Issue 50: Best of 2024!
My top 10 albums & top 24 songs of 2024! Oops! (Almost) all women.
Welcome back to Band Practice for my end-of-the-year best albums and best songs issue! Out of the hundreds of 2024 releases I listened to, there were ten that I kept on repeat more than all of the others. They won’t be surprising if you’re a long-time reader, but if you’re new here, they will give you a good sense of my taste, and you may find something new to listen to. This list is not an attempt to determine what’s “best” or objectively “good,” just what I loved the most. I have also included a playlist of my top 24 songs of the year if you’re in more of a playlist mood today.
Trying to pick just ten albums is a crime, but *some* crimes are necessary. I could make this list a top 20 or more, but I would just end up repeating most of what I’ve written this year. So, I have arrived at a compromise. This is not the last of my best-ofs. I have another batch of top albums coming in January: the best albums I never got a chance to write about (for whatever reason), but are so good they should be in my top ten list. (I’ll think of a snappier title.) It is essentially a part two and perhaps(?) a more interesting list. I’ll let you marinate in suspense.
Runners-up from today’s top ten are all of the albums I’ve written about previously, but especially TANGK from IDLES, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, and Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee (which you can now find on bandcamp!). They are all my children, and I love them and give them each a little kiss on the forehead before bed each night. You can browse the archives to read about them.
Just one more note before proceeding: this list ended up being almost all female artists or female-fronted bands, for which I won’t apologize because it is all great music. This year, I gravitated toward underrepresented stories—stories from women, non-binary, and trans people. Queer stories. Stories from people of color. That music spoke to my soul and some of it is included here. More to come. ;)
Okay, 2024, let’s do this!
Top 10 Albums of 2024
10 + 1. Queen of Jeans — All Again
Indie Pop/Rock [Released 6/28/24]
Okay, I had to include one more because my heart required it. This concept album about the lifecycle of a (queer) relationship is executed so beautifully. I was sucked into the vortex of the big, dreamy wonder that is “Go Down Easy” (it made my top 24 songs). If that was the only good song on the album, it still would have been enough for me, but it is front-to-back unskippable.
Tracks most on repeat: All My Friends, Let Me Forget, Go Down Easy
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
10. English Teacher — This Could Be Texas
Alternative [Released 4/12/24]
Who would have predicted this debut album from a little band from Leeds would make such a huge impact this year? (Me. I kind of did.) I had a feeling that they would become Leeds’ biggest celebrities,1 and so far they’re on track. This Could Be Texas was named the overall winner for the 2024 Mercury Prize album of the year (over Charli XCX’s Brat, mind you). They were applauded for their “winning lyrical mix of surrealism and social observation”—which is true, and they also just rock. They won me over with their self-described “post-wonk” (see: post-punk) sound—quirky, creative, and full of heart. What impressed me most was the fire inside lead singer Lily Fontaine that I know will continue to grow—you can hear it roar in the dramatic closer, “Albert Road.” Get into them now while they’re on the rise.
Tracks most on repeat: The World’s Biggest Paving Slab, R&B, Albert Road
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
9. Katie Gavin — What A Relief
Alt-pop [Released 10/25/24]
The solo debut of MUNA lead singer Katie Gavin arrived late in the year but I’m still keeping it on repeat enough to catch up with the others. Gavin’s “Lilith Fair-core” sound/vibe is exactly what I needed to round out the year. Maybe that jump back into 1990s alt-pop is what makes me feel so at home in the album (she channels several of my favorite chanteuses like Alanis Morisette and Fiona Apple). Or maybe it’s a testament to her songwriting that I feel a special connection to each song. Were they written for me, specifically? No. But you can’t tell me that as I belt them out in the shower.
Tracks most on repeat: Aftertaste, The Baton, Sanitized
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
8. Nemahsis — Verbathim
Indie pop [Released 9/13/24]
There were a lot of strong debuts this year! Nemah Hasan (aka Nemahsis) brought a gift of lightness with her first LP, Verbathim. A Palestinian Canadian, she was dropped by her label after expressing support for Palestine as Israel began their attacks on Gaza. Persisting, she released her album independently. Arriving near the year mark of the horrific genocide, this felt like a beacon of joy echoing the beauty and resilience of the Palestinian people. I am grateful for its effervescence and its earworms (I think “coloured concrete” was the stickiest track this year). This is a hope-giving album.
