The Best Albums for Old Heads of 2024, Pt. 2

The second installment of the year's best albums for people who find keeping track of new music daunting... this time featuring a record giveaway.

In case you missed the first edition of this series and the preamble within, go play catch-up:

The Best Albums for Old Heads of 2024, Pt. 1

And if you’re really lazy, let me run through it again very, very quickly.

Instead of doing a typical countdown of the Top However Many Albums of the Year that you’re used to seeing from other publications, I’m sharing four sets of albums — one per week — each one subjectively more interesting than the last. It will look something like this…

The End-of-Year Schedule

• Week of November 17th: Noteworthy Releases

• Week of November 24th: Albums Worthy of a Top 50 List

• Week of December 1st: Albums Worthy of a Top 10 List

• Week of December 8th: Albums Worthy of a #1 Slot

We’ve made our way to the second set, which I’ll dive into in short order, but first…

---

Another Record Giveaway!

Well, I guess these giveaways are officially happening monthly.

Number nine on last week’s noteworthy release list (for whatever it’s worth, since the numbers didn’t represent a ranked order) was All Pleasure, the addictive new record from sexy post-punkers THUS LOVE. Now it can be yours! To enter, you just have to be a paid subscriber. Godspeed!¹

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s dig in to the reason you’re here.

---

The Best Albums for Old Heads of 2024, Part Two - Albums Worthy of a Top 50 List

Just because these are records that are worthy of a top 50 list, doesn’t mean you should expect to see 50 albums down below. In fact, you’re probably going to see fewer and fewer records with each passing week. My internal logic is sound, dammit!

On the whole, I think these albums are stronger than those I shared in part one, but this is all dictated by your personal preferences. As ever, I'm very curious to get your feedback.

Because I don’t rank, I’ve decided to list in alphabetical order this time around.

1. Being Dead - EELS (John Congleton-produced twee confection reminiscent of Television Personalities and The Kinks. Standout tracks: Godzilla Rises, Firefighters)

2. Fake Fruit - Mucho Mistrust (Influence-mashup of X-ray Spex, Gang of Four, B-52s, and Pixies that leans DIY punk. More here. Standout track: Más o Menos, Venetian Blinds)

3. Ginger Root - SHINBANGUMI (Japanese city pop meets alt-disco for what the artist himself describes as “elevator soul”. Standout tracks: No Problems, Better Than Monday)

4. Gustaf - Package Pt. 2 (New York post-punk act with an anxious vibe that owes a lot to Romeo Void and The Slits. Standout track: Close)

5. illuminati hotties - POWER (Sarah Tudzin does it again on this star-studded release, but this time with the kind of hooky power-pop earworms that will lodge in your brain permanently and relentlessly. Standout tracks: Can’t Be Still, The L, Didn’t)

6. Alex Izenberg - Alex Izenberg & The Exiles (Hypnotic, psychedelic, folk-rock debut from a clear Fleet Foxes fan. Echoes of King Crimson and Donovan, too. Standout track: Drinking the Dusk Away)

7. julie - my anti-aircraft friend (Young shoegaze-inspired band with tumblr aesthetics actually seriously rips on this debut. Standout track: feminine adornments)

8. The Lemon Twigs - A Dream is All We Know (Possibly literal time travelers pump blood back into the Beach Boys, and also our hearts. More here. Standout track: How Can I Love Her More?)

9. Lily Seabird - Alas, (Alt-folk simmers and boils over into heavy grunge. I wish I had known about this perfect blend of hard and soft when I was writing this piece about my Anti-Brat Summer. Standout track: Grace)²

10. Liquid Mike - Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot (The perfect record for erstwhile skaters to relive their early 2000s heyday. More here. Standout tracks: K2, Mouse Trap)

11. Liz Lawrence - Peanuts (Criminally underrated, genre-defying record with more than a little glam rock, angularity, and strong bass lines throughout. A little like if St. Vincent had been on college radio in the late ‘90s . Standout tracks: Big Machine, Strut)

12. The Lovely Eggs - Eggsistentialism (Imagine if the Raveonettes threw down a mosh pit in outer space every once in a while. Standout track: My Mood Wave)

13. Master Peace - How to Make a Master Peace (If the Dare is satirizing the indie sleaze era, Master Peace is paying respectful homage. More here. Standout track: GET NAUGHTY!)

14. NewDad - MADRA (This band is so perfect for lovers of ‘90s grunge and shoegaze that it’s a wonder I haven’t tripped all over myself to recommend them already. Soft and sweet, but grungy; so much like Lush. Standout track: Sickly Sweet)

15. Sofia Bolt - Vendredi Minuit (Bilingual, sophisticated French pop with groovy orchestrations and dreamy atmosphere. Standout track: Martini)

16. SOFT PLAY - HEAVY JELLY (Tongue-in-cheek punk/metal outfit change their name and lean into some truly ridiculous antics. Standout track: Punk’s Dead)

17. The Umbrellas - Fairweather Friend (I hear Beat Happening all over this delightful jangle-pop/twee revival. More here. Standout track: Games)

18. The Waeve - City Lights (Even Graham Coxon’s terrible singing can’t ruin this Bowie-infused new wave gem. Standout tracks: City Lights, Moth to the Flame)

19. Wishy - Triple Seven (This comfort blanket for the ‘90s music lover sports influences from just about every “minivan rock” band, but especially the Gin Blossoms. Standout track: Sick Sweet)

20. Yard Act - Where’s My Utopia? (Hilariously bombastic post-punk with tinges of Gorillaz, Beck, and the Streets. More here. Standout track: We Make Hits, Petroleum)

Same time next week?

1. I'll pick a winner on November 30th.

2. Thanks to Thomas Morra for the nudge. (I rarely remember who turned me on to an artist, but when I do, I try to shout them out!)