What is even the point of albums?
Though it has long been the predominant way for musicians to cohere and disseminate a singular artistic vision, the origin story of the album-oriented format is less about practicality, function or even aesthetics.
Record companies spent decades tinkering with the sizes (10-inch, 7-inch, 12-inch), materials (shellac, polyurethane) and preferred revolutions per minute (78, 45, 33 ⅓) before arriving at the 12-inch vinyl long player that spins at 33 ⅓ RPMs. And for many decades, each “album” contained two songs – one on each side.
Putting more music on each album became the industry’s white whale mostly because it would allow them to charge customers significantly more money for something that costs only marginally more to produce. In short, long players, or LPs, were a product of commercial innovation, and were designed to increase revenue – a way for record companies to remove you from more of your money. To paraphrase one of the thrusts of Naomi Klein’s Doppleganger (one of my favorite non-fiction reads of last year): It’s not a conspiracy, it’s capitalism.
Of course, artists are gonna art. And when presented with a larger canvas, musicians intuited the long-player structure almost immediately, bending it to meet their aims. From the work of Miles Davis to The Beatles, Brian Wilson to Joni Mitchell, Neil Young to Pharoah Sanders, Dr. Dre to Alanis Morrisette, the album as a collection of songs recorded within a fixed amount of time, became an artform as much as the standard commercial unit for distribution.
Streaming, though, has upended the music industry and changed the way most listeners consume music. In 2024, having a “hit” is now a product of things like “playlist inclusion” or “TikTok” insertions – more so, perhaps, than album sales. In this new paradigm, listening to an entire album can feel like a radical act.
Despite contemporary listening habits, bands and musicians still made use of the long-player album to make 2024’s boldest artistic statements. Some were much talked about. Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department and Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter were subject to innumerable thinkpieces. An entire meme industry and new dialect were propped up by Charli XCX’s Brat.
While we certainly encourage you to give those albums a go, for our list of 2024’s best albums, the Jacksonville Music Experience team focussed on records you might have missed. The fact that Kendrick Lamar released one of the best albums of his career seemed secondary to the fact that, earlier in the year, he shared “Not Like Us,” delivering the knockout blow in his ongoing beef with Drake. Perhaps you heard MJ Lenderman singing and playing guitar with Katie Crutchfield on “Right Back To It,” the twangy, plaintive tune by Waxahatchee. Or maybe Lenderman’s crunchy anthem of resignation, “She’s Leaving You,” popped up on an indie-rock playlist. Those are great songs. But both Waxahatchee’s Tigers Blood and Lenderman’s Manning Fireworks, the albums from which those songs came, are worth listening to in full.
As a listener, there’s still no better way to take the full measure of a band or musician.
Here’s a list of the JME team’s favorite albums of the year, listed in alphabetical order by artist name.–Matthew Shaw
Manley Field House Syracuse University, April 7, 1972, Allman Brothers Band
Recorded not long after the death of band guitarist-guiding light Duane Allman, this archival concert is a worthy document of the Allman Brothers Band finding their footing once again, live and onstage, where they existed in purest form. Bass guitarist Berry Oakley – high and heavy in the mix – wins MVP for pushing and pulling the band through the high-octane improv excursions.–Daniel A. Brown
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Slow Burn, Baby Rose
Jasmine Rose Wilson, AKA Baby Rose, has the kind of voice that stops you in your tracks. The D.C.-based singer tapped Canadian producer-polymaths BADBADNOTGOOD for Slow Burn, a six-song EP of deeply-moving, unimpeachably cool torchers.–MS
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EELS, Being Dead
EELS, by Austin, Texas-based multi-instrumentalist duo Being Dead is a borderline-Psilocybin dose of melodious, enjoyably madcap freak folk, featuring hauntingly retro harmonies, primal beats and playful instrumentation.–MS
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Absolute Elsewhere, Blood Incantation
The fourth full-length from the Denver cosmic death metal band is a two-song 45 minute blast that emits shards of ‘70s hyper-aggro King Crimson, kosmische Musik and brutal-leaning prog, all encased an in shell of truly mesmerizing death metal.–DAB
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Blue Eclipse, Blue Lab Beats
Musician Mr DM and producer NK-OK fused multiple genres on Blue Eclipse. The sounds of jazz, funk, soul, hip hop, and more reign throughout the album, with solid features from Natalie Lindi and Amber Navran, among others, to help the music stay bright.–Mr. Al Pete
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Good News Blues, Karen Borca Trio, Quartet and Quintet
In the 1970s, free jazz bassoonist Karen Borca collaborated with the first-wave American players of the music, including Cecil Taylor, Jimmy Lyons, Bill Dixon and Alan Silva. These archival recordings from 1998 and 2005 find Borca leading her own ensembles through raucous, cogent material that pushes into the highest realms of propulsive group improvisation.–DAB
Where Love Grows, Darien Brockington
