We’re just slightly past the halfway mark of the year, so it’s time for me to break in the keyboard and pull data on the spreadsheets. That’s right, it’s mid-season list time.
This year has been a bit disappointing. A lot of my most highly anticipated releases failed to live up to my expectations, and there haven’t been quite as many surprises as usual.
But don’t worry, I’m not completely jaded. Our chaotic present has given way to at least a few dozen records well worth your attention. Lucky for you, I’ve compiled them all right here for your listening pleasure.
Let’s get some basics out of the way before diving into the good stuff. If an album isn’t on here, does that mean it stinks and I don’t like it? No, I just have a limited amount of time, so the list got cut off somewhere, and 25 felt like an okay number. Also, there is no order within the tiers, the albums had to be put in some order so I put them in some order. More than likely it’s based on the dates from my spreadsheet. Finally, it only includes albums that were released before July.
Alright, that’s far too much preamble. Here’s music.
TIER 5
Unleash the Archers - Phantoma
The quality of a power metal band is directly proportional to their commitment to the bit. You see, power metal is inherently corny, and any effort to make it seem otherwise only succeeds in hiding it’s true appeal — camp. Phantoma doesn’t lean away for a single second. Lyrically the record revolves around an AI, Phantoma, with a deep desire to become more human. It’s a story we’ve all heard countless times before, but instead of bogging the simple narrative down with half-baked moral quandaries, Unleash the Archers bolsters it with soaring vocals, and huge, symphonic production. There’s not a single subtle thing about this album. Lyrics hit at face value, instruments soar but never confound, and the vocals ring stand out in stark relief against every other sound. It’s simple, easy to understand, and fairly plain (with a few bends toward technicality here and there), but then again, so are many of the most enduring stories.
Diva Karr - Hardly Still Walking, Not Yet Flying
Heaviness and complexity tend toward an inverse relationship. Metal’s most technical genres clean up the production to highlight their practiced skills, and the heaviest genres rarely bother with ultra-complex instrumentation since it’ll just get lost. Diva Karr stands as an outlier. Smashing together noise, black metal, and even a little bit of tech-death, the album has all the grinding force a black metal fan craves, with all the complexity you could possibly want.
NxWorries - Why Lawd?
Oh thank god, my BBQ playlist is sorted. Why Lawd? delivers the same funky vibes that Yes Lawd! did, albeit with just a bit more acidity. Lucky for us, the occasionally caustic lyrics never forget to be funny, removed just enough from real life situations that they’re worth a chuckle, rather than a tinge of concern. My personal highlight is the chorus of “KeepHer” where, the heartbroken .Paak cries out “You said you needed peace / then spent the week in Greece / phone off, you said you was sleepin’ / I know you was getting your cheeks beat.” and offers a long pause before interjecting “bitch.” That all this heartbroken silliness sits atop silky smooth beats and is delivered by one of the most charismatic vocalists in popular R&B makes it all the better.
Takkak Takkak - Takkak Takkak
Play this one in the club to induce heart attacks attacks. Laden with tribal drums seemingly recorded in a warehouse, glitchy kicks, psychedelic chimes, and a psychosis-inducing BPM, Takkak Takkak is a maddening foray into the very edges of dance music. Certain tracks, like “Amok” sound like something from a nightmarish dance club, while others, like “Garang” and “Dedemit” would fit better in a jungle-set action-horror flick. Ultimately, this release is another signifier of Nyege Nyege Tapes’ impeccable taste and boundary pushing lineup.
Ski Mask the Slump God - 11th Dimension
In search of chameleonic flows and a diverse array of beats? Ski Mask is your man. With tracks ranging from Atlanta trap to Latin club, this is the rare album that jumps between styles without ever feeling disjointed. It can only pull this off thanks to Ski Mask’s distinct ability to mold his flows around any beat without ever sounding unlike himself. Each track is so clearly Ski Mask.The jokey punch lines are ever-present and the janky, stop-start flow adjusts without becoming something else entirely. Though this record still leaves some room for improvement, it’s a decent step forward for one of the most promising rappers out there. Hopefully the next project takes less than three years to drop.
