by the indie crowd. “Honeycrash” is somewhat similar, it’s a heavy song marked by blaring guitar and withdrawn (but gorgeous) vocals. But it still feels alternative, because it isn’t really dissonant or off-putting in a way that even basic industrial can be. Also, it’s a love song. This is a song that is easy to get lost in, one that feels way longer than it is in a good way. It’s pained and slow, and the only real melody comes from the vocals, but intoxicating nonetheless. A unique entry on this list. This is the first slice of a new album, and I’m already hype.
KEY WEEPING ON THE FLOOR: Honey, crash into me / Like a storm into the sea / Like blood on the silver screen
#31. Hinds – “En Forma”
I’ve been in the Hinds camp since the beginning, something about the Spanish band’s joyous indie really touches me in a way a lot of indie bands don’t. The duo-turned-quartet is back down to a duo, and they’re freer than ever. Nowhere is that more obvious than in the song and video for “En Forma,” a rousing and emphatic vocal-and-percussion tune. Now I don’t speak a word of Spanish, but the energy of this song is easily infectious enough to where it doesn’t matter. Besides, why limit yourself to music you understand? This is energetic, poppy and supremely confident. Hinds have always been fun, but they’re better than ever.
KEY MAKING RELATIVE SOUNDS WITH MY MOUTH: Mírame no puedo más
#30. Beach Bunny – “Vertigo”
I love Beach Bunny so this is a loaded statement: I think this may be their best song yet. Despite losing a member, the band has never sounded so locked-in. The energy in their power-pop is always infectious, but it hits a new high here. The guitar rhythms are simple but effective, and Lili Trifilio’s vocal melody is a best-ever. BB’s music is often at the edge of punk, but too innocently sweet to be lumped in the genre. The energy here is high-octane and the closest they’ve come to punk yet (though it’s still decisively pop). This band excels at making songs you can hear a hundred times, and this is one I don’t think I’ll get sick of for a while. This might be the taste of a new album, I’m not sure – I hope it is.
KEY ENTIRE BAND MISSION STATEMENT IN ONE LINE: I’m protecting myself from emotional healing.
#29. Tunde Adebimpe – “Magnetic”
This is absolutely the song on this list I’ve heard the fewest times. Most of these I’ve heard 10+, maybe 20+ times. This one was a shoo-in the second time I heard it. I love TV on the Radio, but I was only ever into their high-energy stuff. The indie band had a knack for making ruthlessly fast-paced and danceable tunes, and the singer’s first true solo song picks up where the band left off a decade ago. Although the band has reunited for some shows, it seems this is the first taste of a solo record. This song is all about the whiplash tempo and Adebimpe’s adept vocals. He sounds as good as ever, keen to deliver standard lines like the opener “I was thinking about my time and space / I was thinking about the human race.” Just throw this one on and try not to snap your fingers.
KEY TUNDE HAS BEEN MISSED: I know the skill of doing loops in the fire / What they gonna do with a lightning rider?
#28. JPEGMAFIA – “don’t rely on other men”
I’m the specific blend of caucasian where there’s only one rap song on this list and it’s from JPEGMAFIA. Peggy is at his best when he leans into the heavy synths and unpredictability – the gnarlier the beat, the better the song. The beat of this one isn’t complex, it’s just a loud, plodding thump of a synth and a sample of the word “down,” taken from the line “I hear you went down.” Who spoke this? Brian Cox, in “Succession.” Beside the point but neat. Add in some metrical guitar and Peggy’s characteristically precise flow and comical-but-tough lyrics and you’ve got a classic JPEGMAFIA track. This one arguably stretches closer to hyperpop than full hip-hop.
KEY CLASSIC PEGGY LINE: I’m with my bi bitch, we being bipolar / Together we burn through that bread like a toaster
#27. Alluvial – “Death Is But A Door”
There isn’t much to say about this one – it’s a death metal song centered around a sick, one-note riff. The whole crux of this song is one guitar bend through distortion, and I can’t explain why it wails so hard but it does. By purist standards, this sneaks in as my favorite metal song of the year (although there’s one coming that I’d argue fits the bill). I don’t even particularly like this band but the mix of the punishing djent tempo and the nu-metal guitars is just heavy.
KEY WELLNESS CHECK: An empty gun on the floor / To show you time is but a window / And death is but a door
#26. Vampire Weekend – “Gen-X Cops”
Vampire Weekend’s fourth album, Father Of The Bride, went the way I was afraid it would – complacent adult alternative. The whole album was somewhat boring, too sunny and devoid of the manic energy of early Vampire Weekend. Thankfully, they’ve kicked back into high gear. The intensity of this one rivals anything on their debut, and with better production. And in classic fashion, they’ve taken the throwaway name of a Hong Kong action film and turned into an examination of generational differences. It’s not profound, exactly, but it is poetic amid the mania. The guitar riff is sleek and energetic, there’s a great harp line in the chorus, and Ezra’s vocals are at their best.
KEY INSIGHT: Each generation makes its own apology
#25. King Hannah & Sharon Van Etten – “Big Swimmer”
What a calm song. This is a very peaceful indie tune, with a unique format. The song is split into halves, with the same lyrics. The first half is acoustic, the second half electric. It’s the paralysis demon of Guided By Voices. Singer Hannah Merrick has a very smooth, soft voice, and her borderline-spoken word approach works magnificently here. Even in the electric portion, this song never gets very loud, it’s all about the beauty. Magnificently subtle and gorgeous, and a hell of a lot different than the boisterous songs peppering this list.
KEY NOT SURE WHAT THIS LINE MEANS: I’ll swim at anything
#24. The Last Dinner Party – “Sinner”
These ladies shot to the top of the music world so quickly that I was initially very skeptical. But once their debut album came out, that was erased – yeah, they’re really that good. I got pretty obsessed with this song, their second single as a band, early in the year. The indie band has an aura of being fun but respectful, raunchy but sweet, and this song lives up to it. The music is straight indie, a classic verse-chorus-verse tune. There’s a healthy guitar lick that kicks in during the chorus and disrupts the metrical and balanced music around it. Vocally, their rhythms are always great. And lyrically, this song has that same tight balance – innocent, but hinting at a veiled provocation. It’s a full song, with many individual pieces. Most work in harmony, a few in discord, and the end result is one of the finest indie songs of the year. But also not even my favorite from them. More on them in a bit.
KEY SECULAR FLESH: I wish I knew you / Before it felt like a sin
#23. Blondshell – “What’s Fair”
Sheesh this one is rough. There’s no sugar coating – this is a call-out to mom for doing a bad job. Blondshell, the solo project of Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum, dances around blaming her mom, herself and fate for her mom’s job as caretaker, or lack thereof. Blondshell’s music is guitar-heavy indie, largely a throwback to 90’s alternative fare. This song specifically wouldn’t sound out of place on Exile In Guyville, it has the 90’s snark and poppy vocal rhythms layered over a healthy guitar lick. It’s a despondent and self-critical song, but it’s somewhat easy to gloss over it because it is infinitely catchy, too. And if you think this is as mean as Blondshell can get, well, keep reading.
KEY EVERCLEAR INSPIRATION: What’s fair, what’s a fair assessment of the job you did? Do you ever even regret it?
#22. Lily Seabird – “Grace”
In a just world this would’ve been a breakout song. I heard this one on Allston Pudding radio (live on uncertain.fm every Monday 4-6pm and Tuesday 10-noon), and it’s just one of the most unique songs of the year. The intro piano rhythm has the innocent sound of a 2010 indie song, and Seabird’s voice matches it. It starts off as a pleasantly melodic little tune, until the guitar kicks in. The chorus is a rollicking, heavy guitar drone ripped from Dinosaur Jr., and it disappears just as quick. Listen closely and you’ll pick up the 5-second Neil Young guitar lick, too. This song is a true amalgam of just cool stuff, a lot of individual elements that shouldn’t work together and maybe don’t, but it’s extremely interesting.
KEY PAINFUL RELATABILITY: I won’t forget the color of her eyes / The way she smiled when she said goodbye
#21. Yard Act – “We Make Hits”
I appreciate a good honest song. And “We Make Hits” might be the funniest song of 2024, a meta and self-effacing song analyzing why exactly Yard Act exists in the first place. It’s a song about remaining anticapitalist despite signing to Universal, because I mean, they’re poor and climate change is gonna get us all anyways. It’s existentialist, maybe, but it’s also very tongue-in-cheek. The culture of “selling out” seems pretty dormant (thankfully) and this song really puts it to bed. Oh also, it’s just a jam. Yard Act puts the -punk in post-punk, a genre that was surprisingly fruitful in 2024. It’s funky and energetic, obviously a song made to be played live. Even if you don’t pay attention to the lyrics, it’s easy to get lost in how hyper-catchy this one is.
KEY UNDERSTAND THE NUANCE: I’m still an anti-C-A-P-I-T-A-L-I-S-T / It just so happens that there’s other things I happen to be
#20. Friko – “Crimson To Chrome”
The first time I heard Friko on the radio I was convinced it was a mid-00’s deep cut that I had missed. The band has the punk spirit and rough production of the dance-punk heyday. But no, they’re fresh out of the oven, and their debut is chock full of indie goodies. This song has like three or four insanely catchy rhythms, a rare song where the verses are just as memorable as the choruses. But that chorus, it’s perfect. The vocals are despondent and paranoid, the rhythm is unstable, and yet it’s all a giant jam. High-energy indie tune and one that sounds ripped from the same year that these youngsters were born.
KEY THESE KIDS ARE WAY TOO YOUNG TO FEEL THIS WAY: We’re either too old, too bold or stupid to move, I guess we’re / Caught on the wrong side of the shoe again
#19. Rick Rude – “Wooden Knife”
One chronic problem I have with media is that I’m rarely ever interested in revisiting something. I almost never listen to an album twice, even ones I really love. This year, I tried to do flash reviews of every one I listened to, and Rick Rude’s Laverne fell through the cracks. The period between me listening and me attempting to write a review was so large that I had nothing to say. Thankfully, I listened to it again – which is when I fell in love with the opening track, one that I hadn’t even earmarked on the first listen. This is just a rousing punk song, one that’s got splashes of emo and pop-punk, but still stays firmly in raucous territory. Loud, fast, fun, and extremely catchy. And it’s all named after Rick Rude? Ravishing work.
KEY alright i was afraid this was going to happen at some point, the lyrics of this song don’t seem to exist online anywhere. given the name of the band, i can instead offer a FIVE-STAR WRESTLING MATCH OF 2024: Donovan Dijak vs. Anthony Greene at Beyond Wrestling
#18. The Last Dinner Party – “The Feminine Urge”
You can pretty much transpose everything I said about “Sinner” here. A lot of the songs on their debut record have a bit of raucousness to them, but this one is mostly a ballad. Surprisingly, it’s my favorite track on the whole album. It’s not as baroque or full-band as most of their songs, opting instead to be a vocal-forward song. Lead singer Abigail Morris already has an excellent voice, and this one has a legendary vocal rhythm to lend an assist. The whole instrumentation of this song, and even the verses, are not the strongest work the band has done – but this song has maybe the best chorus of 2024. It’s one that plays on a loop in my head for hours, never getting old.
KEY BEST VOCAL KEY CHANGE OF THE YEAR: Do you feel like a man when I can’t talk back? / Do you want me, or do you want control?
#17. The Smile – “Read The Room”
It is kind of amazing how Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood have managed to make a new band that simultaneously does and does not sound like Radiohead. This song on paper has the elements of a late-career Radiohead song, but in practice it’s not all that similar. A laggy, prog-like guitar line lumbers through this song and gives it an almost drone-like quality. Yorke provides a typical high-pitched vocal line, but it’s also more droning than normal. The song is tantric, at first middling but increasingly tantalizing, like a snake charmer. There’s also a nice left-field bridge where Greenwood briefly remembers that chords exist. These guys are kings of patience, and this is a fine example of how slow, droning and simple rhythms can still make something catchy and complex.
KEY ATYPICAL THOM YORKE LINE: But I am gonna count to three / Keep this shit away from me
#16. Ride – “Portland Rocks”
While I always respect a band leaving their comfort zone, Ride’s seventh album was ultimately a big misfire. The best song on it, as it goes, was the only truly traditional Ride song. The shoegaze revival is just as alive as the nu-metal one, and Ride were originators. This song is centered around a spacey and heavy guitar riff, one that’s naturally melodic but also layered under enough distortion to make it sound like it’s actively fighting gravity. That alone would be enough for a classic song, but the vocals add another element here. The vocals are urgent and emphatic, a call to anyone listening. It gives the song a slightly unstable feel, even though everything exists in harmony. But more than anything else it’s just a great rock song. These guys can still kick absolute ass.
