The Best Albums for Old Heads of 2024, Pt. 3

The penultimate anti-list of best new music is here, and it features 13 albums that deserve to be on a top 10 list. I'm confused, too!

Now it’s really getting exciting, isn’t it?

We’ve reached the part of this non-countdown countdown that would make me, as a reader, both nervous and confused.

Why are there more than ten albums in your top ten list?

You still haven’t mentioned my favorite album — are you ever going to?

What about all of the albums that came out after you started writing this whole series?

IT’S A WHIRLWIND OF EMOTIONS.

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I’m going to take the coward’s way out and tell you that I’ll tackle these questions later. For now I’ll just remind you that this isn’t actually a top ten list; it’s a list of albums that are worthy of being in a top ten list.

Recall…

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

I might be a little bit late this week (sorry!) but I’m delivering exactly what I promised: weekly unranked lists of albums that I’m progressively more excited about sharing with you.

The Best Albums for Old Heads of 2024, Part Three - Albums Worthy of a Top 10 List

You’ve had enough of a preamble. Confusion, complaints, and outrage can be directed to my comment section. Let’s begin!

Albums are listed in alphabetical order by artist.

1. DEADLETTER - Hysterical Strength (This divisive debut record from brooding, sometimes atonal post-punkers is somehow not the only klezmer-tinged album I’ve recommended this year. The addition of a saxophone is both questionable and welcome. Standout tracks: More Heat!, Mere Mortal)

2. English Teacher - This Could Be Texas (Can post-punk be pop? I’m going to say yes, and I’ll also take bets that this will be the most universally palatable recommendation I’ll make all year. Standout tracks: The World’s Biggest Paving Slab, R&B)

3. Fontaines D.C. - Romance (This Dublin band already had a formidable presence, but their latest foray takes a lightly experimental turn for the dramatic that rivals some of Radiohead’s work. Standout tracks: Romance, Here’s the Thing)

4. Geordie Greep - The New Sound (If English Teacher is my most palatable rec, this solo debut from Black Midi frontman is easily the least. Rei Momo era David Byrne meets Arab Strap. Yes, it’s unhinged — you’ve been warned. Standout track: Holy, Holy)

5. Heems, Lapgan - LAFANDAR (If you’re not familiar with Heems, yes you are. He’s half of Das Racist, of Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell fame. This is balm for anyone missing East Coast backpack hip-hop with a sense of humor. More here. Standout tracks: I’m Pretty Cool, Bukayo Saka)

6. Helado Negro - PHASOR (Beautiful, wispy, otherworldly synth-folk. Brazilian grooves round out a gentle and strange atmosphere for dancing. Standout tracks: Colores del Mar, Flores)

7. Kim Gordon - The Collective (This highly anticipated lo-fi/trap record from 71-year-old Sonic Youth alumna might be responsible for (temporarily?) curing Gen Z of their fear of aging. Sardonic fauxmages to the quotidian may leave you feeling annoyed or deeply uncool. Standout tracks: BYE BYE, The Candy House)

8. Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk (Blast off into outer space with pop music at its greatest and most infectious. This is like listening to Donna Summer’s I Feel Love for the first time, over and over again. Standout tracks: Image, Death & Romance, That’s My Floor)

9. The Smile - Wall of Eyes (You don’t need me to explain to you what a Thom Yorke/Jonny Greenwood record sounds like. There are actually two new Smile albums this year, but this one is the strongest. I admit it’s hit or miss, but the hits are so overwhelmingly strong that they earn their keep, even this high up on an end of year list. Standout tracks: Read the Room, Friend of a Friend, Bending Hectic)

10. St. Vincent - All Born Screaming (I’d never begrudge an artist a sojourn into experimental territory, but still… what a relief to see St. Vincent return from her slightly disappointing excursion to the 1970s back to what she does best: losing her goddamn mind. For angular songs that collapse into utter breakdowns of sanity, nobody does it better than Annie Clark. Standout tracks: Broken Man, Flea, Big Time Nothing)

11. Tyler, the Creator - CHROMAKOPIA (Chills-down-your-back, dark, lush, self-exploratory hip hop. This is such a layered record that it deserves more listens than what I’ve given it, but its impression is already sticky and lasting. Standout tracks: St. Chroma, Noid)

12. Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She (God help the middle school girls listening to this right now, because they don’t know what they’re in for. The rest of us will pick up on PJ Harvey, Bjork, Nine Inch Nails, and maybe Massive Attack. Standout tracks: Everything Turns Blue, Dusk)

13. Nilüfer Yanya - My Method Actor (An ethereal, cinematic, jazz/art-pop hybrid that owes a lot to ‘90s trip hop. Truly a beautiful record that continues to surprise me with each listen… and whose presence on this list will shock anyone who knows me. Standout tracks: Method Actor, Binding, Just A Western)

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Are you as anxious for next week as I am??