The Foreign Exchange team released incredible music throughout 2024, including Where Love Grows by singer/songwriter Darien Brockington. The album is a collage of love songs, with production by Zo! and Tall Black Guy, and Brockington’s vocal powers.–MAP
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Charm, Clairo
“Sometimes sexy to someone is all I ever want,” Claire Cotrill, AKA Clairo, sings over a hip-hop beat, a funky bassline, intermittent keyboard stabs and an alluring synth-flute motif on Charm’s lead single. The 26-year-old Atlanta native’s latest is full of similarly charming ditties and winkingly lustful bops.–MS
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The Almighty, Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few
My debts to Isaiah Collier keep piling up. I’ll never be able to repay the Chicago-bred reed prodigy for the transcendental experience he provided when he performed in Jacksonville’s James Weldon Johnson park in early 2024. The Almighty, the first of two lofty statements of spiritual jazz released this year, was another gift.–MS
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The Carnegie Hall Concert, Alice Coltrane
Recorded live on February 21, 1971, this archival release features four long-form pieces of Coltrane on piano and harp with an eight-piece backing band that included crucial John Coltrane supporting players Pharoah Sanders (saxophones and flutes) and bassist Jimmy Garrison. Textured, moving from languid to fierce, The Carnegie Hall Concert documents Coltrane’s shift from the world of traditional jazz music into a full immersion of Vedanta-inspired mystical composition and playing, which would soon simply be known (rightfully) as “spiritual jazz.”–DAB
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The Auditorium Vol. 1, Common and Pete Rock
The Auditorium Vol. 1 put two hip-hop staples in a room. Emcee/actor Common and producer Pete Rock joined forces to enforce all pillars of hip hop with their 2024 collaborative album. It was a win for the culture, with Rock’s faultless production complimenting Common’s reliable rhyming skills with no errors.–MAP
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Cruzafied, Cruza
One of my favorite albums to come out of the Sunshine State this year, Cruzafied is a wavy and hypnotic collection that floats in the genreless space, sitting between R&B and alternative rock with sultry basslines and ethereal vocals from lead-singer, Adam Kain.--Carissa Marques
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Coyote, You’re My Star, Dana and Alden
I wasn’t expecting to enjoy a jazz album from a frequent face on my TikTok “for you” page, but Alden McWayne, known online as gucci_pineapple, teamed up with his brother Dana to release a lovely collection of songs that make the prestigious genre feel a bit more accessible to younger listeners.–CM
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Nobody Loves You More, Kim Deal
On her first solo release for 4AD, alternative-music icon Kim Deal arrives – as the meme goes – tanned, rested and ready; albeit it in true-Gen-X style. With arrangements that veer from playful and sunkissed to playful and hazy, Nobody Loves You More captures the sonic spirit of some of Deal’s best work with Pixies and The Breeders.–MS
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Frog in Boiling Water, DIIV
Right up there with Cloud Nothings among the most consistently underrated rock bands of the new millennium, DIIV continue to evolve on their fourth album. Frog in Boiling Water flickers and glows like a fire in the pitch dark, documenting the end times with clear eyes and a steady hand.–Scott Russell
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Rampen (apm: Alien Pop Music), Einstürzende Neubauten
Starting in 1980, Einstürzende Neubauten began creating (their take on) music by salvaging through literal discarded industrial metal and detritus, reconfiguring it into a highly customized experimental sound. For their 2024 release, the group culled together improvisations, or rampen, from live performances to create their latest collection of strangely captivating scrapes, strikes, chants and drones.–DAB
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Mahashmashana, Father John Misty
Titled after the Sanskrit word for “great cremation ground,” Josh Tillman’s astonishing sixth album as Father John Misty is as existential and ambitious as anything he’s released. “The act of creation / May one day produce a happy man,” he deadpans on the title track—whatever else it may produce, the world needs more music like this.–SR
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Samurai, Lupe Fiasco
Lyricism seemed uniquely important in hip hop in 2024. Lupe Fiasco’s notably sharp sword, his slashing and moving, and Soundtrakk’s disciplined production hints at why Fiasco’s latest album was titled Samurai. The rhymes are sharp and swift.–MAP
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Y’Y, Amaro Freitas
Given the complex rhythms and distinctive melodies Amaro Freitas offers up on Y’Y, his self-assured 2024 full length, it’s easy to imagine the Brazilian pianist occupying a world all his own. Yet it’s exactly that extraterrestrial skill and inventiveness that’s made Freitas a rising star on the global jazz scene, and, for Y’Y, brought like-minded artists – Shabaka, Brandee Younger, Jeff Parker, Hamid Drake – into his orbit.–MS
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Where we’ve been, Where we go from here, Friko
The debut album from Chicago duo Friko hits like lightning in a bottle, an invigorating, vital reminder of everything indie rock can be. Vocalist/guitarist Niko Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger touch the heights of Funeral-era Arcade Fire, racing breathlessly through every life-affirming twist and turn.–SR
