Hard and soft—10 best albums of 2024

2024 was the international year of camelids. The war in Gaza continued and Donald Trump won the US election. Meanwhile, Bashar al-Assad was deposed in Syria. But fortunately, there was interesting music to distract us from the world’s chaos.

It felt like a significant year for pop. For example, Sabrina Carpenter broke into the mainstream after years of drudgery. I didn’t love Carpenter’s album, but ‘Taste’ was terrific. Meanwhile, 2023’s Chappell Roan album enjoyed belated attention, and Charli XCX finally combined mass appeal with critical acclaim.

Yet, like always, there was great music all over the spectrum. As you’d probably expect from this site, this list leans to arty, sophisticated pop and rock. However, it takes in everything from jazz to death metal.

As per tradition, I’ve included each album’s rankings from the end-of-year aggregator Album of the Year. This shows where my choices register among general critical consensus. I agreed with the consensus much more than last year; half of these albums appear in the aggregator’s top twenty.

10 Best Albums of 2024

#10 Waxahatchee—Tiger’s Blood

Genre: Americana
AotY ranking: #7

The lead single from Tiger’s Blood, ‘Right Back To It’ was released while January 2024 was still in single digits. It remained my favourite song of 2024, enhanced by MJ Lenderman’s harmonies and guitar.

The Lenderman partnership is so strong that the other tracks where his harmonies appear are among my favourites, like ‘Evil Spawn’ and the title track. The sparsely arranged ‘365’ departs the furthest from Waxahatchee’s usual sound, with Crutchfield only accompanied by a quiet guitar.

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#9 Kelly Lee Owens—Dreamstate

Genre: Progressive house
AotY ranking: not rated

Producer and musician Kelly Lee Owens grew up in a small Welsh village. She sang in her school choir and played bass and drums in indie bands. She became an auxiliary nurse at a cancer treatment hospital in Manchester, but her patients encouraged her to pursue a music career. 

Owens signed with dh2, an imprint of The 1975’s Dirty Hits label. The 1975’s George Daniel collaborated with production. Together they created Owens’ prettiest, most sophisticated record yet. Songs like ‘Love You Got’ and ‘Higher’ are gorgeous and full of life. ‘Dark Angel’ is a great tone setter for the album, a foreboding instrumental.

The music calms over the record’s course. The closer ‘Trust and Desire’ turns off the beat for a wistful vocal and shimmering accompaniment. The Chemical Brothers produced ‘Ballad (in the End)’ is another pretty, mellow track.

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#8 Blood Incantation—Absolute Elsewhere

Genre: Death metal, Progressive metal
AotY ranking: #28

Blood Incantation are a Denver death-metal band. On their third studio record, they broke outside the boundaries of the death-metal community. They’ve enjoyed critical acclaim, attracting fans who don’t usually listen to metal.

It helps that they sweeten their music with progressive flourishes. Parts of Absolute Elsewhere recall the spacy concept albums Pink Floyd made in the 1970s. The second half of ‘The Message (Tablet II)’ has barely any traces of metal, instead heading into progressive rock territory. The record is divided into two side-long suites – the first side is devoted to ‘The Stargate,’ while the second half is ‘The Message.’

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#7 Itasca—Imitation of War

Genre: Singer-songwriter
AotY ranking: not rated

Kayla Cohen’s music has evolved over the past decade. She started as a freak-folk artist on 2012’s Grace Riders on the Road. There’s still folk in her DNA, but on Imitation on War she plays with a full band. The arrangements allow her guitar skills to shine through – Cohen handles all the guitars on Imitation of War.

It recaptures some of the spirit of Joni Mitchell’s Hejira, a singular record where a former folkie is backed by exploratory acoustic bass. Cohen plays both lead guitars on the opening ‘Milk’, interesting with herself beautifully. Songs like the title track and ‘El Dorado’ are driven by shimmering guitar textures, somewhere between Johnny Marr and Tom Verlaine. 

