From concept to no-skip LPs, 24 had it all and so much more. It’s time to take a look back at six truly remarkable albums.
There’s no good new music nowadays is perhaps the biggest indicator of apathy a phrase can have, rivalled only by ones heard at flat earth societies. It’s not just your uncle at Christmas making saying it, giants of the industry from Billy Corgan to the Gallagher brothers have been known to claim this too.
Maybe now is an even more impressive time for music, it’s no secret how fragile the industry is. Streaming services making it unprofitable to even exist, bands losing money touring and the venues they visit going under all around us.
The art being released is a testament to their strength and resilience in an incredibly challenging time for the scene.
This ambivalence is all the more staggering when what should have been a celebratory look back, became a stress educing mess with the sheer quality produced in the last 366 days. In fact the overwhelming task resulted in a top five in no particular order becoming a top six, because sometimes there are no rules, there are some that still must be mentioned however.
London’s High Vis released their third album ‘Guided Tour’ continuing their fusion of hardcore roots with post punk and jangly indie, a massive year awaits them. DIIV reflected the shoegaze revival with ‘Frog in Boiling Water’, and Wunderhorse’s Midas made waves in Britain’s guitar scene.
Declan McKenna’s ‘What Happened to the Beach’ combined his astute views with the energy that books him up come festival season. The Legend that is Kim Deal made her first foray into the solo world away from Pixies and The Breeders in what may be the most underrated album of the year. Kim Gordon never ceases to push boundaries even decades on from Sonic Youth’s heyday, all of these works coming in the last year represents the strength in releases.
Now, onto the main six.
Many amazing things come in this quantity, six packs of your favourite beverage, the six simple strings on a guitar, I’ve never been to Six Flags in America but have heard it rivals the Grand Canyon.
The sixth Star Wars (in chronological order only involving prequel and original trilogies) could me the epitome of this. So, without further ado, lets dive into this most un-particularly ordered list.
Diamond Jubilee – Cindy Lee
Starting off as strong as you can, this is possibly the most unique album of the year. Cindy Lee being the alter ego for Patrick Flegal of Canadian noise rock/post-punk band Woman, this experimental two hour collection is breathtaking. Velvet Underground esc guitar tones, changes in tempos, haunting vocals, It’s somehow fresh yet familiar at the same time. The decision was made not to release the album on streaming platforms due to Flegal’s distaste to the role it plays in the industry. This embodies what the album represents, it stands away from anything by its contemporaries in every way without losing touch with what’s around it, whilst sonically being unmatched. Word of mouth only works when something is worth it’s merit, I got recommended it by a barber. I don’t remember being overly pleased with the haircut, but after listening to this it didn’t seem to matter.
Cartoon Darkness – Amyl and the Sniffers
Aussies Amyl and the Sniffers have always seemed strangely relevant from supporting the likes of Foo Fighters and Smashing Pumpkins, yet isolated too being one of the biggest punk rooted bands. Cartoon Darkness’ inclusion is largely based on the band coming into their own and showing what they can be. Amy Taylor is distinctive and charismatic, strong feelings in counterculture without being ostentatious is a fine line but being herself achieves this. It’s clear how much she cares, yet never understates the importance of not taking everything too seriously. This translated into the album as the style we’ve come to know remained with tracks such as ‘Doing in Me Head’ and ‘Motorbike Song’. The progression and dynamic range introduced is the leap on for the band with the intimacy of ‘Bailing on Me’ and the tempo of ‘Tiny Bikini’.
Our Brand Could be Yr Life – Bodega
NYC will never stop delivering, whatever the state of the city (largely mirroring the UK right now) it is still one of the greatest breeding grounds for music and art. Our Brand Could be Yr Life by art punk outfit Bodega is an example of this. It’s a collection of old Lo-fi beats recorded years ago transformed into a punk with indie-infused album focusing on the capitalist/consumer landscape. The album itself is incredibly strong, with relevant political undertones, or more appropriately overtones. This may distract people from just how talented Nikki Belfiglio and Ben Hozie (the band’s core songwriters) are. An example of what modern punk can look like, witty, topical, not to mention it sounds amazing. It does all of this whilst still being accessible, it even having a song in the Gavin and Stacey Finale episode!
This Could Be Texas – English Teacher
What more can be said about this album. So much can happen in a year, and for English Teacher pretty much everything that could’ve did. Many will think they got the rub of the green, but you make your own luck, and they made it in the form of this LP. This collection of post punk inspiration, incredible musicianship and lyricism is what landed the debut album a Mercury Prize. Lily Fontaine fronting is a breath of fresh air, and they seemed to know exactly what they wanted to do with this piece. As with all these albums these short summaries will never do them justice, but you find yourself thinking about the songs at the most random points of your day. It stays with you long after listening, and them helping the spotlight on northern bands who aren’t in the London sphere is more important than ever.
Romance – Fontaines D.C.
We really do have to assume at some point these lads can’t keep doing this forever. The band of the moment, the band of the year, and their importance cannot be understated. From the punk of Dogrel, to the exploration of A Hero’s Death, to the honing of their sound in Skinty Fia, this fourth studio album shows they really can do whatever they want. Infusing genres such as pop with ‘Bug’, Hip Hop with ‘Starburster’ and indie with ‘Favorite’, the world may in fact be their oyster. What Romance tells us is no matter what genres they decide to use as their output, the way they push each other as artists, with lyricism and message means it’s likely you won’t be disappointed. This added depth to their discography only benefits their already formidable live shows. The selection they have means they can curate a setlist of perfection, their curtain drop to ‘Romance’ being an example of this.
Fine Art – Kneecap
To round off the six, we move away from guitars and instead to the Irish language speaking hip hop group Kneecap. Without doubt the most culturally significant album on this list, you’d have to go back a way to find something as important as this LP is, and Kneecap as a whole. It is music at its most influential, being used as a vessel for something far more important. They are responsible for helping protect a language, and the balaclava becoming a sought after piece in many people’s wardrobes. It’s expressive whilst impacting both crowds and individuals walking along blasting it on their headphones. It will go down in history unlike many of the others on this list, the significance of the concept makes it feel like a song needn’t play. This isn’t true however and is what makes takes the album to the next level. The energy and strength of the tracks are what makes it far more than just it’s political importance and is why it has found so much success.