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Odyssey, Nubya Garcia
The sophomore full-length from London tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and composer Nubya Garcia is a cosmic mélange of seeking jazz and regal orchestral arrangements, slinky R&B and even entrancing dub. You’ll come away from it willing to follow Garcia wherever she leads.–SR
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The Collective, Kim Gordon
A collaborative curveball between Sonic Youth co-founder Kim Gordon and precocious producer Justin Raisen (Charli XCX, Lil Yachty) became an electro-trap home run. Inspired by Jennifer Egan’s novel The Candy House, the distorted beats and shards of berserk electronics of The Collective reminded the world of Gordon’s ongoing prominence as a powerhouse multimedia artist, garnering Gordon two Grammy Award nominations in the process.–DAB
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Living in the Material World (Reissue), George Harrison
This expanded 50th-anniversary edition of Harrison’s fourth studio album finds the former Beatle in a thoughtful albeit melodic mood following the blockbuster successes of All Things Must Pass (1970) and The Concert for Bangladesh (1971). Produced by Harrison, Living in the Material World strikes a strong balance between Harrison’s spiritual inclinations and undeniable skills at crafting upper-tier melodic rock.–DAB
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United, Dave Holland and Lionel Loueke
Over his illustrious career, the mighty jazz bassist Dave Holland has been as unimpeachable in his creative u-turns as he has in his chosen collaborators. On United, Holland teamed with Benin-bred guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke for an album that fuses desert-rock pyrotechnics with adroit jazz riffage for a deeply meditative listen.–MS
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STARFACE, Lava La Rue
West London-based musician and director Lava La Rue built a ton of buzz in the months preceding her 2024 debut, STARFACE. With deft grooves and creatively-utilized samples – case-in-point the Tom-Tom-Club-esque dance track, “Push N Shuv” – the conceptual sci-fi romance album did not disappoint, and stoked excitement for what’s to come.–MS
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GNX, Kendrick Lamar
Not even one of hip-hop’s (well, let’s be honest, pop’s) biggest stars could stand in the way of the runaway freight train that is Kendrick Lamar in 2024. From the feud heard ‘round the world to his immediately iconic surprise album, the Pulitzer Prize winner just keeps on cementing his legend, and GNX’s songs belong up on that Super Bowl-sized stage.–SR
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Manning Fireworks, MJ Lenderman
The latest and greatest solo album from Wednesday guitarist turned indie-alt-country icon MJ Lenderman, Manning Fireworks is an embarrassment of songwriting riches. From “She’s Leaving You” to “Wristwatch,” there are multiple tracks with legitimate “Song of the Year” arguments, and not a single skip to be found.–SR
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Diamond Jubilee, Cindy Lee
You could be forgiven for thinking twice about committing to a triple album that’s nowhere to be found on streaming services and runs for as long as, say, Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous. But Diamond Jubilee—a hypnagogic pop masterwork from former Women frontman Patrick Flegel—is worth every miraculous moment of your time.–SR
Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot, Liquid Mike
The breakout fifth album from Michigan’s Liquid Mike has more hooks than any boxing match. Anyone who grew up on ‘90s pop-punk and power-pop will feel right at home with Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot, which packs 13 tracks into 26 blissful minutes.–SR
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Submarine, The Marías
A severely underrated album, Submarine is the second full length from indie-pop group The Marías. Writing in both Spanish and English, the band’s Puerto-Rico-born and Atlanta-suburb-raised singer, María Zardoya, curates a thoughtful blend of jazz and dreampop for a seductive journey through heartbreak and self-exploration.–CM
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Two Star & The Dream Police, Mk.gee
Michael Todd Gordon, musically known as Mk.gee, taps into ‘80s-pop ballads, among other indescribable sonic touchpoints, to make music that whisks you away to a distorted, alternative soundscape. Known previously for his work with indie-R&B artist, Dijon, Gordon’s craft, and musical wizardry on Two Star & The Dream Police is inimitable (good luck trying to replicate his pedal board!). Some songs you never forget. And for me this album will forever be remembered as the one I fell in love to, quite literally with “Alesis,” playing by chance on the drive to my now-partner’s house, and the album humming in the background in their room when I confessed those feelings. This record is for real yearners through and through.–CM
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Why Lawd?, NxWorries
One artist and one producer on an album seemed to be the trend for 2024. Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge are one of the examples of the year’s most popular formula. .Paak’s tone is already captivating and Knxwledge’s beats give an abstract vibe. The topics, the feeling, and the features cap this album off as a 2024 favorite.–MAP
