And we’re back…AGAIN! Last year I left you all saying I felt like 2024 will present itself some absolute future classics, and while I still think that is accurate I lean to think it’s accurate re: female pop stars that rose like a phoenix this year and released some absolute classics late ‘23 into ‘24. Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, Gracie Abrams just to name a few, and then the wild hysteria that soldiered on through ‘24 with The Eras Tour. I don’t get it, I don’t want to get it, but i’m happy for those of you that do and worship the demigod.
And now, a word from our sponsors (AFKA “a few reminders”). Albums from December 2023 - November 2024 are considered across all genres. EPs are 3-6 songs, and can be considered in the mix for the Top 20 if they’re that strong/impactful. Overall, 1773 (385 more than last year) albums were tracked throughout the year, each one being listened to/sampled, and then tracked with a personal rating system. Of those 1773 albums, 70 (down from 87 last year) made the cut to be considered ‘best of the best’, and then trimmed down to the 20 + 5 you see below. Someone asked me last year how I have time to listen and catalog all these albums. Quick answer: most get about 5-10 minutes of listening and we move on cause they ain’t good or worth the time in our book. The good ones get much longer of a consideration/listen. Puttin’ in the work so you don’t have to! Playlist on spotify is here and at the bottom.
2023 Biggest Misses of the Year: Inhaler Cuts & Bruises, Jess Williamson Time Ain’t Accidental, FIZZ The Secret to Life, Wednesday Rat Saw God
EPs of the Year: Yannis & The Yaw Lagos Paris London, thebandfriday Take Flight, Hazlett Goodbye To The Valley Low Side B, Good Neighbours Self-Titled, verygentley DUMBA$$ MODE
Most Anticipated Artists / Artists to Watch 2025: Doechii. ‘25 is her year, mark it down. Ray Vaughn, Jonah Kagen, Bladee, Mon Rovîa, Soft Launch, Sam Barber. For the record… last years artist to watch section slayed. We called both the Chappell Roan explosion and the Oasis reunion. You are welcome, and we’ll never hit that level of success again.
25. Nilüfer Yanya – My Method Actor
RIYL: Soccer Mommy, Beach Bunny, Sade if Sade went indie rock
Standout Track(s): “Like I Say" (I Runaway)”, “Mutations”
Rare that I agree with Pitchfork, but the pub gave this album a 8.5 and proclaimed the UK singers (who spent ‘22 opening up for Adele during her Hyde Park shows) third album as “…an album that has the feel of everyday luxury, a collection of songs so assured that they feel like they always existed, and Yanya simply plucked them out of the air to give to you.” What I love about this album is the boldness that it flows with. “Like I Say” has a very Breeders 90 feel/bass line, “Binding” throws it back to everything we love and loved about Sade, and “Made of Memory” rolls over a twang-soaked guitar plus electronics and beats while proclaiming “I’ll dig my own grave… I don’t give a fuck.” It’s a mature, chill album, and a massive step for the London based indie darling. (Label: Ninja Tune)
24. Quarters of Change – Portraits
RIYL: The Wombats, The Backseat Lovers, Mt. Joy
Standout Track(s): “Hollywood Baby”, “What I Wanted”
The old adage that “rock is dead” is one that I subscribed to for a long while during the latter part of the 2010s when guitar-forward music was reserved for acoustic folk guitars and indie rock bands blending guitars and electronics, or your metal/hard rock bands for the 80s/90s. We lost the sweet spot of radio rock that we had 1991 - 2005. However, the last few years we’ve seen a nice resurgence of rock-skewing, guitar-forward bands coming back.
Quarters of Change sophomore album feels like it could fit in the early 2000s nicely. While some of the songs like “Turn It Away” have a more simple approach and less guitar, the vibe is overshadowed by songs like “What I Wanted”, the Royal Blood-esque “Tightrope”, and the Wombats + U2 influenced “Hollywood Baby” that carry some awesome guitar work that really makes this album shine. A personal favorite of mine is “Time Before Mourning”, one of the slower songs that starts slow and picks up as the song goes along, with the last 1:30 being particularly strong. The band, coming off their first sold-out US tour earlier this year, are on the upward trajectory and are primed to be spinning on Alt Nation in 2025. (Label: 300 Entertainment / Elektra)
23. Cunningham Bird – Self-Titled
RIYL: Andrew Bird, Madison Cunningham, Fleetwood Mac
Standout Track(s): “Crying in the Night”, “Without a Leg to Stand On”
What do you get when you take one of the most overlooked (and, at times, shit on) albums in the history of albums and rework the songs to fit a gypsy folk sound that you’ve nurtured and owned for almost two decades now? You get Andrew Bird and blossoming folkster Madison Cunningham covering 1973’s Buckingham Nicks by Fleetwood greats/lovers/haters Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. While the current duo of Cunningham and Bird kept a lot of similar elements, they did so with the guise of also making it unique, fresh, and their own. It’s a good homage to the Fleetwood duo who have wanted no contact with each other since their ugly and (very) public breakup three years after the initial albums release. Hopefully for Bird, who has been married since 2010, working with Madison is just a joyful, artistic outlet and no bad blood spills over in a twist of evil fate. (Label: Verve / Wegawam)
22. The Dead Tongues – Body of Light
RIYL: Hiss Golden Messenger, Strand of Oaks, Nathaniel Rateliff
Standout Track(s): “Dirt For a Dying Sun”, “Wolves”
Before we dive into this album, I wanna give a shout to Psychic Hotline, the newish indie label started by Sylvan Esso. They label two albums that appear on my list this year, and a hat tip goes their direction for signing some awesome acts and letting them do what they do best: write good music unabridged.
