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In Search of the 24 Best Albums of 2024: September/October

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Once upon a time there was a boy named Chris. Having spent years backfilling on decades gone past, in 2021 he set out on a quest to catch up on newer music. He listened to the critics choices for the best albums of the 2010s, and picked his favorites. He did the same for 2020, picking his top 20 from the critics most highly rated albums. And he listened to new releases monthly in 2021, eventually picking the 21 best albums of 2021. That was so much fun he decided to do it again in 2022 and 2023, listening each month and picking out the 22 best albums of 2022 and the 23 best albums of 2023.

There are links to the albums in the posts cited above, but if you’d like a one-stop playlist, I’ve got that set up in YouTube Music:

Here are the previous editions of the 2024 monthly review if you missed them:

( January February March April May June/July August )

A quick word on the “yes” and “maybe” categories I’ve sorted things into, before we get going with the latest:

Yes– This isn’t a guarantee, but it represents the albums that, upon first listen, I think could definitely be in the running for best of the year.

Maybe– These albums have something to recommend them, but also something that gives me pause. I’m putting them in their own category, because I have found “maybes” sometimes linger and eventually become “yeses”.

And now, the top picks from 208 September and October 2024 new releases that I listened to!


1tbsp, Megacity1000– Bright, lively, and appropriately smart alecky hyper pop EDM. My sources say: 1tbsp is an indie-house project from Australian Grammy Award Nominated artist Maxwell Byrne (aka Golden Vessel). I say yay!

Alan Sparhawk, White Roses, My God– It’s glitchy! It’s autotuned up the wazoo! It’s very conscious about it! Maybe surprisingly, maybe not, it’s from the former co-lead of Low!

Amyl & the Sniffers, Cartoon Darkness– They were great on their last album, here they get lyrically sharper and musically more sophisticated without losing a bit of punch. Go Aussie punk!

Beth Hart, You Still Got Me– With the gloriously wasted affect and Slash on the backing on the opening track, I thought we were in for a particular kind of trip here. Not a bad one, just particular. But in fact, she takes us to all kinds of places- a sonically appropriate ode to wanting to be Johnny Cash, a smoky torch song, an almost vaudeville-feeling piece. : “I was totally knocked out by Beth. Here’s this lady who’s acting like I’m the cool one, and meanwhile I’m thinking, Man, she’s got it all. She’s the new Janis Joplin, Tina Turner – the real deal, you know?”[37] How have I been sleeping on this?

Bilal, Adjust Brightness– The initial preview of Bilal’s first studio album in nine years arrived only a couple of months after Live at Glasshaus. Abstract jazz, video game soundtrack, and EDM, shot through with some of the purest soul you could ask for. And that’s just on the first track!

Black Pus, Terrestrial Seethings– So, what with the group name, and the album name, I was expecting something guttural and death metally. And it was at that level of harshness but was a delightful collage of improvised music and overdubbed vocals and samples, that was treading a line between noise rock and experimental electronic. Black Pus is apparently a project of Rian Chippendale, an American musician and artist, known as the drummer and vocalist for the experimental noise rock band Lightning Bolt and for his graphic art. And I am here for it!

Bright Eyes, Five Dice, All Threes– The kids tell me I should like Bright Eyes. And, while it may be almost two decades old at this point that he’s the new Bob Dylan, I’m starting to buy it! Or at least a Gen Y/Millennial Springsteen. The intelligent ramble of the lyrics and the spare punch of the music have sold me.

Callahan & Witscher, Think Differently– I read: “The New York experimental duo gets meta on a concept album about experimental music that’s littered with meme effects and shitpost irreverence. It feels like a Discord thread set to music.” Damn if it isn’t true, and in a great way! Part hardcore, part hyperpop, part autotune glitch EDM, incredibly self-referential on making music, and with a snotty inventiveness that reminds me of a (modern, ironically detached) Beastie Boys. The two principals here have each been leaders in underground music this millennium, and the collaboration is divine.

Caribou, Honey– I’ve recently become a fan of the band, and this is as bright and fun and yet interesting a block of dance music as one could ask for!

Charli XCX, Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat– I liked Brat. I did! But these remixes, and their so well deployed guests take it to a whole new level. They really breathe that something extra into the songs and take it from a “like” to a “love”.

Confidence Man, 3 AM (LA LA LA)– Man, that is some good high energy, and suitable attitude, dynamic EDM. An electropop due from Brisbane, Australia has been kicking around for eight years now, and they’ve just kicked their way into my field of attention.

cumgirl8, the 8th cumming– Well this was a welcome surprise. Based on the name I was (not in a judgmental way) expecting something very EDM and raunchy. What we have instead is a nervy post-punk version of electropop with wickedly arch gender politics and social commentary thrown in. Both super fun to listen to, and substantive! I guess that’s what happens when you have an “American post-punk band and multi-media collective based in Manhattan” who describe themselves as a “sex-positive alien amoeba entity,” whose music functions as an “outlet [for] repressed and pent-up emotions”.

Ginger Root, SHINBANGUMI– With cited influences spanning everything from boogie and Philly soul to Japanese city pop and Paul McCartney’s Ram, it also marks his Ghostly International debut. It’s fun, light-hearted, and sublime.

Goat, Goat– This is pretty amazing- part crunching distorted hard rock, part psychedelic freakout, a little EDM thrown in. This is everything you would expect and hope for from a Swedish band Goat, though currently based in Gothenburg, claims to hail from Korpilombolo in Sweden which, according to the band’s own publicity, has a history of voodoo worship after a witch doctor came and lived there. When Christian crusaders came and destroyed the village the surviving people fled and placed a curse on the town. This has been described as “a lovely story, if possibly not entirely rooted in reality.”

Halsey, The Great Impersonator– Man, she is sharp. Like a Lana Del Ray with a rougher edge.

JD McPherson, Nite Owls– One of the joys of any JD McPherson album is discovering how he manages to further transform his ever-churning blend of vintage-inspired influences. 2024’s Nite Owls is no expectation and finds the Oklahoma-bred singer and songwriter conjuring a cooly philosophical, tube-amp-textured sound that blends twangy surf rock and baritone guitar atmospherics with buzzy, ’70s glitter rock.

Joey Valence & Brae, NO HANDS– Oh come on! Such fun, high energy, booming hip hop, redolent of the height of turntabilism. This duo of college rappers from Pennsylvania who consciously hearken back to the Beastie Boys and the alternative rap of the nineties are making fun noise.

Lady Gaga, Harlequin– This serves as a pseudo-soundtrack for the Joker sequel, with songs whose content and attitude is related to her Harley Quinn persona from that film. And that certainly does add oomph, but it’s a serving of oomph on top of excellent, and musically varied, covers of standards by Gaga. Solid fun all around!

Laila!, Gap Year!– All right. Let’s address the obvious nepobaby factor that she’s Mos Def’s daughter. That being said, you know how a basement tape from a punk group that’s just starting out and is having fun sounds? This is the hip-hop/R&B equivalent of that. Drum machines, samplers, minimal production and her soaring voice and smart attitude light this up. Give props to this 18-year-old, she’s going places!

MC5, Heavy Lifting– For a gap of several decades, and being essentially a memorial album, this still kicks out the jams and reminds you of how foundational they were.

Molly Nillson, Un-American Activities– Swedish musician Nillson leads us on a tour through various eras of Unamerican activity and various musical styles. Including HSCUAC era propaganda turned into a dance party. This is quite interesting, challenging, and fun!

OneDa, Formula OneDa– “Manchester’s OneDa is a rapper, poet, and producer with a brashly confident personality and distinctively queer, feminist, and sex-positive outlook.” yes! And between all this, it keeps you engaged the whole time.

Pearl & the Oysters, Planet Pearl– Bright, poppy, synthy, with the sound of a bedroom pop production and weird imagistic wordscapes delivered through slightly fuzzy ethereal vocals. This French American duo has been making beautifully spacy music together for over a decade, and sis still going strong.

