| Demo 2k24 |
| 36 |  | Maruja
Connla's Well
concise little jazzy post-rock explosion is their best work yet |
| 35 |  | Rhun (USA-ME)
Conveyance In Death
nicely balanced atmo-tinged black metal but a little more straight forward than his Falls of Rauros stuff. Delivers as expected |
| 34 |  | Colin Stetson
The Love It Took to Leave You
not quite the near-genius of his previous effort but another immersive slice of droning post-minimalism with an altogether darker bent. Perhaps overstays it's welcome a tad, still, it's cool |
| 33 |  | Cavern Womb
Stages of Infinity
little prog death EP. The maturity and skill belies their fledgling status. One to watch |
| 32 |  | Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
of the Last Human Being
SGM almost sound 'normal' this time round. A variation on an established formula, this is almost chill and understated for these guys. Still, they're unique enough to tickle a rare itch. Pantomime dramatism #2 of 2024, the weirdly restrained edition |
| 31 |  | i.o
not all prophecies
math rock / free improv - surprisingly hits a few nice grooves but is very much a 'vibes' sort of deal |
| 30 |  | Kiasmos
II
Ólafur Arnalds is back with some rather lovely soundscapey microhouse and likely other stuff I haven't the language to convey |
| 29 |  | Big|Brave
A Chaos of Flowers
doomgazey droney hodgepodge of unqauntifiable ungraspability that I fuck with despite a very daft band name and simple refusal to give you a direct hook |
| 28 |  | Fievel Is Glauque
Rong Weicknes
proggy jazzy art pop whimsical, kinda cute |
| 27 |  | Melt-Banana
3+5
this band melt my banana but admittedly I didn't take on enough fibre this year, my initial (yet to be verified?) impression was this was a little tame / inside-the-box for the noise rock legends. Hmm is this right? It cannot be, right? |
| 26 |  | Sei A
Love & Chaos
Glaswegian tech / deep house courtesy of a rec from our resident flower |
| 25 |  | Ingurgitating Oblivion
Ontology of Nought
Avant garde dissonant something something metal with jazz and all sorts of tomfoolery. Tows the line between being exceedingly, almost frustratingly obtuse but providing an enduring atmos and refusing to ape well-established convention. Production rules.
Oh, Lille of Defeated Sanity provided drums for this, which is pretty rad I think |
| 24 |  | Panghalina
Lava
The floor is lava, the air is shrouded in... mysticism? Ambient, tribal, free-improv. This thing is living and breathing and for as much time as I spent here (I did!) it eluded my coffee morning accompaniment which is a darn shame
P.S. Trif reviewed this and he sells it better than I could |
| 23 |  | Tenue
Arcos, bóvedas, pórticos
Galician Neocrust. Is good. |
| 22 |  | Hoplites
Παραμαινομένη
How this can paaaaaaarse for anything even remotely paaaaaaarsable is a testament to this Chinese linguists belief that metal can actually be fun in the year 2024. This feels like a realisation / culmination of all the experiments he's done to date |
| 21 |  | Still House Plants
If I don’t make it, I love u
mathy noise rock dissonance, with androgynous soul-like vocals wailing over the instrumentation with virtually no care if they mesh at all
sounds like a good time to me. Weirdly hypnotic |
| 20 |  | Four Tet
Three
Warming, eclectic, wholesomeness from a legend of his field. Probably one of the bounciest concoctions of fun and frolics he's released yet. |
| 19 |  | State Faults
Children of the Moon
Admittedly I struggle with where to place this simply due to an acknowledgement that this is undoubtedly so well constructed and likeable, yet I would trim the opening section completely. Still, from Leviathan onwards this is mostly a hoot until the closer. Sputcore lives! |
| 18 |  | Cave Sermon
Divine Laughter
Brings the chonk. Brings the post. Brings the atmo-nonsense. Marginal pacing issues aside, it stands out amongst the masses as a surefire Democore success |
| 17 |  | Geordie Greep
The New Sound
A blast for that theoretical theatrical mood that almost never materialises. It's bold, vibrant and honestly, utterly ridiculous. The fact you're never entirely sure if it's taking itself VERY seriously indeed, or not at all, kinda works in its favour. The whole shebang is exhausting, but the select cuts are amongst the year's best. |
| 16 |  | Recondite
Indifferent
dark melodic techno, full of drama, suspense and surprisingly catchy beats despite the cold and clinical nature of the production. His debut rips too |
| 15 |  | Uboa
Impossible Light
Death industrial / noise with some darkwave elements. The closer (w/ otay:onii feature!) is a massive highlight and a concrete SOTY contender, but the mood and tension / release aspect of this release is consistently captivating |
| 14 |  | Xiu Xiu
13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto...