With that out of the way, lets chat Ryan Gustafson, aka The Dead Tongues. The songwriter is one of the most primitive voices in current folk music, with a distinct voice, lyrical style, and one of the most idiosyncratic souls out there today. Think Jared Leto looks/style but a lot less Hollywood, more dust and empathy, and more desert than glam. Gustafson's sixth album, Body of Light, stands out in many ways, but one is the collaboration surrounding the work. What is really a double album (the second part, I Am A Cloud, was released two months after), Gustafson collabed with folks who have credits to their name including Wye Oak, The Mountain Goats, and Bon Iver just to name a few. The work The Dead Tongues and Co. put into this/these discs is transcendent, honest, and magnetic. Think early Ryan Adams, Phosphorescent, and even more rootsy My Morning Jacket at times. These works are perfect companions for a drive through end of summertime Palm Springs or a sunsetting early fall night in Yucca Valley, and “Dirt For a Dying Sun” is certified as one of my favorite songs of the year, likely a top 3. Enjoy six minutes of just getting lost in harmonica, reverb-drenched (pedal steel) guitar, and a cinematic soundscape. (Label: Psychic Hotline)
21. Nolea – The Past Five Years
RIYL: Copeland, Paper Route, Mae
Standout Track(s): “Room”, “Shadow”
If Copeland made an album in 2024 but wanted it to truly sound like something that fits in their catalog circa 2005/2006 during the In Motion / Eat, Sleep, Repeat era, this would be it. Nolea is very clear about the influence Aaron Marsh and band has had on them, and it’s reflected through this album. A melancholy journey through life, love, loss, and, truly, the last five years of singer Tyler Sapp’s life. With its atmospheric and layered undertones, this is truly an album that is deeply introspective from a rising act in the indie rock scene that will have fans of Copeland, Mae, and that early 00s emo indie pop loving life and feeling like a teenager again. (Label: Independent)
20. Dreamer Boy – LONESTAR
RIYL: Gus Dapperton, boy pablo, Wallows
Standout Track(s): “Baby Blue”, “Summer in America”
The journey of Dreamer Boy is a funny one. Born in the PNW, raised in Waco, Texas, and currently residing in Nashville - the soundscape of Zachary Taylor is a fun mix of every location he has ever called home. “Summer in America”, the album opener, sounds like a nod to the Barsuk era of Death Cab or the indietronic noise of pioneer Her Space Holiday. “Heartbreaker” is more of a east coast sound, while “Twin Flame” has more of that Texas twang offset by the feature of alt-country riser Goldie Boutilier. The beauty in the album at its true core is that it remains linear throughout with that bedroom pop sound, even with the different backdrops. When you listen to Dreamer sing, it’s always going to be that same bedroom pop/alt vibe in his vocals. Highlight of the album for me is the indie-forward “Baby Blue”. I mean… hello saxophone solo! That is a great place to start for those unfamiliar, and from there, go back up to the start and take the trip from coast to coast. (Label: Virgin / UMG)
19. Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future
RIYL: The Tallest Man on Earth, Faye Webster, Mitski
Standout Track(s): “Real House”, “Fool”
Bingo card 2024 did not originally have “indie folk kaleidoscopic rocker whose band was nominated for best alternative album at the ‘23 Grammys releasing a no-filler country folk solo album that, in turn, would be nommed for best folk album at the ‘25 Grammys”. Lenker is one of the leading artists in the genre, and one that no one (really) knows about or, frankly, talks about enough. Bright Future is a masterclass in blending every stripped sound she wants to capture into one with a wildly moving, introspective and raw album that would make Sufjan and Bon Iver pissed they didn’t harness their old, familiar sound back even further and make a song like “No Machine”, which sounds like it was recorded in one take on a reel-to-reel recorder. While the twang is limited, the folk/americana is strong and for anyone in search of a songwriter in the prime of their craft, this is an album to latch onto. (Label: 4AD)
18. Jeremiah Fraites – Piano Piano 2
RIYL: Foreign Fields, The Lumineers, Bon Iver if he made a completely instrumental piano album
Standout Track(s): “No Surprises (feat. Gregory Alan Isakov)”, “Extra Lives”
Jeremiah Fraites, better known as a co-founder of The Lumineers, dropped a brilliant instrumental piano album titled Piano Piano back in 2021, teamed up with minimalist ambient composer Taylor Deupree in ‘23 for reworked version of Deupree’s 2006 Northern, and turned around in March of this year to release Piano Piano 2, the second album in his collection outside of The Lumineers.
