The Music of 2024

Some kind of damn blew open this year, judging by how much music was released. So many records, and so many of them extremely good. I'll remember 2024 as a great year for tunes, despite it being a pretty shit year for other reasons.

Quite a few new albums by old favorites: The Black Keys, Bernard Butler, Blitzen Trapper, Camera Obscura, Guided By Voices, Iron & Wine, Kim Deal, The Libertines, Mount Eerie, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Sleater-Kinney, Vampire Weekend, and Graham Coxon via The WAEVE. It's so comforting to me to see artists continue to evolve and to stretch their careers into decades. I hope to have new music from these people for decades to come. As I get older, my taste matures, naturally. It helps me place myself within my generation to watch others mature with me, putting out music which reflects that growth. We're all in this thing together.

I made a few great discoveries in 2024. My favorite of these being Zach Bryan, Hovvdy, and Bon Enfant. I suppose I first began listening to Bryan late last year, but this year I went into his back catalog and found it full of treasures. The man is a rock solid songwriter, and judging by the record he put out this summer, he's got a lot left in him. Hovvdy are also amazing, with a quality set of records behind them, as well. Most of their songs are short little gems which sparkle with character. They're all so pleasantly relistenable. And Bon Enfant are psych-rock, or maybe funk (ish?), group from Montréal. Their songs are all sung in French — I suppose I found them when digging for music in French to listen to. Just a really solid band whom I think will keep inspiring me the deeper I get into them.

I also began to take seriously the top categories the Grammy's use to celebrate the best music of the year: Performance, Recording, Songwriting, and Song of the Year. Turns out, these are a pretty good way to focus on the quality of the craft and musicianship involved. Go figure! If you haven't actually taken the time to understand how these break down: Performance = the playing on the recording, as in the performance of the musicians present in the studio. Recording = the craftwork of producers and those involved in making the track sound amazing. Song = the songwriting. Song of the Year = kind of a popularity contest, but aimed at the best songs which made cultural impact and probably pushed the industry forward in some way. I started to make my own playlists with tracks that I personally find fill those buckets (but not tied to actual Grammy nominees)(I'll share these playlists at some point, when they're complete enough). Listening through this lens led me to more country, blues, jazz, bluegrass, etc. The kind of music made by people who really know what they're doing.

Of course, I'll never stop lending an ear to young kids who represent the best of the generations below me. I'm thinking about, like, Pillow Queens, Hinds, Waxahatchee, Ducks Ltd., Soccer Mommy. Odd that most of these are women-led groups, if not all women. I'm not sure if that's a trend which is really picking up, or if it's just something I'm coming into contact with more. But it's a welcomed thing. I hope to hear more independent guitar music from non white men in the years to come. When I think about the ways those genres can spread, the most exciting would come from new perspectives. I want to see my old world through new eyes. Or hear it through new ears? (That sounds weird.)

My favorite record of the year was from Phil Elverum: Night Palace. I wrote a post about it, so I'll point you there. But just to say again, it's nice to hear him returning to his old form. His music had always floored me, and this record was the first new release from him in awhile to do that for me. It's just so good.

What else is there to say? Ohio Players was a strong record by The Black Keys — not their best, but a very strong collection. Daniel Boeckner's record this year was incredible, top to bottom. I've really intrigued with what Charley Crockett is doing with his career, releasing music at almost Bob Pollard level speed, and testing out nearly every flavor of country music production. The Smile are great. Pillow Queens are incredible. Guided By Voices are quite unbelievably again at a strong point. It's wild to me that Pollard can keep it up like this. I hope he never stops.

With that, here's my list of best records for 2024.

Favorites

Ohio Players — The Black Keys
Boeckner! — Boeckner
$10 Cowboy — Charley Crockett
Strut of Kings — Guided By Voices
Hovvdy — Hovvdy
Night Palace — Mount Eerie
Name Your Sorrow — Pillow Queens
Little Rope — Sleater-Kinney
Cutouts — The Smile

Also Great

Death Jokes — Amen Dunes
COWBOY CARTER — Beyoncé
100's of 1000's, Millions of Billions — Blitzen Trapper
Demande spéciale — Bon Enfant
Look to the East, Look to the West — Camera Obscura
The Hard Quartet — The Hard Quartet
Viva Hinds — Hinds
Power — Illuminati Hotties
Light Verse — Iron & Wine
Passage du Desir — Johnnie Blue Skies
Musow Danse — Les Amazones d'Afrique
All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade - The Libertines
Wild God — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
My Method Actor — Nilüfer Yanya
Daniel — Real Estate
Tigers Blood — Waxahatchee
The Great American Bar Scene — Zach Bryan

And here are my end of year Apple Music playlists for Favorite Tracks (small list) and Best Tracks (bigger list).

For 2025, my plan is to sit with records a little longer. Long enough that I could write something thoughtful about them. The world could really use more blogs about the art they like. I intend to fill this space with that kind of thing. Share the love.