Here we are again. It’s time to list my top 24 albums of 2024. Looking out my window, I see a rotting pumpkin on my porch and the glimmer of the neighbor’s holiday decor while also breathing in the slight scent of burning timbers. I think, “Maybe we did make it through 2024!” But on second glance, that might be a car fire I’m smelling, and those blinking lights are from a fire truck. Yeah, the world is burning to the ground, but what are ya gonna do? It’s been an exhausting year of disappointment, false hope, and the looming threat of societal breakdowns.
Throughout 2024, we saw both sides of the coin in just about every pop culture phenomenon.
Charlie XCX declared Brat summer, and Chappell Roan reluctantly became the biggest pop star in the world. Country became the new pop, and metal infiltrated the Olympics. Meanwhile, P.Diddy unironically became public enemy number one, and Kendrick vs Drake was far more entertaining than Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul. Speaking of politics, I don’t think I need to remind you about how difficult the next 4 years are going to be if you’re among the working class or your race and gender is anything other than white and male. What else is new?
With this much civil unrest and political uncertainty, the tone of the top 24 albums of 2024 matches the highs and lows of our existential dread.
That’s really about as close as I can get to an underlying theme for these records. If 2024 taught me anything, it was okay to have feelings. There was a lot to feel this year, and despite being in the age of social media, expressing those feelings through music might be healthier than screaming into the public void. These are the records that got me through it.
These are my Top 24 Albums of 2024.
24. Kim Gordon – The Collective
For her second solo record, entitled The Collective, Kim Gordon is still tackling toxic masculinity, excess, and the underbelly of the human condition with the fervor of an artist half her age. With stoic cadence, digitally processed beats, and larger-than-life guitars, Gordon sounds as if she’s closer to a second wind than the twilight of her prolific career.
23. Kulk – It Gets Worse
It Gets Worse feels like a horror story unfolding before your eyes and ears. But as the world crumbles down around us in real life, maybe there’s comfort in the familiar. For me, Kulk feels like the best possible band picking up the torch from Sonic Youth, and if that’s the case, It Gets Worse is the new Goo.
22. PIG – Red Room
PIG is always sleazy, grimy, and filthy like a David Fincher movie. But Red Room kicks it up several notches by trimming all the fat and getting to the point within the first track. It’s kind of like the music equivalent of picking a scab.
21. Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well
Despite not being a fan of modern country music, Deeper Well hooked me from the start. The dry Rubber Soul-esque production and the lack of pop gimmicks let her personable beauty take center stage. While there aren’t many plot twists or obvious singles, Deeper Well is a collection of heartbreaking vulnerability and a particular brand of self-reflection nothing short of infectious.
20. The Black Dahlia Murder – Servitude
After the tragic loss of Trevor Strnad, the future of The Black Dahlia Murder looked pretty grim. But after a little soul-searching, the remaining members decided to pull it together and continue as a band. Servitude is a blistering experience in melodic death metal that sounds new and reinvigorated while maintaining the core sound of the previous 9 albums. Moreover, it acts as both a tribute to their fallen brother and a beacon as to where they go moving forward.
[Check out my full review of Servitude here]
19. Big|Brave – A Chaos Of Flowers
With A Chaos Of Flowers, Big|Brave delivers the violent droning, brooding atmosphere, and the angelic vocals they’re known for. As a companion piece to last year’s Nature Morte, Robin, Tasy, and Matthieu break out of the single-chord structure for something more expansive. Meanwhile, the lyrical content explores the darker nature of how corrupt the world has gotten as well as the xenophobic nature of society as a whole.
[For more information, check out Crushed Monocle Podcast Episode 35: Big|Brave]
18. Mourning Noise – Screams / Dreams
After a 40-year hiatus, Mourning Noise has risen from their patent leather crypt for another round of blood lust. While there’s plenty of tongue-in-cheek schlock, Screams / Dreams isn’t only for B-movie yucks. There’s a surprising amount of fist-pounding energy and gothic atmosphere. Mourning Noise has successfully bridged the past with the future for the most blood-curdling fun you’ll have this year!