If you’re going in expecting Lumineers but without vocals, you will be disappointed. If you’re going in looking for an album to carry you through the winter and to play during the holidays as background fodder that, at times, you’ll get lost in… you’ll love this album. Highlights include the one song with vocals supplied by Gregory Alan Isakov, but all around it’s a welcome step outside of the ramblings of Lumineers and a beautiful music escape… an album for artists by an artist. This will likely be your moms favorite album, and one that can give her street cred with the other moms because she knows who The Lumineers are now by proxy. (Label: Dualtone)
17. The Lemon Twigs – A Dream Is All We Know
RIYL: Dr. Dog, Foxygen, Big Star
Standout Track(s): “How Can I Love Her More?”, “A Dream Is All I Know”
The Lemon Twigs are the epitome of the new retro. One of the most modern takes of The Beach Boys and The Beatles one can find that is not a tribute act. The brothers, whose dad Ronnie D’Addario found small notoriety with The Clancy Brothers/Tommy Makem + numerous TV theme songs and jingles and live performance appearances with numerous artists, truly feel like they were transported from the sixties and dropped in the 2020s, and at a perfectly cool time where yesteryear is cool again.
A Dream Is All We Know is packed full of retro vibes, guitar work, vocal interplay and songwriting. The tapestry of “classic” just shines through and through, time and time again. In a world where optimism sometimes seems so hard to have, the cheery throwback is just what the world needs for a 34 minute moment in time. If there is one album on this list that is easily digestible for almost anyone, i’d say The Lemon Twigs record is it. I look forward to the next Licorice Pizza coming-of-age period piece that grasps onto The Lemon Twigs. (Label: Captured Tracks)
16. 21 Savage – american dream
RIYL: Metro Boomin, Future, Gunna
Standout Track(s): “letter to my brudda”, “red sky”
Overall, a fairly strong year for hip hop. While we’re on the genre, let me go ahead and spoil for ya… no Kendrick. While I thoroughly enjoy the K Dot album, I have not had enough time with it to truly surpass any of these albums.
However, i’ve had since the second week of January to dive into american dream. As Q1/Q2 faded, this album was a clear cut top 10. As more stuff came out, the album drifted into the shadows on the rankings but it’s still one that I revisited often. For those who have followed my lists of years past, you know that the mainstream rap sound is usually not one I latch onto. However, Savage went bonkers on this album. While “redrum” was the clear hit of the album (and it is…. hellava banger), it was the emotionally driven and very introspective “letter to my brudda” that really pulled in on the album.
Father God, forgive me for my sins
Take the mask off all my enemies that's out here actin' like my friends
Did some shit I'm prayin' I never gotta do again
I put blood, sweat, and tears inside this win
For anyone who likes hip hop but want some sort of sustenance in what you listen to, there is a nice blend of mainstream and raw here to keep everyone happy, and Savage remains one of the power players in popular hip hop. (Label: Epic / Slaughter Gang)
15. HYUKOH & 落日飛車 Sunset Rollercoaster – AAA
RIYL: Khruangbin, MuteMath, The War on Drugs
Standout Track(s): “Y”, “Kite War”, “Young Man”
Maybe the most unexpected album of 2024 for me and for this list. If you’d of asked me earlier in the year if i’d ever have a Taiwanese indie synth band and/or a South Korean indie rock band on my list at any point in my lifetime, i’d of likely said “no” with at least a 75% certainty. Then, one day in late August/September, I got a message that said “you have got to give this a listen, it’s fantastic!”. So I did. And then I did again. And then put it down for a few weeks and then revisited it again and, on take three, it hit like a ton of bricks.
The two acts, HYUKOH and Sunset Rollercoaster, basically came together to collab to produce what became AAA, a fantastically done indie banger that borders somewhere on psychedelic soul of Khruangbin, “wall of sound” immersive technique that we see in bands like The War on Drugs or MuteMath, some indie/alt rock influence spanning from Radiohead to Real Estate and The Naked and the Famous, and some raw slide guitar essence and chilled artistry imparting moods of Wilco and Beach House. Yes… that is a lot, but this eight song masterpiece, clocking in at 40 minutes, covers the spectrum of all things great.
