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JUST WHAT WE NEEDED, ANOTHER BEST OF 2024 LIST: THE MUSIC
Another year, another Best Albums list. Wabba dabba!!!
And yes, I’m late with this. I spent the last two weeks of 2024 looking for a new place to move to, and then spent pretty much all of January packing, moving, unpacking and so on and so forth, and then I got sick.
Did that stop me from compiling a year-end list that only three people will read? It did not. That’s how much I love you.
As for the year in music summary, apart from there being more Amelia Earhart content than usual, it seems like I picked up on more (relatively) new bands than usual this year. Still, I’m not sure that matters so much anymore. At the end of the day you like what you like, and there will always be some new band or songwriter who will qualify. The whole “is new music still any good?” meme is about as relevant to me as the “is rock and roll dead?” meme. The music is always there and always will be, and it doesn’t always have to be the life-changing bands you heard in high school/college.
As David Bowie once said, “Let’s face the music and dance.”
And so:
dEFROG’S TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2024
A Certain Ratio
It All Comes Down To This (Mute)
13th album from English band that explored the funkier side of post-punk, and continue to do so today, if somewhat sporadically. That said, this is their third release in four years, so ACR seems to be having a renaissance moment. Last year’s 1982 was a mixed bag for me songwise, but this one seems to press the right groove buttons more often than not. I can sure dance to it, let’s put it that way.
Laurie Anderson
Amelia (Nonesuch)
This year saw not one, but two concept albums about the last flight of legendary aviator Amelia Earhart. Anderson’s approach is characteristically artistic, dreamy and kaleidoscopic, with sound effects, journal entries and inner dialogue interspersed with guest vocals from Anonhi into what is essentially one 34-minute piece comprising 22 segments. You won’t get a lot of insight into Earhart or her last flight, but then that’s like saying you won’t learn anything about Mona Lisa’s life from looking at a painting of her. Anyway, it’s captivating.
Los Bitchos
Talkie Talkie (City Slang)
Second LP from UK-based band that blends surf, psychedelia and Cumbia into one big dance party. This time around, they feed those influences into a 1980s disco, and the result is arguably even more groovy than their debut. As the title implies, there’s slightly more vocals here, but (as the title also implies) it’s more talking than singing, and there’s not all that much – it’s still mostly instrumentals, and Los Bitchos do it better than just about anyone else right now.
The Bug Club
On The Intricate Inner Workings of the System (Sub Pop)
Third LP from Welsh duo that get lumped into the current wave of “RIYL The Fall” post-punk revivalist bands (which I’m told is called Crank Wave now by order of NME), though musically it’s more like fairly straightforward indie rock with snarky observational lyrics – closer to bands like Ween (only less offensive) than, say, Yard Act. Whatever label you want to slap on it, it’s done well, and it’s a lot of fun.
John Carpenter
Lost Themes IV: Noir (Rodeo Suplex/Sacred Bones)
Fifth album from film legend John Carpenter along with son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies (son of Dave), and the fourth to serve up themes to John Carpenter films that haven’t been made yet and probably never will be. For me, it’s been diminishing returns since the first one, but this volume reverses that trend with more tracks that spark the imagination rather than tread water. Recommended mostly for people who like John Carpenter films, or at least the soundtracks (and I like both, so there you go.)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Wild God (Play It Again Sam)
18th LP from Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds, in which Cave continues to ruminate on death (which he’s had to deal with a lot lately, especially two of his sons), but with a striking and inspiring optimism that oscillates between earthly transcendence and bubble-bursting reality checks. It’s arguably the opposite of how Cave might have approached this material 30 years ago, which is what makes the album that more surprising and moving. Calling it Cave’s “Christian” phase is probably pushing the analogy too far, and yet Cave captures his recent spiritual transformation more convincingly that a lot of mainstream Christian artists. Who would have guessed?
