On Repeat's Top Records of 2024 (So Far)
Well, some of 'em anyway
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Good morning!
Today we’re taking a look at some of On Repeat’s Top 10 Albums of the year (so far)
It’s Best Of season again. Or at least the midway point. Every year, I wonder if this’ll be the one that sees a dearth of good music, and like clockwork, every year I’m happily proven wrong. So far, 2024 has proven to be more of the same—the real issue isn’t whether or not there will be enough material making the grade, but rather how to winnow it down to a manageable number.
I have failed on that part. This isn’t even close to a comprehensive list. Heck, it doesn’t even fully cover my own picks. I keep a running list of albums to check out and/or review, and as of this writing, there are roughly 30-35 records on it. I’m sure there’s an AOTY candidate in there getting antsy about being heard.
As someone who writes about music, this is, of course, a great problem to have.
Similarly, please let me know if you’ve got an album (or three)! Music discovery works best when it’s omnidirectional.
Records also tend to grow on me, so a release that didn’t quite make the cut in mid-June could do so come December.
The picks might change, but for 2024, my guidelines have not. To be on the list below, a record had to:
Have an impact.
Spend a decent amount of time in heavy rotation.
Been something unique (they can’t all be New Wave or Power Pop!).
Be a solid record from end to end. If it was a “no skips” album, the odds are pretty good it was in the running.
I’ve again combined EPs and LPs on the same list. My completely objective and not at all made-up barometer is that anything with five tracks or less is an EP. Any of the latter will be noted as such. Normally, I order them by release date or even alphabetically. Not this time. Because I like chaos, these are listed in the order I have them on my sheet.
Also: All are Gizmo-approved:
Let’s get to it! And may you find a new favorite record!
Little Oso- Happy Songs EP
Okay, so nothing says “journalistic credibility,” like kicking off a 2024 list with a record from…2023, but hear me out here.
Little Oso is a jangle pop band from Portland. No, not the one I never stop talking about— the other one. It was the first record we checked out this year; I’m pretty sure this is the only band from Maine I’ve ever interviewed/profiled.
More importantly, the EP rips.
Happy Songs is a compact EP stuffed full of catchy hooks and jangly guitar. Berman’s vocals are equal parts plaintive and ethereal, floating above a propulsive rhythm. The lyrics cover a lot of relatable things, like love, loss, missing old friends, and making new ones. Seagull Season is an homage to their new hometown. The band is also involved with Sink Maine Medical Debt, a non-profit that aims to eliminate medical debt for mainers most in need.
The band says their sound is inspired by the likes of the Cranberries, The Cure, Slowdive, Shop Assistants, The Vaselines, and Alvvays. Listening to it, I can certainly hear elements of all of the above, but also other bands like Wolf Alice, which might just be me. When I shared that with Lorenzo, he politely described it as an interesting take.
Not in doubt? How much I enjoyed this record.
J. Mascis- What Do We Do Now
Several years ago, I finally got to see Dinosaur Jr. play. In many ways, it felt like a movie ending for my relationship with the band. They were one of the few “big” 90s alternative bands I’d wanted to see play, and now that I had, I could check one last box and finally close the book on that chapter of my life.
I also mistakenly thought that would be the last we heard from any band members. Silly me. Not only has the band put out at least one record since, but so has Lou Barlow. And of courese, so has J. Mascis. Well, there are actually two (and an EP). What Do We Do Now? shows Mascis at his best, even if he's a little older and a little wiser.
With Mascis, there are a few absolutes, but there is also enough unpredictability to keep things interesting. What Do We Do Now is no exception. The record is server decibels lower than Dinosaur Jrs’ usual milieu. Listening to the record, it's hard not to notice the acoustic guitar and softer tones. Once you do you can’t unhear ‘em.
That's not to say that Mascis has gone soft- far from it- like most of us, he's just a little older and a little wiser. Maybe a little more world-weary too.
So what do we do now? Beats me, but you can’t go wrong spinning this record.
J Robbins- Basilisk
Robbins is the frontman of the seminal Dischord band Jawbox. I’m using the present sense, and they're still together and have released some material in recent years. The band’s sound was also more bruising than labelmates like Nation of Ulysses or even Fugazi. Robbins also released solo material, with his Un-Becoming record coming out in 2019.
Basilisk is much more closely related to Un-Becoming than anything Jaxbox has done. In this case, that means a little less discordant sound and a little less chaos but zero loss of intensity.