Public Service Broadcasting, The Last Flight– First of all- this is one of two experimental albums on Earhart’s last flight that I’ve reviewed this year. (The other being Laurie Anderson’s.) That’s weird! And, like Anderson’s album, it’s beautiful, haunting, sophisticated, and experimental. It also tours through a huge range of styles along the way, which gives it an extra layer of zip and interest.

Shigeto, Cherry Blossom Baby– Modern, but a feel for “classic” EDM, and a sure meld with hip hop.

Shovels & Rope, Something Is Working Up Above My Head– Kind of country, kind of growling garage rock. I loved the last album by this South Carolina duo, and I like this one too!

Silverbacks, Easy Being a Winner– If there’s one decade that defines the sound of Easy Being a Winner, it’s the 1970s. “We realized it was probably the closest thing we were going to make to a classic ‘70s rock album, with the big guitars and the big drum sounds,” This sounds a bit like that. It sounds a bit like post-punk. Like art rock. Like seventies americana sometimes. With lovely accents, and arch lyrics. There’s a lot here to love!

Skeggs, Pacific Highway Music– A surprise! (That apparently is all the notes I took during my initial listen. We’ll both have to listen again and see what the surprise is!)

St. Lenox, Ten Modern American Work Songs– The orchestral flourishes, the dense wordplay, the driving music and vocals, the genuine import delivered with sincerity, exuberance, and humor. It’s all there, and if it doesn’t quite have the punch for me that Ten Songs of Worship and Praise for our Tumultuous Times did when it made it on to my best of 2021 list, that’s just affinity for subject matter.

Tank and the Bangas, The Heart, The Mind, The Soul– The spirit of neo-soul is alive here!

The Dare, What’s Wrong With New York?– Somebody has made heavy-drop EDM that time-warped to early 00s New York and channels the spirit of both the Strokes and LCD Soundsystem. It comes with just the right touches of sleaze, grit, and glitter, and it’s glorious. The Dare is apparently a producer in his twenties from L.A., but he’s got his finger on that era and other Coast for sure.

Thee Sacred Souls, Got a Story to Tell– Oh, these old-style grooves are warming my soul! Even the cover reminds me of an early seventies outing. retro and Latin Soul from San Diego. Some of these feel like they could legit could be outtakes from 70s Marvin Gaye sessions.

Tim Heidecker, Slipping Away– Subtler and more powerful than High School, my 2022 top pick from him, familiar, and challenging.

Tommy Richman, Coyote– What I read going in was, “Richman layers his dramatic falsetto over beats that nod to 1990s R&B, 1880s synth-pop, funk, and disco.’ And it is all true! Virginia-born L.A. based Richman started off as tik tok sensation, but this album shows that it’s for good reason. He knows his influences and works them in the best way to create a sound familiar, fun, and yet fresh.

Maybe

  • Akai Solo, DreamDropDragon– The stuttering beats, the harsh edge to the mix, and the hypnotic thump of the flow and mix all hit right. And scholarly musings on Freud and Jung’s dream interpretation theories thrown in!

  • Allegra Krieger, Art of the Unseen Infinity Machine– Oh my gosh, the smoothly languorous vocals, emotionally literate lyrics, and spot on melodies of this are on point! It’s a little one tone at times, but she’s got a good tone going.

  • Being Dead, EELS– Note, this is the album EELS by the Austin band Being Dead, and not an album titled being Dead by the band The Eels. It’s all very confusing, but also reverby, snarky, indie rock of the garage rock influence variety. So, naturally, I love it. The song “Rock n’ Roll Hurts” with top notch garage rock interspersed with peals of industrial noise and the band laughing gives you an idea of the tone of the whole.

  • Christian Lee Hutson, Paradise Pop. 10– It’s really beautiful, and well phrased. I am a little unsure of the mellowness of tone, but the lyrics and instrumentation are on point.

  • Common/Pete Rock, The Auditorium, Vol. 1– Now this is a classic hip hop flashback! Late 90s/early 00s of a certain NY conscious-adjacent but mainstream hip hop.

  • Dame Area, Toda la Verdad Sobre Dame Area– Hardcore? Industrial? Experimental Synthpop EDM? It’s not always the easiest listen, but consistently a fascination one from this group from the Barcelona dance underground scene.

  • Harmony, Gossip– The former Girlpool singer’s solo debut wants to rot your brain. It is, in many respects, insufferable. And so much nonstop fun!

  • Indi Star, eMotion Sick– I’m not really up on the world of actress/singer/Social Media Star/dancers, but apparently, she is one. What I am up on is sounds I like, and as contemporary pop-oriented with a smart independent point of view goes, this is a pretty good representation of it!

  • Jamie xx, In Waves– EDM with a point!

  • Jon Spencer, Sick of Being Sick!– Appropriately blistering proto-punk/garage rock sound from an established master at it. It’s not the newest take on things ever, but it feels fresh and alive.

  • Kate Bollinger, Songs From a Thousand Frames of Mind– There’s definitely a mood here- ethereal and slightly heliumated vocals, bright guitars with sweet melodies, hazy radio clips, birds singing in the background. This Virgina singer-songwriter has evoked a later day Laurel Canyon sound, and it’s a pleasing and buoyant listen from start to finish.

  • Kate Pierson, Radios and Rainbows– Even though she’s now more of a B-76 than a B-52 (see how clever I am?!?!?!) Kate Pierson hasn’t lost a step. You’ll hear the B-52s sound here, disco, political and social musing, and reflection on a life creatively lived. It’s really a pretty great outing and makes me realize that elder alt-80s is now a thing, just as elder-Classic Rock started to be in the eighties. Sometimes they still have something to say!

  • LL Cool J, The Force– The mélange of eras of hip hop is a little confusing, some of it almost feels like an affectation of the NY East Coast hip hop persona of the nineties. But it’s delivered so strongly and with such verve, both musically and vocally, that I can’t dismiss!

  • mediopicky, el precio de la yuca/Bexaco y rico– Es dificil. The crunching guitar and heavy dance music of the track tracks is great. The thirteen interspersed vocal skits in Spanish are more in Spanish than is easy for me to understand. And so it goes!

  • Miranda Lambert, Postcards From Texas– Sometimes cracklingly boisterous, sometimes lushly perfect, sometimes actually heart aching. Miranda Lambert has been one of my favorites from pop country in the last few years, and this ability to tap into pop and traditional form, with lyrical and vocal smoothness that doesn’t bleed out all sincerity is why. Is it an album for the ages? Maybe not. Is it the best pop country album of the year? Maybe!

  • Nick Lowe, Indoor Safari– Lowe and his sound have aged well. Which is not a surprise, as it was timeless to begin with- a hearkening back to fifties rock in a punk/new wave veneer. Not surprising or revelatory, but a darn solid listen.

  • Popstar Benny, Oasis– This had zip and occasionally even some zaniness to it!

Two more months to go! We can do it!

In Search of the 24 Best Albums of 2024: August

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Still still on about this!

Once upon a time there was a boy named Chris. Having spent years backfilling on decades gone past, in 2021 he set out on a quest to catch up on newer music. He listened to the critics choices for the best albums of the 2010s, and picked his favorites. He did the same for 2020, picking his top 20 from the critics most highly rated albums. And he listened to new releases monthly in 2021, eventually picking the 21 best albums of 2021. That was so much fun he decided to do it again in 2022 and 2023, listening each month and picking out the 22 best albums of 2022 and the 23 best albums of 2023. He grew up to be me!

There are links to the albums in the posts cited above, but if you’d like a one-stop playlist, I’ve got that set up in YouTube Music:

Here are the previous editions of the 2024 monthly review if you missed them:

( January February March April May June/July )

A quick word on the “yes” and “maybe” categories I’ve sorted things into, before we get going with the latest:

Yes– This isn’t a guarantee, but it represents the albums that, upon first listen, I think could definitely be in the running for best of the year.

Maybe– These albums have something to recommend them, but also something that gives me pause. I’m putting them in their own category, because I have found “maybes” sometimes linger and eventually become “yeses”.

And now, on with my top picks from 114 August 2024 new releases that I listened to!

