Thursday, December 19, 2024

Top 50 albums of 2024: 20-11

20 Dana Gavanski - LATE SLAP
Twisting guitar-pop melodies until they don't quite feel right, capturing the skill of musical optimism and lyrical hollowness



19 Laura Marling - Patterns In Repeat
Motherhood suits Marling's meditative side, intimate and homely whilst considering what her new life looks like



18 Hamish Hawk - A Firmer Hand
Bookish, raffish and full of theatrical introspectiveness (yes, it's possible), self-critical as much as it takes others apart



17 Gruff Rhys - Sadness Sets Me Free
The 25th album Gruff has been involved with launches into his baroque era, widescreen strings decorating lounge-pop on heavy topics



16 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Wild God
After the experimental, grief-laden phase, a return to full band enormity with strings and choirs as if trying to force rapture



15 Dancer - 10 Songs I Hate About You
Jittery, strutting and friction-free, the closest Glasgow gets to the second coming of Life Without Buildings without being slavish imitators



14 The WAEVE - City Lights
Coxon and Dougall's Scary Monsters-meets-motorik-meets-English folk-meets-Broadcast act goes widescreen, now with added Roxy Music sax



13 Arooj Aftab – Night Reign
Nocturnality proves the perfect setting for the depth and delicate breadth of folky-jazzy soundscapes with room for surprises



12 Nadine Shah - Filthy Underneath
Narrating her own breakdown pushes the intimate electro-gothic of Kitchen Sink into new meaningful dimensions, even soulful in places



11 Arab Strap - I'm totally fine with it 👍 don't give a fuck anymore 👍
Their eighth might be their best album; it might also be their darkest as Aidan Moffatt bares his fangs over digital atrophy and hostility


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