We have an outdoor venue here in Portland, right on the western edge of the Columbia River Gorge, called 'Edgefield.' On a gorgeous evening this past October, I saw a double bill of Brittany Howard and Michael Kiwanuka. It was the final concert of Edgefield's season as they close for winter, and this tour had each artist alternating between who played first. Brittany took the stage for her 1.5-hour set in Portland first, and her voice filled the air and traveled like the wind down the gorge. Kiwanuka then came on about 25 minutes later and played his 1.5-hour set. Both sets were tremendous.
My personal favorite album of 2024 is 'A Trip To The Moon' by Ghost Funk Orchestra. For me, they are like how Kevin described Wussy—there is something about them that strikes a chord in me. They are also a phenomenal and exhilarating live band. I also love Tess Parks' new LP, 'Pomegranate' (and for the record, she is a Toronto native but now lives in London).
"If you’re one of those people whose shoulder reflexively drops at the sight of any Top 10 list, think of it like this: I think "Top 10 records of '24" flows better than something like "I'm an obsessive list maker, and out of everything I've reviewed this year, here are ten records I want to share that are both objectively and subjectively well done, all presented in a familiar format."
I'm one of those people who despises ranking lists, so I vote for this description. It's much more unique and interesting! (PS -- I clicked on this because five current albums seemed relatively stress free...)
Also, why is Wild God not on here? It's one of those albums that instantly becomes an album that was always there, like Cohen's... well, like Cohen.
Ha - read Sam's intro to his post. He talks about how he had Wild God in his original list but ended up dropping out last minute. I haven't listened to it more than once yet, but I'll definitely be doing so in 2025.
lol. glad you prefer that description! It’s not here because tbh, I didn’t quite find them time to really sit with it and give it the listen it deserves.
I hear you. And of course that's the problem with lists like this. Because there's no Way that we can listen to everything, so the list can never actually be right. Just my two cents. I think as music writers, we can do better than lists.
Says the person who is not really a music writer...
Wild God is dope. I bought it on vinyl. There were 30 albums that I loved this year that could’ve made my top 10. This was just a ridiculously stacked year for music.
Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of lists. Kevin and I were messing around with the idea of doing monthly recommendations of albums we believe deserve more hype and responding to each others picks like we did with our top 100 series.
that would be quite lovely. Joe Schoolcraft does it and it’s IMO one of the best music substacks I’ve found. It’s simple, short, elegant. He shares an album he loves and says why he loves it. End of story. I’ve found at least one album there I hadn’t heard that has become beloved as a result.
I suppose I’m weary of everything having to be a competition. That's part of how the world got as fucked up as it now is. Music shouldn’t be about competition. Art -- is meant as the highest expression of human potential -- and I would say music most of all. It's a place to reach for something higher, I think.
I'll admit, I was worried when I didn't see Moon Mirror on your #10-6 list last week. Happy to see it at #2. Guess I need to check out Bodega and go back to the Brittany Howard and Maggies Rogers albums. Wussy is something I plan to write about if I can get this post off the ground.
Thank you for reminding me just how much freaking good music has come out recently. And a lot of interesting stuff too. Not just “great pop album”. Maggie Rogers so good to see here.
I celebrate the contrarianism and, as I said previously, if you guys enjoyed a lot of new releases this year, I can see the appeal of a list/ranking of sorts.
One of the reasons I struggle with making album rankings myself is the fact that the relevant artists or bands may be at very different junctures of their careers (some starting, some established; some at their peak, some trying to reinvent themselves). I think I’d struggle less with a “Best debut albums” or “Best comeback albums” list. But as with many things in life, maybe I think too much 😅
There’s a lot of music here that I haven’t listened to, or maybe haven’t given enough listening to. Seems like Brittany Howard might deserve some investigation.
My own top 10 albums for this year is entirely subjective and based solely upon how happy each record makes my heart. Still not sure I’ve got the order right (and I don’t actually think it matters) but they are:
10. Hold My Hand, God Damn It - Gaffa Tape Sandy
9. Pratts and Pain - Royel Otis
8. Forever - Charley Bliss
7. 86TVs - 86TVs
6. Where’s My Utopia - Yard Act
5. All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade - The Libertines
I'm pretty sure all top-10 (or any personally ranked anything) lists are subjective by nature. Basing on how happy an album makes your heart is a great measuring stick! I am amazed at the breadth of new music, as I follow a ton of it and only know three of your top 10 picks.
When you get to the cream of the crop of music, whether it's a year, decade, or all-time list, the rankings say more about the person than the albums themselves.
I find it would be more helpful to divide things up by genres and guide people through a listening journey:
Step 1: If you want to get into X genre, here are 10 albums that are generally agreed to be canon and are a great place to start. If you like them, then explore further. If you don't, then this type of music is probably not for you.
