Greetings, party people! Once again, it’s time for you to have your say: voting is now open for the Top 50 LPs (and 10 EPs, Live Albums, and Compilations) of 2024 community feature!
This will be the first second year we’re going to try to pull this off without the forums, and based on the… delightful feedback from last year about Google forms, we’re hoping this will be a smoother experience. Still no underscores, at least!
Ballots will be open until January 2nd, 11:59PM ET (-ish). For all intensive porpoises, please consider submitting your ballot earlier than that.
Ballot Rules
If you would like to submit an LP ballot, please review the guidelines before submitting your ballot officially (it’s not a race!):
Your ballot must have exactly 10 LPs on it (and, if opting-in to the EP, Live Album, and Compilation ballot, exactly 3 in this category)
You are allotted 100 points to divvy up across your 10 LPs (30 points for the EP/Live Album/Compilation ballot)
Suggestion 1: just give 10 albums 10 points each and call it a day
Suggestion 2: give more points to your S-tier albums and then fewer points to your A-tier albums
The maximum number of points that can be assigned to any one LP is 30 (21 for EPs/Live Albums/Compilations)
The minimum number of points that can be assigned to any one LP and EP/Live Album/Compilation is 1
Let me be honest: it’s actually very hard to describe this album in words. Oak Lace Apparition often feels more like a journey through time and space than it feels like music — and with regard to atmospheric quality, this album stands almost second to none. I could come up with a million different metaphors or similes in a poor attempt at describing the tapestry that Oak Lace Apparition weaves, but it would not do Toby Driver and Alora Crucible justice. I don’t have a better option, though (sorry, Toby, I’ll try to be as poetic as possible about this), so here goes:
Oak Lace Apparition ranges from being as spacious as the universe to being as naught as gossamer passing over your fingertips. The sonic textures are so rich you can practically feel them — like the sharpness of Oregon air when you live in Los Angeles or the softness of fine velvet. At times it is as desolate as being stuck inside on an icy winter morning, and other times it is as stunning as the view of the city from that one secret spot that only you know about. If you can think of a concept with how to describe music — whether that be melancholy, beautiful, isolated or magnificent — all of it can be found on this album.
Brittany Howard’s name alone carries enough weight to make Alabama shake. What Now finds the genre-hopper in a surreal dalliance with soul-adjacent stylings, melding her voice into the music in a way that will affect you even if you struggle to get soulful without a lump of peyote percolating in your gut. No matter where in the stereo field her voice erupts from, no matter which spacious avenue of her range she’s occupying, no matter how her vocals are masked, processed, and extensively multi-tracked, they have an urgent and emergent quality that will sound familiar to anyone who has dabbled in the subconscious warp of improvising. Her voice manages all this while effectively emoting a primal ache for love, a history of heartbreak, and a desire for unity, without ever upstaging or even slightly stepping outside the bounds of each track’s atmosphere. The theatrics come natural, and the production shapes every sound and colour into a precisely sculpted whole.
This is further streamlined by the way Howard only writes the best parts of songs, skipping past languid contextualising and slow builds: the first big Musical Moment of the album, wherein Howard falls into a reverie picturing her name falling from the mouth of somebody that might as well embody love itself, comes a mere minute into the album, 20 seconds of which was basically just chimes. Many such…
Listening to Cindy Lee feels like stepping into a lucid dream where past and future blur together, where nostalgia and invention mesh into a vivid hallucination. Diamond Jubilee is a massive, two-hour-long psych-pop suite that sounds like a transmission from a lost VHS of a world that never was. This lo-fi haze isn’t just aesthetic; it’s the emotional core, draping everything in a bittersweet fog of memory and longing. Cindy Lee (a.k.a. Patrick Flegel of Women) manages to transcend this retro-nostalgia by performing in drag, embodying a non-binary persona that disrupts the rigid norms of the eras the music evokes. Here, drag bridges retrofuturism and modernity — a way to revisit and reclaim the past while reshaping it through a transgressive, forward-thinking lens. This duality makes Diamond Jubilee feel timeless and impossibly new, tethered to the past but endlessly forward-reaching. It’s a sonic time machine for a world that only exists in dreams — and in Cindy Lee’s singular vision. –dedex
49. Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey – Compassion
It may only take three people to form a jazz trio, but the likelihood that three virtuosic musical egos powered by academic rigour and already-bustling careers will have genuine, equilateral chemistry when they start playing together is slim. Enter Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh,…
It’s been a long, long year of compiling tracks — some obvious selections from albums I rated very highly, some one-off singles, and others that were merely gems buried on practically unheard-of releases. Those who know my tendencies on Sputnik may be aware that while I certainly have my genre preferences (indie/folk/rock/pop), I’ll listen to practically anything. This list is at least somewhat reflective of that, with selections from all over the genre spectrum. Rather than ranking all 100 tracks — which (1) is always way more difficult than it seems and (2) I unfortunately don’t have the kind of free time to accomplish — I decided to alphabetize the songs with the hope that you’ll pop this on shuffle (or play it alphabetically if you’re built for 6 straight hours of sowingcore) and either relive some of the best moments of 2024 or otherwise discover music that you otherwise wouldn’t have known existed. They’re not the definitive objective “top” 100 songs, but simply my favorite 100 of the year. Give it a spin and feel free to discuss in the comments anything you love, hate, or have discovered thanks to this list. Happy holidays, and see you all in 2025!
