The 80 Best Albums of 2024

Office culture
enough
(ruin)

A Brooklyn-based pop art quartet that refuses to adhere to any specific genre, Office culture Led by vocalist/keyboardist/songwriter Winston Cook Wellson me. They take cues from out-of-the-box 80s pop artists like Modern talk And the China crisis while also exploring methods Joni Mitchell, Steely Danand Avalon-era Roxy music. On their fourth album, they switched things up with plenty of outside collaborators — including Jackie West, Alina Spanger, and Sam Sodomsky, among others — and a slightly more experimental sound.

It spans a CD-friendly running time of 73 minutes, playing 16 songs enough Incorporating dazzling samples, cheesy synth splashes, jazz-leaning excursions, and plenty of pop vocal crooning. Highlights include the album’s ethereal, low-key, deeply melodic opener “Hat Guy,” the tropical vibe of “Secluded,” and the reflective, piano-driven ballad “Was I Cruel.” enough He controls Cook Wilson’s seemingly endless ambition and benefits from a generous spirit of cooperation. – Chris Ingles

Sarah Jarosz
Polaroid lovers
(round)

Texas native Sarah Jarosz She left her last home in New York City for Nashville and added a twist to her music. Her voice shines as the folk traditions of the past have been replaced by the elegance of pop. Her songwriting and playing have never been better. Place has always been important to the singer-songwriter’s music. One can hear echoes from her various homes on the individual tracks. She offers the romance of the Lone Star State in “Mezcal and Lime,” the lure of Manhattan in “Columbus & 89th,” and hearkens to the mountains of Tennessee in “Take the High Road.” These are metaphorical locations whose actual existence does not obscure the fact that they represent emotional states. Jarosz provides a road map to the places the heart travels. As Alan Ginsberg used to put it, America is the America of lost love.

Jarosz’s skills on instruments (mandolin, guitar, claw hammer, and banjo) have long been appreciated. She was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Country Music Performance in 2009 when she was just 18 years old for the song “Mansinneedof” from her debut album. Over the head song. She has improved as a player, singer, and songwriter since then. Discounts 11 on Polaroid lovers More than proving she’s “good at what I do” she sings in the penultimate song. The album is a contemporary work of art that showcases Jarosz’s continued development as an artist. – Steve Horowitz

Dave
Frog in boiling water
(Concorde)

shine Frog in boiling water, DaveThe fourth album is one that answers two questions at once. First, what is the fate of guitar-driven indie rock in a computer-driven, post-alternative, post-grunge world? Second, is there a way forward for so-called dream pop or shoegaze music that goes beyond simply imitating the trendy sounds of thirty years ago? Frog in boiling water It has enough crunch, melody, and bliss to qualify as something more than the sum of its distinct effects. An elegy for the final stage of the capitalist era, he is able to wear his frustration and sadness on his sleeve and radiate a subtle, sublime sense of beauty, and perhaps just hope. – John Bergstrom

Laurie Anderson
Amelia
(unmatched)

Laurie Anderson It has astounded, delighted, and sometimes baffled audiences for decades. while Amelia Not a traditional album, it has an undeniable appeal that may make it her most accessible work to date. A musical tribute to aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart’s fateful final flight, the record is like a documentary set to music. Anderson approaches her subject with meticulous detail and a mixture of reverence and wonder, combining lyrics, narrative, musical arrangements, and small-group performances.

Fans of experimentally oriented music will find much to like here, but anyone interested in Earhart’s adventures will likely be thrilled by Anderson’s highly convincing and entirely successful attempt to interpret a musically important historical event with dignity and eloquence. Laurie Anderson is one of the most artistically important artists of the last half-century, and it’s fitting that one of her best recordings is a tribute to her fellow pioneer. – Chris Ingles

Christian Lee Hutson
Pop heaven. 10
(anti-)

Pop heaven. 10 It gets its name from a population marker in Parke County, Indiana, near the place Christian Lee Hutson He spent his childhood, which shows how this album felt like an arrival. After finding Los Angeles haunted, he travels across the country to New York in search of a new perspective. Hutson also recorded Pop heaven. 10 In the depths of winter, adding a dull realism to the tracks. Ranging from infectious to powerful Elliot Smith-Like Elegy, Hutson once again proves himself a poignant songwriter, weaving semi-autobiographical tales into what feels like a thematically unified collection of short stories. The tracks are colored with equal parts regret and hope, documenting the winners and losers of love, and none is more poignant than the song “Carousel Horses,” which describes two people on a path where one was always bound to finish first. – Patrick Gill

Stack chat
Cold world
(Flincer)

While many of the best records in heavy music have looked inward to find inspiration in the struggle to wrestle with inner demons, Stack chat They expanded their examination of the horrors of modern life to include a global canvas Cold world. While “Shame” is one of the most accessible songs ever musically, it is one of the most disturbing lyrically, describing snapshots of war in stark detail, an attempt to break through the numbness many have about the atrocities that It does not exist in our world. Communities. Many other songs focus on the aftermath of combat, even for the alleged victors in songs like “Milk of Human Kindness” and “Funny Man.”

