ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2024

Ok, here we go!

Here's the links for our 2024 tracks poll for future reference:
ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2024
ILM 2024 Tracks Poll Ballots/Stats/Banter/Recriminations Thread

Here's the playlist(s):
Spotify Playlist

If anyone wants to build a matching YouTube / Tidal / Apple Music / Amazon Music - please share it. I'd like to request the mods if said playlists are shared please be so kind to add them to this opening post for visibility.

Huge thanks once again to seandalai for helping organize this poll and tabulate the results.

I slept 4 hours so hopefully I don't make too much mistakes today.

https://i.imgur.com/h0B5mPF.png
77. Zach Bryan - The Great American Bar Scene 138 points - 4 votes
Country superstar remains a deft chronicler of twentysomething in-betweenness.

Some good songs amid the murk.

here we go

hmm 4 votes for #77 and about 5 of my choices being already nominated by the time i got around to doing it... some of mine might have a chance!

https://i.imgur.com/kdtngue.png
76. Fennesz - Mosaic 138 points - 6 votes
Nearly a quarter century after his ambient glitch masterpiece, Endless Summer, the Viennese musician still seeks transcendence in the collision of guitar riffs and electronic treatments.

oh lol instant reward

loved it, as I do every fennesz album tbf

didn’t even know he’d released a new one

https://i.imgur.com/HCLceb9.png
75. WILLOW - Empathogen141 points - 5 votes
Throughout the record, she seems committed to tearing down barriers between her potential audiences, just as she enjoys pitting their tastes against each other.

Yeah had no idea either Fennesz released something last year but I’m enjoying what I’m hearing.

there was a bit of a chat on the fennesz thread

https://i.imgur.com/zzubMb2.png
74. Perfume - Nebula Romance (Part 1) 143 points - 5 votes - 1 º1 vote
Eighties synthpop has been an influence on several of Perfume’s past albums, but it’s on Nebula Romance: Part I that the group ventures further into this sound. The result is extremely impressive, because they bring to their nostalgic pop very captivating references to various dance genres that were on the rise at the same time as technopop.

I didn't get round to listening to this Perfume album properly, the fact that it's made it onto the list means I definitely should, right?

I liked it yeh but didn't find myself returning to it
will relisten now

willow record is so fucking amazing too low

https://i.imgur.com/yQFxDVp.png
73. Soshi Takeda - Secret Communication 144 points - 4 votes
The latest release from Tokyo deep house maven Soshi Takeda is weightless and beautiful, unhurried in its pleasures and smooth in its trajectory.

this was lush
maybe not comparable but as good as floating moutains

almost gave the Soshi Takeda my number 1 after one listen

Moka's romance not so secret now

who doesn't love the Ago Bay. So many little islands. Voted this high. Effortless vibes.

Moka's romance not so secret now

― Nabozo

Goddamit lol - I knew doing this while being sleep deprived would bring an error or two eventually.

so yeah... I mixed it up with the previous Perfume album title. sorry about that.

https://i.imgur.com/nTVaABh.png
72. Glass Beach - Plastic Death 145 points - 5 votes
plastic death is a staggering achievement: it might be four years later than planned, but give glass beach their flowers—they have more than earned them.

xxp

The Perfume album I think was a very timely divergence to a more concept-y album project. It's more of a single piece than their earlier albums, less a collection of gems. After so many pop masterpieces I found it to be a successful late career variation, beautiful, and promising for part 2.

Loved that Glass Beach.

who doesn't love the Ago Bay. So many little islands. Voted this high. Effortless vibes.

― maf you one two (maffew12), Tuesday, 4 February 2025 14:28 (five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

ILM's Top 77 Geographic Regions of 2024

glass beach also too low. expecting the rest of my ballot in the first day

The reason I have not listened to this is entirely because there are too many glass bands and too many beach bands

That Glass Beach album meshed the best parts of Clinic and early Radiohead.

but I'm listening to it now. this could be These New Puritans

had not heard this
sounding excellent

oh this was my number 9 or 10 or something, it fucking owns

psychedelically fractured dismemberment plan if they listened to way too much american football

That Glass Beach album meshed the best parts of Clinic and early Radiohead.

― the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

Oh I’ve been on a Clinic frequency lately. I should listen to this.

the music makes me think of Sim City, so that gets extra points

https://i.imgur.com/SL5SRkY.png
71. Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department 145 points - 6 votes
Taylor Swift advances the Midnights synth-based and diaristic formula, embracing increasingly sophisticated and minimalistic sonics on The Tortured Poets Department.

completely integrated, subtly mad-ambitious emoprog adventure that doesn't feel in the slightest bit gratuitous, this is someone's full truth

talking about ^that obv

I think people actually meant to vote for the ILM pre-covers version and voted this one by accident.

Glass Beach completely passed me by, the write-up sounds interesting though (this is probably going to be my stock comment in this thread, sorry!)

i didn't even try to vote for tpd because everyone hates it. still probably the most i cried to a record last year

lol @ T Swift being so low - definitely fallen out of ILM favour!

xp It's not *that* bad!

The Soshi Takeda is sounding very lovely

first glass beach record was amazing so I'm happy to see them place even though I missed the new one

On first listen Glass Beach makes me think of maudlin of the Well ? it's certainly well written but I'm not sure I fully understand what they are going for

Clinic and early Radiohead.

TTPD is a lot better than Midnights, but it's also def time to find a different collaborator than Jack.

https://i.imgur.com/fqPHA79.png
70. Merope - Vėjula 146 points - 6 votes
The title, which translates as “breeze”, is a neat metaphor for these eight tracks’ lightness of touch and calm enrichment, whether that’s shivering exquisitely in “Namopi” or tilting at Alice Coltrane’s Kirtan: Turiya Sings with “Rana”, the luminous and trippy, epic closer. - Uncut

First of my votes to appear. Thanks octobeard (or sleeve?) for recommending it in the 2024 aoty thread.

ah nice
namopi is so good

gorgeous record

a few albums i haven't heard! glass beach was a late cut for me. i think i prefer the gonzo maximalism of their debut but they have become brilliant songwriters and textualists

checked out merope when people were talking it up on the voting thread and yeah, it's really nice.

yeah it is nice and made my ballot, not the best stroom record of last year though, or even the second best imo!

re: taylor swift, i am truly sorry for starting the "underlick" tangent on the album thread haha. i do think that she and antonoff have a self-defeating feedback loop where she gives him her wordiest songs and he comes back with textured production that swells, but doesn't do much else

am feeling this Soshi Takeda album this morning.

100% recommend checking out the Stroom catalog overall, lots of really good stuff and a very consistent vibe throughout

have stuck this on and am already growing slightly impatient at the nummy piffle lol

feels like superior-grade This Sort Of Thing tho!

The reason I have not listened to this is entirely because there are too many glass bands and too many beach bands

Ha otm, any mention of this band would have slid right off my eyeballs. Listening now and it's really not my thing at all, but they're going for it.

I haven't delved enough into Stroom but that Milan W album has really been getting around (and will probably appear here?), and I like the Alepher record that has come up on other threads. Been meaning to listen to the new Voice Actor too.

I have cried uncle and moseyed off to the Takeda, which is sounding more like my kind of piffle

btw the Willow Smith I've heard before, it's quite good

https://i.imgur.com/EYjjl9C.png
69. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead 147 points - 5 votes
Godspeed’s new album is an incredible and emotional gut punch – likely their best since their re-emergence. It’s incredibly memorable, heavy and rousing.

Can report, the kidz absolutely fucking love this. I'm...not sure. But they've sure secured a new generation of superfans, gotta be doing something right eh (Big Vibes I suspect)

Listening now and it's really not my thing at all, but they're going for it.

― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Tuesday, February 4, 2025 10:20 AM (eleven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

glass beach go for a lot of things sometimes in the course of one song

Listening now and it's really not my thing at all, but they're going for it.

― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Tuesday, February 4, 2025 10:20 AM (eleven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yeah, I'm exhausted after two songs but I admire their pluck and derring do

Yay Merope!

love everything godspeed touch
this one no different

this merope album otoh is very lovely and I'll be listenign to this while I perform my new year's resolution of dedicating more time to reading books

the glass beach record was getting a lot of love on ilm when it came out. I expected ti to place higher than that. I guess I always miss where the hyped albums being talked about.

(Big Vibes I suspect)

imago can't abide vibes!

we may never know why

https://i.imgur.com/OsGdOtD.png
68. Pet Shop Boys - Nonetheless 148 points - 6 votes
It oozes class and confidence with a knowing nod or two what’s gone on before, they are as vital as ever and the pop world would be lost without them.

OK, a surprise.

Their best album since 2013 but their powers have def waned.

will never be surprised by these guys placing in any ilm countdown

Aw, this was nice

i was enjoying it until i got to 'the schlager hit parade'

I mean, god bless'em, they wouldn't be PSB without titles like "The Schlager Hit Parade."

Takeda album is demonstrating a significant PSB influence btw! Track I'm currently on sounds like I Want A Dog

a chihuahua

https://i.imgur.com/ZFWmQbf.png
67. English Teacher - This Could Be Texas 149 points - 5 votes
A breath of fresh air in modern guitar music, refusing to be constrained by any genre, This Could Be Texas is proof that English Teacher have already mastered their craft just one album in.

Voted the Tortured Poets pretty low — but still liked it a lot more than Midnights — and the GY!BE pretty high. I like the Merope and English Teacher albums too, but didn't make my ballot.