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#6 Kamasi Washington—Fearless Movement

Genre: Jazz fusion
AotY ranking: not rated

Kamasi Washington has enjoyed a high-profile career as a jazz musician in the 21st century. He attracted attention with his guest appearance on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly and his lengthy triple album The Epic.

Washington’s fifth studio album is a 90-minute record packed with starpower. Guests include George Clinton, Outkast’s Andre 3000, and jazz bassist Thundercat. 

Thundercat’s lightning-fast bass runs punctuate ‘Asha the First’, an early highlight. He also covers ‘Computer Love’, a 1986 hit for funk band Zapp. In his eighties, George Clinton adds charisma to ‘Get Lit’. The most accessible piece is pushed to the end of the record, the misleadingly titled ‘Prologue’.

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#5 Mabe Fratti—Sentir Que No Sabes

Genre: Art pop
AotY ranking: honourable mention

Guatemalan cellist and vocalist Mabe Fratti grew up only listening to Christian and classical music. Fratti now makes eclectic music, centred around her experimental cello and pretty voice. Sentir Que No Sabes, which translates as Feeling Like You Don’t Know, is Fratti’s fourth album.

Sentir is more pop-oriented and accessible than her earlier work. Sometimes she slaps her cello like a double bass for rhythm. There’s a focus on groove and less improvisation, while Fratti’s voice is at the forefront. Like many of my favourite artists, Fratti’s adept at balancing pop hooks with arty exploration.

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#4 Billie Eilish—Hit Me Hard and Soft

Genre: Art pop
AotY ranking: #8

It’s hard to fault Billie Eilish’s career so far. Her debut presented an artist with a unique vision. Her second record then expanded her range. And her third is her best so far, confident and in control. 

My favourite song here is ‘Chihiro’, driven by a funky bassline, and punctuated by unexpected synth crescendos. It forms a terrific one-two punch with the warm, breezy ‘Birds of a Feather’. Intelligent and a gifted vocalist, Eilish is building a lasting career.

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#3 Mk.gee—Two Star & the Dream Police

Genre: Alternative R&B, Neo-Psychedelia
AotY ranking: #15

Michael Gordon uses a Fender Jaguar guitar which he fits with baritone strings. Sometimes he’s remiscent of John Martyn, with the wash of nocturnal, electronic sounds and jazzy bass behind his guitar. Like Martyn, Gordon’s voice is gentle and a little slurred.

On his debut album, his songs are succinct and textural. ‘How Many Miles’ is gentle and yearning, while ‘Are You Looking Up’ is subtly propulsive. He writes pretty tunes like ‘Candy’ and ‘Alesis’. ‘Breakthespell’, the only song longer than four minutes, allows more space for textural exploration.

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#2 Magdalena Bay—Imaginal Disk

Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Synthpop
AotY ranking: #19

Miami synth-pop duo Magdalena Bay consists of songwriter/vocalist Mica Tenenbaum and musician/producer Matthew Lewin. Both have Argentinian Jewish roots. They played in a progressive rock band together in high school.

The pair return to their progressive roots on their second album together. ‘Killing Time’ pays tribute to Love’s classic 1967 album Forever Changes, mimicking the coda to ‘The Red Telephone. Lead single ‘Death + Romance’ mines the 1970s, with its piano vamp. Another highlight is the epic ballad ‘Cry For Me’ – like much of the duo’s work, it walks the line between sincerity and cheese.

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#1 Charli XCX—Brat

Genre: Electropop
AotY ranking: #1

Charlotte Aitchison has been making interesting music for more than a decade. She’s bounced between critically-favoured projects like Pop 2, and mainstream pop records like Crash. But on 2024’s Brat, she put it all together. It features brash hooks coupled with intimate lyrics.

There are many great moments. Among the embarrassment of riches, ‘B2B’ and ‘Girl, So Confusing’ rank among my favourite tracks. ‘Talk Talk’ tells the story of her first meeting with her fiance George Daniel, while there’s unexpected carnival piano in ‘Mean Girls’. Brat is likely to stand as Aitchison’s career high point.

What was your favourite album of 2024?

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