KEY VOCAL HOOK: Why do I feel this way? / Like I’m hanging off the edge of the world
#15. Uniform – “This Is Not A Prayer”
You can record all the death metal songs called like “Putrid Pus Seeping Out Of A Baby’s Anal Wound” all you want, stuff like this is the most unsettling music out there. Uniform are a melodic band, but they’re the most miserable band in music. Angry, misanthropic and passionate, this is music for people who feel bad. Their songs always fall through the cracks of genre, following basic rock structures but not really being rock, metal, or post-hardcore. They’re closer to industrial than anything, but even that isn’t quite right. Regardless, this is the best song they’ve ever done. Michael Berden’s signature growl renders most of the lyrics unintelligible, and sounds genuinely threatening. This is a percussive song, with a pounding drum line hitting for all six-plus minutes straight. It’s loud, frantic and paranoid. These are all the elements of Uniform’s music, but the band just keeps improving on them with every album. One of the most unsettling songs of the year, and despite all the earworms on this list, this is truly me music.
KEY EVEN GENIUS ISN’T SURE: I’ve got a wish to be as lithe as a sapling / Waist pulled back into spine ([?])
#14. IDLES & LCD Soundsystem – “Dancer”
No reason to mince it, the new IDLES record was a major disappointment. The nominally punk band took a turn towards ballads, and most of them just didn’t work. The lead single is an absolute banger, one of the most bass-heavy songs in a bassy catalog. The music here is intimidating and the chorus is huge, one of the biggest sing-along songs they’ve done yet. Frustratingly, they don’t really have anything to say here – and they’re known for hyperspecific points of interest, political targets and satirical aims. I can’t find an angle here that’s anything than just dancing. And yet, the song is so huge that it doesn’t really matter. Only IDLES can make a song so danceable and raw at the same time. Also this “features LCD Soundsystem,” but it doesn’t – James Murphy and Nancy Whang sing background vocals in the chorus. Still a wild get!
KEY STILL KINDA IDLES: Shoulders back, chest out, I’m poised / Like a goddamn ape, so to speak
#13. Pissed Jeans – “Everywhere Is Bad”
The beauty of Pissed Jeans music prior to 2024 was the way they would take their sardonic pessimism and roast some very specific subject – middle managers, guys with fetishes for being ignored, etc. For their sixth album, though, they’ve expanded their horizons and overcorrected. The album’s best song satirizes the very concept of a place, in case the title was not enough of a clue. It’s the antithesis to the hokiness of “The Heart of Rock and Roll,” in that they list off place by place and why it sucks. Sure, it goes from Boston to Austin to Vegas, but in case you think they’re serious, they roll through Heaven to Proxima B to nonexistence, too. It’s low-hanging fruit, but it’s funny, and it rips. The band drains the normal sludge out of their music in favor of bulging hardcore, and even with normal lyrics this would be one of the best punk tunes of the year. As you can expect with these guys though, it’s funny as hell.
KEY ONE THAT’S PROBABLY ACCURATE: Hell? Too many dudes!
#12. Father John Misty – “She Cleans Up”
If you look closely, you’ll notice that Father John isn’t really doing his gimmick anymore. He’s quietly stripped away a lot of the ostentatious and questionable parts of his ‘personality’ in favor of just focusing on music. His new album sees him doing long songs – even by his standard – with a lot of folksy meandering. This one, though, rips. This is one of the most fun and lively songs he’s done since his early solo days. The chorus to this one is catchy as all hell, with a wicked guitar riff accompanying the otherwise jolly music. If you’re like I used to be, on the fence with this madman, then let this song sway you. Think this is the only FJM song on this list? Time will make a fool of you.
KEY OH BROTHER HERE WE GO AGAIN: I had a vision that Mary of Magdalene / Saw the future that awaits us just before Good Friday eve
#11. The Decemberists – “Oh No”
Outside of a few songs, the Decemberists never really hit for me. I think it’s on me, but I always found their style and aesthetics a little pretentious. Their ninth album was fine, I enjoyed it somewhat, but I do think it all ‘clicked’ for me. The second single and second track is fun, it’s got gleeful pessimism. Some soft horns kick it off, and the central, pulsating rhythm almost feels culturally mariachi or Latin. There’s some sort of dinner party feel to this, even as the lyrics cryptically hint at multiple evils befalling a wedding night. It’s good old sinister fun, and one of the best indie songs in a stacked year. Is this one of their best songs or did I finally just get older?
KEY COLIN MELOY HAS NOT CHANGED: And it seems that we’ve caught you in tow / Between the devil and the devil you know
#10. Real Estate – “Water Underground”
Another classic example of the “did I include it last year?” thing where a single comes out in one year and the album another. I’ve never been a fan of Real Estate, to me they’re always template indie, the most basic and diluted form of the genre. But sometimes it works, and I love this song. A bubbly guitar line matches a practiced vocal rhythm into something that’s just simply pleasant. It’s a very melodic song, a tick above their normal standard songs. Sometimes you just need a little feel-good burst, and this makes me feel nice and warm. It’s a summery song, good for laying down in the grass and watching the clouds.
KEY LINE THAT HAS BEEN STUCK IN MY HEAD ALL YEAR: Water underground / won’t you cool me down, wash over me?
#9. Blondshell & Bully – “Docket”
It was a quiet year for two of indie rock’s most detached ladies, but they did both jump on this stellar song. It’s a logical pairing – Bully, an established grunge singer with a pessimistic catalog, and Blondshell, a youngster who runs a bit poppier but still with heavy guitar. This song rips – still indie and melodic, but with a guitar-heavy chorus that would bring a tiny smirk to the face of J. Mascis. Also, in a cold year filled with international misery, this is just fucking mean. It’s about hoping your boyfriend leaves town so you can start scouting other guys for fun. It’s sung with a cold intensity that implies this one is 100% real. Still an earworm, though.
KEY PLEASE DON’T DO THIS TO ME: I put men on the docket / Give me a curse, I caught a bug / He should be with someone who’s more in love / Not someone eating for free
#8. Fontaines D.C. – “Starburster”
Fontaines D.C. were probably already drying up the well across their first three albums, of midtempo and metrical post-punk. So they delivered a massive left-turn with a rap-rock song. The nu-metal revival is alive everywhere you look, and it’s infected the very Irish alternative band. This song is rousing and mean in a way that’s super fun. Grain Chatten is simply not a man who I ever expected to have bars but he does. He dominates this song and is clearly having a blast. It’s raucous and loud, a wild fusion of alternative, hip-hop and electronic with a jokingly somber bridge too. The power play worked – these guys are on top of the world now.
KEY LINE I KEEP SINGING IN A BAD IRISH ACCENT: I wanna head to a mass and get cast in it / That shit’s funnier than any A-class, innit?
#7. Father John Misty – “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools Of Us All”
Papa Drizzle does his best Dylan impression here, though the end result probably sounds closer to The War on Drugs. This 8+ minute folky meanderer sounds musically and lyrically ripped from Highway 61 Revisited, a loose but metrical and repetitive tune with a pleasant full-band melody and predictably forlorn lyrics. It’s the breeziest and most unwound that he’s sounded, even if the subject matter is more melancholy. This one hooked me immediately, it’s rare that I get obsessed with a tune as quickly as I did here, it’s also definitely the best song he’s put out to date, even if it does sound recycled from others. It’s refreshing to hear him shake off all the gimmicks and controversy and just embrace the raconteur elements he’s always had. The music speaks for itself.
KEY DYLAN INSPIRATION: The greatest minds of my generation gladly conscripted in war / Of defending any Goliath that would darken the door
#6. BRICKLAYER – “Gay Breakfast”
Punk’s not dead, it’s just gay now. This song from a short-lived local group (they’re already done) immediately caught my ear in the spring and it’s become a staple for me. When it comes to dance-punk, I’m very basic: I like it. Doesn’t matter if it’s the high-octane guitar frenzy of the Hives or the synthy repetition of LCD Soundsystem, I like it. This is the former, an excellent guitar ripper with earworm melody and punk energy. The vocals are strong and the production is humble, it has the warm and echoey production of a 00’s indie tune. Just fun as hell, to be honest. This one puts me in a good mood and has me shadowboxing the ceiling. Fun!
KEY BREAKFAST ITEM MENTIONED IN THE LYRICS: Lucky charms!
#5. MJ Lenderman – “She’s Leaving You”
I’m convinced that there’s nothing this guy can’t do. The Wednesday guitarist has a solo career that’s starting to surpass that of his primary band. I’ve been comparing him to Neil Young, with his off-the-cuff americana indie songs that can range from acoustic meanderings to gnarly grunge. I thought the reason I loved him was for how loose and seemingly semi-improvised his songs sounded, but this one is very metrical and stable in its structure, and it’s one of my favorite songs from him yet. With the exception of the first verse, it’s devoid of specific references and unique scenarios, and has a reasonable vocal meter. His vocal delivery is resigned, which matches the song’s “back to business” lyrical meaning. It’s a serious song from a guy who put a 10 minute song about Guitar Hero on the same album. Lenderman’s vocal delivery is the star. He’s an excellent guitarist but more often than not, his off-kilter vocals are the winner. Same goes here. Try to not start randomly singing the chorus to yourself during the day, I dare you.
KEY RELATABLE LISTLESSNESS: You said “Vegas is beautiful at night” / And it’s not about the money, You just like the lights
#4. Mannequin Pussy – “Sometimes”
The beauty of all of Mannequin Pussy’s previous songs was their ability to take chaotic punk energy and cram it into the walls of an indie tune. The beauty of their true breakout hit, however, is Marisa Dabice’s vocals. This song takes what are admittedly barebones and thin lyrics and lets Dabice scream them into relevancy. She sings the extended climax of this song as if she’s screaming for help buried underground. It sends a chill down your spine. This song starts off a little more restrained than the band is used to, though still clearly punk. It’s a bit of a red herring; this isn’t a verse-chorus-verse song but one that crescendos to a huge climax. This might be the band’s biggest and most conventional song to date, so it’s surprising that it’s also their best.
KEY SCREAMING IT IN THE SHOWER: I’m a giver I would give it all to you / Even if it meant that I would have to choose / Between my life and now it’s aging fast for you / Sometiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimes
#3. Warpaint – “Common Blue”
There’s a specific type of song that makes me feel like I’m on an airplane. It’s a spacey breeziness, and even most spacey songs don’t have it. The list is short, and I do have a playlist specifically for plane travel (“The New Pollution” by Beck, “1/1” by Brian Eno, “Miss U” by Kitty). I love air travel, and making this list is an extremely high honor in my eyes. This song is crafted in such a way that I always feel like I’m floating in the atmosphere, even when it’s on the car radio. Warpaint are always queens of breezy, light harmonies, but the real beauty lies in the production. Bands don’t always record together in the studio, something masked by producers. But here, it’s obvious that every element was recorded individually and textured together. Elements work against each other, not with. One synth line plays in the back of your ears when a vocal line suddenly plays at the front. It’s a simple song at its core, but sounds like a completed puzzle. And all of the pieces are calming – especially that synth line that plays before the chorus. It’s only a couple notes, but it’s like melodic Xanax – with headphones on, it’s something that soothes my brain immediately. This is a song to cure a headache, to disappear from the world, to listen to on liftoff, or just any other time you need a quick break. It’s a top 5 of the year easily.
KEY BRAIN MASSAGE: Maybe, baby, we only have one life to live / Maybe, baby, we can be a butterfly
#2. Kim Gordon – “BYE BYE”
I desperately want to know the story of how this song came to be. All eleven tracks on Kim Gordon’s beyond excellent record The Collective are centered around beats from Justin Raisen. Allegedly, he designed these beats for rapper Playboi Carti. Instead, they ended up in the hands of 71-year-old alternative legend Kim Gordon. The album’s lead single is the best of the bunch, and sounds like no wave updated for a mumble rap era: huge, menacing beats and Kim Gordon talking ‘lyrics’ that are just a list of things to do and pack before leaving for a vacation. And then two minutes of absolute guitar shredding. This is a dense and foreboding song, but if you’re into it, it’s an earworm. It’s one of my most played songs of the year. Few people have ever operated at Kim’s level, and she’s still doing this.
KEY THINGS TO PACK: Eyelash curler, vibrator, teaser, bye bye!