Pet Shop Boys are just a band I can never truly write-off. The last ten years haven't exactly been great for them. I cooled on Super very quickly, the Agenda EP was a low point of their career, that Cricket Wife single wasn't far off and Hotspot was Elysium levels of bland. I think my excitement for the latest album was the lowest it's ever been. I went from being pleasantly surprised to playing it over and over. It's not on the level of Electric, but easily their second best 21st century album.

would say it's almost as good as Electric! but yeah perhaps not quite

https://i.imgur.com/EACg2wK.png
66. Djrum - Meaning’s Edge 149 points - 7 votes
The UK producer and DJ’s thrilling, destabilizing tracks unfold with mind-bending complexity and effortless sleight of hand.

listened to english teacher earlier this year. wasn't expecting to like it after being put off by that "r&b" song ("i've seen more colors shows than kexps" congrats, good for you). "mastermind specialism" and the title track proved that they could make some beautiful music tho, love the interaction between bass and piano on the former. my preferred throwback to the high indie era came from tapir!

djrum very cool, "crawl" was inches away from my traxx ballot

Is this pronounced as “dj rum” or as if you were trying to say “drum” while heavily intoxicated?

I like the English Teacher album, but it does feel like they might still have a better record in them. Some of it reminds me of Delgados and there's a bit of Slint in songs like Not Everybody Gets To Go To Space. I really came to enjoy the ballads over time, especially those last few songs like Sideboob. I really got hooked on Nearly Daffodils which is the clear highlight and the direction I'd be happy to see them go in. Interested to hear where they go next.

Is this pronounced as “dj rum” or as if you were trying to say “drum” while heavily intoxicated?

― ✖✖✖ (Moka)

Ha, this was literally my first thought. It's very fun to do the latter.

just drum iirc

i am def willing to see where english teacher goes next because i absolutely adore their bass player. drummer is also no slouch

https://i.imgur.com/QTno4RB.png
65. MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks 150 points - 5 votes
Manning Fireworks resonates with its blend of lyrical depth, varied musical styles, and introspective themes. It’s an album full of punchy lyrics that stay with you long after the final note has been played. It’s not just a collection of songs, but as a cohesive, cinematic experience for indie music lovers.

Oh wow, didn't expect Djrum to place.

ah, the Himbodome

https://i.imgur.com/Afl6hlH.png
64. Nia Archives - Silence is Loud 153 points - 7 votes
Her trailblazer status has never been more assured.

Watching an English Teacher video, yeah all the indie kids have insta/youtube chops now, huh. Not a diss in this case, they sound great.

https://i.imgur.com/mRxrMQr.png
63. Xylitol - Anemones 155 points - 5 votes
Catherine Backhouse is equal parts scientist and artist on her joyous DIY record of ‘gutter kosmische’ for Planet Mu.

Oh yes, two of my votes in a row!

Voted for this one too. Amazing album.

I also cannot emphasise how great Xylitol & her partner's radio show is - we got them in to do a guest spot when we were running ours. Non-stop ex-Yu joy.

this Xylitol is cool, digging it, nice retro/future balance

https://i.imgur.com/iF5g6M9.png
62. Ex-Easter Island Head - Norther 155 points - 6 votes
On Norther, Ex-Easter Island Head show how these single and simple patterns repeated ad infinitum offer the potential for highly developed suites. One idea is soaped up into infinite layers creating sonic forms; poignant pieces brilliantly played by eight hands. Standing, as it were, in opposition to rock’s impetus, the band concentrates on individual phrases, which gradually develop, demonstrating the incredible beauty and possibilities of the electric guitar sound stripped of its rock ethos. They delve into the subtleties of sound exploration by attaining exceptional levels of sensitivity combined with fractious arrangement in order to showcase emotional beauty in a post-minimalist way.

that writeup is deeply terrifying for me

yeah i wasn't moved by this one

This doesn’t sound how I expected. It sounds interesting at first glance.

Last one for the day as I’m about to do some work.

https://i.imgur.com/mNCDf68.png
61. Chat Pile - Cool World 160 points - 6 votes
Chat Pile’s new album does not offer catharsis; it is just an unflinching account of the violence we inflict on each other on an individual and global scale.

a lot more math rock than their previous records but the title track is wonderful

xps

Oh-ho, and Ex-Easter Island Head is another vote of mine. I will repeat what I said on another thread - go see EEIH live! The recorded albums are good, but when they get in the zone live the mallet guitars stuff is basically mind-expanding techno. The mellower stuff is great too, but omg the rhythms.

love the chat pile record
choice track is shame

'masc' is awesome, first song they've done i'm fully on board for

YES

This is the stuff

was gonna say I've heard not one of these LPs so far but did get round to the PSBs a few months back

TS catching strays this award season

Someone on the tracks thread talked about MJ Lenderman's "She's Leaving You" as having boring lyrics or something like that but "You can put your clothes back on she's leaving you" makes me laugh every time that song starts.

Can't stand Chat Pile and I don't understand why they're flavour of the month in the metal world

Me and a few other ilxors saw Xylitol live last night cos she was supporting Trystwch Y Fenywod. Really good!

chat pile also didn't hit for me

I like Chat Pile, but since they seem to have a lot of young fans, I kind of think a bit part of it is kids who were too young to have experienced pigfuck or Jesus Lizard at their peak.

Ex-Easter Island Head was my big discovery from the noms, coincidentally recommended to me by one of my collaborators at the same time. I went back through all their records and it's so my thing.

Putting on the xylitol now. It's bad for dogs, hopefully good for humans.

ex-eastern island head reminds me of other steve reich-ish guitar stuff that's popped up during roll-outs past that i find it pleasant but doesn't stick, might have something to do with math idk

lost hope for all of my ballot except one today

I forget what all I voted for but I know my #1 and #2 are toast

I'm digging the Soshi Takeda album, nice to see a 100% Silk release on here

I'm still holding out hope that my lobbying might have helped 3776, but I wouldn't be surprised if it misses out. Not surprised, just sad ;_;

The Xylitol is way more classic jungle than I expected, but Planet Mu is certainly the perfect home for it.

This was over before I even got up.

1/25

i dug that Soshi Takeda release from a couple years back and got caught slippin and didn't know he'd put one out this year til i saw it in the noms list, in the end i placed it pretty high on my ballot. exceptional stuff.

I only listened to Xylitol once or twice but I liked it

Sorry to get all UK Indie Wars on you all but christ this English Teacher stuff is rancid, giving it a full hatelisten. Music is drab, lyrics are abominable. Does it even make sense as Mercurybait? I guess it has to

Namedrop another classic work of literature I *dare* you

That Norther record is really something, I would have voted for it had I remembered to vote in time. Would have also voted for Lenderman, which to me is pure musical comfort food, fuck the haters. English Teacher is a band I have avoided due to their having a terrible name but I'll give it a shot

Lenderman no longer has the worst lyrics in this rundown. I'm almost impressed lol

As usual the first day of the rollout is the one that includes a few of my votes. I don’t get why English Teacher is controversial. I like that they don’t stick to one narrow style, and the singer doesn’t just do the ironic monotone thing. I also voted for Chat Pile and Zach Bryan. Maybe the Bryan album could have been trimmed a bit but I don’t mind letting the whole thing play while fixing dinner or something.

English Teacher sound kinda whatever to me. Not horrible, just fairly anodyne art rock that doesn't do much for me. Some nice instrumental moments

Ok the Xylitol record is very nice, the dreamy arpeggios + tough breaks combo works really well. I was about to complain that it only uses Amens, but the last few tracks do mix it up a bit. It's the best one and I know what it signifies, but there are an infinite amount of other breaks out there to use too.

I don't think I will ever tire of the Amen break, but then again I'm not as steeped in that musical world as you are Jordan

I liked that Willow record! Way weirder and adventurous than I was expecting. Recommend people check out "False Self" for a taste.

would have voted Xyltol had i got it togeher to submit.

Me and a few other ilxors saw Xylitol live last night cos she was supporting Trystwch Y Fenywod.

how were Trystwch Y Fenywod?

Wow! So many from my ballot placed today (and some I should have put on, like Xylitol's, which is so beautiful and sadly I overlooked when it came time to submit).

Very happy Merope placed. We did it, sleeve!

I am a huge Fennesz record, and enjoyed Mosaic, but it wasn't memorable enough for me to vote for it. Stoked to see Godspeed, Djrum and Ex-Easter Island Head placed, they made my ballot. Didn't have enough room on mine for Nia Archives or English Teacher however, but I enjoyed both of them. Soshi Takeda's convenience store house is alse nice to see place, but felt it was more vibes than substance.

What a fantastic start!

lol should read I am a huge Fennesz fan, not record. brb getting coffee

how were Trystwch Y Fenywod?

they were pretty good! nice mixture of the ramshackle and the otherworldly. some of their stuff is a little on the plodding and dirgey side but i'm predisposed to like that stuff anyway, proper old school goth vibes, felt like i'd time-travelled back to some grubby dive in leeds in 1982 (the venue being a dank old railway arch did help a fair bit tbh). but the more caterwaul-y songs were pure magic to me, transportive in an entirely different way, really special. sold out show and most people were really into it i think

gotta say though that i think my lasting impression of the whole thing will be watching their singer gretchen dancing to xylotil during her support slot. there were a few people bobbing their heads a bit, but she was at the back dancing like the moving shadow logo come to life, zero inhibitions, i can't tell me how happy it made me feel :)

I'll get to Xylotil shortly!