Step 2: 20 more albums that are considered classic but are either divisive or a little more demanding to listen to. Once you've established a basic understanding or appreciation for the genre, dive a little deeper.
Step 3: Getting more granular into sub-genres and more experimental work. You need to be prepped to listen to these albums. I.e., if this was a hip-hop list, this is the stage where Death Grips would be, or if it were '60s rock, this is where you would take a chance on something like Trout Mask Replica.
That’s sort of what I’m doing with my 8-part “favorite songs” project. I’ve divided it up loosely by genre and mood. With it all carefully curated. It’s more my style than album method.
I love that Maggie Rogers album! It’s a testament to the sheer volume of great releases that she was pushed out of my top 20 but it was an excellent all killer no filler record!
The Fauns is a completely new-to-me band, so I’d never heard this album before. Listening to it now, I can say with certainty that, had I discovered it earlier in the year, it likely would’ve made my top 20. This feels like my first real “miss” of 2024.
I’ve seen a fair bit of buzz for BODEGA but it’s not really my jam.
I really enjoyed the Nada Surf album but I just never gave it enough airplay for it to worm its way into my heart.
Wussy is another band that I just didn’t spend enough time with this year to develop an opinion. This has been a weird year for me and music. With all the traveling I’ve done since June I haven’t been able to maintain my normal spreadsheets that help remind me to get back to albums for repeated listening. For that reason I’m sure I’ve missed out on a bunch of albums that in another year may have been serious AOTY contenders. That’s why posts like these are so great - they provide an opportunity to hear new music that I missed or go back and listen to stuff I neglected.
Great to see The Fauns' album on here - one of my favorites of 2024!
I’m so happy this was someone else’s favorite! I found it by happy accident, and it’s never really left my rotation.
We have an outdoor venue here in Portland, right on the western edge of the Columbia River Gorge, called 'Edgefield.' On a gorgeous evening this past October, I saw a double bill of Brittany Howard and Michael Kiwanuka. It was the final concert of Edgefield's season as they close for winter, and this tour had each artist alternating between who played first. Brittany took the stage for her 1.5-hour set in Portland first, and her voice filled the air and traveled like the wind down the gorge. Kiwanuka then came on about 25 minutes later and played his 1.5-hour set. Both sets were tremendous.
My personal favorite album of 2024 is 'A Trip To The Moon' by Ghost Funk Orchestra. For me, they are like how Kevin described Wussy—there is something about them that strikes a chord in me. They are also a phenomenal and exhilarating live band. I also love Tess Parks' new LP, 'Pomegranate' (and for the record, she is a Toronto native but now lives in London).
I love Edgefield (The Gorge is one of my favorite places on Earth), but have never actually seen a show there.
reading this put me right in the middle of the crowd. I can hear it, smell the air, everything. Thank you for that.
And thanks for the Ghost Funk Orchestra rec! I think I checked them out earlier via one of your posts, but need to do so again.
"If you’re one of those people whose shoulder reflexively drops at the sight of any Top 10 list, think of it like this: I think "Top 10 records of '24" flows better than something like "I'm an obsessive list maker, and out of everything I've reviewed this year, here are ten records I want to share that are both objectively and subjectively well done, all presented in a familiar format."
I'm one of those people who despises ranking lists, so I vote for this description. It's much more unique and interesting! (PS -- I clicked on this because five current albums seemed relatively stress free...)
Also, why is Wild God not on here? It's one of those albums that instantly becomes an album that was always there, like Cohen's... well, like Cohen.
Ha - read Sam's intro to his post. He talks about how he had Wild God in his original list but ended up dropping out last minute. I haven't listened to it more than once yet, but I'll definitely be doing so in 2025.
ah thanks, I must've missed that!
lol. glad you prefer that description! It’s not here because tbh, I didn’t quite find them time to really sit with it and give it the listen it deserves.
I hear you. And of course that's the problem with lists like this. Because there's no Way that we can listen to everything, so the list can never actually be right. Just my two cents. I think as music writers, we can do better than lists.
Says the person who is not really a music writer...
Wild God is dope. I bought it on vinyl. There were 30 albums that I loved this year that could’ve made my top 10. This was just a ridiculously stacked year for music.
Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of lists. Kevin and I were messing around with the idea of doing monthly recommendations of albums we believe deserve more hype and responding to each others picks like we did with our top 100 series.
I think that format would would really well for something like this.
that would be quite lovely. Joe Schoolcraft does it and it’s IMO one of the best music substacks I’ve found. It’s simple, short, elegant. He shares an album he loves and says why he loves it. End of story. I’ve found at least one album there I hadn’t heard that has become beloved as a result.
I suppose I’m weary of everything having to be a competition. That's part of how the world got as fucked up as it now is. Music shouldn’t be about competition. Art -- is meant as the highest expression of human potential -- and I would say music most of all. It's a place to reach for something higher, I think.
