The Best Albums of 2024
Normally I start these things off with a quip about the state of the union, but…oof.
Well, at least this past year was absolutely fantastic for new music! I will say, the end of the year slowed down considerably, but we had quite the backlog to get through that was almost insurmountable by October, so some breathing space in November was welcome…until of course there was a surprise release from Kendrick.
Hell, my pile-up was so huge I only just got around to these two stunners from last year!
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
Chappell Roan
Strange Disciple
Nation of Language
Both of those would definitely have made it on the list last December, pretty high too. But alas, that is the curse of constantly chasing new music: sometimes your so focused on one specific bloom (Geese, oh God I still love you, Geese), you miss the rest of the tulip fields.
But as I was saying, 2024 was a great year for music, especially pop music, and especially especially synthpop, which (SPOILER ALERT) occupies a third of the top ten, and probably five-fourths of my all-time favorites. But there was plenty to choose from in other genres too. So much so that here’s this huge-ass list of honorable mentions:
Yaya Bey Ten Fold, Camera Obscura Look to the East, Look to the West, Sabrina Carpenter Short n’ Sweet, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Wild God, Cold Cave Passion Depression, The Cure Songs of a Lost World, Drahla angeltape, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat Orchestra Hits, Elbow Audio Vertigo, Empress Of For Your Consideration, Everything Everything Mountainhead, Jake Xerxes Fussell When I’m Called, Future Islands People Who Aren’t There Anymore, Nubya Garcia Odyssey, Honeyglaze Real Deal, Hovvdy Hovvdy, Ibibio Sound Machine Pull the Rope, Cassandra Jenkins My Light, My Destroyer, Jlin Akoma, Judas Priest Invincible Shield, Michael Kiwanuka Small Changes, Liz Lawrence Peanuts, The Lemmon Twigs A Dream Is All We Know, Les Amazones d’Afrique Musow Danse, Los Campesinos! All Hell, Kali Malone All Life Long, MGMT Loss of Life, Moor Mother The Great Bailout, Kelly Moran Moves in the Field, Mustafa Dunya, Nia Archives Silence Is Loud, NxWorries Why Lawd?, Kelly Lee Owens Dreamstate, A Place to Bury Strangers Synthesizer, Porridge Radio Clouds in the Sky They Will Always Be There for Me, Rosali Bite Down, Schoolboy Q Blue Lips, Seefeel Everything Squared (EP?), Shabaka Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace, Nadine Shah Filthy Underneath, Shellac To All Trains, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers Revelations, The Smile Cutouts, The Softies The Bed I Made, Still House Plants If I don’t make it, I love u, Sumac The Healer, Thee Sacred Souls Got a Story to Tell, Kali Uchis ORQUÍDEAS, Waxahatchee Tigers Blood, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings Woodland
All of those albums are really stellar, but we know you came here for the listicle, so without further adieu, here’s the 50 Best Albums of 2024.
50. Sentir Que No Sabes
Mabe Fratti
Art Pop
49. I Got Heaven
Mannequin Pussy
Punk Rock
48. Dark Times
Vince Staples
West Coast Hip Hop
47. She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She
Chelsea Wolfe
Darkwave
46. Cold Visions
Bladee
Rage
45. Chromakopia
Tyler, The Creator
West Coast Hip Hop
44. Manning Fireworks
MJ Lenderman
Slacker Rock
43. GNX
Kendrick Lamar
West Coast Hip Hop
42. #RICHAXXHAITIAN
Mach-Hommy
Abstract Hip Hop
41. Endlessness
Nala Sinephro
Jazz Fusion
40. Cool World
Chat Pile
Noise Rock
39. Starchris
Body Meat
Glitch Pop
38. COWBOY CARTER
Beyoncé
Country Pop
37. My Method Actor
Nilüfer Yanya
Indietronica
36. Cascade
Floating Points
Tech House
35. Wall of Eyes
The Smile
Art Rock
34. Passage du Desir
Johnny Blue Skies (a.k.a. Sturgill Simpson)
Progressive Country
33. You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