I didn't expect to be saying this, but I'm quite enjoying EEIH

Thanks Nick. Sounds good to me, especially having once had a whitey (under-age) in some grubby dive in leeds in '82 (actually was '83).

the dancing to xylitol bit is fab!

voted for willow & glass beach, both wonderful prog-pop

i didn't vote for swift but the first half of ttpd is one of her best albums. i get the backlash from the public because she stopped caring about making hits but not so much the backlash here

english teacher and nia archives albums are nice enough, am not familiar with most of the rest

nia archives album sounding p good to me!

i stg if neither the Moin record or the CS+Kreme record place i will lose my mind.

hmm, you're giving me hope, i thought they were lost causes

was the CS + kreme record good ? I always just assumed snoopy was a lightning strike

oh damn did not know there was a new CS+Kreme!

listening to 2024 moin now. digging this

both the Moin and CS+Kreme were excellent, the Moin especially so.

everything cs+kreme put out so far has been good imo. queasy and unpleasant at times, but always interesting.

i thought michel banabila had a chance based on the response on some threads but i would've expected it on day one

Voted for Djrum and Nia Archives so far. Frekm blew my mind, it really sounds like a group jamming, except the instruments are flute, filter, echo, metal sounds, beats, etc. It felt so different, more like Can or Teo Macero era Miles.

Nia Archives is just a nice pop album. It's a bit like what I hoped the Erika de Casier would be like after Lucky.

I'm still annoyed about The Tortured Poets Department. So lazy. The thing about Folklore/Evermore is that she found a new collaborator in Aaron Dessner, and effortlessly turned his sketches into the best songs he has ever been involved with. Something like Tolerate It is a pretty tricky instrumental in 5/4, and she turns it into a hit. She could take any sound, work with anyone, and turn it into gold. And then her next hit was ten minutes long, how amazing was that? She's good enough to do anything, and bring her audience along. And then she just does that? Two hours of samey boring soundscapes with the diaristic but never really revealing lyrics that kinda got old years ago? I still think it's completely unacceptable.

I really figured out why I was so tired of her lyrics, when Charli XCX released the Lorde version of Girl, So Confusing. It seemed so brave and so kind to reach out to whoever that song was about, and allowing her to give her own version, to open up the song and let another perspective in. To risk a loss of control over the narrative. I look at the lyrics to TTPD, and manipulative is a strong word, but they're so closed off and one-sided, and I just don't care about that kind of thing anymore.

enjoying the xylitol album

Going to be getting to that riiiiight after another Nia Archives listen. I have a sneaky feeling I'm really going to like this. There are a lot of little melodic ideas

And this isn't even the right time of year for it!

Expecting Erika de Casier to sound this bangingly, maximally up fer it feels like a futile dream mind you lol

I didn't notice when Nia Archives ended and Xylitol began lol. The power of the Break

Erika de Casier could make an album of Lucky's and Super Shy's if she wanted to. But she doesn't :(

Xylitol is nice but I'm tempted to start a thread, or perhaps revive the thread about the "Great Fake Jungle Rush of 2013" where I co.mit the blasphemy of asking whether the amen break is so well-trodden it's basically a Roman road by now. Its really hard for me to get excited about people continuing to work within it and I haven't heard anyone do anything truly remarkable with it in a long long time

I think I prefer the Nia Archives to it, tbh - more of an interesting mixture

Still, y'know. Quietus staff gotta eat

I was expecting Nia higher. It's nothing groundbreaking but it's so solid and fun throughout.

and i know a lot of posters heard it. Xylitol is new to me, loving that!

The Djrum album reminds me of a more sedate Squarepusher

*mic check*

Still, y'know. Quietus staff gotta eat

― imago

I'm very confused by this post. What exactly are you implying here?

Sorry. seems like ilxor was down

https://i.imgur.com/s6jpcdq.png
60. Fabiana Palladino - Fabiana Palladino 164 points - 8 votes
It broadly succeeds because her songs - worked on with R&B guv’nor Jai Paul and her father Pino, a seasoned session player, and siblings Rocco and Giancarla - are elegantly poised. - Uncut

I'm saying that a steady diet of nice burbly UKtronica is a reassuring constant that nourishes what doughtily remains of the underground music media :)

Nice start to the day. Beautiful album.

I'm saying that a steady diet of nice burbly UKtronica is a reassuring constant that nourishes what doughtily remains of the underground music media :)

― imago

Well, that is far nicer than what I thought you were trying to say. Good save!

https://i.imgur.com/o5AY2AZ.png
59. Charli XCX - Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat 165 points - 6 votes
A companion piece that’s just as reflective of the zeitgeist as its parent album.

Hey, I quite liked the Xylitol, the Djrum and the EEIH! Quietuscore and I very much on speaking terms this year

If splitting Brat is what saves us from having it as our #1, well done seandalai and Moka

Ha, don't count on it

I didn't realise 'Brat & It's Completely Different...' was nominated separately from 'Brat'.

I did wonder how Moka was going to do the images with text-heavy covers, though. I've been loving the style of the images but figured there would be some where you wouldn't be able to crop correctly - Brat's simplistic cover style still works, mind you.

brat rmx was surprising good

i voted brat and spiritually in my mind it included this. though i realize that the album proper was tacked onto the end of the remix album, on streaming (that's the Also Still Brat bit which is excised on the coming vinyl of the remix album)

anyways i like how there aren't many rules in this poll and it's whatever. maybe some people voted both of them.

enjoyed most remixes, especially Caroline Polachek.

fabiana is the first of my votes to place. it's easy to get lost in her world

yeah excellent record I'm still playing

I didn't realise 'Brat & It's Completely Different...' was nominated separately from 'Brat'.

I did wonder how Moka was going to do the images with text-heavy covers, though. I've been loving the style of the images but figured there would be some where you wouldn't be able to crop correctly - Brat's simplistic cover style still works, mind you.

― emil.y

was thinking of just having a green square but then brat was also there.

you wanna guess the color of my...under square

I normally have to do the albums images like in 6 hours since tracks week consumes all of my time so the layout for the albums is usually very simple... I've had the issue every year of having albums with very long titles or a lot of artists in the credits effing up the layout.

I'll do one and think "ok this looks passable and easy to adapt 77 times"... and then comes someone like godspeed you! black emperor with a 20 word long album title.

https://i.imgur.com/nG1fCqI.png
58. Shellac - To All Trains 165 points - 7 votes
Released just 10 days after Steve Albini’s death, the trio’s sixth record closes the book on the band and serves as a reliably excellent epitaph.

Two guys from work who are not at work
You know the song, it's your favorite song
You are kicking ass on the song
High five
High five

i know there are more meaningful lyrics on the album but that bit cracks me up every time

(i did not vote in the poll)

I feel like the Shellac studio album journey has offered somewhat diminishing returns over the years, but they were still incredible live

my fave lyric is "POW, you're pregnant"

https://i.imgur.com/OptM6rQ.png
TIE 56. Michel Banabila - Unspeakable Visions 170 points - 6 votes
Unspeakable Visions is a sprawling canvas of psychedelic premonitions and memory-evoking music. Michel’s Banabila steadfast commitment to infusing folk-leaning elements into his electronic music creates a mind-bending experience. It’s a must-listen for those drawn to world music-inspired electronica.

nice

two in a row!

oh excellent, did vote for this
the little star / ai brainfire couplet my favourite of last year

would have probably voted in tracks poll if ai brainfire was nominated

https://i.imgur.com/9aVvNrS.png
TIE 56. Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future 170 points - 6 votes
On her enchanting, near-perfect fifth solo album, the singer, songwriter and Big Thief bandleader takes stock of the bonds she’s made and weaves them into her most sterling work to date.

michel banabila, yesssss

some of the rarest sounds and feelings of 2024 on unspeakable visions, only recommended for experienced vibeheads

I'm surprised a record like that had more votes than Brat rmx, I don't think I've registered anything about it until now.

same amount, but slightly more enthused

would have voted for Michel Banabila too. super album.

ai brainfire is incredible.

https://i.imgur.com/JyQ3BdJ.png
55. Rema - Heis 170 points - 6 votes - 1 º1 vote
Nigerian star’s stunning sophomore effort is the buzzy, visceral, sweat-it-out music that no one else in the mainstream is making.

Didn't vote for Bright Future but the Adrianne Lenker show I went to was absolutely magical, the crowd totally entranced and silent by her every note.

Too low :(

way too low but i didn't vote so

one of the last cuts from my ballot. crazy that it's basically the same team that made rave & roses

https://i.imgur.com/aFKVRAs.png
54. Pa Salieu - Afrikan Alien 171 points - 6 votes
After having his momentum halted by a hefty prison sentence, the British-Gambian rapper is back with a mixtape that’s both pensive and enthralling.

lol well that's my hypothetical 1-2 right one after the other

good album

https://i.imgur.com/mjywZNi.png
53. Dina Ögon - Orion 172 points - 5 votes - 2 º1 votes
One of the many aspects that sets Dina Ögon apart is their devotion to feel and musicianship. Their parts intertwine and complement each other in a way that can’t be manufactured simply by studio layering. They are talented producers, for sure, but the core of their sound is the live interplay between the musicians, which results not only in a dynamic performance but a sense of compassion and unity. This is an immensely talented band, and Orion, like its constellation namesake, inspires a sense of wonder.

