Another completely honest year-end round-up: 2024 In Review
My favorite albums, singles and reissues of 2024 w/ an accompanying playlist
OK let’s jump right into it - you might take a look at my top albums list and think “a compilation was your album of the year???!?!?” Yup, that’s correct — I put TRAИƧA, a box set-length compilation from the Red Hot Organization atop my list because I think it’s the most monumental work of the year, and managed to keep me 100% transfixed over the course of 46 songs and a nearly four hour run time, even upon repeated listens. Quite a feat in today’s attention economy! Of course, it’s also for a good cause, and I love the collaborative nature of the project - not every track is from more than one featured artist, but the majority do. Some of my personal favorite collabs are from ANOHNI & Moses Sumney, Jlin and Moor Mother, Perfume Genius and Alan Sparhawk, Helado Negro and Eileen Myles as well as Bartees Strange, with Anjimile and Kara Jackson.
Other than TRAИƧA dominating my listening time this year, the other artist that commanded my attention this year was undoubtedly Waxahatchee. She had the #1 single of the year for me, when I first heard it I think I tweeted something like “you could study songwriting your whole life and still not come up with a song 1/10 as good as ‘Right Back To It.’” While I did enjoy the MJ Lenderman album, his most vital contribution this year was the guitar and backing vocals he contributed to “Right Back To It.” You’ll also notice a hefty serving of Stephen Malkmus on my list, as the debut album from his new supergroup The Hard Quartet made my list and the long overdue Pavement singles box set made my list of favorite reissues.
One other note before we dive into the lists - as per usual I am omitting any releases that I was professionally involved with from any of these lists. I advise pulling up the playlist (I’ve included Apple Music and Spotify playlists this time!), setting it to random mode and letting it ride.
Top Twenty Favorite Albums of 2024:
Various Artists - TRAИƧA
Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood
This Is Lorelei - Box For Buddy, Box For Star
Mdou Moctar - Funeral For Justice
Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal
Shellac - To All Trains
Merce Lemon - Watch Me Drive Them Dogs Wild
Arab Strap - I’m totally fine with it don’t give a fuck anymore
Etran De L'Aïr - 100% Sahara Guitar
Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More
Fievel Is Glauque - Rong Weickness
The Hard Quartet - S/T
Being Dead - EELS
Tierra Whack - WORLD WIDE WHACK
Dancer - 10 Songs I Hate About You
Mount Kimbie - The Sunset Violent
J. Spaceman & John Coxon - Music for William Eggleston’s Stranded In Canton
Belong - Realistic IX
Lollise - I hit the water
A.G. Cook - Britpop
Top Twenty Favorite Reissues of 2024:
Broadcast - Distant Call
Love Child - Never Meant To Be: 1988 - 1993
Galaxie 500 - Uncollected Noise New York ‘88 - ‘90
Rail Band - Rail Band
Various Artists - Back Up Dos: Mexican Techno Pop 1980 - 1989
Margo Guryan - Words and Music
Various Artists - Congo Funk! Sound Madness From The Shores Of The Mighty Congo River (Kinshasa/Brazzaville 1969-1982)
Various / Lou Reed – Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed At Pickwick Records 1964–65)
Pavement - Cautionary Tales: Jukebox Classiques
Drop Nineteens - Delaware (finally reissued on vinyl!)
Various - Virtual Dreams, Vol. II - Ambient Explorations in the House & Techno Age, Japan 1993-1999
Gastr del Sol – We Have Dozens of Titles
Banned 37 – Banned 37
MF DOOM - Mm..Food (20th Anniversary Edition)
Nico - The Marble Index/ Desert Shore - Vinyl Reissues
Dizzy K. - Sweet Music Volume II
Joyce Moreno - Passarinho Urbano
Various Artists - Love & Purpose: A Celebration of British Soul Music
World Standard - Country Gazette (finally on vinyl!)
Various Artists - Nigeria Special Volume 3: Electronic Innovation Meets Culture And Tradition 1978-93
Top Twenty Favorite Singles of 2024
Waxahatchee feat. MJ Lenderman - “Right Back To It”
This Is Lorelei - “I’m All Fucked Up”
Sky Ferreira - “Leash”
Buck Meek - “Cuero Dudes”
Kim Gordon - “BYE BYE”
inuha - “陽のかけら”
The Cure - “Alone”
R. Missing - “Maryhead”
Panda Bear & Cindy Lee - “Defense”
julie - “thread, stitch”
Clothing feat. Amber Coffman - “Kingdom”
MJ Lenderman - “Wristwatch”
Fine - “Days Incomplete”
Adrianne Lenker - “Sadness As A Gift”
Seefeel - “Sky Hooks”
Wishy - “Triple Seven”
Horse Jumper of Love - “Snow Angel”
Madlib feat. Black Thought & Your Old Droog - “REEKYOD”
Glixen - “foreversoon”
Sour Widows - “Big Dogs”