Oh, My Stars: OG Brad's Favorites of 2024
Need to escape from your family after Christmas (or Night 1 of Chanukah)? Short on ideas for how to spend your record store gift card (that’s what you got, right?) or which shows to see in early 2025 to fulfill your New Years resolution to get out to more live music? Great - I’m here for you with more music than you could have asked for from the (amazing, at least musically) year that was.
Although it’s a few years old, the movie of 2024 for me had to be “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once.” The pace of events, of change, of things that did not feel like they could be real actually being real (and then maybe as quickly forgotten so that you can’t remember if they were real after all). I mean, it’s not new, necessarily, and it feels like it’s the world we now inhabit. But 2024 just felt like it was more intensely all of it, all the time, no matter what you tried to slow down or escape.
And that feeling has changed the way I engage with and consume music. In past years, I could find throughlines and themes more easily, but in 2024, I bounced more from genre to genre, scene to scene, label to label (I definitely went back to following labels more closely in 2024, as I noted in my midyear write-up), often forgetting one week what I had been obsessed with just one week before.
So in honor of that theme of bouncing from style to style, my top list (of 30 albums, with a whole lot more after; FYI there are so many not all will show up in your email, so please click to the post itself ) will be presented in pairs, with two albums each representing styles/labels/scenes that dominated by ears in 2024, and listed in relative order of favorites (and of course, with one exception). Many of these were on that mid-year list, but a few snuck in later in the year.
1 - Heems and Lapgan – Lafandar/Heems - Veena: The first pair is actually two albums by the same artist, and he was my favorite overall artist of 2024. See my earlier review here of Lafandar and what I said in the midyear post here. And yes, in July, I actually compared Lafandar to Paul’s Boutique; I stand by it, maybe not in the achievement (and I surely don’t think it will end up in the pantheon like Paul’s Boutique is) but in the feeling. The record is so dense, so entertaining, so surprising. Each listen really does reveal a lyric you missed the first time, a sound in the mix you skipped past, a reference you needed the fifth listen to connect. And then he dropped Veena, a much more subdued and serious record, but no less entertaining or captivating. Focused on his mother mainly, but his family history and culture more broadly, the lyricism is dense and deep but always keeps you on the edge of your seat (and heading to the kitchen, given how much he includes food references in his lyrics, across both albums). Here’s to hoping we get 2 or 3 more from Heems in 2025.
2 - Naima Bock - Below a Massive Dark Land — So every rule needs an exception, and Naima Bock will be mine. There was no record quite like this in sound or feel for me in 2024, so I list her all alone (which I make up for with a three-fer later). I am not normally an indie folk listener, but I stumbled on this one from the former Goat Girl bass player and never let go. You can read my review of the record and an intimate live set here. The song “Kaley” was my favorite individual track of 2024 (it’s also where the “Oh, My Stars” in the title of the post comes from), and the whole album just feels like a sonic and lyrical journey, from spare acoustic music to Bossanova (she has Brazilian family roots) and nearly everything in between. I have not seen this record on other year-end lists, but as she’s on Sub Pop, I do hope the power of that label can do for her what it’s done for the likes of Suki Waterhouse. Naima Bock deserves a big audience, and I know this album will be close by for me throughout 2025.
3 - MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks/ahem - Avoider — What more needs to be said about MJ Lenderman? He’s the current driving force for many of us here at 3A6OG, and Manning Fireworks keeps on delivering with every listen. Just read OG Brian’s album/show review here or his year-end list summary here. As for ahem, they’re a Minneapolis band that sounds a whole lot like one former great Minneapolis band, the Replacements, crossed a bit in sound with another great Minneapolis band, the Jayhawks, with some of DC’s Bad Moves pop sensibility thrown in. When I was in the mood for something close to but not really alt-country and that had a catchy and hooky rock tinge to it, I found myself putting this on over and over.
4 - Mannequin Pussy – I Got Heaven/Ekko Astral – pink balloons — Noise with heart. Both Philadelphia’s Mannequin Pussy and DC’s Ekko Astral brought intense noise and heart-bursting emotion on their albums. Each clearly owes a debt to old school, hardcore, feminist punk but blows open the space with ballads, pop, and straight ahead dance songs. I covered Ekko Astral in this post, and both appeared on the midyear list.
5 - Winged Wheel – Big Hotel/Mo Dotti - Opaque — If you write about rock music in 2024, it feels obligatory to discuss shoegaze. There’s so much of it being released, a lot of it good (and plenty of it not so much), and so many emerging sub-sub-gaze genres, that any year-end list inclusion feels like a version of “well, these are the ones I heard, so I’ll call them the best.” And so for me, Detroit’s Winged Wheel and LA’s Mo Dotti were the ones I heard the most and thus felt like were the best. Both records have a core groove and drive that a lot of modern shoegaze lacks, while sticking to the key formula of having layered guitars and buried vocals. Several of the records listed in Honorable Mention could easily have been up here - figure eight, Blushing, Sucker, Dummy, and many more.
