Former Washington Post editor David Rowell begins his most recent book with a salient question: “Do we even want new music anymore?” For Rowell, a music journalist, the query is tongue-in-cheek. But he spends the following 250 pages of The Endless Refrain: Memory, Nostalgia, and the Threat to New Music detailing the many ways our cultural ecosystem dissuades potential listeners from discovery, instead feeding them an “endless” loop of their established favorites.
It’s part of a larger algorithmic story that’s been filling the pockets of tech companies while paying scant attention to repercussions. The social media/political mirror in obvious: it’s economically advantageous to provide consumers information that they already agree with rather than to have them step across the aisle and question their own beliefs. In music, this gets expressed as Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors – a fine album, don’t get me wrong – spending its 1,075th consecutive week on the UK Album Charts. That’s nearly 21 years.
“Somehow we got so content with the music we knew from long ago,” Rowell writes, “that we became dangerously well-gorged on it. And at such a state we decided – however consciously or unconsciously – that we just didn’t need any new music.”
Rowell goes on to posit that this has not in fact been a conscious decision, but a hapless press-gang situation foisted on us by corporate overlords. Think about the Bon Jovi purgatory of your local Safeway and this doesn’t seem so far off. But it’s also an overstatement, because it’s really not that hard to listen to new music. In fact it’s easier now than at any point in human history. Given this publication’s online nature, you can almost certainly do it on whatever device you’re currently using, not that it will make the artist in question any money (a separate, somewhat related can of worms).
For a note on the haziness of “musical taste,” see last year’s inaugural iteration of this list. The expansion from 23 to 24 albums netted limited gains. I enjoyed at least 39 different records in 2024 and cut 15 of them. Those that remained were rewarded for boldness, experimentation, and just sometimes, for no discernible reason at all – that’s what makes it art.
- WILLOW – empathogen
Two years after 24-year-old Willow Smith’s hard left turn into emo and punk rock – Coping Mechanism – she veers on a mysterious axis and releases a jazzy album of unclassifiable piano pop-prog. Musicians don’t often rove across genres this much. Most can’t. Guest spots from John Batiste and St. Vincent (no. 16, below) prove that peers are taking note. Tunes like “no words 1 & 2” and “b i g f e e l i n g s” put this effort over the top for the year’s number one spot.
- Fontaines D.C. – Romance
Stepping from post-punk darkness to something that occasionally resembles mainstream alt rock, Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten loses none of his bellicose energy or sophisticated songwriting. Romance is FDC’s fourth record in five years. This is a very good band working at the height of their powers. See: “Favourite.”
- Norah Jones – Vision
With over 50-million albums sold worldwide, Jones has little to prove. But Visions is a stellar outing that shouldn’t be overlooked, a bluesy, earwormy journey from the pianist featuring a boatload of vintage guitar sounds (that she herself plays). She’s drifted from the piano jazz of her lauded past into something at once old-timey and new.
- Toro Y Moi – Hole Erth
Our genre experimentation continues with the hyper-prolific Chaz Bear, who blends contemporary rap into emo, indie pop, and an unexpected visit from Seattle’s Ben Gibbard. Even more unexpected? A Stewart Brand reference off the top.
- Faye Webster – Underdressed at the Symphony
Webster hit the streaming jackpot a few years ago with her slacker elfin drawl and lounge rock licks. She’s lived in the speakers of your local coffee shop ever since. Underdressed at the Symphony finds her with flushed-out band sounds and a wider sonic range than her previous work. Lil Yachty stops by for a fun guest spot.
- Bill Frisell – Orchestras
Recorded during live concerts in 2021 and 2022, Orchestras features Frisell’s idiosyncratic tunes arranged for the Brussels Philharmonic and then the Umbria Jazz Orchestra. Frisell’s trio is at the center of it all, holding things down amid European flourishes. It’s a special double album by one of Seattle’s premier links to the modern jazz world.
- Opeth – The Last Will and Testament
The Swedish progressive metal band returns to form with their 14th studio record, the first featuring primarily dirty vocals (beware!) in over a decade. The story behind this concept album involves a will and testament being read aloud to a family in the early 20th century. Don’t worry so much about that – just keep an ear out for Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, swinging by on his famous flute.
- Tim Heidecker – Slipping Away
Comedian Tim Heidecker has been indulging his musical side for nearly as long as he’s been onstage and onscreen. A little bit Ween, a little bit Jonathan Richman, this album shows that funny albums do have a place in today’s busy listening agenda. “Bows and Arrows” asks whether Jesus might want to “stay up in the clouds, hangin’ out with Dad / because down here, things are goin’ bad.” And “Bottom of the 8th” details Heidecker’s exit strategy for a minor league baseball game. We’ve all been there.
- Julia Holter – Something in the Room She Moves
Holter has long explored her own personal depths, or as she put it on her 2015 album, her “wilderness.” It takes all of one track on her new album to discern that she’s moved farther out than ever, keeping on with an eccentric brand of art pop that orbits Kate Bush and the experimental avant-garde.
- Crowded House – Gravity Stairs
After an 11-year break from the studio that lasted from 2010 to 2021, Crowded House and singer-songwriter Neil Finn return with the second album from their deluxe family band setup, featuring Neil’s sons Liam and Elroy. No simple nostalgia trick, Gravity Stairs is one of the most tightly written indie albums of the year. These storied Melbourne-based rockers have always gotten short shrift around the US – time to change that.
