Ten Favorite Albums of 2024 - Part 1

For the second year in a row, four music-obsessed Substackers gather to gush over their bestest records

Exactly one year ago, my comrades in music and words (Sam, Jami, and Kevin) gathered virtually to compare notes and share our favorite records of 2023 with our respective audiences. It was a blast and a half to do it, so we are doing it again!

If you aren’t familiar with Sam, Jamie, and Kevin….

Sam Colt writes the always entertaining, often hilarious, impossible-to-classify newsletter This Is a Newsletter!

Jami Smith writes the brilliant Songs That Saved Your Life, a celebration of rock and roll history from a queer perspective. Think you know all about B52’s, Prince, Little Richard, Big Mama Thornton, and many other music legends? Think again. Jami also has a kick-ass radio show, which you can listen to weekly, here: https://radiokingston.org/en/broadcast/songs-that-saved-your-life

Kevin Alexander writes the essential music newsletter On Repeat Records. He covers everything new, old, and in between. On Repeat, above all, is a welcoming community of music nerds of all sorts, the world over.

If you didn’t get a chance to check out last year’s lists or would like to revisit them, you can click the links below.

Steve (Earworms and Song Loops) : Part 1, Part 2

Sam Colt (This is a Newsletter!): Part 1, Part 2

Jami (Songs That Save Your Life) : Part 1, Part 2

Kevin (On Repeat Records) : Part 1, Part 2

Like last year, we’re splitting our top 10 into two halves: 6-10 and 1-5. For me, ranking these albums is a silly endeavor. In no way is my #1 pick better than my #3 or even my #9. It’s arbitrary and the list could be quite different tomorrow. I include numbers more for organizational purposes. That said, all ten deserve all the praise and I bow at the greatness of each.

I’ll share audio links for my picks — a standout track I hope inspires you to check out the whole record. For Sam, Jami, and Kevin, I’ll include links to a song from their albums as well.

As always, I appreciate likes and comments. Tell us what your favorite records of the year are, and more importantly, why they are your favorites.

#10 Ten (🙌)(X)

Nathalie Joachim - Ki moun ou ye (Steve)

Haitian-American performer and composer Nathalie Joachim’s 2nd full-length album Ki moun ou ye asks the question, “Who are you?”

In the Nonesuch label’s liner notes, Joachim says:

“‘Ki moun ou ye’ can be very simply asking, ‘Who are you?’ But it also means, ‘Whose people are you?’ And it can also mean, ‘Which person are you.’” She continues, “For me, it led to, ‘Who am I actually?’ Not just on a performative level, but also as a Black person in spaces where I constantly have to code-switch. It’s a deep question. It isn’t casual.”

It’s an inquiry that runs through the album’s 10 exquisite tracks. Most of which are sung in Haitian Creole. You don’t have to speak the language to understand what Nathalie is singing about. The themes of identity, history (both familial and cultural), sorrow, and seeking a sort of understanding, are imbued in every note of every song.

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Jack White - No Name (Jami)

Jack White returns to his icky thumping, guitar string-breaking roots on No Name, and while the nostalgia is an awesome reminder of his singular talent as a guitarist, the thing is, we don’t need the reminder. If this album had anyone else’s name on it, we’d be impressed to know that our hero is a student of Blues and Garage Rock history. But we already know that Jack White is a genius so the tracks that might sound refreshing coming from someone else feel a little too safe and familiar from White. No Name is comfort food for people who miss the White Stripes and The Raconteurs (and I’m one of them.) But with his level of proficiency and wisdom, it would’ve been nice to see White push the boundaries into new territory. That said - if you want the comfy pajamas of good ol’ fashioned rock & roll, get cozy because Jack White still does it better than any of his peers.

Recommended tracks: That’s How I’m Feeling, What’s the Rumpus?, Old Scratch Blues

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St. Vincent- All Born Screaming (Sam)

St. Vincent is a one-of-a-kind’s one-of-a-kind. She has created a certain kind of art-rock that only she can accomplish, as she picks and chooses tropes and reimagines them as sexy Frankenstein-esque tracks. Following up Daddy’s Home – a divisive project and a bit of an outlier in a discography full of curveballs – St. Vincent returns with a Tori Amos/Nine Inch Nails-inspired album that deals with experiences of death and loss. References to mortality abound, each track washes over you like a wave, veering from massive sinister guitars to orchestral swells and breezy instrumentation. For example, on “Broken Man,” the track opens with an industrial sound and ramps up to become a massive thump asking you if you’ve seen a broken man, as if she will be insulted by any answer you’ll give. All Born Screaming has a ton of texture with just as much depth.