Amy Rigby, Hang in There With Me– Opens with a genuinely rollicking acoustic number on turning sixty. Then gets a little psychedelic/electronic on a song about being too old to be so crazy, a nineties electric guitar number on being Dubuque’s answer to Bob Dylan. And so on throughout a literate, personality filled, musical inventive and playful whirl. She is a singer-songwriter who has been making sharp indie albums since the nineties, and I am glad to meet her!

Beabadoobee, This Is How Tomorrow Moves– Rick Rubin Produced! Achingly poppy! Nineties guitar rocky and yet dancy!

Charley Crockett, Visions of Dallas– Sequel to his album from earlier in the year, which I loved, and this one is equally as good, and maybe even better with its segues into blues and folk without ever losing that country feeling.

Deerhoof, The Free Triple Live Album– Deerhoof is not only one of my favorite bands of the millennium so far, a great purveyor of challenging but melodic post-rock, they are also a really great live band. So, when I heard they’d put out this live album from a 2024 performance in Berlin, I had high hopes. They were not disappointed!

Doechii, Alligator Bites Never Heal– This mixtape is so full of swagger, disarming honesty, humor, raunch, beautiful liquid flow, and 80s-early 00s elements in the mix. 26-year-old L.A-based Florida native Doechii is now on my watch list!

Hamish Hawk, A Firmer Hand– In subject primarily deals with his relationships with men; not just lovers, but friends, family, and the questionable rogues his career has thrown at him. Literate and emotionally complex lyrics, doleful vocals (in the best way), 80s synth atmospherics, post-punk moodiness.

Heems, Veena– On his new solo album, the Queens rapper tackles his struggles with addiction and intergenerational trauma. His signature mix of smart-dumb humor is still there, but it no longer feels like a security blanket. Playing off his Indian heritage both in terms of lyrical material and aspects of the mix, and with significant nods to the Jay-Z school of hip hop. All around a delight.

Killer Mike, Michael & the Mighty Midnight Revival, Songs for Sinners and Saints– Backed by his live band, the rapper remixes and elaborates the autobiographical themes and gospel uplift of 2023’s Michael. And oh man is it a beautiful thing. There’s old school grooves, gospel, the best of 00s and 10s hip-hop, with an imaginative and variable mix, and engaging flow.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Flight b741– Oh, such a beautiful mid-sixties garage/psyche rock sound, with all the zany range those bands had. Listening to this, it’s almost impossible to believe it isn’t from a Nuggets compilation.

Laurie Anderson, Amelia– Laurie Anderson in high from delivering a spooky and well-delivered concept album based on Amelia Earhart’s final flight? Count me in! No, really. The best albums are often a journey, and this one literally does that.

Meshell Ndegeocello, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin– I knew between the subject matter and the artist that this would be worthy of my attention. But also, some trepidation, because artistic ambition and creative excellence don’t always make for good listening. So, what a pleasant outcome to find that the jazz inspirations, African polyrhythms, acoustic interludes, and more ethereal passages, combined with the poetry and inspiration of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde and Meshell Ndegeocello’s own clarity of vision and plethora of well-deployed production flourishes, is both arresting and a musically engaging listen from start to finish.

MJ Lenderman, Manning Fireworks– Country feelings, shredding guitar, reverb, tremolo, and songs about trying to pick up on nurse nuns and feeling like a jerk about it. At times here he feels almost like a second coming of Neil Young. I’m not sure there’s anything here not to like!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Wild God– Power, glory, orchestral flourish, evocative poetic lyrics and an honest to goodness story arc. You can’t shake the feeling that it’s charged with meaning, and it’s a compelling listen. This is a later-day master at work.

Osees, Sorcs 80– A sound palette driven by synths, percussion, and a horn section. In press materials, John Dwyer described the record as “sort of vacuous and maybe a bit sci-fi in sound,” and, more specifically, “sort of a Dexy’s Midnight Runners meets Von LMO meets the Flesh Eaters meets the Screamers kinda punk junk.” I could not tell you what it meant, but I can tell you that on their 28th album this San Francisco indie stalwart is making a discordant, distorted, noisy mélange as interesting and edgy as anything they’ve ever done.

Sabrina Carpenter, Short n’ Sweet– Solid and fun EDM, and her snark and personality, delivered with such melodic perfection, take it to another level. At times she’s Taylor Swift but raunchier, Lana Del Ray but for a dance floor.

Shelby Lynne, Consequences of the Crown– A kind of Dusty in Memphis, Nashville Sound, rambling talk poems with a pop edm shine. It’s impossible to turn it off!

SOPHIE, SOPHIE– final album released posthumously after transgressive artist’s 2021 accidental death, it’s beautifully hyper-poppy and avant garde, sometimes on the same damn song

Spirit of the Beehive, You’ll Have to Lose Something– Impossible melodies meets hyperpop production overdrive and occasional dissonance on an electronic music outing that is consistently interesting and arresting.

Swami & the Bed of Nails, All of this Awaits You– Different people deal with grief in diverse ways. Swami John Reis, the punk firebrand who founded Rocket from the Crypt, was a close friend of guitarist Rick Froberg, one of his musical partners in the band Hot Snakes. Reis was writing material in anticipation of recording a new Hot Snakes album when Froberg died unexpectedly on June 20, 2023. powered by that, and his impeccable sense for no nonsense hard rock/garage/punk, this album roars out of the gate. Plus, there’s a song about ketchup, mustard, and relish. How can you go wrong?

The Bug Club, On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System– Imagine an excellent album had vanished somewhere in-between the late punk of the Jam and Wire, and the early post-punk of Gang of Four and Magazine and had just now re-appeared through a time-space warp as the product of a Welsh indie band formed in 2016. I can’t explain how or why, but that’s what this feels like. And I love it!

X, Smoke and Fiction– Always beware of a golden oldie who says this is their “last album”. (But also, how weird is it that X is now a golden oldie?) That being said, there’s no fat here- 10 songs in 28 minutes, and they sound tight, blistering, and incisive as ever, with just enough of a touch of world weary looking back. If this is the last album, it’s a darn good one!

Maybe

  • Bill Wyman, Drive My Car– Nothing that new here, but it is a relaxed, masterful outing. I’d listen to it again!

  • Charlie Overbey, In Good Company– He’s a Punk Rock Spy in the Halls of Honkytonk Heaven! So says the opening track, and a fair bit of it sounds exactly like that would make you think, with detours into outlaw country and Springsteen territory. It’s a little too slickly produced-feeling, but I appreciate the territory it explores.

  • Duke Robillard, Roll With Me– Back in 2005, Duke Robillard conceived a maximalist studio album based on jump, Chicago blues, and NOLA-styled R&B. Given commitments to appearing alongside Ronnie Earl on The Duke Meets the Earl and to participate in the New Guitar Summit sessions with J. Geils and Gerry Beaudoin, he abandoned work on the date but never forgot about the album. Robillard’s Roll with Me is his 37th album and the program consists of four Robillard originals and eight covers of classic R&B and blues tunes associated with Fats Domino, Gatemouth Brown, Big Joe Turner, Howling Wolf, and Muddy Waters. I’m darn glad he made it!

  • Fontaines D.C., Romance– Their usual excellent, and it even has a through line!

  • Ka, The Thief Next to Jesus– The mix and flow is appropriately dark and heavy, and the sampling unsettling for the sober meditations on the role of religion in inspiring the African American community but also in perpetuating oppression. It may be a little narrow tonally, but it’s worthy, both in and of itself, and as a memorial to the artist for his final album.)

  • Nikka Costa, Dirty Disco– As an 80s Electro fan I am flipping over this. Such an excellent spare EDM funk dance set! By its nature, a little derivative? Sure, but come on, the quality!

  • Pom Poko, Champion– Of all the quirky melodic and yet anarchic Scandinavian post-rock bands that are near and dear to my heart, Pom Poko is one of them. No, but really, there are several in this category! And this Norwegian band named for Japanese anime that reminds me of Deerhoof is a good one.