What is psych-Jazz?
Psychedelic jazz
I'll admit, I was worried when I didn't see Moon Mirror on your #10-6 list last week. Happy to see it at #2. Guess I need to check out Bodega and go back to the Brittany Howard and Maggies Rogers albums. Wussy is something I plan to write about if I can get this post off the ground.
No way Moon Mirror wasn’t going to grab a spot on this list somewhere!
I hope your post gets off the ground! I’d love to read your thoughts on the Wussy record!
Thank you for reminding me just how much freaking good music has come out recently. And a lot of interesting stuff too. Not just “great pop album”. Maggie Rogers so good to see here.
I celebrate the contrarianism and, as I said previously, if you guys enjoyed a lot of new releases this year, I can see the appeal of a list/ranking of sorts.
One of the reasons I struggle with making album rankings myself is the fact that the relevant artists or bands may be at very different junctures of their careers (some starting, some established; some at their peak, some trying to reinvent themselves). I think I’d struggle less with a “Best debut albums” or “Best comeback albums” list. But as with many things in life, maybe I think too much 😅
Fair points all around. As for me? I definitely overthink things. If we hadn’t had a solid deadline, I might still be tweaking my lists. lol.
Fair enough. Deadlines do come in handy when it comes to stop the overthinking machine 😅
Not at all surprised by your selections, Kevin. You may see some of those on my Top 50 album opus later this month!
Can't wait to see what 2025 brings!
I’m looking forward to it! Great minds think alike, right? 😀
There’s a lot of music here that I haven’t listened to, or maybe haven’t given enough listening to. Seems like Brittany Howard might deserve some investigation.
My own top 10 albums for this year is entirely subjective and based solely upon how happy each record makes my heart. Still not sure I’ve got the order right (and I don’t actually think it matters) but they are:
10. Hold My Hand, God Damn It - Gaffa Tape Sandy
9. Pratts and Pain - Royel Otis
8. Forever - Charley Bliss
7. 86TVs - 86TVs
6. Where’s My Utopia - Yard Act
5. All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade - The Libertines
4. Hysterical Strength - Deadletter
3. 9 Sad Symphonies - Kate Nash
2. Engines of Honey - Bull
1. Faith Crisis, Pt 1 - Middle Kids
I'm pretty sure all top-10 (or any personally ranked anything) lists are subjective by nature. Basing on how happy an album makes your heart is a great measuring stick! I am amazed at the breadth of new music, as I follow a ton of it and only know three of your top 10 picks.
Absolutely! This is how I feel about every top ten list I read. I’ve only listened to a fraction of the music mentioned on any of them.
When you get to the cream of the crop of music, whether it's a year, decade, or all-time list, the rankings say more about the person than the albums themselves.
I find it would be more helpful to divide things up by genres and guide people through a listening journey:
Step 1: If you want to get into X genre, here are 10 albums that are generally agreed to be canon and are a great place to start. If you like them, then explore further. If you don't, then this type of music is probably not for you.
Step 2: 20 more albums that are considered classic but are either divisive or a little more demanding to listen to. Once you've established a basic understanding or appreciation for the genre, dive a little deeper.
Step 3: Getting more granular into sub-genres and more experimental work. You need to be prepped to listen to these albums. I.e., if this was a hip-hop list, this is the stage where Death Grips would be, or if it were '60s rock, this is where you would take a chance on something like Trout Mask Replica.
That’s sort of what I’m doing with my 8-part “favorite songs” project. I’ve divided it up loosely by genre and mood. With it all carefully curated. It’s more my style than album method.
Finally getting around to these top five posts!
I love that Maggie Rogers album! It’s a testament to the sheer volume of great releases that she was pushed out of my top 20 but it was an excellent all killer no filler record!
The Fauns is a completely new-to-me band, so I’d never heard this album before. Listening to it now, I can say with certainty that, had I discovered it earlier in the year, it likely would’ve made my top 20. This feels like my first real “miss” of 2024.
I’ve seen a fair bit of buzz for BODEGA but it’s not really my jam.
I really enjoyed the Nada Surf album but I just never gave it enough airplay for it to worm its way into my heart.
Wussy is another band that I just didn’t spend enough time with this year to develop an opinion. This has been a weird year for me and music. With all the traveling I’ve done since June I haven’t been able to maintain my normal spreadsheets that help remind me to get back to albums for repeated listening. For that reason I’m sure I’ve missed out on a bunch of albums that in another year may have been serious AOTY contenders. That’s why posts like these are so great - they provide an opportunity to hear new music that I missed or go back and listen to stuff I neglected.
I mean, it's not like you were on the adventure of a lifetime or anything! :)
I know right?!?