Your Album of 2024.

Sorry for quoting from a different thread:

I like these music posts as it opens up stuff I’ve never listened to and what floats other boats

With this in mind and naming a single album from an entire decade is a bit too much for me, what’s your fave from the past 12 months?

For me, it was a toss up between Fontaines DC and Blossoms but Gary pipped it.
RM.

Narrowing it down to one is really hard. Maybe Son of a Broken Man by Fantastic Negrito.

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Unbroken- New model army

Think it was released year before, but Chappell Roan’s album really grabbed me last year. Me and most STW member’s probably not the target audience but it’s a brilliant modern pop album.

Saw me listening to quite a bit of female fronted pop, electro rock type stuff such as Pale Waves and Lauren Mayberry which was all a nice change compared to normal stuff I go for.

At 62 the situation is that there’s so much music that is new to me, that I don’t pay any attention to when a piece of music was recorded so I may well have listened to music recorded in 2024 but I don’t know.Also so many favourites to listen to again so much music and not enough time to do it all justice

Linkin Park’s new album. It managed to both keep to the same style, with songs that draw from each of their previous eras, whilst also being different enough to be respectful to Chester.

Can’t look past this. Masterpiece of hyperpop

English Teacher / This could be Texas.

Excellent album and excellent live too.

see in the dark, Aerynn

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k7262_czWiO9oPmks1GSnnTc_erMDTvCU&si=KDf77B0hyPiEYhol

An extreme year called for some extreme music.
This was probably my fave: A Chaos of Flowers by BIG|BRAVE.

https://bigbrave.bandcamp.com/album/a-chaos-of-flowers

(Other notable mentions: American Standard by Uniform, Orchids of a Futile Heaven by The Body and Dis Fig and Maggot Mass by Pharmakon).

Yummy by James is my most played album this year.

I came to post that Big Brave album but someone beat me to it! A stunning piece of work. If you can imagine folk songs being gradually steamrollered into the dirt with mahoosive lumbering distorted guitars you’re somewhere near. Absolutely love it.

So tied for 2nd place, I’ll put this – (ultra minimalist, slightly industrial-tinged heavyweight dub):
https://ghostdubs.bandcamp.com/album/damaged

…and this (exquisitely crafted modern ambient electronica):

https://cravenfaults.bandcamp.com/album/bounds

Craven Faults ^ up there is very good indeed.

According to roon my 3 favourite/most played albums of last year were (can’t pick a favourite)

Floating points – Cascade.

I’m usually more of a metal/post hardcore kind of listener but occasionally an electronic album piques my interest and this is one of those.

For me it’s Florence Black – Bed of Nails.

Not breaking any new ground in rock, but it’s a cracking album, really well done and produced (for an upcoming band) and definite step up from their first which is good to see from new artists. Cracking live – seen them twice and looking forward to seeing them rise up the festival line-up hierarchy.

https://www.kerrang.com/album-review-florence-black-bed-of-nails

For an established band – another vote for Fontaines DC – Romance

Beak

Bill Ryder Jones

Daisy Rickman

All had new albums that I really enjoyed, as did many others.

As per yesterday’s thread, there is so much variety and quality nowadays, it’s difficult to pick a shortlist.

+ Thanks for the tips above

Tygers Blood – Waxahatchee. Never heard of Waxahatchee until someone on here recommended Right Back to it. Too lazy to check who, but very much appreciated

English Teacher for me the BBC live performance was excellent.

NME a great shout^^^ but The Cure and Fontaines DC have it for me .

im going for either….

letter to self – sprints

or

cartoon darkness – amyl and the sniffers

Yummy by James is my most played album this year

Very similar to me.

Although I think Waxahatchee – Tigers blood pipped it for absolute favourite.

Gift – Illuminator was great too.

As mentioned above, you won’t go wrong with Beak> – >>>>

Wunderhorse’s Midas is my most played

Notable mentions though to Sprints’ Letter to Self and the K’s I wonder if the world knows

Hard to look past Fontaines Romance though

This is difficult to narrow down but either

English Teacher – This must be texas or

Nick Cave – Wild God

Both great live too

Not so much an album, but a piece of music, Rachmaninov Symphony no 2. So good!

To add to the Fontaines love in – but honourable mentions to Bob Vylan & Amyl & the Sniffers.

Jon Hopkins – Ritual

I flew from Frankfurt to Heathrow with it playing while I watched an amazing sunset through the plane window.  It was a transcendental hour.  I must try Craven Faults again as I wasn’t in the best headspace when I listened before.  I know it will grab me when I am in the right place for it,

Enjoyed the Fatdog album, bought tickets to see em in Feb, also ELUCID’s Revelator – seeing him in Feb too. Four Tet’s Three was lovely.

But just cos it was the weirdest and most compelling of the year:
“You Said You’d Hold My Hand Through The Fire” by Iceboy Violet & Nueen

I’ve only bought a few albums this year but this was my favourite

Tygers Blood – Waxahatchee

My choice, Alien Ant Farm Mantras

One, just one? No chance.

Apart from the above mentioned Brat and Tigers Blood I’ve played This is how Tomorrow Moves (Beabadoobee), Nostalgia (Hania Rani), Woodland Studios (Gillian Welch & David Rawlings), Nobody Loves You More (Kim Deal), The Collective (Kim Gordon), Still (Erika de Casier), All The Trains (Shellac) to mention by a few but if I was to have to choose the most played (and these are ‘mini-albums’) have been IU’s The Winning (for Shh…) and Illit’s Super Real Me (for My World and Magnetic)…

Start of the year I picked up on Park Hye Jin’s Sail the Seven Seas (I Hope You are Okay and Stupid asf especially) and Mitski’s The Land is Inhospitable and so are we (or rather kept on listening to it, as in a lot!).

Prelude to Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party

I don’t listen to much new (recent releases) music as I don’t listen to anything but talk radio so I am very behind the times. The most listened to new to me albums in 2024 were Tilham by Blowzabella and Cosmic Thing by the B52’s. The latter was a revelation to me as in the 80’s and 90’s I only heard Love Shack and Rock Lobster as singles yet the whole album is much more interesting to me now. I wish that I had taken the opportunity to see them live

A draw between The Sunset Violent by Mount Kimbie (also brilliant live) and Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee (who it doesn’t look like we’ll ever get to see live).

“You Said You’d Hold My Hand Through The Fire” by Iceboy Violet & Nueen

Intrigued,

Love Mount Kimbie, but not really engaged with the Sunset Violent. Must give a few more listens. The Cindy Lee one is great, but sooo many tracks!

Currently checking out the Bleep Top 100 of 2024 and er, well, most of it is terrible IMO [lol]

I’ve bought more albums this year than I have for a long tome. So many good releases – 2 from the Smile, English Teacher, Nick Cave, David Gilmour…

But for me the favourite has to be Project Blackbird’s ‘True Names’ – and they are just sublime live.

Bit predictable for an ageing goth, but has to be The Cure.

HMs to Beth Gibbons and The Last Dinner Party.

Gruff Rhys – Sadness Sets Me Free