10. Porij – Teething
“They’re filled with ambition and act seemingly on vibe rather than genre, resulting in some of the most complex, engaging sounds heard in recent times. On their debut album Teething – one of my most anticipated albums of the year – we hear more of this endless creativity, filtered through a longer, more composed setting. Resulting in one of the best debut albums of 2024.”
09. Chat Pile – Cool World
Metal isn’t featured enough on this blog, but we have to give props to one of its many highlights this year. Chat Pile’s third studio album is a brutal, earth-shattering listen that is loaded with kick-ass riffs. It’s a mind-melting listen, and certainly does the cross proud.
08. Sick Love – Champagne
“Champagne is a real celebration of what a good set of riffs and a lot of enthusiasm can get you. Hitting hard in a number of ways, while also sounding extremely catchy in parts too. It wears its influences on its sleeves and uses them to produce something enthralling from start to finish. Easily one of my favourite albums of the year.”
07. Mannequin Pussy – I Got Heaven
Ten years and five albums later, Mannequin Pussy hit a new peak on I Got Heaven. Released in March and still leaving us astounded, this is pure defiance and power in thirty minutes. The ferocity that bleeds from this record is unmatched, but there’s also space given for things to ease up too, still leaving us reeling.
06. Julie Christmas – Ridiculous And Full Of Blood
In terms of sheer unleashed energy, nothing compares to the new Julie Christmas record. Not only does it feature the most badass titles of the year, but it has the sound to match. Julie’s vocals are pushed to their extremes, and in spite of how heavy and disturbing the instrumentals are, it’s like they’re trying to keep up with her voice. It’s that good.
Nightmares never sounded so good with this record.
05. Geordie Greep – The New Sound
We all mourned the end of black midi, but out of those twisted flames arose an equally strange phoenix. Geordie Greep emerged from the ashes to deliver more of the bizarre-but-accessible grooves that had even the most confused of listeners hooked. The New Sound is one of the most exciting, twisted and refreshing rock records of the year. It’s musical-esque vibe would be one we’d like to see on stage.
04. Home Counties – Exactly As It Seems
“Whether it’s the multiple layers of groove on ‘Uptight’ – which continues to be a frontrunner for favourite single of the year – the persistent bass notes of ‘Push Comes To Shove’ or the wonky, Talking Heads-esque strut heard on latest single ‘Dividing Lines’, Exactly As It Seems houses a refreshed sound that is unrelenting, accessible and challenging in parts. It’s easily the most accessible release Home Counties have made. There’s something to connect with immediately, which makes it easy to dive deeper on the second, third, tenth listens.”
03. Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk
A record nobody was expecting, but we feel is still criminally overlooked. Magdalena Bay really shifted Pop on its head, and spilled the contents to reveal something quite alien about the genre. As catchy and accessible as it is, the amount of quirks and personality added adds so much depth to it. It’s infectious quality lies in the detail, and we spent so much time enjoying that exploration.
02. Fontaines D.C. – Romance
Not many bands enjoyed success quite like Fontaines DC. With singles “Starburster” and “Favourite” popping up and receiving radio play around the world, the Dublin boys really took the world by storm this year. New album Romance embraced a mid-2000s Nu-Metal sound to great effect. Bringing a renewed energy and urgency to Fontaines’ sound that only helped enhanced the quality of their songwriting. If it wasn’t for a certain kind of summer, this would have easily been our favourite album of the year.
01. Charli xcx – BRAT
It might be predictable, but you cannot deny how good this album is. Charli xcx has been grafting for years. Releasing albums that sat well with critics, but never translated into mainstream success. 2022’s CRASH was a label-influenced attempt to aim for numbers in spite of style, but Charli finally hit that sweet spot with BRAT.
There’s no need to describe it other than a cultural phenomenon. It obviously made brattiest summer in history, and permeated through all facets of life, while also rocketstrapping Charli to the top, despite the initial disgust when the project was revealed.
It’s a culmination of a great record appealing to the masses, alongside existing fans happy to see Charli get her flowers, with a fantastic marketing campaign behind it that gave it a life of its own. It is fantastic and will be etched in history for many reasons other than simply being really, really good.