As a music listening community, we are firmly in our playlist era. From viral TikTok hits to Spotify Wrapped, we are fed endless lists of our 'favourite' songs to be listened to ad nauseum. Don't get me wrong, I love a good playlist, but I prefer to curate my own - algorithms don't quite get how putting one song next to another influences the overall experience, so the ever-changing "Upbeat Mix" never quite hits the spot, no matter how much I like the songs on it.
I've written before about my belief that the album is the best way to experience music, and the records on this list are good evidence for my argument. This year I've found myself enjoying albums less for the songs themselves and more for the overall listening experience they create. Compiled with care by their artists, each one is marked by its tonal consistency, and thus becomes more than the sum of its parts. I urge you to listen from start to finish.
NB - As much as I love Brat and The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (and did seriously consider them), I decided that their overwhelming popularity reduced the personal aspect that's crucial to this list. 'Hot to Go' and 'Apple' were everyone's year in music. Here's mine.
Mountainhead (2024) by Everything Everything
Though I've always appreciated their intricate, genre-hopping work, I never imagined Everything Everything hitting the high reaches of my Spotify Wrapped. But the electronic rock of Raw Data Feel caught my ear in 2022, and this year they captured my imagination with its dystopian follow-up, Mountainhead.
Set in an uncannily close future where society is 'consumed with the building of a giant mountain,' this record is fiercely contemporary, its lyrics exploring many anxieties fuelled and exacerbated by the social internet. From conspiracy theories to the cult of consumerism, each subject is broached with imagination and wit. "The hideous old savagery comes" sings frontman Jonathan Higgs on the opening track; "And it knows what I want!"
In many ways, this LP is textbook Everything Everything - Higgs' motormouth is in full flow on lead singles 'Cold Reactor' and 'The Mad Stone,' and the intricate arrangements throughout reward repeat listening. But what keeps me coming back to Mountainhead in particular is singability. Each listen leaves me singing a different track, planting this outstanding record in my brain as only a conspiracy theory could. All hail the Enormous High-Born Moth.
In recent years, I've been entranced by the smooth neo-soul of Celeste and the electronic-infused R&B of the silver-tongued Raye. In my mind, this record sits in the centre of this Venn diagram - an irresistible, radio-friendly sound spiked with eloquent, often acerbic lyrics. It's this combo that makes Turn of Events a joy to listen through, dark moments and all.
My highlights: The Hills; Never Need Me; Dumb Bitch Juice; My Blood
Audio Vertigo (2024) by Elbow
It’s been 16 years since Elbow released their Mercury-winning LP The Seldom Seen Kid, and though they continue to fill arenas around the UK, I still feel like they haven’t been getting their flowers since then. Save for ‘One Day Like This’ and ‘Grounds for Divorce’, your average Spotify user would struggle to name one of their songs; yet their imaginative, intelligent and accessible art rock has enchanted me more than any other artist in recent years.
Audio Vertigo is no exception. In fact, it is perhaps their most adventurous record in years, combining as it does Guy Garvey’s soaring vocals and elegiac imagery with a fresh, arresting rhythm-heavy sound. From the frenetic brass arrangement of 'Lover's Leap' to the grungy 'Good Blood Mexico City', this feels like the first time Elbow have put drums at the centre of their songwriting.
The result is a heavy-duty rock record that recalls artists as disparate as Genesis and the Vaccines, but it is still indelibly Elbow. Indeed, it feels closer to the rougher sound of their early output than their more recent work, yet imbued with the wisdom they've gained with the years. 'Balu' - a crunchy love letter to the dodgy role models we have as teenagers - is a great place to start.
My highlights: Balu; The Picture; Good Blood Mexico City; From the River
Hit Me Hard and Soft (2024) by Billie Eilish
I won't be the first to say it, but Billie and Finneas might be the most powerful duo in music. On this addictive third LP, it's hard not to hear them challenging each other to push the boundaries of what they've done before - whether it's splitting tracks into two distinct but connected movements, or allowing an inconspicuous synth line to come to the fore, switching up the rhythm and drowning out the lyrics for a climactic moment.
My highlights: Chihiro; The Greatest; L'Amour de ma Vie; Blue
The Secret to Life (2023) by FIZZ
My highlights: Wild Guess; Cold Reactor; Dagger's Edge; City Song
What A Devastating Turn of Events (2024) by Rachel Chinouriri
The title of this assured debut LP is apt - it reflects both Chinouriri's sharp sarcastic wit, on full display in the album's energetic first half, and the darkness of the emotions explored further down the track list. This split is a musical one too - the album glides easily between the Britpop Revival of singles like 'The Hills' and gritty laments such as 'My Blood' and 'Cold Call'.
What A Devastating Turn of Events (2024) by Rachel Chinouriri
The title of this assured debut LP is apt - it reflects both Chinouriri's sharp sarcastic wit, on full display in the album's energetic first half, and the darkness of the emotions explored further down the track list. This split is a musical one too - the album glides easily between the Britpop Revival of singles like 'The Hills' and gritty laments such as 'My Blood' and 'Cold Call'.