HEIS way too low. An a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick straight to the head

https://i.imgur.com/Q5wXyHH.png
52. 3776 - The Birth and Death of the Universe through Mount Fuji 174 points - 5 votes - 2 º1 votes
“On this album, Chiyono Ide isn’t just an idol. She’s a god. Literally. She’s a deity overseeing the birth and the death of the universe, peppering maximalist, polyrhythmic pop songs with pedagogical descriptions of subatomic particles, molecular bonding, and planetary collisions. It’s fun. It’s immersive. It’s challenging. It’s perfect post-idol.” - RYM user ThirdEstate

Where's emily

Two guys from work who are not at work
You know the song, it's your favorite song
You are kicking ass on the song
High five
High five

― na (NA), Wednesday, February 5, 2025 10:21 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

i know there are more meaningful lyrics on the album but that bit cracks me up every time

― na (NA), Wednesday, February 5, 2025 10:22 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

✋🏾

I proudly voted for this

EEEEEEEEEEEEE YESSSSSSSSSSSSS

what's this then?

i liked this! not quite enough to vote for it but glad it made it in

Yes yes yes yes thank you my friends the cosmic cycle thanks you I thank you wheeeeeee

https://i.imgur.com/QSnWuRW.png
51. The Hard Quartet - The Hard Quartet 174 points - 6 votes 1 º1 vote
The Hard Quartet is like four suburban dads starting a garage band on a whim, only with prime beef musicians and a huge label behind them, and if that’s not charming in this day and age, nothing is.

woo!

this 3776 single version is a good taster. diet bobbins

I love a bit of Malk but the one song I heard by Hard Quartet was excruciating. Whoever was singing really shouldn't have been singing

xp that 3776 song was fun and catchy. I dig

the busier album version. do not adjust your speakers

https://i.imgur.com/msg678g.png
50. Rafael Toral - Spectral Evolution 178 points - 7 votes - 1 º1 vote
We often talk of visionary albums, but Spectral Evolution should be celebrated for how visual it is, cracking open the listener’s mind’s eye to reveal an animated landscape populated by rare and exotic creatures.

going to try and get a few djmartian saying 'sexy clown' style fps: what a great tit!! <<so mature

incredible record this

another one of my votes

one of my favourites to fall asleep to

It's very good

wow another vote of mine!

it's no Wave Field, but I dig it

https://i.imgur.com/gQWgGXq.png
49. Milan W. - Leave Another Day 182 points - 6 votes
The Belgian producer makes a hard shift into oaky, autumnal dream pop for an unusual suite of twisted love songs poisoned by toxic desire.

stroom represent! occupies a similar emotional space to some of the 2024 cs+kreme record imo

rafael toral is the first of my votes to place, maybe there is hope for a few others…

didn’t vote for it but it did get its claws into me after a few spins. kind of like zelienople if they listened to more lee hazlewood?

I’ve heard only 5 or so of the records today and all that’s placing so far sounds very interesting.

implicitly dissing...

https://i.imgur.com/LBlOtIA.png
48. Water Damage - In E 190 points - 5 votes
With multiple drummers, bassists, guitarists, and one gnarly violinist, this Austin collective turns repetitive rock music into a glorious mind eraser.

implicitly dissing...

― imago

Who, me? No, I really mean it. I haven’t had the chance to listen thru the winning albums yet and I’m curious about several of these by their descriptions.

oh yes! my #3

Oh I meant whatever you were going to post next lol

I enjoyed the one song from this in Music League but a whole album of it? Hmm

I mean, maybe they mix it up a bit...

milan w. was my literal last ballot cut (moin was my second-to-last, sorry guys), so i'm glad it got in

think water damage were in my top 3 in 2023 too

I’ve heard only 5 or so of the records today and all that’s placing so far sounds very interesting.

Lots completely new to me and looking forward checking them out

Water Damage was my #2, glad to see it here. Only discovered this band this year but I've listened to everything they've done multiple times. Maybe not for everyday listening, but when I'm in the mood, nothing is better.

I don’t get the Toral love— I listened to the record several times and it was pleasant enough but the enthusiasm and awe with which people write about it mystifies me.

i wouldn't describe it as pleasant

https://i.imgur.com/M7b08c0.png
47. Jlin - Akoma 192 points - 8 votes
On her dazzlingly detailed new album of experimental post-footwork, the Indiana producer pushes extreme rhythmic precision so far that it begins to feel psychedelic.

i have liked previous toral releases a lot more than last year's

Dina Ogon sounds sick so far, I sent it to my Swedish friend

this is from yesterday but boy this djrum album is fucking sick

(although on some tracks you can hear the reference a little too clearly, like track #3 on the Dina Ogon just made me put on Chaka's "Ain't Nobody").

fuck yeah Water Damage! I did not vote for this but I like them

Water Damage and Merope have been the two absolute killer discoveries from this rollout so far. Truly excellent, both of em.

https://i.imgur.com/pH62PPy.png
46. Tyla - Tyla193 points - 7 votes
The South African singer’s star-making debut is a lithe, contemporary take on pop-R&B that pulses with the log-drum heartbeat of amapiano.

^^ that's the stuff

^^ not damaged by "water"

Really glad to see the Hard Quartet place here at all. (I would’ve been happy even if it was 77.) My #1.

And that Water Damage album (which I also voted for) is wonderful.

Jlin another one of my votes - not followed her as closely in recent years as I did at the start of her career but that's a damn good album.

https://i.imgur.com/oERBcBM.png
45. Floating Points - Cascade 195 points - 9 votes
It’s Shepherd’s harnessing of electronic music’s power to tease your imagination to different places that makes Cascade such a wonderful club record.

Love these last three albums placing, I voted for the Jlin, it's her most interesting record yet

https://i.imgur.com/z7TTTvm.png
44. Oranssi Pazuzu - Muuntautuja 196 points - 6 votes
Oranssi Pazuzu’s sixth album is a relatively short but intense trip through shifting landscapes informed by psychedelia, space rock, trip-hop, krautrock and black metal, but belonging only to its own wayward impulses.

The Floating Points album is tremendous, easily his best imo, it's got it all.

This was good but considering their last album is still my AOTD frontrunner and I didn't have space for this on my ballot, perhaps a slight disappointment. Mind you, it's certainly intense, and the opening track kills as usual

xp Yup

I gave Oranssi Pazuzu a vote even if I'm still a bit unsure about it, I feel like I haven't quite given it the attention it deserves.

https://i.imgur.com/vMg82YJ.png
43. Tristwch y Fenywod - Tristwch y Fenywod 202 points - 7 votes
Tristwch Y Fenywod’s debut album is mysterious and intriguing, with gothic atmospherics intersecting rumbling repetition, sometimes kept in a steady, obscure, slightly disco mood. The somewhat magical lyrics combine social aspects, feelings of loneliness, relationships, or elements of magic in everyday life are hidden behind this esoteric music. It sums up a surreal contemporary fable about despair and the inevitable end. Accompanied by a steady trance, sacred-sounding strings, and a slightly funereal-sounding bass, they weave a magical tale set in a fantasy land in which language makes this musical story unique.

Oh cool! Was expecting it to place but I thought maybe we were too far in now - really glad to see it. I keep trying to pronounce the name properly but end up just saying "the goth band with her from Guttersnipe" instead.

Image is currently broken, btw - let me know if you need me to fix a url or a tag or something.

The Xylitol album is incredible

oops yes sorry, there was a typo on the title and forgot to change to the corrected img. Here's the url emily
https://i.imgur.com/vMg82YJ.png

last one for the day!

https://i.imgur.com/ofLswYB.png
42. Charly Bliss - Forever 203 points - 6 votes
This is the album the Brooklyn-based band were always capable of, each song shimmering with hooks, enticing vocals, and lyrics that fete the complexities of love, desire, and ambition.

found this such a let down after the first two records

it’s so good once you drop the baggage of them ever sounding like guppy again

feel like pure shit just want guppy back

I would rank them:
Young Enough > Forever >>>> Guppy

forever!! can't wait for another summer with it, one wasn't enough

been meaning to listen to the tristwch y fenywod

can any welsh experts teach me how to pronounce their name?

Solid day 2 - looking forward to checking out the Water Damage and Milan W. albums

can any welsh experts teach me how to pronounce their name?

not an expert but i'm guessing it's something like trrristoochhh oo venoo-od, where the 'oo' is like the 'oo' in moon, 'rrr' is a rolled r and the 'chhh' is like you just swallowed a fly and you're clearing your throat

Voted for a bunch of these today: Brat remixed, Adrianne Lenker, Rema, Pa Salieu, Dina Ogon, Charly Bliss. I was one of the 2 #1 voters for Dina Ogon (who was the other?), that album was my comfort zone all year. The groovy yacht rock fantasia I needed. Loved how hard Rema went. I agree Charly Bliss was not as strong as the last one, but strong enough!

thanks for obliging, nickb!

liking the album a lot so far, reminiscent of an (even more) celtic cocteau twins

this might be the first year where none of my votes place.

I know a smattering of mine will so I don't want to be too churlish about today's results but I certainly got punished for my Quietus jibe earlier lol

Only quietus blurbs from now on as punishment

Xpost: I have no access to the ballots but I wouldnt be so sure about that. I think brat might make it.

voted for rema, pa salieu and adrianne lenker. tyla was one of the last cuts from my ballot.

delighted to see 3776 place even though i didn't vote for it - my only issue with it is just it's too much lol

fabiana palladino is immaculately produced but i don't think the songs are very strong in the end, i wanted to like it more than i did

brat remix album is way better than that sort of thing usually is but it's still only ok in the end

I love a bit of Malk but the one song I heard by Hard Quartet was excruciating. Whoever was singing really shouldn't have been singing

there are a few great songs on it ("heel highway", "six dead rats", "hey") that are the most pavement-esque he's done since pavement but the rest is pretty forgettable

I was one of the 2 #1 voters for Dina Ogon (who was the other?)

hi dere! :D

tristwch y fenywod have an interesting sound but the songs are pretty tuneless, nothing grabs me about it at all unfortunately

Voted for Rema, Rafael Torral and Jlin yesterday. Rafael Torral was the one album I heard in the voting period, which made it's way to the list. Really strange but fascinating. I'm fifteen years too late wrt footwork, but I love the more textural/collage approach people like Jlin and Jana Rush are working with.

ufo mirroring my own experience alas

same,imago-/ listened and was like, okay, where are the songs

can any welsh experts teach me how to pronounce their name?