Electric Eel Shock
Heavy Metal Black Belt (Double Peace Records)
It’s nice to know that EES are still around – they kind of dropped off my radar after 2007’s excellent Transworld Ultra Rock, and they’ve only recorded three albums since then, including this, their ninth. Essentially it’s more of the same, which in this case is a good thing – deliberate lunkhead hard rock with a very Japanese sense of humour that most metal bands probably don’t wish they had but could certainly use. Black belts earned!
Gustaf
Package Part 2 (Royal Mountain Records)
Second album from New York no-wave band and entirely new to me. It’s probably too simple to lump them into the same category as “sounds kinda like The Fall” bands (see: Yard Act, Dry Cleaning and Wet Leg, none of which sound like The Fall, but you get what I mean), with Lydia Gammill speak-singing and whatnot. For me, it’s closer to 80s bands like Pylon, early Talking Heads or Gang of Four, or what bands like New Young Pony Club were trying to do 15 years ago. Anyway, it’s wonderfully sparse, funky art-punk with a dark, sardonic sense of humor. I dance to this on the train because I can’t help it.
Klangphonics
Perfect Opposure (Klangphonics)
First full-length from German trio mostly known for playing techno with mostly live instruments and found objects like leaf blowers, steam cleaners and blenders. And they do it so well you’d never know it from listening to this, which musically sounds like what you expect techno to sound like. In other words, if you didn’t know they were playing live, you might mistake this for just another techno album, albeit a pretty good one with decent tunes. Which is another way of saying it’s easier to appreciate what they do in a live performance than on record. Still, I do find myself getting lost in the music anyway, which is what good techno does.
Liela Moss
Transparent Eyeball (Mother Figure Records)
Liela Moss – front person for UK band The Duke Spirit – follows up last year’s wonderful Internal Working Model with her fourth solo LP that pursues a similar template of electronic pop that forms the foundation for Moss’ creative vocal arrangements. This one has more of a Gothic feel and it slightly underwhelms in comparison to Internal Working Model. On the other hand this came out late in the year and it only hit my radar a month ago, so I need to sit with it a little more. Anyway, I do like it, if only because Moss is one of those people whose voice really captivates me.
The Linda Lindas
No Obligation (Epitaph)
Second album from LA punk band that were ubiquitous three years ago after a video of them performing “Racist Sexist Boy” in a public library went viral, but lately it seems they’ve dropped off the mass pop culture radar. Or maybe I don’t keep up as much as I used to. Anyway, their latest LP shows they’re still a good punk band that’s also evolving into something relatively more mature in terms of music and perspective (they’re still teenagers, after all) as they deal with trying to forge their own identity in a world that expects them to conform to the usual expectations or live up to the hype. Which I think is why the best songs for me are the ones that deviate from the pop-punk formula.
Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets
Indoor Safari (Yep Roc)
The “Jesus of Cool” returns with his first album of new songs in 11 years, and his first full-length LP with lucha-mask surf band Los Straitjackets, who have served as his touring band for the last six or seven years. A few of these songs were released as singles or EPs as far back as 2018. Musically it’s exactly the way you’d expect a Nick Lowe/Los Straitjackets team-up to sound, and while it’s a relatively calm affair, it’s also the most amiable album I heard this year. Extra points for Lowe writing a song about going to parties and being mistaken for Robyn Hitchcock.
Messer Chups
Dark Side of Paradise (Hi-Tide Recordings)
Album #18 from St Petersburg-based band that started off trading in experimental surf rock combined with Russian folk music and old film soundtracks, but lately have become more of a straightforward horror-themed surf-rock band, at least on record. And yes, surf-rock bands (horror themed or otherwise) are a dime a dozen these days, but while Messer Chups pretty much sticks to the formula, they do so better than most, or at least with more of a sense of humour.
Public Service Broadcasting
The Last Flight (SO Recordings/Silva Screen Records)
PSB’s fifth LP is also the second of two Amelia Earhart concept albums on this list. Where Laurie Anderson is more meditative and artistic than informative, PSB take their usual cinematic indie-rock approach mixed with guest vocalists, historical soundbites and – as there’s not a lot of recordings of Earhart talking – voice actor Kate Graham reading Earhart’s journal entries and communications transcripts. The result is surprisingly emotional. The Race For Space remains PSB’s greatest achievement for me, but this is a close second.
