Nobody reads the intro. Here’s entries 50-31 in No Frills Reviews’ top 50 albums of 2024.
50
Amyl and The Sniffers Cartoon Darkness
Top Track: Jerkin’
“You’re a dumb cunt, You’re an arsehole” – the album’s opening lines alone earn it a place here. The Melbourne punks beef up their sound on their third album, incorporating Sabbath-sized riffs and dark, brooding ballads. The songwriting doesn’t always match up to that heavyweight style, but with the delightfully snotty snark of hater-baiting anthems like Jerkin’ and U Should Not Be Doing That, you can’t help but get caught up in the hard rocking fun.
49
Chiedu Oraka Misfit
Top track: Rhythm Of My Pain
The debut mixtape from ‘The Black Yorkshireman’ is part mission statement, part origin story. Typical rap bravado and tales of street struggles contrast with displays of vulnerability as he opens up on the traumas that made him and the flaws he continues to work through. Producer, Deezkid, incorporates the influence of 90’s UK dance tunes and traces of West Coast G-funk into a foundation of eerie grime beats. An introduction that sets Oraka apart with his distinct sense of identity.
48
Paul Crowe Sun Sets The Scene
Top Track: Ayda
The Liverpool singer-songwriter’s debut combines Americana influences with the immediacy of classic pop songwriting, armed with a host of stadium-sized singalong choruses. Moments of borderline desperation build to joyous conclusions; hope and defiance in the face of adversity. Crowe’s writing excels when combining the ordinary and the extraordinary, like the cosmic beauty of Ayda or the La’s-esque, Firecracker Dawn, as he elevates the characters and emotions of his songs to epic proportions.
47
Red Rum Club Western Approaches
Top track: Undertaker
On their fourth album, the Merseyside six-piece sound like a hybrid of two other local luminaries. Combining the rattling spaghetti-Western psych and country-tinged balladry of The Coral, with the buoyant, Northern Soul-infused pop of The Zutons. Darkness and loss cast a shadow over the album, from the paranoid rush of Black Cat to the gentle melancholia of Last Minute. But triumph always seems to emerge, with a barrage of infectious hooks and huge choruses making this an irresistible half hour of indie-pop.
46
Doechii Alligator Bites Never Heal
Top track: BOILED PEANUTS
The Florida rapper cemented herself as a breakout star, while showcasing her versatility on this Grammy-nominated mixtape. You can take your pick of potential hits from the likes of BOILED PEANUTS, BOOM BAP, NISSAN ALTIMA, etc, etc. Playful boom bap beats, mingle with harder trap influences, and the sheen of modern R&B as Doechii establishes herself as a charismatic powerhouse with humour and hooks to spare.
45
Jessica Pratt Here in the Pitch
Top track: Life Is
Mesmerising and mysterious baroque folk-pop, illuminated by magnetic, otherworldly vocals. The California songwriter seems to nod to the hippy counterculture of 60s/70s LA, while never truly sounding like anything created during that era; not quite traditional folk but not quite dream pop. Pratt’s music seems to operate between worlds; at once out of time and timeless.
44
Ravyn Lenae Bird’s Eye
Top track: Love Me Not
Lenae’s second album solidifies her place as one of modern soul and R&B’s leading lights. A far tighter album than her acclaimed 2022 debut; Bird’s Eye seamlessly blends upbeat pop moments with mellow, dreamy ballads. Hazy atmospherics and hints of psychedelia provide the contrast that allows the light funk of tracks like Love Me Not to really standout. The Chicago singer’s voice remains airy and fragile, while projecting power lyrically; finding the very human sweet spot between vulnerability and empowerment.
43
Lightheaded Combustible Gems
Top track: Dawn Hush Lullaby
The lo-fi jangle of 80’s indie, with the cosmic edge of 60’s psych-pop. The deep, brooding vocals of Nico meet the nonchalant cool of Kim Gordon. The sweetness of Beach Boys’ melodies contrasted with melancholic yearning reminiscent of post-punk miserabilists. 80’s synth-pop futurism merged with airy dream-pop fragility. The New Jersey trio’s debut is like a personally crafted cut and paste collage of great eras through pop history; proudly wearing their influences on their sleeve while turning them into something only recognisable as their own.
42
Max Blansjaar False Comforts
Top track: Burning In Our Name
The debut album from the Oxford-via-Amsterdam songwriter is at once comforting and disconcerting. His lyrics veer from vividly descriptive slice-of-life imagery to grandly surrealistic and metaphorical; unguarded curiosity clashes with grim existentialism. This off-kilter energy is mirrored musically. A Lou Reed-like deadpan nonchalance contrasted by touches of heart-on-sleeve alt-folk and 60’s psych-pop. A combination of classic pop songwriting with ambitious experimental instincts. A scruffily polished debut that hopefully gives a glimpse of greater things to come.
