OG Brian's Favorites of 2024

It’s that time of year again! No, not the holiday season, or the season of giving, or the season of war on your supposedly besieged holiday of choice. It’s year-end list season! Time for everyone to competitively and quantitatively rank artists against each other. And who am I to opt out of this annual tradition? But here’s the thing - I am in no way qualified to tell you what the best music was in 2024, mainly because I didn’t listen to absolutely everything. For example, I am aware of Charli XCX’s Brat because I was alive in 2024, but I can’t say I listened to the album. That said, I listened to a lot, and there was a lot to like this year. So below you’ll find my favorites of 2024. Enjoy!

Favorite Album:

• MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks: Was there any doubt? I originally didn’t plan on singling one album out above all others, but Manning Fireworks really is THE album for me from this year. And I have more stock in Lenderman than any other singer-songwriter today. Sorry (not sorry) for being predictable - after all, his Boat Songs was my top album of 2022 and Wednesday’s Rat Saw God topped my 2023 list - but as if Manning Fireworks wasn’t stellar enough on its own, Lenderman firmly clinched my top spot yet again when he (with Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band) closed out his 9:30 Club show in October with a killer cover of “Werewolves of London.”

The Next 10: These are the rest of the albums that will stick with me from this year. Nothing against the others that I’ll mention - they’re all great, and they all hit me in a certain way - but these are the other albums and artists I will think about when someone brings up music from 2024. This was a big year for jangle pop, power pop, alt-country, folk-pop, and shoegaze, each of which is represented by at least one of the following:

• The Umbrellas - Fairweather Friend: The first of two Bay Area jangle pop bands I discovered in 2024, and one I was lucky enough to see live at the Quarry House Tavern in Silver Spring, Maryland. Released all the way back in January, this album stuck with me all year. What’s not to like about a Britpop-inspired rhythm section serving as the backbone for R.E.M.-style jangly guitar chords. When I reviewed Fairweather Friend earlier this year I predicted it would be one of my favorites at the end. One of the few things I was right about in 2024.

• Neutrals - New Town Dream: Here’s another thing I was right about in 2024 - this album rules. The second of the two Bay Area jangle pop bands I heard for the first time this year (like The Umbrellas, signed to the always interesting Slumberland Records). Neutrals give us energetic ‘80s/‘90s guitar pop that happens to include some of the most clever lyrics of the year. Cheers to Allan McNaughton, the Glaswegian-Californian singer-guitarist-songwriter, and the rest of the band for an album that I called an “absolute joy” earlier in the year.

• Good Looks - Lived Here for a While: Call it heartland rock, call it alt-country, call it guitar rock, call it whatever you want. The second album by Austin-based Good Looks is catchy and twangy as hell, with lyrics and riffs that position Good Looks as their heir to Drive-By Truckers. It’s one of the most honest records of the year, highlighted by Tyler Jordan’s words and Jake Ames’ guitar. Considering the circumstances that led to this recording - in 2022, around the release of their album Bummer Year, Ames suffered severe injuries after being hit by a car - you can hear as much emotion in Ames’ playing as in Jordan’s singing.

• 2nd Grade - Scheduled Explosions: As I wrote when I first reviewed this album, 2nd Grade are the love child of Big Star and Guided By Voices. So, yeah, it’s guaranteed to make my year-end list, just like their 2022 album Easy Listening. Scheduled Explosions is 38 minutes of quick-burst low-fi power pop pleasure. I’ve had it in rotation constantly since its release.

• Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven: Both melodic and punishing, Mannequin Pussy’s latest release is noise rock at its best. The band screams in your face on one track before pulling back on the next, keeping the listener on edge for what’s to come. Another band I was lucky to see live this year.

• Wishy - Triple Seven: Wishy gets lumped in with the new shoegaze bands of the past few years, but Triple Seven, their debut album, is arguably the catchiest, hookiest, roll-the-windows-down-and-blast-it-est album of the year. At most shows I see people (ok, dudes) standing still and nodding their heads. At DC’s Songbyrd, Wishy’s set caused men and women around the room to dance. Like, actually dance (yes, kids, there was a time when people danced to rock bands; ask ChatGPT).

• Jack White - No Name: Is it the best work of his entire career? No. Is it his best solo album since 2014’s Lazaretto? Absolutely. (And yes, I acknowledge I included Fear of the Dawn on my 2022 list; No Name is infinitely better.) I wrote about this album extensively a while ago. No Name straight-up rocks at a time when so few albums straight-up rock. I especially wanted to include it here because his show at the 9:30 Club was, start to finish, one of my favorite music experiences of 2024.