#1. Waxahatchee & MJ Lenderman – “Right Back To It”
The list started with an indie-country collaboration and it’s going to end with one. This song came out in early January and by the third or fourth time I heard it, I already knew it was going to be a lock at #1. This was an insanely competitive year but it was going to take a “Dance Yrself Clean” to top this. “Right Back To It” is one of the most beautiful slices of Americana in years, from one established artist already well-known for beauty, and one fitful youngster known for warped sincerity. The calm banjo opening to this implies the breeziness of it, and the tear-jerkingly happy lyrics bring it home. It’s simply an easy, harmonic and gorgeous song about almost-unconditional love. A hundred times in and it still sounds as fresh as the first time I heard it. The best song in a deep Waxahatchee catalog full of excellent Americana tunes. It was always going to be this.
KEY DON’T CRY LYRIC: But you just settle in, like a song with no end / If I can keep up, we’ll get right back to it
And that does it! However, because I just can’t help myself, here’s five more I almost included: Suki Waterhouse – “Supersad,” Jack White – “That’s How I’m Feeling,” The Decemberists & James Mercer – “Burial Ground,” girl in red – “Too Much,” Jamie XX & Honey Dijon – “Baddy On The Floor“
Check back in starting tomorrow for my 101 favorite albums of 2024! It’s a hefty list.
I’m both delighted and dismayed that I decided to hold myself to doing flash reviews of every new album I can in this year, 2024. We’re deep enough in now that I can confidently say this year has been one of the all-time greats. 1967, 1994, 2016 – these years welcome 2024 with open arms. It also means I’ve had absolutely no time to do other writing for this blog or to catch up on older music at all. And quite frankly, I’m getting tired of these posts. But we’re close enough to the end, even if I’m not at all close to actually clearing out my “new albums to listen to” list. I’ve got 36 quick ones for you this time, and there’s a lot of heavy hitters. I’ve run out of time to listen to stuff I don’t expect much out of. Coming up below is some black metal, a couple of difficult indie albums, some alternative legends, yet another excellent post-punk album, one of the biggest pop albums of the year, and an album from some pals that is unbiasedly brilliant. Let’s crack on.
Orville Peck – Stampede
Ugh. I wrote about the EP Peck released earlier this year, when it wasn’t yet clear if it was going to be part of a bigger album. At the time, I said it was worryingly inconsistent, and the full album isn’t different. If you follow me on social media, you may know that I’ve jokingly adopted a pun of Peck’s name as my handle, because his music means a lot to me. But his third album just isn’t it. All fifteen songs are collaborations, and seven of them are covers (often done with the original artist). It’s a weird move for an artist who’s growing in popularity but still establishing himself. Peck’s first two albums put him concretely in the world of outlaw country/y’allternative, but some of his other releases have seen him branch out into poppier worlds. This album is all over the place, intentionally. There’s straight country, like the delightfully funny “You’re an Asshole, I Can’t Stand You (And I Want a Divorce)” and the tepid closer “Rhinestone Cowboy.” But there’s also pop (“Midnight Ride”), indie (“Death Valley High”) and an ill-advised mariachi song (“Miénteme”). The expanded branches work better on paper than practice. Given that there’s so many covers done with well-established artists (Elton John, Margo Price, Kylie Minogue, etc), it implies that Peck didn’t have the songwriting well mined. I don’t think this is true! It just seems like it. Also, it feels like Peck is gunning for the crossover country money. Can’t blame him, crossover country is very hot right now – but his first attempts have a glossy inauthenticity to them that is just unfortunate. The more pop-friendly he goes, the more plastic it all sounds. And when you hear the few great songs, like the Beck and Margo Price collaborations, it makes the dullness of the other tracks all the more apparent.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 8/2/24
Pharmakon – Maggot Mass
Weirdly, I don’t remember my thoughts on this one too vividly. Pharmakon is quietly one of my favorite artists, just not one I listen to often – her music is extreme industrial, pushing the sonic territories of noise. Her songs are often expansive, harsh and pulsating, but with hints of melody too, which sets her apart from the goofy pure harsh noise. Lyrically, she sings largely viciously raw songs about skin, bodies and illnesses. Maggot Mass is no different, as every song here is menacing and uncomfortable. This record is missing the one key song of her previous works, which hampers it a bit. No track feels like a standout, they’re all a muddy slog together. But if you’re into extreme music, you can’t do wrong with her catalog.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 10/4/24
Amyl & the Sniffers – Cartoon Darkness
I’m a simple man, if a song has fast guitars and Amy Taylor yelling some stuff at me in a thick Australian accent, then I like that song. I absolutely adore Amyl & the Sniffers, and their third album is chock full of drunk-punk goodies. These songs are exactly what you expect and exactly what they need to be – a collection of fast and loose punk songs that are sometimes about vulnerability, and sometimes about beer. While the band ventured out into more exploratory terrain on the second album, they double back down into fun punk here. Uncoincidentally, I like this record more than their second one (their debut remains an all-time favorite, though). Put it on and destroy your own house.
Grade: 8/10 Initial release date: 10/25/24
Rubblebucket – Year of the Banana
Although the indie duo Rubblebucket only popped up on my radar with their last album, 2022’s Earth Worship, they’re actually now seven albums and fifteen years deep. My thoughts on the last album were that I loved the loose, bright and horn-based songs but wished some of them had a little more oomph to them. Well this is that record, a set of alternative songs that are taut in production but loose in vibes, with a lot of sunny energy to them. There’s no attempt to reinvent the wheel, just craft it so it runs smoothly. It’s just some very fun indie. Also, some quick research tells me that this band has been local to me this whole time and I had no idea. Neat!
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 10/18/24
FIDLAR – Surviving the Dream
The debut FIDLAR album will be one that I always cherish, a surf-punk classic. But it was obvious from the start that band’s gimmick – songs almost exclusively about drugs and booze – wouldn’t last. They’d either die or sober up. For the second album it was, well, both. In the intervening years the band has pumped out some good songs here and there, but the general concept of their music has gotten staler and staler. Their fourth album is just kind of…sad. The songs about needing to get loaded to survive no longer sound true and paranoid like they did in 2013, they now sound wimpy and unbelievable. The band has also turned a bit towards a pop-punk sound, which is probably a solid idea – they can rope in more fans, especially the sad, older punks. But in my eyes specifically, it’s off-putting. They still bring the heat more often than not, and it does save the album. From a music standpoint, they’re not going through the motions. It just seems that they no longer really have anything to say, and it makes the affair seem pointless. Early songs like “No Waves” felt like melodic cries for help, these feel like pale imitations.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 9/20/24
Speed – ONLY ONE MODE
I’m not really sure how to classify this album, which means it’s probably pretty effective. The nu-metal revival is alive and well, best seen in bands like Speed who pluck out elements of it to incorporate into something else. Toss in hardcore punk, hip-hop and metalcore and you’ve got nearly all of the metal zeitgeists of the past 25 years mixed together. The end result isn’t necessarily as interesting as it should be, some songs come off as surprisingly limp despite the chaotic energy. But the ones that work are thrashing. This feels like it could be the start of a new hardcore era, this is a band to watch. And the whole thing is over in 24 minutes.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 7/12/24
Hana Vu – Romanticism
I came into this one after hearing a track on the radio, a fun romp of an indie-pop song. Even with the song I knew, the cover art and title had me expecting something more along the lines of chamber pop. It’s more indie-pop/indie rock, and it’s largely stellar. It’s an all DIY affair, which adds a looseness to the music; this isn’t another overproduced saccharine record. It is perhaps a bit too long or a bit too repetitive, the album as a whole is fun but feels like its lacking in something. But as individual parts, there’s a lot of fun tracks here.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 5/3/24
Etran de l’Air – 100% Sahara Guitar
I mean what else do you expect with a name like this? I’ve mentioned it a few times throughout this project but I have a secret love of African music, especially African guitar music, so this was up my alley. I listened to this on a toasty summer day walking around downtown Boston, wich was probably ideal. It’s a solid and really fun set of African rhythms filtered through American rock, just like Mdou Moctar and countless others. It isn’t as strong as some others – too many songs that meander through a midtempo lull – but it is still very fun and wildly confident.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 9/13/24
Sinai Vessel – I SING
How’s this for full-circle: ten years ago, back when I used this blog largely to cover new emo bands, I wrote about Sinai Vessel’s EP “profanity.” I was – if I recall correctly, which I may not – the first person to cover their music. Now, Sinai Vessel is one person, and he’s on a retirement tour. Caleb Cordes last album, I SING, is just as vulnerable and emotional as anything else he’s released. In 2014, I referenced how the band had been called “punk for sissies” and used the then-zeitgeisty term “tender emo.” That style tends to grow and mature, and it has here – soft, personal indie music that always eschews any form of oomph. I will say, it was all a little too lowkey for me – man-and-a-guitar music tends to be hit-and-miss in the PGMR world. But even in that scene, it’s unique, because it lacks any flashiness and showmanship, in favor of personality and rawness. So while this wasn’t really for me, it should find a nice niche home. Congrats on a great career!
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 7/26/24
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
I love the harmless pun of the title, referring to both the 36-minute runtime and Carpenter herself. Now, surely you’ve already heard this album, I got to it a bit late. It’s utterly delightful, I loved it. It scratches the same itch that Carly Rae Jepsen does – bouncy pop songs that deal with the complexities of relationships that also aren’t plastic. It can be difficult in today’s landscape to make pop music that’s truly authentic but this album is, top-to-bottom. It’s raunchy and clever, nearly every song is a winner. It’s easy to see why this is the album that’s really broken her out of Disney containment; if it wasn’t for Chappell Roan, this would’ve been Carpenter’s year to lose. And if it wasn’t for Charli, this would probably be the best pop album of 2024. Those aren’t exactly setbacks, this is an album we’ll be talking about for years to come.
Grade: 8/10 Initial release date: 8/23/24
Spectral Wound – Songs of Blood and Mire
The best black metal albums are ones with minimal to no melodies and production that sounds like the band is in the next building, which makes Spectral Wound all the more remarkable. The band manages to make black metal with melodies and crisp production that isn’t any sort of “experimental” or “pseudo” black metal. It’s just black metal. Pummeling walls of guitar and guttural vocals, the loudest that music can be. But there are melodies, and even some lyrics that recognize the band’s stance testing the confines from the inside. There’s a meta element to this album that feels foreign to traditional black metal. This isn’t as excellent as their previous album, 2021’s A Diabolic Thirst, but that was a high bar to clear. This is still an excellent, maximalist metal record.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 8/23/24
Undeath – More Insane
I’ve said it before and I will say it again – I’m clueless when it comes to writing about death metal. It’s not that I don’t know anything about the genre (although it’s far from my favorite metal subgenre), but I can just never find the right words as to what makes an album unique or not. This rips, though, it’s one of the more interesting death metal albums I’ve heard in a while. There’s no prolonged ideas or tedious songwriting, just a bunch of raucous blasts and a some very fun, unpredictable songs. Nothing happens twice, which is the mark of a death metal band that isn’t allowing themselves to be complacent within the genre. Also the cover is sick as hell and offbeat for the genre. It rocks!
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 10/4/24
The The – Ensoulment
It’s only been fairly recently that I’ve started to gain an appreciation for the lighter new wave and 80’s pop bands, so The The is one that I’ve never really spent any time with. Truthfully, this is probably the first time I’ve ever really listened to them. It wasn’t really “for me” necessarily but I appreciated what it was – minimalist synth-pop with a lot of spoken word vocals. The band’s first album in ~25 years is unassuming and niche, not looking to gain any younger fans. It sounds akin to some of Roger Waters’ late-career solo albums in its grizzly, vocal-forward songwriting and light melodies. It’s interesting, it’s a little too barebones.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 9/6/24
Toro Y Moi – Hole Erth
I always appreciate artists stepping out of their comfort zone, and when you’re someone like Toro Y Moi, you don’t even necessarily have one. Chaz Bear, aka Toro Y Moi, had a pretty unique and signature sound for a few years before it was imitated by millions; he was a founder of chillwave, the synth-heavy retro-pop sound that emerged around 2010. His last few records have been more indie-based, but this one leans far more into hip-hop. It doesn’t really work, honestly. He doesn’t sound nearly tough enough or, alternately, too energized – he’s trying to marry some styles that have irreconcilable differences. It’s ultimately just too limp. Some assists from Kevin Abstract and Kenny Mason actually give the end of the album a boost. The last 4 songs or so are worth the time. And there’s a lot of good ideas throughout. But it’s just a little too sedated and plastic.
