Editor's note: Check out my podcast discussion with Jay Breitling about our favorite music of '24 on Completely Conspicuous (here's parts 1 and 2).
Time flies when you're something something. That's what 2024 felt like. A lot happened, much of which wasn't good, and here we are in a new year. However, what was good in 2024 was the music, especially in the second half of the year. If you're looking for the big pop or country albums in this roundup, look elsewhere because that's not my bag. But there was plenty of indie rock to get excited about. Here's my top 15 albums of '24.
14. Ekko Astral - Pink Balloons (Topshelf): Angry noise rock from D.C. punk act that doesn't shy away from political hot-button topics: Trans rights, the Israel-Palestine situation, racism, you name it. Blistering rippers upon rippers and a great live act to boot (I saw them open for Ted Leo and the Pharmacists in June). Choice cuts: On Brand, Uwu Type Beat, Sticks and Stones.
13. Dale Crover - Glossolalia (Joyful Noise): Named after the term for speaking in tongues, the third album from the Melvins' drummer features Tom Waits leading off the album by doing just that. The album is chock full of excellent psych-rock jams, with guest guitarists Kim Thayil and Ty Segall contributing hot lead guitar work. Choice cuts: Doug Yuletide, I Quit, Spoiled Daisies.
12. Jack White - No Name (Third Man): On his sixth solo album, Jack White reverts back to his rip-roaring blues punk days, with fiery and fun blasts of noise throughout. He created demand in July via guerilla marketing, with unlabeled copies of the record slipped into the bags of customers at his Third Man Records store in Nashville. After folks started posting audio rips of the album online, White released it the old-fashioned way. The best thing he's done since the White Stripes. Choice cuts: Old Scratch Blues, Bombing Out, Bless Myself.
11. Kal Marks - Wasteland Baby (Exploding in Sound): Carl Shane continues to bring the noise rock heat with the latest Kal Marks release, a pissed off collection that explores frustration with the world at large while also looking inward as a husband and father. The title track, which Shane calls an apocalyptic love song for his wife, combines the punishing musicianship of bands like Pile and Shellac with a pop undercoating. Choice cuts: Insects, Motherfuckers, Wasteland Baby.
10. J Mascis - What Do We Do Now (Sub Pop): Another excellent solo effort from Mascis, working in some hot solos among the acoustic-based songs. Taking a break from the jet-engine roar of Dinosaur Jr., Mascis digs into more folk and country influences, balancing songs about longing and loneliness with the sheer brilliance of his guitar work. Choice cuts: Right Behind You, You Don't Understand Me, I Can't Find You.
9. METZ - Up on Gravity Hill (Sub Pop): Toronto noise rock trio returns with another blistering album, tempered by more melodic touches. Frontman Alex Edkins has previously done poppier stuff with his side project Weird Nightmare, but this time around brings that feel to METZ. Guests Amber Webber and Owen Pallet contribute to the new vibe. The band has announced this is their last album, which is a bummer, but if true, what a way to go out. Choice cuts: Entwined (Street Light Buzz), Light Your Way Home, 99.
8. Fake Fruit - Mucho Mistrust (Carpark): Second album from Bay Area post-punk trio fronted by Hannah D'Amato brings the heat with vocals reminiscent of Courtney Barnett. She rips into shitty ex-partners, bad relationships and other indignities with directness, frustration and humor. The band blows through these songs with panache and power. Choice cuts: Mas o Menos, See It That Way, Gotta Meet You.
7. Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven (Epitaph): Loud, self-assured punk pop from Philly. Frontwoman Marissa Dabice is a commanding presence, leading the band through punk ragers and more tuneful interludes. Dabice rides the edge of various emotions: love, lust, pain, annoyance or just sheer anger. The band can play it quiet and gentle one moment, vicious and profane the next. It's a fun ride. Choice cuts: Loud Bark, Sometimes, OK? OK! OK? OK!
6. Daniel Romano's Outfit - Too Hot to Sleep (You've Changed Records): Shit-hot collection of power pop scorchers from prolific Canadian Daniel Romano. Ten songs that rock shit up in under 30 minutes. Romano has bounced from genre to genre, whether it was folk, country or orchestral prog. This time around, Romano and his Outfit kick out the jams, motherfuckers, with catchy and riffy garage rock that satisfies and leaves you wishing there was more. Choice cuts: Where's Paradise?, Steal My Kiss, Field of Ruins.