At least half of the album's tracks touch on troubled love, but Chinouriri ensures we never tire of this. Each is unique in both its sound and lyrical approach: From the gentle mourning of a long-distance relationship in 'Robbed' to the flippant rebukes of sub-par boyfriends in 'It Is What It Is' and 'Dumb Bitch Juice', she shows musical adaptability and tonal consistency with confidence and ease.
In recent years, I've been entranced by the smooth neo-soul of Celeste and the electronic-infused R&B of the silver-tongued Raye. In my mind, this record sits in the centre of this Venn diagram - an irresistible, radio-friendly sound spiked with eloquent, often acerbic lyrics. It's this combo that makes Turn of Events a joy to listen through, dark moments and all.
My highlights: The Hills; Never Need Me; Dumb Bitch Juice; My Blood
Audio Vertigo (2024) by Elbow
It’s been 16 years since Elbow released their Mercury-winning LP The Seldom Seen Kid, and though they continue to fill arenas around the UK, I still feel like they haven’t been getting their flowers since then. Save for ‘One Day Like This’ and ‘Grounds for Divorce’, your average Spotify user would struggle to name one of their songs; yet their imaginative, intelligent and accessible art rock has enchanted me more than any other artist in recent years.
Audio Vertigo is no exception. In fact, it is perhaps their most adventurous record in years, combining as it does Guy Garvey’s soaring vocals and elegiac imagery with a fresh, arresting rhythm-heavy sound. From the frenetic brass arrangement of 'Lover's Leap' to the grungy 'Good Blood Mexico City', this feels like the first time Elbow have put drums at the centre of their songwriting.
The result is a heavy-duty rock record that recalls artists as disparate as Genesis and the Vaccines, but it is still indelibly Elbow. Indeed, it feels closer to the rougher sound of their early output than their more recent work, yet imbued with the wisdom they've gained with the years. 'Balu' - a crunchy love letter to the dodgy role models we have as teenagers - is a great place to start.
My highlights: Balu; The Picture; Good Blood Mexico City; From the River
Hit Me Hard and Soft (2024) by Billie Eilish
I won't be the first to say it, but Billie and Finneas might be the most powerful duo in music. On this addictive third LP, it's hard not to hear them challenging each other to push the boundaries of what they've done before - whether it's splitting tracks into two distinct but connected movements, or allowing an inconspicuous synth line to come to the fore, switching up the rhythm and drowning out the lyrics for a climactic moment.
No creative stone is left unturned. Slower numbers like 'Wildflower' and 'The Greatest' might feel like filler tracks in less able hands; but with a well-placed backing vocal here, a deft twiddle of the volume dial there, these quieter moments turn to high points equally deserving of headphones on full blast as the more conspicuous singles.
Lyrically, this record runs the gamut of love and lust - from the pseudo-romantic obsession on 'The Diner' (an echoing, rhythm-heavy piece that harks back to Eilish's earlier work), to the slow burn of a lifelong love on the gorgeous 'Birds of a Feather'. But just as powerful are those moments when the emotions are too much for words, and we are bathed in beautifully-produced sound.
My highlights: Chihiro; The Greatest; L'Amour de ma Vie; Blue
The Secret to Life (2023) by FIZZ
Four UK musicians (and their friends) travel to LA to escape the dreary darkness of Winter. What emerges is a bright, maximalist album that smacks of breaking down creative barriers and revelling in the joy of creating collaboratively. This is The Secret to Life.
Notable among FIZZ's members are YouTubers-turned-solo artists Dodie and Orla Gartland, who lend their considerable songwriting and arranging talents to what might otherwise feel like quite a messy collection of songs. As fun as the record is, I don't think it would have made this list without its more grounded moments, like the gorgeous 'You, Me, Lonely' (clearly a Dodie-led composition) or Gartland's beautiful bridge on 'Hell of a Ride'.
Of course, revelling in the disorder of life is a theme of the album, and comes through in songs like 'Strawberry Jam' and 'Rocket League'. Not to mention all the live takes (complete with studio banter) used in the final mix. Ultimately the album achieves its goal with aplomb. Especially as Winter draws in, it's a comfort to know that I have forty minutes of layered harmonies, infectious melodies and unbridled musical delight to turn to.
My highlights: Close One; I Just Died; You, Me, Lonely; The Grand Finale
Honourable mentions:
Honourable mentions:
- Everybody Needs A Hero (2024) by Orla Gartland
A true showcase of Gartland's gift for melody, this impressive sophomore album charts the experience of settling into life as a 'real' adult in the current age. I could hardly relate harder. Start with 'Little Chaos'
- Two Star & the Dream Police (2024) by Mk.gee
To call Mk.gee's output 'lo-fi' feels unfair - it's so meticulously composed and emotionally rich - but the hypnotic sound and butter-smooth production of this first LP the perfect work soundtrack. Start with 'Are You Looking Up'
- On Purpose, With Purpose (2024) by Ghetts
"Brimming with elegant fury" (Observer), this album is my pick from this year's Mercury shortlist. Ever the master of exposing the elephants in our social room, Ghetts is in full irresistible flow on this immersive record. Start at the beginning
