Midyear Listapalooza has mostly come and gone, but given our Old Guy status, we often need just a little more time to keep pace. Two of the OGs have put together lists, and since Brian finished his 12 first, Brad decided to add 18 other records not on Brian’s list (plus 6 favorite songs from albums not on either list). Hopefully these get you through days huddled in the A/C, at the beach, or shielding yourself from American political “discourse” about another couple of Old Guys. These 30 records all offer so much warmth, depth, challenge, comfort, excitement, energy – maybe we need to be nominating one of these artists to replace Biden (or Trump). Anyway, we hope you discover some of these new gems, and let us know your favorites and what we missed in a comment.
Many thanks, Jeremy. I have dabbled in a few from your list but need to dive in to a few of them more deeply and try others. I di try hard with Friko but can't quite get into it. Thanks as always for the great writing (and discovering) you do.
Amazing list - would suggest adding Passage du Desir by Johnny Blue Skies, it’s an extremely good listen. Also, Dark Times by Vince Staples and Samurai by Lupe Fiasco are both standout hip-hop projects that are in contention, in my opinion.
Happy to see BODEGA's 'Tarkovski" get a shout here. It's next-level catchy. Unlike Brad, I love the full album (Broken Equipment, too, for that matter).
I really wanted to like Mannequin Pussy's latest, but...I just can't. Not yet, anyway. Maybe it's one of those records that'll grow on me with each listen?
I love Bodega’s Broken Equipment. The new one just feels very uneven to me. Speaking of — I can see that as an issue with Mannequin Pussy. I do find it getting better with each listen and the whole making more sense. But it feels very disparate at first.
Great to see Cindy Lee here - my #1 for the year so far. While that was the only overlap, several others I’ve enjoyed along the way make an appearance, like The Smile and Winged Wheel. Here’s the rest of my list, just in case you missed it: https://open.substack.com/pub/anearful/p/best-of-2024-so-far?r=3d4xe&utm_medium=ios
Many thanks, Jeremy. I have dabbled in a few from your list but need to dive in to a few of them more deeply and try others. I di try hard with Friko but can't quite get into it. Thanks as always for the great writing (and discovering) you do.
Cheers - and backatcha!
Amazing list - would suggest adding Passage du Desir by Johnny Blue Skies, it’s an extremely good listen. Also, Dark Times by Vince Staples and Samurai by Lupe Fiasco are both standout hip-hop projects that are in contention, in my opinion.
I like the Lupe album now that I’ve given it a few listens. Will be in consideration for my year-end list.
Wow, so much music here I don't know about. Thanks for the list, I have some busy listening ahed of me.
Happy to see BODEGA's 'Tarkovski" get a shout here. It's next-level catchy. Unlike Brad, I love the full album (Broken Equipment, too, for that matter).
I really wanted to like Mannequin Pussy's latest, but...I just can't. Not yet, anyway. Maybe it's one of those records that'll grow on me with each listen?
I love Bodega’s Broken Equipment. The new one just feels very uneven to me. Speaking of — I can see that as an issue with Mannequin Pussy. I do find it getting better with each listen and the whole making more sense. But it feels very disparate at first.