Basically TRIST-UCH UR VENNER-WAD

(with the U in UCH more of an OO sound - as it sounds in LOOK)

I don't know, is the sound really that interesting?

I don't know, is the sound really that interesting?

I don't know, is it?

totally lost here

curious who the second #1 for 3776 was. not me,despite my enthusiasm

Ooh, the Rema album has instantly gotten my attention

Excellent leaving-the-flat music. It's gonna be a hype lunchtime

Yeah that Ipswich V Feyernoord album - i think i was a little bit underwhelmed at first but by the end of the album i was totally absorbed. the last three tracks are really where it's at for me, they start doing more of a screechy no-wave sort of thing, like early Ut with zithers. 'Where are the songs?' seems like a moot question for me in this case

also kept thinking it would make a great soundtrack to my next watch of Enys Men

lol I liked that film well enough but my feelings on the prospect of a rescreen probably betray why I'm not part of that album's natural audience either

https://i.imgur.com/6O14s6M.png
TIE 40. LL Cool J - The Force 210 points - 7 votes
The lengthy process to complete the album does not appear to have affected its quality, as it’s the best LL project in nearly three-and-a-half decades.

I'm glad people are having fun with ll and q-ip, but it does make me sad that there are great rap records from youngsters like sahbabii that likely won't place while this does

https://i.imgur.com/vybuX14.png
TIE 40. Being Dead - EELS 210 points - 7 votes
With deceptively lo-fi hooks and a playfully oblique approach, the Austin rock duo crafts songs that are goofy, serious, innocent, and knowing all at once.

Alright let's try this

for a minute, assumed this was somehow by 90s band the Eels

wooooo being dead!

Feel like this has a bunch of influences in common with a lot of my formative UK indie

I only heard of this because of the ILM thread, but it's really good and I voted for it.

for a minute, assumed this was somehow by 90s band the Eels

― silverfish

It still takes me a minute to read it the right way, honestly.

Not sure the harmonies/melodies/songs are there

https://i.imgur.com/xKmDluf.png
39. Tinashe - Quantum Baby 212 points - 7 votes
Quantum Baby isn’t Tinashe’s masterpiece, but it is a record that excellently displays both why she deserves to be taken seriously and why the mainstream is better off for her presence within it.

ll cool j way too low

https://i.imgur.com/11fNjUK.png
38. Jeff Parker ETA IVTet - The Way Out of Easy 213 points - 10 votes
For now, though the LA bar where Jeff Parker and the ETA IVtet performed in every Monday has closed, a little bit of its energy lives on, whether they’re playing a jam that sounds like it could go on forever or a tune that’s always changing and feels like it could end at any minute.

i thought on the first being dead album that they had a lot of ideas and not a lot of songs, but in eels they figured something out, the ideas serve the songs and aren’t just splattered next to each other (tho they are still a little splattered next to each other)

love the ll cool j album

LL album has held up for me well past the expected "Oh it's nice to hear him again" reaction. Q-Tip obviously deserves a lot of credit, but LL really showed up.

https://i.imgur.com/TPOFOz0.png
37. Chief Keef - Almighty So 2 215 points - 7 votes
The long-teased sequel to his cult-classic mixtape is a highlight in the Chicago rapper’s career, bringing the first-wave drill he helped popularize screaming into the future.

now we're talking

Surprised at both Tinashe and Chief Keef being this low. Not that I voted for them, but liked the albums.

almighty so 2 absolutely a career highlight

alright

Whenever I told people last summer the new Chief Keef album was fire they quietly edged out of the room

so many highlights on this (even a tierra whack feature!)

Hooray Being Dead!

any doubters who still aren't sold on keef after hearing something like runner or 1, 2, 3 not worth wasting time on

I've stuck it on. So far so kino

https://i.imgur.com/TD6y3tR.png
36. Confidence Man - 3am (La La La) 222 points - 6 votes
On their truly excellent third album, Janet Planet and Sugar Bones hurtle with abandon towards the dancefloor and onto festival main stages.

https://i.imgur.com/IJp2XKj.png
35. Skee Mask - Resort 226 points - 8 votes
Byran Müller’s latest LP plays like a guided tour of his catalog. It’s some of his warmest and most inviting music to date.

Currently experiencing deep regret, having abandoned an enjoyable Chief Keef listen halfway through to check out Confidence Man. I don't think I can return as I no longer like music

oh nice.. nearly voted for the less chill other Skee Mask nom (ISS010)

yeah i don't get it at all with confidence man

Surprised at both Tinashe and Chief Keef being this low. Not that I voted for them, but liked the albums.

Tinashe would be higher for a proper album. It was a fantastic 22 minutes tho

https://i.imgur.com/nmmZUF0.png
34. Broadcast - Spell Blanket (Collected Demos 2006-2009) 230 points - 6 votes - 1 º1 vote
This is where the heart is, in these first takes and early demos, when the sentiment is true and the feeling is pure. The whole thing is an abundance of riches that illustrates how versatile and special Broadcast could be. - Uncut

yay another vote of mine, love this one

https://i.imgur.com/6g9DDT7.png
33. Holy Tongue meets Shackleton - The Tumbling Psychic Joy of Now 232 points - 7 votes
Holy Tongue’s ecstatic dub and Shackleton’s meandering mix of meditative and off-putting production seemed a little far out for a whole record—in theory. To the contrary, the result finds them in joyful, eerie form. The Tumbling Psychic Joy of Now is indeed far-out, but it’s in that distance that the two form their tightness. Holy Tongue provides a rhythmic framework through which Shackleton roams with off-kilter synth pleasantries. The two often meet each other in the middle of the jam and collapse into a new form without having changed all that much.

Voted for the other Broadcast compilation. They're both incredible though.

Skee Mask at 35 <3

oh nice.. nearly voted for the less chill other Skee Mask nom (ISS010)

― maf you one two (maffew12), Thursday, February 6, 2025 9:35 AM (twenty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

They are both awesome.

dang another one I voted for! this blew me away, I think someone mentioned it in the voting/hype thread

The Skee Mask is lovely stuff. I don't really understand the plethora of electronic micro-genres referenced in that review, but I know what I like, and it's This Kind of Thing.

While I'm a Broadcast stan, I haven't listened to this because I always feel weird about listening to a band's demos. I feel doubly weird about it when one of the primary voices in said band is not around to give their OK to it. I don't mean to imply there's anything wrong with listening to or liking this record, just voicing my own neurosis I should probably get over.

I might be mixing this Shackleton up with the Nyege Nyege Tapes record which is even better, can't remember if I voted for both

I voted for the other one, with Scotch Rolex - if I like that will I like this? NB the draw for me with that one was definitely DJ Scotch Egg and not so much Shackleton.

it doesn't have that frenetic Nyege vibe iirc

very glad to see Broadcast on here, I figured they might not make it because it isn't "new" music, but everything on this collection is gold

https://i.imgur.com/DuIT0gX.png
32. Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal 238 points - 8 votes - 1 º1 vote
On her most ambitious and musically diverse release to date, the TDE rapper and singer meets the pressures of success with defiance and irreverence.

with holy tongue 2024 all-star drummer valentina magaletti makes another appearance in the countdown, will it be the last?!

I also voted for a different Valentina Magaletti record!

Surprised Doechii is this low, tbh

same

TDEious

Confidence Man at Glastonbury was one of my musical highlights of the year. I seldom want to listen to them on record though

Actually that's not ture - they've got loads of bangers. Didn't realise 3AM (La La La) was actually an album, doh - assumed it was a single

Magaletti is so prolific. I can't remember my ballot but I at least considered voting for 4 records all from different bands she's in.

https://i.imgur.com/ezo0dOu.png
31. Still House Plants - If I don’t make it, I love u 246 points - 7 votes
Powered by Jessica Hickie-Kallenbach’s astonishing singing, the British trio explore Dilla-time funkiness and math-rock detail.

yes! it's unreal! so prolific, so varied, and everything she was involved in was great. really amazing xpost

okay, well ‘Resort’ was on my list so i am not totally disappointed, even tho i thought the other Skee Mask record was much better

So many people whose tastes I like love this Still House Plants record so I tried it multiple times but it just bores the shit out of me. I can't figure out what I'm not seeing.

https://i.imgur.com/STCQvKM.png
30. Tems - Born in the Wild 246 points - 8 votes
She’s already expanded the sound of Nigerian pop. Her excellent debut album gives her music even more body and soul.

So many people whose tastes I like love this Still House Plants record so I tried it multiple times but it just bores the shit out of me. I can't figure out what I'm not seeing.

― Doctor Madame Frances Experimento, LLC", Thursday, February 6, 2025 10:38 AM (ten minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

+1

I like this Tems album but I’d probably cut 4 tracks from it to make it more concise.

I find the Still House Plants vocals ugly

Still House Plants was my #2 and would have been my #1 if I wasn’t voting a bit tactically. I don’t think there’s anything hidden to get about it, it just simply spoke straight to me and hit me really hard. Beautiful and deeply moving music.

had no idea about this shackleton album

TDEious

― devvvine, Thursday, February 6, 2025 11:23 AM (twenty-nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i like the album but do quickly see her becoming part of the “i hate all rap besides” crowd, which will be lucrative for her if nothing else. she’s an incredible talent and i can’t wait for her to make an album or song that i unreservedly love

https://i.imgur.com/2tnaW0h.png
29. Saint Etienne - The Night 250 points - 8 votes
The Night is a meditative journey through sound, seamlessly blending moments of quiet introspection with richly textured ambiance. The hyponic ambience that they’ve crafted must be experienced.