Still not convinced? Listen to “Y” with a good pair of headphones or while driving on a open highway at night and tell me that your local public radio station like KXT in Dallas or KEXP in Seattle wouldn’t be all over this if only they knew. Even the collectives single “Young Man”, could be in any indie movie made in 2025. Listen and listen closely when I say this… this is a must check. Come back this time next year, and i’m likely singing the praises of this album still and owning up to the fact it should have been wayyyyy higher. Yes, it’s that good. (Label: DOOROODOOROO / YG PLUS)
14. Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us
RIYL: Phoenix, Passion Pit, Grizzly Bear
Standout Track(s):”Ice Cream Piano”, “Gen-X Cops”, “Hope”
My relationship with Vampire Weekend is a very love/hate. At its strongest I admire and see the beauty in the art that Mr. Rashida Jones, Baio, and Tomson pump out. It’s truly a genre and sound of its own that is often imitated but never duplicated to the level of greatness. At the hate of it all is that, while groundbreaking in its own rite, it can sometimes be very plug and play and a long continuation of the same thing. 2019s Father of the Bride felt very much like that… a cookie cutter attempt. Whereas Modern Vampires and everything prior was just unique, new, and fresh for the time and place.
Maybe I contradict myself a bit here, but Only God feels like a return to Self-Titled & Contra at its best. Is there an “A Punk” on there? No. But is “Ice Cream Piano” vintage VW? Absolutely. And what they do with “Hope” is just magical. The album, inspired by the 20th century New York aesthetic, has seen love from NME to Stereogum, and has found its way on album of the year lists for The New Yorker, Paste, Pitchfork, and many others. For a band that seems to be back in full swing after their six year hiatus leading up to 2019 (which saw key player Rostam leave the band and a lot of the members take on side/personal projects). Rostam (briefly) returned to produce and help write “The Surfer” on this album, and the band seems to be hitting their stride again as a three-piece and carrying on their neo-chamber indie sound into a new generation. Welcome back officially, VW. Keep doing your thing, and the masses will continue to listen. (Label: Columbia)
13. Phoebe Go – Marmalade
RIYL: Middle Kids, Holly Humberstone, The Japanese House
Standout Track(s): “Something You Were Trying To Say”, “Rainbow Hotel”, “Stupid”
Aussie darling Phoebe Lou, known for her time as a front-woman of early/mid 2010s triple j darlings Snakadaktal, dropped her first solo album after a beautifully done 2022 EP, Player. Marmalade comes in as a carefree listen, a reminder of a past with the hope of a new future. At its core, it’s a breakup album full of heartbreak. It’s soft, it’s emotional, it’s moving. If I had to dig at one thing, there are moments (like in the title track) where I feel like her soft vocals hold the song back where she could really go boygenius. on it and wail the vocals to give the listener a more true feeling. But even with its minimal flaws, it’s a shimmering gem in the alt-pop spectrum that is filled with wonderful women doing wonderful work from sea to sea. Tag teaming with one of Charli XCXs engineers, the album is polished yet keeps a keen understanding of vulnerability shining through.
I asked my wife at one point last month when I knew this album was going to be on my list if it was wrong for me to label this album as “evermore if TS didn’t have a million dollar writers, wasn’t a global superstar, and if she learned to stop being a whiney bad boyfriend decision gal [different word was used] who wanted to write folksy indie pop music in a cabin, but a cabin that happens to be in Tasmania”. I never really got a definitive answer, likely a battle better left untouched on her side of things, but I really cannot think of a better way to describe Marmalade for the uninitiated. (Label: Independent)
12. Everything Everything – Mountainhead
RIYL: Foals, The Vaccines, Bombay Bicycle Club
Standout Track(s): “The End of the contender”, “Cold Reactor”, “R U Happy?”
Have you ever wondered what rock music sounds like when its made by someone who is infatuated with everything from Chernobyl to capitalism to adhering to a zeitgeist outlook? Enter: Everything Everything. The avant-garde, art pop math/prog rockers from Manchester who have been churning out solid albums for over a decade. I first caught wind of the band back in 2012 with their fantastic sophomore album Arc, and while some of the albums have been rather hit/miss for me in the years since, the bands seventh album really hit home with it’s futuristic view. The “no matter the cost” approach to songwriting that is layered with synths, effects, guitars, and a ridiculously catchy sound while maintaining the stamp of what makes Everything Everything… well, them. The falsetto, rapid-fire vocals, the glitchy pop, the psychobabble and complex textures. it’s all so unique and truly a band that is all but unmatched in their sound at the moment.
