2024's top 50 albums (part two)
Including Charli XCX, The Smile, Donato Dozzy and more
A few days before Christmas we got started with CrateEater’s top 50 albums of 2024. There’s a whole host of records in the 20 December edition of the newsletter that are unfortunate not to make the top 25.
For lots of great music recommendations, plus all the usual caveats, you can read that piece in full from our archive.
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas if you celebrated, and that you’ll have an excellent 2025. Once again, thanks so much for reading this year.
Enjoy!
Claire Rousay - The Bloody Lady
I don’t tend to listen to soundtracks unless I’ve been told in explicit terms that I must. Perhaps, then, it’s a relief that I didn’t realise this was a soundtrack to start off with. I sat down on my usual train in the morning, opened Spotify as I often do absentmindedly, and saw that Claire Rousay had released a new album. The Bloody Lady is a largely ambient, often suspenseful album of only 35 minutes that moves between dense electronic atmospherics, watery synth pads and poignant piano chords with grace and serenity, even in its most fraught moments. Jittery violins and doom-laden bass lines become increasingly common later in the tracklist, The Bloody Lady’s rising sense of dread often seeming to reach fever pitch only to take things up a notch. As for its context, the album sees Rousay reimagine the score for Viktor Kubal's 1980 film of the same name, an animated story which relays the folk tale of Elisabeth Bathory, who was accused of bathing in murdered women’s blood in an attempt to retain her youth eternally. Hardly festive subject matter, but definitely worth a listen.
H To O - Cycle
Cycle is the debut album of H To O, the musical duo of Tokyo composer and architect H.Takahashi and Kohei Oyamada. The record, released in May on UK label Wisdom Teeth, is yet another testament to the strength of ambient music in 2024. While Cycle embodies some of that genre’s most quintessential characteristics, it is also imbued with a distinctive feeling unlike anything else I’ve heard this year. Each of the LP’s 36 minutes are surrounding and immersive, smooth and steady percussive synth lines splashing and sliding in and out delicately throughout. Takahashi has built up an impressive discography to this point, but Oyamada seems just to be getting started: he released his debut solo album Loam just over three months ago. I hope we’ll hear more from this collaboration, as Cycle is a decidedly strong start.
Orbury Common - Sylvan Chute
The world of Orbury Common is so vividly imagined - so layered, especially considering Sylvan Chute is the Gloucestershire experimental duo’s debut album - that it would’ve been understandable for the band to have run out of fresh ideas by the time they set out to produce their first LP. Instead, Emlyn Bainbridge and Josh Day-Jones presented their most diverse and innovative collection of tracks yet, released on PRAH Recordings on 7 June. All the tunes here fit well into the pair’s culty and folkloric vision for the common, and still pursue a path as yet unfollowed. Sylvan Chute feels poppier than any previous release. The duo use their own voices far more than ever before, and prove to have an impressive knack for writing memorable hooks. ‘Pale Faith’ is a real ear worm, as are the tensely bittersweet ‘The Resident’ and nostalgic synth-pop number ‘Fantasy’. “I hope people can get immersed in the album,” Bainbridge told CrateEater earlier this year, “and hopefully there’s some cheeky surprises as well.”
Donato Dozzy - Magda
For whatever reason, I’ve got a very good memory for when I first heard an album. I’m quite confident that if you asked me where and when I first listened to each of the albums on this list (which obviously you wouldn’t) I could describe that moment at least foggily. I recall my first experience of Donato Dozzy’s Magda very well. I’d been writing in a café in Kentish Town, drinking coffee and intermittently taking miniature bites out of a hazelnut cannoli. I’m pretty sure the shop was closing when I left and pressed play on this album. Its opening track, ‘Velluto’, filled me with the sense that something massive was right about to happen. Its tense, rising synth arpeggios and understated percussion were full to the brim with anticipation. It’s the kind of tune that feels to fill you from the bottom up. If I didn’t know better, I might have thought ‘Velluto’ was regulating my circadian rhythm. While that massive thing didn’t visibly happen on Kentish Town Road, I wonder whether it actually did in a more metaphorical and drawn-out sense. My life saw more change in 2024 than in any other year I’ve known, and if any album was the soundtrack to my 12 months it was probably Donato Dozzy’s Magda.
Lifted - Trellis
By 22 November I’d begun to wind down my listening for this year, to be honest. This list’s rankings were as yet undetermined, but I had a pretty good idea of the records that would be on it. I read a bit about Trellis’s fourth album, Lifted, though, and having been baited by the promise of spaced-out synth pads and free jazz-ish acoustic elements, I simply couldn’t leave the LP alone. Lifted is one of my favourite fusion albums ever, let alone of this year. Its washy, laid-back electric guitar and gorgeously inspired drums sit beautifully alongside stern piano passages and cerebral electronic elements, particularly on opener ‘All Right’, and ‘Specials’, the record’s only single. Lifted is so easy to get lost in - possibly the perfect collection of tracks for the lull of late December, or a slow weekend in January.