I had no idea Saint Etienne brought out an album last year

Based on what I’m reading I wasn’t expecting an ambient album from St Etienne. This has piqued my interest.

Saint Etienne placing so high feels very ILMy.

(NB I haven't heard it so am making no statement about whether it deserves to be here.)

tems album was lovely but there was something missing. highs were extremely high but it didn't cohere

https://i.imgur.com/h3nuOi8.png
28. Donato Dozzy - Magda 252 points - 8 votes
Magda is Dozzy’s richest and most complete full-length statement in some time, eschewing the narrow focus of much of his solo work in order to highlight his strengths as a producer.

Could have sworn this placed on the 2023 poll but it was released in January 2024.

pleased to see this place

well aren't we all such grown-up sophisticates

why thank you *adjusts bowtie*

can't all be trash babies

no blown out anime voices, no credibility

Yay, I was worried this wouldn't make it. For a long time it was my aoty, just exactly the sweet spot between drawn out and concise.

https://i.imgur.com/CDaEJTX.png
27. Mount Eerie - Night Palace 273 points - 7 votes - 3 º1 votes
It just finds this fantastic middle ground, not only in the way that its frantic smattering of ideas somehow presents not as overwhelming, but comforting - the exuberance infectious, the fuzz electric - but, also, in how Night Palace ties in with the broader Elverum catalogue.

wow three first place votes

to be really real, i haven't listened to this album (or jeff parker) because it has become really really hard for me to find 80 uninterrupted minutes to do anything, let alone listen to an album. maybe on my next long car ride i will fire them up back to back

Confidence Man dude's voice is ear repellent

I've heard this somehow (long train journey lol). Some of it is good. Some of it isn't so good. Demolition is just about the worst song I heard all year. I guess, props for, um, scope?

i was one of the first place mount eerie voters, have had a hard time listening much else since it came out. i guess people are either in or out on elverum at this point, but as someone who is ‘in’ this is a real triumph.

Well, I'd certainly say it's worth anyone's while hearing it

forever mountainous

We're in a bit of an oldies stretch, but all oldies I like at least a bit and can imagine these records are good (will I listen to them and find out or will I get distracted and do something else? Stay tuned!)

im one of the other 1st place mount eerie people. love it very much. his whole career has been one hell of a journey and this is definitely in the top tier.

Really would’ve expected Doechii in the top 20

Holy Tongue x Shackleton is my favorite of Magaletti and Shackleton records this year, and I think I voted for multiple from both.

The Donato Dozzy seemed nice as first, but I kept going back to it and it became beguiling.

https://i.imgur.com/Gtyexj9.png
26. Kali Uchis - Orquídeas 279 points - 11 votes
Uchis dazzles on her sanguine fourth album, a genre-hopping Spanish-language LP that is a celestial joyride from beginning to end.

so good

(gotta say the 'regular' Holy Tongue albums and eps are even better than the collab)

My first favorite album of 2024.

magda and LL too low imo

https://i.imgur.com/DLT7WF6.png
25. Nala Sinephro - Endlessness 281 points - 11 votes
Nala Sinephro’s Endlessness is music that is good for the ear, the mind, the heart, and the very future of the philosophical orientations of jazz.

late cut off my longlist

love it

https://i.imgur.com/3YBuQ5l.png
24. Béyonce - Cowboy Carter 286 points - 8 votes - 1 º1 vote
Straying far beyond its original country concept, the musician’s eighth album straddles the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the blues – and Becky with the Good Hair via Dolly Parton’s Jolene.

a more prestigious honor than a grammy award, to be sure

alright which one of you is a member of the recording academy

We now pause this countdown for a star-studded defense of vampiric record contracts.

eyeroll grows more pronounced

Rolling Stones ftw

"riiverdance," "bodyguard," and "yaya" are really good. "ii most wanted" has grown on me. idk if i would play any others voluntarily

Love that Nala Sinephro placed. More subdued than her last record but still beautiful

Wait… I fucked up. sorry everyone I was also helping organize the Grammys this year and we got some of the ballots mixed up. Here is our actual #24:

https://i.imgur.com/CQiZBbd.png
24. Moin - You Never End 286 points - 8 votes - 1 º1 vote
The UK trio—rock-informed, techno-adjacent—taps friends and peers for unconventional guest vocals and finds new life in squalling guitars and asymmetrical rhythms.

Lol

lol

I didn’t think Cowboy Carter was that reverted here. Good fake.

Oooh you cheeky so-and-so, Moka.

lmao

excellent

2866 points!!

Lol it’s 286 I accidentaly added the Grammy points for Moin. No more mistakes I promise

haha

MOIN, best band ever. if you're coming to them out of context i gotta say all their records are good and their previous work as raime—especially the later records like tooth and planted—is incredible and has more of a foot in the ambient textures they started with. ofc moin has magaletti on drums so that's value added. year of magaletti

Is table still around or did he ragequit the countdown?

it has always been my dream for a techno outfit to transform into a post-hardcore band, can't believe it took me so long to listen to them

eyes emoji

oh i am glad this made it so i don't have to be guilty about making it my last cut

if i voted a couple weeks later this would have 100% made it. i made room for it to lend a hopeless vote for an artist whose home was apparently destroyed in the altadena fire (brijean)

(i also donated to her gofundme, ilm votes are not the extent of my support lol)

lol Moka

FUCK YES

https://i.imgur.com/SCeHvvZ.png
23. Fievel Is Glauque - Rong Weicknes 300 points - 9 votes - 1 º1 vote
The Brooklyn/Brussels jazz-pop outfit’s second full-length album is the sound of music fanatics mashing together textures or influences that thrill them.

fwiw, i had ignored the Moin record when it came out but then in early December picked it up because a good friend kept raving about it— quickly became my number one of the year. “C’mon Dive” came on a few weeks ago as i was driving home from work on an icy night and i just stopped the car in a parking lot and looked at the Philly skyline for a while. incredible record.

aaaaand now one of mine too :D

looking fwd to the moin

FIG album starts with a bang but goes to some deep & wild zones later on, a real jazzpop-in-opposition jaunt

fievel album is an incredible achievement. 10000 threadcount music

https://i.imgur.com/nMjQFjh.png
22. Mabe Fratti - Sentir Que No Sabes 304 points - 11 votes
Sentir que no sabes is a surprising and accessible entry point to Mabe Fratti’s fast-growing catalogue which doesn’t abandon her avant-garde tendencies.

dope album i didn't hear until she placed on the tracks countdown, thank u ilm

great run of albums this

Last one for the day

https://i.imgur.com/WnThbkg.png
21. Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft 309 points - 12 votes
Are we finally seeing the artist behind the baggy-goth avatar? Interrogating her public image and fan culture, Eilish delivers a restless album that is equal parts sighing and squalling.

Im not keen on the Billie Eilish album. I feel she kinda jettisoned everything that was interesting about her on the new one

This Moin album - really interesting that they started as a kind of post-dubstep/goth-grime type band and now they're doing this. I'm just not sure I like the sound of either Raime or Moin really, much as I'm intrigued by bands who change direction but keep the core aesthetic

Kind of the opposite of the way Black Dice went

OK, not sure why I held off listening to the Moin record. Love Raime and this is already great two tracks in. Love how dry the drums are. It's making me think of Oxbow and The For Carnation.

moebius off the xylitol album reminds me of the girl with the sun in her head

moin!!

(Avoiding the S word but yeah.)

Voted for 4 of the last 6: Kali, Nala, Mabe, Billie. All superb.

Yeah this Moin album is cool, not even aware of them. I voted for the Mabe Fratti, also very cool.

I do find Moin a bit emotionally sterile, all very cool and I do enjoy that guitar tone tbh but there’s nothing in it that really makes me feel anything. Give me I dunno Jesu or something any day.

Voted for Mabe Fratti. That was the first record I’ve heard from her and I was initially a bit confused by the combination of the almost pop clarity and beauty of her vocals and the prog-ness of the music. it all made lots more sense when I saw her live, which was a whole lot heavier than I expected and you realise how much she explores the whole breadth of sound-making potential of her cello in her music.

Can certainly hear the sterility, for me it's hitting in the way say Slint's sterility does — like oil floating on murky water, there are things moving underneath.

So is Moin the joke placement or is Beyoncé?

Because it sounds like people are more positive about Moin.

Who would have thought that Beyoncé would someday be a joke placement in an ILM end of year countdown?

That’s why I’m confused. I’d expect a mediocre Beyonce record to place in an ilx poll, same as a mediocre PSB record, and Moin sounds like the name of a 5th tier britpop act.

I thought it was a joke placement as I assumed it was going to be higher in the poll

Is it just me or does this Mabe song sound a lot like Broadcast’s Tears In The Typing Pool?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG7fzGbO9nw

I’m a bit surprised on how lukewarm the response to Beyonce on the eoy polls was. I don’t know if being released so early in the year - and in a year stacked with important pop releases - affected its chances. Thought Bodyguard had a strong chance in the tracks poll too.