• Father John Misty - Mahashmashana: Honestly? I’m as surprised as you are. Father John Misty (aka, Josh Tillman) is an artist that confounds me. Sometimes I find him fascinating, other times I find him irritatingly twee. His latest album, released in late November, roped me in with the single “She Cleans Up,” and I found myself drawn to it more than I expected. I was aware of his sharp, poetic lyrics. What surprised me was how much I enjoyed this version of his chill, grooving vibe.

• Wild Pink - Dulling the Horns: I don’t think any of the other 6OGs stumps for Wild Pink as much as I do (editor’s note: Brian is correct). I apologize for nothing (editor’s note: this is also correct). John Ross and the gang turned the volume down on 2022’s ILYSM (which also made an appearance on my year-end list) but return in full-guitar mode and sound like a live band captured in a studio. Wild Pink combines spirited indie riffs with sly lyrics, and they even make a visit to Lenderman Corner with “Eating the Egg Whole,” in which Ross sings about Michael Jordan, the Bullets becoming the Wizards, and the Expos becoming the Nationals. I first came across Wild Pink on 2021’s A Billion Little Lights and I’ve enjoyed them more with each album.

• Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee: This was the album I returned to only sparingly (it’s 32 tracks and over two hours long, after all) but remained in my thoughts all year. Part of the reason was its release strategy via an old-style Geocities website. The other reason was the (to use the words of a popular podcaster) goddamn gorgeous beautiful music. Every person I spoke to about this album recognized a different influence Patrick Flegel’s masterwork, and the amazing thing is each of us was right (as I wrote in my mid-year review, I heard echoes of Daniel Johnston).

Honorable Mentions: Many of these could have easily cracked the group just above. Some were slow burns that took some time to catch on, while others grabbed me instantly, faded from memory, and then jumped back into my consciousness later. Not enough space or time to write up each one, but I’ll drop a little parenthetical when an interesting note (to me, anyway) is warranted.

• Beyonce - Cowboy Carter (I’m not a pop country guy, but I thought it was pretty good; I’m also happy to stand apart from the CMAs)

• The Bug Club - On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System

• A Country Western - Life on the Lawn

• The Cure - Songs of a Lost World (an Old Guy salutes other Old Guys)

• Ducks Ltd. - Harm’s Way (played a great opening set for Ratboys at Ottobar)

• Ekko Astral - Pink Balloons

• English Teacher - This Could Be Texas

• Lupe Fiasco - Samurai

• Fontaines D.C. - Romance

• The Hard Quartet (an Old Guy salutes still other Old Guys) - S/T

• Los Campesinos - All Hell (a band I sometimes can’t get a handle on, but an album I truly enjoyed)

• Macseal - Permanent Repeat

• Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch (the ultimate slow burn record for me this year; at first I thought it was just OK, but over time I really started to get it)

• Prize Horse - Under Sound (played a great opening set for Wishy at Songbyrd)

• Rosali - Bite Down

• Shellac - To All Trains (RIP, Steve Albini)

• The Smile - Wall of Eyes (an Old Guy salutes even more other Old Guys)

• Sour Widows - Revival of a Friend

• The Spatulas - Beehive Mind

• Tru Trilla - XVI: The Return of the Gods (early in the year I had a hard time finding hip hop that connected; big thanks to OG Brad for turning me onto this)

• Wand - Vertigo (this may have been the hardest omission from The Next 10; could have taken the Wishy or Jack White slot)

• Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood

• Winged Wheel - Big Hotel

• Yard Act - Where’s My Utopia? (brings me back to Madchester rave music or early ‘00s dance-punk, mate)

Favorite Song:

• Candelita - “OMG”: You can have your “Espresso” and your “Good Luck, Babe!” You can even have “Not Like Us” (although that one is a true banger). This is my list, and this song brought me so much joy and excitement. I loved that team. I loved the comebacks, I loved the Grimace of it all, I loved beating the Phillies. I’ll remember 2024 as much for the Mets as for Manning Fireworks. And this song - performed by the team’s eventual starting second baseman - played a big part. LFGM.

Favorite Music Book from 2024:

• Endless Endless by Adam Clair: Adding a new wrinkle to my year-end list. I read a decent amount of music books. One of the most notable from this year was Endless Endless, Adam Clair’s part narrative / part oral history of the Elephant 6 recording collective, focusing on Neutral Milk Hotel, The Apples in Stereo, The Olivia Tremor Control, and Of Montreal. Interesting book about the relationships and creative processes among bands about which I only had surface-level knowledge. Fair warning - the anecdotes get a little repetitive in the oral history format, and some additional editing may have been warranted. And thanks to my wife Nancy for grabbing this one for me at Powell’s City of Books on a trip to Portland, OR.

Favorite Music Documentary from 2024:

• Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary: It snuck in under the wire, so I’ll admit a little recency bias. But you want proof of how good it is? I don’t like any of the bands involved, and I had a blast watching it.