Midland - Fragments of Us
Midland’s Fragments of Us is a really difficult album to summarise as part of a list like this. Sonically, the London DJ/ producer’s full-length debut is incredibly rich. Generally removed from the infectious disco-funk of ‘Final Credits’ - the hit which put Harry Agius (Midland) on the map - Fragments’ sound is synth-heavy, often modularly-driven, while still showcasing Agius’ unique talent for sampling. The album’s subject matter, mostly the Western gay experience of the late 20th century, is addressed sensitively and powerfully. ‘In My Head’ laces an energetic dance instrumental with various important vocal clips relating to the 1988 introduction of Section 28, which prohibited “promoting homosexuality”. ‘David’s Dream’ featuring David Wojnarowicz and ‘1983-1996’ with Jonny Seymour narrate the tragedy of the 1980s AIDS crisis with devastating humanity, the latter describing the importance of the dancefloor as a safe haven for the gay community before bursting into a shuffling and hopeful bass tune.
Various Artists - Virtual Dreams II: Ambient Explorations In The House & Techno Age, Japan 1993-1999
Virtual Dreams II is an excellent restrospective compilation curated by the late Jamie Tiller, cofounder of the archival label Music From Memory, and record shop owner Eiji Taniguchi. The album includes dub techno, deep house, ambient and more. Hypnotic dub techno number ‘Poisson D’Avril - Galaxy Dub’ by Missing Project is my favourite track of the bunch. Web’s washed-out IDM tune ‘The Cycle of Seasons’ is another highlight, taking cues from Aphex Twin and other heroes of the early ‘90s British electronic music scene and expanding the track to meet the enormous atmospheric soundscape within which this compilation lives. Like so many of the best of its format, Virtual Dreams II proves to be a fantastic jumping off point for exploring an incredibly interesting period of Japanese electronic music.
Hurray for the Riff Raff - The Past is Still Alive
I’m not really into country music, to be honest. Perhaps, then, The Past is Still Alive can be a lesson in the transcendental impact of properly good music, regardless of genre. The album is Alynda Segarra’s ninth full-length project as Hurray for the Riff Raff, released 23 February on Nonesuch Records. The New York native’s songwriting style is not unlike Joni Mitchell’s: they both capture simultaneous yearning and mindfulness in a way few can. ‘Buffalo’ represents the record’s wise and hopeful tone well, though its lyrical contents are generally more metaphorical than those on straight-talking highlights ‘Hourglass’ and ‘The World is Dangerous’. Elsewhere, the singer-songwriter is triumphant and assured: ‘Hawkmoon’ and ‘Vetiver’ are foot-stamping country rock tunes backed by creamy electric guitars and galloping drumbeats. On most of The Past is Still Alive’s tracks, though, Segarra’s expressive vocals are accompanied by warm piano chords and breezily strummed acoustic guitar. The album’s sound is decidedly cohesive, but its wide emotional breadth makes for a versatile and refreshing listening experience.
Various Artists - Club Moss
Club Moss is a vibrant and pulsating compilation put together by Wisdom Teeth, the UK label run by Facta and K-Lone. The LP was released to celebrate 10 years of the label, focusing particularly on innovators in higher BPM ranges, including sounds from the worlds of drum and bass, footwork and ambient techno. New York dub techno trio Purelink are impressive as ever on opening track ‘Loon E’. Maya Q’s liquid DnB number ‘Starburst’ lures the LP from the atmospheric stupor of its first three tunes, pairing sweet and sticky synth chords with high frequency percussion and soulful vocal harmonies. Jay Carder’s ‘Mekosha’ is gritty and groovy in equal measure. Closing ditty ‘doomies’ by Ramzi is delightfully laid-back, driven by swung percussion and a gorgeous low-slung bass line. Club Moss is CrateEater’s favourite compilation of 2024.