TIER 4
Wheel - Charismatic Leaders
Nearly every discussion of modern prog metal lives in the shadow of Tool. Spoiler alert: This one does as well. Wheel doesn’t pretend to be better than Tool, nor do they step too far outside their realm of influence. Instead, they wear their Alex Gray-designed T-Shirts and Fibonacci Sequence tattoos with pride. It’s working out for them. Charismatic Leaders is, in many ways, the platonic ideal of what a prog metal album should be in 2024. The guitar tones are damn near exactly those of Tool’s, the vocals are rarely harsh, and tend toward howls and yells much like Maynard of, you guessed it, Tool. But to simply write Wheel off as Tool worshippers is a disservice. Wheel avoids the psychedelic trappings of other prog metal groups, focusing more on complex instrumentation than “Dude have you tried shrooms?” forays into couch cushion philosophy. In essence, it’s Tool for people who have outgrown getting stoned and staring at magic eye posters, but aren’t above a bit of genre fiction.
Skullflower - IIIrd Gatekeeper
It wouldn’t be one of my lists without a drone metal entry. This year’s sacrifice is the hulking IIIrd Gatekeeper. Skullflower spends much of this album leaning toward the noisier side of drone, rather that the Earth-inspired blues elements also found in the genre. Still, for all the harshness inherent in each track, there’s a soothing basso ring to each guitar chug, just enough to engage you through the cacophony. Like many drone albums before it, IIIrd Gatekeeper is at its best when experienced in a state of repose. As your eyes close and your heart rate dips, you are subsumed into its hypnotic riffs and carried off to a space that is more dream than nightmare, despite what it may sound like to those unaccustomed to harsh music.
Santacreu - Cançons d'Amor, Dol i Enyorança
Santacreu takes listeners on an odyssey. Each track thrums with gargantuan riffs interrupted by valleys of cool, collected patience. When the valleys open up against a mountainous drum section, or mellow out into flat, open spaces of shimmering awe, you can only be swept away. By the time each track ends, you feel as if you’ve gone through an entire album’s worth of movements.
Mach Hommy - #RICHAXXHAITIAN
Do you like The Roots? Do you enjoy the rapping of billy woods? Consider checking out Mach Hommy. Existing more in the jazzy, flow-focused spaces inhabited by the aforementioned rappers, (and Black Thought even features on this album) #RICHAXXHAITIAN, makes a compelling case for Mach Hommy as one of raps underrecognized saviors. He never makes a song stick around longer than it has to, and each track brings something just a little different from the last. It’s not an overlong ploy for streams, it’s a pure headphone hip hop album that deserves more than a few listens.
Party Cannon - Injuries are Inevitable
Apologies for the album cover, but I’m committed to the format. Gross content aside, it’s a fitting introduction to the album’s concept. Party Cannon, everyone’s favorite half-comedic brutal death metal band, has tackled the ultimate subject matter for their sound — Action Park. Yes, you heard correct, this is a concept album about the various injuries, deaths, and poorly planned attractions at New Jersey’s (former) most dangerous amusement park. The whole thing is a chuckling, gore splattered homage to the Final Destination franchise. If you’ve got the stomach for the cover and the content, you’ll unearth a treasure trove of bone breaking riffs, guttural roars, and brutal drumming capable of satisfying even the most serious of death metal fans.
TIER 3
Olof Dreijer - Coral
Coral is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the more beautiful pieces of music released this year. Blending together resounding, horn-like synths with steel drum inspired patterns, Coral crafts a world that’s colorful, accessible, and teeming with life. Yet, beautiful as it is, it never forgets to be fun. Each track invites dancing as much as it does contemplation, perhaps even more so. It’s nigh impossible to listen to without a smile slowly plastering itself on your face.