Here’s a list of major new releases for the month of December 2024. These releases have been condensed into one post as, historically, December is a slower stretch for new music. In the meanwhile, our staff will be working on compiling their highly anticipated “Top Albums of 2024” feature, so stay tuned to see what we anoint as the album of the year. With regards to the below releases, please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums. We wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday season. We’ll see you in January!
– List of Releases: December 6, 2024 –
Aara: Eiger
Genre: Black/Doom Metal Label: Debemur Morti Productions
Hey everyone! Hope you’re all doing well. Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of November 29, 2024. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors. Cheers!
– List of Releases: November 29, 2024 –
Busta Rhymes: Dragon Season
Genre: Hip Hop Label: Conglomerate / Hitmaker Music
Crippled Black Phoenix: Horrific Honorifics Number Two(2) Genre: Progressive Rock / Post-Metal Label: Season of Mist
The Gates of Slumber: The Gates of Slumber
Genre: Doom Metal Label: Svart Records
Gorgon: For Those Who Stay
Genre: Black Metal Label: Osmose Productions
Good Morning: The Accident
Genre: Lo-Fi / Alternative Rock Label: Good Morning Music Company Worldwide
By all accounts, what Blood Incantation has done with Absolute Elsewhere shouldn’t work. A core of sophisticated, tasteful death metal (yes it exists, shut up), a big gulp of Pink Floydian psychedelics and a cheesy science fiction sauce, blended together roughly and without much stirring. It has all the ingredients for a disaster that’s just sour all over. Yet apparently yuck-face and stank-face are in close proximity to one another, because despite its shortcomings, it delivers a fucking marvel.
You could make the argument that a lot of good parts individually does not a good album make. The metal and ambient parts aren’t so much mixed together as bluntly glued in a way that shouts whiplash city for any other band with even a smidge less skill. It creates heroes out of riffs and passages that border on the grandiose. I could go on, there is a lot to critique here. And yet it’s still a close frontrunner for my album of the year. The normal rules go out the window when everything on my plate just tastes so god damned awesome. Whether it’s the breathtaking conclusion of “Stargate [Tablet III]”, the fast drumming over the clean broken chords sprinkled throughout “The Message [Tablet I]” or the blissful guitar solos in multiple songs, Absolute Elsewhere has so many highlights on offer that it doesn’t need to become more than the sum of its parts to be amazing. Yet it still manages to become more by…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of November 22, 2024. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: November 22, 2024 –
The Anix: Voltage
Genre: Alt/Indie-Rock Label: FiXT
Blisspoint: DOG
Genre: Dream Pop Label: Candlepin Records
Body Count: Merciless
Genre: Hardcore/Thrash Label: Century Media
Defeated Sanity: Chronicles of Lunacy Genre: Death/Progressive Metal Label: Season of Mist
Distant: Tsukuyomi – The Origin
Genre: Deathcore Label: Century Media
Father John Misty: Mahashmashana
Genre: Indie-Folk/Americana Label: Joshua Tillman
Kim Deal: Nobody Loves You More
Genre: Indie-Rock Label: Kim Deal
Lil Durk: Deep Thoughts
Genre: Hip-Hop Label: Alamo Records
Marilyn Manson: One Assassination Under God Chapter 1
Genre: Industrial/Gothic/Metal Label: Nuclear Blast
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of November 15th, 2024. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: November 15, 2024 –
Apocryphal: Facing The End
Genre: Black Metal Label: The Circle Music
As I Lay Dying: Through Storms Ahead
Genre: Metalcore/Thrash Label: Napalm Records
Becky and the Birds: Only Music Makes Me Cry Now
Genre: Dream Pop/Folk/R&B Label: 4AD
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of November 8th, 2024. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: November 8, 2024 –
Ab-Soul: Soul Burger
Genre: Hip-Hop/Jazz Label: Top Dawg Entertainment
Bad Astronaut: Untethered
Genre: Indie-Rock/Pop-Punk Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Bananagun: Why is the Colour of the Sky?