Grade: 6.5/10Initial release date: 9/6/24
Body Meat – Starchris
Based on the album cover and the way I saw this record described, I was expecting something much more neurotic and possibly industrial. I made the mistake of listening to it just after the Toro Y Moi record, and it’s quite similar – chill indie-pop, just more experimental. Songs are drawn out and there’s occasional chaotic elements thrown in. But it’s very jazzy, too. The individual elements of this record are relatively standard, but the complete songs are pretty unique. It’s always bordering on going noisy and heavy, but usually stays funky. It’s a fun one.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 8/23/24
Porridge Radio – Clouds In The Sky There Will Always Be There For Me
Another winner from one of the most unique acts in indie music. The British trio makes indie music that is at home with bands like Built to Spill, but might make listeners a little uncomfortable. Singer Dana Margolin has a gritty voice resembling Francis Quinlan from Hop Along, but with a backing band that’s filtered through the looseness of Hole. The whole album is off-the-cuff and extremely raw. It could even be more Tom Waits than anything. The music this band makes is wholly unique, and it’s fair to say that some normal indie fans will be turned off by it. But I’ve been way onboard with them for a few years now, and this is a real standout.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 10/18
Machine Girl – MG Ultra
There’s nothing out there like Machine Girl. They have a lot of elements that I theoretically shouldn’t like, but I love their music. I guess the way to describe the duo is techno-hardcore, hardcore music with a lot of glitchy electronic elements and unpredictability. More often than not, this album is heavy and gonzo, which is right up my alley. It’s fun as hell, while still being mildly off-putting to anyone trying to embrace traditional electronic or hardcore music. Though Machine Girl have been at it for over a decade, I can see this unholy hyperpop-metal concoction being a new scene soon.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 10/18/24
Coldplay – Moon Music
Does it matter what I say here? You made your mind up about Coldplay a long, long time ago, and new albums from them are pretty meaningless to anyone outside the fanbase. You might be surprised to learn that I am, in fact, a huge Coldplay fan. I don’t love everything they’ve done, but I do think a lot of it is better than what people credit them with. Moon Music might be their hokiest release yet, but that’s part of the charm. The lackadaisical cover art and the song title that’s just an emoji don’t exactly hint at high art, and many of these songs do sound like the U2 castoffs that Coldplay are notorious for. But hey, I think they’re pleasant. They pull in some surprise guest appearances from the likes of Jon Hopkins and top-five-alive rapper Little Simz. The spaciness of their music works pretty well here, as the more ambient songs are generally the better ones. But hey, it’s Coldplay – if you’re reading this blog, you’re probably not going to listen to this.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 10/4/24
Hell Beach – BEACHWORLD
I knew nothing about this band before I saw them open for Buzzcocks, which itself is an unbelievable endorsement. On stage, I thought they were an enthralling punk band with a lot of positive energy and a stage presence well beyond their nascent years. They had just put out their debut record, which doesn’t quite capture the same energy. It’s much more of a standard pop-punk record, surprisingly. That’s not really my thing, personally, so it was a bit of a letdown for me. A lot of these songs got kind of lost amongst each other. But I don’t want to be negative, because the songs had already blown me away live (and they’re relatively local!). If you like pop-punk, these folks seem a lot more historied than they are. It’s a solid debut record, even if it wasn’t what I was looking for.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 8/9/24
Megan Thee Stallion – MEGAN
I’m historically bad at writing about hip-hop and you developed an opinion on Megan long ago, so this is a throwaway review. Let’s just say, this album solidifies Megan as a star. Even without the shit in her personal life, this would be a bombastic and confident record for the ages. But knowing what’s gone down, it’s downright glorious. It’s sexy, it’s funny and most importantly, it’s freeing. It’s a home run trot of a record. Like nearly every modern rap album, it’s too long – there are not enough different ideas to satisfy the 52 minute runtime. But, there’s a lot of songs that are just fun winners, and what else do you expect from Megan? There’s an extended edition of the album I have not yet heard, which has a tantalizing feature from metal band Spiritbox !
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 6/28/24
Shannon and the Clams – The Moon Is In The Wrong Place
I was deep into the whole surf-punk Burger Records scene in the early 2010’s, so naturally I was on board with Shannon and the Clams. I lost the way with them as I feel they settled into a state of somewhat tedious indie, but I still always want to give them the benefit of the doubt. I really dug this album! The band has a lot of spunk back. They’re still firmly indie, but they’re pulling influences in from doo-wop and skate punk. The whole effort comes off like the 60’s garage rock records that I want to hear them doing. It’s a style of music I personally adore, and this one is pretty solidly fun. The ballads are effective enough, and the more energetic songs are pretty rousing. What more do you need?
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 5/10/24
Hinds – VIVA HINDS
It’s been a long four years since the last Hinds album. In that time, the bassist and drummer both left, reducing the band back to the two vocalist-guitarists that initially formed it. That might be a disaster for some bands, but for Hinds it was freeing. I’ve been in their camp since the first album from the Spanish indie duo, and this record is probably their best one yet. These songs are sweet and unassuming, but confident and broader. That last note is important – this is the widest-ranging Hinds album, with tender songs, rousing ones like the excellent “En Forma,” and space for both Beck and Grian Chatten to show up and do their own thing. The 2024 indie pot has way overflowed, and in a different year this would be a standout. It’s still a real winner.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 9/6/24
Geordie Greep – The New Sound
Geordie Greep has lost his goddamn mind. The former frontman for black midi is on his own after the band’s sudden break-up. The indie band was already bizarre, but now Greep is in full control and he’s unrestrained. The core of this album still sounds like black midi, with rapid-fire songs filled with staccato and unpredictable rhythms, and a lot of talk-singing, to where the end result feels like musical vertigo. But he’s also added Latin elements, jazz, blues, bongos, a lot of paranoid oomph, and just even more unpredictability. Oh and there’s the genuinely moving cover of a 40’s pop song that closes it all out. It’s an impressive solo debut, especially for one as wildly ambitious as it is. If you liked black midi, as I often did, then you’ll like this.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 10/4/24
Arab Strap – I’m totally fine with it don’t give a fuck anymore
Arab Strap is another group I’ve never really listened to, so I can’t compare this record to previous ones. Based on the opening song, “Allatonceness,” that album title is an all-out lie. It’s got the same pulsating intensity of IDLES’ “Colossus,” one of the all-time best album openers. The rest of the album isn’t nearly as vicious, but it’s all very raw and largely minimal indie. It’s a pretty dismal and misanthropic album, though the band is clearly energized and having some fun. This is a record for people who are sick of indie-pop dominating their indie radio.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 5/10/24
Uttertomb – Nebulas of Self-Destruction
Yes, this one has a weirdly similar cover. One thing I’ve noticed over the past few years is that while I love metal, much of what I listen to just doesn’t stick with me. I’m writing these reviews a few weeks after listening to all of these albums, but the metal ones are like a blank slate. From what I remember, this is some dreary death metal, not your hokey and bombastic Aborted-type stuff but metal that’s got a layer of mud over it. A quick search tells me this is a proper debut album, even though the band has been around for over a decade. I feel bad that I’m not giving them a proper space here, because it’s an exceptional record. Vile, gloomy and heavy as hell. You know what? I should spin it again.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 4/19/24
Denzel Curry – King of the Mischevious South Part 2
Hot damn. I accidentally slept on this one for a while despite loving basically everything Curry has done so far. Curry has made a name for himself making rap that’s intense without straying too far from genre conventions. This is more of a down-to-basics hip-hop mixtape that shows he can knock something a little more “normal” out of the park too. As a mixtape it is looser and more low-stakes than an album would be, but he puts in no less effort. Bombastic to the core. It’s a quick affair, maybe even a little too short. But Curry can practically do no wrong to this reviewer. This could end up being my favorite rap release of the year, who’s to say.
Grade: 8.5/10Initial release date: 7/19/24
Teens In Trouble – What’s Mine
I know very little about this band, but the name and album art gave me a vibe that it might the rare pop-punk that I actually like. Judged a book by its cover, and I was spot on. This is some solid, low-stakes punk. It’s definitely pop-punk, but gone are the whiny cliches and post-nasal drip vocals. The pop-punk I like is the stuff that focuses on the punk – PUP, Beach Bunny, etc – and this falls under that category. Taut, guitar-forward and melodic punk rock. It never goes out of style. Miss Cayetana? Look no further.
Grade: 7.5/10 Initial release date: 3/19/24
The Only Humans – It’s a Beautiful Night. I Think I’ll Disappear Forever.
Full disclosure – I know most of the members of this band. I’m ex-coworkers with three of them, and am actively friends with one. But removing any bias, I’m including a lil review here because this album is genuinely excellent. The band has the proper and orchestral look of the Decemberists, with the music to boot; and, singer Tim Howd sounds like a dead ringer for John Darnielle. The expansive album is a conceptual one, as death invades from all angles. But the record is a lot of fun, and no two songs are really the same. My personal fave is the maximalist “Esplanade.” I know it’s a way overinflated year for indie, but if you’re trying to look beyond the headliners, please check this one out.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 10/18/24
Nilufer Yanya – My Method Actor
I haven’t heard the British singer’s first two albums, but it appears that her third album is her best so far. It’s tough to imagine something that surpasses this. It’s the melding of indie and pop, but in a wholly different way than the American indie-pop albums that have flooded the year. This is suave, cool and loud – there’s a lot of pumping guitar that disrupts the soulful songwriting. The end result is almost unclassifiable, as if rock and R&B have been jammed together. Her voice is excellent, confident but smooth, and these songs are unique and just fun. I feel that this is a record I’ll be revisiting, as these songs need more attention from me. This is one rocks, folks.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 9/13/24
Cursive – Devourer
When all is said and done and the dust on Cursive’s career is settled, they’d better be recognized as one of the most underrated groups in music history. Ask a casual indiehead and they’ll say they love The Ugly Organ. Well folks, Cursive is still putting out records that good twenty years later. Their tenth album Devourer is simply one of the best rock records of the year, and it doesn’t even have a damn Wikipedia page. It’s apocalypse time on Devourer, in case you were expecting the mood to have softened. But it is very fun, the band is still treading the same thin line of emo, indie and rock. Plus, in the last few years they’ve expanded to include a full-time trumpeter and cellist. It’s a unique affair even if it doesn’t sound like one at a first glance. People are sleeping on Cursive, y’all should get with them.
Grade: 8/10 Initial release date: 9/13/24
Fange – Perdition
Like some of the best metal albums I’ve heard this year, I don’t actually know where this recommendation came from. Fange is on their seventh album, but were totally off my radar until this year. It’s catch up time for me, because I loved this. The French band does a punishing mix of industrial, death metal, sludge and a touch of rock (for melody seasoning). The vocals are menacing and the music is both metrical and unforgiving. It’s all very heavy and intense, but the band finds ways to warp a little melody in there as well. It’s closer to industrial than anything else, but you wouldn’t ever confuse this with Nine Inch Nails. It’s straight metal, too.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 2/9/24
Yard Act – Where’s My Utopia?
I somehow completely missed Yard Act’s first album, but their 2023 standalone single “The Trench Coat Museum” completely roped me in. Their second album regrettably doesn’t feature the song, but it follows in the same trend – tongue-in-cheek music that blends post-punk through indie. It’s one of a hundred great post-punk albums this year, and maybe the best of the lot. The band is a lot heavier and faster than, say, Cheekface, but with the same humor and spoken-word vocals. “We Make Hits” is one of the best songs of the year, a meta song about selling out in the face of global destruction that sounds ripped from the LCD Soundsystem playbook. The band never stays quiet or complacent, adding riotous elements to practically every song. Even the lengthy “Blackpool Illuminations” seems to be a self-reflective ballad, before it turns into James Smith arguing with himself through two mics like an old Jim Gaffigan bit. It’s riveting stuff. Not quite one of the best albums of the year, but it’s charting high on my list.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 3/1/24
Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere
I’ve said elsewhere that death metal is one genre where bands don’t have to be innovative and often aren’t – because even the most template death metal bands will still find a big audience. But some bands do experiment, none more so that Blood Incantation. Their 2019 record Hidden History of the Human Race is no less than one of the five or so best metal records of the last decade. The band has only grown more experimental, as this record edges hard on progressive rock alongside death metal standards. It’s only two songs – six on streaming, each song broken up into three sections – both over 20 minutes. Both tracks are odysseys, with sections of unfiltered death metal in parts. But both songs embrace prog rock just as much. The second track, “The Message,” takes an obvious inspiration from Animals, the best Pink Floyd album. It’s a purely unique record top-to-bottom, and an obvious candidate for metal album of the year.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 10/4/24
Faye Webster – Underdressed at the Symphony
There’s not really any reason why I slept on this one for so long, I’ve been a moderate fan of Webster’s for a bit now. I loved the lead single “But Not Kiss,” one of my favorite songs of 2023 (although I wasn’t hot the second single “Lego Ring” despite the presence of Yachty). I appreciated this as a colder version of singer-songwriter Webster. Her previous albums have been somewhat playful, here she seems largely detached. She seems to aiming for the same chord as Lana Del Rey, of retro-sounding orchestral pop with present-day cultural references. It’s not the same end result, as other influences are worked in too, but it is an interesting comparison. Ultimately, I found this very solid but with some undercooked moments. Lyrically it’s her best work, musically it has flashes of genius and flashes of flatness, some songs are a little too empty. But on the whole, it’s a great indie record.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 3/1/24
Escuela Grind – DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL
About two songs into this four song EP I went “hey wasn’t this band up to some weird shit earlier this year?” and googled it to find out that they have been accused of a litany of awful crimes that I was not aware of prior to hitting play. It’s a shame, they were both an incredibly interesting group and a local export, and I feel awful for ever supporting them. Just noting that here, and I’m not bothering with the full-length they just put out. Fuck ‘em. Also this EP is boring filler.
