Remember December ’24: Album(s) of the Year

A full moon glimmered across the late-afternoon sky, with the Carolina blue tanking to navy and then black. Low-flying drones buzzed about, though not from an invasion of any sort. No, the press had gotten wind of The Old Grey Cat’s star-studded Album of the Year shindig taking place inside a heated tent at Gold Park. Reporters were using the battery-powered devices to snap pictures of the leaving attendees, many of whom wore the remnants of the fete’s BBQ spread on their fingers, sleeves, slacks and skirts. 

The invited guests streamed from the tent to their waiting limousines not in hopes of escaping the media, however, but the earworm attacking their brains. On the makeshift stage inside, none other than Paul McCartney pounded the keys of an upright piano with seemingly monkberry moon delight: “The mood is right,” he sang, “the spirit’s up. We’re here tonight—and that’s enough! We’re simply having a wonderful Chrismastime!” 

I’ll spare you the rest of my fevered imaginings. 

In the parlance of My So-Called Life, “we had a time” these past 12 months. I’ve spotlighted an astounding 130 albums and EPs so far this year, with a few more yet to go. If I didn’t have a life beyond this blog, I could easily have doubled that number. There is a wealth of wonderful new music being released every week, in other words. While it’s safe to say that every album and/or EP I featured is worthy of more than a few listens, a handful are sure to receive plays for the rest of my days.

With that, here are my Top 10 Albums for 2024. (To read my reviews in full, click on the titles):

1. Kaitlin Butts – Roadrunner! “To say that it’s whimsical, fun and frolicsome is an understatement—it’s everything good about country music and popular music writ large.”
2. Karen Jonas – The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch. “The sad saga of Elvis Presley has become a cautionary tale, with his panther-like visage giving way to bloated garishness. (He capsized in excess, if you know what I mean.) In the years since his death, he’s become a metaphor for an American dream run amok. The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch speaks to all that and more with the precision of a poet’s eye.”
3. Hayley Reardon – After Everything. “Her music conjures similar afternoons from my youth, when guys and gals alike cruised the strips of their small towns in muscle cars, Pacers and even Pintos, while the poets of the people shared songs about love, heartache, and life’s ups and downs via an 8-track player embedded in the dashboard. I’m thinking Jackson Browne, Janis Ian, Carly Simon, Cat Stevens and James Taylor, among others. But unlike on those tapes of yore, however, loud clicks and unwanted silence never interrupt these gems of self-reflection.”
4. Honeyglaze – Real Deal. “Real Deal is more akin to a sonic sculpture accented by detail, slashing guitars and killer rhythms. It’s a mesmerizing listen.”
5. Ella Thompson – Ripple on the Wing. “One reason why the soulful treatises of the late 1960s and early ‘70s still resonate in today’s world is that they offer a momentary escape from the madness that exists just beyond our front door. Ripple on the Wing is a tremendous bag o’ songs that does the same.”
6. Lucy Rose – This Ain’t the Way You Go Out. “Allusions, metaphors and directness join forces with funky rhythms, frenetic piano riffs and Lucy’s ethereal vocals to create an intoxicating sonic tonic sure to cure whatever may be ailing you. It’s catharsis set to song. Much as she melded folk with Pink Floyd on parts of No Words Left and folk with adventurous pop (and a little Floyd) on Something’s Changing, here she’s melded folk with pop, jazz-inflected beats and, too, Wild Wood-era Paul Weller.”
7. Pa Sheehy – Maybe It Was All for This. “The album reminds me a bit of Bruce Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love, albeit it with a focus beyond just matters of the heart. Sheehy looks back to look forward, if that makes sense, and does so in such a way that Maybe It Was All for This is sure to take up residence on one’s turntable—be it virtual or the real deal—for quite some time.”
8. Shelby Lynne – Consequences of the Crown. “Consequences is a mix of soliloquy and song, with the spoken words evolving into tuneful musings about life, love, heartache and more. It’s a soulful, uncluttered production that places the emphasis where it belongs, her voice.”
9. Jimetta Rose & Voices of Creation – Things Are Getting Better. “In short, Things Are Getting Better provides songs in the key of love. The many voices come together as one yet allow space for each to bloom. It’s a perfect soundtrack for a Sunday—or any day, for that matter.”
10. Malin Pettersen – Acoustic Acts of Rebellion (Seasons Extended Version). “Acoustic Acts of Rebellion (Seasons Extended Version) is a gem that—unlike most ‘deluxe’ releases—actually improves on the original.”

(My Top 25 Albums of 2024, arranged in alphabetical order, can be read here.)