Knocked Loose
Metalcore
32. Here in the Pitch
Jessica Pratt
Contemporary Folk
31. The Thief Next to Jesus
Ka
Drumless
30. Only God Was Above Us
Vampire Weekend
Indie Rock
29. Bright Future
Adrianne Lenker
Contemporary Folk
28. Diamond Jubilee
Cindy Lee
Hypnagogic Pop
27. Rack
The Jesus Lizard
Noise Rock
26. The Collective
Kim Gordon
Experimental Rock
25. Prelude to Ecstasy
The Last Dinner Party
Indie Rock
24. Big Ideas
Remi Wolf
Dance-Pop
23. What Now
Brittany Howard
Psychedelic Soul
22. A Sliver of Space
Mr. Gnome
Stoner Rock
21. All Born Screaming
St. Vincent
Art Rock
20. Hit Me Hard and Soft
Billie Eilish
Alt-Pop
19. Kings of the Mischievous South, Vol. 2
Denzel Curry
Southern Hip Hop
18. Night Reign
Arooj Aftab
Chamber Folk
17. Patterns in Repeat
Laura Marling
Chamber Folk
16. No Name
Jack White
Garage Rock Revival
15. I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU
JPEGMAFIA
Experimental Hip Hop
14. Lives Outgrown
Beth Gibbons
Chamber Folk
13. Absolute Elsewhere
Blood Incantation
Death Metal
12. Night Palace
Mount Eerie
Slacker Rock
11. Songdreaming
Sam Lee
Contemporary Folk
10. Challengers [MIXED] by Boys Noize
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross & Boys Noize
Techno
It’s a rare thing to find a film score so addictive and engrossing that it makes a year-end list. Only twice before has that happened (for me at least): the score for David Fincher’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo—another Reznor and Ross production—a woefully under-appreciated composition, and Jóhann Jóhannsson’s (RIP) shockingly, dazzlingly gorgeous companion to Arrival. But this new production by Reznor and Ross for Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers is just pure techno brilliance. Already quite the jaw-dropping juxtaposition to a movie about a tennis-based love triangle, the addition of German electronic artist Boys Noize’s re-mixing makes this—and I can’t stress this enough—film score, the best rave/HIIT workout playlist I’ve ever heard. Seriously, this may be the best thing I’ve heard Reznor attached to since With Teeth (and that’s -checks watch- Jesus! 20 years old next year!). The fantastic addition of live, analog wood blocks in ““I Know”,” the insane transition from traditional techno beat build-up to an overblown whistle at the end of “Yeah x10,” and the blistering gauntlet of one banger after another with “Challengers,” “Pre-Signal,” “The Signal,” and “Brutalizer.” It’s all so disruptive, so propulsive. It’s frenetic rocket fuel.
9. Affection
Bullion
Synthpop
What a delightfully fun experience this one is. Seriously, listening to this album makes me smile continuously throughout its runtime. Bullion has amassed quite the cred in the electronic scene, but his previous work never struck a chord with me. Not like this. The instant “A City’s Never” starts, you just immediately feel lighter, the bubbly production of Bullion’s retro synthesizers buoying your mood. So much of the album hits huge nostalgia triggers for me: its odes to late-70’s, synth-based soft rock; Nathan Jenkins’ voice being a dead ringer for Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars; that 2000’s indie-scene songwriting style on songs like “Affection” and “Cavalier.” There’s the super-duper fun, bounciness of “World_train” with Charlotte Adigéry, and the cheek-blushing young love of “Your Father.” There’s the sadness-concealed-in-a-pop-disguise of “The Flooding,” and the hopeful romantic naivety of “Open Hands.” But, of course, the main show is the stunningly beautiful duet between Bullion and Carly Rae Jepsen on “Rare.” An aptly named tune if ever there was one, because how often do you hear something this delicate and sweet? It easily earned its spot in this year’s best songs list, and the things that make it so special and littered throughout this sometimes silly, sometimes sad, always thoroughly enjoyable retro-synthpop album.