Pylon Reenactment Society
Magnet Factory (Strolling Bones Records)
Not a Pylon reunion, but an incredible simulation! Pylon was one of the unsung post-punk legends of the Athens scene that produced REM and the B-52s. In 2017, Pylon singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay formed PRS to perform songs from her old band, and perhaps inevitably they started creating new songs as well. After an EP and several singles, PRS released this debut LP, featuring seven new songs and two unrecorded Pylon songs. It may not be a proper Pylon reunion, but it really captures the spunky energy and arty playfulness that made Pylon such a joy to listen to. Possibly my most favourite release this year.
Shadow Show
Fantasy Now! (Stolen Body Records)
Second album from Detroit band that dives even deeper into fuzzy psychedelic grooves than their debut LP, and they’re a better band for it. It’s a familiar template, but Shadow Show knows how to use it, with hypnotic vocal harmonies and righteous power chords deployed in just the right places. Sometimes they veer into Dandy Warhols territory, but without the cynical hipsterisms, which is a good thing.
Swamp Dogg
Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th Street (Oh Boy Records)
For his 26th album, Swamp Dogg goes full-on country – which is not as weird as it sounds when you remember that he was pals with John Prine, and Johnny Paycheck’s version of Swamp Dogg’s “She’s All I Got” was a #2 hit in 1971. Lyrically it’s about what you’d expect from Swamp Dogg, but musically it’s pretty good straightforward country, thanks to a sharp string band and added value from guest stars Margo Price, Jenny Lewis and Vernon Reid. It’s also better than most “proper” country albums released this year, if you ask me.
Teenage Riot
We Are Full (Harbour Records)
Third LP from Hong Kong band that describes itself as “copy rock” – an apparent reference to the fact that they started off as a Sonic Youth cover band (which is also where they got their name from). The SY influences remain dominant in their own music, with shoegaze another obvious reference point, but it’s the jazzy horn section that puts them a level above their derivative influences. Doesn’t always work, but it’s very interesting when it does.
The The
Ensoulment (earMUSIC)
Matt Johnson returns to duty with The The after a 24-year break, and he’s clearly got a lot to say. Ensoulment covers a lot of ground musically to deliver Johnson’s ruminations on the state of things in 2024 – from rising authoritarianism in the UK and US to the empty experience of dating apps. Johnson also gets personal with reflections on love, mortality and death. In most cases his gravelly baritone suits the material perfectly, even when it occasionally feels like he’s trying a bit too hard to be clever. But as late-career comeback albums go, this is reassuringly good.
X
Smoke & Fiction (Fat Possum Records)
Ninth and final album from punk legends X, in which they spend a lot of time ruminating over their own history and how far they’ve come since their hungry days. What’s remarkable is how well they’ve managed to retain that spark that makes their music compellingly energetic, even when it doesn’t quite work. In terms of song quality, I personally think that their comeback album Alphabetland would have been a stronger note to go out on, but this will also do nicely.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Ibibio Sound Machine
Pull The Rope (Merge Records)
Fifth album from London-based electronic Afro-funk band that started as a music project to combine 1980s afrobeat with '90s drum-and-bass, but have since evolved into a full band fronted by Eno Williams that blends post-punk, electro and classic West African funk and disco. I first heard them via their previous LP Electricity, which had a great leadoff track (“Protection From Evil”) that the rest of the album didn’t live up to. For this one, the quality still varies but with less filler.
New Model Army
Unbroken (earMUSIC)
Justin Sullivan’s New Model Army is perhaps the only British band that has been pigeonholed as punk, post-punk, Goth, metal and folk, mostly inaccurately. That tradition continues on album #15, which doesn’t quite live up to their best work in the late 80s, but it occasionally comes close, and there’s still some good stuff here.