6 - El-Khat - Mute/LA LOM -LA LOM — Music that transports you to another time and world. El-Khat is a supremely unique band. They start with a core traditional Yemeni sound, filtered through Israeli musicians from myriad cultures, and pulling together a range of influences. On one track, it may be Middle Eastern and as if you’re gathered around the radio listening to a follow-up to the 1950s Umm Kulthum hour, and in another, it’s the same sound channeling a rock song. LA LOM, which stands for Los Angeles League of Musicians, is a trio from LA but feels transported from 1950s Havana. The debut record is fully instrumental, and you will feel instantly like you are in a smoky and sweaty cafe, ceiling fans spinning on a slow speed, and a combined wistfulness and carefree feeling pervading the scene.
7 - Neutrals - New Town Dream/The Umbrellas — Fairweather Friend — Though just appearing at #7, this pair of albums represents perhaps my favorite sound of 2024 — jangle and power pop released on San Francisco label Slumberland Records. OG Brian is the resident jangle and power pop expert, though, so just read how he captured Neutrals brilliantly here and The Umbrellas here. Both records are consistently catchy and sunny, and once you’ve had a bit, you can’t get enough.
8 - Allysha Joy - The Making of Silk/Sault – Acts of Faith — Two smooth and nearly perfect neo-soul/R&B records. Sault can still do almost no wrong, and although this album didn’t quite hit for me like some of their (five!) 2022 records or (two) 2020 records, and the religious elements do get a bit much at times, they still groove like no one else; their “it’s pretty good” records are still nearly perfect by objective standards and well beyond what most of their contemporaries can even dream of (and why they’re the “house band” on Sunday Midday with Marc and Brad on WOWD-LP). In a more classic R&B sound, Allysha Joy from Melbourne, who normally fronts the 30/70 Collective, delivered a gorgeous record that I came back to more than I expected.
9 - The Submissives - Live at Value Sound Studios/The Spatulas – Beehive Mind — As I said when writing about the Spatulas on the midyear list, I am a sucker for lo-fi twee reminiscent of early K records. I noted in July that Cambridge MA-by-way-of-Portland band the Spatulas nail the sound perfectly, which was true but honestly, Montreal’s the Submissives did it even better. At times, you can’t believe there are six musicians playing, as the sound is so simple and direct. The songwriting may be simple but deceptively so, as the lyrics and buried sounds from this live show draw you back even after you feel like you’ve figured it out.
10 - Previous industries – Service Merchandise/Ol’ Burger Beats – ’74: Out of Time — As with 2023, hip-hop was less a focus for me this year. I didn’t spend much time with the bigger ticket releases from the likes of Vince Staples, Tyler the Creator, or the late-year addition from Kendrick Lamar (and I spent even less time on the Kendrick-Drake dissfest). Instead, other than Heems, it was a survey of chill production and thoughtful lyrics. I liked a lot but didn’t go crazy for so many of them. I covered Previous Industries in the mid-year list and did an earlier review of Ol' Burger Beats here, which features super-chill beats from the Norwegian producer and a remarkable array of MCs (he also released a fascinating record in 2024 called Welcome 2 Norway that contains 25 tracks, from 30 seconds to 3 minutes, capturing a fascinating palate of sounds and moods). I love these two but honestly could easily have had a few of the Honorable Mentions - ELUCID, Regular Henry, Real Bad Man/Lukah, and Seafood Sam - up here as well.
10 - Spiral XP - I Wish I Was a Rat/Cola - The Gloss — Cola is a Toronto band, largely made up of the former members of Ought. Not much more to say other than they do a great version of 90s indie rock, with a gentler if punkier edge and much more melodic than I ever found Ought to be. Spiral XP is a Seattle band that has released a few singles and EPs, but on their debut LP, they pull together grunge, indie, punk, and even a tinge of folk into a super entertaining and driving guitar-heavy sound.
12 - Etran de L’air - 100% Sahara Guitar/K.O.G. - Don’t Take My Soul — Etran de l’Air is one of the leading purveyors of Tuareg desert blues, and they hit the mark on their 2024 release, the aptly-titled 100% Sahara Guitar. Mdou Moctar gets more press and acclaim in this lane, but for my West African CFAs, it’s Etran de l’Air right now. Read my review of their show (and sound) here. K.O.G., which stands for Kweku of Ghana (though he’s based in London), is the lead singer of ONIPA, one of my favorite Afrobeat/African music collectives in recent years. This solo effort channels the same energy and spirit as the best ONIPA records, moving from high energy to more contemplative tracks.
13 - Deep Tunnel Project - Deep Tunnel Project/Mandy – Lawn Girl/Shellac - To All Trains — Chicago guitar noise. Balancing out Naima Bock’s single listing, we’ll nod to America’s greatest music city with three rock albums. Deep Tunnel Project is a combo of former TAR, Heavy Seas, and Silkworm (among many others) players, and their record drives hard as only Chicago noise bands seem to do. Mandy is the lead singer of Chicago’s noise rock greats Melkbelly, and Lawn Girl is gorgeously melodic noise rock for the couldn’t-miss-in-2024 Exploding in Sound Records. And Shellac. RIP, Steve Albini. The record that came out a week after he passed away suddenly is a perfect capsule of his legacy.