8. The Dream of Delphi
Bat for Lashes
Art Pop
For once, Our Lady of Sadtimes is out to make us cry happy tears. I will admit, I have been enamored with Natasha Khan’s musical project, Bat for Lashes, for well over a decade at this point (lordy, is “Daniel” really that old now?), from her quirky dark-pop beginnings on Fur and Gold, to her attainment of perfection on The Haunted Man, to the almost overly depressing The Bride and the what-if-Lost Boys-was-girls of…well, Lost Girls. And while I’m still waiting for a proper collaboration album from her and Beck to continue where the greatest song of the 2010’s “Let’s Get Lost” left off, I’m more than happy to hear this string, harp, and woodwind backed ode to her new daughter. Like all of her past efforts, Khan uses electronics minimally, but prominently, and to great effect. The astonishing opening synth line of the title track, the flitting and fluttering of “Letter to my Daughter,” and the roiling and boiling of “Waking Up,” showcase her ability to take a synthetic melody and use it as a base upon which to construct grand, operatic soundscapes of acoustic strings, flutes, and percussion. Even electronic-heavy tracks like the danceable single “Home” and the murky procession of “Delphi Dancing” are still filled out with fantastic acoustic arrangements of upright piano, live percussion, and her signature breathtaking vocalizations. And honestly, I even like the extended harp-based “bonus track” version of the title track appended to the end; it makes it feel, somehow, even more cohesive; plus, those harp arrangements are beyond gorgeous. It’s beautiful, it’s ethereal, it’s very Bat for Lashes. Is she narrating her daughter’s dream, or is her daughter her dream come true? Does it matter? 🥹
7. 13” Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips
Xiu Xiu
Neo-Psychedelia / Experimental
Xiu Xiu may be the most prolific experimental pop/rock act ever. And while not everything is a home run, when you put out an album every year or two since 2002, there’s no way to don’t strike gold at least once.
Fortunately for us, Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo are playing the odds, and we’ve gotten some truly exceptional pieces over the years: A Promise, Fabulous Muscles, Angel Guts: Red Classroom, Plays the Music of Twin Peaks, the infinitely perfect FORGET, and the utterly bat-shittingly unhinged Girl with Basket of Fruit. We can add this album to the list (name omitted because I refuse to type it more than once, it’s up there, just scroll back up a little).
Those moments where Xiu Xiu have found true brilliance are, like here, when they are writing accessible pop tunes informed by experimental rock. Don’t get me wrong, Angel Guts and Girl are endlessly fascinating from a musical survey standpoint, but you cannot put those on the gym PA. Things like FORGET’s “Wondering” and this album’s “Common Loon” are bops that just happen to have a weird sound effect or two (and…a guy singing like he’s a victorian ghost).
This is by far Xiu Xiu’s most mainstream, pop-accessible album to date, save for maybe FORGET. But while I’m not saying it’s going to show up in the Top 40 anytime soon, those more adventurous pop/rock enthusiasts looking for a way to crack open this act’s massive discography couldn’t ask for a better starting point. Apart from “Common Loon,” there’s the slow burn and delightful reveal of “Sleep Blvd.,” complete with it’s live Stomp-esque trash can percussion; or the wicked awesomeness of hard rocker “T.D.F.T.W.,” with it driving, fuzzed-out guitars and metaphysical explanation as to why the world is a fuck (The Devil’s Forgiven, That’s Why).
And for those more die-hard fans hoping this would be a more experimental turn for the band, don’t worry, there’s plenty here for you. Particularly fascinationg and memorable is the closer, “Pina, Coconut & Cherry,” where Stewart speak-sings a poem about unrequited love over a Hammer Films score when fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy,
Fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy
Fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy
Fantasy, fantasy, fantasy fantasy, fantasy, fantasy fantasy, fantasy, fantasy fantasy, fantasy, fantasy fantasy, fantasy, fantasy
Fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy
6. Mahashmashana
Father John Misty
Baroque Pop
I’ve been a Father John Misty stan for a long time. Like, since Fear Fun and the second (and best) Fleet Foxes album came out. It’s a difficult fandom to engage with, because Joshua Tillman (the actual person behind the moniker) is fairly pretentious, and…woof, so are a lot of the people that like him.
That said, they do at least have a solid foundation to stand on. Tillman’s work, as FJM, with Fleet Foxes, and in many other projects has been nothing short of consistently excellent. I even liked 2022’s Chloe and the Next 20th Century, a sort-of lounge act album that really alienated a lot of his more populist fans.
This album, sometimes joked about as Misty’s retirement album, will leave no such apprehension. It is, without a doubt, Joshua Tillman’s finest work, a gorgeous, lush, resplendent, opulent masterpiece of orchestral pop.