In “Masc,” even those who never go to fight find themselves in danger among more toxic men, afraid of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. The songs feel like the musical equivalent of a horror movie, building an atmosphere that explodes in huge, repetitive riffs complemented by singer Rayjon Bush’s relentless vocals. It gives the feeling of having been led into carnage with no hope of escape and is currently destined to be remembered as one of the major Union Records cases of the year that has a chance at a longer shelf life. Humanity’s inhumanity to itself is not likely to become insignificant. – Brian Stout

Horse jumping of love
Disaster hoax
(run for cover)

As we mentioned in the advance blurb Disaster hoax It marks a new period of sobriety for Dimitri Giannopoulos, team leader Horse jumping of loveWho quit drinking before registering. The album bears clear traces of this turn. The overall sound leans in a pessimistic direction. Helping out on this LP is Alex Farrar, who produced MJ Lenderman, Squirrel Flower, and Wednesday. The result is a thick, heavy character that resonates in many tracks, which suits the sombre mood and is very satisfying. The second song, “Where Are You”, might be the best. It has Horse Jumper’s strongest features on offer: an unhurried rhythmic pace, a sense of restraint in the vocal delivery, and a fullness of feeling when the chorus surges. Similar to their peers like DIIV, Horse Jumper of Love reworks the traditions of shoegaze and dream pop rather than imitating them completely. Disaster hoax It is their best album. – Christopher J. Lee

Hello Face
Guided tour
(platform)

One gets the sense that this isn’t your hardcore older brother’s band from the self-titled opening track, which consists of groovy guitars and soaring vocals. London band Hi Vis incorporates elements of post-punk, Britpop and neo-ppsychedelia in their work, and more consistently on their third and best LP, Guided tour. Singer Graham Seale described the development, saying: “For years coming from hardcore, we had very clear boundaries – other scenes were separate worlds. Now things are more mixed, drawing from different places. Even with amazing numbers like ‘Drop Me Out’ and “Mob DLA”, Hi Vis channel ranges from Ride (“Worth the Wait”) to Hüsker Dü (“Fill the Gap”). Hi Vis arrived during the era of notable hardcore crossovers, such as Iceage And Idles and Viagra Boys on Guided tourthey seek to differentiate themselves to please a growing fan base. – Patrick Gill

Claire Rosay
Feelings
(Suspense Knight)

In previous albums such as Everything perfect is already here (2022) and Softer focus (2021), Claire Rosay She embraced ambient music and field recordings, turning mundane activities like a trip to the local farmer’s market into a compelling experimental audio experience. On her latest LP, there’s more of a singer-songwriter vibe, albeit still relying on these ambient styles to enhance the songs, especially as the subject matter leans into personal loss and grief. Feelings It is a deeply sad work imbued with gentle beauty in the emotions that Rossi expresses in the words and the ambient joy that the music provides. The result was partly surprising, given the context of Rosie’s previous efforts, but it was a warm and welcome surprise. – Chris Ingles

Emil
bitter
(little human)

It’s rare to find a pop star who can claim to be truly revolutionary, but he is a Tunisian singer and songwriter Emil Trigonometry fits both descriptions equally well. Her 2010 song “My Word Is Free” brought her work to a global audience when it became an anthem for the Arab Spring, and she has continued to fight for good – creatively – ever since. As Emile, she makes truly world music, collaborating with artists from all over the world and drawing on a broader range of sonic styles in very engaging ways. new album, bitter (in Arabic “woman”), this collection continues the political work and is perhaps their most expansive publication to date.

Emil Trans Team bitter It is made up of women from all over the world, including up-and-coming artists such as Malian rapper Amy Yirullo, Brazilian producer Lisa, French singers Camelia Jordana, Penelope Antena and Catel, among many others. Each artist brings their own language, perspective and style to a cohesive mix of politically powerful tracks. – Adrian Pontecorvo