We’re winding down. Two days away from the big event. Christmas Day, where families can once again get together and eat lots of food, watch sports or whatever, and argue about religion and politics. As if Thanksgiving wasn’t enough, a month later we’re back at it. Now with ugly sweaters, gift receipts, and the anxiety of having the erring of grievances in front of your new girlfriend with your dad and obnoxious uncle in the same room you opened gifts in 40 years ago.
Happy Holidays!
But hey, no worries. That’s what edibles and Xanax are for. Besides, your family trauma isn’t the reason we’re here today. We’re here getting closer to finishing up this favorite album nonsense, and then move onto maybe a favorite movies list before the year’s end. We shall see. Today I’m covering 15-6. I think I said I’d be finishing this up today, but I changed my mind. Figured I’d stretch this out as long as I could, and keep my top 5 albums for the end of the week. A nice buffer between Christmas and New Year’s. It’s my blog, I’ll hem haw if I want to.
So here we go, favorite albums 15-6 of 2024.
15. Steve Moore : Eye Of Horus
Steve Moore has released some of my favorite music this year, and Eye Of Horus is the perfect mix of movement and mood. Sci fi headiness coalesces with rhythmic intent, giving us a rhythmic pulse to nod our heads to as we head into interstellar overdrive. Another solid work from the maestro Steve Moore.
14. Chris Cohen : Paint A Room
Chris Cohen distillates from late 60s/early 70s singer-songwriter fare and combines it with the jazz-inflected pop and 90s college/indie rock with the ease of an alchemist. His music has an intellectual lean, with touches of melancholy. And as a guy that can play everything himself the music melds like DNA perfectly. Paint A Room continues what he began on Overgrown Path and adds an air of sunlight.
13. J.R.C.G. : Grim Iconic…(Sadistic Mantra)
There is no other album out in 2024 quite like Grim Iconic..(Sadistic Mantra). It’s like a mix of Fela Kuti, Daniel Lopatin, and Death Grips making their version of Talking Heads’ Remain In Light. Justin R. Cruz Gallego’s sound world is street-ready with Latin grooves and the noisy art rock layers of someone willing to piss off people in order to be true to himself. This album is singular, and in my opinion, important.
12. The Hard Quartet : The Hard Quartet
The indie supergroup known as The Hard Quartet(Stephen Malkmus, Matt Sweeney, Jim White, Emmett Kelly) is the perfect vehicle for me(and maybe you) to enjoy the idiosyncratic musical world of Stephen Malkmus. Why? Because his stoner slacker winks and elbow to the ribs shenanigans are perfectly balanced with the absolute pop sheen that Sweeney and Kelly bring to the songwriting. I enjoy about half of a Malkmus album, while the other half I feel I’m not in on some joke because I’m not as smart or stoned as the former Pavement leader. The Hard Quartet’s debut is a fun, breezy LP with some killer guitar riffing and gems of guitar pop melody(“Rio’s Song” and “Our Hometown Boy” are guitar pop perfection.)
11. Hawksmoor : Oneironautics
Following his debut with Soul Jazz Records, James McKeown wasted no time with a follow-up to his excellent Telepathic Heights. Oneironautics keeps the Krautrock electro grooves moving, bringing McKeown’s granular sound into an even vaster aural landscape. Melodic electronic tomes built through circuits, guitars, bass, and a keen sense of melody. Fans of Cluster, Tangerine Dream, and modular electronics have much to dig into and savor here.
10. Causa Sui : From The Source
The mighty Causa Sui returned in 2024 with one of their most expansive, longform works since Summer Sessions and Pewt’r Sessions. From The Source sees the Danish 4-pc bringing the languid guitar jangle of 2020’s Szabodelico into more proggy territory. Not made as any sort of concept record, the songs meld together telling a story regardless. From the riffage of “Sorcerer’s Disciple” to the almost baroque dirge of “Dusk Dwellers” to the stoner rock groove of “The Spot”, Causa Sui lay out a proggy rock musical trip that leads us to the epic finale of “Visions Of A New Horizon”. A nearly 25-minute musical journey that builds from quiet contemplation to a psychedelic explosion of sound and fury. They don’t make ’em like this anymore. Well, Causa Sui does.
9. Elephant9 : Mythical River
Another absolute stunner from Norway’s Elephant9. The Scandinavians have got the proggy, psychedelic music gene running through the veins, as Elephant9 has proven to me time and time again. Organs/synth, bass, and drums come together beautifully on this album, laying out a wild and far out musical journey. Touches of 70s prog with jazz fusion fury in the rhythm section, this one never gets old.
8. METZ : Up On Gravity Hill
METZ have made a name for themselves over the last decade plus as one of the premier post/punk bands, along with fellow Canadians Preoccupations and Detroit’s Protomartyr. Their sound has evolved from the brash dissonance of their debut album to the more melodically-driven, Steve Albini-produced Strange Peace. And now we have Up On Gravity Hill. This album feels like a band that’s come full circle, bringing in all the elements and moods of the band into complete focus. Sadly, after hearing the announcement the band is going on an indefinite hiatus it seems Up On Gravity Hill might be their last. If this is it, at least they’re going out on top.
7. Ariel Kalma, Jeremiah Chiu, Marta Sofia Honer : The Closest Thing To Silence
What a mysterious and beautiful album The Closest Thing To Silence. The trio of Ariel Kalma, Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer have made a record that lies somewhere between world music, experimental electronic, and cosmic exploration. Bringing to mind the work of film composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer, 70s ECM artists, and German electronic pioneers Cluster. Songs like “Ten Hour Wave”, “Breathing In Three Orbits”, and “A Treasure Chest” bring these three distinct musicians’ sounds and worlds together in perfect harmony. The Closest Thing To Silence is an absolute stunner.
6. Sml : Small Medium Large
Sml is made up of modern jazz and electronic music’s best of the best. SML is the quintet of bassist Anna Butterss, synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson, percussionist Booker Stardrum, and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann, and their music is playful, dexterous, at times psychedelic, and always engaging. Their International Anthem Records debut feels like songs blooming before our eyes; blipping electronics, subtle horns, jazz-inflected rhythm section, and tasteful guitar that melds into the background as opposed to being front and center. These songs intertwine within the worlds of afrobeat, 70s electronic, and heady jazz that is as buoyant as it is heady.
We’re winding down. My top 5 favorite records of the year are hitting this Friday. Until then, have a great Christmas with family and friends. If it’s going to be a hard one due to politics, religion, or just general dysfunction then my heart’s out to you. Remember, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. You’re an adult. Dump the trauma of an awkward family gathering and just stay home. Or be with who you want to be with. Spend it with the family you make, not the one you’re assigned.
See you soon.
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