It really was a brat. summer. You cannot talk about 2024 without mentioning brat. and the impact it had. It's not my favorite album ever, but I can respect the pure mania it encapsulates.  

Favorite track: Girl, so confusing featuring lorde (it's my list shut up)

I am so glad that MGMT is back. Following up 2018's Little Dark Age is an impossible task but this album swings and hits for the concept that they were aiming for. 

Favorite track: Bubblegum Dog

Curveball of including a 2023 album that I listened to for the first time in 2024. Just like Charli XCX, you cannot talk about 2024 without the rise (and fall) of Chappell Roan in our culture. She's one of the most exciting artists to have emerged in the last few years and I'm so excited to see what she has next for us. 

Favorite track: Red Wine Supernova

nothing is a continuation of Louis Cole's career as a modern jazz mastermind. There are some repeats of Louis' older songs, but with the added texture of Metropole Orkest, it's a beautiful album.  If you like this album, listen to KNOWER FOREVER, which is Louis Cole's other band with Genevieve Artadi. 

Favorite track: These Dreams are Killing Me

This album feels like it came out in 2023 but guess what? No. This band is super interesting in the fact they have one sound but god damn they rule. I love the arrangements on all of these songs and they're extremely confident in what they make. Great album.

Favorite track: Sinner

St. Vincent is someone I'll always listen to. She's a master at creating a world and she continues to do this with All Born Screaming. While it starts off extremely heavy, the switch to Talking Heads-esque beats is such a fun transition. Loved this album.

Favorite track: All Born Screaming

What the hell is a black midi? No really, what is that? Geordie Greep may have been part of another band but this album is what if Frank Zappa was really horny (he was) but was instead British? There's a music video for Holy, Holy that's so great at introducing what Geordie Greep is and why people should pay attention to him. Also, this album cover? It rocks so hard. Geordie may not make another album like this but if he does - welcome back Zappa.

Favorite track: Blues

Clairo followed up her magnus opus with another magnus opus. Charm is a continuation of the themes and ideas that were originally presented in 2021's Sling. Ask me about Sling, do you have 3 hours? 

Charm is such a beautiful album that's sexy, vulnerable, and confident. She knows who she is, she knows what she wants to make, and Charm is a beautiful evolution of Clairo.

Favorite tracks: Nomad; Sexy to Someone; Juna (her best song ever)

This came out of nowhere for me. I was excited for Clairo's album, and the album after this one, but Imaginal Disk is such a powerhouse of an album. This album is all hits, no skips. It starts off with their thesis of "She Looked Like Me!" and continues the exploration of the anxieties of the digital age. Each track flows into each other and doesn't stop until the end. The prog-rock influence is also found throughout the album but really hitting a peak with Tunnel Vision. This band deserves the success that it found with this album and I cannot wait to see what's next from them.

Favorite tracks: She Looked Like Me!; Fear, Sex; Image; Tunnel Vision; That's My Floor

Vampire Weekend put out a very special album. This could be considered a "return to form" after 2019's Father of the Bride (an incredible album!!), but this is just Vampire Weekend firing at all cylinders. 

This album starts with Ice Cream Piano, with the lyrics starting with "fuck the world." After those 3 words, this album takes off into something incredible. It's a ride of anxiety, remorse, reflection, and love. It's an album full of hope but it's an album reflective of the collective anxiety that every election year brings. We have each other to rely on, we should lean on each other. Which takes us to the other part of this write-up, their live shows.

Vampire Weekend did a live concert on our total eclipse in 2024. They opened with tracks from OGWAU while diving deep into their catalog. This band has been very special to me as I've seen them twice on this tour. Once in Austin, Texas as they ended their US leg, and the other time in London, England as they were going through their European leg. The concerts were special as no two shows were the same. Sure, they played Classical, Capricorn, Connect, and a few hits, but it was a surprise to see what they would kick to us. The band also has started to evolve into a jam band, and during their eclipse show, they played a melody of Grateful Dead and Phish songs. They know who they are. Seeing them throughout this year was extremely fun. Screaming the chorus to Oxford Comma/Diane Young, and dancing to the groove of Harmony Hall - this band was a release that I needed throughout the year. 

Only God Was Above Us.

Favorite tracks: Ice Cream Piano, Classical, Connect, The Surfer, Gen-X Cops, Mary Boone