  • Sarah Kinsley, Escaper– I almost feel like I’m listening to a later-day Kate Bush. As such, it does sound a little derivative, but so well done and such a great derivation. I also think she may have accidentally invented it herself. She herself cites Chopin, Clara Schumann, Beethoven, Debussy, Ravel, Lorde, Fleetwood Mac, ABBA, Sting, the Eagles, Foreigner and Madonna as influences. Put that in a blender and mix it!

  • The Shivas, Can’t Stop Coming Around– Fuzzy garage rock with a sixties reverb/doo-wop/girl group feeling, and more than occasional flashes of the Velvet Underground. So, by definition, not the newest things, and there are other contemporary bands that mine this same vein (hello Raveonettes!) but my goodness does this Portland band do it well!

  • The Smashing Pumpkins, Aghori Mhori Mei– Musically it’s a kind of flashback, for sure, though a flashback to an era I love. But it doesn’t stop there, there is something spare and bright to many of the arrangements here. And lyrically and vocally, there is a sense here of the passage of time, of elegy. I’m not sure if it adds up, but this is what one might wish for from a Pumpkin become Tribal elder.

  • The Softies, Bed I Made– first new album in over two decades, beloved Pacific Northwest twee pop duo, and it is perfectly done sweet melodic pop rock. It does get a little same-same, but it is so well done I almost don’t mind.

  • Tinashe, Quantum Baby– Really about as pleasing a set of sophisticated enough but fun enough mid-tempo dance music as one could ask for. It’s not profound or groundbreaking, but I’ve been a Tinashe fan for a while now, and I’m going to continue!

  • Why?, The Well I Fell Into– Is this a slower introspective indie rock outing a la Elliot Smith? Or an electronic remix album? Or chilly art rock? I’d accept all of these as an answer. And in fact, Wikipedia subsequently informed me, “Why? (styled as WHY?) is an American alternative hip hop and indie rock band. The band was founded in 2004 by Cincinnati rapper and singer Yoni Wolf, who had been using Why? as his stage name since 1997.” Whatever it is that’s going on here, I kinda like it!

Onward to September/October!

In Search of the 24 Best Albums of 2024: June/July

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Your first question might be: You’re still on about this?!?!?! Well yes, I am. Mostly because I really want to do the 2000-2024 top albums project, and part of the path to getting there is to finish 2024. The good news is I’m further along than might immediately be apparent, because I’ve actually completed all the listening through October releases, and am pretty far along on November. I’ve even re-listened to my January-October picks, and made my definite contender shortlist from them. If nothing else, this month-long surgical convalescence is a good chance to get this going again!

So, to continue… Once upon a time there was a guy named Chris. Having spent years backfilling on decades gone past, in 2021 he set out on a quest to catch up on newer music. He listened to the critics choices for the best albums of the 2010s, and picked his favorites. He did the same for 2020, picking his top 20 from the critics most highly rated albums. And he listened to new releases monthly in 2021, eventually picking the 21 best albums of 2021. That was so much fun he decided to do it again in 2022 and 2023, listening each month and picking out the 22 best albums of 2022 and the 23 best albums of 2023. He is me!

There are links to the albums in the posts cited above, but if you’d like a one-stop playlist, I’ve got that set up in YouTube Music:

Here are the previous editions of the 2024 monthly review if you missed them:

( January February March April May)

A quick word on the “yes” and “maybe” categories I’ve sorted things into, before we get going with the latest:

Yes– This isn’t a guarantee, but it represents the albums that, upon first listen, I think could definitely be in the running for best of the year.

Maybe– These albums have something to recommend them, but also something that gives me pause. I’m putting them in their own category, because I have found “maybes” sometimes linger and eventually become “yeses”.

Now let’s get on with my top picks from 187 June-July 2024 new releases that I listened to!

Ani DiFranco, Unprecedented Sh!t– While there are no bad Ani DiFranco artists, many artists have an earlier that is so strong it outshines later. But there’s something stripped down, quirky, and often electronically surprising and grating here. May I be doing as well on my 21st studio album!

Bilal/Common/G/Questlove, Live at Glasshaus– A multimodal, multi-artistic hip hop, soul, and jazz symphony of voices. Those four master musicians form Bilal’s backing on the December 2023 date documented here, recorded in front of a small Brooklyn crowd. It feels like a masterclass from everyone involved.

Blk Odyssey, 1-800 Fantasy– The Texan-based artist and producer adds that the concept record draws “inspiration from early 2000s pop/rock” and “new wave hip hop, funk, and soul”— I hear the early 00s hip hop based on eighties soul and electro vibe, and nineties neo-soul. A few too many modern flourishes sometimes, but I dig this. It even has an honest to goodness through story that explores issues of fantasy versus reality!

Bones Owens, Love Out of Lemons– All Music Guide says, “Nashville session and touring guitarist and songwriter-for-hire who makes eclectic alternative roots rock as a solo artist” and suggests similarities to Jack White and Nathaniel Rateliffe. That sounds about right! I actually had a little more of a Black keys vibe (don’t tell Jack), but yes, an indie garage rock take on heartland music. It’s rollicking good fun!

Boulevards, Carolina Funk: Barn Burner on Tobacco Road– I don’t seem to have written down any notes during my actual listening session! I’m thinking based on the band and the title that there’s something rootsy and yet funkily furious going on here? We will both just have to listen to it (me apparently again) and agree how much we like it.

Childish Gambino, Bando Stone and the New World– Indie pop and soul with tinges of AM radio gold? Left field hip hop? Edgy angry post rock? Hyperpop EDM? Yes, all this and more. And if the sprawl makes it a little incoherent, it’s also testament to the talent. He says this is his last Childish Gambino album. I hope it’s not his last album period, because what he can do is amazing.

Crack Cloud, Red Mile– It opens with a stirring off kilter post-rockish anthem dedicated to the crack of life. From there it reminds me a little of the Fall, and the snottier and weirder side of 80s college rock. This Canadian collective is bridging punk, indie rock, and synth pop in a musically and lyrically challenging way, and I’m here for it!

Dave Alvin/Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Texicali– Two generations of country/americana greats playing music that is musically, vocally, and lyrically flawless in how authentic it sounds.

Earth Tongue, Great Haunting– Imagine if the Melvins (or even the original Black Sabbath lineup) were a female-led group. If this idea makes you darkly smile, this album from New Zealand duo Earth Tongue is for you!

Eminem, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)– Eminem has played the game before of distinguishing between his Slim Shady and Marshall personalities and using the later to tongue in cheek disclaim the words and deeds of the former. This go around though is fueled by the two decades between his biggest albums and his current sober family patriarch life, the genuine tension between who he is and who he was. So, there’s a lot of traction from playing with how the two might relate to each other, livened by his still peerless flow and great production.

Jack White, No Name– This wouldn’t be one of the best White Stripes albums (for one thing, no nice session drummer is going to match Meg at her best), but it would be a solidly good one. And, much as I appreciate his creative wanderings, seeing Jack White fully back in this vein is very good indeed.

Johnny Blue Skies/Sturgill Simpson, Passage du Desir– It doesn’t necessarily sound the same album to album (this one is more Nashville sound of the seventies, for example), but darned if Sturgill Simpson aks Johnny Blue Skies isn’t making some of the best straight up country out there.

Kaytranada, Timeless– Well this is a fun jaunt through EDM informed by down-tempo R&B, house, and hip hop!

Lalah Hathaway, VANTABLACK– High level consciousness, classic soul sounds, jazz inflections, hip hop that feels old school as well. Eulaulah Donyll “Lalah” Hathaway is an American singer-songwriter. She is the first-born daughter of musician and soul singer Donny Hathaway. She rose to fame in the 1990s and all these deep roots show here.

Left Lane Cruiser, Bayport BBQ Blues– A raw hillbilly punk-blues band that roars like a tweaking modal chainsaw. Amen, and it’s beautiful! Indiana band

Lupe Fiasco, Samurai– A nice old school groove, reminds me of the g-funk flow of the nineties, and 00s beats a la J Dilla.