Tracks most on repeat: old body, new mind; coloured concrete; stick of gum
Available on Spotify, Apple Music
7. Tyler, The Creator — CHROMAKOPIA
Hip-hop/Rap/R&B/Soul/Jazz/Nuclear fusion [Released 10/28/24]
I love albums that give me a lot to chew on, and Tyler, The Creator always delivers in that department. Tyler is no less than a world-builder—each album with its own elaborate ecosystems to dive into, and this is a new favorite of mine. Centered around themes of “unmasking,” there is as much vulnerability present in the explosive, bass-thumping tracks as in the soulful ones. He tackles his daddy issues, death, a pregnancy scare—there are layers and themes that I’m still trying to unpack. The icing on the cake: it features excellent female rappers like Sexyy Red, Glorilla, and Docheii who nearly steal the show. Tyler is one of the most brilliant minds in popular music today, and this album is further proof of it.
Tracks most on repeat: I Killed You, Sticky, Balloon
Available on Spotify, Apple Music
6. Jessica Pratt — Here in the Pitch
Folk [Released 5/3/24]
There were a few albums this year that made me ask, “What decade are we in?” This was one of them. Here in the Pitch is transportive—a sparkling revival of 1960s folk-pop. It is immaculate from start to finish. Pratt’s voice is hauntingly serene, also calling to mind another time. Not to say they sound identical, but there’s a sort of Karen Carpenter witchery happening with it. A few bars into “Life Is,” and it’s like the earth settles and everything is okay. Just sipping an N/A Negroni in a well-worn Eames chair letting life roll on. “Time is time and time and time again.”
Tracks most on repeat: Life Is, World on a String, The Last Year
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
5. Adrianne Lenker — Bright Future
Alternative/Folk [Released 3/22/24]
As is true in everything she does, Adrianne Lenker cut right to my soul with Bright Future. No other album made me cry right out of the gate only to make me feel safe and swaddled in the next track. The album’s arrangements are sparse—acoustic guitar-driven songs fit to be played around a campfire—but Lenker’s words are affecting enough to fill time and space. Fellow Substacker
called Lenker, “the closest thing my generation has come to having its own Bob Dylan” and I wholeheartedly agree. She possesses a remarkable wisdom that informs the depth of her lyricism. She is a poet and a guide by way of her own heart. This album is simply a gift.Tracks most on repeat: Sadness As a Gift, Vampire Empire, Already Lost
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
4. Gustaf — Package Pt. 2
Art punk/Post-punk [Released 4/5/24]
Yes, Gustaf was already included in my favorite punk (and post-punk) albums list, but this one stuck with me so much throughout the year, that I absolutely had to include it. I think that is partly influenced by getting to see them live, which only solidified my love for this album. Lead singer Lydia Gammil is a force with an uncanny ability to break the fourth wall and provoke the listener. It doesn’t take seeing them live to get a sense of her intensity, it radiates as she delivers each line. Their artsy bass-driven post-punk is so clean and clever, and the deep, modulated voice echoing throughout the album is a delightfully quirky highlight. It’s the whole (I’m going to say it) package.
All my other favorite punk/post-punk albums of the year can be found here.
Tracks most on repeat: Statue, Starting and Staring, Happiest Thought
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
3. Charli XCX — Brat
Electronic/Dance/Pop [Released 6/7/24]
If you had to pick THE album of 2024, it is probably Brat. Brat was everything this year and everything was Brat: a season, an attitude, and even a presidential candidate.2 But was all the hype around it justified? Absolutely. Charli XCX has become a master of her craft and is finally getting the level of recognition she deserves. She turned out a deeply vulnerable album, set it to scorching club beats, and made it a masterpiece. The album is cathartic in ways I didn’t know I needed (which apparently was to cry and dance at the same time). Its lead single “Von Dutch” is my second favorite song of the year—its sound is so sickening I still lose my shit when I hear it. Years from now, we’ll look back and see this as the album that inspired a new generation of pop stars.
Brat was one of the albums I highlighted with a new format: the “family tree,” and I am proud of the work I put into it. You can read it here.