5. Fontaines D.C. - Romance (XL Recordings): Dublin outfit ditches the post-punk sound of their earlier albums, going for a bigger arena-ready sound that still captivates. They changed their look to something that would have worked at the height of Y2K-mania 26 years ago, but their sound is very much modern and dark. Frontman Grian Chatten is a confident presence as he navigates the band through new territory. Choice cuts: Favourite, Starburster, Here's the Thing.
4. MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks (ANTI-): The fourth solo release from the guitarist of Wednesday, the album is a feedback-drenched alt-country tour de force. I discovered Lenderman early in '24 thanks to his live album And the Wind (Live and Loose), which is excellent. He drops hilarious vignettes about losers and goofballs in a deadpan delivery that never gets excited, just acknowledges the situation, and includes plenty of pop culture references. You've gotta love an album that closes with a 10-minute song about playing "Bark at the Moon" on Guitar Hero. Choice cuts: Wristwatch, Rudolph, She's Leaving You.
3. The Hard Quartet - s/t (Matador): This wide-ranging debut from a group featuring alt-rock luminaries Stephen Malkmus (Pavement, Silver Jews) and Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Zwan) works because it doesn't sound like either man's past work. Both are hot guitarists and split lead vocals. Along with Emmett Kelly (Will Oldham) and drummer Jim White (Dirty Three, Oldham), the Hard Quartet covers a lot of ground: Scuzzy garage rock, power pop, prog excursions, angular indie rock, stoned country rock and Stonesy swagger. The HQ feels like a real band as opposed to a supergroup dominated by one or two members. Choice cuts: Rio's Song, Chrome Mess, Earth Hater.
2. The Cure - Songs of a Lost World (Fiction, Polydor, Lost, Universal, Capitol): A masterpiece of a return after 16 years from Robert Smith and Co. Majestic soundscapes that take their time to develop. The band is firing on all cylinders, with Reeves Gabrels providing sharp lead guitar, Simon Gallup with heavy bass and Jason Cooper with thunderous drumming. Smith sounds the same as he ever has, although this album's lyrical content is more serious that Cure albums of the past, with lots of ruminations on death and doom. Choice cuts: Alone, A Fragile Thing, Warsong.
1. Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More (4AD): Crazy to think that after 37 years in the biz, this is Kim Deal's first proper solo album. Although maybe the Amps one-off in '95 might qualify, or the occasional singles she released under her own name over the years. Some songs ("Are You Mine?" and "Wish I Was") were written in 2011-2013. Steve Albini helped with production. Deal sings a lot about loss; she took care of her parents before they both passed and her good friend Albini died earlier this year. There's a lot of interesting instrumentation; the title track includes strings and a brass section, but there are still rockers in abundance. Old friends Britt Walford and Jim McPherson and sister Kelley Deal all help out. It's warm, full and flat-out brilliant. Choice cuts: Disobedience, Coast, Wish I Was.
Honorable mention:
Cloud Nothings - Final Summer
Mary Timony - Untame the Tiger
Buffalo Tom - Jump Rope
IDLES - Tangk
Johnny Foreigner - How to Be Hopeful
John Davis - Jinx
The Jesus Lizard - Rack
Oceanator - Everything is Love and Death
Illuminati Hotties - Power
Horse Jumper of Love - Disaster Trick
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Flight b741
Osees - SORCS80
Chime School - The Boy Who Ran the Paisley Hotel
Los Campesinos! - All Hell
Redd Kross - s/t
+/- - Further Afield
Shellac - To All Trains
DIIV - Frog in Boiling Water
Sharp Pins - Radio DDR and Mod Mayday 23
Les Savy Fav - OUI, LSF
St. Vincent - All Born Screaming
The Lemon Twigs - A Dream is All We Know
Neutrals - New Town Dream
Mdou Moctar - Funeral for Justice
Pearl Jam - Dark Matter
Bodega - Our Brand Could Be Yr Life
Kim Gordon - The Collective
Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood
Boeckner - Boeckner!
The Bug Club - On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System
Rick Rude - Laverne
The Smile - Wall of Eyes
Sleater-Kinney - Little Rope
Jesse Malin - Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin
Reissues:
Sloan - Smeared box set
The Tragically Hip - Up to Here 35th anniversary reissue
Velocity Girl - UltraCopacetic (Copacetic Remixed and Expanded)
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