Sonically, 2024 was Jekyll and Hyde. The first half of the year wasn't that inspiring, but a string of strong releases in the late summer and well into fall more than made up for the drab. It seems like 80% of Spotify had Taylor Swift as their most-listened to artist, but only because we felt an obligation to finish the overlong, often dreary The Tortured Poets Department. Chappell Roan seemed to captivate the other 20%, but besides the #1 smash single "Good Luck, Babe" her breakthrough album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess was a slow-cooking 2023 release. Regardless, this was a big year for new faces and familiar names alike, punctuated by a legacy act that not only dropped their first album in 16 years, but maybe their best in 3 1/2 decades. The lack of consensus I've seen from other critics' lists indicate this was another deep year.
BEST POP/ROCK ALBUMS
1. Manning Fireworks, MJ Lenderman. Indie rock's best young hope resides in, and writes music, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He's no country singer --in fact, his singing is decidedly plainspoken-- but he lets his growling guitar and keen lyrics carry the load. Already an established sideman, Lenderman's fourth solo album could very well establish him as the Gen-Z Neil Young.
2. Cartoon Darkness, Amyl & The Sniffers. It's been awhile since since a punk band has been as uninhibited and cathartic as Amy Taylor and her Australian mates. Darkness sounds like a middle finger bouncing up and down, whether it's Taylor raging against internalized sexism or world events in general. She channels Wendy O. Williams and Patti Smith alike, as if she was a long-lost Down Under granddaughter.
3. Prelude to Ecstasy, The Last Dinner Party. This year's best debut album was previewed in late '23, but advance singles like "Nothing Matters" weren't just a tease. Prelude is a baroque-pop romp, flitting between Florence Welch's musicality and early Roxy Music glam, with lead singer Abby Morris' syllabic daring-do leading the way. The British press insinuated nepotism when they opened for the Stones, but there really is substance under all the hairpin-turn whimsy.
5. Cowboy Carter, Beyonce
6. Behold, Parsnip
7. Tangk, Idles
8. All Born Screaming, St. Vincent
9. Bright Future, Adrienne Lenker
10. A Dream Is All We Know, Lemon Twigs
12. Poetry, Dehd
13. Almighty So 2, Chief Keef
14. Only God Was Above Us, Vampire Weekend
15. Songs of a Lost World, The Cure
16. Alligator Bites Never Heal, Doechii
17. Mahashmashana, Father John Misty
18. Here In The Pitch, Jessica Pratt
19. Wall of Eyes, The Smile
20. The Collective, Kim Gordon
Best Rock Album of '23 That I Didn't Hear Until '24: Everything Harmony, The Lemon Twigs. The spirit of Van Dyke Parks and Pet Sounds era Beach Boys is alive and well and residing in Long Island. Their follow-up (see #10) evokes The Monkees and Big Star, which is even more delicious to my ears.
BEST JAZZ ALBUMS
1. Compassion, Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey. This was an especially strong year for new jazz releases, and this emotionally resonant COVID memorial stood out. On the surface, it's a standard ECM release; Manfred Eicher co-produced the only way Eicher knows how. The album stars with a nearly minute-long Sorey drum fill, before Iyer and Oh lead a pseudo-processional. Iyer owes much of his piano prowess to Chick Corea, and the late great is referenced on this lyrical, intimate release, which caps with some outstanding improvisation by the whole trio.
3. Milton + Esperanza, Milton Nascimento & Esperanza Spalding
4. Speak To Me, Julian Lage
5. self-titled, The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis
6. The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow, Charles Lloyd
7. To Whom I Love, Summer Camargo
8. Technically Acceptable, Ethan Iverson
9. Nublues, Joel Ross
10. Alternate Summer, Tom Harrell
Honorable Mention: Sunday Morning Put-On, Andrew Bird
Best Jazz Reissue: Ain’t No Sunshine: Live in Seattle, Jack McDuff
BEST SINGLES
"Fox Hunt," Sierra Ferrell
"Bittersweet," Gunna
"Mustang," Kings of Leon
"Get Numb To It," Friko
"That You Are," Hozier feat. Beduoine
"Euphoria," Kendrick Lamar
"Don't Forget Me," Maggie Rogers
"Annihilation," Wilco
"Tunnel Vision," Magdalena Bay
"Hey Wait," Unfamiliar Things
"More For Me," TOVI
"Lonsdale Slipons," The Bug Club
"Facts," Amyl & The Sniffers
"Magnetic," Tunde Adebimpe
BEST VIDEOS
1. "Not Like Us," Kendrick Lamar. Kenny from Compton gave us *two* all-time great diss tracks this year, but unlike "Euphoria" (see above) he gave us a visual, claws-out, incontrovertible takedown of Drake.
2. "Please Please Please," Sabrina Carpenter. I guess Barry Keoghan was an embarrassing boyfriend on *and* off screen.
3. "Death & Romance," Magdalena Bay. A little bit "Wizard of Oz," a little bit "Starman," a dash of Windows 95, and a lot of "huh?"
4. "CHIHIRO," Billie Eilish. A dreamlike sprint through endless hallways, then a mad dash in a pasture than turns into a brawl, playing out like a subconscious attempt at closure with a lover who's long, long gone.
5. "Tennessee," Kevin Abstract featuring Lil Nas X. Grimy and animalistic, this video is less about the Volunteer State (or Arrested Development) and more alluding to the closeted playwright. Two of rap's most swaggering LGBTQ+ figures lord over a group of shirtless men in the deep south.
Honorable Mention: "360," Charli XCX. 2024 was all about "waiter vibes."
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