14 - Birthday Girl DC – Dirtier/Flowers for the Dead - Magnolia: Two 90s-inspired indie rock records from young DC bands that are just a bit more melodic than the Spiral XP/Cola combo. Birthday Girl DC just released an EP, but it’s another perfect set of indie rock songs from this trio that continued its crazy rise in 2024. I continue to hear the influence of Bettie Serveert, the Spinanes, the Evens, and Mary Timony (who, according to this NYT interview, has been a key mentor figure). Flowers for the Dead are another young DC trio that is churning out great versions of 90s sounds, veering from shoegaze to indie to more straight-ahead alternative. At a recent DC show where they opened for veteran DC punk acts the Messthetics and Hammered Hulls, the young upstarts more or less stole the show.
15. Kid Acne - Totemic Template/Kid Acne - Haunted Codex - After starting the list with two records from one deft and hilarious MC, let’s end with another. Kid Acne is a Sheffield-based rapper who spins incredible yarns and, like Heems, weaves language together so slyly that you’ll need 8-10 listens just to get your baseline together. Technically, Haunted Codex is a remix EP of his late 2023 Hauntology Codes LP (half of which is instrumental), and Totemic Template includes an all-star array of guests, including fellow UK MC Sonnyjim (who appears below and also released several records in 2024).
Honorable Mention (each genre/section in rough order):
Rock
Sour Widows – Revival of a Friend: Debut record from a somewhat veteran Bay Area band on Exploding in Sound that does just that – beautiful layering of quiet and loud over gorgeous vocals.
Ducks Ltd - Harms Way - Catchy jangle/power pop from Toronto
Wussy - Cincinnati, Ohio - Maybe the most underrated band in rock returns with another solid set; hopefully not their last.
Bug Club - On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System - Maybe the most likable and infectious band in rock, and certainly from Wales.
Babe Report – Did You Get Better: Entry number three from Exploding in Sound. Their Bandcamp page describes their sound as “bubblegunk” as well as basement pop, and that about sums it up.
Lunchbox – Pop and Circumstance: The name more or less sums it up. If Babe Report is bubblegunk, then this is pure bubblegum, courtesy of label-of-the-year (so far) Slumberland Records.
The Courettes - The Soul of…The Fabulous Courettes - Miss 50s-inspired rock, like King Khan crossed with the Ramones? Then you need the Courettes.
figure eight - S/T - More glorious shoe gaze from Oakland on Cherub Dream.
Porridge Radio - Clouds in the Sky They Will Always Be There for Me - This one didn’t quite hit me like their last one, but one of the most intense bands in rock.
Sucker - Seein’ God - Still more glorious shoe gaze from Oakland on Cherub Dream.
SPRINTS - Letter to Self - “Literary Mind” is a close runner-up to my favorite song of the year; read my review here.
Sheer Mag - Playing Favorites - Down the middle collection from Philly’s straight-ahead rock band.
Mary Timony - Untame the Tiger - All Hail another DC legend; Jim and Greg from Sound Opinions will tell you why this is a great record
King Hannah - Big Swimmer - I mostly lost my interest in English spoken post-punk in 2024 but King Hannah kept me engaged.
Claire Ozmun - Dying in the Wool - See my post about her record, especially the track “I-90” here.
Good Looks - Lived Here for Awhile - Easily could have joined the MJ/ahem entry above.
Lou Terry - Building a Case - Super catchy and surprising record, veering from indie folk to Modest Mouse-inspired sounds
Hip-Hop:
Regular Henry Sessions – Moses Rockwell and Plain Old Mike: See my earlier review here. The lyrics and production aren’t quite what Heems has, but they’re close.
Real Bad Man & Lukah – Temple Needs Water. Village Needs Peace.: See my earlier review here.
Brother Ali & unJUST - Love & Service - A brilliant album from the brilliant MC now based in Turkey, who raps a lot about the trouble in the world through the lens of his Muslim faith and on this is joined by a Jewish producer.
African:
Okwy Osadebe and His Highlife Soundmakers – Ifunaya: This record from a Nigerian master of the sound out on the incredible Palenque Records is a perfect example of high life music.
Kolonel Djafaar – Getaway: Another infectious record from the Belgian band rooted in Ethio-jazz.
Congo Funk – Sound Madness from the Shores of the Mighty Congo River (Kinshasa/Brazzaville 1969-1982): An immense and impressive collection from Analog Africa that will transport you not only to another time and place, but more or less to another universe.
Rail Band - Rail Band - Reissue of a Malian classic
Latin, Middle Eastern, Jazz, et al:
Julien Mayorga - Chak Chak Chak Chak - The opening track is among the most fun and wild songs I heard all year.
Joshua Idehen - Mum Does the Washing - This opening track is perhaps the funniest educational song of the year.
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis - The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis - How else to end the list than with DC’s legends?
I don’t understand how you can possibly listen to this much music, but I salute you for doing so and sharing your thoughts!
Awesome. PC clued us in on Birthday Girl DC on new years and it was a big hit .... between that and my Wet Leg LP, our college son said "how do you 50 year olds know cooler music than me?" Thanks for doing this hard work to keep us looking cool for our kids.