Highlights: Hell is Near, Reckless, Broken Man, Flea, Big Time Nothing, The Power’s Out

Metz- Up On Gravity Hill (Kevin)

It seems weird to be writing again about a record I just covered, but that’s how music discovery works—sometimes a recent find lands with you. That’s the case with Up on Gravity Hill. It took several months for me to come across it and almost no time to lock in its place on this list.

From my review:

Metz is a band that usually has one speed—hammer down. If that’s your thing, fear not; Up On Gravity Hill doesn't do much to dissuade that. However, the Toronto-based trio of guitarist Alex Edkins, bassist Chris Slorach, and drummer Hayden Menzies do spend a lot of time branching out and exploring other sounds…Evolving as a band while staying (more or less) true to your sound is no easy feat. History is littered with bands that couldn't clear that hurdle. Metz’s latest perfectly blends 8000 rpm tracks and more sophisticated sounds. It’s a record that’s, well, exciting.

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#9. Nine (🕘) (IX)

Bonny Light Horseman - Keep Me On Your Mind/See Me Free (Steve)

If music sticks to me, it’s because it undoubtedly has a transporting effect. I listen to it, close my eyes, and am taken away into a bold, beautiful universe. It’s sometimes a world I’ve never visited before — a place where I feel welcomed into the unfamiliar. Other times I close my eyes and feel held and comforted, like I’m in a womb.

Bonny Light Horseman provides both scenarios for me, but mostly the latter.

The way Anaïs Mitchell and Eric D. Johnson’s voices blend and weave is nothing short of astonishing. Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Josh Kaufman is the glue that keeps it all together, providing delicately tasty and sometimes perfectly noisy accompaniment to the proceedings.

Their music gets unfairly described as folk. There is folkiness here, but there’s so much more. I’d describe their songs as timeless standards.

The band’s website expresses it even better:

Bonny Light Horseman’s new album, Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free, is an ode to the blessed mess of our humanity. Confident and generous, it is an unvarnished offering that puts every feeling and supposed flaw out in the open.

The Cure - Songs of a Lost World (Jami)

Songs of a Lost World is the kind of album you’d expect from a guy who looks like Robert Smith if you’d never heard “Boys Don’t Cry.” This isn’t a young, new band trying to write a single for radio play. This is minor chord poetry written by someone who's experienced true loss. “I Can Never Say Goodbye” is about the unexpected passing of Smith’s brother and “Nothing is Forever” depicts Smith now facing his own mortality.

I know, I know
That my world has grown old
And nothing is forever

“All I Ever Am” is the closest thing to a bop you’re gonna get. Just kidding. It’s also about loss and regret.

I think too much of all that's gone
Of how it was before my thoughts
Obsessed with choices made for sure
In ignorance of history
And consequence as more and more
I misremember hopelessly

The Cure doesn’t have anything to prove. They’ve made their indelible mark on music history. This album was written as a catharsis, and we, as listeners, are merely here to stand witness.

Recommended tracks: And Nothing is Forever, I Can Never Say Goodbye

Nala Sinephro - Endlessness (Sam)

This is a serene and beautiful project that moves with melodic purpose, with both an epic scale and a sense of understatement. The album centers on a single arpeggiate chord, and Nala modulates it, extends it, and lets it carry us like a riptide. Trickling harp, tumbling drums, plucky synths, and intimate saxophone all move in lockstep, generating a buzz that invites us to feel but never tells us what our feelings should be. This is captivating, smooth, imaginative, somewhat futuristic jazz. Listen closely and its details transform relentlessly; let your mind drift and it resembles what I’d imagine floating in space would sound like.

Highlights: Continuum 2, Continuum 3, Continuum 4, Continuum 5, Continuum 7, Continuum 9

Sierra Ferrell - Trail of Flowers (Kevin)

For fans of Ferrell’s 2021 record Long Time Coming, this latest record has been, well, a long time in coming.