"could maaaaaaybe do with a greater infusion of grating trolololol fuckery as I am accustomed to with these guys, almost gets a little too comfortable at times. Chilling to Xiux2... what heck?" - Demon Oct 14th
Still, a more convincing return to their more pop-orientated sound (i.e. vs the hodgepodge nature of OH NO). There are bangers. There are highlight-worthy darker cuts. This is Xiu Xiu. We love them. |
| 13 |  | Pyrrhon
Exhaust
All the cool people like this band. This skronks. It's a more direct approach. They trimmed their avant-prog tendencies into a lean, concise m/achine whilst retaining their cooooore sound. Essential addition to Pyrrhon's now considerable repetoire. |
| 12 |  | gyrofield
A Faint Glow of Bravery
Drum n bass w/ IDM. Dark, atmospheric vibes aplenty yet varied and funks good when it wants to. This being released in January was probably advantageous but it stuck around. Easily one of the most replayable LPs of 2024 and ALMOST electronic AOTY |
| 11 |  | drive your plow over the bones of the dead
tragedy as catharsis
emoviolence of significant chunk - dat beefy production be packing a punch! Speaking of punches it knows a things or two about hooks. Actual decipherable riffs and everything be on here. Weird. Don't be fooled though, it's still raw enough to f*** you up
Agonisingly close to placing in the top 10, idk if the November release (recency bias?) was a blessing or a curse, but this is certainly a strong example of the genre |
| 10 |  | Arooj Aftab
Night Reign
nocturnal and meditative chamber folk / ECM jazz with a few exotic flavas courtesy of Arooj's Arabian roots (influence from Pakistani music, but born in Saudi Arabia).
The main draw is her beautifully soothing voice, with mostly minimalist and uncluttered compositions serving as a unobtrusive accompaniment |
| 9 |  | Skee Mask
Resort
Refusing to provide us with an immediately bold and exciting alternative to his quite sublime Pool, Skee Mask reigns it in and offers up ambience and consistency with his latest release. However, there's still a lot to unpack in terms of mood and textures. the switch-ups are just subtle, less forthright. 2024's soundtrack to contemplative chill, omnipresent and essential |
| 8 |  | Crippling Alcoholism
With Love From a Padded Room
Sing-a-long songs for the deranged, the relationship between the immediately gratifying catchiness and harrowingly dark subject matter here conjures parallels to Nick Cave's pomp.
This gothic / noise rock offering was effectively my "pop" album for 2024 - a rarity in that I'd cherry pick select cuts whenever the mood would take |
| 7 |  | Veilburner
The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom
The duality of consonance and dissonance. Creating siccc grooves from strange mechanical tones is an art-form, one which Veilburner have mastered here. Their warped space-tinged psych layers and werido vox, coupled with the ability to conjure hooks out of otherwise strange sonic templates, is almost reminiscent of the great Ved Buens Ende.
Note: A little bit of a leap of faith having been released just over a month ago, this is easily my least listened to album in my top 10 |
| 6 |  | Scarcity
The Promise of Rain
More weirdo black metal, this time of the droning, microtonal and totalism appreciating variety. After their incredible debut Aveilut, Scarcity deliver a much less singular experience this time around. Relying less on repetition and diversifying their considerable arsenal of sonic-fuckery with a variety of new tricks. The Promise of Rain is almost psychedelic in execution, providing bewildering tonal shifts and off-kilter melodies knitted together in relentlessly creative ways.
Aveilut's continuous droning wall-of-sound could not be repeated. Fortunately Scarcity kept key elements of that formula without succumbing to the temptation |
| 5 |  | Adrianne Lenker
Bright Future
I suppose Lenker's latest represents that classic example of where an artist successfully infiltrates your hard outer shell with largely vague concepts such as 'intimacy' or 'resonance'. Is it the delicate sparseness of her folk and the 'close' production? The inflections of her voice? The simplicity and universal nature of her lyricism? Does the immaculate flow and adventurous transitions assist in enhancing the journey, never allowing the listener to hit a comfortable lull?
Well... the answer is yes actually. Yes to all the above. |
| 4 |  | Beth Gibbons
Lives Outgrown
Another dose of delicate sadboi folksiness, it seems somewhat fitting having two obsessive comfort-zone albums of 2024 back-to-back. Beth's album is a little artier, a little more progressive and borrows significantly from chamber music; but despite a different casing, the intimate soft centre remains exposed. In fact in spite of the many bells and whistles keeping the varied template fresh, it's the gentler, stripped-back moments that best showcase her talents.
22 years on from her last studio release, Gibbons cements her legacy as one of the great vocalists of our times. |
| 3 |  | Defeated Sanity
Chronicles of Lunacy
I don't know what's left to say about Defeated Sanity. They take a theoretically unappealing, homogenous subgenre and infuse it with unparalleled nuance. Their work has so much complexity and depth, yet for all the craftsmanship they still deliver banging riffs ahrder than their contemporaries. This optimal balance is consistently impressive.
This feels like a culmination of everything they've done thus far and the production is on another level entirely. |
| 2 |  | SUMAC
The Healer
A breathing, gradually shifting behemoth. Aaron Turner harnesses his appreciation of free improv yet the performance here allows for a somewhat more defined sense of structure, embarking on tangents at choice moments. The result is still wonderfully organic, providing a spectacularly gripping set of long-form compositions with teasing slow-building tension and highly satisfying resolutions. Expertly complemented by production packing considerable heft, the thunderous percussion and razor sharp guitars are perfectly balanced to provide an immersive experience. |
| 1 |  | Nala Sinephro
Endlessness
Spacey analogue synths and light jazz touches pulsate in and out of your consciousness, perfectly straddling the tightrope of demanding engagement and dissociative bliss. Endlessness has an almost warming, spiritual quality. A key component is the melding of electronic and organic (ugh!) parts, produced so impeccably it feels like Nala's compositions are being created within your own headspace. A far cry from many of the pitfalls of her contemporaries.
*regrets the use of the word 'organic' and 'breathing' for SUMAC - ahh curses*... this is arguably 2024's premier example of a seamlessly transitioning singular entity. |
|