Shellac - To All Trains
Sad though it may be that this is the last Steve Albini project we’ll ever see, he certainly went out on a high note. To All Trains retains all of the goofy, noisy, addictive qualities that made Albini a rock legend. And lyrically, there are few that tell it like it is in quite the same way as Albini did. Take for instance, the opening lines of “Chick New Wave” where Albini hollers “I’m through with music from dudes!” Whether he’s being tongue in cheek or deathly serious, it’s impossible to tell, but it’s damn fun to listen to, and that’s all that matters.
Candy - It’s Inside You
Groovy, abrasive, and hook-laden, It’s Inside You has all the potential that Knocked Loose’s Laugh Tracks did back in 2016. The album is smattered with double-bass kicks, barked (but strangely comprehensible) vocals, and a complimentary yet un-needy guitar and bass. In short, Candy has created the perfect music for getting your head caved-in at a mosh pit. As last memories go, you could do a whole lot worse.
Dos Monos - Dos Atomos
Truly, what is this? I adored Dos Monos’ 2020 EP, Dos Siki, which blended odd time signatures, hyper-aggressive flows, and classic Japanese instrumentation. Dos Atomos, at first, appears to be a continuation of that style — then the guitars slam into the mix. What results is something like the Japanese version of Rage Against the Machine. Yet, even that fails to do this album anything close to justice. Every track mashes together heavy metal guitar, traditional Japanese instruments, orchestral sampling, and flows so jagged they tip toward being off-beat. Yet, I’ve heard so little like this, I can’t help but loop the album one more time.
TIER 2
Meth. - SHAME
Metal often resembles a horror movie. No matter how slow or repetitive a moment gets, there’s guaranteed to be something lurking around the corner. On SHAME meth. pushes this idea near its limit. Tracks move like a car that won’t start. Their engines turning over and over and over, until they finally knock themselves into gear and take off, or explode in a raging ball of fire and wrath. It’s the never knowing that makes it all so exciting.
Locsil // Lawrence English - Chroma
I could lose myself in this record for hours. Soft though it may be, Chroma remains the most immediately capturing musical experience of 2024. The opening organ notes of “Sienna” rush over you like a tide, and in receding, pull away the stresses and mundanities of life. From there, you’re free. Free to enjoy your day, free to listen to Chroma in the background, or free to fall deep into its humming sound bath. The album is happy with however you choose to enjoy it, and, like liquid, will fit the container in which you place it.
Melvins - Tarantula Heart
Some bands never lose the magic, Melvins are one of them. More than 40 years after their formation, they’ve once again constructed an unyielding, brutal, and ferociously enjoyable blues-noise rock album worthy of any rock record collection. Sure, this probably won’t have the same impact that Houdini or Bullhead did, but to even be talking about those albums says more than any amount of effusive praise ever could.
RXKNephew - Till I’m Dead 2
I had written a thoughtful, verbose review of this album, and then realized it goes completely against the spirit of RXKNephew’s music. Here’s his rant about J. Cole from the song “Walmart.” If it makes you laugh, listen to the album. “J. Cole dreads is dirty / Fuck J. Cole / I don't know nobody listen to J. Cole / I do not wanna hear no J. Cole / I ain't gon' front, I fuck with one song / That's back when he had a brush cut / Ever since J. Cole got dreads / I do not wanna hear nothin' / J. Cole tried to shit on Lil Pump / I like Lil Pump more than J. Cole / Lil Pump beats harder than J. Cole.” Oh, and the beats, produced by Brainstorm, (as RXKNephew constantly reminds us) are groovy, addictive, and completely outside the realm of any existing hip-hop trends.
Persher - Sleep Well
Sleep Well is the sound of beating on a machine until it works. It possesses a sense of urgency that other harsh electronic albums tend to lack, choosing pure aggression over a more introspective experiment . Each second of the album bristles with panicked, near-blast beat drums, grinding synths, and howls worthy of a metalcore project. And because it’s put together by two of the more interesting voices in electronic music today (Blawan and Pariah), the sounds that drive the intensity burst with life, rather than cold metallic separation.