New York, Rapstar*– 26-year-old Estonian performance artist Gretchen Lawrence and 24-year-old Senegalese American visual artist and model Coumba Samba have made something glitchy, dis-jointed, and yet oddly catchy as it ratchets back and forth from abstract to disarmingly direct.

Oneida, Expensive Air– This is amazing! Is it metal? Sonic Youth style punk overload? Experimental electronic music? All of these and more, and whatever it is, the Brooklyn experimental rock band is making mighty fine noise!

Peggy Gou, I Hear You– I mean come on- such a fun high energy club mix, with a sly wit and genuine meaning behind it. And it has the influence of House, and there are 303s in the mix. How am I not going to love it? South Korean DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Berlin, Germany

Perennial, Art History– Come on! Call and response 60s/garage punk with enough of a pop edge, intriguing electronic flourishes, and properly crunching guitar chords. When this sound is done right, it’s always fresh, and this Connecticut band brings it!

Polo Perks/FearDorian/AyooLii, A Dog’s Chance– Eclectic and melody-heavy sampling, fun and varied lyrics, shuffling and atypical flow and beats in something that’s between hip hop and hyperpop. It’s a reminder of how much music can still surprise and delight when it gets beyond genre tropes. Atlanta producer-rapper FearDorian first asked to join the NYC hip-hop collective Surf Gang six years ago began sending beats to one of the collective’s OG members, Polo Perks union with Milwaukee low-end upstart AyooLii.

The Decembrists, As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again– This feels and sounds like folk standards meets indie rock. The ending 19-minute track nearly lost me in the middle, but the haunting first part, and the stadium ending pulled it out. A little too slickly produced, but the muse they’re going for here is strongly channeled.

The Felice Brothers, Valley of Abandoned Songs– I liked the last Felice Brothers album, and this one has a lot of that same sparkle. Americana and 70s AM radio musical chops, and lyrics that much more than occasionally remind me of Dylan, particularly of the Basement Tapes era.

The Raveonettes, Sing– Man, they still sound as good today as they did when I first heard them in 2003. And for this album they’ve chosen classic covers that exquisitely well fit their distortion and reverb-heavy growling and sparkly wall of sound talents.

Zach Bryan, The Great American Bar Scene– Spoken-word rambling and slow but punchy cowboy chords painting emotional stories. It often reminds me of early Dylan and Springsteen (who also guests on a track), sometimes like more contemporary indie rock in an Americana vein. This fifth album from Oklahoma-born singer-songwriter Bryan is definitely worth another listen!

Maybe

  • Billie Strings, Live, Vol. 1– All right, look, it gets very jammy (it is a live album, after all), and it lasts almost 80 minutes. I would think, on the face of it, that it would get to be too much for me at some point. Except, Billy Strings is amazing live, and his bridge of bluegrass and psyched-out rock lends itself so well to live jams. With each new track, after I would start to waver there was a moment when I realized, “okay, I’m 100% on board for this ride now, let’s see what the next one does.” So, I think that’s the very definition of “maybe”.

  • Bloomsday, Heart of the Artichoke– Beautiful harmonies and fuzzy guitars.

  • Goat Girl, Below the Waste– This has many of the charms of their last album, which I loved. The moody atmospherics, surging chords, darkly sweet melodies. Is it better than the last time? Maybe not? But does it need to be?

  • John Cale, POPtical Illusion– A times at abstract, but always interesting, this album simultaneously recalls the best of his early seventies albums and modern electronic music. It feels weirdly contemporary in that way. Not bad for an 83-year-old legend! It’s on the longer side for how atmospheric it sometimes gets, but fascinating!

  • Marcel Wave, Something Looming– Classic rockier side of British new wave vibes. I love the understated vocals, guitar-edged melodies, and wordy articulate lyrics. The post-punk revival can be kind of chilly and self-limiting, but I couldn’t deny the charm of this London band.

  • Marina Allen, Eight Pointed Star– Nice spare arrangement, highly literate lyrics. Definitely in vein, but it ventures from mellow folky to more poppy energetic often enough, with lush production extras. Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter part of Laurel Canyon revival.

  • Meghan Trainor, Timeless– Meghan Trainor doing neo-standards with bossa nova club beats? About self-love and celebrating having bass? It turns out I have almost infinite capacity to welcome another album of this!

  • Odie Leigh, Carrier Pigeon– A literate wordy folky thing, with both nice turns of phrase and disarming frankness. And, though it is mostly more acoustic/folk feeling, there are surging rock and pop moments too. This is a very promising debut!

  • Remi Wolf, Big ideas– I have really been looking forward to reviewing this! Her album Juno was one of my favorites from 2022, and I’ve been low-key fascinated with her ever since. I would say this album is not *quite* as coherent as that one, by virtue of experimental forays into directions like an Amy Winehouse style ballad, a pseudo-Nirvana song, and a downright confessional piece. But it’s never less than very well done, and at its best is knockout good.

  • Rope Sect, Estrangement– 80s alt on the goth side vocals, driving drums and reverb-laden guitars. Also, for band whose Facebook page description is “Seclusion. Renunciation of society. A dance on ruins. A doomsday revel. Naked spite. Eleutheromania.”, surprisingly energetic and even uplifting. (Not a June album, but from Spin’s articreview’s list of best albums of the year so far. Gotta check it!)

  • Rosie Tucker, Utopia Now!– I would have loved the honey pop, hooky rock, and sharp-witted lyricism of this to death in the nineties! Still pretty smitten by it, but the hour is growing late… Still, I would hear more from this Los Angeles singer-songwriter… (Not a June album, but from Paste’s list of best albums of the year so far. Gotta check it!)

  • This is Lorelei, Box for Buddy, Box for Star– Wordy pop rock reminding me of the Gram Parsons school of crunching chords and lyrics.

  • Tommy McLain, Moving to Heaven– Veteran swamp pop musician becomes Catholic lay minister and produces a gospel-tinged album loaded with a kind of lo fi swamp sound gleeful in its naivete and heavy with reverb. Yes please!

  • Various Artists, Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty– I am a sucker for tribute albums, but they can go awry. The fastest route to that is overly faithful covers, and while the covers here are faithful, they do take a variety of musical approaches within the genre and feel true to the spirit of the songs. The second way these things can most often go awry is bland coverers, and these are big country names, but from several generations, and many of them left of field. Could it be a year’s best? I don’t know, but I want to hear it again!

And We are back! August/September to follow…

In Search of the 24 Best Albums of 2024: May

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Once upon a time there was a guy named Chris. Having spent years backfilling on decades gone past, in 2021 he set out on a quest to catch up on newer music. He listened to the critics choices for the best albums of the 2010s, and picked his favorites. He did the same for 2020, picking his top 20 from the critics most highly rated albums. And he listened to new releases monthly in 2021, eventually picking the 21 best albums of 2021. That was so much fun he decided to do it again in 2022 and 2023, listening each month and picking out the 22 best albums of 2022 and the 23 best albums of 2023. He is me!

There are links to the albums in the posts cited above, but if you’d like a one-stop playlist, I’ve got that set up in YouTube Music:

Also, do you want to know a secret? The review is still going on! Here are the previous editions of the 2024 monthly review if you missed them:

( January February March April )

A quick word on the “yes” and “maybe” categories I’ve sorted things into, before we get going with the latest:

Yes– This isn’t a guarantee, but it represents the albums that, upon first listen, I think could definitely be in the running for best of the year.

Maybe– These albums have something to recommend them, but also something that gives me pause. I’m putting them in their own category, because I have found “maybes” sometimes linger and eventually become “yeses”.

Now let’s get on with my top picks from 124 May new releases that I listened to!

Adeem the Artist, Anniversary– It’s country, but with a sheen reminiscent of 70s AM radio, and just the tiniest hit of electronic as well. Mostly, it’s good hooks, lyrical clarity, and emotional honesty. And songs describing same sex love, advocating for trans rights, mentioning Palestine, and discussing the historic legacy of racism tell you how out of country mainstream this North Carolina by way of New York artist is.

