My Favorite Albums of 2024

Yes, another year end list. Let's compare notes.

I know nobody needs another list of albums that they loved, but this is a little different. Each year I create tribute designs for the albums that I love. You can see past years on my website.

Here are my ten favorite albums, listed without any specific order, along with an extended list of albums I frequently revisited this year.

Astrid Sonne - Great Doubt

I adore this album because it feels as though Astrid has welcomed you into her creative journey. You experience raw experimentation combined with her skills as a classically trained musician. The Great Doubt EDITS remix album is phenomenal as well!

Mount Kimbie - The Sunset Violent

Mount Kimbie has consistently blended analog and electronic instruments in their music, but this album marks their first true embrace of guitars as a central instrument. Consequently, this album exudes a more raw and immediate feel. Since their last release, the band has grown, and Andrea Balency-Béarn’s voice resonates prominently throughout the album.

ketamine_shoppe - exit scam

This album is profoundly underrated. ketamine_shoppe is a collaboration between Devin O’Brien and John Vanderslice. I’ve been a fan of John Vanderslice since the early 2000s; his lyrical style and song arrangements have consistently amazed me (Pale Horse remains a classic). Over time, his sound evolved from acoustic guitar-led singer-songwriter to more experimental and electronic influences. Twenty-year-old me would never have envisioned John Vanderslice creating music like this, but I absolutely love it.

SML - Small Medium Large

Emerging from the symbolic ashes of ETA, the recently closed amazing bar and venue in LA, this collage of regular performers has crafted an incredible masterpiece. It's a blend of Aphex Twin, exotica, and Bitches Brew—100% inspired brilliance. Each performer in this group have been a part of a whole slew of great albums over the last year+.

Helado Negro - PHASOR

Each Helado Negro album is journey through time and space. This one collects all of the HN staples; songs that make you wanna dance, songs that make you wanna cry, and songs that make you want to lie under a tree stoned.

Jack J - Blue Desert

Jack J is the epitome of cool. He co-founded Mood Hut (insanely influential electronic label based out of Vancouver). He was one half of Pender Street Steppers, who played a big part in solidifying lo-fi aesthetics into electronic music. He does very little press/social media. He releases physical mixtapes of his demos, remixes, sketches that don’t appear on streaming services. With his second solo album, he crafts beautiful, catchy, and vulnerable songs reminiscent of Sade blended with Arthur Russell.

Nilüfer Yanya - My Method Actor

I came late to the Nilüfer Yanya party, and honestly, I have no idea what rock I was hiding under during her first two albums. But here I am now, fully hooked, and it feels like finding treasure you didn’t know you were looking for. Her pop songs are the kind of earworms that stay with you for days—not the cloying kind, but ones with just the right amount of bite to keep them feeling fresh and alive. This album was probably the album I listened to the most this year.

Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee

I love everything about this album. Musically, it’s stunning clocking in at a whopping 2 hours of hauntingly beautiful songs. The rollout of this album was cryptic at best. No direct social media. It’s not available on any streaming services except for a single two-hour long YouTube video. The band website is hosted on Geocities and looks like it was made in 1999 (which is so fucking cool).

Patrick Flegel (who performs as Cindy Lee) has spoken out about how terrible Spotify is for musicians, but how the album was released goes deeper than monetary concerns. It strikes a chord with identity and community as well. Flegel hasn’t spoken directly about what the album means to them, but maybe that’s the point. Accept it, love it, take it as it comes. It serves as a stunning self-portrait of an amazing artist.

22˚ Halo - Lily of the Valley

This album presents itself as a bubbly indie-pop album with catchy hooks and great dynamics. However, as you sing along, you discover it delves into more profound themes such as death and grief. Will Kennedy crafted this album while his partner and bandmate, Kate Schneider, was facing a battle with brain cancer. It is a poignant work rich with detailed reflections on navigating life amid this diagnosis. The good news is that Kate is currently doing well, and her cancer is in remission.

The Cure - Songs of a Lost World

Waiting nearly two decades for an album evokes two main feelings: anticipation and fear. The anticipation stems from such a long gap, but the fear arises from wondering if the band still retains their essence or if they’ll shift their style to fit current trends, potentially losing their identity. Often, both feelings manifest, leaving you feeling a bit let down.

The Cure certainly fulfilled the anticipation aspect. Yet, this album alleviates fears about them losing their identity. It offers a stunning reflection of the band at their peak (the Disintegration era). I’m eager to see these tracks performed live alongside their classic songs.

Additional Albums I Loved in 2024:

• Dummy - Free Energy

• Diamond Day - Connect The Dots

• Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch

• Oval Angle - Figures of Speech

• h. pruz - No Glory

• Porches - Shirt

• Julia-Sophie - forgive too slow

• Sports Coach - COACH OF ALL SPORTS

• Fine - Rocky Top Ballads

• Cola - The Gloss

• villagerrr - Tear Your Heart Out

• IDLES - TANGK

• Tearjerker - This Is Really All We Need

• Hovvdy - Hovvdy

• RIP Swirl - Perfectly Blue

• The Green Child - Look Familiar

• Fontaines D.C. - Romance

• Starflyer 59 - Lust For Gold

• Dungen - Otis

• TV Girl & George Clanton - Fauxllenium

• The TRANSA Comp

• mewithoutYou - Live, Vol. One

• Reverend Baron - Some Demos

• Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes - HIGH LIFE