• The Nude Party – Rides On. Probably the album that I enjoyed the most in 2024 because it’s plainly fun and requires no deep thinking. Imagine Wilco’s AM meets Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. Modern honky-tonk with a a sense of humor.
• Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood. Katie Crutchfield kills it again with top-notch songwriting on every track.
• Johnny Blue Skies – Passage du Desir. One of the greatest recent takes on 70’s outlaw country.
• The Black Keys – Ohio Players. You can see collaborator Beck’s fingerprints everywhere on this great BK album.
• The Hanging Stars – On a Golden Shore. Echoes of The Grateful Dead and beautiful guitar leads on this one.
• Vera Sola — Peacemaker. The daughter of Dan Ackroyd channels Johnny Cash on this dark, brooding album.

Guitar Rock / Punk Rock

• Jack White – No Name. Wow. Maybe Jack’s best solo album since the White Stripes – certainly his most rocking one.
• Mannequin Pussy – I Got Heaven. This album rocks as hard as anything in 2024.
• Hinds – VIVA HINDS. Best record yet from the Madrid-based punk duo.
• Sleater Kinney – Little Rope. An undeniably excellent Sleater Kinney record.
• The Cloud Nothings – Final Summer. Fantastic anthemic guitar rock.
• X – Smoke & Fiction. John Doe and Exene Cervanka sound as good as ever. A vibrant, kick-ass punk record.

Indie / Twee / Baroque Pop

• Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us. Great songwriting, complex compositions, and impeccable musicianship as usual.
• Kim Deal – Nobody Loves You More. Wonderfully heartfelt first solo record from the founder of The Breeders.
• Camera Obscura – Look to the East, Look to the West. Delightful new offering – the first in 11 years – from the beloved Scottish indie-poppers.
• Ride – Interplay. An end-to-end sterling set of shoegaze goodness.
• The Decemberists – As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again. Another batch of brainy, original shanties from Colin Meloy and crew.
• The Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy. Saucy, gothic pop in the vein of Fleetwood Mac.
• Future Islands – People Who Aren’t There Anymore. An always solid New Wave band that knows their strengths.
• The Cure – Songs of a Lost World. Robert Smith delivers an unexpected and super-solid addition to The Cure catalogue.

World Music / Electronic

• Mdou Moctar – Funeral for Justice. Otherworldly Saharan desert blues with guitar licks for days.
• Hermanos Gutierrez – Sonido Cosmico. Ecuadorian-Swiss guitarist brothers Alejandro Gutiérrez and Estevan Gutiérrez pay tribute to “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” soundtrack.
• Nils Hoffman – Running In A Dream. Sweetly atmospheric house/electronic album from an up-and-coming Berlin producer.