Amen Dunes, Death Jokes– Combining a sometimes-dark psychedelia with electronic music in a very evocative way. And sure enough, AMG subsequently told me that, “The project of Damon McMahon, Amen Dunes unites folk, psych-rock, electronic, and industrial elements into an intuitive, searching whole. ” Along the way there are samples from Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, and J Dilla, which gives you an idea of the scope of what the music and lyrics are going for here.

Anastasia Coope, Darning Woman– The vocal and musical loops and layers, the echoes, the stark voice, intelligent lyrics, and hint of the unearthly all steal one’s breath. Whatever it is this 21-year-old musician and painter is doing, it’s both beautiful and unsettling.

Belly, 96 Miles From Bethlehem– Spare and powerful hip hop based on the unrest in Palestine from this Palestinian-Canadian artist. In many ways, it sounds like a typical (though very good) socially conscious hip hop album in production and themes- family, faith, odes to one’s love. But in this case the family is in Palestine, the faith is Islam, and the lost love is Gaza and the West Bank. Powerful and timely.

Blitzen Trapper, 100’s of 1000’s, Millions of Billions– Warm, fuzzy pop with elements of singer-songwriter, psychedelia, and Neil Young-style ragged edges. Altogether, it brings to mind 70s AM radio, which is not to say that this Portland, Oregon band doesn’t feel fresh and vital. Well done Portland, Oregon band!

Crimeapple & Big Ghost Ltd, Bazuko– This collaboration between Colombian-born Crimeapple and anonymous blogger, hip hop writer and music producer Big Ghost is from another era, in several ways. Its stark mix, flow, and stories of the street feel like they belong to the late 90s/early 00s, and the subject matter largely revolves around the crack epidemic of the eighties. It doesn’t feel lost in time for all this, though, more like a great album that we all somehow missed.

F.U.N, Slum Village– J Dilla’s old group demonstrating that their excellence never was all about J Dilla. The mix is varied, metallic and urgent, the flow dynamic, and the lyrics interesting and positive. The whole thing feels redolent of the best of 00s hip hop. This Detroit group has been through a lot of changes, but they still know how to bring it!

Girl and Girl, Call a Doctor– Well, holy shit. The opening reminds me of one of Lou Reed’s story-poem songs. What follows carries on with that literate wordiness and uncomfortable emotional openness and marries it with a spare nervy rock as it sketches out the inner life of a troubled youth confronting some sort of medical crisis. An actual story arc! Delivered with equal helpings of wryness and sincerity. I’m keeping my eye on this Australian band!

Gyasi, Rock’N Roll Swordfight– Rock ‘n’ Roll Swordfight is a live album stitched together from three concerts in 2023. You could be forgiven for thinking that the concerts were by some kind of amalgam of Led Zeppelin and glam-era superstars like T Rex and David Bowie, which is to say, it is delightfully over the top rock in the best seventies fashion. Gyasi has me sold!

Hannah Vu, Romanticism– This second album from Los Angeles-based songwriter Hannah Vu certainly lives up to the title, it’s full of lush romanticism, though it serves equal parts darkness and difficulty with the sweetness. AKA it tells the truth about romance in a way that’s musically and lyrically compelling.

Ibibio Sound Machine, Pull the Rope– Such a joyful mix of multiple different strains of dance/electronic music! Fronted by London-born Nigerian singer Eno Williams, it is not a surprise that it’s redolent with Eurodance and Afrobeat. But what is, if not a surprise, a welcome find, is its knack for musical and lyrical hooks amidst the energy and fun.

King Hannah, Big Swimmer– Between hypnotically plainspoken vocals, poetic lyrics, and slow spare arrangements with a distorted feedback-laden guitar wall in the background, the songs here are arresting. This second album from singer Hannah Merrick has a lot to recommend it.

La Luz, News of the Universe– I’ve liked other things by La Luz, and how could I not? Their synthesis of surf music, reverb-drenched garage rock, and the sixties girl group sound is fuzzy, warm, and dark all at the same time. On this album the Seattle band is in top form, and the songs are informed by lead songwriter Shana Cleveland’s experience with cancer. It all adds up to a deep and powerful album.

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Lenny Kravitz, Blue Electric Light– Lenny Kravitz is in fine form here- 90s guitar god rock, funk, R&B, and electronic dance music all get their due, and never feel like they don’t fit together. It may not be especially new or different per his usual, but there’s genuine tenderness and vulnerability here, and musically it can’t be faulted.

Of Montreal, Lady on the Cusp– It starts off with a song declaring rock is dead, then transitions into another lamenting being too depressed to f&^%, and goes on in this lyrical arch vein supported by weary vocals, and a lively off kilter musical mix bridging the asynchronity of post-rock, impossibly stirring melodies, and the kaleidoscope mix style of electronic. Now I don’t want rock to be dead, but this 19th studio album from this Athens GA band at least gives us some hope that, if so, something interesting might replace it.

Shannon and the Clams, The Moon is in the Wrong Place– Shannon and the Clams have always been a great band, and I really love their retro garage rock/60s girl group feeling. But there’s no denying their music here is lent a terrible additional power and focus through lead singer Shannon Shaw’s wrestling with the untimely passing of her partner.

Shellac, To All Trains– While it definitely gets an added layer of import from being Steve Albini’s final album, honestly it does very well on its own even without that. This reminds me of the playful, more inventive side of 80s hardcore, and is full of clever surprises. All the way around, a fitting epitaph for one of noise rock’s greatest champions.

Sisso & Maiko, Singeli Ya Maajabu– Hello glitchy beats, over the top low-bit video game sound effects, and afro-pop exuberance! Tanzanian producer Sisso’s eponymous Dar es Salaam studio represents the forefront of the East African singeli genre. Singeli’s relentless speeds of over 200 BPM provide ample room for experimentation, which is taken further by collaboration with avant garde keyboardist Maiko. This is how the new is born.

The Courettes, Hold On, We’re Comin’– Potent garage punk combo featuring a Brazilian guitarist, a Danish drummer, and lots of cool rock & roll stomp. Amen. And an incredible set of covers ranging from early sixties pop rock to the New York Dolls to Taylor Swift. Really. Nothing but solid fun!

Willie Nelson, The Border– His 75th Album! And my goodness he’s in fine form here. A border patrol agent, a dream about being Hank Williams’s guitar, a passel of sweet love songs. Not thematic unity, but it sounds and feels like it belongs together and has a powerful intro and a sweet outro.

Willow, Empathogen– Willow has ended up on my Honorable mention list in two previous years, and for good reason- her music is inventive, brash and as smart as it is fun. She’s pushing her previous boundaries again here, with a glitchy electronic approach joined to something more like jazz, torch songs, and R&B crooning.

Young Jesus, The Fool– It feels like an anguished indie folk acoustic kind of thing, but sharper and darker than the typical outing in that oeuvre, and with surprising (and haunting, unsettling) music and vocal effects along the way. This Chicago band currently located in L.A. is on my watchlist now!

Maybe

  • Arab Strap, I’m Totally Fine With It Don’t Give a Fuck Anymore– As Days Get Dark was on my Honorable Mention list for 2021, and this has the same things going for it- heavy shimmering wall of guitar, sometimes even slightly upbeat lyrics, and a vocal and lyrical commitment to tales of burned out bitter darkness. It doesn’t sound as fresh to me now, but it’s still a compelling combination.

  • Axolotes Mexicanos, 4ever– Of all the female lead vocalist poppy melodic fun Mexican punk bands, Axolotes Mexicanos are my favorite! Okay, they’re also the only example I know of, but I always love this band when it’s American, so I can’t help loving the Mexican version too, even if it isn’t the newest thing in the world.

  • Connie Smith, Love, Prison, Wisdom and Heartaches– Well my, my, my! Between her personal bona-fides- she was a hit-charting country singer in the 60s and 70s- and a smart selection of classics from a variety of country greats, this whole album sounds like a bygone school of country music living again. And if it’s frozen in time in that sense, it is a reminder of how grand a time that was for the genre.

  • Crumbs, You’re Just Jealous– I loved this album in the eighties! It was just the right amount of pop new wave edge on genuine punk exuberance. Now, my sources tell me this was recorded by a quartet from Leeds in 2024, so I’m not sure how I loved it in the eighties. But I know I did!

