Top 10 Albums Of 2024

The records that defined a very entertaining year for music!

I’ve always been a firm believer in having your album list out no earlier than January 1st the following year.

I promise this isn’t due to any hoity-toity superiorness on my part. I just really enjoy spending my festive period expanding on my ridiculous gluttony beyond Christmas dinner and engorging on the tasty morsels of music I missed out on from the previous 12 months: culminating in the mouth-watering menu you’re reading right now!

(Some people say you shouldn’t use food metaphors in your writing: those people are cowards.)

Before we get into the list proper, here are five honourable mentions that narrowly missed out on a place (in A-Z order no less)…

HM) Bladee - COLD VISIONS

HM) Geordie Greep - The New Sound

HM) Los Campesinos! - All Hell

HM) Laura Marling - Patterns In Repeat

HM) Cameron Winter - Heavy Metal

And without further ado, here are the ten LPs that defined my 2024 and reminded me why I bother to boot up my computer to write about music rather than just play Balatro for the 50th time…

10) Iglooghost - Tidal Memory Exo

When we think of what music would soundtrack the tetrapods’s arrival on land, the first creatures to ever step foot on it, there are a few choices. Most likely we’re thinking of a swelling John Williams score to mark this significant moment.

But I ask you this. If just seconds ago you were a fish and now you’re walking on land before anyone else, would you not want something - to put it bluntly - a bit fucking odd to match this bizarre situation?

While this isn’t the concept behind Iglooghost’s amazing third LP, it’s definitely relevant. How could it not be considering how creative he is, incorporating dense lore and making up entire languages for his worlds? To say Tidal Memory Exo could be the sound of creation itself, or at least an important evolutionary step, is not a stretch by any means.

And I’m sure if you gave it a listen you’d be inclined to agree. His previous work felt more squishy and vibrant, something more akin to the joyful metamorphosis of life. Here, the sounds are harsher, more unrelenting while losing none of Iglooghost’s usual whimsy.

It’s experimental, it’s enveloping and it is - most importantly - an excellent, essential listen for any electronic fan.

Favourite Track: ‘flux•Cocoon’

09) Mk.gee - Two Star & The Dream Police

Fittingly enough for someone who regularly dresses as if they’re off to attend a sixth-form class in the middle of the winter, there’s a studious vibe to Mk.gee’s music: I won’t be the first nor the last to point out the 80s cornerstones on display like The Police and Collins.

Like the best though, there’s no harm in wearing your influences on your sleeves if you’re determined to play about them in interesting ways. Two Star & The Dream Police is a convincing portfolio of just that: a record that’s simultaneously dense in all its effects and flair while also feeling lighter than air.

It’s a dream that you’re thanking your lucky stars for experiencing that night.

It could end up a semi-ominous trailing through treacle kind (‘Dream Police’). Maybe it'll be a delightful, chamber-pop-esque high (‘Alesis’). It'll all come down to your luck and/or evening cheese consumption.

Favourite Track: ‘Dream Police’

08) Fontaines D.C. - Romance

Argue if you like but the “rock/guitar music is dead” statement - which if it were pay-per-use would have made that Oasis reunion happen a lot sooner - just isn’t accurate, is it?

The only valid point I can entertain is that sure, there have only been a handful of acts that could rival the popularity of those that flourished during the Britpop era: Arctic Monkeys and The Killers being the only two that could realistically go toe to toe.

Rock bands aren’t a dying breed though and Fontaines D.C. have been brewing for a decade now, festering in their angsty and poetic flavour of post-punk to put out a career-best work in Romance!

The band have never shied away from having a catchy tune or two on their albums prior but fourth time seems to be the charm. You’ll usually find at least one song to trim off the better rock albums but everything here has staying power. Outwith the consistently stunning singles, it’s a joy to see the Irish lads jump from gothic dream-pop on the opener to a beautiful wee ballad like ‘Horseness Is The Whatness’.

Better yet, the singles themselves like the trip-hop-inspired, asthma-wheezing spliced ‘Starburster’ and ‘Favourite’ (which may well be the loveliest song of 2024) all made their way onto the charts.

Whether they like it or not, Fontaines D.C. have become the face of contemporary rock. Given how outspoken they are and how good they are at what they do, it’s a responsibility they’re more than ready to take on.

Favourite Track: ‘Starburster’

07) Kendrick Lamar - GNX

What is there to say about Kendrick Lamar’s 2024 that a thousand think pieces, YouTube videos, news reports and more haven’t already covered?

Well, at least GNX could serve as a reminder of why publications should wait until after the first week of December before sharing their AOTY lists(!)