(and of course that’s not just a shallow ploy for me to show you how amazing she is live)

xp

She also didn’t seemed interested in promoting the album or its singles with music videos and such.

plus yknow. the jay-z stuff

I consider myself a fan of Beyonce (and a big fan of country), and I found Cowboy Carter to be her weakest collection of songs since I am Sasha Fierce. The nicest thing I can say about it is that it's a big ambitious statement project, and I appreciate that she's still pushing herself to make ALBUMS in the streaming age. Do I ever want to listen to it again? No thanks.

That "Oidos" performance is great. I wouldn't have made the Broadcast connection but maybe, i love both.

Cowboy Carter was one of a series of major pop releases in the first half of last year (see also: Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Kacey Musgraves, Taylor, etc) that just...didn't really excite me at all. I wouldn't call it bad (well, perhaps aside from the Jolene cover) - there are some great songs on it and I do have some admiration for the ambition à la Indexed, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it felt like a huge post-Renaissance comedown.

Cowboy Carter was just so long, and felt like three albums awkwardly combined into one. I loved one of those albums, and it would have made my top ten if it had been released on it's own, but I never wanted to listen 45 minutes of other stuff to get to it.

buncha New Jersey action goin on w/that stuff imho

Taylor Swift making this list anyway with her even longer album kinda invalidates that critique, though. That was Be Here Now levels of over the top badness.

oh yes, making the list at (checks thread) #71, how impressive

So Beyoncé was the joke?

yes, I believe so

Huh weird artist to do that with tbh

lol why, everyone seemed to agree it was one of the better fakeouts

Beyoncé deserves better

Well, that's why it worked?

ymmv

Sorry :(

For what it’s worth I wasn’t making fun of her or the album, I just chose the one that would actually fool people into thinking it was a real placement and due to the recent set of grammy wins it seemed like the one more ripe to do the job.

I actually like the album better than some of the albums in the top 77.

Cowboy Carter is actually our #217… which is way too low for an album vastly superior than many above it.

Gee, I voted for all of Broadcast, Holy Tongue/Shackleton, Still House Plants, Doechii, Fievel Is Glauque and Mabe Fratti from this batch. Though (apart of Doechii) these all felt weirdly like dutiful "residual loyalty despite preferring earlier efforts" style votes that I might have predicted on Jan 1st 2024, lol.

(Similar vibe with Saint Etienne and Nala Sinephro, I guess, but they were waaaay easier to displace from my ballot for whatever reason!)

are we allowed to guess what's next or...

i say yes but maybe use the hide text thing for people who get annoyed by it?

i am here specifically for vc's predictions.

thanks for another good day of rollout+banter. excited for the top 20.

aight here you go: charli, sabrina, the cure, cindy lee, mk.gee, kendrick, vampire weekend, jessica pratt, magdalena bay, cassandra jenkins, nilufer yanya, arooj aftab, clarissa connelly, erika de casier plus six more

did autechre and/or underworld release albums this year?

the latter did

if elucid doesn't make it you've all fuckin fumbled the bag

vaguely hope foxing stand a chance but they probably don't

ok then there are five mysteries to me

i voted for the former, imago, but i think you and me might've been the only ones

OH

xiu xiu

clairo?

Blood Incantation, Astrid Sonne?

Beth Gibbons?

oh yeah ofc

Surely Kim Deal will place. I'll be sad tho not surprised if Kelly Lee Owens doesn't show, I'd have expected her before now.

hidden text surely a lock

I opted for last minute track votes instead of longplayers for Chief Keef and Elucid. I'm open to the idea that I may have erred.

the last dawn richard and spencer zahn album made the top 10, but not sure if this one was as well received around here (if anything i liked it more)

would've expected julia holter to make the 77 tbh

I think Kelly Lee Owens is a lock

a lot of the folks mentioned are ones i voted for, but nv 100% otm.

mine: DUDE KALI UCHIS YA'LL SLEPT ALL FUCKEN YEAR GOD DAMN IT WAS HER BEST ALBUM

lol thank you all for the hidden tags, this is my least favorite part <3

Appetite for Destruction

voted for chief keef, mabe fratti, mount eerie, and fievel is glauque today

tems album was good but there were quite a few other afrobeats albums i preferred last year

tinashe mini-album was ok but weaker than last year's

billie eilish album was kinda bland in the end, wasn't exciting in the way that happier than ever was

i could see erika de casier, nilufer yanya or vampire weekend, missing out completely, i don't think enthusiasm for their albums this year was anywhere near as strong as it had been previously

if wizkid misses out entirely that'd be a bit surprising but his album this year did kinda floated under the radar (it was very good though)

dawn richard missing out entirely would be a bit surprising too but her album also didn't seem to get much attention

oh whoops

lol

I found the Billie album a bit frontloaded. The one-two-three punch of lunch-chihiro-birds of a feather are amongst the best songs Finneas and her have ever written and everything in the middle has a hard time comparing to those highs.

A little late, but here is an Apple Music playlist in case it is of use to anyone:

https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/ilms-top-77-albums-2024/pl.u-xlyNjg2Tpp0Xld

This one is missing: 52. 3776 - The Birth and Death of the Universe through Mount Fuji

I'll add tomorrow's results once they are revealed...

Few i don't think I've seen mentioned that could possibly make it (and I'd be quite surprised if none of them did)

Waxahatchee, The Fauns and Sault. Outside chance for Goat maybe too?

Yeah!
Have been looking forward to this thread.
Thanks everyone, and especially thanks for the little write-ups...
Lots of stuff new to me. Am adding to my bandcamp wishlist and will listen when I can...

Gotta say, I was expecting more from Moin than 'Arab Strap with an extra distortion pedal'

I get these are troubling times but I don't get why the musical response has to feel so supine, defeated

drummer's good though, does she have any other stuff

'to read in a time of war' urrrrrrrgh

could really burn this all down if i take on all the bien-pensant pablum. sinephro, j'accuse. okay no lol. positivity. put chief keef back on

have you listened to the Mabe Fratti album yet imago?

when i go for a walk this lunchtime i'll stick it on, worked for rema :)

also let me go on the record and say i enjoyed the tinashe

I get these are troubling times but I don't get why the musical response has to feel so supine, defeated

― imago, Friday, 7 February 2025 09:17 (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

any (decent) art made my people in their thirties in the uk should probably be considered alongside the defeat of the corbyn project like french cinema of the 70s and may '68

where are the alpha 60s then lol

where are celine and julie. WHERE

instead it's a sea of existentially mired lancelots by the lake of sorrow (i do love that film tho ngl)

where are the alpha 60s then lol

― imago, Friday, 7 February 2025 10:34 (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

lmao 1965 that would explaaaain it

On first listen, I think Moin are achieving something quite special. It feels raw and heartfelt, very focused. I get Beat Happening vibes (if they weren't twee but darker) + something produced by Albini. I've just finished it and I'm putting it right back on. Agree about the drummer. I don't know what's their creative process but I suppose there's a collaborative element that is really needed in rock as opposed to being the expression of what's in some guy's head.

oto-fication of indie music (positive)

I guess I find them hypnotic too, and they find some very pleasing guitar riffs

yeah sorry Moin doesn’t sound like dull sophisto-pop or a bunch of neuroatypical Japanese teenagers given a heavy dose of crank and some synthesizers, imago. the Moin album is excellent, it is you that are wrong

eh they’re just the boomkat bitch magnet

eh, the new record means something to me, and i like their previous records quite a bit too, so the cynics can eat it

vampire weekend will place

I suspect imago was kidding, but if you genuinely don't know the drummer in Moin is Valentina Magaletti

I get these are troubling times but I don't get why the musical response has to feel so supine, defeated

― imago, Friday, February 7, 2025 4:17 AM (four hours ago)

kind of amazed you're still doing this bit. do you really, in your heart of hearts, believe this narrowly in a singularity of aesthetics and politics with the former always presiding over the latter? anyway, the Sinephro album is beautiful, I pity your ears :)

lol at how the Mabe Fratti album begins, the sort of jape that gets the attention yknow

there's a conversation to be had about aesthetics and politics and their ideally symbiotic relationship, but uh SAVE US MOKA

i actually agree with imago about the Sinephro record, found it rather worse than the first.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

i am just glad the Moin placed above what was, for me, the most overhyped and underwhelming record of the year, the Jeff Parker IVtet record. at least i soulseeked it and didn’t pay for it, had no qualms just deleting it from my library.

ftr I ended up quite liking It's Messy Coping. i think with a different vocal approach (Dry Cleaning's for example) i'd have gotten a bit more out of it. it does have some nice sonic ingredients, bits of Mogwai/Slint and so on

there's a conversation to be had about aesthetics and politics and their ideally symbiotic relationship

Adorno had notably bad music taste, for the record.

hey theo, how d'ya like the moin record?

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b146c_292ba78cba97464b9c2c73c1d97bf903~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_350,h_285,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/9b146c_292ba78cba97464b9c2c73c1d97bf903~mv2.jpg

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

haters gonna hate

Schoenberg is bad taste? Are you geir in disguise?

they both hated jazz iirc

it is funny to me that NickB is doing this bit, when the only thing i can think is “overserious depressive German hates something i like? good”

oh i'm just dicking about cos it's too rainy to go to work, don't mind me tabes, all love here

I love Adorno, but man, no jazz, no pop = no joy.

tbc I don't care if people like or dislike the Sinephro record as a record. and fwiw I wasn't that grabbed by Moin, as much as I love Magaletti's work, though maybe I'll give it another chance. I put a random track on, and it's more interesting than I remembered.

What I'm semi-seriously objecting to is what I see as imago's tendency to present his taste preferences as not just aesthetically correct (dubious but hey that's what ilm is for) but politically virtuous or even politically effective somehow, and this argument gets put forward with little to no reference to any material reality or collective action or anything, well, political aiui.