The old-school rock-and-rolling good time of “She Cleans Up” (complete with calling Under the Skin “that movie”…that he then humorously remembers in the otherwise incredibly dark “Being You”), the shoegaze-inspired “Screamland,” it’s all so original and yet so timeless, backed by breathtaking string arrangements. The hazy, drug-addled psychedelia of “Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose” is such a perfect combination of Tillman’s trademark snark and Beck-like chamber orchestras it made it on the songs of the year list. And if you don’t catch yourself at least tapping your foot to the wild traditional disco of “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All,” then I guess you just have no soul left.
Then there’s the title track, a massive nine-minute epic about the constant flux between the mundane and the infinite. Tillman’s lyrics are as ingenious as ever, and he sings them in his fullest, most heartfelt delivery. The full orchestra swells at the end of each chorus as he harkens to Mahashmashana, the great cremation that will burn (and rebirth) the world. By the end of the third, where he cleverly breaks the cycle while singing “What was found is lost / Yes it is / Yes it is,” is so incredibly powerful that I have found myself crying on more than one occasion.
This album is just absolutely brilliant and wondrous.
5. Something in the Room She Moves
Julia Holter
Art Pop
The Maestro of infinitely intriguing art pop has returned for her first album since 2018’s maddeningly brilliant Aviary.
I will admit, this is definitely a thinker, and not one most people will enjoy on first listen. The opener “Sun Girl” alone has no less than two false endings, discordant woodwinds, and an out-of-time bridge. In anyone else’s hands it would be an absolute mess, but in Julia Holter’s, it’s merely an exercise, an easy display of her musical knowledge and formidable songwriting prowess.
Interludes become whole songs on Something in the Room She Moves, as seen by the odd spoken poetry of “These Morning” leads directly into the Wurlitzer and flute driven title track that’s as beautifully mesmerizing as anything from Holter’s magnum opus, the perfect Have You in My Wilderness (which you can be damn sure there will be a rewind for next year).
Equally enchanting is my inexplicable favorite from the album, “Spinning,” with its shambling, off-kilter beat and delightfully weird chorus of “what is delicious? And what is omiscent? … What is the opposite love in becoming fish?” All while a certifiable loony is tootling a flue and sax combo in the background. As the song winds down, the synth from the beat changes to a Vangelis score.
That sound and mood extends into the synthetic instrumental mood piece of “Ocean,” which then morphs into the slow lounge of a Feist-style track on “Evening Mood,” which begins with field-recorded nails tapping on a drinking glass, then picks ups when jazzy Genesis drums lead us through Holter’s strange story, a clarinet solo, and then…Galaga?
I cannot and will never be able to describe this album properly: it’s the beautiful instrumentation of chamber pop combined with the complexity of jazz, the oddness of Eno-style minimalism, and informed by the likes of John Cage, Kate Bush, and Bjork. There’s no real way to pin it down, but I promise you, you will enjoy the experience. It’s like touching the astral plane of what is capable in music. You’ll never forget it.
4. Funeral for Justice
Mdou Moctar
Tishoumaren / Electric Blues
Don’t get me wrong, I loved Jack White’s album this year, but he couldn’t even wish to play blues rock like this.
It’s often difficult to describe music that isn’t written and performed in English, but the power of music allows us to share the experience all the same. Mdou Moctar’s guitar work is as blistering and heavy as anything from a speed metal albums, while staying in a mix of blues and traditional Tuareg keys.
The album opener/title track is a big, jump-up group track, with everyone in the band jamming out as hard as they possibly can. Then “Imouhar” leans heavy on those blues feelings and makes you feel them too. And when that first guitar solo kicks in… you are off on a rocket to rock paradise. It’s a combination of every mind-bending, finger-destroying solo from prog, glam, and hair metal thrown onto a hard rock version of Johnny Cash’s backing band.
And then…it just never lets up. This is by a wide margin the hardest record of the year. A year, I might say, that had a new Nails album, Chat Pile, Knocked Loose, and Blood Incantation. None of them hold a candle to the playing here. Sure, their production(s) might have allowed them to layer and double- and triple-track to get as dense as possible. But trade one of those guitarists for Mdou and you would melt the studio down.
I can’t say much more for you other than, if you believe in the power of guitar-driven rock-and-roll, you must, MUST listen to this album. I am absolutely stunned by how much I loved this. I already knew I liked Mdou Moctar, but this is above and beyond. True guitar god status here.