Grade: whatever/10 Initial release date: 1/12/24
Pixies – The Night The Zombies Came
The worst thing that a Pixies album can be is boring. This album is boring. I’m over the moon that a version of Pixies exists in 2024 – hell, I just got to see them for the very first time somehow – but all of their reunion albums have been somewhat ill-advised. This is far from the nadir of 2014’s Indie Cindy, but it’s an album that plays everything too safe. Almost every song here is tepid and slow, like it’s adult alternative. What’s worse is that there are one or two songs that sound like old Pixies, tantalizing reminders that these slow-burners are a choice. Nothing here is bad, but nothing here is worth the effort. It just exists. It feels like a “remember us?” album, but Pixies don’t need to be doing that, they can keep touring without any new music and people won’t ever forget. It’s ironic that the band that founded the concept of touring a full album would slip to stopgap status. Not terrible, but for die-hards only.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 10/25/24
And there you have it! 36 albums – I’m sure you’ve heard some of these, and I hope you find some gems you may not have known about. Think this post was long? Next month’s will probably be longer. I’m scrambling to listen to everything I can in a shorter and shorter amount of time. As I’m writing this post on 11/23, I’ve already got 35 albums in the tank. Buckle up. Next month you’ll find: a double dose of an indie rap legend, yet another post-punk winner, a very healthy does of disturbing metal, some Christian rap, and the surprise release of the year.
Hello, and welcome back to another edition of me writing way too many words about albums you’ve already formed an opinion on! If you’ve stumbled on this, I’ve been doing flash reviews of (almost) every new album I listen to this year. Some of the previous posts have been, well, long, but this was a different month. I spent two weeks in September on a nice vacation, my ears far away from any streaming services. Still, I’ve got 27 flash reviews for you – and a lot of these are utterly fantastic albums. 2024 has spoiled us greatly. Below, we’ve got a ton of excellent new indie albums, a pair of post-hardcore releases that will be near the top of my AOTY list, some solid metal, and a predictably great country release. I hope you find some gems for yourself in here! Let’s get cracking.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Wild God
I’ve mentioned a few times that this exercise has mostly become me showing my own ass, and here I must do it again: I am not very familiar with the Nick Cave catalog. I’ve listened to (and loved) his earliest and most recent records, but there’s 20 years in the middle I haven’t heard. In my limited experience though, I’ve realized the best Nick Cave songs are ones where there’s just minimal piano or static noise and Cave talking lyrics. He does that a lot here. There’s also songs that have full-band with choir backups, and they’re just as stunning. It’s unbelievable that Cave still stuns this much, but every track on this album works well. Most of them work tremendously well. Cave is one of music’s premier storytellers, and this is another legendary release. It’s one of the best albums of the year. No question. I’m in awe.
Grade: 8.5/10Initial release date: 8/30/24
Tycho – Infinite Health
This one is pretty tough to grade, because listening to this record served much more of a purpose than the sheer entertainment value of every other record. This album was hand-selected as background music for me to sleep to on a grueling, intercontinental flight. This sounds like an extreme backhanded compliment, and maybe it is, but it did the trick. Not to say that this boring, it’s an album that’s mentally stimulating but peaceful enough to nod off to. I’ve never been super into Tycho, because it’s not necessarily for me, but they’re a great band. It’s all instrumental post-rock that marries complex and layered rhythms with a fun and playful aura. When you’re listening to it while 75% asleep with your head on a hard plane window, it’s a fun stimulation; it’s tougher to tell when one idea ends and the next begins. Will I ever give this one a chance while I’m alert? Probably not – but if funky post-rock is your scene, you can’t go wrong here.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 8/30/24
DIIV – Frog In Boiling Water
This one kinda hurts to write. I really like DIIV, or at least I really like the idea of them. There’s no other band out there like them, a shoegaze-inspired psychedelic band doing tons of cool guitar noodling while still somehow firmly indie. “Doused” is easily one of my favorite songs. But the band’s fourth album was, to me, very limp. I respect bands taking new approaches, and I seem to (thankfully!) be in a tiny minority here, as the record is getting rave reviews. The music is denser and slower, with the fun noodling replaced by droning chords. It’s alright in practice, but an album full of it gets tedious quickly. I think the parts are better than the whole, as the album needed some songs of other tempos either quicker or slower. It didn’t click with me. Then again, this isn’t the first time DIIV hasn’t clicked with me – so maybe someday it will. For now, it’s…fine.
Grade: 7/10 Initial release date: 5/24/24
Good Looks – Lived Here For A While
Alright I’m way behind and I don’t remember this album completely clearly so let’s be quick – this is a wickedly fun indie album, mostly standard indie but with some threatening shoegaze elements. I think I was just in the right mood for something like this, because it scratched an itch that I didn’t realize I had. There’s a handful of great songs here, and nearly all of them are inherently listenable. Very fun stuff!
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 6/7/24
Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown
I’m not overly familiar with Portishead, what I’ve heard I’ve liked, but it isn’t music I feel any nostalgia for personally. I’m even less familiar with solo endeavors from their singer, Beth Gibbons, who dropped her first proper solo album 33 years after the first Portishead record. It’s a gorgeous album, one that starts innocently before expanding into something grander. The cover implies a folksy affair, and at most times it is. It’s brooding chamber pop, sometimes soft but sometimes sinister, like slipping back into a nightmare. It’s also usually acoustic, but when the guitars kick in, they really kick in – some of these songs drone and shout loudly, unexpected explosions after multiple songs of slumber. It’s a gorgeous record, one of both extremes, yet often just restrained chamber pop. We expected nothing less.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 5/17
Oceanator – Everything Is Love and Death
I love Oceanator for the same reason I love illuminati hotties – basic, effective indie-punk. And like IH, Oceanator is much more indie than punk, just with some occasional punk flares. There isn’t much to say here, it’s another very standard but very fun record. There’s something very comforting about Elise Okusami’s music: it’s warm and inviting even as she sings about interpersonal differences. This isn’t really any different than previous Oceanator records, but hey the system still works.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 8/30/24
Aborted – Vault of Horrors
Now here’s something you don’t see every day – a death metal album with full collaborations. Every song features a different guest vocalist, so the full effect is one that’s far more unpredictable than a standard death metal release. It’s fun throughout, the songs rarely fall victim to normal death metal trappings. I will say, there isn’t really a standout song; they’re all good, but none are great. But considering how repetitive the genre can be, we’ll call it a win. Riffs, drums, screams, and massive ridiculousness, what more could you need?
Grade: 7.5/10 Initial release date: 3/15/24
Beeef – Somebody’s Favorite
Bear with me, because there’s a few blast reviews I didn’t get to before leaving for a two-week, offline vacation. This is one and it is just no longer fresh in my brain. But, Beeef is one of Boston’s most prized groups right now, and Favorite showcases why. The band plays patient indie, nostalgic tunes about regional memories. The songs are conventionally appealing, but don’t have a forced alignment to radio structures. Some songs barely hit two minutes, some stretch past six. There’s a maturity here well beyond their goofy band name. Beeef has been great for years, and this only elevates them further. Please, check them out. This Beeef has some mustard on it.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 9/6/24
Kal Marks – Wasteland Baby
Kal Marks are one of my favorite Boston bands, even more so than Beeef, and yet this album still obliterated my expectations. The Kal Marks wheelhouse is midtempo post-hardcore that’s very bass-y in both music and vocals. Generally, their songs are ones that are heavy and divisive, but not exactly inaccessible. Here, they branch out a bit, introducing some poppier elements and some more optimistic lyrics. There’s plenty of just heavy shit, too, though; it’s a well-rounded record. Quite frankly, it’s one of the best heavy albums I’ve heard all year, local bias or not. Nearly every song floored me in some way. If you’re into a variety of post-hardcore bands like METZ or Protomartyr, then add this one to your list. They’ve done it again. This will absolutely be one of my year-end favorites. Finally, a good album with the name “Wasteland Baby.”
Grade: 8.5/10Initial release date: 9/13/24
Uranium Club – Infants Under the Bulb
This one came via recommendation from someone who I believed referred to it as punk; the band name and song titles certainly indicated so. It took me a few songs to really vibe with the style, which is really more post-punk than anything, but not really in the same style as other bands I’ve covered this year like Cheekface or Guppy. This band has a lot of energy and spunk, they just present it in an odd way. The talk-sung lyrics didn’t really work for me at first, but I wasn’t expecting something like it. Once I got more into it, I found some stuff to appreciate. The band has boldness and humor in their lyrics. My two favorite tracks came back-to-back, “2-600-LULLABY” and “Abandoned By The Narrator.” Stick around for the comically named “Big Guitar Jackoff In The Sky,” which aptly has some of the finest guitar work of this year. Fun stuff, but some of it is just a head-scratcher.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 3/1/24
Chromeo – Adult Contemporary
Another release that I jumped into blind, hell it wasn’t even really the genre I was expecting. I’ve definitely always lumped Chromeo and Chromatics together in my brain even though they’re not (particularly) similar. This was slight but ultimately fun funk music. The duo has been around a while and it’s clear this album is not meant for the youth – it’s a record about staying funky into middle age. There’s some tongue-in-cheek stuff (check the title!) but it’s also mostly played seriously. It’s very 2010’s, and it sticks to one gameplan. What starts as a fun record gets pretty played out by the midpoint, and less inspired. The duo is high-energy, but playing it very safe, which is fatal to the record’s back half. Still, throw on the first couple tracks for a quick lil dance party. We finally found the white boys bussin it down sexual style.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 2/16/24
MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
Let’s not mince words – this was my most anticipated record of 2024. The first single off this album, “Rudolph” was one of my favorite songs of 2023. The second single, “She’s Leaving You,” is easily making my 2024 list. Lenderman’s primary band, Wednesday, handily won my Album of the Year mark in 2023. I really set my sights too high on this one, as it didn’t quite deliver, but that’s on me – it’s one of the best records of the year. Lenderman’s solo music bridges the gap between Neil Young and Kurt Vile; it’s off-the-cuff guitar playing and talk-sung vocals, with intricate and specific lyrics that detail American loneliness. Lenderman’s previous album focused on the grungier side of those artists, and this one is heavier on the Americana side. There’s enough Southern gothic here to make Flannery O’Connor happy but, predictably, there’s a lot of humor and just unpredictable references that make these stories entertaining. I don’t think Neil Young ever sang about Ferraris, Guitar Hero or the Cars film franchise. I always love specificity in lyrics even if it makes the songs less applicable – to me, it shows personality and care. Lenderman is always all about that. Only complaint here is that the energetic/somber balance is off in favor of the latter, but it’s a minor complaint. This guy is just on a different level from everyone else.
Grade: 8.5/10Initial release date: 9/6/24
Tierra Whack – WORLD WIDE WHACK
Ever since releasing a 15-song, 15-minute album, Tierra Whack has established herself as one of the more ambitious and exciting acts in rap. WWW follows the artist’s signature short songs, with only one song over three minutes here. The livelier songs that kick off both halves of the album are easily the best – namely “MS BEHAVE” and “X,” high-energy ditties that don’t settle for any conventional rap sound. Most of the songs are more template – sometimes frustratingly so, but often they’re still quite enjoyable. It isn’t Whack’s finest work, but it’s fun top-to-bottom, and it’s over as soon as it starts.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 3/15/24
Sheer Mag – Playing Favorites
Sometimes you just need some good ol’ rock & roll. I was raised on classic rock and I will always have a deep appreciation for it. I love all of it, but the bluesy hard-rock of ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy, Foghat, etc, is music I particularly like. That’s what Sheer Mag has always done at least somewhat, and they lean way into it here. Good old guitar rock. The song “Eat It And Beat It” – an obvious play on “Hit It And Quit It” – will certainly be the best straightforward rock song I hear this year. It’s fun as hell. The best songs on the album are. There’s a lot of complacency here too, to be fair – a handful of rock songs that don’t really bring the heat and just exist. They prevent this from being an excellent album, but it is still a very good and fun one. In fact, it helps them align even more with classic rock bands – it’s all about the singles.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 3/1/24
Uniform – American Standard
Uniform’s first few albums were solid but I kept waiting for a breakout release. 2020’s Shame was that release, a mix of industrial guitars and guttural post-hardcore that seemed to come out of the same catacombs on that album’s cover. The band’s newest album is impossibly even bleaker, complete with a smog-heavy cover of smog-plagued rural anywhere. The band also sounds even bleaker, and stretches themselves way out of a comfort zone. That comfort zone is reasonably-lengthed songs. Side A of this record is one, 21-minute song. Side B is only three songs. By stretching their songs out, the band can hammer home the innate misery of their music. This is angry, humorless stuff, just the absolute depths of unhappiness. Uniform is not an easy band to classify musically, even harder here because they stretch into doom-metal for the first time. But this isn’t really metal, and not really post-hardcore. It exists in its own dimension, a hell dimension of some sort. This is not something that’s appealing to most people, but I love this band and they crushed my highest expectations.