Shannon and the Clams
The Moon Is In The Wrong Place (Easy Eye Sound/Concord)
Seventh album from Shannon and the Clams, and one created under difficult circumstances, with Shannon Shaw’s fiancé (and a close friend of the band) Joe Haener being killed in a car accident before the band started recording. So grief is a central theme here, although some of the songs were written before Haener’s death. SatC don’t shy away from it, but they don’t let it overwhelm the music either. It doesn’t quite match the magical, delightful creepiness of their previous album, but that would have been inappropriate for this one anyway.
TsuShiMaMiRe
Mizumono (バンドは水物) (Mojor Records)
I wouldn’t call myself an aficionado on Japanese indie rock, but TsuShiMaMiRe has somehow escaped my radar for 25 years, despite being one of the more successful Japanese all-girl trios that isn’t Shonen Knife. But better late than never, I suppose. This is their 20th album, released to mark their 25th anniversary, which also features a re-recorded version of fan favorite “Baka Moto Karee” (“Stupid Curry”). It’s a pretty solid set of fun art punk.
BEST EPS
Baby Rose and BADBADNOTGOOD
Slow Burn (Secretly Canadian)
I confess I’m not familiar with Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Baby Rose, but I am familiar with Canadian jazzy-hip-hop instrumentalists BADBADNOTGOOD, which is how this came across my radar. Like it says on the tin, this is a slow-burn groove best listened to whilst sipping whiskey at 2:30am after a long night. BADBADNOTGOOD are at their best when they do collaborations like this – Baby Rose might be too, I dunno.
Fulu Mikiti
Mokano (Moshi Moshi)
Congolese band that takes the junkyard band concept to the next level – literally every instrument they play is made from stuff recycled from the dump, from petrol cans and flip-flops to car parts and plastic tubing. Hence their name, which in Lingala means “music from the garbage”. They also describe themselves as an Eco-Friendly Afrofuturist Punk collective. In any case, it’s a joyous, raucous noise. Great stage costumes, too.
The Klittens
Butter (self-released)
Second EP from Amsterdam-based quintet that started as a creative and political outlet for the band members and eventually became a full-time music thing. Musically they’re sort of a tighter, more polished version of The Raincoats, albeit with a penchant for unexpected noisy guitar feedback every so often. Catchy tunes, great name.
BEST SINGLES
Altın Gün
Vallahi Yok / Kırık Cam (Glitterbeat)
Dutch-Turkish band Altın Gün continues its quest to concoct psychedelic new wave covers of old Turkish folk songs and create new songs based on same. They released several singles this year, but I picked this one by flipping a coin, basically, though the A-side is the better of the two. But it is groovy.
Nanowar of Steel
Afraid to Shoot into the Eyes of a Stranger in a Strange Land (Napalm Records)
Hard to believe Italian parody metal band Nanowar of Steel have been around 20 years now. They released a Best Of retrospective this year that also contained this new track, which more or less accurately distills the entire Iron Maiden catalog into one almost seven-minute tribute song.
Leenalchi
Lesser Gods and Chimeras (HIKE)
Leenalchi is possibly South Korea’s most unusual indie-pop band – three traditional folk singers, two bassists and a drummer that perform pasori (traditional storytelling in song) set to modern dance-rock music, and the results are generally wonderful. They released a few singles in 2024, mostly K-drama themes, but this is from their upcoming second album, and it’s an absolute banger.
my little airport
威士忌 (Whiskey) (Self released)
Hong Kong’s favorite underground twee-pop band with a political edge (shhh!) released two singles this year, and both are good, but this is my favorite of the two – at face value, a rumination on how we turn to alcohol to deal with grief, loss and change, but also perhaps a low-key lament for all the people who have left HK and feel guilty about it. Possibly. My Cantonese is extremely basic. Anyway, I like it.
Nusantara Beat
Mang Becak (Les Disques Bongo Joe)
Indonesian band based in Amsterdam that gives psychedelic makeovers to classic Indonesian folk and pop songs from the 70s and 80s. If you dig bands like Cambodian Space Project or Altın Gün, this could be for you. It certainly is for me.
THE PLAYLIST
Wanna sample the above? Well you can.
Same time next year,
This is dF