Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Chappell Roan. Shaboozey. Gracie Abrams. These are a few of the breakout music stars of 2024. All three performed on this current (and 50th) season of Saturday Night Live. Did they all make my best of 2024 releases list? Read on to find out.
20. Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere. This Denver melodic death metal group has been around over a decade, and it sounds like they have perfected their craft here, with ambient, psychedelic sounds mixed in that at times recall a bit of Pink Floyd. Listening to this album is an experience like no other.
19. Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft. After years of dismissing her as just another in a long line of overrated music industry darlings, Eilish and her older brother Finneas have finally won me over, at least for now. The pop bliss of “Birds of a Feather” is what pulled me into this album, but it has enough depth and risk-taking – “Lunch” makes that clear right way as the opener – to make it worth repeated listens.
18. Neil Young – Archives Vol. III (1976 – 1987). No one is working harder and enjoying music more than Neil Young these days – heck, he’s even back on Spotify. With at least four releases in ’24 – if you count the CSNY release at #5 on this list – and another one with new band the Chrome Hearts on the way, this behemoth set of 17 CDs and 11 films on five Blu-rays takes the cake for archival release of the year. For an abbreviated and more budget-friendly edition, check out Takes.
17. Various Artists – Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin. After suffering from a scary and rare spinal stroke in 2023, former D Generation frontman Jesse Malin is starting to perform again. He’s an inspiration. This benefit album shows how beloved he is in the music world, with punk, country and rock peers, friends and legends paying tribute to his music, among them Tommy Stinson, Alison Mosshart, Billie Joe Armstrong, and Bruce Springsteen.
16. Opeth – The Last Will and Testament. A return to progressive death metal form, it’s also Opeth’s first true concept album since Still Life and accomplishes a true prog-rock feat: multiple appearances by legendary Jethro Tull frontman and flutist, Ian Anderson.
15. The Cure – Songs of a Lost World. After previewing some songs from what would become this album on recent tours, Robert Smith finally put out a new otherworldy set of tunes, the first since the 2008 release 4:13 Dream. The deep, distorted bass grooves of Simon Gallup on “Drone:Nodrone” and the soft synths and flanger-aided guitars of “I Can Never Say Goodbye” are vintage Cure for sure. Welcome back, gents!
14. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Long After Dark (Expanded). “You Got Lucky” will forever be the biggest hit from this early ’80s LP, but if Petty had to do the album sequencing over again, I’m sure a golden nugget like “Never Be You,” included here in the expanded edition, would’ve been included and made it even better.
13. Bonny Light Horseman – Keep Me on Your Mind / See You Free. A double LP by this folk supergroup of Josh Kaufman, Eric Johnson from Fruit Bats and Anais Mitchell surprised me, but they pull it off seamlessly. It’s propelled by the passion of Mitchell and Johnson’s vocal harmonies – the allure of Mitchell’s voice in particular just works every time.
12. Judas Priest – Invincible Shield. The power Rob Halford still has in his voice and the relentless guitar assault by Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner on this, the band’s 19th LP, should not surprise anyone.
11. Talking Heads – Live at WCOZ ’77. On 11/17/77, two months after their debut album came out, Talking Heads played live at this once-popular Boston rock station (one that my old man reminds me that he worked at a few years after this show was recorded). Record Store Day 2024 was the chosen occasion for this special release.
10. Shaboozey – Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going. The more I hear from him, the more I like his brand of heart-on-sleeve country confessions.
9. Pearl Jam – Dark Matter. It’s amazing what can happen when a veteran band thinks outside the box and lets in a new voice. Enter Andrew Watt, who as producer and music co-writer of all tracks here has given the Seattle legends a kick in the ass they surely needed. “Upper Hand,” “Wreckage” and “Waiting for Stevie” are just some highlights from a band that hasn’t sounded this focused in a long time.
8. Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Early Daze. In his book Waging Heavy Peace, Young recalls the regret of not using the mix of “Cinnamon Girl” with the late Danny Whitten’s vocal harmonies more prominent for the classic studio version that eventually came out on Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. It was instead issued as a seven-inch. That version now sees worldwide daylight here, a release that should be considered a companion album to EKTIN.
7. Velocity Girl – UltraCopacetic. It took three decades, but ’90s indie rock fans can finally hear a better mix of the D.C. group’s legendary 1993 debut LP Copacetic, with the sound – ahem, guitars – noticeably less brash this time around.)
6. Post Malone – F-1 Trillion. Post’s first country album is star-studded, led by the #1 smash “I Had Some Help” featuring Morgan Wallen and the almost equally catchy country duet with Dolly Parton, “Have the Heart.”
5. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Live at Fillmore East, 1969. More archival remastery from the original folk rock supergroup. Check out Stephen Stills and the crew doing justice to the Beatles classic, “Blackbird.”
4. DIIV – Frog in Boiling Water. These shoegaze / dreampop wizards of New York City keep churning out addictive tunes, album after album. “Everyone Out” and “Brown Paper Bag” are among the best of the 10 on this, their fourth full-length.
3. Kasey Musgraves – Deeper Well. Recorded at Electric Lady in NYC, it’s more of a country/folk album than her darker “divorce” album from 2021, star-crossed. An expanded edition titled Deeper Into the Well features seven more tracks, including the musically gorgeous but lyrically unforgiving “Irish Goodbye.” The title cut and the tender acoustic “Heart of the Woods” are my go-to tracks.
2. Jack White – No Name. It’s all about the music – and marketing. No frills, just raw rock without flashy production, not unlike the White Stripes in their heyday. It’s my favorite release of his since 2014’s Lazaretto.
1. Smashing Pumpkins – Aghori Mhori Mei. Released with no singles ahead of time, the whole shebang was first available for listeners to experience in early August as the top tour of ’24 – IMHO – was getting underway with Rancid and headliners Green Day. It has nostalgic flavors from the ’90s glory days but its succinctness at 10 tracks is what stands out – as opposed to its triple-LP concept-driven predecessor, ATUM… and the 20-track, synth-heavy 2020 Cyr LP. It’s their best release since 2018 and arguably their finest since the second era of the band began in 2006.
Honorable Mentions:
David Gilmour – Luck and Strange
St. Vincent – All Born Screaming
The Black Crowes – Happiness Bastards
Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs – Vagabonds, Virgins, & Misfits
Wilco – Hot Sun Cool Shroud EP