Grade: 8.5/10Initial release date: 8/23/24
Einstürzende Neubauten – Rampen (apm: alien pop music)
This project has mostly resulted in me showing my ass a lot, and here I must do it again: I’ve listened to very little Einstürzende Neubauten in my time. It’s not like there’s little to listen to, this is the band’s 13th album in a 40-odd year career, plus tons of other releases. Although the industrial pioneers initially started by making super abrasive music, they’ve cooled off over the years. This is the only later-career album I’ve heard, and I got what I expected – mostly very chill music with an industrial background. Some of these songs stretch a bit (or fully) into ambient territory, although the better ones are more melodic. It’s never really heavy, opting instead for balanced rhythms. The opening two songs are quirky and fun, the two best on the album. There’s way too much, at 15 songs and 74 minutes, and a lot of it can feel like bloat. But, it’s a great workday record, surprising for a band that used to be so aggressive!
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 4/5/24
Gatecreeper – Dark Superstition
I always have trouble writing about death metal, so much of it is so similar that it can be difficult to separate bands, even if the albums are differing in quality. So excuse me when I just say – this is good ass death metal. I’ve loved Gatecreeper for a few years now, and this just rips. It’s not the most interesting Gatecreeper album, I think some previous ones have been more ambitious or exploratory. But, there’s nothing wrong with playing the basics when you’re this good at them. Sometimes, you just need the ground-pounding albums like this.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 5/17/24
Chick Corea & Béla Fleck – Remembrance
I am but one man who mostly loves garage rock, so I simply don’t keep up with modern jazz like I wish I could. Imagine my surprise at seeing two of my favorite jazz artists collaborating, hit immediately by the shock of remembering that the former artist has passed. This record is technically a compilation, a mix of studio songs, improvisations and live tracks, but it doesn’t feel like one. Everything is coherent and similar, and the smatterings of applause throughout signify a captive, sometimes nonexistent live audience. With Corea on piano and Fleck on banjo, you likely know what you’re going to get – and there’s a lot of it. It’s a beautiful set of collaborations, often just the two men alone, together. Very pretty and very fun music for any jazz fan.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 5/10/24
Kim Petras – Slut Pop Miami
I contain multitudes. Listening to this a day after Corea/Fleck was a whirlwind. This mini-album is both a parody of and the logical end to the 00’s pop scene, a set of short songs that are as sexually explicit as humanly possible. Gone are the metaphors, gone is even something like “If You Seek Amy,” replaced by songs like “Butt Slutt” and “Can we fuck?” On the one hand, the songs are fun, even if repetitive and simplistic. On the other hand, you have to wonder what the point is. Petras has made a name for herself in the same simple, bubblegum pop, so if this is satirical, then it starts in the wrong gate. More importantly, does this require this level of analysis? Hell, “Anal Y Sis” could be a track on this very album. It’s fun!
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 2/14/24
Kate Nash – 9 Sad Symphonies
I’ve been saying for years how unfair and unfortunate it is that Kate Nash fell out of the zeitgeist. I maintain that her previous album, 2018’s Yesterday Was Forever, is deeply underrated. Unfortunately, her comeback album just doesn’t have the juice. The indie singer has always had a flair for punk, even recording with bands like FIDLAR, but this record dilutes that energy. These are standard, template indie songs that are inherently pleasing but little else. The string-based opener feels like a red herring, but it isn’t. These tracks just don’t have the fitful spunk that set Nash apart from her contemporaries. If it were a quiet year for indie, this might be one to check out. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Grade: 6/10Initial release date: 6/21/24
Big|Brave – A Chaos of Flowers
Big|Brave are a fascinating trio. They belong to the same circle of extreme metal like The Body and Full of Hell, and they belong to the same circle of Gothic folk like Chelsea Wolfe and Marissa Nadler. They’ve carved out a niche with practically no contemporaries. Flowers is a beautiful album, the songs are as haunting and gorgeous as the band has ever recorded. Every now and then, they remind you that they can get heavy and deeply inaccessible, but often they keep it quiet. Sometimes these songs edge on pure minimalism – the band works to hit both sides of the spectrum, and they do so very successfully. This isn’t a metal album, but it’s an album best appreciated by metal fans. A fascinating record by a fascinating band.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 4/19
Darkthrone – It Beckons Us All
Like any true metal band, Darkthrone has petered out into legacy status. Darkthrone were instrumental in the foundation of black metal, though they were just as quick to abandon it. In the years since, they’ve remained active as a duo, releasing albums meandering around concoctions of black, doom, and speed metal or even hardcore punk. This release is largely doom-metal based, although not exclusively. I’ll be honest, the first song is irritating. It’s boring doom with off-key vocals. But some of these songs rip, especially the ones that hide energy or have tempo changes. Darkthrone doesn’t really have anything to prove to anyone these days, but they’re still making solid metal records.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 4/26/24
Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk
I was hesitant to even put this on my list because the list is so clogged and I wasn’t sure I’d get around to it. But rave reviews of both professional and personal manners convinced me – and it’s fun as hell. A loaded but never bloated indie-pop record, this one is not afraid to take chances. One song might be bouncy, standard indie-pop a la Charly Bliss, the next might be jazzy indie. The duo jump into 70’s ballads and drone guitar on a whim. A curated tracklist means the more ambitious tunes elevate the more standard tunes, so they all bounce off each other rather than seem like filler. It’s nearly an hour and yet there isn’t a skippable moment. I’m not sure if I ever heard their debut album, but this sophomore release feels like a true mission statement. Don’t sleep on this one.
Grade: 8.5/10Initial release date: 8/23/24
Fontaines D.C. – Romance
The previous Fontaines D.C. records were inconsistent in how much they grabbed my attention, but they were consistent in that the songs all kinda sounded the same. The (very) Irish post-punk band has had a relatively standard sound prior to Romance. Well the book’s out the window. This record actually has a majority of songs that are ballads, but the band hits the highest energy of their career too. They rap, there’s punk, and there’s tender love tunes. The band has always sounded a little inauthentic in their emotions previously; not here. This is earnest and real from a band that has never sounded so ambitious or energized. Don’t go in expecting the high-octane energy of the singles, but do go in expecting what is easily the band’s best album to date. This will go down as a highlight in a stacked indie year. UPDATE: Shockingly, they picked up a few Grammy noms for this. Well deserved, lads.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 8/23/24
Chastity Belt – Live Laugh Love
I was a fan of Chastity Belt’s early work before the band went a little too soft for my taste. I’ll admit that I haven’t really kept up with their output but the album title and cover combo grabbed me, as did a general desire to see where the indie-punkish ladies were at. The soft-indie turn has mostly continued, although the album does offer some surprises. Early track “Funny” has an ominous drone quality, effective and unexpected. Other early tracks are fun and bouncy, but the back half suffers. Side B is mostly very uninspired, just routine indie. It’s a shame because there’s some good stuff here, but it gets very tedious.
Grade: 6.5/10Initial release date: 3/29/24
Bat For Lashes – The Dream of Delphi
What a year it’s been for mature, legacy indie artists. I haven’t really kept up with BFL, but as a human with ears and a heart, I love her early albums. Delphi is in the same realm; at its best, these are dreamy and warm indie songs, almost hallucinatory. The title track – presented as both the opener and the closer with an extended version – is one of the most engaging and haunting songs I’ve heard all year. Other points on this album hit a volume so low that I had trouble even hearing anything on the train – not the ideal listening situation. Indeed, there’s a little too little here, the true structured moments are too far in between. But the great songs are great, and worth the price of admission on their own.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 5/31/24
Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well
There’s been a few examples this year of artists I love rebounding from weaker albums (Vampire Weekend, St. Vincent, ScHoolboy Q). Add Kacey to the mix. Coming off her breathtaking and Grammy-crushing country album Golden Hour, Kacey turned to a more pop-focus for Star-Crossed, and it was, bluntly, meh. For Deeper Well, she’s gone back to the atmospheric country that made her an arena star. It’s a welcome return, as the whole here is excellent. It’s a dreamy album, the same summer-y camping vibes as before. She’ll probably never make another record as good as Hour, but that’s an immense bar to clear. This one doesn’t really have standout songs like that record did, but the full product is wonderful. She’s also shifted her lyrics into a more serious zone. So many of her previous songs coupled breezy music with lyrics about wasting time and days spent milling around. Here, she’s quitting weed and strengthening her relationships. This serves as both a sequel and companion piece to Hour. Loved it.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 3/15/24
And that’s another month down! I hope you perused this and found something that sounds interesting to you – or potentially something to avoid. Check back in next month, I’ll be going over some great death metal, a couple of my favorite rap records of the year, a ton more great indie, a wild African album and, unfortunately, what’s probably my most disappointing record of the year. All that and more!
Don’t adjust your TV sets, it is indeed October. I’ve spent the better part of the summer preparing for and going on a massive 2-week vacation, and I haven’t been able to give my blog the attention it deserves. If you’re stumbling across this post, I’ve been doing flash reviews of (almost) every new album I listen to this year, from Ariana Grande to local hardcore bands. This month, I actually have 42 albums but for the sake of my sanity and yours, I’m going to cap this post at 35.
Coming up below, we’ve got a handful of indie-pop artists, some experimental African music, some iffy dance music, the only album this year I haven’t bothered to finish, and a lot of good old-fashioned garage rock.
Jack White – No Name
I sometimes forget how much I love Jack White. Across his works with the Stripes, the Raconteurs, the Dead Weather and solo, there’s only four albums I would say I dislike. He’s always been an impatient songwriter, but his records have had measured levels of ambition. No Name might be his most down-to-earth set since the middle of the White Stripes run – just a good ol’ collection of no-frills blues rock. It’s the most White Stripes album since, to be honest, Get Behind Me Satan. There’s some of that garage-punk energy, a lot of bluesy riffs, and just compact songwriting everywhere. Some of the back half gets a little repetitive, there is a bit of an itch for some of Jack’s more ambitious stuff to be had. But overall, this is just a slambang rock record. “It’s Rough On Rats” into “Archbishop Harold Holmes” into the manic “Bombing Out” will go down as one of the best three-song runs of any 2024 album. And the closer “Terminal Archenemy Endling” – maybe the only patient song on the album – may be better than all of them. Another critical strike against the tedious and harmful “Rock is dead!!” crowd.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 8/2/24
Liquid Mike – Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot
You can’t please all the people, and similarly, you can’t always be pleased. Despite my efforts to like all genres, there’s a couple I just don’t – and pop-punk is at the top of the list. It’s a marriage of two genres I love, one built entirely on contradictions and an inherent insincerity that can only come from combining two directly opposing forces. Anyways, I liked this about as much as I can like a pop-punk album; it’s low-key and it’s got some spunk. It’s more punk than pop, with enough energy and fuzz to separate it from some lamer counterparts. The related artists pages for these groups are all interchangeable bands in Carhartt beanies, but Liquid Mike might be one of the more fun ones. Not bad, if not really for me.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 2/2/24
MIKE & Tony Seltzer – Pinball
From a Liquid Mike to a very solid one. I’m generally not into rap that’s on the more lowkey side, but when it’s as effortless as this is, then it’s undeniable. I’ve never listened to MIKE but I keep seeing his name as a critical darling, and for good reason. Pinball is a masterpiece that doesn’t feel like one; quiet and short tunes that hide their bluntness in plain sight. Only three of the eleven songs are over two minutes, tunes that feel more like daydreams and out-loud musings. There’s a run in the middle of the album that’s just extraordinary. Great lyrics, great beats, great ideas. Real winner here.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 3/6/24
A. G. Cook – Britpop
Yowza. It’s already bold to name your album after a mostly defunct genre, and much more so to make a triple album. I don’t know much about Cook, and went into this with only a rough idea what to expect. The three mini-albums played out pretty much as I anticipated, and on the whole he justifies the length. The first disc marries the two ideas that will populate the subsequent albums, a mix of electro and indie. The songs on disc 1 are by and large very fun, and very thrilling dance songs. As if the album isn’t already both bold and long, Cook kicks it off with a track just shy of 10 minutes. It’s also one of the best songs across the whole marathon. Disc 2 is certainly the weakest, and the one that I would stereotypically enjoy the most – the indie disc. It’s a collection of loved but ultimately worn and rote indie tunes that are pleasant to listen to, but don’t pass any sort of longevity test. They’re a majority guitar-based, which does offer a nice interlude between electro influences. And yes, disc 3 is a majority electro tunes. They’re also very fun, but much closer to straight dance music than disc 1. The indie elements are largely drained out in favor of a full dance party, and a party it is. It’s a very fun way to close out the spectacle, especially after a more timid centerpiece. I listened to this as three distinct discs across three weeks, and I’d recommend that approach – at 100 minutes, it’s too much of a good thing for one sitting, even if the ‘good thing’ is multiple things. But as chunks, it’s a lot of fun.
