2024, what a year ey?
Before I start, this is purely on my opinion, there’s been a lot of brilliant music released this year and this list was incredibly hard to narrow down, but nevertheless, here we go…
10.
Credit: Charli XCX (Atlantic Records)
Whilst Charli XCX isn’t my normal type of listen (asides from her earlier stuff in the early 2010’s of course), her simple yet bright album cover struck me on a trip to London, as I saw it plastered on the London Underground ad boards.
Naturally, I decided to have a little listen when back at normal level.
I didn’t realise this is actually Charli XCX’s sixth studio album, so evidently, she’s doing something right!
I always thought of Charli XCX as a bit of a pop princess, based off of “I Don’t Care” and “Boom, Boom, Clap”, “Boys” etc – but brat shows a much more serious side to Charli in my opinion, little bit more emotional, retro like feel, whilst somehow feeling futuristic, how she’s done it I don’t know, but she has…
I feel like in recent years, there has been a jump in what I would call “Hype-Pop” where you hear the likes of pop music and house (I think? I’m not down with the kids and I’m not THAT old) – where you get a dancey-like feel, whilst still having that injection of pop, rather than going down this route, which a lot of artists have (nothing wrong with it if you do it well!) – but there is a clear cut through of the genre here.
The highlights for me are “365” and “B2B”, they both show Charli’s fantastic range of vocals, her raw talent and also her passion, it feels a little experimental – but it’s not a bad experiment.
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9.
Credit: Sea Girls – Alt Records – Polydor – Almanac
“Midnight Butterflies” was released in 2024 by London’s own Sea Girls, now I’ve dipped my toe into the Sea Girls catalogue a number of times and have a few favourites including “All I Want To Hear You Say” and “Call Me Out” but I must say that “Midnight Butterflies” is my favourite of their albums yet.
It follows on from their debut album “Open Up Your Head” released in 2020 and “Homesick” in 2022 and if they continue to release albums every two years, I won’t complain!
Whilst a lot of artists appear to have headed down a more experimental route for them, this feels familiar with their indie twangs – but with a bit of reflective, emotional and slower tracks on this album.
The artwork also reflects this more emotional side to them, seeing a person laid on their front, arms crossed, deep in thought – it’s quite melancholic and suits the mood of the album well.
It’s nice to hear that softer side to them, without it going too far in a different direction, my personal favourites off “Midnight Butterflies” are “Polly”, which is short but sweet, but gives that more indie-anthem type feel, along with “After Hours”, which is a more emotional track in my opinion, it’s worth the listen – the lyrics are very well crafted and have a beautiful meaning in each song.
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8.
Credit: Sabrina Carpenter – Island Records
As much as I’m not overly bothered on Sabrina Carpenter in general, but I can’t deny the work she has done in 2024, she has taken the pop music world by storm and it is admirable.
Tracks like “Please, Please, Please”, “Espresso” and “Good Graces” have been popping up everywhere and the album has been nominated for three Grammy awards, “Album of the Year”, “Best Pop Vocal Album” and “Best Engineered Album – Non Classical” and honestly I think she has a good chance.
Sabrina knows how to put on a show, and whilst I haven’t seen her live, I’ve seen enough clips to know that she knows how to work a crowd.
My personal favourite is “Please, Please, Please”, and the rest is the perfect example of “Girl-pop”, it just brings that soft, fun sound but also presents something a little bit cheeky.
Sabrina Carpenter is a master of branding, there’s not many places you can go without hearing or seeing what she’s up to, and I chalk up alot of her success to this, whilst she has got a stunning voice, she knows how to get out there and show what she can do.
Although if I am honest, it’s not a bad song but I would be happy if I never heard “Espresso” for a long time, I heard it on repeat on the radio daily for MONTHS.
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7.
Photo Credit: The Vaccines – Columbia Records
“Pick Up Full of Carnations” is the newest and sixth album from London’s The Vaccines.
Honestly, I was expecting a bit of a knock, following the departure of their original guitarist Freddie Cowan, however, for me, this wasn’t the case.
The Vaccines have been a clear festival staple for years now and whilst they haven’t lost that anthemic rock in this album, they haven’t built on much else – infact, they’ve stuck to what they know and in my books that’s not a bad thing.
The feel of the album is nostalgic, fun and that pop-rock anthem feel that seems familar to the early 2010’s – which is what the artwork gives me a feel of too – and that said, possibly one of the better-suited albums for a roadtrip – relaxed, care-free and uplifting.
Stand-out tunes for me are “Heartbreak Kid” and “Sunkissed” – they really capture the best elements of the sound The Vaccines are known for – as well as injection of repetitive twangs and deep meaningful lyrics.
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6.
Photo Credit: Camens – Bad Apple Music
This was the debut album for Stoke’s own CAMENS – a highly anticipated one by all accounts too.
The style of CAMENS is indie-rock-esque with an injection of pop, whilst reviewing their album initially, I remember specifically getting sounds like the Wombats – which is not a bad thing.
They’re a versatile band for sure, with this album offering the likes of acoustic emotional tunes, to true indie-rock anthems, my personal favourite was “Lying Won’t Get You Anywhere” alongside “Danny DeVito” and “On The Walk From The Picturehouse” – this album incorporates alot of raw emotion in both a subtle and upbeat way, injecting a bit of humour and also some relatable lyrics.
I feel like there is more to come from CAMENS and realistically, I think this is just the beginning, a very good one infact.
Read our full review of the album here
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5.
Photo Credit: The Reytons
I wouldn’t have felt right including an album from the unsigned band that are making absolute waves in the music scene.
The Reytons released their third album “Ballad of a Bystander” in January of this year and it reached number 2 in the UK charts which is actually massive (It should have got number 1 – but we move).