So Sinephro is "supine" in the face of fascism, while [imago fave artist] is advancing the vanguard of...idk what — apart from imago's personal conceptualization of musical aesthetics — which is part of the problem, but maybe he can explain (on another thread? I understand these posts are almost certainly unwelcome on the final day of the poll). I find it solipsistic; even a politics of affect must allow/account for the role of a range of affects no?

only thing i’m sure of: adorno would’ve hated miguel

It should have been Siskel & Ebert & Adorno.

nick - i know!

xps

oh i figured NickB, i also do bits obv.

i just honestly had an emotional resonance with the Moin record, so have some attachment to it.

only thing i’m sure of: adorno would’ve hated miguel

― gestures broadly at...everything (voodoo chili)

I only just got this, lol

only thing i’m sure of: adorno would’ve hated miguel

― gestures broadly at...everything (voodoo chili), Friday, February 7, 2025 9:19 AM (four minutes ago)

ok it's really bugging me that I can't figure out the joke here :(

what can I say, can only speak my truth and account for what I find affecting, motivating and inspiring - you all can likewise. I think this thread is always better when people are throwing their truth out there unafeared, it can be a bit too compliant

ftr the Rema and Nia Archives albums, sonically, are wonderful responses to the demands of this time, those are examples of records that strikes me as powerful graspings of the nettle

It's not true that this Teddy hated fun
https://i.imgur.com/dkvxcyv.jpeg

and maybe Moin will register likewise - I'm glad tabes &c respond so powerfully, powerful responses to art fuel everything - but the sonic and structural aspects felt a little restrained for my attention-damaged little head :)

"Tell dat Moin album to stop biting me!"

https://imgflip.com/i/9jexpp

Ah damn, that didn't work. Was meant to be a poster of Miguel's Adorn with an 'O' hastily pasted over it. Oh well.

ah ha, thanks emil.y :)

Adorn 0

let my love Adorno

I always wanted a tshirt with Adorno's pic with the text I Wanna Be Adornoed.

https://thecharnelhouse.org//wp-content/uploads/2013/10/adorno-piano__h.jpg

*starts jamming with moin doing boogie-woogie piano jools holland style*

boogie-woogie piano would unironically make me like Moin a lot more lmao. probably you should all FP me and be done at this point

tbc imago I wouldn't have bothered writing those posts if I thought you weren't worth engaging with!

i just honestly had an emotional resonance with the Moin record, so have some attachment to it.

i'm going to give it another go later then. it just wasn't emotionally open to me, it felt encumbered by this off-putting feeling of studied coolness. unlike the still house plants album which is in the same sort of ballpark but so much more unguarded, unmasked even - "I just want my friends to get me. I just want to be seen right, I just want to get my friends in. It's best when I feel them" etc

aw :)

well isn't this nice

i mean i certainly think you have a point, that a quiet and placid response (if indeed it is a response) to the age is a valid one, even if quiet and placid responses are rarely my own choice lol

i feel like i wouldn't have said anything if this rundown wasn't particularly filled with quiet and placid music, although that won't be the main problem with our top 20 lol ;)

the moin album very much resonates emotionally for me too, but it took a bit to grow on me, it's subtle. imago, not all music has to be dripping with sweaty effort

Moka is letting all of this okay with a smirk, I know it

PLAY

https://i.imgur.com/yY5NB7B.png
20. Kim Gordon - The Collective 311 points - 13 votes
Pairing blown-out trap beats and industrial noise with deadpan stream-of-consciousness lyrics, Gordon’s second solo album revels in the broken and the mundane.

I adore Kim but wish I heard what others did.

I enjoyed and voted for this Kim Gordon album, but honestly thought it was a step down from her previous album, so not sure why it seems to be getting much more acclaim than that one.

the value of a strong opening single & video? will give this a go, haven't yet. you can't accuse her of going gently!

Two different bassists named Kim that were the only female members of seminal alternative rock bands from the 80’s releasing critically acclaimed solo albums and placing one after the other on our eoy poll?

Yes

I thought “Bye Bye” was fantastic but overall agree with others here. Body/Head and Free Kitten have been more my speed when it comes to non SY KG.

https://i.imgur.com/7Hc8SJr.png
19. Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More 317 points - 11 votes
Kim Deal’s solo debut is sonically wide-reaching yet still intimate, exemplified by one of its best tracks, “Are You Mine”. Pensively dreamy, the tune pairs Lynchian doo-wop with an alt.country twang - Uncut

March of the Kims!

I got really hooked on the Kim Deal album at the very end of the year. I think I must have played it at least ten times within one week. Easily my favourite thing she's done since Last Splash.

Damn, is it already the last day of the YEP. What will we do until spring ? (wait, Adorno) Happy birthday in advance imago, I appreciate your off-the-cuff impressions, they can be irritating but probably never as much as you'll fear ;)

some xposts i will have to check out the Still House Plants record.

the moin album isn’t quiet or placid

studied coolness

really don’t get this from it either

With these two and the Cure (which I'm assuming will do very well), we are going to have an oldies-heavy top 20. I know we're all aging on this board but I feel like this marks a shift in listening habits, maybe? Possibly? I don't know, probably best to ignore me.

I couldn't handle the vox on the still house plants album

That Kim Deal plays like a Breeders album. I loved it.

two of my picks in a row!

xp lol emil that's the elephant in the room

didn’t enjoy listening to the gordon album much but props to her for recognizing a connection between the blown out sonics of rage rap and the noisy stuff she did with her old band

Xpost em: yeah possibly but Kim Gordon and the Cure were widely acclaimed so it doesn’t feel insular to ilm.

Personal experience doesn’t mean this is a universal truth but the two youngest staff members in one of my bars were either raving about k-pop or the Kim Gordon album. And kept telling me to listen to it as it was their favorite album of the year - I still haven’t besides one song. I’ll get to it I promise.

drummer's good though, does she have any other stuff

good one

https://i.imgur.com/kkhSFmY.png
18. Clarissa Connelly - World of Work 320 points - 9 votes - 2 º1 votes
“I wanted to examine the sound of classical guitar and piano playing unison, and the overtones in the meeting of the two. That’s a big part of the instrumentation of the album; exploring sounds that sound so familiar, but also ring together in harmony on the same note, so the overtones melt together and turn into something else, unfamiliar.
The question I want to ask: is ecstasy holy, or is it meeting the limits of the body? As Bataille says, ecstasy happens through movement. Is that when we oscillate from this world to the next? That was an inspiring thought when writing the music. Physical movement, running can give the feeling of ecstasy, meditating, sexual stimulation, prayer, fasting, when the body meets physical limits, art, music and many more. Some chord progressions give me the feeling of the ceiling popping off – a feeling of ecstasy. Is it only in some state of surprise ecstasy can happen? Or in repetition?
‘World Of Work’ is an epic tale of human experience, pulled down into the narrow walls of these songs, each song representing different states of our experience.“

my #2

simply overflowing with mystery, force and beauty

wonderful album, my #1

also album cover oty

i actually voted for this after only a few listens because of your endorsement, imago :)

ah nice

Had never heard of her til the tracks poll. Is this the Richard Dawson contingent?

it's more like joni mitchell meets these new puritans in a heligoland belltower

Sounds a little like Julia Holter playing folk

https://i.imgur.com/ZcZFEuw.png
17. Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere 324 points - 9 votes - 2 º1 votes
Throughout this record, the sense of adventure and excitement is palpable – this is a band at the peak of their powers, having fun creating; it’s hard not to get caught up in such a truly unique and thrilling journey through the cosmos. If death metal hasn’t yet had its breakthrough critical moment, this might well be it.

I like the Moin album but it kind of makes me want to put on some King Krule (who had an excellent EP this year) instead.

JCLC to thread xp

Um, I listened to a few tracks from the Still House Plants record, and while i can hear the appeal, it is very much not for me.

moka getting the vodka sponsorship in x

too low. sack the board

gotta keep the lights on her somehow xpost

here*

moka getting the vodka sponsorship in x

― nxd, Friday, February 7, 2025 4:52 PM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

She did say she was spending a lot of time at the bar

I thought the Kim Deal might be higher, but I’ll take top 20. It’s a really strong collection of songs, and I’d argue she’s better than ever as a vocalist.

\m/^_^\m/

this song was the highpoint of the clarissa connelly album for me, one of those ones that just makes my hair stand on end. seeing her sing it live was an incredible, spellbinding moment, thought i was going to have heart-failure it was so blissful

I'm not really convinced by the Clarissa Connelly, but I'll say the medieval-sounding Wee Rosebud is a beautiful thing.

oops, NickB said it first

Lol

https://i.imgur.com/ycSMyW2.png
16. Mk.gee - Two Star & the Dream Police 333 points - 10 votes - 1 º1 vote
Messy, idiosyncratic, soulful, alien, these 12 tracks sound like nothing else I’ve heard before, and yet are also familiar – like those inexpressible feelings, at once strange and understood.

sick

my #3. as inscrutable as an ancient scroll, i kept listening to decode the mystery before deciding to let the mystery be

Didn't really enjoy the Charlie's Angels movies so I'm pretty skeptical about this.

I was the #1 on this. (I know this won't resonate with some of you but...) Reminds me of how I felt about the first Bon Iver record: making something that sounds totally unique, cohesive, and imaginative in the world of pop using the same guitar everyone else has access to.

I guess Fire-Toolz is not going to place this year so nice to see Blood Incantation representing the death-metal growl contingent.

xps

Listened to this one a lot at the beginning of the year. Something alienating about it that ended up being sort of an omen for how the rest of my year would feel like.