Grade: 7.5/10 Initial release date: 5/10/24
JPEGMAFIA – I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU
I’m sorry that I’m the flavor of caucasian who loves Peggy specifically but I am, and this is his finest set since Veteran. It’s also the most manic thing he’s ever released, closer to hyperpop than anything else. It’s absurdly beat-heavy, dense, and thrilling. Peggy even gets somewhat lost in the front half, in songs that focus heavily on the bass beats. He shines through on the more measured back half, with some songs that get much more earnest. His guests on this album are Vince Staples and Denzel Curry, two guys known just as much for their intense and mainstream-eschewing rap. So you know what you’re gonna get – paranoid and catchy music that’s too abrasive to play on the family speakers. One of my favorites of the year. I think Knocked Loose still has the best album with a cross on the cover, though.
Grade: 8.5/10Initial release date: 8/1/24
The Hope Conspiracy – Tools of Oppression/Rule by Deception
Long live Boston hardcore. This post is probably going to end up being very long and there isn’t much to say so let’s keep this short. The Hope Conspiracy are legends, and this is a legacy album. Good solid hardcore, it doesn’t really have anything new to say but it’s all grit and well-established political lyrics. There’s a million other Boston hardcore records like it – including a few by this band themselves – but if you’re like me, you’re always down for a bit more.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 5/31/24
Clairo – Charm
Boston has always been a hub for all things punk and indie, and it only makes sense that the city would claim someone to rule over the current indie-pop movement. A lot of the over-produced, saccharine indie-pop can get repetitive easily, but Clairo’s new one is genuinely beautiful. I wasn’t super into her last album, but this one is full of small, pretty and balanced songs. The production is minimalist, avoiding the trappings of many of Clario’s cohorts. Instead, the focus is on her gorgeous vocals and the threadbare instrumentation. I need to give this one a second listen – the back half was hampered by getting on a train full of inebriated boomers going to a Journey concert and I could earnestly barely hear the album. And yet – it grabbed me fully.
Also, please check out the music video for “Juna.” While I am not in the video, it was clearly filmed before a wrestling event I went to. Most of these wrestlers are local ones that aren’t known outside the area, and now there’s millions of eyes on them. My little wrestling boys are in the stars!
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 7/12/24
Frances Forever – Lockjaw
While Clairo may have claimed the Boston indie-pop throne, Frances Forever is still putting up a fight. Though named after a Mitski song, their music much more closely resembles that of beabadoobee or even Girl In Red, indie-pop that’s beat-heavy and produced to the max. It puts them at a disadvantage, because it is tough to disentangle this album from an already oversaturated market. The advantage here though lies all in the lyrics. “Mr. Man” is an outright funny response to a creepy older man hitting on them. There’s an unfiltered quality to the lyrics that intentionally spar with the largely innocent music. This is evident in the bluntly titled songs “Weeb” and “Monica Gives Me Lockjaw.” While there’s already too many of these pleasant, overproduced indie-pop albums, this one scrapes by on words.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 6/28/24
Yumi Nu – BLOODY
Given the album’s lo-fi and pink cover, I went into this thinking it might be some kind of glitchy or even vaporwave type of thing – but it’s more of the overproduced indie-pop similar to Frances Forever. This album isn’t particularly interesting or unique, but at only 7 songs and 23 minutes, it isn’t too much either. Instead it’s a healthy dose of indie-pop, a fun sample even if it falls far short of unique. Two songs on the back half, “Former Life” and “Pink Chalk” are the best on the album, two fun indie ditties. Nu is, for what it’s worth, the niece of Steve Aoki, and seems to be eschewing nepotism or automatic points in favor of doing her thing, which is cool.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 5/24/24
Melvins – Tarantula Heart
This is one I was saving for an opportune time. As it turned out, that time was a morning hype-up for a big training at work I had to lead. I’m no diehard Melvins guy, but I love their bigger works. The pre-grunge kinda-doom metal is so up my alley, and this album mostly works. I feel like Melvins had a quantity-over-quality period for a few years and it’s good to see them wean themselves off of it. The opening track here is bold, even by Melvins standards – a nineteen minute odyssey that’s a lot calmer and melodic than anyone would expect. It’s also the longest-ever Melvins album cut, at least that I can find. Side B is just classic Melvins though; brutally loud and heavy stoner-metal that isn’t interested in being glacial. “Working the Ditch” and “Allergic to Food” are absolute rippers, in line with Melvins classics. On the whole, it’s a curious listen, because the first half is just one instrumental, experimental track that maybe isn’t worth the time but maybe is. It’s only five songs total, but there’s only so much Melvins you can take at once. There’s some classic old school stuff here.
Grade: 7.5/10 Initial release date: 4/19/24
Cola – The Gloss
Either there’s quietly a post-punk revolution happening, or these albums just happen to keep falling in my lap. Earnestly, I think it’s the former. Like Omni, Cheekface and GUPPY before them, Cola’s new album is metrical guitars and spoken lyrics, as much B-52s as it is Gang of Four, but softer than either. I’ve listened to a Cola album or two in the past, finding that I pretty much always like the songs without loving any of them. That trend continues on The Gloss, a disarmingly soft record that’s nonetheless Cola. Everything feels a little muted, and it makes for an inviting listen, even if it is often a bit tepid. It does need a bit more oomph at times, the whole affair feels a little lackluster by the end. But the approach is interesting, and bigger fans of the band might be super engaged with this.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 6/14/24
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Flight b741
I came into this one with a lot of worry – I’m a King Gizz obsessive, one of the Gizzhead cult members, but I’ve never been much into their groovier stuff. I had heard that this one was a spiritual sequel to Fishing For Fishies, the penultimate entry in my ranking of their 26 albums. This was a lot of fun, however. KGLW had a few years where they got a bit lost in the quality v quantity debate, but they’ve now delivered three straight winners – in metal, krautrock and boogie, no less. This album is funky and bluesy, and often very spirited. A lot of Gizz’s lighter albums have been partially or fully improvised, but this album benefits from a locked-in band playing songs they’ve already jammed on before. This won’t go down as one of the best KGLW albums, but it’s one of the better recent ones – and certainly the best of the groove ones. No two Gizz fans will ever fully agree, so you probably don’t feel the same. I saw them a few days after the album’s release, and they played three cuts from this album – they ripped live.
Grade: 7.5/10 Initial release date: 8/9/24
Melt-Banana – 3+5
Japan’s Melt-Banana served as my intro to noise music. They were the first, and for a long time only, noise band I really heard and digested; I’ve been a huge fan for almost 20 years now. Although the duo has gotten older and quainter, their hyper-aggressive punk is no less gnarly. Their first album in 11 years is short, and the songs are neither the experimental seconds-long chunks of Cactuses Come In Flocks nor the longer, more developed tracks of Cell-Scape. They’re the closest thing to true punk songs the band has done, and they absolutely rip. Every song rocks, and nearly all have the expected 1000BPM. Easily one of my favorite albums of the year, the duo was going to have to work hard to not make that cut. Also, I finally got to see them this spring – best show I’ve seen all year.
Grade: 8.5Initial release date: 8/23/24
Four Tet – Three
I’ve always had an appreciation for electronic artists like Four Tet, but save a couple key artists (Depeche Mode, LCD Soundsystem), it’s only been recently that I’ve started to learn to really enjoy it. I say this to say that there’s a handful of electro-indie artists I’ve slept on, and I’m not overly familiar with Four Tet. By the commutative property, I assumed this would be something akin to Hot Chip, but it was much more ambient. It’s peaceful music, relaxing without being too calm or uninspired. As commuting music, it didn’t work too well, but I could see it being great working/studying music – it’s light but mentally stimulating enough to engage with. Not fully me music, but, I get it.
Grade: 7/10 Initial release date: 3/15/24
Oso oso – Life Till Bones
Oso oso exists right on the line of indie and pop-punk where I tend to find bands I like, despite not liking the latter genre much. I’ve enjoyed all of their albums, this one no different. The band has a way of hiding some devastating stuff within simple, conventional music. These are quaint indie-ish songs, mostly unassuming, like a lot of the current wave of pop-punk. But beneath the surface is innate self-awareness and distressing truths far beyond most bands. It’s a personal record, and still not within humility and humor – with one of my favorite covers of the year.