3. Imaginal Disk
Magdalena Bay
Synthpop
It’s been three years since the last Magdalena Bay album blew our minds with Mercurial World’s fantastic, bright production full of varied, layered performances and brilliant songwriting. To say there’s no difference here is understating things.
Certainly Imaginal Disk is bright, layered, and full of brilliant songwriting, but the step up in musical detail and lyrical depth is beyond even my loft expectations. This album is a glorious expression of 80’s synth palettes and highly complex, progressive-rock influences.
The album’s running theme of self-identity and self-doubt is best exemplified by the single, “Image,” which illustrates the ideal self that the album’s protagonist will embody upon completion of the journey of self-discovery. That this seemingly deep discussion is couched in a drum-and-bass beat and the best 90’s synthpad you could imagine. When the last round of the chorus kicks in the massive, overblown bass wall, it’s a total butt-kicker.
The following song, “Death & Romance,” could have easily fit on their last album, with it’s upbeat piano loop and Mica’s vocals more imploring and drawn. But the chorus is a wash of layered synths running in every glistening direction, and Mica’s voice harmonizing with a thousand tracks of itself. It’s one of the most explosive tracks of the year.
Then there’s Song of the Year contender, “That’s My Floor.” It’s as close to a rocker as the band have ever done, with its funk bass line, jazzy drums, and a truly genius lyrical set from Mica about sentimentalism hindering transcendentalism. The line at the end of the chorus “that’s my door / I let it open me,” is just peak writing. Add to that chorus the blasts of synth and live bass giving off the funkiest beat since Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know the Better,” and you have a masterpiece on your hands.
And that statement applies to the album too, we have a masterpiece on our hands. Imaginal Disk is thoughtful, fun, bright, and endlessly listenable, with each replay revealing new sonic and thematic discoveries.
2. brat
Charli xcx
Electropop
It might be the most viral sensation in music history, a simple aerial font, rendered at a degraded 420 resolution over a neon green. But that vitality and simplicity deceptively conceal the utterly brilliant, incomparable, never-before pop album within.
The bookends of “360” and “365” may be the most ingenious pop moment of the year. The latter a pitch-shifted, sped-up clubber to the former's bubblegum bass, reflecting how the party girl twists and contorts from plastic Instagram model to drug-addled rave addict over the course of her journey. The price you must pay to live the party girl life.
And usually Taylor Swift is the one writing coded messages about former friends and lovers, but on “Sympathy Is a Knife” she becomes the target. As Charli describes her own insecurity when constantly around and compared to Tay Tay, a massive barrage of club drums and the stunning open, reverberating production blow apart the chorus, with perhaps Charli's most introspective line: “I / Couldn't even be her if I tried.” Well, Charli, you're the one redefining pop music for the better, so that's at least one tally in your column.
Case in point, if it was ever possible to transfer the bravado of a hip hop posse cut into a single artist's club track, “Von Dutch” is that song. I have never willingly punched holes in walls faster than I did when the first chorus kicks in: “Von Dutch, cult classic, 'cause I still pop.” It's such a fucking awesome headbanger of a track, I would literally go to war with this blasting in my ears. The production is so loud and somehow so understated, letting Charli's addictive hooks ring over the MASSIVE beat, the synths slinking and hanging in a grimy slide that's nearly undefinable. It is a perfect pop song.
Also attaining perfection is the back-to-back pairing of TikTok dance sensation “Apple” and the vastly underrated “B2B.” The first has a well-earned virality: danceable, bouncy, and overwhelmingly fun. That it hides some of the darkest shit I've ever heard, like, “I think the apple's rotten right to the core / From all the things passed down from all the apples falling before,” just makes me appreciate its genius even more. Then “B2B” kicks in as a prime hyperpop single, its mechanical beat recalling the deep house hardcore of 90s electronica with Charli's vocal looping endlessly.
Then there's the most heartbreaking and beautifully fragile moment of the year, with Charli's ode to the late SOPHIE, “So I.” I could tell you that it makes you cry, but it's not that simple; it's not enough that you feel sad for one celebrity's regret over their treatment of another. Charli's approach allows you to fully understand her exact story, while also reminding you of every single person you've lost before you could say “goodbye,” or “sorry,” or “I love you” one last time. It's so heavy, but so incredibly cathartic being seen in that way.
brat is a perfect album, that any other year would most assuredly be #1 on my list. But 2024 was almost overflowing with mind-bogglingly fantastic pop albums, so much so that I couldn't bring myself to finish this list without talking about...