Of all the albums on the list, this will be the hardest for most to digest. It is certainly an acquired taste, but to get into Everything Everything is such a treat. View Mountainhead as almost a concept album (placed in a fictional world consumed with building a giant mountain) and it’s even more enjoyable . “Cold Reactor” is the jewel here, but “The End of a Contender”, “R U Happy?”, and “City Song” are musts. Dive in, have fun, take it for the folly it is, and have fun with something truly unique in the rock space. (Label: BMG UK)
11. Leon Bridges – Leon
RIYL: Bill Withers, Black Pumas, Curtis Harding
Standout Track(s): “That’s What I Love”, “Ain’t Got Nothing On You”, “Simplify”
Maybe one of the five coolest guys making music right now. Leon is just an absolute vibe. His sound has continued to evolve, from his debut album which leaned heavy into the retro soul and an album weirdly eloquent throwback to Sam Cooke. Good Thing built on that but saw Leon start building on his own sound and enter what Variety called a “variety pack of retro”. Third album was more progressive, and for this one, he really hits deep into his Texas roots. Leon dives more into a folk/country tilt, but at the same time provides a standard pattern for what we have come to expect from the Ft. Worth native. With support from his friend John Mayer, who helped write the first song on the album (which explores black identity and masculinity) and inspired some of the guitar sound on the album (see: Panther City), it’s still very futuristic soul forward.
Louisiana funk, second line jumpin'
Umbrellas in the air when there's no rainfall
Pretty girl from the barrio, her sweet kisses
I love how she flies like a bird
Start with the new single, “That’s What I Love”. Move to “Panther City” and then back to “Laredo” and go from there. If you are a native Texan missing home, Leon has you covered. If you have little-to-no connection to the Lone Star State, start from the top and work down. No matter your relation to Texas, this is a love letter for a city and state adored that anyone can get behind. (Label: Columbia)
10. NxWorries – Why Lawd?
RIYL: Anderson .Paak, Knxwledge, Durand Jones and the Indications
Standout Track(s): “KeepHer”, “FromHere”, “Daydreaming”
When I think about the most talented artists making music today, I might have to say it starts with the one and only Anderson .Paak. From solo work to fire features to work in Silk Sonic alongside Bruno Mars, .Paak can’t miss when new music arrives. So when his side project NxWorries with producer Knxwledge dropped their second album, it was a omen to be had that we, normal folks, continue to all be living in Anderson .Paak’s magic little world where sound comes easy and in color. We’ll look back on him years down the road as a savant of the modern game, and that is under-appreciated at the moment.
Why Lawd? itself is just a smooth California classic joint. A unique Cali smoothness and vibe, a throwback of sorts to the leisure lifestyle. Where a lot of .Paaks work skews pretty upbeat, funk-riddled, this one skews more doo-wop, gospel, lo-fi, and Viced. Yes, like being in a scene from 1985 and Miami Vice, with The Sylistics bumping in the passing Testarossas. Aside from the vibes, the album is spotted with guest surprises from Olympic mascot Snoop Dogg, Gap Band’s Charlie Wilson, and producer/artist wonder Thundercat. If you enjoy the works of Bruno or throwback soul sound, try this on for size. And, while we are here.. if you aren’t familiar with AP’s solo game, Malibu is a great place to start. (Label: Stones Throw)
09. Ducks Ltd. – Harm’s Way
RIYL: Dehd, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Hovvdy
Standout Track(s): “On Our Way To The Rave”, “Hollowed Out”, “Train Full of Gasoline”
Jangle pop is alive and well, and the surf vibes that Canadian duo Ducks Ltd. are putting out there are fantastic. If I can put on an album and be transported back to 2013 and living in Chicago, traveling to New York, riding subways, and being relatively carefree, i’ll take that sonic journey time and time again with a grin and pep in the step. “Train Full of Gasoline”, the bands third single that was released in January upon the drop day of the album, gets some help from members of fellow indie jingle rocker Ratboys (on both vocals and drums) and ever since the full release the album has been one that i’ve revisited not only on my own, but as a reminder months after the album released and the band did a live feature on/with indie radio legends KEXP. For me, the biggest thrill on the album is “On Our Way To The Rave”, which evokes memories of Tokyo Police Club and their frenetic, treble-laced guitar that would fit so perfectly on genre classics like Elephant Shell or the aforementioned VM masterpiece Contra, and if Myspace was still around would absolutely be my profile song.