Ferrell’s lyrical style usually leans toward the economical. There are a few exceptions here (“American Dreaming”), but by and large, it is straightforward, and that's the point. Ferrell’s superpower is her ability to take lived experiences and deliver something relatable that ultimately draws you in.

Musically, this record paints more vivid pictures than its predecessor. It’s more refined. The production gives everything a more modern feel, but this album is very much rooted in the past. “Dollar Bill Bar” is something you might expect to hear a group singing along to in a bar outside of Fort Worth, but there are banjos, fiddles, and nods to more august styles of music here. There’s a murder ballad for good measure. It’s these nods to bygone sounds/styles that elevate the record. Playing the album, you can easily imagine these sorts of songs being played years—or generations— ago. A good record honors the past. A great record does that while sounding brand new at the same time.

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#8. Eight (🎱) (VIII)

Fastball - Sonic Ranch (Steve)

Yes, this is the same band that recorded the hit song “The Way” that you couldn’t escape from back in 1998. The song was from their 2nd album, All The Pain Money Can Buy, which was certified gold. "The Way" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in April 1998 and remained there for seven weeks.

I’m not waxing nostalgic, just providing context. Fastball may have been perceived as a one-hit wonder, but they’ve continued to release eight excellent albums over the past 25 years. Including their latest, Sonic Ranch.

I guess one might describe their sound as power-pop, but I hear it as classic rock and roll with melodies that stick to your ribs and lyrics that are befitting a bunch of dudes in their late 50s who are grateful to still get to play music and tour. The songs are simultaneously tight and loose, a quality that can only come from speaking the same musical language.

I’m sharing “Get You Off My Mind” (above) as I love the propulsive drums and chiming guitars. But really, I could have gone with any of the album’s 10 sonic gems.

Sault - Acts of Faith (Jami)

Even after 11 albums, Sault is a tough band to categorize. They’re R&B, but also Jazz, Disco, and Gospel. The vibes are always immaculate whether they are grounding deep bass-driven grooves or breezy jazz melodies. Acts of Faith sounds like a prayer to a funky God.

The only reason this album sits at the number 6 spot is because the album is so difficult to stream on music’s most popular platforms like Spotify or Apple Music. You have to work harder to listen to it because they released it as a single continuous track via digital distribution only. Luckily, there are folks on SoundCloud doing the Lord’s work of getting this album heard by more than just the band’s superfans.

Recommended tracks: When you release an album as one continuous track, it’s pretty tough to pick out key moments. I suggest you buckle in for the entire 32 minutes. The vibes are worth it.

The Smile - Wall of Eyes (Sam)

It’s nice to hear Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood push out of their usual comfort zones and create some alien-abducted moody and ethereal tunes. The foggy first two tracks–the chilly bossa nova of “Wall of Eyes” and the synthy whirlpool of “Teleharmonic”–lull you into a trance before Greenwood’s guitars and Yorke’s clanking-piston hooks electrify your nerves on “Read the Room” and “Under our Pillows.” The synthesizers, bass, guitar, drums, strings, and some beautiful flute, saxophone, and clarinet, are arranged to precision. It immerses you into its marvelous world, taking you to catharsis through its incredible soundscapes.

Highlights: Wall of Eyes, Teleharmonic, Under our Pillows, Bending Hectic

Aluminum - Fully Beat (Kevin)

No record on my list is as varied as Fully Beat. Not that that’s a bad thing; one minute, you feel like you're listening to a record made as a final project at an MBV finishing school. The next is something more straightforward. After that, a track you'd have expected from 4AD back in the day.

One thing you can be sure of is that each track is long on hooks and liquid grooves. Fans of fuzz will also have plenty to pick from here.

Reading the liner notes is like reading a who’s who of Bay Area bands. Wild Moth’s Leyda and Austin Montanari are here, as is Chris Natividad from Marbled Eye. The key ingredient, though, is singer/bassist Ryann Gonsalves, whose other band, Torrey, also knocked it out of the park this year.

With Shoegaze, the line between gorgeous melody and unlistenable is often wafer thin. With Fully Beat, the on-ramp is wide and easy to merge onto.

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#7 Seven (🕖) (VII)

Cowboy Sadness - Selected Jambient Works, Vol. 1 (Steve)

It would be wrong not to include the album that has helped me fall asleep faster and more deeply than any other in 2024.