Tracks most on repeat: 360, Von Dutch, Everything Is Romantic
Available on Spotify, Apple Music
2. Beyoncé — COWBOY CARTER
Country, pop, rock, R&B, hip-hop/rap, and more! [Released 3/29/24]
I will shout from the rooftops that Beyoncé deserves her flowers for this album. The amount of work alone—she gave us a whole encyclopedia of American music history that we should be thanking her for. Not only that, it is so well produced and—and!—it slaps. What makes it work is Beyoncé’s meticulous attention to detail. She picked the right collaborators, pulled from the right references, and gave it her Queen Bee polish. I’ll walk back saying that it’s Pulitzer-worthy—I got a little carried away and I’m not entirely sure how Pulitzers work, tbh. But I believe in the power of this project, and I will re-share my own words:
COWBOY CARTER is important not because it claims to be a reclamation but because it actually has the power to be one. Yes, there are artists who have been doing what she’s doing in country music, like Yola, Rhiannon Giddens, and Tanner Adell (the latter two are featured on the album), and plenty who have been bending genres, but because of Beyoncé’s popularity, she has the power to move the needle in a significant and urgent way.
And she has done just that. Country music will never be the same.
[You can read more of what I wrote about the album here. I’m working on my Masters in Beyoncéology.]
Tracks most on repeat: 16 CARRIAGES; YA YA; SWEET ★ HONEY ★ BUCKIIN’
Available on Spotify, Apple Music
1. Waxahatchee — Tigers Blood
Alt-country/Indie rock/Folk rock [Released 3/22/24]
How can one put anything above Charli XCX and Beyoncé’s seismic albums? This may not have had the biggest impact, but it is the album of my heart. The songs feel like old friends. It could be partly because my friends and I have been playing my favorite track of the year (Right Back to It) in our monthly jam sessions. I don’t think there’s a song more precious to me because of that. It is a perfect song about loving someone imperfectly; a classic beauty. But it is really Katie Crutchfield’s songwriting that has forged this kindred connection. Her songs are so smart and relatable; catchy without being forced. The structure, the phrasing, the cleverness of it all. She is so damn talented. She has hit her stride with her new alt-country sound, and I think this is her best work yet. It is the best of the best this year for me.
[I still maintain that you would like Waxahatchee if you like Taylor Swift. Swifties: listen to “Crimes of the Heart” and tell me I’m right.]
Tracks most on repeat: Right Back to It, Bored, Crowbar
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
What were some of your favorite albums this year? Let me know in the comments. :)
Top 24 Songs of 2024
Even more criminal than picking ten albums is picking just 24 songs to represent the year. But I did it anyway. These were the most loved and most repeated tracks of the year. If you have been following along with my other playlists, you will recognize many of them. Like the albums I listened to, the mix is eclectic: pop, country, hip-hop, alternative, R&B, etc. There are quiet songs, loud songs, silly songs (hi, “Love On”), and one that is a whole music history listen within itself (“YA YA,” which also happens to be my BFF’s four-year-old daughter’s favorite song).
The songs are not ranked in any order, just arranged for flow (and a little clustered by genre); it is a bit of a ride from beginning to end. Not all of my top 10 album picks are featured—I wanted to give a little representation to other artists. You can find links to the Spotify and Apple Music versions below.
Apple Music link
If you want more of my favorites from this year, I kept a running playlist of my favorite songs from every new album I listened to, ordered chronologically. It’s almost a day’s worth of music, so play it through a little at a time, or shuffle it and have fun! I’ll give it one last update at the end of the year. You can find it here:
Albums of 2024 - Apple Music playlist
Albums of 2024 - Spotify playlist
Coming up
Thank you, dear readers, for another year of support. Every subscription, open, like, comment, and share means the world to me. It feels good to know that people appreciate my writing and the work I put into this newsletter. Thank you for being here.
Next up is my winter playlist (new songs I love that give winter vibes). I also have more 2024 favorites coming your way in January, plus a special Grammy issue and some thoughts on the future of this newsletter. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss any of it.
Before I go, I want to wish you a merry Christmas…from the bottom of my heart.
That’s a reference to their song “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab,” which lists famous things from their hometowns in England.
I disagree that Kamala Harris was “brat,” let the record show.
I saw you included "Please please please" in your 24 best songs list. I just listened to the most recent song exploder about that song, which was a great listen: https://songexploder.net/sabrina-carpenter
i’m very into this list being mostly female-fronted acts! the Nemahsis record is one that i need to spend much more time with. same with English Teacher and Jessica Pratt.