Ranking Everything I Heard: November 2024
Nostalgia and new releases: who came out on top this month?
I get through a fair bit of music every month - about an album a day, to the despair of my clingy doctor. Woe is me, though, as I’ve never felt like I had a platform to share my thoughts about these records: that is, until now!
While this series doesn’t and will most likely never have a snappy name, it will be packed to the rafters with interesting listens and equally interesting insights. The catch? I’ll only be allowed 30 words and a snappy wee score to get my thoughts across!
And to keep you in the right, here’s my pathetically patriotic rating scale:
10/10 - YASSSSS (Perfect, impactful)
9/10 - F***ing Spot On (Fantastic)
8/10 - Braw (Great)
7/10 - Quite gid
6/10 - No bad aw aw (Sorta good)
5/10 - Awright (Fine. It’s fineeeee)
4/10 - Wee bit minging (Lil stinky)
3/10 - Awfa' minging (Really stinky)
2/10 - Bowfing (Unbearable)
1/10 - URGHHHHH
So without further ado, let’s kick off this self-indulgent post with…
22) Fall Out Boy - So Much (For) Stardust
(2023)
A mediocre pop-rock sandwich that starts and ends with its two strongest songs. Will continue to hold out hope that FOB can make their late-career gem a la Blink.
Best Song: Love From The Other Side
5/10
21) Lip Critic - Hex Dealer
(2024)
This should be a Liam-core album - zany, chaotic, caffeinated - but there's just something missing here. Feel like the guests fit the vibe better than the main lad?
Best Song: Bork Pelly (feat. Ghösh and ID.Sus)
5/10
20) Halsey - The Great Impersonator
(2024)
That folder marked "Fantano Fuck-Ups" looks ready to burst...again. A cool concept that isn't fully taken advantage of but has some super-endearing moments. Ego? B-B-BANGER.
Best Song: Ego
6/10
19) Kelly Lee Owens - Dreamstate
(2024)
Even with a word limit, I still struggle to write about electronic music. Not as enticing as her other albums but still has the necessary oomph to make it worthwhile.
Best Song: Love You Got
6/10
18) Poppy - Negative Spaces
(2024)
Sure, it's a bit one-note but when this hits (i.e. They're All Around Us), it's like hearing Hybrid Theory for the first time at a formative age.
Best Song: They’re All Around Us
6/10
17) The Story So Far - What You Don’t See
(2013)
A pop-punk act whose name isn't auto-filled by Google with "allegations" is, sadly, a low bar. That TSSF spin a fair few catchy tunes is the Carhartt cherry on top!
Best Song: Empty Space
7/10
16) Code Orange - Forever
(2017)
Just as grimy as I remember it being: so much so I had to add a new "Ugly (Complimentary)" tag on RYM. Fantastically filthy with some nice hooks!
Best Song: Ugly
7/10
15) Counterparts - The Difference Between Hell and Home
(2013)
One from my younger years that didn't quite hit me way back then. With a decade of lived experience in tow, the catharsis Counterparts aims for really fucking lands!
Best Song: Compass
7/10
14) Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time
(2013)
Moody, dazzling and home to a contender for best Pop closer of the 2010s: now I remember why that wait for a follow-up has been so agonising!
Best Song: Everything’s Embarassing
8/10
13) Fontaines D.C. - Skinty Fia
(2022)
Chuffed that Fontaines are finally getting their time in the spotlight but hard not to feel a bit miffed that this equally excellent slice of post-punk didn't manage it.
Best Song: Jackie Down The Line
8/10
12) Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend
(2021)
~10 years since I first heard Wolf Alice and my revisit of their work - especially this - has cemented them as the best NME-Twilight-Years band. Sorry, 1975 fans.
Best Song: How Can I Make It OK?
8/10
11) The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
(2024)
Tbh I had lost hope that this even existed so the fact that it not only does but is more Bloodflowers than 4:13 Dream had me pinching myself.
Best Song: And Nothing Is Forever
8/10
10) Enter Shikari - A Flash Flood of Colour
(2012)
Getting into Enter Shikari the same time I got invested in the Scottish Independence Referendum triggered a Life is Strange "This Action Will Have Consequences" moment. Still formative, still fantastic.
Best Song: Search Party
8/10
09) Sampha - Lahai
(2023)
Heavily invested in Sampha the moment I heard No One Knows Me (Like The Piano) and I'm yet to regret that decision. Absolute R&B magician.
Best Song: Spirit 2.0
8/10
08) MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks
(2024)
Country Alex G? Catholic-guilt-ridden Father John Misty? Whatever way you want to spin it, Lenderman is a compelling lyricist and an equally talented performer.
Best Song: Wristwatch
8/10
07) feeble little horse - Girl with Fish
(2023)
Sounds like something you'd stumble across at 1 am while deep into an early 2010s YouTube binge which is *VERY* high praise. Rough but wonderfully delightful.
Best Song: Tin Man
8/10
06) Fall Out Boy - From Under The Cork Tree
(2005)
I account for nostalgia when rating records like this but it's becoming increasingly likely that early FOB might be every bit as good as my young Invader Zim-obsessed self claimed.
Best Song: Dance, Dance
9/10
05) Kendrick Lamar - GNX
(2024)
More DAMN. than TPAB but not a complaint! Props for not including the Drake beef singles - would have boosted sales but he doesn't need to rely on them here.
Best Song: squabble up / reincarnated
9/10
04) Caroline Polachek - Pang
(2019)
Caroline has the vocal equivalent of an R4 chip: like, how she manages those notes/techniques feels illegal. The closest I'll come to knowing how pirates felt when hearing a siren.
Best Song: Hit Me Where It Hurts
9/10
03) Knocked Loose - You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
(2024)
This album sonically makes me feel like I could break Caber Toss records. Lyrically, it makes me unconsciously hit the thousand-yard stare (complimentary).
Best Song: Suffocate (ft. Poppy)
9/10
02) Deftones - White Pony
(2000)
Albums of this ilk are often time-locked to their era but White Pony sounds just as cool and cathartic, if not more so, than it did back then.
Best Song: Change (In The House Of Flies)
9/10
01) Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself
(2005)
What an enchantress: ~20 years old and still sounds so ahead of its time. Wondered why Heap's voice was so nostalgic: she had a song in Shrek 2. Go figure!
Best Song: Just For Now
9/10
And there we have it: my November ranking!
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 takes in the comments! See you in a bit to countdown the best songs of the year…