If you want an upbeat, catchy, no frills album, hit play on this indie soundscape. Pitchfork even said “packing nine songs into 28 fat-free minutes, Ducks Ltd. approach Harm’s Way like a merciless personal trainer: After one mad dash ends, they permit nary a second of rest before initiating another.” I mean, I literally cannot put it into any better words. So.. we’ll end there and i’m on my way to the rave. (Label: Carpark)
08. Benny the Butcher – Summertime Butch
RIYL: Pusha T, Jay Rock, Wale
Standout Track(s): “Kitchen Table”, “Higher”, “The Warehouse 3”
Benny returns. What is this, third of fourth time on EOTY list? For Benny and the Black Soprano Family… i’m betting the farm time and time again. The recipe is relatively easy and straight with Benny… get a fire, jazz-type beat, talk about cookin’ and selling drugs. And while his pen to pad is relatively carbon copy from one album to the next, he continues to find small ways to evolve, improve, and impress. While The Plugs I Met will forever be Butchers pièce de résistance album in my book, Summertime Butch came along at a great time as a shithouse of a heatwave was hitting, and the most sane thing one could do was stay in, stay cool, and find their own entertainment. It was “Kitchen Table”, with iconic producer Harry Fraud, that pulled me in further, and then it was the full work that kept sticking around. Clocking in at just 24 minutes (10 songs) it’s a nice, bite size sample coming off of his Def Jam, highly pimped release Everybody Can’t Go back in January. And while that album didn’t make the list, i’d be wrong to say it wasn’t a solid listen. But if i’m picking one to spin over and over, give me Summmertime. If you need a safe place to start, try “The Blue Building” with a fantastic sample and feature from 22 year old soulful up-and-comer Amber Simone. (Label: Black Soprano Family)
07. Shawn Mendes – Shawn
RIYL: Harry Styles, Benson Boone, Lewis Capaldi
Standout Track(s): “Why Why Why”, “Heart of Gold”, “The Mountain”
I’m a man of varied taste. I think if you know me and my music prowess, that comes as zero surprise. But what may come as a surprise is my admiration for Shawn Mendes. Ever since “Mercy”, i’ve been on the Mendes bandwagon, championing him right behind Harry as the best male pop star in the game. With Shawn, Mendes takes an unbelievable step in his music. It’s raw, it’s haunting, and it’s truly heartbreaking. Addressing his struggles with fame, anxiety, heartbreak, and his own personal mistakes, the album really is a shot aiming to find beauty in grief. And, for that, i’ll always applaud a musician who channels into those emotions and gets raw to the bone. It’s not easy, but it usually sparks something beautiful.
Mendes unlocks a new avenue to his sound with a folkier sound than we’ve ever had before. With one of his closest comrades being John Mayer, this album has a lot of undertones of John, from the heavy blues tones to the song cadence, there are moments when listening to Shawn that I think i’m listening to a reprise of Born & Raised. While this doesn’t quite touch the level of Harry’s Fine Line for me (and likely for a lot of pop pundits who enjoy the genre wayyyy more than my toe dips from time to time), it’s admirable and an album that will get a lot of people through a lot. Coming off Shawn, i’ll be very intrigued to see what the next step is for his music and his sound. I have a notion that we’re on the doorstep of something truly career defining for an artist who has already had a lot of success at what he does. (Label: Island)
06. Bess Atwell – Light Sleeper
RIYL: Angie McMahon, Maggie Rogers, Lucius
Standout Track(s): “Release Myself”, “Sylvester”, “I Am Awake”
Light Sleeper? More like sleeper of the year nominee. But for real, if i’m being honest, my knowledge of Bess Atwell pre-Light Sleeper was relatively minimal. I remember listening to her ‘21 album that was getting some positive pop but shelving it relatively quickly without many revisits, but it wasn’t until one of my all time favorite musicians, Ben Howard, announced Bess as support for his IFWWW anniversary tour that I took a moment to check out her newest effort. By this time, it was September, temps were starting to dwindle and a crispness in the air was hitting. And it was at that perfect moment this perfect album came into focus and was a beautiful soundtrack for the season.
Light Sleeper is a sensational album top down. Produced by Aaron Dessner (known to my friends as co-founder of indie rock staples The National, but to some of you known as Taylor’s collaborator), the album is anything but light. With songs dealing with Atwell’s autism spectrum disorder diagnosis to her sisters high-needs autism (see: “The Weeping”) to her own relationship with antidepressants (see: “Light Sleeper” and “Spinning Sun”), to toxic relationships/breakups (“I Am Awake”), it’s a literal album that is sung in the form of a confessional session. Though, instead of a cleric on the other side of the latticed partition, we are the faithful ear that gets to listen. The poignancy of the album is striking, and a perfect album for the remainder of winter and onward for you sad cats. (Label: Real Kind)
05. Tyler, The Creator – CHROMAKOPIA
RIYL: Earl Sweatshirt, Odd Future, BROCKHAMPTON
Standout Track(s): “Hey Jane”, “Darling, I”, “St. Chroma”
In the year of our lord 2024, this was one of the biggest surprise to hit my ears. For years, I have been a self proclaimed Tyler anti-er. I respected the art, but just couldn’t get behind some of the rhetoric and homophobic word choices. I can somewhat respect (at arms reach) his choices and use of it for the sake of “art” and using it as a binder vs a divider (if you need more context, look up his NME article from 2017), but the value of work from top down on albums just hasn’t had that appeal to me. Though, for the sake of the work, the job, the career… I always listen at least once.