Grade: 7.5/10 Initial release date: 8/9/24
Cults – To The Ghosts
I was obsessed with Cults first hit, “Go Outside” in 2009 – it was the year I entered college, and I was bumping all the indie-pop I could find. But it was only recently that I realized that they’ve been scoring other hits this whole time and maintain a sizable fanbase (I’ve somehow missed their continued popularity and thought they were relegated to one-hit wonder). So I’m not incredibly familiar with most of their albums, but I think I can thread the needle, because this sounds pretty identical to 2009 Cults. The formula still works – dreamy, overly-feminine vocals and catchy guitar-pop. But the album slogs on with too many similar elements. It’s a fun listen, but there’s nothing here you haven’t heard before.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 7/26
The Smashing Pumpkins – Aghori Mhori Mei
Billy Corgan always has something to prove. The Pumpkins were always on the heavier side of the “grunge” spectrum, and had the side effect of producing some of the much, much worse post-grunge bands. Not content to be lumped in alongside Staind, Corgan kept pushing his band to be great (as a side note, I remain the only Zeitgeist stan). Now as the subject of memes, a wrestling promotion owner and a Qanon whacko, he’s still fighting. Even if this album isn’t a big notch in their catalog, you have to admire them for remaining ambitious. This album is a nice return to form after a few years of heady, conceptual nonsense – just a no-frills pseudo-metal album that rips more often than not. The two 6+ minute songs that kick the album off threaten more proggy stuff, but after that it’s just radio metal throwbacks. On the whole, a lot of the tunes are not actually all that interesting; however, the album has a signature sound that is unique from other Pumpkins albums. Also, a couple songs go hard as hell. The opening and closing songs, “Edin” and “Marnau,” are bonkers. Ultimately, it’s a mid-tier Pumpkins album. But considering their longevity and how many of their contemporaries have hit the complacent stage of their careers, that alone is worth celebrating.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 8/2/24
Stalefish – Stalefish Does America
Alright I need to come clean about this one. I heard a song from this band on the weekly SiriusXMU countdown and misheard the DJ, when he said it was an Austin band I heard a Boston band. I may not have bothered with the album had I heard him correctly, but I’m glad I did. As a debut, it’s still pretty green, but the band has a cool approach – 90’s style fuzzy indie rock, but with three lead singers. And they smartly kick the album off with one song apiece. It’s ultimately hit-and-miss, but I appreciate any 90’s throwbacks. Watch this space for more on them, they’ve already pumped their second album out too.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 1/12/24
Avalanche Kaito – Talitakum
I have no clue where I pulled this one from, and I wonder if I stumbled on it while forgetting the name of Hiatus Kaiyote. I put this one on completely blind, and my god, I loved it. It combines two things I love – noise music and African music – into one. Traditional African rhythms are deployed courtesy of singer Kaito Winse, while he’s backed by a noisy duo from Belgium. The result is a downright thrilling and unpredictable album that stays on the fun side of experimentation without sacrificing energy. This is the type of thing designed exactly for me, and I can’t wait to dig into their previous albums. It’s tough to talk about highly experimental music like this, but if it sounds up your alley, then it probably is. Definitely one of the better releases this year.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 4/12/24
WILLOW – empathogen
I haven’t kept up with Willow’s music at all, but I heard some buzz around this one and hey, new music is new music. I didn’t know what to expect but I certainly was caught off-guard. The young singer’s sixth (!) album is disarmingly pretty and quaint, some soft and emotional songs that drift through rock, R&B and jazz influences. It’s all very natural and effortless, her vocals smooth and the music heavenly. It’s a fine record, and in a less packed year it would be a standout. It’s fair to say that Willow wouldn’t have had a crumb of this much success without having world-famous parents, but don’t consider this to be nepo baby music – this is genuine stuff.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 5/3/24
WHY? – The Well I Fell Into
I’ve always had a weird relationship with the music of WHY?, an indie rock group fronted by rapper Yoni Wolf. A lot of their/his early music is experimental in a way that doesn’t click with me, and some of the output in the mid 2010’s I find shockingly terrible. But in between comes a couple of good albums and EP’s, including the genuine five-star classic Alopecia. Now in his mid-40’s, it seems Wolf has stopped letting his ambition get the best of him, a symptom of his best and worst albums. This album is quaint, personal songs that tone down the music. With relatively minimalistic, adult music and rapped lyrics, these tracks come off more like poems or notes read aloud. The whole isn’t fantastic, as there’s just a little something missing, but it’s refreshing to hear something so grounded from a man hell-bent on left turns. This is definitely the most accessible WHY? album, just not among the greatest.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 8/2/24
Los Campesinos! – All Hell
I feel like I’ve grown up with Welsh indie lifers Los Campesinos! Truthfully, I have. You look at the bouncy, quirky and goofy indie they were doing in 2009 and compare it to this record. I’ve been around since day one, and it’s so great to see the band come back to take a victory lap like this. This is the most mature they’ve ever sounded, a healthy mix of bombastic songs and quiet burners, an expected mix of lyrics that are both tongue-in-cheek and brutally emotional. The band has always been openly left-wing politically, but they’re unfiltered here, to great success. They’ve shaken off the directly catchy, vocals-and-bells rhythms of yesteryear in favor of indie that’s patient and introspective. That’s been the case for a while, but even more so here. The band sounds both calmer and angrier, an effect of maturity. But don’t think that’s all a serious affair, we’ve still got songs like “Adult Acne Stigmata,” “Hell In A Handjob” and “The Coin-Op Guillotine.” Yet another winner from one of the strongest catalogs out there.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 7/19/24
Eminem – The Death of Slim Shady
Man, what are we doing here? Even when I absolutely hate an album, I always finish it. I turned this off after three songs. I’ve never been an Em fan beyond a few of his serious songs; he’s technically proficient, sure, but I’ve never cared about what he has to say. He used to be edgy but this is just….sad. The ‘real’ Eminem is older and more mature, denouncing Trump and coming off as more moralistic. Part of this journey involves “killing off” his alter ego that says offensive stuff. But he allows one last, hour-long gasp from Slim. It’s an excuse to be offensive again that is, well, slim. He comes out of the gates with some transphobic jokes that would’ve been weak from Greg Gutfield in 2014. What comes after that? I couldn’t tell you, I turned it off. Who is this for? Is Em trying to bring back a conservative fanbase? It’s not like he’s got anything pertinent to say. The minimal amount of this that I listened to made Em sound like that 45-year-old guy who still talks about high school, the guy who has Doritos as a lunch, the guy who still says “le epic” in earnest. After years of quietly cultivating a more specific audience, Em does everything he can to offend and agitate his listeners. It’s an unbelievable, tactical, unforced error. In killing off Slim Shady, he may have killed off Marshall Mathers. Who gives a shit.
Grade: DNF Initial release date: 7/12/24
Tonnerre – La Nuit Sauvage
Between Gojira playing the Olympics and this stellar album, it could be a big year for French metal. Tonnerre – who are actually Canadian, I’m just doing a false equivalency here – are styled after old-school hard rock, a la Blue Oyster Cult. I have a lot of love in my heart for these bands, and Tonnerre do a real fine job emulating them. There’s a thin line between cool 70’s hard rock and skidmark 00’s radio rock, and Tonnerre smartly never cross it. It’s a calm and collected rock record. With lyrics entirely in French, it’s easy to get lost in the music. I do wish they let loose a little more, they stay needlessly restrained. But, I had a blast listening to it too. It’s like Deep Purple is fresh and young all over again.
Grade: 7.5/10 Initial release date: 4/5/24
Thee Oh Sees – SORCS 80
I’m a diehard Osees fan and even I can’t keep up with the lore. The band changes genres as often as they change the spelling of their name (long live Oh Sees, The OCS, The Ohsees, etc). Jon Dwyer particularly lost his mind during COVID, releasing a bunch of deeply experimental, mostly unlistenable solo records before looping back around to garage rock. Now, he’s doing a full punk album with no guitars. It sounds like a writing exercise. The album is centered around grimy synth and samples, and it’s mostly effective. Like a lot of Dwyer records, the best songs are the biggest bruisers. Some songs lose their way in midtempo land, but the punchy screamy punk tunes just rock. I’m not sure why he decided to ditch the guitars to write songs that sound like guitars anyways, but I can’t explain most of what Dwyer does. I’m just along for the ride.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 8/9/24
Ty Segall – Love Rudiments
For a few years, Ty Segall and Osees worked hand-in-hand as the two prolific monsters of garage rock. But while Dwyer lost his mind, Segall cemented his. Over the last few years, his output has slowed way down and his music has gotten more mature. He still dabbles in experimentation, though, and his second release of 2024 cashes in some saved up checks. Love Rudiments is four tracks, but really many small segments, and comprised of (almost) entirely percussion. I’m a huge sucker for percussion music, so naturally I loved this. It’s fun and jazzy, never getting too heady or too “Moby Dick” freakout, just pleasant drum music. It is interesting that there are still distinct Segall rhythms in there. Some of the segments manage to sound like traditional Ty despite having no guitars or vocals. As much as it is experimental, it’s not a total left-field jump, just a different extension of his sound. It isn’t as inaccessible as it sounds, and I welcome anyone to listen to it who likes, well, drums.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 8/30/24
Justice – Hyperdrama
I’ve always liked what tidbits of Justice’s music I’ve heard, but it’s never grabbed me like it has many of my peers. It’s also never grabbed me in the same way as say, Daft Punk or Aphex Twin. The French duo hasn’t exactly been prolific over the years, which makes this album all the more disappointing. While the opening two tracks set a blistering dancehall pace, much of this album feels designed for the Coachella stage. Light, somewhat generic beats dominate much of this album, with little else to grab on to. I’m sure these songs are mesmerizing live, but as something to just listen to casually, it leaves a lot to be desired. The album ropes back into some cool stuff towards the end, but the middle half is a bloat of unambitious dance tracks that sound less like Justice and more like the middle manager EDM fest bands that have tried to feebly imitate Justice.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 4/26/24
Jane Weaver – Love In Constant Spectacle
You’ll have to forgive me because I’ve fallen way behind in my reviews, and this one won’t be getting the proper unconditional praise that it deserves. Like many albums this year, I tossed this on completely blind. The descriptions of Weaver toss around terms like “experimental” and “free jazz” but this is mostly woman-and-a-guitar music; if that sounds like denigration, it isn’t. I was floored by how beautiful these songs are. They’re minimalistic, a small sound in an open space, and yet captivating. Tons of singer-songwriters over the years have tried to capture the feeling of playing in the same room as the listener, and many would be jealous to do it the way Weaver does on every single song here. The rhythms are so simple yet riveting across the board. Some songs are certainly better than others – but the best ones propel this album into an elite territory. Some really special stuff.
Grade: 8/10Initial release date: 4/5/24
X – Smoke and Fiction
I often wonder about what X would look like if they had stayed together all these years. Would they have gone the way of ‘sellout’ punk bands doing cross-brand merch like Green Day? Would they be conservative cranks like Misfits? Would they be liberal cranks who hate each other like Dead Kennedys? All bad outcomes, and none of any concern. X’s second reunion album – and final album – is a whirlwind of the same dual-singer rockabilly-punk that made them an 80’s staple. The reunion novelty isn’t as strong as it was on Alphabetland, but the songs are tighter and more focused. There’s nothing really extraordinary here, but it’s just cool to see legends go around one last time.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 8/2/24
Never Broke Again – Compliments of Grave Digger Mountain
Alright look I’m very far behind on reviews and I’m historically bad at writing about hip-hop, so let’s just say that you know what you’re gonna get with this one. I have a soft spot for NBA YoungBoy, who is featured on nearly every song. The album is credited to the label he runs, so while there isn’t a true lead artist here, there’s just a couple people throughout the whole album. It’s just very good trap; fun, blistering songs with minimal beats, but not so minimal that they feel minimal. I was vibing at work to this one pretty hard.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 3/8/24
illuminati hotties – POWER
My birth month was graced with new albums from a half-dozen artists I absolutely love, IH included in it. I’m a big fan of what Sarah Tudzie brings to the table, a hybrid of pop-punk and indie that allows for songs that always sound familiar yet differ album-to-album. POWER is definitely on the softer side of things, much more indie-based than some previous releases. I certainly prefer her harder-edged stuff, but there’s a lot to like here too. These songs are simple and catchy, nice little personal odes. Not to deliver a backhanded compliment, but Tudzie’s voice has always been somewhat plain – here that’s effective, because it sounds like she’s in the room with you, improvising a ditty. It’s a unique feeling, and the songs benefit from it. It isn’t the most exciting album, but it’s got a very broad appeal.
Grade: 7.5Initial release date: 8/23/24
Charly Bliss – Forever
What a gem! Charly Bliss’s first two albums cemented the band as a pop-heavy indie with some punk spirit, in the same realm as the Beths. After a brief break, the band is back – with pure bubblegum pop-rock. This record is the same overproduced, big beat pop that I was lamenting before, but it’s used to full effect here. This record is fun as all hell. The best songs are mostly the bangers, and they come early. But the back half has a couple sneakily exceptional ballads, too. This is truly exceptional pop music. For more on this one, check my concert review.
Grade: 7.5/10Initial release date: 8/16/24
So Totally – Double Your Relaxation
The shoegaze revival is alive and well! I already knew one song going into this but I was still caught off-guard. The best songs on this record are very dense, very heavy and cryptic shoegaze songs. They’re buried under lots of distortion and many moving parts. I wouldn’t recommend this for someone looking for Slowdive, it doesn’t have the atmospheric rhythms and it isn’t soothing. It’s a record to put on with headphones and dig into all the puzzle pieces you can find, to see if you can assemble a song. Where the album suffers is quieter songs – there’s a few, and they don’t accomplish much. The back half pulled me out some, it’s deflating. The quieter moments are critical to the album, but they come too late and stick around too long. That said, it’s a really unique listen, and some of the individual songs are brilliant.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 5/17/24
Zayn – Room Under The Stairs
History doesn’t remember that George Harrison was the first Beatle to release a solo album, and history likely won’t remember that Zayn was the first One Direction member with a solo record. Zayn’s solo career has been overshadowed by Harry Styles’s. But where Harrison came out of the gate with folk rock far more experimental than what his band was doing, Zayn has been stuck circling the drain of tepid R&B. His debut was stark in how quickly he departed from his group’s saccharine pop, but he’s now been doing the same album repeatedly. He’s got nothing new here, and he sounds like he knows it. Sure, his voice is great throughout, but he doesn’t sound like he’s enjoying himself. This is perfectly listenable, but there’s a reason why he’s gotten overshadowed by Harry. Too long, and much too boring.
Grade: 6/10Initial release date: 5/17/24
Dr. Dog – Dr. Dog
Bear with me for a second, because this is a fun full circle for me. Indie-folk legends Dr. Dog’s 2012 album Be The Void was the first album I ever reviewed, back in my college paper. I didn’t know what I was doing, and didn’t really know the band, but knew I wanted to take over the music column. It was a dry run (or an application?), and obviously I passed as I’m still doing the song-and-dance today. So a big shoutout to Dr. Dog, despite me really not keeping up with their output, for letting this blog happen at all.
Anyways – it’s a fine record, but I wanted to like it more. It sounds like it was pulled from a 2010 deep freeze, it’s got the same folksy, warm indie that the band was doing then. That’s not a complaint, these songs are super inviting. But a majority of them are a little too soft, a little too muted. That works for some songs, but a whole record of it gets somewhat drab. It’s got a specific audience – people just a bit older than me that planted their flag in 00’s indie and haven’t moved on. Again, nothing wrong with that – respectable, even – but it means the record is just another notch rather than something noteworthy.
Grade: 7/10Initial release date: 7/19/24
And that does it for…..August. Thanks for reading any of this that you did! There will be fewer reviews in September – I was preoccupied with fun family stuff. But check back in a week or so for that post, there’s a lot of great albums in the pipeline.
Post-Grad Music Reviews 