1. Girl With No Face
Allie X
Synthpop
We've discussed my love of synthpop. We've discussed my love of 80's dance. We've discussed my love of gothic post-punk. What if you could make them all at once?
Never before has a more perfect distillation of high-energy goth pop existed than exists here in Allie X's Girl with No Face. It is a style and sound I was unaware was missing from my life, but now I know I cannot live without it.
Opener “Weird World” is the perfect introduction to the world of Robert Smith working out to Eurythmics, complete with some of the most hilariously thought-provoking lyrics, like “Hail Satan, at least he keeps a promise,” and the brilliant chorus: “I used to be a dream girl / But the world interfered / At least now I know / Now I know I'm weird.”
The title track is then the best possible introduction to the other half of this album's sound, the brooding banger. The electronic drum kits are super heavy, while the synth patches are dark and thick like the fog in an old vampire movie. Here, we also see Allie X's ability to arrange vocal layers to dizzying effect, an unnerving chorale behind her in every chorus.
Hit single, “Off with Her Tits,” is a brilliant New Order homage encasing a surprisingly deep (if a bit on-the-nose) take on the societal stigma surrounding women getting breast reduction surgery. And while the “Blue Monday” drums blast off and the “Last Kiss” synths swirl, Allie X puts on a clinic of vocal acrobatics, holding notes that I haven't heard outside the score for a John Milius movie.
One of the quirkier moments on the album is Allie X's fan shout-out, “John and Jonathan.” Named after two actual concert attendees, the super simple synth-and-drum beat sees some of her more subtle writing, with a chorus that must be painfully honest and true for a majority of pop stars: “I must soak up the praise / And save it for a rainy day.” It's one of loneliest moments on the album, and it's enveloped in Justin Meldal-Johnsen's ingenious production of a bouncy, old-school darkwave track.
Maybe the greatest pop discovery for me this year was “Galina”: the bright production, the retro-futurism of the synths, the sheer brilliance of Allie X's lyrics. Taking a story about her go-to beautician being sold out of her favorite moisturizer and turning it into a song about obsession, rejection, betrayal and unrequited love is pure genius. That it also has some of her most beautiful vocal performances on the album, and some of the most complex songwriting of the year is all just the cherry on top.
Then there's one of the Best songs of the year, “Black Eye.” I cannot express how impressed I am by the magnificent use of the old-school orchestra stab to maximum effect, or Allie X's Bonnie Tyler impression after the instrumental interlude that surpasses that great lady in every way. I haven't heard someone hold a note like that in a synth-rock song since LCD Soundsystem's “Dance Yrself Clean.” And goddamn do those kick drums HIT! I feel like giving out a few black eyes right now just thinking about them.
But one that's really grown on me in the many, many times I've listened to this album is the closer, “Truly Dreams,” a song that is shockingly not about drinking so many alcoholic seltzers that you black out and have strange visions. Instead, it is a rather hopeful and upbeat way to end such a gothically dark album, expressing Allie X's appreciation of how wonderful her musical success has been. She is able to weave lyrical themes from the rest of the album into her tale of being, technically, immortal, now that her music has been recorded and released into the world. There's a super fun moment of pure music nerd ecstasy towards the beginning, where a faint wood agogo is scraped in the background amongst the other live wood blocks and vibraslaps, and the glorious 80's pop synths. The final chorus sees Allie X really belt it out, once again showcasing her physical talent as well as her fantastic songwriting. Just a beautiful way to end such a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
If this hasn't convinced you to check out Girl with No Face, I don't know what possibly could. I...fucking LOVE this album. It's so creative and wonderful while still staying true to its incredible sonic vision. It's totally engrossing and infinitely fun, perfectly moody and impossibly danceable.
Girl with No Face truly is the best album of 2024. And I dare say I'll be listening to it on repeat through at least 2026.
Thanks to everyone who followed along this year. I hope you enjoyed as much music as I have, and here’s to an even better (musically, at least) 2025!
As always, happy listening!
