Tag Archives for Magdalena Bay

101 Favorite Albums of 2024: 49-25

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).

The Rundown: September 2024

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: 8.5/10   Initial 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: 7.5/10   Initial 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: 8/10   Initial 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: 8/10   Initial 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: 7.5/10   Initial 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: 8/10   Initial 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: 8.5/10   Initial 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: 7/10   Initial 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: 7/10   Initial 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: 8.5/10   Initial 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: 7.5/10   Initial 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: 8/10   Initial 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: 8.5/10   Initial 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: 7/10   Initial 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: 7.5/10   Initial 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: 8/10   Initial 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: 7/10   Initial 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: 6/10   Initial 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: 7.5/10   Initial 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: 7/10   Initial 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: 8.5/10   Initial 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: 8/10   Initial 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: 6.5/10   Initial 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: 7.5/10   Initial 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: 8/10   Initial 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!