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Orion, Orion Sun
If you haven’t listened to the extraordinary musical talent of alt-R&B artist Tiffany Majette, professionally known as Orion Sun, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Her talent is undeniable. Propelled by songs like “Mary Jane,” and “These Days,” Orion is a journey of heartbreak and addiction, while Majette’s honey-soaked vocals and hopeful closing track, “Gannie,” pays tribute to the memories she has of her grandmother singing to her.–CM
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Don’t Forget Me, Maggie Rogers
The songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Maggie Rogers packed her sophomore full length, Don’t Forget Me, with a fair amount of the kind of analog-meets-digital umami that first impressed Pharrell (and made her a viral sensation). It’s more of a straightforward, rootsy affair, though, with infectious, well-executed pop, aplenty; much of which harkens back to the pop-rock of the early aughts.–MS
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Grip, Serpentwithfeet
With an ever-growing underground following, serpentwithfeet was poised for a breakout in 2024. Grip kicked the door down, as the alt- and experimental-R&B polymath enlisted big-name on an album of ethereal jams and dancefloor stunners.–MS
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Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace, Shabaka
Renowned saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings’ much-anticipated solo debut was a star-studded affair. For Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace, the renowned reedman traded his sax for a variety of woodwinds, inviting fellow seekers Moses Sumney, Charles Overton, André 3000, Carlos Niño, Saul Williams and Esperanza Spalding and Brandee Younger, among others, to accompany him on what was the year’s most transcendental listen.–MS
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The Moon is in the Wrong Place, Shannon and the Clams
Though it’s infused with the kind of retro, feel-good R&B grooves, endearing harmonies and garage-rock energy that’s customary to the band’s oeuvre, as the title suggests Shannon and the Clams’ seventh studio album hems toward darkness. After the tragic death of Shannon Shaw’s fiance, the group (along with longtime collaborator, the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach) rallied behind the band’s singer, bassist and namesake, emerging with one of the most affecting records of the Clams’ catalog.–MS
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New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz, Matthew Shipp Trio
This year’s rightfully lauded offering from pianist Shipp finds him joined by longtime collaborators Michael Bisio (bass) and Newman Taylor-Baker (drums) in another set of improvisational explorations that nullifies the boundaries between jazz and new classical music. New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz is a rewarding listen and elevation of the piano trio format.–DAB
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Words Unspoken, John Surman
Fifty years ago, the now-80-year-old UK reeds player Surman was deep in the maelstrom of the global free jazz community. His recent album with Rob Luft (guitar); Rob Waring (vibraphone) and Thomas Strønen (drums, percussion) is an object lesson in technical restraint and thematic investigation.–DAB
Do You Still Think of Me, Benny Trokan
I’m a sucker for ‘60s garage-rock, or anything that captures the primal-yet-melodious spirit of that era’s earnest amateurism. Make no mistake, Benny Trokan is no amateur. But across his Daptone debut, Do You Still Think of Me, the singer-songwriter and guitarist for the band Spoon makes use of garage rock’s economical approach – less chords, more melody – and some unassailably cool riffage for a suite of hip tunes that highlight the primitive joy and enduring appeal of early R&B and rock ‘n’ roll.–MS
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Only God Was Above Us, Vampire Weekend
Ezra Koenig and co. returned to the indie fore with one of the noisiest offerings of Vampire Weekend’s catalog. Despite the dissonance, Only God Was Above Us is rich with hooks, and stands as one of the more-sonically interesting records of the group’s always surprising, nearly two-decade career.–MS
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Tigers Blood, Waxahatchee
Katie Crutchfield’s arc continues to bend into Americana on Tiger’s Blood, which achieves the tall task of living up to her 2020 instant classic Saint Cloud. Come for the indelible lead single “Right Back to It” (featuring Crutchfield’s ANTI- labelmate MJ Lenderman), stay for another drop-dead gorgeous set of Waxahatchee songs.–SR
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My Method Actor, Nilüfer Yanya
Like a one-woman The xx, London’s Nilüfer Yanya makes guitar rock with hushed, hypnotic power and boundary-pushing production, her vocal melodies slight and taut as piano wire. Her third album, My Method Actor finds Yanya operating with a new level of confidence, and the results are enthralling.–SR
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Early Daze, Neil Young and Crazy Horse
For years Neil Young has teased and toyed about releasing these sessions, recorded in 1969 with the original lineup of his sonic blood brothers Crazy Horse. While Early Daze might appeal mostly to diehards, the 10-song collection is a valuable document for guitar-rock aficionados, with enough guitar bluster to shake off the cobwebs of the past.–DAB
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