Lanark Artefax - Metallur
In today’s age of “AI” the question of a living machine is more present than ever. Metallur then, soundtracks our era. The project takes a classic IDM approach, blending the high BPM vitality of dance with the stuttering bleeps of something trending toward experimental music. Normally, this wouldn’t put an album over the edge for me, however, Lanark Artefax’s focus on the voice separates this project from countless other high quality IDM projects. This distant voice, when mixed together with dreamy synths and danceable rhythms, seems like it is reaching out to speak to us, touch us. The voice never quite gets there, forcing both it, and us, to yearn for what it could be. Translated, Metallur is the sort of EP that leaves you begging for more, even while you hit the repeat button.
Thou - Umbilical
Of all metal subgenres, few approach the weight of sludge metal. And of the countless 20 ton sludge bands, Thou sits in the upper echelons of both quality and heft. Umbilical serves as perfect evidence of this claim. The album’s wall are caked with muck, blown out back end screams, guitars that sound like they’re still wet with Everglades mud, and drums that must have been played live in an abandoned wetlands church. You can feel the sweat pouring from each band member, the condensation building on the instruments in the sweltering humidity. It’s all in the tone, which, to continue this swamp metaphor, is heavy like a brick tied to the ankles of a corpse being rolled off an airboat.
Knocked Loose - You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
Pounds of digital ink have been spilled over the death of the riff, and nearly every one of those tepid thinkpieces centers on Knocked Loose. You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To spits in the faces of those detractors. Instead of succumbing to pressure to change, Knocked Loose digs deeper into their bag of breakdowns, and pulls out magic every time. And though breakdowns are the headline, a bevy of new tricks also help buoy the record over their previous best effort, Laugh Tracks. Take for instance the clacking drum rim intro of “The Calm That Keeps You Awake” or the deathcore squeal on “Blinding Faith.” Each of these elements enhances the brick-breaking chug that made Knocked Loose an unexpected festival darling, without changing their DNA at all.
TIER 1
Lip Critic - Hex Dealer
Modern music is lousy with bands that create “panic attack music.” After all, anxiety has become one of the primary modes of presentation (see box office smash Inside Out 2 for further evidence of anxiety’s cultural throne). What we don’t get enough of is mania rock. Hex Dealer seeks to fill that void, and succeeds in filling it. Each track slams together electronic groove, dance-leaning percussion, and stressed out, manic talk-singing. The dish resulting from the ingredients is quite unlike anything I’ve heard this year. Sure, there are notes of post-punk, but on the whole it’s so much wilder and distinctly more unhinged. What’s certain though, is that this record is a riot, and deserving of your ears.
Couch Slut - You Could Do It Tonight
If horror is not to your taste, this album is not up your alley. Most songs play out like horror movies on high speed, combining the smothering tones of sludge metal with terrifying, yet hilarious lyrical odysseys. Take for instance, “The Donkey” which recounts one harrowing night with a group of teens who were recently fired from a haunted water park. After being kicked out, they dress up as zombies to scare park patrons, before returning to one of their homes, doing drugs, and making a shitty movie where one of them slashes their arm open with a saw. Musically, the song (and by extension the album) is a nightmare. But if you scratch just below the surface, listen to the song maybe one more time, you’ll find a deep love of schlocky horror garbage. When delivered with this much sincerity, it wraps around to the realm of black comedy and head-banging. They’ve made the gruesome hilarious, without stealing away the queasiness, a tall order that they more than manage to fill.
Charli XCX - brat
I’ll own it up front, this is a boring AOTY pick, but only because it so obviously belongs in that conversation. Not only does brat have the lyrical heft you’d hope for on a heartfelt pop album, it’s also silly, easy to listen to, energetic, and just a lot of fun. I’ve had to remove it from my list of albums I can drive to for fear of getting a speeding ticket. The combination of brash lyrics, whacked out autotune vocals, crunchy synths, and startlingly forward drums turns this album into a drug that I can’t quit. There’s not much more I can say about it, others have and will continue to write plenty. Maybe I could come up with something original eventually, but then again, I could just spin the album again. The latter seems like a better use of my time, and yours.