It’s the most wonderful time of the year for me, that is. In this series, we’ll explore the 2024 albums of the year, a list of 25 records I believe to be the year’s finest. I love doing this annually for Phenixx Gaming and I appreciate when people reach out on Instagram asking about where new releases will land come time to write these end-of-year articles. We’ve reached the end! Thank you for reading; here’s #5 – 1. Let us know in the comments what your top Album from 2024 was!
5 – MJ Lenderman, Manning Fireworks
Early in the year, MJ Lenderman earned himself an indie hit with Waxahatchee on the song “Right Back To It.” He sings on her album, which we’ll talk about in a bit, but also released his own record, a follow-up to 2022’s Boat Songs. On Manning Fireworks, Lenderman leans heavily into an early-Wilco sound to create a Gen-Z response to the likes of greats like Neil Young and John Prine.
Like Boat Songs, Manning Fireworks leans into a humorous yet matter-of-fact storytelling lyricism Lenderman masters originally. Songs like “Wristwatch” are riddled with modern-day references but include timeless pleas for attention and the satisfaction of getting one over on someone. It’s not stoner rock, it’s not even alt-country: MJ Lenderman is a leader in a slew of indie rock genres all at once.
4 – Jessica Pratt, Here in the Pitch
Jessica Pratt is my favorite artist who gets very little attention, at least in TikTok comments or music stream chatrooms. Her unique, haunting voice immediately caught my ear in 2019’s Quiet Signs, a top five album for me in 2019. I wrote then that Pratt creates worlds with her music, and on Here in the Pitch, she takes us back to the sounds of the 1970s in her most standard record yet.
Signature elements of her musicianship are here, but songs like “The Last Year” offer new listeners her most welcoming sounds to date. Welcoming isn’t necessarily what seems to be the goal; rather, it is an amalgamation of what influences Pratt (the musician) to craft the array of vignettes Pratt (the lyricist) writes. It’s her most accessible record, and she sacrifices no quality or care of what makes her an illuminating writer.
3 – Waxahatchee, Tigers Blood
Following up Saint Cloud was going to be a tall order, which was my favorite album of 2020. There is so much on Tigers Blood that matches or expands that seminal work, but much of the sounds on the surface seem very similar. The big difference is what singer/songwriter Katie Crutchfield writes about now as a sober, more mainstream artist making strides for indie-Americana music in 2024.
I can’t say there are many more artists that I admire and appreciate on a deeper level than Crutchfield. American Weekend meant so much to me when I was a college freshman; now, I’m listening to her music as a 30-year-old adult. I’ve grown up with Waxahatchee as the soundtrack to my navigation of adult life, and Crutchfield’s journey and how she shares it here and on all of her records truly means a lot to me. On a less personal note, this is simply greatly crafted songwriting manifesting in a timeless, country-inspired sound that speaks straight to the soul.
2 – Adrianne Lenker, Bright Future
Along with Waxahatchee, Adrianne Lenker’s last solo effort was also among my top five records of 2020. Her new album, Bright Future, was recorded with minimal flair and really captures the intimacy fans love about Lenker’s personality and songwriting. Opening this record with “Real House,” a tense and somber song about growing up in a complicated family, was bold and set the tone for one of the best records of 2024.
Lenker is now teaching songwriting courses and deep into a historic run of critically acclaimed albums with her band Big Thief. Like her other solo efforts, Bright Future allows Lenker to explore what might be the finest fingerstyle guitar in indie today with plenty of space for it to shine. When another instrument accentuates a song, like a piano or violin, it feels invigorating given the record’s sparsity. It’s cathartic listening to Adrianne Lenker in a lot of ways, and it’s so great to see her wonderful work only continues to grow in its importance and impact for me and many others.
1 – Charli XCX, brat
For 2022’s Crash, I wrote that Charli XCX was a “pop force no longer pushed to the hyperpop corner of the internet.” If I only knew then that brat summer and the club-centric album brat would take over pop music in a crowded, notable year for the genre. There’s vulnerability on brat and there’s also a carefree letting go that we’re all in desperate need of from time to time. It’s everything all at once.
Charli XCX has blossomed into an artist that has both stayed true to her talents but exemplifies the growth offered by authenticity. The elements people love about her music are many, and all are hers entirely. There’s no world that brat could have entered where it didn’t make waves in one corner of fandom or the other, but for 2024, this record will be the defining sound for the year.
That wraps up the lists for the year! I love doing these every year, and I appreciate your thoughts and opinions in the comments below. Until next year, have a wonderful holiday, and here’s to 2025!
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