I don’t know how I discovered Cowboy Sadness, but it was likely a form of cosmic generosity, a gift from the universe to help my chronic insomnia.

That probably makes Selected Jambient Works, Vol. 1 sound like new-age drone music. Which couldn’t be more wrong.

Cowboy Sadness is a collaboration of members from The Antlers, Bing & Ruth, and Port St. Willow. I was already a fan of all three, but together they’ve created something incredibly beautiful, hypnotic, calming, and unexpectedly emotional.

It’s all instrumental, and I couldn’t tell you the names of any of their songs without looking them up. Also, I’ve likely heard the album’s opening track, “Willow” 300 times this year, while the closing track, “The Cowboy Way” I’ve heard maybe five times. Those times were the five times I played it not in bed.

Tyler, The Creator - CHROMAKOPIA (Jami)

It took 8 albums, but CHROMAKOPIA may be Tyler, the Creator’s magnum opus. Unlike earlier projects where he used alter egos to explore his emotions, CHROMAKOPIA strips back those personas, revealing a more vulnerable artist on the brink of maturity. Tracks like "Take Off Your Mask" delve into themes of identity and authenticity, with Tyler confronting his own insecurities and self-contradictions head-on. In earlier projects like Goblin and Cherry Bomb, Tyler leaned into his inner brat, using shock value and experimental sound to define his outsider status in hip-hop. With CHROMAKOPIA, Tyler shifts his focus inward, prioritizing introspection and emotional storytelling over controversy, crafting a more cohesive and mature narrative centered on identity, family, and self-discovery. CHROMAKOPIA also features collaborations with Lil Wayne, Santigold, Daniel Caesar, and a standout addition by Doechii on the track “Rah Tah Tah.”

Recommended tracks: St. Chroma, Noid, Darling, I, Sticky, Thought I Was Dead, Rah Tah Tah

Father John Misty -Mahashmashana (Sam)

I was skeptical heading into this album, as I thought Father John Misty peaked with Pure Comedy and his previous two releases were a bit underwhelming, but the opener on this one is just massive. At over nine minutes, it feels like a grandiose send-off, containing signature Josh Tillman staples like expressive drum fills, pronounced piano cords, soaring strings, jangly acoustics, and triumphant horns, as the lyrics deal with a sense of finality and disillusionment. From there, the rest of the album unfolds as a lush and intricate record that blurs the lines between traditional pop and witty social commentary. From the haunting “Mental Health” to the very garage tones of “Screamland” and the funky “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All,” this sounds like the album Josh has always wanted to create. “Great cremation ground” is the Sanskrit translation behind this album, and anyone could spend paragraphs discussing the meaning behind each track. Truly a breathtaking and evolving pop record that only Father John Misty could make.

Highlights: Mahashmashana, Mental Health, She Cleans Up, Screamland, I Guess Time Makes Fools of Us All

Wishy- Triple Seven (Kevin)

Just after Labor Day, I proclaimed, "Don't be surprised to see this on one of my end-of-the-year best-of lists." Well, here we are. Indiana’s Wishy dropped this record in August, and I really haven’t stopped listening to it.

In that same piece, I noted

Opener “Sick Sweet” is a huge wave of sound that washes over the listener as Kevin Krauter sings about unrequited love. When he says Well it’s a sick sweet life and I’m gambling it all tonight/ With every shade of me flying like freaks on a free ride, you believe him. Literally. Triple Seven is a record putting it all on the line.

That’s followed up with Nina Pitchkites fronting the dreamy title track. And so it goes through the record, alternating between blast furnace guitars and poppier fare, depending on which influence the band had in mind. And they’re all here; the usual suspects like MBV, Coteau Twins, and Lush are on hand, but so too are elements of the late 90s/early 2000s pop and emo (before it became pejorative).

You don’t typically hear the words hit the jackpot and Indiana in the same sentence. Wishy’s Triple Seven is a testament that good things do, in fact, happen in flyover country. Is it pop? Is it shoegaze? Let's call it a push and say it’s both.

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#6. Six (🖐☝️) (VI)

Astrel K - The Foreign Department (Steve)

I’ve listened to a ton of so-called alternative rock albums in the 10 months since I first heard Astrel K’s The Foreign Department. But even the ones I’ve liked have not pulled me back to explore their confounding crevices in the way Rhys Edwards (who records under the name Astrel K) has.