17. Julie Christmas – Ridiculous And Full Of Blood
Somewhere between industrial pop and gothic metal, it’s hard to believe Ridiculous And Full Of Blood is only the second solo record by Julie Christmas. While there’s plenty of feral rage to be had, the album is surprisingly personal even at its bleakest moments. But make no mistake – Christmas isn’t here to serenade you with dainty lullabies. She’s here to put your head through the wall and stomp on your lifeless body
16. Sumac – The Healer
At first, The Healer is dense, bleak, and chaotic. But once you sink below the terrifying surface, the album has moments of self-growth and empowerment. While Sumac has always made the kind of music that requires a certain headspace, The Healer is more of an experience than a traditional record.
15. Soccer Mommy – Evergreen
The most striking element of Evergreen is how personal and vulnerable it feels without becoming heavy or emotionally draining. Sophie Allisaon delivers delicate bedroom pop, ’90s-flavored alt-rock, and quirky singer-songwriter sounds with an underlying feeling of accomplishment. With only 4 albums under her belt, she’s grown as an artist in ways that it takes some artists take decades to achieve.
14. Human Impact – Gone Dark
The supergroup made up of members of Unsane, Cop Shoot Cop, Daughters, and Made Out Of Babies has returned with their sophomore record every bit as intense as their debut. Gone Dark is a chaotic culmination of hardcore, industrial, and post-punk like the soundtrack to the post-apocalypse. While there’s plenty of cinematic ambiance throughout the production, Gone Dark feels more like a band effort than the first Human Impact record. It’s gnarly and abrasive – just the way I like it!
[For more information, check out Crushed Monocle Podcast Episode 39: Human Impact]
13. BNNY – One Million Love Songs
On their sophomore release, BNNY explores the heart-wrenching perplexity of the human condition. One Million Love Songs plays like a dreamy soundtrack through the whimsical, starry-eyed infatuation, the emotional engagement phase, and even the tragic finality of loss. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, you feel this record more than you hear it.
12. Nia-Chanel – Time Pass
With influences from Erykah Badu, Prince, H.E.R., and Lauryn Hill, the debut album from Nia Chanel plays like a greatest hits compilation for everything I love about R&B. The smooth production and her soulful performance are the perfect combination of what I think is missing in quite a few recent releases in the genre. I still can’t believe this is her first full-length! How is this even possible?
11. Couch Slut – You Could Do It Tonight
The best way to describe the music Couch Slut makes is being bludgeoned to death, stuffed in a trash can, and kicked down the stairs. You Could Do It Tonight feels like it tells the story of how you got there and what happens next. It’s a deadly combination of noise, distortion, thrash, and inescapable true-to-life horrors of being alive. I guess that automatically makes it the theme song for 2024. You Could Do It Tonight isn’t a pleasant album, but it’s nothing like anything else on this list!
10. Melvins – Tarantula Heart
As a band with decades of experience under their belts, it’s astonishing the Melvins have anything left in them. Much less a record that takes them places they’ve never been while also being a perfect introduction to those who’ve never taken the deep dive. Tarantula Heart is an intense journey of the wicked, wild, and weird. However, that doesn’t mean these dudes are trying to reinvent themselves for a broad audience.
[For more information, check out Crushed Monocle Podcast Episode 36: Dale Crover]
9. Mugger – Luck Forever
Featuring members of Creepoid, The Well, and Radioactivity, Luck Forever throws up middle fingers to gatekeepers and anyone who insists punk is only suitable for one particular gender. Mugger is easily one of the most exciting hardcore acts to come around in a very long time, and they do what they do effortlessly.
