It’s been a while since the last “top albums” post. Or indeed the last blog post altogether. Better late than never.
2024 didn’t feel like the most fruitful year for music, but here is my shortlist nonetheless. Read on or listen to the playlist on Spotify:
10. David Gilmour: Luck and Strange
Late entry into the canon of a legend, never pretending to reach the heights of Pink Floyd but humbly contributing a handful of earnest tunes to the collection.
9. Jamie XX: In Waves
Irresistible collage of dancefloor bangers, often beating their 90’s dance/house inspiration.
8. Floating Points: Cascade
Cerebral dance music, halfway between club track and serpentine auditory voyage to the outer reaches of the galaxy.
7. Jack White: No Name
Bursting with intense power, this surprise bluesy opus somehow sounds both familiar and new, archetypal and inventive; unearthing more uncut rock gems from Jack White’s seemingly bottomless imagination.
6. Shugo Tokumaru: Song Symbiosis
Another kaleidoscope of Japanese folk & joyful pop by Shugo Tokumaru, as always layering countless instruments on ever-surprising rhythms. More experimental and tender than ever, the relentless energy this time is interleaved with slow, emotional pieces.
5. Zoot Woman: Maxidrama
Simple, catchy tunes from the British electropop band, which manage to sound like classic Zoot Woman yet fresh at the same time.
4. The Smile: Cutouts
Like a funkier & free Radiohead, The Smile deliver not one but two incredible albums this year, with Cutouts the more playful younger sibling of the two.
3. Mdou Moctar: Funeral For Justice
In which the furious solos of the Tuareg guitarist transcend the desert rock of his fantastic first album.
2. The Smile: Wall of Eyes
The purest distillation of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood’s alt-rock genius mixed with the sinuous rhythms of Tom Skinner.
1. Arooj Aftab: Night Reign
Wondrous soundscapes, as if woven in the velvet of the night and Arooj Aftab’s warm yet quietly powerful voice.