The common praise of GNX seems to be that it’s a victory lap for the absolute battering he gave Drake during their enamouring beef (though that compliment very much comes from one side’s output). And while that’s accurate, it felt to me like something so much grander despite how understated its surprise release was.

You can draw a lineage from every song to one of Lamar’s previous albums. 'reincarnated' ticks all of the GKMC boxes, an awe-inspiring narrative with a healthy dollop of 2Pac homage. 'squabble up' is a playful banger much in the same way DAMN. displayed. And 'gloria' satisfies anyone with a TPAB itch: what it lacks in similar jazz production it more than makes up for it with poetry that necessitates a spoiler alert.

All of that and more put it beyond just being a victory lap for a moment in time. It's a celebration of an artist whose body of work is a legacy, in a way no other artist from this century could boast about.

Yes, even better than *him*.

Favourite Track: ‘reincarnated’

06) Tyler, The Creator - CHROMAKOPIA

Calling CHROMAKOPIA Tyler’s most transparent work to date feels like a fool's errand of tartan paint proportions: you’re telling me that the guy whose earlier work regularly featured self-insert therapist sessions full of suicidal ideation and raw, adolescent rage is only *NOW* opening up?

Yet…it really kind of is, isn’t it?

It shouldn’t come as a shock given how the extraordinary ‘SORRY NOT SORRY’ music video saw him shed over a decade’s worth of costumes. Tyler’s outfit gimmick of this era is a standard mask which - over the course of 14 superb songs - we see crack, inch by inch.

I love how multifaceted this outing is. Not to go full ‘Noid’/’Colossus’ but as someone who’s followed his work since BASTARD dropped, I find it so special in the context of his catalogue.

Even without that connection, you’d have a struggle not being enamoured by another amazing batch of Tyler production. Those horns on the aforementioned ‘Noid’ are so skitterish they'd head back home after 30 seconds of walking somewhere just to double-check the front door lock.

Favourite Track: ‘Like Him’

05) Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future

It kind of feels like Adrianne Lenker got the opposite of the Chappell Roan experience in 2024: the latter, Midwest princess put out something new which then gave her archive the attention it rightfully deserved.

On the other hand, Lenker had a lot of her older songs (‘anything’, ‘not a lot just forever’) find a home on short-form video apps and the momentum from that to hype up her fifth LP…never really materialised.

Which is a real shame because Bright Future - while not underrated - definitely feels underappreciated in relation to its quality.

Even the most self-proclaimed of stoic, giga-WhateverRadiationIsTheMemeNow will struggle to resist Lenker's seemingly effortless heartstring-pulling. She’s the kind of performer where something as simple as a slight pivot of her pipes can feel like the satisfying clicks of the front door upon your partner’s return home.

That being said, I’d call Bright Future an album where visiting it rarely is as much of a compliment as saying it took up your every waking moment. As much as I would love to, not spacing out my visits to a song like ‘No Machine’ - a song overflowing with love to the point its narrator feels she’s seconds away from shattering - would leave me in a similarly fragile condition.

To go full circle though, I’m very happy that Adrianne Lenker got the popularity boost that she so rightfully deserved this year. I can’t wait for there to be more ears listening to what she gives us next: she really does have a bright futu-

Favourite Track: ‘Sadness As A Gift’

04) Chat Pile - Cool World

As I’m writing this, there are rampant wildfires tearing through California due to climate change. Now, it’s not just randomers but ELECTED OFFICIALS in the highest offices in the world who will tell you that it’s not a big deal.

What the fuck is going on?

Not only that but they’ll tell you the real threat isn’t your house being burned to the ground due to man-made catalysts. No, it’s actually that McDonalds is WOKE by…hiring minorities?

What the fuck is going on?

And then you get coloniser cunts that will try to get involved in countries their input does not need. Why? To be “protectors of children” while brownnosing a FRIEND OF FUCKING EPSTEIN?!

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS GOING ON?!

This type of frustration and bewilderment is the fire that burns in the belly of Chat Pile’s sophomore album and its high ranking goes far beyond me nodding my head along.

The Oklahoma noise-rock band have adopted a creed I can only compare to stunt performers where how seemingly hard the punch doesn’t matter: it’s how you react. And in the same way the angling of your ankles makes all the difference in a tumble, it’s all the details you might gloss over among Chat Pile’s cacophony that has me so invested.

The wispy nature of ‘Shame’s backing chorus vocals reverb through like the spectres of those we’ve seen eradicated through the Western-supported genocide of Palestine. The notch-by-notch frog-boil that takes place on ‘Masc’ culminating in the most cathartic climax of 2024.