Enter: CHROMAKOPIA. The eighth studio album from Tyler, The Creator, now festival headliner and one of the biggest acts in hip hop modern music. I had heard from the underground prior to the release this was unlike anything Tyler had ventured into before, and this was an album that saw Tyler really pull back the veil and get very personal. From the moment I hit play on “St. Chroma”, I better understood those sentiments.
Tyler wrote this album from the heart, revisiting his youth growing up in Hawthorne, and reliving the wisdom once bestowed upon him from his mom. Speaking of, Bonita Smith, Tyler’s mom, helps narrate throughout the album, adding another personal touch. The album beautifully blends the roots of hip hop, jazz, and soul, but does it in a way that still makes the album feel very Tyler. For an artist who is always so calculated, so brash, so mastered, it’s refreshing to experience him in a more gobbledygook, messy realm. From the whisper rap of “St. Chroma” to the blistering truths of unplanned pregnancy and abortion care in “Hey Jane”, to the personal issues not only Tyler faces in “Take The Mask Off”, but ultimately the masks we all wear, to the eclectic and erratically charged “Balloon” about current life, successes, and with support from soon-to-be-household-name Doechii (see: artist to watch 2025 above), the album reveals another level for Tyler who still very much being a Tyler album. An instant classic. (Label: Columbia)
04. Michael Kiwanuka – Small Changes
RIYL: Black Pumas, Curting Harding, modernized Four Tops
Standout Track(s): “Small Changes”, “Lowdown (part i)”, “Floating Parade”
One of the most staggering things in an industry where I make my vocation is the lack of knowledge people in the US have about Michael Kiwanuka. Some of you recognize the name, but more likely the voice, from “Cold Little Heart” being the theme of Big Little Lies. But, outside of that extent, he remains relatively under the radar from the Pacific to the Atlantic. In the UK, Kiwanuka is godmode level. Cherished, beloved. In the US, you will hear an interview with him on NPR but see him on zero festival lineups outside of maybe Newport. The guy has the chops to be as big if not bigger stateside as Leon, Pumas and carrying the golden hour slots at ACL and Gov Ball. And with his first album in nearly five years, Kiwanuka comes back in full force with a truly definitive staple in an award winning collection.
The first single on the album, “Floating Parade”, is a beautifully constructed song dealing with struggle and how we use escapism to cope. Produced by iconic producer/musician Danger Mouse (whose credits include being 1/2 of Gnarles Barkley, working with Jay-Z (can I still say that name here?), and producing albums for Gorillaz, The Black Keys, Adele, two previous Kiwanuka discs, and racking up 22 Grammy nods in his illustrious career) the song is a perfect intro track into what is a soulful journey from start to finish. While the album still likely falls behind ‘19s KIWANUKA for me (which appeared at no.8 EOTY list, but would likely be much higher in longform hindsight). “Lowdown (part i)” is a must listen for any and everybody. Maybe of the best constructed songs of the year. If you have seven, I highly recommend listening to Kiwanuka on All Things Considered with Ari Shapiro talk about the album, influences, and just his life growing up being influenced by Pearl Jam, enrolling in college focusing on jazz, and the sound he has morphed today. Understanding the complexities will give you a newfound respect for what the British singer/songwriter is doing. (Label: Polydor / Universal)
03. Common & Pete Rock – The Auditorium, Vol. 1
RIYL: Common, Talib Kweli, A Tribe Called Quest
Standout Track(s): “Wise Up”, “Dreamin’”, “When The Sun Shines Again”
It’s been a minute since Chicago’s son Common has finessed his conscious rap muscle to the extreme that 2024 presented. At the age of 52, the Midwest rap torchbearer truly made an album that is for the elder hip hop crowd. A throwback of beats to the 90s, a mature take, and lyrical content that shines vintage but speaks modern day truths. It’s also deeply rooted in religious undertones and faith, which can often times be hit/miss in my eyes, really works in favor of this album, it’s sound, and the features that lay claim to some of the more moving moments. It’s an album earnestly driven by black experience tethered together by ‘what’s old is new’. It is one of the most sculpted albums of the year from top down, showcasing both MC and producer in their own right, but fastening the two at the hip and the heart of the album. “Dreamin’”, lyrically, is a true highlight of the album for me, name dropping historical black figures left and right over a trumpet-inspired Pete Rock beat that just oozes Chicago, Green Mill nostalgic and smokey backroom session. But it’s “Wise Up” that truly champions the album with a looped, reel-to-reel chorus, and two absolute fire verses.
