Top 50 Albums of 2024 pt. 2

Joey Valence & Brae - NO HANDS

Genres: Hardcore Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop

Best Tracks: BUSSIT -- PACKAPUNCH -- THE BADDEST

"From East Coast Boom Bap to synth-heavy EDM, JV & Brae's playful verse smashes into the listener. A breakneck pacing and rather diverse soundscape hone an already fun experience into one of Hip Hop's hardest hitting and most fun-loving records as of recent."

Skee Mask - Resort

Genres: IDM, Ambient Techno

Best Tracks: Reminiscrmx -- Schneiders Paradox -- Hölzl Was a Dancer

"Through sophisticated ambiance, blipping electronic progressions, and superb percussion pacing, Skee Mask paints a vivid picture: a cool night under the stars, swaying in the crowd of a night club on some alien planet far in the future."

samlrc - A Lonely Sinner

Genres: Post-Rock, Avant-Folk

Best Tracks: Sinner -- Storge -- Sheep Theme

"Sweeping ambiance, fluttering strings, and a devastating compound of guitar oscillations imagine a tender countryside in the wake of the mighty storm of social alienation and identity crisis. Brilliant landscapes, vivid melancholia, and fulfilling dispositions deliver all the traits for an excellent and varied Post-Rock experience."

Jack White - No Name

Genres: Garage Rock Revival, Hard Rock

Best Tracks: Old Scratch Blues -- That's How I'm Feeling -- Archbishop Harold Holmes

"The Blues arrive once again with a fresh outlook on the passing of time. Jack White's flamboyant shrills and galvanizing guitar skills are a hidden army fit to burst in a world of eccentrics and absurd desires, beating and battering their way into a magnificently robust Revival sound."

Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee

Genres: Hypnagogic Pop, Psychedelic Pop, Indie Rock

Best Tracks: All I Want Is You -- Stone Faces -- Lockstepp

"Glitzy guitar, dusty basslines, rattling drums, and forlorn strings chug along Bluesy 1950s and 60s lo-fi soundscapes. Diamond Jubilee is a truly unique atmosphere allowing vibrating testimonies of love and classic imagery to blend immaculately with frizzy production. The record is a world lost in time, a long and uncut trip to the daring limits of Pop and Psychedelia."

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead"

Genres: Post-Rock

Best Tracks: Babys in a Thundercloud -- Pale Spectator Takes Photographs -- Grey Rubble - Green Shoots

"Artillery clouds descend as the long-time Post-Rock band sweeps feet again with vast letters to the deceased. Extensive progressions are built out of hazy drones as brushing cymbals, arching bass, pretty violin, and shining guitar delineate an oddly uplifting but shaking abyss of tragic Rock compositions."

Clarence Clarity - VANISHING ACT II: ULTIMATE REALITY

Genres: Electropop, Glitch Pop

Best Tracks: Allatonceness -- Playing Our Parts -- Rage Quitting, Quietly

"Rubbery bass, glittering chimes, jolting synths, and charging guitar lead the way for gushes of catchy chorus. Eccentric lyrics and punctual Glitch resonations make for a tingling Pop experience; a bouncy ball erratically fun in consistency and character."

Paysage d'Hiver - Die Berge

Genres: Atmospheric Black Metal

Best Tracks: Urgrund -- Ausstieg -- Gipfel

"Grand schemes of enlacing drones and continuous blast beat flow upward in streams of steady buildups, cold synths, and tense guitar passages. An existential edge along minacious hypnotism generates a truly immersive atmosphere; one frostbitten with grief, yet determined to continue marching steadily skywards to enlightenment."

Mach-Hommy - #RICHAXXHAITIAN

Genres: Abstract Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop

Best Tracks: POLITickle -- SONJE -- COPY COLD

"An extensive mingling of Jazz-Rap, Drumless, and East Coast Hip Hop develops a Psychedelic headspace for Mach-Hommy's commanding verse. With his voice at an all-time influence, Mach demands the listener's attention through powerful and persuasive metaphysics, conducting an impactful and inciteful cultural display."

MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks

Genres: Alt-Country, Slacker Rock

Best Tracks: Wristwatch -- She's Leaving You -- On My Knees

"Flush crackles of electric guitar, polished drumming, and a crestfallen Western tone trod along modest tempos, easing in a genuine sorrow masked by witty satire. Manning Fireworks is an immensely consoling release, planting itself in the ground with an impressive equilibrium between raw Country and smooth depictions of modern American circumstance."

This Is the Glasshouse - 867

Genres: Indie Rock, Post-Rock, Art Rock

Best Tracks: Before Machinery -- January -- Old George

"867 is an ambitious exploration of upbringing, assembling sprawling arrangements of Progressive guitar riffs, hat-heavy drums, and cavalier saxophones. Jazzy acoustics and distorted atmospherics communicate a harsh reminiscence, coalescing into a magnificent and personal landscape of the fantasies, realities, and existentialism of home."

The Cure - Songs of a Lost World

Genres: Gothic Rock, Alternative Rock

Best Tracks: Alone -- I Can Never Say Goodbye -- Endsong

"After 16 long years, Robert Smith and the Cure return to tenebrous melancholy and glittering Gothic Rock in album form. Frizzled guitar and oscillating synth annex haunting environments for Smith's vocal melodrama to twist and tangle in. Eternally submerged in the shade of despair, the band finds beauty in the twilight of a lost and confused affection for life."

Iglooghost - Tidal Memory Exo

Genres: Deconstructed Club, UK Bass, Experimental Hip Hop

Best Tracks: New Species -- Germ Chrism -- Geo Sprite Exo

"Acrobatic Electronica at its finest, Tidal Memory Exo is an eclectic and surreal mix of Hip Hop and Dance music. Complex arrangements of bubbling bass, splintering synths, and glitchy samples form dense immersions of time and space. This is a record unmatched in texture, expertly futuristic and snappy throughout."

Kamasi Washington - Fearless Movement

Genres: Jazz Fusion, Spiritual Jazz

Best Tracks: Road to Self (KO) -- Interstellar Peace (The Last Stance) -- Prologue

"An abundant journey, rich in its exploration of rooted spirits and modern Fusion. As its title suggests, Fearless Movement is a brave expedition, embodying an exuberant pneuma through trickling piano, burning horns, bellowing bass, and glassy drumming. The record clutches rhythm by the roots, squeezing every ounce of verve unto the listener whilst standing proudly in Jazz valiance."

JPEGMAFIA - I Lay Down My Life for You

Genres: Experimental Hip Hop, Hardcore Hip Hop

Best Tracks: Sin miedo -- Don't Rely on Other Men -- JPEGUltra!

"In another blast of fresh and exceedingly creative Hip Hop experimentation, Peggy wields a sword of candid confidence through pulverizing grime beats and Rock and Metal influence. Personal and direct, referential lyric is fueled by high-energy, multidisciplinary drum work and inventive sample manipulations. A clear success story of off-kilter verse and innovative Rap production."