Happy new year everybody! Is February 13th a bit late to say that? It probably is. Anyways, I’m always thinking of ways I can use this blog more, so I figured I might as well do monthly check-ins with all of the new albums I listen to. This is 1) a way to promote more music than just a year-end post, and 2) a way to help me remember exactly what I liked or didn’t like about middle-tier albums! I probably won’t include everything, just what I feel like. However, this first post has all 14 of the 2024 albums I’ve spun so far. I also don’t know what the order will be each month (it’s by rating this time). No, somehow I haven’t dropped the needle on the Smile album yet. Check back next month and spin these while you’re waiting.

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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. This is already going to be a top contender for 2024.

Initial release date: 1/5/24 Grade: 8.5/10

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.

Initial release date: 1/26/24 Grade: 8.5/10

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.

Initial release date: 1/12/24 Grade: 8/10

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.

Initial release date: 1/12/24 Grade: 8/10

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. 

Initial release date: 2/9/24 Grade: 7.5/10

Pile – Hot Air Balloon EP

Pile, who claimed a top 10 spot on my Best Albums of 2023 list, supplement that release with a back-to-basics EP. This isn’t a “leftover tracks” EP, this is a band who have strayed far from their original indie roots returning to a sound of the past. It’s just as good as their dense, heavy 2023 album was but wholly different. A quick burst of fun from a band proving that they can still have some, when they want.

Initial release date: 1/5/24 Grade: 7.5/10

Cheekface – It’s Sorted

This has all the makings of something I wouldn’t like – talked vocals, jangly post-punk guitar rhythms and lyrics focused heavily on ‘IYKYK references.’ And yet, a lot of this worked for me. The band sounds more like a cleaned-up version of Gang of Four than they do a reflection of the middling talk-punk bands of the moment. And the comedy lyrics are often quite funny, even if they are often references to memes. The line “I love mixed messages, I hate mixed messages” has stuck with me. There’s a lot of love and perfectionism hiding behind these jangly tunes.

Initial release date: 1/22/24 Grade: 7.5/10

glass beach – plastic death

I’m far from being a member of the hive that has an unhealthy obsession with this group’s debut album, but I did really enjoy the way it refused to nail itself down to any one genre. They’re like the indie-punk answer to 100 gecs. The sophomore album, long-awaited, is the same! It jumps wildly between punk, acoustic ballads and noisy, screamy stuff. Even the song lengths are unpredictable. You could argue it’s unfocused – I personally would argue it’s too long – but it is a fully singular entity. Something for everyone, and yet not for everyone. Good stuff.

Initial release date: 1/19/24 Grade: 7.5/10

21 Savage – american dream

Thanks to his album with Drake, 21 Savage has hit a level of fame equivalent to Drake. And if he wanted to, he could crap out an album of rudimentary beats and improvised, high-school poetry just like Drake. But Savage still has things to prove, and this album runs laps around the track. It does suffer from unevenness and bloat, but it hits more often than not. Savage’s flow is engaging and his lyrics are vulnerable, raw and earnest. It’s a human record, one that cements Savage as a new top-shelf force. 

Initial release date: 1/12/24 Grade: 7.5/10

Sleater-Kinney – Little Rope

This album was inspired by some very real turmoil in the life of Carrie Brownstein and, when coupled with internal turmoil the once-trio-now-duo went through a few years ago, the album is super-charged. SL-K hasn’t sounded this energized since their 2015 reunion album, or possibly even since 2000. These are short, punchy indie-punk songs that don’t reinvent the SL-K wheel, for once, and just bang. The front half of the album definitely punches harder than the back half, which falls somewhat into repetitive territory. Still, it’s an improvement over the last two records and another entry into a nearly flawless catalog.

Initial release date: 1/19/24 Grade: 7.5/10

Resin Tomb – Cerebral Purgatory

My first attempt at a metal album in 2024 gave me a sad realization I’ve been putting off having – my tinnitus has gotten to the point where I can’t reasonably listen to loud music with headphones on anymore. Resin Tomb’s new one had to be the one to sell me on that fact, and my listening was hampered by pausing it after three songs and resuming the next day. However, it is a fantastic album, a noisy and fun maximalist death metal album that feels somewhat akin to Aborted – nonstop full volume, fast paced, and not exactly serious (four of the eight songs are exactly 4:20). I will run this one back when I find a better listening method, I want to love this one more.

Initial release date: 1/19/24 Grade: 7/10

Green Day – Saviors 

The fact that this album is as good as it is serves as a testament to the legacy of Green Day. After the muck of cinematic poppy stuff like “21st Century Breakdown,” Green Day could’ve easily become 1) Fall Out Boy, who transformed into a fully corporate pop-slop band that seems to exist to play NFL pre-game shows, or 2) Pennywise, a punk band constantly touring and releasing the same album over and over again. Instead, they’ve settled into something in between. They’re not beholden to their original morals, but this album is just lean, fun punk. The first three songs are the standouts, three future minor classics. What follows is fun and forgettable power chord rippers. Too many, for sure, but it’s energetic and fun. 

Initial release date: 1/19/24 Grade: 6.5/10

Future Islands – People Who Aren’t There Anymore

Not a surprise here, “Seasons (Waiting For You)” is one of my all-time favorite songs but Future Islands in general don’t do it for me. I find that my interest in a FI song is directly tied to how upbeat it is, and they do far more ballads than not. The first few tracks here are interesting – especially the transition between tracks 1 and 2. But it quickly falls into repetition. Not for me, sorry!

Initial release date: 1/26/24 Grade: 6/10

Bolts of Melody – Film Noir

I don’t know much of anything about this artist but the album title/art both grabbed hold of me. True to note, this feels more like a film score than anything, like a less comedic version of that Chris Farren film score album. The music here is transcendent, mostly instrumental, and feels aimless in a way that is complimentary. It’s breezy, working as both background music and something that can really grab hold of you. It ultimately isn’t really my thing, and it sorta shuffled into the background for me, but it’s certainly intriguing.

Initial release date: 1/19/24 Grade: 6/10

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Round 1 done! I meant to get this up at the end of January so…who knows when I’ll do round 2. But check back for more reviews!