  • Dehd, Poetry– Is there room in your heart for slightly snotty, straightforwardly rocking indie rock? Then this Chicago trio might be for you! It’s solidly fun and energetic the whole way through.

  • Dua Lipa, Radical Optimism– Not quite the consistent level and energy of her 2020 big splash album, but her charms are still high, and the tracks never work less than well.

  • I.Jordan, I Am Jordan– This album brings in elements of dubstep, old school house, acid house, and is musically pure fun. As an often-instrumental piece I’m not sure if it gets in its hooks enough to be great, but it’s solidly good!

  • Joywave, Permanent Pleasure– Since my dear wife hails from Rochester NY, I always pay special attention when I run across a band from there. And this album is worth the attention- it has a bit of sleazy garage rock revival sound, a bit of EDM production/disco revival feel, a bit of 00s indie, and a bit of hazy and heavy guitar seventies. The bits all add up to a solidly enjoyable album, even if it isn’t the freshest or newest thing ever.

  • Mandy, Lawn Girl– This album has an appealing combination of 90s inspirations including grunge-pop, noise rock, and more introspective indie rock. It’s not a new thing under the sun, but it’s like sinking into a warm bath of 90s guitar-powered alt rock.

  • Mo Troper, Svengali– They were on my list in 2021, and darned if they’re not threatening to do it again! The music here is so sweetly melodic and delivered with such sincerity. Along the way you’ll hear sixties chiming, jangly eighties alt, and even electronic, and it all fits together. It would have been straight to yes, but I’m not sure about the multi-part abstract theme it ends with.

  • Pokey LaFarge, Rhumba Country– Pokey LaFarge’s blend of old school rock, swing, and dash of polka and rumba had me won over on his 2021 album In the Blossom of Their Shade, and I’m feeling it again here. Inherently not new, but damn well done and with a sincerity that makes it sound fresh.

  • Rapsody, Please Don’t Cry– Her album Eve was one of my favorites, and the poetry and power on display in that album is present here, with an extra bit of verve via wrestling with increased fame. The production tends a little often toward contemporary hip hop standard though, and the guest appearances don’t always serve the flow.

  • Shaboozey, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going– There’s something to be said for traditionalism in country music, I certainly am a fan. But there is also, in any genre, a need for artists who seek the new, and push themselves to evolve. Musician, producer, and film maker Shaboozey has my attention with this take on country informed by EDM and hip-hop. It sometimes is a little too production slick for my tastes, but also holds the various sources in reverence, and I’m a sucker for the beats and minor chords.

  • Slash, Orgy of the Damned– You throw together Slash, covers of blues and soul standards, and an array of well-chosen and well deployed guests, and you’ll get me to go along! It’s not blazingly original, but solid good fun at what it does.

  • Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross, Challengers (Original Score)– The Nine Inch Nails’ veteran provided a techno-driven score to Luca Guadagnino’s love-triangle tennis dramedy, and producer Atticus Ross then remixed it into a pumping megamix. I expect soundtracks to be abstract and orchestral, and also long- both are not true here! It has moments like that, but is a fine and dynamic electronic mix, which feels not surprisingly like the nineties. And even seems to tell a story!

  • Various Artists, I Saw the TV Glow (Original Soundtrack)– In keeping with the film’s surreal take on nostalgia, a crew of indie pop musician, including Caroline Polachek, Bartees Strange, Jay Som, yeul pay tribute to the ’90s. Between the varied choices, their individual excellence, and how well they understood the assignment, the results are pretty excellent, and cohesive without being all the same. I have some concerns about length and relative fizzling out toward the end, but still, a solid contender.

  • Yaya Bey, Ten Fold– The range is a little narrow in the neo-soul direction, but there are places it gets livened, and regardless her voice and sharp lyrical wit are pure gold.

And there we are, May out. June should follow soon! And, since I’m about to start listening to September, July and August review notes are complete and those postings should be out before too long…

In Search of the 24 Best Albums of 2024: April

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This is the true story of someone who set out in 2021 to catch up on newer music. They listened to the critics choices for the best albums of the 2010s, and picked their favorites. They did the same for 2020, picking their top 20 from the critics most highly rated albums. And they listened to new releases monthly in 2021, eventually picking the 21 best albums of 2021. That was so much fun they decided to do it again in 2022 and 2023, listening each month and picking out the 22 best albums of 2022 and the 23 best albums of 2023. That someone is me!

There are links to the albums in the posts cited above, but if you’d like a one-stop playlist, I’ve got that set up in Spotify for the 2021 top 21 and the 2022 top 22, and in YouTube Music for the 23 Best Albums of 2023. (Eventually I’ll move the 2021 and 2022 lists to YouTube, because artists are asking us to avoid Spotify for very good reasons.)

Okay, so now you know the story Well guess what? It’s still going on! Here are the previous editions of the 2024 monthly review if you missed them:

( January February March )

A quick word on the “yes” and “maybe” categories I’ve sorted things into, before we get going with the latest:

Yes– This isn’t a guarantee, but it represents the albums that, upon first listen, I think could definitely be in the running for best of the year.

Maybe– These albums have something to recommend them, but also something that gives me pause. I’m putting them in their own category, because I have found “maybes” sometimes linger and eventually become “yeses”.

Now let’s get on with my top picks from 91 new releases that I listened to from April!

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Anders Osborne, Picasso’s Villa– I was inclined by the Scandinavian first name and the album title to expect something arty and abstruse. What we actually have here is an album with elements of alt country, heartland rock, and guitar squelching southern rock, with great hooks and sharp storytelling lyrics. And in fact, Anders Osborne is a Swedish blues singer and guitarist who move to New Orleans in the ’90s. The move must have been pretty successful, because he sounds like the real deal here!

Bad Bad Hats, Bad Bad Hats– High energy, redolent of new wave and power pop, but still sounding very fresh. Lead singer Kerry Alexander also often gets soulful crooning in along the way, and suitable lyrical snark, as befits her avowed love of the Breeders. This album from a Minneapolis trio is pleasing from start to finish.

Caleb Landry Jones, Hey Gary, Hey Dawn– This is really something! I started off getting strong grunge vibes, then it reminded me heavily of seventies Bowie, and along the way had Beatlesque moments of psychedelia. Texas native, actor, and musician Caleb Landry Jones has apparently been releasing this kind of music since 2020, and I’m happy to finally make his acquaintance!

Cuffed Up, All You Got– Some crunching garage rock, with just the right touch of sleazy boredom. This Los Angeles post-punk trio’s debut is a testament to their years of striving to break through, and a promise of things to come.

English Teacher, This Could Be Texas– There’s others treading this spare, post-punk yet classical, lyrically literate, vocally stripped-down UK path (think Yard Act, tuneyards, anything with yard in it). But darned if this Leeds four-piece band fronted by the hypnotic while understated Lily Fontaine it isn’t affecting!

Eris Drew, Raving Disco Breaks, Vol II– The title “Raving” gives you a clue that this is a kind of late nineties throwback. It also happens to be a dynamic propulsive DJ set with fantastic energy and interesting musical references- 80s hip-hop, nineties dance music, and classic rock including Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin all make it into the mix. DJ/Producer Drew was on my honorable mention list for Quivering in Time in 2021, and this definitely makes it on my preliminary list for this year.

Gangrene, Heads I Win, Tails You Lose– On their fourth collaborative album, rapper-producers Oh No and the Alchemist have created a stark mix, full of the dynamism of their dueling flow, great and varied sampling including aspects of the last 25 years of hip-hop, and a general feeling of import to both the light and heavy moments.

Ian Hunter, Defiance, Pt 2: Fiction– Classic rock still sometimes makes contemporary albums. And those albums are often quite good! That is certainly the case here, with former Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter. Technically, he bridges both classic rock and proto-punk (or at least glam), and that’s richly on display here, with co-contributors from all over the map- Brian May, the members of Cheap Trick, Jeff Beck, members of the Foo Fighters and Stone Temple Pilots, Lucinda Williams and others all show up to help Hunter do a fine rocking romp.