Three wise men came to visit where I've been
Thеy brought gifts with the southside blend
Onе had Hennessy—the other, a book of street ministry
The third gave a mirror and told me to remember me
Assemblies of similes and metaphors
Analogies that's analog
The reservoirs I come from, ni**as got the dog in 'em
They become gods, no longer wit' hog in 'em
I saw venom in the eyes of a snake
The Solomon for common men, I wise up the place
Like a prize in a race, that boy hold the metal
By the scars on his face, I could tell he know the ghetto
Where we both tryna get to, it ain't coincidental
His is on the streets, mines is over instrumentals
The Lord sent my mental to be more than sentimental
The ventricles that I vent through are temples of what I been through
With help from neo-soul artists like Bilal, Jennifer Hudson and PJ, Pete Rock and Common really did go in hard and make a truly great album. Groundbreaking in it’s approach? I wouldn’t call it that. But what will end up being a very important album in the world of hip hop/R&B and a reborn moment for Common? Absolutely. My favorite hip hop-skewing album of 2024. (Label: Loma Vista / Concord)
02. Hippo Campus – Flood
RIYL: COIN, Wallows, flipturn
Standout Track(s): “Everything At Once”, “Flood”, “Paranoid”
Hippo Campus, absolute geniuses! 2017’s Landmark is, truly, a landmark album for me. Likely the best indie rock album of the 2010’s in my eyes. Their ‘18 album was good, and ‘22s LP3 made its way into my Top 5 of EOTY Top 20. Their newest effort, Flood, welcomes (some of) the band into the thirties, and the growth of a band once-comprised of teens and early twenty-somethings when they started this thing years ago. Funny enough, the band started going to therapy together before (and during) the writing session for Flood, and ultimately wound up with more than 100 songs, arranging multiple versions, and scrapping the majority of them to “start over” fresh because they felt they could do better. Instead of staying in the familiar, the band packed up their comfortable Minnesota roots to record in nowhere Texas right at the US/Mexico border in Tornillo, TX. They challenged themselves to record their parts simultaneous, real time…. no listening back, no retakes. A vision of “only forward”.
The album leads to a more existential experience, and a more unique experience for the listener. While the bands melody style and sound remains the bread & butter here, you can hear some of the tranquil, rural influence of SW Texas influencing their soundscape, especially in songs like “Corduroy” and “Closer”, and you hear the band taking a more unique avenue to their indie pedigree at times, like their almost Vampire Wekeend-esq, on “Tooth Fairy”. With their departure from Grand Jury Records, who they had released every album with to date, Flood really does feel like a new chapter, but thankfully in an old, trusty book. I think the years ahead will continue to see the evolve of Hippo, but from everything we’ve seen to this point, I don’t envision the band ever getting so far away from the sound that made them, them. Evolving is natural and a great progression for any band, and i’m excited to see where LP5 leads us in the next few years. (Label: Psychic Hotline)
01. Pearl Jam – Dark Matter
RIYL: Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, 90s rock/grunge
Standout Track(s): “Wreckage”, “React, Respond”, “Dark Matter”
It is no surprise Pearl Jam are one of my favorite bands. But even with that label, I can chest up and say some of the albums over the last 24 years have been rather lackluster. Not without their moments, but when your catalog has Vitalogy, Vs., and Ten back-to-back-to-back, there is some level of expectation, right or wrong, that everything you put out should shine like gold. I mean, you are Eddie, Stone, Jeff, McCready, and Matty Cam, after all.
When “Dark Matter”, the first single, dropped, I was weary because i’ve seen and felt this act before. “Mind your Manners” and “Sirens” from Lightning Bolt. “The Fixer” from Backspacer. All singles that popped and had that “they are so back” feel to it. but then you get into the album as a whole and you have a few headscratching moments. And don’t even get me started on Gigaton. Once Dark Matter officially hit, though, I remember the first listen through having a sense of giddiness and excitement. A “holy shit!” moment if you will. The lords of rock did it. They recaptured, top down, that energy, that sound, that fire and fury. In my eyes, this is the best PJ album in 20 years. “Scared of Fear” is a perfect opening track, “React, Respond” is rock personified, and “Wreckage” still shows that Eddie is one of the best lyricists in music. Then you get to the second half of the album and “Waiting for Steveie”, an absolute chugger Ed wrote about waiting for Stevie Wonder in studio, the 2 minute rocker “Running”, and the haunting chill and beautiful album closer “Setting Sun”, that throws back to moments of Into The Wild OST or some of Eddie’s solo work.
After three shows this year with the boys, seeing them was a stark reminder of what living legends walk amongst us. It was a full circle moment going back to the friendly confines, where in 2013 I remember standing on the field soaking wet in a massive rain delay, only to leave, go to a friends house who lived steps from Wrigley, and listening to the band from a rooftop about 9 beers in until 2am. The city and the band both welcomed me home, and I am glad 2024 saw Pearl Jam get welcomed back home to the top tier and getting the love and recognition they deserve from the masses and not just the Ten Club. (Label: Republic / Monkeywrench)