It’s been a massive year for the Reytons, hailing from Rotherham, the lads are passionate about their origins, with alot of their tunes having nods to lots of different parts of town and South Yorkshire in general, that along with their humour, creativity and can-do attitude resonates with their fans and there is no wonder that there are thousands of them!
The artwork further demonstrates this, the street depicted on the cover is a street in Conisbrough, nestled between Rotherham and Doncaster – again nodding to their roots and showing that they love where they came from.
The biggest tracks of the album for me are “Market Street” and “Adrenaline” – it really shows off what The Reytons can do and is the understatement of why fans love them so much, with honest, realistic scenarios in their lyrics, big drum and guitar presence and iconic vocals – it really is a delight from start to finish.
Oh – and Clifton Park was a bloody banging day – by the way.
Read the full review of the album here and the review of their Clifton Park homecoming gig here.
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4.
Next up is Stockport’s own “Blossoms”.
When I first heard the title of their newest album I went “Ey? Really?” – as you don’t come across many albums named Gary – but there we go.
It has polished pop-like tones, nostalgic themes with again, nods to their local haunts, a good injection of humour and generally what I deem as some of Blossoms best work.
My personal favourites were “Big Star” – which gave me the Blossoms I know and love, knowing they hadn’t swayed too far from their usual style.
Alongside that, which is a bit more experimental, is the title single “Gary” – it’s anthemic, rebellious and also a little bit different – I rate it and it was the best choice for the album title too.
I love the album cover, using themselves to spell out the name “Gary” is a simple yet brilliant way and intrigued me to pick it up in a record shop not so long ago – bravo.
I really hope they continue to build on this, I have seen them a couple of times live (not in 2024 sadly) but from what I’ve heard, they’re just getting better and better!
Read our full review of the album here.
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3.
Photo Credit: Red Rum Club – Modern Sky UK
In third place is the six-piece band from Liverpool, Red Rum Club.
This is their fourth studio album and the follow-up to “How To Steal The World” – which was a masterpiece, alongside their other offerings.
Like many other artists, Red Rum Club did go a little bit experimental I thought on this occasion but they did it in their own way and whilst I was cautious, it became such an iconic album for them.
Their first release off the album came in 2023, “Black Cat” is a stand-out, it is a lot rockier for RRC and generally built up to the big release – they still kept the trumpet elements in, which only heightened the track and of course the entire album.
“Houdini” was another favourite, a track worthy enough to be on a James Bond soundtrack, just from the intro alone – frontman Fran’s dulcet vocals sing these emotional lyrics perfectly and the whole album is stunning.
The artwork is brilliant, simple, colourful and showcases the band, bosh.
I hope they carry on bringing out more and more tracks for us to enjoy, but there was no way “Western Approaches” (which I believe is a nod to an area of Liverpool?) – was lower than number three on the list.
Read our review of Western Approaches here.
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2.
Photo Credit: Courteeners – Ignition Records
Ok, anyone who knows me knows this was going to be in my top 10, but it genuinely is a fantastic album and I won’t hear otherwise.
“Pink Cactus Cafe” is Manchester band Courteeners seventh studio album and the follow-on from 2021’s “More, Again, Forever.”
I first heard “Solitude of the Night Bus” and the title single “Pink Cactus Cafe” when Courteeners did a warm-up gig at The Octagon in Sheffield back in Summer and honestly, I was blown away by “Solitude of the Night Bus” – “Pink Cactus Cafe” was a bit of a slow burner for me – but it made me excited for the album.
Courteeners have often been accused of sounding the same, and whilst I agree to some level, they do what they do well and it would be a bit mad to sway from the style they excel in – that said, they’ve injected a few different elements into this album without going off track too much.
The lyrics in a lot of songs target a lot of hard-hitting issues, including the cost-of-living crisis, mental health and relationships, they do this in a really subtle way and it adds to the depth of the lyrics in my opinion.
There is also some impressive collaborations on the album, namely Brooke Combe, DMA’s and Pixey.
The artwork is fantastic, it has a lot going on without being too in your face, with the subtle pinky hues and different
My standout tracks are “Solitude of the Night Bus”, “First Name Terms” and “Sweet Surrender”. – an album worth having in your collection.
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1.
Photo Credit: Shed Seven – Cooking Vinyl
Finally, the top spot goes to York’s own Shed Seven with their album “A Matter Of Time”.
Now when I first heard this album, it was recommended to me by a good friend and from the get-go I was absolutely hooked – I struggled to find anything bad to say about it.
I’ve always enjoyed a bit of Shed Seven, but this album took it to the next level, it has the perfect mix of that nostalgic brit-pop sound that we know and love from the band, but also some powerful lyrics, anthemic sounds and some bloody perfect collaborations with Pete Doherty, Rowetta and Laura McClure.
“Lets Go Dancing” is by far my favourite track on the album, it has lots of stunning elements, the violin, the brit-pop-esque twangs, the whole track is just perfect.
There are plenty of other tracks that are just fantastic, “Real Love”, “Let’s Go” – I could go on, listen to the album.
The album artwork is also brilliant, the symbolism of a newspaper on fire, maybe a nod towards ripping up the script, exploring their style and embedding what is a perfect comeback.
Of course since then, the band have followed up with “Liquid Gold” which is still amazing, but “A Matter of Time” just blew me away and I had it on repeat for a lot of this year.
Read our full review of the album here.
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Well, that’s that, my top 10 albums of 2024, it was an incredibly difficult choice from a vast choice of brilliant artists
this year, but ultimately, these are the ones that stood out – roll on 2025 and more fresh music!
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