Judith Hill, Letters From a Black Widow– Trading on her not so flattering nickname from having worked with Prince and Michael Jackson just before their deaths, Judith Hill comes in with a powerful album that shows why everyone wanted to work with her. She rocks, she sings the blues, she gets funky, she does straight-up R&B, she pulls out the tricks of electronic dance music. Sometimes all on the same track! Her album Baby I’m Hollywood was on my list for 2021, and I think she may do it again!

Loren Kramar, Glovemaker– He’s a slut for his dreams! So the Southern California native Loren Kramar himself says in a song from his debut album. This album lives in the realms of cinematic soundtracks, theater music, torch songs, and power ballads, and it does so spectacularly. Musically hitting on track after track and powered lyrically by a wicked wit.

LustSickPuppy, Carousel From Hell– Absolutely blistering electronic hyperpop. At times impossibly sweet, at times grating, at times just overwhelming in the number of things its simultaneously tossing out. Omasyn Hayes, also known professionally as LustSickPuppy, is an American rapper, painter, make-up artist, and model and here takes us to a realm where glitchy distorted EDM, hip hop, and noise rock are one and the same.

Lynks, Abomination– This is great! On one level, an EDM album full of contemporary production tricks, but also nods to low-bit video-game sounds of the 90s and 80s synth pop. There’s the cleverness of arrangement, but what really puts it over the top are the approachable vocals and snark-filled lyrics that explore multiple aspects of the UK gay male experience.

Maggie Rogers, Don’t Forget Me– Smart lyrics and impeccable vocals that know how to work with propulsive music. She brings together strains of 90s female singer songwriter, storytelling country, and some folktronic production. Maryland native Rogers is deservedly getting widespread acclaim.

Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department– Say what you want, girl can write and deliver a song! In all senses of that- musical composition, intelligent lyrics, sure vocal phrasing. There’s nothing here that’s less than flawless contemporary pop, technically. And smart, and I don’t fault women for talking about their emotional lives or call them self-indulgent for doing what every singer-songwriter in the seventies did, so I have no complaints. Though I did sneak off after her closing song “Clara Bow” to listen to the entirely different 50 Foot Wave song “Clara Bow”.

The Pernice Brothers, Who Will You Believe– Per AMG, the Pernice Brothers is an, “… outlet for acclaimed indie misanthrope Joe Pernice, whose music ranges from hushed to orchestrated pop.” And indeed, there is a bitter edge to the songs here, but also weary wistfulness and wisdom. Joe Pernice has been doing this since the late nineties, and apparently wisdom does come with age! So too does a fine burnishing of production touches that bring to mind seventies singer-songwriters and AM radio. Musically, it’s like flowing gold, with a dark emotional core.

The Reds, Pinks & Purples, Unwishing Well– The fuzzy echoing guitars, melancholy nostalgia, and world-weary vocals and lyrics do not fail. This is maybe the fourth Reds, Pinks and Purples album I’ve listened to too since I started this a few years ago, and they always get under my skin.

Maybe

  • Blue Bendy, So Medieval– The sprightliness of Magnetic Fields, the wordy poetic jerkiness of Modern Lovers, off kilter experimental arrangements which bring in the electronic and the psychedelic. I’m not entirely sure what this London band is up to, but it is intriguing!

  • BMX Bandits, Dreamers on the Run– Twee lives with these founders of the anorak movement. It even reminds me at times of dancehall music and the sillier side of the Beatles. It may be a little too sweet to take sometimes, but it is compelling.

  • Cloud Nothings, Final Summer– Many of the same charms of their release The Shadow I Remember which was on my honorable mention list for 2021: “Crunchy feedbacky rock with dreamy choral background, lyrical and vocal power, great way with melody-It’s really pretty delightful”? I agree with myself, again!

  • Drahla, angeltape– Jerky rhythms, grating edges, and something like a hardcore art approach, given just enough accessibility by lead singer Lucile Brown’s arch vocals. I wonder if it’s a little too grating for repeated listening, but this Leeds band is definitely up to something interesting!

  • Gesaffelstein, GAMMA– Now this is a great DJ mix! Dark and decadent in that European way, driving and serrated, but dynamic and energetic. At times it sounds very contemporary, at other times redolent of nineties techno, which I appreciate. I’m not sure if it has enough musical or thematic through line to totally succeed as an album, but I appreciate what this 39-year-old French DJ is doing.

  • Jane Weaver, Love In Constant Spectacle– an explorer of krautrock and modern psychedelia, interspersed with deft, arty touches of synth pop. A spare European electronica, ghostly vocals, synth pop, and occasionally blistering fuzzed out guitar. It sometimes feels like it’s going to lull out, but overall, it adds up to something that compels when listening, and stays with you after.

  • Louisa Stancioff, When We Were Looking– Her beautiful ethereal voice and an acoustic setting that is spare and yet uplifting power something that is somehow happy and sad at the same time. It may be a little narrow in musical and vocal tone, but with literate lyrics to add to the musical and vocal palette, Maine native Louisa Stancioff has produced an arresting debut album.

  • Old 97’s, American Primitive– Muscular chords and fuzzy guitar power this mix of country-influenced heartland rock. It’s got hooks, a way with melody, and an anthemic feeling. It got a little wobbly at the end by veering hard back into their more usual country and ending in a Spanish-themed instrumental, which were both out of tune with the main body, but there’s not a bad song in the mix.

  • Parsnip, Behold– A rocking off kilter girl group with wacky sonic flourishes is always going to be near and dear to my heart. In the case of this Australian quartet, they have a solid base of stripped-down pop punk (think early Go-Gos), sixties pop, and hints of indie electronic and psychedelic garage rock. It’s not the most original thing ever, but it’s fun, surprising, and it moves!

  • Sinkane, We Belong– Ahmed Gallab, the Sudanese-born, New York-based multi-instrumentalist behind Sinkane. The music here effortlessly mixes so many varieties of Black music- 80s R&B, afrobeat, disco, electro. It sounds a little too smoothly produced for my taste, but every track is buoyant musically and lyrically explores the pain and celebration of being Black in the global diaspora.

  • Spooner Oldham/Texas, The Muscle Shoals Sessions– What do you get when you put together a great Scottish pop band, a storied southern rock keyboardist, the venerable Muscle Shoals recording studio, and smartly chosen covers? Just about the best set of blue-eyed soul one could ask for! It’s not breaking new ground, but it is solidly well done.

  • T Bone Burnett, The Other Side– The tone is relaxed, the musical accompaniment restrained (despite a top-flight tier of guest musicians). But that’s just what this past master wanted for his first new album in 16 years. And if it feels a little low-key as a result, his songwriting, as always, is exquisite.

  • The Libertines, All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade– Starts with a high energy hand-clappy piece redolent of the poppier side of UK original punk and alt eighties, and it stays in that mode. The music is maximum fun, and the lyrics are wordy and literate. The Libertines, of course, have been playing in this realm throughout the millennium. But, if it feels in a sense formulaic, it’s good clean fun the whole way though.

  • The Sunburned Hand of the Man, Nimbus– It opens with a trippy spoken word straight from the early seventies, and then follows up with instrumental and vocal-led pieces that are also joyously retro while the spoken word gets trippier and edgier, and more experimental music edges in. It turns out this Boston-based collective has been doing exploring the edges since the nineties. It’s weird and doesn’t entirely fir together, but that is kind of the point!

  • The Zutons, The Big Decider– Their album Who Killed the Zutons was one of my favorites of the 00s and I haven’t heard from them for a while, so I was curious. It turns out they still have a knack for hooky indie rock that sounds sincere but also hits the right pop notes. Not out of the park, but very solid. Well done lads!

  • X Ambassadors, Townie– Coming from an indie rock kind of place, but informed equally by EDM and heartland rock. The tone is uneven, but this Brooklyn band returns to their upstate New York roots here, and their heartfelt tales of hardscrabble small-town life resonate and ring true.

And there we are, April out sever days before the end of August, The catch-up continues!