41
Previous Industries Service Merchandise
Top track: Showbiz
This may only be the debut from this supergroup of underground veterans, featuring LA-via-Chicago rappers Open Mike Eagle, Still Rift, and Video Dave, but their long-time friendship is apparent in their laid-back chemistry as they flow off one another like a shared stream of consciousness. With barely a hook to be found, this isn’t an obviously accessible album, yet it’s eminently listenable. A rumination on nostalgia and aging, where moments of insight emerge amidst references to half-forgotten fragments of pop culture. The sound of three children of the 80’s remembering when time moved a little slower, and the realisation that time has now caught up.
40
Photocomfort Patron Saint
Top track: Roll
An intimately atmospheric album, where the sounds of gentle piano ballads hang in the air and gradually absorb the room around them, evoking images of a 50’s jazz chanteuse. Playfully experimental touches, like glitchy electronic loops or a De La-esque psych-rap feature, add a contemporary feel to the classic foundation. But the real standout moments come in the euphoric indie-pop of Roll, and the country-tinged electro-pop of Let It Ride. (Read more)
39
Denzel Curry King Of The Mischievous South Vol.2
Top track: G’Z UP
The sequel to his 2012 mixtape, sees the acclaimed Florida rapper take things back-to-basics. Featuring a heavyweight guest list, from veterans, like Juicy J and Project Pat, to recent breakout stars, like That Mexican OT. And with a steady stream of deep, glowering bass and no-nonsense shout-along hooks, it’s a half hour celebration of hard-hitting Southern rap.
38
Hinds VIVA HINDS
Top track: En Forma
The Spanish band, now down to a duo, manage to retain the chaotic girl gang charm of their earlier work, while pulling off their strongest collection yet on their fourth album. Featuring guest spots from Beck and Fontaines D.C. frontman, Grian Chatten, they balance their infectious, ramshackle garage rock with moments of dreamy shoegaze bliss.
37
Blossoms Gary
Top track: Perfect Me
One of the most consistent British bands of the last decade continue their streak with a fifth album full of undeniably catchy indie-pop gems. They expand their palette with an increased incorporation of 80’s new wave pop influences. As demonstrated on the title track, an ode to an 8ft fibreglass gorilla statue, one of their biggest strengths is the ability to inject a real sense of humanity into quirky, humorous tales. Oh and the ridiculous amount of hooks helps as well.
36
Mach-Hommy #RICHAXXHAITIAN
Top track: SAME 24
The enigmatic Haitian-born rapper’s final instalment in his series of projects which reflect on the culture and ongoing political strife of his home country. In his typical style, he combines street slang with philosophical musings and an endless, multi-lingual vocabulary to develop intricate snaking rhyme schemes. Against a backdrop of abstract beats which often seem to float wearily, casting a haze over proceedings, this is like a freeform jazz-soul opus delivered by a modern lyrical master.
35
Jamie xx In Waves
Top track: All You Children
The London producer’s long-awaited follow-up to his 2015 debut is packed with euphoric dance-floor fillers. Powerhouse club anthems are bolstered by all-star guest spots; including his xx bandmates, electro-pop queen Robyn, and Australian legends The Avalanches. The scattering of gentle, soulful moments of introspection in between, only make those bigger moments all the more joyful.
34
Liquid Mike Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot
Top track: American Caveman
Combining the hook-filled fun of pop-punk with a heavy helping of small town existential dread. The Michigan band’s fifth LP is a brisk 25 minutes of short, sharp rockers packing a sneaky emotional punch. “I got older, but act the same” from standout, American Caveman, may be the most casually devastating line of the year. Their sound may carry hallmarks of angsty 90’s slacker-dom, but delivered with a kind of acquiescent shrug of ‘fuck it, let’s have a good time anyway’.
33
BigXthaPlug TAKE CARE
Top track: The Largest
Following a meteoric rise to prominence, the second album from the Dallas rapper finds him caught somewhere between a victory lap, a very recent past life of street hustling, and coming to terms with his newfound success. The opening sample of Willie Hutch’s Motown classic, Tell Me Why… (better recognisable from Three 6 Mafia’s Stay Fly) sets the tone for a half hour of hard-edged but soulful Southern rap. With his booming, low timbre and a barrage of effortlessly breathless, quotable bars, the early label of ‘Texas Biggie’ doesn’t sound too outlandish.
32
The Courettes The Soul Of…The Fabulous Courettes
Top track: Boom Boom Boom
The wide-eyed sweetness of Phil Spector girl-groups meets the wild-eyed garage rock psychedelia you’d uncover on a Nuggets compilation. The Danish/Brazilian husband and wife duo of Martin and Flavia Couri are an undoubted throwback to a bygone era, but what they do so well is capture the rawness and innocence of their inspirations as a vehicle to deliver unfiltered expressions of emotion on an album that feels timeless rather than cliché. (Read more)
31
Jack White No Name
Top track: Underground
The former White Stripes man delivers his strongest solo outing with a classic back-to-basics album. For all his attempted experimentation over the years, he’s ultimately an all-timer guitar shredder and he’s at his best here with 40 minutes of hard, twisted blues.
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