Most of all though, it’s the many impactful lyrics that I could spend all day highlighting. However, I’ll limit myself to this pair from ‘Funny Man’ which has been stuck in my head since my first Cool World listen. It’s a doozy that feels like a necessary--scratch that, ESSENTIAL wake-up call for many:

I gave them my flesh to write the final chapter / But the blood of my sons is just a new beginning

Favourite Track: ‘Masc’

03) Charli XCX - BRAT

It’s easy for those of us who make music a core part of our personality to get caught in a bubble.

No, not everyone has a ridiculous spreadsheet to archive every album they checked out that month. Perhaps more unfortunately: Charli XCX is more synonymous with ‘Boom Clap’ than she was with the hyperpop magnum opus Pop 2.

It’s clear that hasn’t bothered Charli that much. She has had big mainstream ambitions for some time: her last album Crash played into some - to put it bluntly - stinky chart stereotypes. In addition, she’s collaborated with the likes of Tiesto, all to varying but not satisfying levels of success.

So what do you do when trying to play by the rules doesn’t work out? Reinvent the wheel and give it a slap of lime green paint!

While she may not have achieved an end-of-year Top 40 single, the music of BRAT was omnipresent even for those who don’t know what a scrobble is. Charli has perfected her club girl philosophy with a master's level of efficiency. You just have to look at ‘Apple’ to see how she can simultaneously scrutinise and break down generational trauma while also providing the backdrop for the music trend of the summer.

Basically, she’s serving Immanuel Kant and serving cun- you get it.

Favourite Track: ‘Everything is romantic’

02) Knocked Loose - You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To

I like to consider myself as somebody pretty approachable. The kind of person who would find me threatening - an avid Wallace & Gromit pyjama wearer - probably has to wear four layers before opening the fridge.

So how then has a despondent, hostile metalcore album not only landed on my AOTY list but made its way onto the podium?

That’s not to say people who enjoy music with blaring screams and metal production aren’t approachable. I will say this though: go onto your local bus talking about digging until you find the fucking root while playing a pulverising guitar riff and you’ll have a new nickname.

How said song - ‘Suffocate’ btw - won me over and became my most played of the year is as much a surprise as it is a revelation.

And that goes for Knocked Loose’s third LP as a whole. You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To is a lot of things; guttural; cathartic (my personal fave); rabid; but most of all, ‘addictive’ is the word that comes to mind when I think about this album.

There’s just a kinship - a bond between two achingly anxious entities with a burning, beating heart - that has had me return time and time again since its release.

Too real? Eh, have this: listening to You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To makes me feel what my radiators must go through whenever I bleed them. We've all thought about how satisfying that would be, right? Right...?

Favourite Track: ‘Suffocate’

01) Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk

Put me in a locked room for a week and make me listen to Magdalena Bay’s sophomore LP “ad nauseam”. Arm me only with the bear necessities, a notebook and pen. Not only would I continue to find ways to describe what they do as magical but I’d kindly ask you to extend my stay for another seven days.

That’s not to self-aggrandise as a good chunk of my search history consists of ‘[INSERT ADJECTIVE] synonym. Rather, it’s to emphasise how the California synth-pop duo’s luscious soundscapes can make a human thesaurus out of someone like me. (See: Uses “like” or “fuck” as a conjunctive.)

Be serious right now: even if you were Mercurial World-pilled like I have been since 2021, you did not anticipate Imaginal Disk being what it is. I’m not just talking about it being good - even their mini mix volumes are better than some acts' full libraries - but how expansive and experimental it ended up being.

Did you or I ever imagine a song like ‘Death & Romance’ would land on our laps? A track that - according to my notes - I said “If this were the last song you ever heard, you wouldn't be mad”?

(You’ll be happy to hear I rarely say that which is the biggest ode to how amazing this song is: it's also some much-needed reassurance for any therapists reading this.)

Now for the kicker: this moment and revelation could be applied to so many songs on Imaginal Disk. Like, over ¾ of it - ‘Image’, ‘Cry For Me’ and ‘Tunnel Vision’ especially - I would crudely describe as “fucking fantastic” and the rest would still fall under “really, bloody good”.

I can confidently say that - given the needed time for a good chunk of folk to discover and digest it - Imaginal Disk will go down as one of the best pop records ever. But, for now, it’ll have to make do with being my top pick for 2024’s Album Of The Year.

Favourite Track: ‘Image’

And there we have it: my favourite albums of 2024!

If you’ve liked what you’ve read then I’d appreciate it if you subscribed - you can do it for free btw - and let me know what you make of my picks in the comments!

See you in a wee bit for the first Best New Songs post of 2025…