Favorite albums of 2024

Yard Act – Where is My Utopia?

Upon initial listen I thought I was absolutely going to hate this album. It’s a huge departure from their previous work, which was listed as my second favorite album of 2022. But the snarky spoken word still delivers, this time with danceable beats that are quite enjoyable once you’ve gotten past the initial shock. It was a huge risk, but it paid off. I saw them live at the Grog Shop (my neighborhood rock venue), and their artistry absolutely shows. I haven’t been able to really dive into the lyrics or backstory of the album, but my sense is that at least part of it relates to adjusting to career and personal art and ambition while balancing family and concerns of the future, which I feel I can relate to. Personal highlights include: “When the Laughter Stops“, “We Make Hits“, “A Vineyard for the North“.

Fontaines DC – Romance

There were a couple of Fontaines DC albums I didn’t really listen to (A Hero’s Death and Skinty Fia) since their debut album (Dogrel), so it’s nice to have one of their albums click immediately again. I remember seeing them open for Idles back in 2019, and they really FELT like a brand new band thrust into the (indie music) spotlight. It’s interesting paying attention them again, now 5 years later. I remember seeing a review that said that the singer learning to use his breathing to punctuate his spoken-word singing, and I agree. This is relevant on such songs as “Starburster“, “Here’s the Thing“, “Bug“, “Death Kink“.

Los Campesinos! – All Hell

One of my all-time favorite bands, and I was kind of sad that their most recent album at the time, Sick Scenes (2017), never really hit for me. Thus, I was super happy to realize that I dug their newest album. Another one of my favorite shows of 2024, but they’re just so practiced at this point and Gareth still cares so much that they’ll always be good shows. No specific A+ songs (I feel like they’re all a range of B- to B+), but they have a good album closer: “Adult Acne Stigmata“.

The Cure – Songs of a Lost World

How the hell does Robert Smith still sound exactly the same as he did 40 years later? It’s cliche, but the Cure was inadvertently very formative for me. This albums is very solid, and it’s been a great one for me to write to.

Charlie XCX – BRAT

Album of summer 2024. It will forever sound like our trip to visit my family outside of Seattle that summer. “Von Dutch” “365“

1/10/25 edit:

Honorable mention to:

A Wilhelm Scream – Lose Your Delusion

It didn’t quite make the top 5 upon first assessment at the end of 2024. But I started 2025 in Depreston, and I found my self listening to this album on repeat for a solid week to try to stay moving / functional while the dark clouds swirled overhead, earning it this nod. A Wilhelm Scream is just kind of an awesome band; they do one thing (melodic but aggressive hardcore punk, often about fighting some sort of struggle) and they do it really well. Accordingly, their 2013 album Partycrasher (which first got me into them, since it made it onto my radar for being critically accalimed) helped me through a major breakdown I had in 2014. I saw them at the Grog Shop in 2024, and their show was as solid as you would expect for a group that’s been going for 25 years. I don’t see how I’m not a fan for life at this point.
Here are three songs that I’m guessing are about the sad state of american politics (and normal people going off the deep end because of it). “Apocalypse Porn” “The Enigma” “Lose Your Delusion“