[Check out my full review of Luck Forever here]
8. Fantastic Negrito – Son Of A Broken Man
The music of Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz has always been reflective. From his humble beginnings and a multi-million dollar record deal, to a near-fatal car accident and his climb back to the top, he’s been on a wild ride as an artist. But Son Of A Broken Man explores the emotional baggage usually understated in those stories. Along with this peak behind the curtain, the music is distorted, gritty, and sometimes disorienting. Despite hearing influences from everything between Prince and Steve Marriott, this record is the life story of a single artist, and it’s his alone. This isn’t your traditional blues record by a long shot!
7. Molder – Catastrophic Reconfiguration
Catastrophic Reconfiguration is a disgustingly swampy take on the death metal genre with chunky riffs and vocals that can only be described as gross. From the lo-fi self-released style production to its campy thrash cover art, Molder has crafted a brutal experience that somehow feels like a classic you’ve had in your library for years.
6. Oranssi Pazuzu – Muuntautuja
As one of the most interesting artists in black metal, Oranssi Pazuzu is no stranger to experimentation. But with Muutautuja goes even further by going into more industrial territory. Throughout its scratches, scrapes, and demonic vocals, Oranssi Pazuzu even makes room for some trip-hop beats to create the most diverse record in their arsenal.
[Check out my full review of Muutautuja here.]
5. Scuba Cop – Scuba Pop
It’s difficult to pinpoint just what genre musician/producer Ely Morgan’s Scuba Cop falls under. It has all the grinding guitars and cyborg beats of your favorite Ministry record but with a strong emphasis on hooks. Scuba Pop is a strange amalgamation of noise, psyche, electronica, and, as the title suggests, pop! Through his studio wizardry and a keen ear for dynamics, Morgan has cracked the code on making ugly music fun.
4. St. Vincent – All Born Screaming
Over the last decade or so, I’ve always felt St. Vincent is our artist closest to David Bowie. Not so much because she always adapts these unique personas, (she’s good at that, too) but more so that she reinvents herself sonically with each album. With All Born Screaming, she explores darker territories by adding industrial elements to her art-pop sensibilities. It feels like the personas have taken the backseat of her artistry. Haunting soundscapes and cinematic arrangements create a foreboding atmosphere, but there’s still just enough gloss to keep things from being distraught. I expect nothing less from St. Vincent.
3. Neon Nightmare – Faded Dream
Acting under the pseudonym Neon Nightmare, Nate Garrett pours his love of Type O Negative, Danzig, and early The Smashing Pumpkins into Faded Dream. It’s a love letter to the darker side of late ’80s hard rock with a brooding attitude and an almost tongue-in-cheek horror aesthetic. But regardless of whether it’s intentional or not, Faded Dream manages to be a strikingly beautiful record of passion and gothic longing, something rarely explored in modern rock.
[See my full review of Faded Dream here.]
2. John Davis – Jinx
As one of the most prolific singer/songwriters in indie rock, John Davis has done it all. From the underappreciated Superdrag to the delicious noise of The Lees Of Memory, he’s risen shoulder-to-shoulder to the likes of Bob Mould and Bob Pollard. On Jinx, his 3rd official solo record, Davis puts his entire history into a blender for a record that celebrates his past and puts a giant question mark as to where he goes next. Despite being envisioned as a Superdrag in the early stages, Jinx could very well be the most personal record in his lore. Power pop, fuzz, and maybe even a little bit of Midwestern emo, it’s all here on full display!
[For more information, see Crushed Monocle Podcast Episode 27: John Davis]
1. Tess Parks – Pomegranate
For her third solo album, Pomegranate, Tess Parks offers a more personal approach to her typical, Mazzy Star-meets-Black Angels sound. Her deeply introspective lyrics are elevated by lush instrumentation including fuzzy guitars, angelic vocals, and hints of psychedelic experimentation. Pomegranate is full of pain and heartache yet sends a message of peace and love without trivializing either. On a personal level, I feel as if this is the kind of message we can all agree on. Life is hard and people let you down. But weirdly, that heartache can be liberating. This melancholic reasoning (or coping mechanism) is why Tess Parks leads my top albums of 2024 list.
[Check out my full review of Pomegranate here.]