The 12 Best Albums of 2024
The 12 Best Albums of 2024
Yes, I know: yet another one of these... But I've always meant to do one; it's just that various other musical projects plus personal stuff always seems to get in the way. However, this year - inspired by my good friend Eric Smith, who has just published his 33rd (!) consecutive end of year list - I decided to finally knuckle down, make a concerted effort to actually listen to a range of current releases and then write something that made sense of it all.
Before I start, anyone who is aware, via my Hall of Fantastically Fine Things blog, of my recent conversion to the cult of Guided By Voices might be puzzled by the absence of Strut Of Kings. The explanation is simple: I haven't listened to it yet. Once I'd got as far as English Little League, I decided to curtail listening beyond that until my blog reached that point (I'm currently only a couple of albums away).
I had aimed to make this a nice round ten, but although I managed to crop my original list of 18 down a little, I simply didn't have the heart to omit any more once I'd got to a dozen. Also, although I'm never shy of ranking things (see the blogs on Dinosaur Jr, The Wedding Present and Cinerama), I thought that these LPs were too disparate for that approach. So here they are in alphabetical order...
BIG|BRAVE - A Chaos of Flowers
A Canadian trio of whom I had been unaware of until a couple of months ago, they have their roots in acoustic folk, but have expanded their sound to encompass elements of drone, doom metal and post-rock. It's a heady blend of influences - you can hear traces of Earth, Cowboy Junkies, Sunn O))), late-period Low and Godspeed You! Black Emperor in the mix - but one that is forged into a unique sound.
Formidably heavy but also delicately poetic (opener 'i felt a funeral', for example, was inspired by Emily Dickinson's 'I felt a Funeral, in my Brain'), the manner in which Robin Wattie's vocal cut through the deeply reverberating fuzz is intensely dramatic but never overwrought.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Nathan Salsburg, Tyler Trotter – Hear The Children Sing The Evidence
Two 20 minute covers of an 90s emo/post-hardcore band might not sound like the most appetising prospect, but this is an astonishing piece of work. Inspired by Nathan Salsburg's efforts to sing his daughter to sleep, the trio transform two songs by Lungfish ('Hear The Children Sing' and 'The Evidence') into a pair of hypnotic, utterly immersive drones. Time stands still: just let it wash over you.
Buggy Jive - Hurry Up Please It’s Time
It's the mark of a great artist when the furrow that they plough is one that you do not, in general, care for especially - but they captivate you nonetheless.
I have Eric Smith to thank for turning me onto soul rock singer-songwriter (as he describes himself) Bryan Thomas aka Buggy Jive. Put simply, he sounds a lot like Prince. Now, I'm fond of a few Prince songs, but the whole soul-funk thing is not really my cup of tea. But BJ transcends the genre he chooses to operate in because, simply, his songs are damn good. Taut, sparse, impeccably crafted and full of humour, his albums are ideal 'it's Friday and I just knocked off work' fare.
Hurry Up Please It’s Time might not quite hit the heights of The Ghost of Alexander (for me, his finest work so far), but it's still full of lean, captivating grooves and melodies, the highlight of which is the bizarre, darkly funny 'Alien Robot Love Song About Love' ('It’s her genes that make her jeans look like that').
I have to thank Gavin Miller of worriedaboutsatan for bringing this to my attention. Fugazi do Krautrock: it's breathlessly urgent and brimming with angsty energy. The two lengthy pieces, 'Predissolve' and 'Fade To Ground', are particularly impressive.
The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
In general, I'm more of a 'you can make a great compilation' sort of a guy as far as The Cure are concerned, rather than a truly committed fan. But there's no denying the sweeping, lofty majesty of Songs of a Lost World. There's an appealing sense of nonchalance about it: this is what we do, and we have honed it to a fine art. Fragile, epic, and moving, especially in the expansive finale of 'Endsong'.
Kim Gordon - The Collective
There are probably a whole host of contemporary musical and lyrical references that sailed right over my head here, but this collection of sharp, jagged outbursts is not dependent on context. Not only is it enjoyably full of anxiety and menace, there's a sense of control and power. Kim is not to be f*cked with, and she wants you to know it.
Moin - You Never End
I have endlessly championed Moin's previous albums (Moot! and Paste) in the past and see no reason to stop now. You Never End is a little more subtle and considered than its predecessors, but is no less potent. The spare, brittle rhythms, crunching bursts of guitar and enigmatic vocal samples are still present, but there's a heightened sense of cold detachement. This doesn't make it arid or sterile: rather, it comes across as a controlled, often disdainful and angry reflection on contemporary life.
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