Jawbox can be an acquired taste, but Basilisk represents a much smoother on-ramp to Robbin's sound with its driving rhythm, (almost) anthemic choruses, and shinier melodies.
For Your Own Special Sweetheart is a record that sounds as good now at 30 as it did when I first picked it up. I think I’ll feel the same way about Basilisk in 2054.
BODEGA- Our Brand Could be Yr Life
It's easily my most-played record of the year so far. Run, don’t walk, to buy this record. That's it. That’s the review.
The album is a wild ride through various genres, taking shots at various subjects- capitalism and people mindlessly consuming among them. “What is the difference between an Artist and an Advertiser?” is the question asked at the beginning of “BODEGA Bait,” and one that is returned to throughout the record.
“Dedicated to the Dedicated” is a bit of a New Wave romp. “Tarkovski” has call and response chorus that’s catchy as hell and is the most Parquet Courts song you’ll hear on a record not made by Parquet Courts.
With its swirling guitars, Stain Gaze is a woozy bit of shoegaze that will leave you feeling off balance while commanding you to move. It has all the hallmarks of late-stage Sonic Youth (mentioned in Azzerad 's book). The closing track, “City Is Taken” —again with Bonfiglio singing—feels incredibly New York. It’s my favorite on the record, and the perfect ender for a 2024 record: arty, sophisticated, sarcastic, and angry.
Cloud Nothings- Final Summer
Cleveland came through again. The city might've once had a river burst into flames, but it also gifted us countless great bands like The Raspberries, Pere Ubu, and Cloud Nothings.
For years, if you asked me what the loudest show I'd ever been to was, the default answer was ‘Sugar.” Always, and it wasn’t even close. After seeing this band a couple of weeks ago, I’m not so sure, anymore. They left it all on the stage and held nothing back- certainly not volume anyway.
The trio's latest is a full-throttle release that will do everything in its power to make you drive faster. Ten years after the release of Here And Nowhere Else, Final Summer shows that they have zero interest in slowing down (or playing quietly).
Final Summer is, again, a record that runs at 4000 rpm. That speed never comes at the cost of melody; the record is stuffed with hooks around every corner, starting with the blistering opening title track. ‘On Running Through The Campus,’ frontman Dylan Baldi asks, ‘Can you believe how far I have come?” The answer is inevitably yes.
At the end of the show, drummer Jayson Gerycz threw his sticks off to the side. Not out of disgust or anger, but out of exhaustion. He had nothing left in the tank. Neither did any of us in the crowd. Reading this that might not make much sense, but give Final Summer a spin, and it totally will.
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Maggie Rogers- Don’t Forget About Me
It’s only been a few weeks since I first wrote about his record in these pages, but that’s the funny thing about a record as timeless as this one—it could've been an hour or a year, and the end result would still be the same.
On the last go-around, I wondered if I was gushing a little too much about this album. I think was overthinking it; this is a record with weight, but that heft never bogs the listener down or becomes a drag. Don't Forget Me is the work of a clear-eyed, self-assured artist who knows exactly what she wants and exactly how to get there. The smart money says this’ll be on countless AOTY lists come December.
Given the album's weight, it’s hard to believe the record was written & recorded over only a few days. Ian Fitchuk was behind the boards and brought out Rogers's strengths well. Her voice is exceptional, but so is the music. It has heft but never gets bogged down or turns too far into itself. Lead single ‘So Sick of Dreaming’ sounds as at home in your favorite coffee shop as it does turned up in your car. Don’t be surprised to find yourself bopping along. As her demo ends, Pharrell looks at her and says ‘I have no notes.” Neither do I. This is a strong record from front to back and has probably already booked a spot on my year-end best-of list.
Pearl Jam—Dark Matter
After a few fits and starts over the last couple of decades, the band is back and in fighting form with their best record since Vitalogy.
If you’re among the fans who tipped out after the release of ‘96’s No Code, this is your invitation back to the party.
And if you’re a true glutton for punishment, this is your reminder that Pearl Jam’s ‘Alive’ turns 33 later this year. I feel pretty lucky to have seen them back then, and I am delighted that the band has returned to form with Dark Matter. From rippers like “React, Respond” to more wistful tracks like ‘Wreckage,” the band is back and has made (IMO) their most complete record since Vs.
Pearl Jam has never been afraid to experiment, often with mixed results. That didn’t happen here. I don’t know that a band hurtling toward middle age needed to make a statement record, but this sure feels like one, and we’re all the better for it.