It’s hard to describe Astrel K. There’s a bit of lo-fi Pavement here, a touch of math rock (several songs are in 5/4 and 7/4 time signature), some gorgeous bedroom pop, a touch of whispery almost Yo la Tengo vibes, and a dollop of Stereolab.

If those references mean nothing to you, perhaps Tim Sendra from Allmusic.com can explain it better:

The whole album is a perfect blend of whispered intimacies, heart-tugging melodies, widescreen production, and perfectly chosen instrumentation that shows that Edwards is able to succeed whether the setting is as lo-fi and contained as Flickering i or as big and expansive as the setting is here on The Foreign Department.

Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft (Jami)

As a queer writer who spends most of my days reclaiming the stories of musicians who spent their careers hiding the truest parts of themselves, I’m fully admitting my bias here about Billie Eilish. Hit Me Hard and Soft is her first album since coming out as queer in late 2023 and I appreciate it deeply from that lens. When a song containing the lyrics, “I could eat that girl for lunch, yeah she dances on my tongue” gets north of 600 million streams and avid radio play, it’s fair to say that our queer music ancestors would be proud. There are some gorgeously lush arrangements that carry listeners along her journey of falling in love with a woman for the first time (or at least writing about so honestly). But, as a whole, Hit Me Hard and Soft doesn’t quite hit hard enough. The title doesn’t match the vibe if you like it a little rough. The album dips in the middle, especially with “Wildflower” and “The Greatest” back to back from each other. There are enough stand-out tracks to make this more than just a singles-driven project but I also can’t wait to see what Eilish can write a few years into her new reality as a queer icon.

Recommended tracks: Lunch, Chihiro, Birds of a Feather, The Diner

Tyler, the Creator - CHROMAKOPIA (Sam)

I’ve read that CHROMAKOPIA is Tyler’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, and I can see why: This is his therapy record, a self-conscious attempt to figure his shit out throughout a tracklist that bulges at the seams. His now-mastered style is here in HD glory, as he pulls from and expands on all of his past work, but this one seems to take notes from old-school Tyler. It’s erratic and candid, a strange pressure cooker of boasts and doubts that ultimately seems to manifest a state of confusion, in which everything is in flux and tracks shift and slip. That transition between “Rah Tah Tah” and “Noid” could feed a starving Victorian child. “Darling, I” made me cum—and I had to make sure to use quotes as I wrote this sentence. Tyler’s verses discuss heavy, deep, thought-provoking subjects like relationships and growing old, but they carry his unique blend of depraved humor. It’s a stylistic revisiting of Flower Boy, with tracks lurching from one sound to another, with some industrial influence and marching band beats. CHROMAKOPIA has depth and world-building, but just as importantly, it’s loaded with bangers.

Highlights: St. Chroma; Rah Tah Tah; Noid; Darling, I; Hey Jane; Judge Judy; Sticky; Take Your Mask Off; Thought I was Dead; Like Him; Balloon; I Hope You Find Your Way Home

The Cure - Songs of a Lost World (Kevin)

In a world drowning in vapid content and forgettable digital litter, it was refreshing to see Goth’s Elder Statesman roll up with a new record that feels timeless. The band announced the end of their 16-year hiatus by doing something novel—they sent their fans postcards. What's old is new again. Difital amkrters, take note.

From my review:

There’s no point in burying the lede here; if you liked Disintegration, Songs of a Lost World will check a lot of boxes for you. This latest release has got a similar gravity. The soundscapes are lush, and the production is exquisite. If you’re hoping for a “Friday I’m In Love” redux, you’ll be bummed.

This is a record for this time of year, with its shorter days and longer nights. Most of the lyrics on the record deal with mortality, both in the literal sense and as it might apply to things like the demise of relationships. To everything, there’s a season, and Songs of a Lost World is an autumn album. The recurrent theme here is that everything is ephemeral and, given a long enough timeline, ceases to exist. It’s a reflective record that accepts the passing of time and the inevitable end of everything, even if it doesn’t like it. These are not songs for in the club, nor on the beach.

• Thoughts and feelings about part 1 of our ten favorite albums of 2024 list?

• Did any of our 20 album choices make your list?

• Are you intrigued to listen to something you didn’t know about before? Which ones?

• Next week we reveal our remaining 5 faves of 2024.