- Nubya Garcia – Odyssey
The 29-year old British saxophonist follows up on her 2020 breakthrough with bigger sounds and a more audacious concept. From intro track “Dawn” – featuring vocals from esperanza spalding – to the floor-smacking rhythm of “The Seer,” this record features a few different mini-suites and disparate enough influences to almost cast off the “jazz” label.
- White Denim – 12
Pure coincidence that the venerable Austin aughts rockers should land at spot 12 with their dozenth album, named, aptly, 12. To admit otherwise would discredit my rigorous rating system. More than a decade removed from their original peak, 2011’s D, the indie stalwarts have rediscovered something here, taking after Steely Dan and Vulfpeck, i.e. “Second Dimension.”
- Cassandra Jenkins – My Light, My Destroyer
With jangly guitar riffs, minimalist rockabilly leanings and reverb-rich delivery, Jenkins sculpts her sound in the mold of Feist and Kathleen Edwards. The New York-based guitarist/songwriter has made strides the last few years. This is her biggest yet, as attested by early album highlight “Aurora, IL.”
- Childish Gambino – Bando Stone and The New World
The multitalented Donald Glover melds all of his entertainment interests together on this final outing as Childish Gambino. Bando is a movie soundtrack dropped well before the accompanying film has received a release date. Why? Because he can, one supposes. Bando’s plot involves a pop artist stuck on a dystopian world with no people. If the soundtrack is any indication, the artist’s survival hinges on discovering as many hip-hop and rock minigenres as humanly possible.
- Aristocrats – Duck
Leading this list in the all-important NPM (notes per minute) metric, the three-headed international beast of guitarist Guthrie Govan, bassist Bryan Beller and drummer Marco Minnemann return with perhaps the jazziest numbers of their continuing prog-rock partnership. It’s appropriate that The Aristocrats take their name from a dirty joke, because these fellas manage a wry sense of humor even without words. See band website for the continuing serialized story of “Duck.”
- St. Vincent – All Born Screaming
Write as many brilliant, twisty songs as Annie Clark (St. Vincent) has, and it becomes difficult to separate new work from the pack. Clark has done it here, producing her most all-around effort since Masseduction or maybe even Strange Mercy. Her chameleon song structures shift ever toward the unexpected, reminiscent of stated influence David Bowie. And the backing orchestration, Clark’s specialty, has never sounded better.
- Field Music – Limits of Language
Speaking of consistent musicianship, British duo Field Music – made up of brothers David and Peter Brewis – have released a string of creatively sound, sonically curious art rock albums every other year since 2010. Their newest dives farther into synthesizer work, coalescing every once in a while, for arena-style choruses.
- Yonny – Everywhere, But Always
Seattle’s hip-hop hierarchy faces a possible restructuring with the release of Yonny’s Everywhere, But Always, which began vaulting the 24-year-old up Spotify charts well before the full record dropped in November. The music videos are spectacular, the album production more so. Anchoring things is one of the most humble, hungry young artists who’s come out of our town in a while. Keep him on your radar.
- Joel Ross – nublues
With two fantastic John Coltrane compositions – “Equinox” and the contemplative “Central Park West” – and another by Thelonious Monk, the young vibraphonist Joel Ross ties himself to jazz history while simultaneously pushing outward. This is especially poignant with the vibes, an oft-forgotten instrument that occasionally seems to have been supplanted. That is, until you hear it in the hands of a true pro.
- Porches – Shirt
Singer Aaron Maine – aka Porches – has already shown up on this list, featuring on “Undercurrent” from Toro Y Moi’s Hole Erth. But Maine leaned farther into angst than Chaz Bear did this year, going full-Cobain at various points on Shirt (see: chorus, “Rag”). He’s borrowed a page from fellow 90s head Alex G, too, using autotune and simple, ponderous guitar riffs to assemble something far more than the sum of its parts.
- Loving – Any Light
The second LP from this retro-folksy Victoria, BC duo is even better than their first, which was underappreciated back in 2020. Lo-fi recording elements play perfectly into their gentle songwriting style. Next time you reach for a Kings of Convenience or Real Estate album, try Loving instead.
- Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk
The synth-heavy duo out of Miami (via LA) expands their sonic catalog with a massive 15-song offering that begins on a rocking high-note – “She Looked Like Me!” – and shuffles through a playful mix of electro-pop and indie soundscapes for the following 54 minutes. With plenty of acoustic backing instruments, even a French horn, it’s an ambitious move that will pay dividends for a band on the way up.
- MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
Guitarist MJ Lenderman of Wednesday – they finished no. 7 on last year’s list – turned heads with this recent solo work. While it lacks the playful experimentation of Wednesday’s best songs, it’s an undeniably powerful record that explores Americana through all sorts of indie and southern rock sounds. “Wristwatch” seems right off a Drive-By Truckers album, and even features Wednesday lap steel star Xandy Chelmis. Lenderman is only 25. A long career awaits.
- Katsushika Trio – Wild Guys In The Universe
Our slightly irreverent list reaches an appropriately irreverent end with Katsushika Trio, formed by three original members of legendary Japanese fusion group Casiopea. Venerable elders in the scene, this is their debut full-length. Not only does it have the best title of the year, that title describes the music therein with uncanny accuracy. Happy listening!