Texas w/Spooner Oldham- The Muscle Shoals Sessions.
When I lived in Memphis, I would try to get lost on purpose. I would drive down into Alabama or Mississippi without a map (this was pre-GPS) and just…see what happened. Usually, that ended well.
Texas and frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri made a similar pilgrimage to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to connect with the legendary Spooner Oldham and just see…what might happen with them.
I wasn't sure a band as dynamic as Texas could strip almost everything away except Sharleen Spiteri’s voice and Oldham’s keys and make it work. But they do, and they do it well. The result is a lush, gorgeous record.
Stripping 10 of their songs (and 2 covers-“Would I Lie To You” by Charles and Eddie and “Save The Last Dance” by The Drifters) down to just Sharleen Spiteri’s vocals and Oldham’s piano makes for a very different Texas experience. Northern Soul has always influenced the band, and that streak has run through their records. Previously, her voice would occasionally get lost in Texas’ sound. I also wondered how those influences might (or might not) gel with Oldham, long a pillar of the Memphis scene.
I was overthinking it. Here, Oldham’s light touch lifts Spiteri’s voice front and center, and it shines. These are not new tracks but fully stripped-down, reimagined ones, making for a gorgeous experience.
The Jesus and Mary Chain- Glasgow Eyes
Seven years after their last studio record, they’re back with their eighth release and as solid as ever. Glasgow Eyes gives the nod to several points on the band’s trajectory. That’s reasonable when you learn that they put this together after gathering archival footage for an upcoming biography—a story a lot of us didn't think would last this long.
A record borne of the past was bound to draw some from the past. Indeed, it would've been easy for the duo to throw on their Ray-Bans, give off some distortion, and put on a predictable record.
Instead, they pay homage to their previous records without rehashing them. More importantly, they also break new ground. Time has smoothed some of their edges (the brothers get along now!), and the band has never been afraid to color outside the lines and follow a musical thread wherever it might go.
Sometimes, that works, and sometimes it doesn’t—Glasgow Eyes is no exception–-but the fact that they’re putting out innovative, new-sounding material 40 years on is worth noting and appreciating.
As Jim Reid sings on ‘Girl 71,’ we've got what we need
To be clear, this is one of the duo’s better outings. But at this point, one doesn't critique a JAMC record so much as give thanks that they’re still around and making music.
The Flavor that Kills- Book Of Secrits
There’s a coastal sentiment that says there’s not a whole lotta talent in the flyover states. That’s not true. There are at least four working musicians on my block alone, five if you want to count the neighbor who occasionally moonlights as a harpist.
As exhibit A for the defense, I present Book Of Secrits. The latest release from the Madison band is proof that this town punches above its weight when it comes to talent.
Book of Secrits is a record that pushes up against the corners of every genre, and, in the words of bassist Christian Burnson, gave the band “an opportunity to be more adventurous and use more instruments and approach the record from [more of a] production orientation.” That sense of adventure is reflected all the way through and makes for a sound that is lethal for any roof it’s played under.
P.S. As far as I know, the hidden treasure mentioned in the LP’s liner notes is still up for grabs!
More fantastic releases:
Tristan Dolce- Medium True
Outer World- Who Does The Music Love?
The Paranoid Style- The Interrogator
DANCER- 10 Songs I Hate About You
Mythical Motors- Upside Down World
Waxahatchee- Tigers Blood
Velocity Girl-Incidentals (EP)
Ilithios- Every Bird Ever
The Fauns- Mixtape Days
Water Damage- In E
Local Drags- City In A room
And a bunch more sure to come!
I would love to hear your thoughts on any of these records. Are any of them on your list? Who should be on here? Hot takes welcome!
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
Best adds at my station KBZR - The Last Dinner Party, La Luz, Francis of Delirium, Winnetka Bowling League
A lot of new music here for me to explore, with very little overlap with anything that’s been on my radar.
Here’s a list of my favorites so far this year (unranked) with top 5 contenders having an asterisk:
- Big Sigh* by Marika Hackman
- Madra by New Dad
- Bite Down* by Rosali
- A La Sala by Khruangbin
- Don’t Forget Me* by Maggie Rogers
- Dream Talk by Still Corners
- Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves
- People Who Aren’t There Anymore by Future Islands
- On the Lips by Molly Lewis
- Real Power by Gossip
- Big Swimmer* by King Hannah
- Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free by Bonny Light Horseman