Genre: Psychedelic/Folk/Funk Label: Full Time Hobby
The Body: The Crying Out of Things Genre: Sludge Metal/Drone Label: Thrill Jockey
The Browning: Omni
Genre: Metalcore/Deathcore Label: FiXT
Claire Rousay: The Bloody Lady
Genre: Ambient/Experimental Label: Viernulvier Records
Delain: Dance With the Devil
Genre: Metal/Gothic Label: Napalm
Klara Goliger: Words
Genre: Indie-Pop Label: Klara Goliger
Klone: The Unseen
Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal Label: Pelagic Records
Make Them Suffer: Make Them Suffer
Genre: Deathcore Label: Sharptone
Massacre: Necrolution
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal Label: Wydawnictwo Agonia
If the terms and sentiments of love and peace have an official sound yet, I propose Nala Sinephro’s latest to be its edenic image. At every possible turn the album swells and swirls like pacific waves, conjuring occasional electronic sharpness to break up the otherwise breathless flow of calm. It is the sound of a desert in an 80s movie, peaceful yet showing the potential of a menace. There is a sweaty underline caressing every note, every new instrumental lick, every harmonic sway. I love how the album ramps the subtlety like it is the most sensitive TNT explosive known to man. I adore its gentle touches on the spiritual, as if divine sorcery were a commonplace occurrence. Within the modernist techno-religious leanings the album takes, the main thread oscillates between transcendental zen and a digital night-(mare/dream). Herein comes the album’s most daring proposition: what if beautiful, but 8-bit? And all horrifyingly in-the-now gorge ensue. Nala Sinephro makes this look easy. Her punks of jazz cohorts help the effort. We can only sit back and be transported to a technoutopian domed world of pure beauty and peace, where the airy weightlessness of our dreams is tangible and the future with all its possibilities is endless.
In a lot of ways, I regard Daft Punk the Tool of their respective field. What I mean by that is, in terms of how they created and released music, it was always an event in the industry – as if the world stopped turning for a brief moment so all eyes could be locked onto what they were doing. That’s because, like Tool, they carved out a venerable reputation for themselves that was known for innovation and quality, with their meagre catalogue of music only adding to the fervent demand for more of it. When they released an album you knew, the wait was worth it. Daft Punk formed in Paris in 1993, however it would take four years before the enigmatic duo would release Homework, a trend that would follow suit for the two albums that succeeded the 1997 debut, followed by an eight year wait for their ambitious final record, Random Access Memories. Similarities in a lean catalogue aside, at one point both acts sold fans an enigmatic mystique that made their image and music all the more alluring.…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of November 1st, 2024. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: November 1, 2024 –
Alice Costelloe: When It’s the Time – EP
Genre: Indie-Pop Label: Moshi Moshi
Anomalie: Riverchild
Genre: Post-Rock/Black Metal Label: AOP Records
Cane Hill: a piece of me i never let you find
Genre: Metalcore/Nu-Metal Label: Out of Line Music
The Cure: Songs of a Lost World Genre: Post-Punk/Gothic Label: Lost Music Limited
Ella Langley: Still Hungover
Genre: Country Label: SAWGOD Records
Haley Heynderickx: Seed of a Seed
Genre: Indie-Folk Label: Mama Bird Recording Co.
Henrik Appel: Shadows
Genre: Alternative/Rock Label: PNKSLM Recordings
Lil Uzi Vert: Eternal Atake 2
Genre: Hip-Hop Label: Atlantic
Mitochondrion: VITRISEPTOME
Genre: Death/Black Metal Label: Profound Lore
Mount Eerie: Night Palace
Genre: lo-fi/Folk Label: 7 e.p.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of October 25th, 2024. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: October 25, 2024 –
Amyl and the Sniffers: Cartoon Darkness
Genre: Lo-Fi / Alternative Label: B2B Records
Anna Lunoe: Pearl
Genre: Electronic / Dance Label: NLV Records
Anya Marina: Asteroid
Genre: Singer/Songwriter Label: Rough Trade
Atreyu: The Pronoia Sessions Genre: Metal Label: Spinefarm
Autumn’s Grief: Dead Among the Living
Genre: Symphonic Metal Label: Inverse Records
Avishai Cohen: Brightlight
Genre: Ska / Afrobeat Label: Naive Records
Behemoth: XXX Years Ov Blasphemy
Genre: Blackened Death Metal Label: Nuclear Blast
Better Lovers: Highly Irresponsible
Genre: Math Rock / Alt Metal Label: SharpTone Records
Devin Townsend: Powernerd
Genre: Progressive Metal Label: InsideOut Music
Elke: Divine Urge
Genre: Indie Rock / Indie Pop Label: Congrats Records
Entheos: An End to Everything
Genre: Technical Death Metal Label: Metal Blade Records
Fashion Club: A Love You Cannot Shake
Genre: Electronic / Art Pop Label: Felte Records
Fit For An Autopsy: The Nothing That Is Genre: Deathcore Label: Nuclear Blast
Alice Costelloe: When It’s the Time – EP