Still House Plants - If I Don’t Make it, I Love u
If you’ve read any other ‘best albums of 2024’ lists, you’re almost definitely aware of If I Don’t Make it I Love u, the third studio album by London experimental rock trio Still House Plants. If I Don’t Make It is tense and sensitive, constantly fighting its own ear-packing guitar-led anxiety with yearning and introspective vocals and sparse and loud drum grooves. The astounding beauty of Jess Hickie-Kallenbach’s deep voice is probably underrated, given the way it’s treated almost as an instrument in itself, jostling for sonic space alongside large and reverberating instrumentals. Each tune here tends to flow into the next - the record works best as a continuous experience - but ‘MORE BOY’ and ‘Silver grit pass thru my teeth’ are personal favourites. Now adored by independent music heads across the country and the world, it’ll be interesting to see what Still House Plants do in 2025. Do they stick to the experimental post-rock that propelled them this far, or lean into their newfound high repute and go for mass market glory? Whatever comes next, if it tops If I Don’t Make It it’s hard to imagine any kind of reasonable ceiling for the band.
The Smile - Wall of Eyes
The Smile’s Wall of Eyes begins with an instrumental introduction that wouldn’t sound out of place backing the final credits of a quirky rom-com. Plainly strummed acoustic guitar bobs along beside bom-bom-ing tuned percussion, and carefree vibes waft up off the album and into the air. Paranoia sets in, though, as Thom Yorke’s ghostly high-pitched voice floats in from another plane, and squealing strings do their own wistful work. After reaching the end of The Smile’s second LP you shouldn’t feel bad for being a little shaken up: the record is certainly one of 2024’s eeriest. There are brief moments of hopefulness here: closer ’You Know Me!’ is a bit brighter than most of the tracks on Wall of Eyes, but doesn’t digress entirely from the shuddery art rock of its nine predecessors. Once again, Yorke and company seem unable to put a foot wrong. October’s Cutouts, The Smile’s second album of 2024, came pretty close to making the list too.
Charli XCX - Brat
What’s left to say about Brat? As far as the wider culture goes, Charli XCX’s eighth full-length project is inarguably 2024’s quintessential album, not least because of a marketing campaign which was probably the best of its kind in history (and certainly the most effective of the social media era). ‘360’ is addictive and braggadocious; ‘Talk Talk’ is a loved-up ear worm unlike any other we’ve heard this year; ‘Girl, so confusing’ is powerfully human; Charli is as brash and messy as ever on dance pop anthem ‘Mean Girls’. I’d argue with those critics who labelled Brat a perfect record, and I’ve found its follow-up remix compilation Brat and it’s completely different but also still Brat to be pretty overrated. But I don’t think pop music got any better than this in 2024.
Read Sammy Palmer’s review of Brat for CrateEater
Heavee - Unleash
Legendary London label Hyperdub have proven what good labels can do for music in 2024. I wrote about Kloke and Tim Reaper’s collaborative project In Full Effect, the first jungle LP ever released on Hyperdub, in the first part of this list. That record freshly acquainted me with jungle and drum and bass in the same way that Unleash, the second solo album by Chicago producer Heavee, proved a fruitful jumping off point for footwork, a genre which has caught the imagination of masses of electronic music fans this year. Heavee’s sound, clearly influenced by video games, is boisterous and hip-tickling. Unleash’s second track ‘Unlock’ is a highlight, crunchy, domineering synth bass backing skittish percussion and whirring leads with full force throughout. ‘Bang Bang’ is colourful and groovy, ultra-electronic in its timbre but decidedly off-grid in its atmosphere. ‘Bounce Dat’ might be the best tune here, helped by the well-blended and distinctive production styles of guests DJ Paypal and DanTog. Unleash might have received greater plaudits had Heavee’s fellow footworker Jlin not done something so special just seven days later.
Lo.S.O - Posted
Kevin Palmer, better known as Best Available Technology, is the slightly maverick producer of some of the best and strangest electronic music coming from the American West Coast today. Softly spoken and quite self-critical in his interview with CrateEater, Palmer seemed taken aback by the idea that someone might want to rap over his instrumentals. It turned out UK artist D Withdrawn, a member of British hip-hop collective Cold Light, was the perfect man for the job. The Bristol rapper’s pseudo-rhythmic spoken word sits beautifully atop B.A.T.‘s sludgy, tape-muddied beats on Posted, the duo’s first collaborative project as Lo.S.O. Withdrawn’s crumbly, bassy voice echoes spookily on opener ‘Me & The Devil’, and sounds a little more tender on following number ‘Damaged’. The pair are joined by a number of guests including Debbie Deitering, Eldon and Gus Withdrawn on Posted, but perhaps to greatest effect by UK spitter Birthmark on spacey, grungy experimental tune ‘Flatspot’. If you’re into the weird industrial hip-hop of Armand Hammer and Death Grips, you’ll probably like this.
Actress - Statik
British musician Actress (or Darren Cunningham) played one of the best DJ sets I’ve heard this year at High Lights, a new electronic music festival hosted in the late spring in East London. Cunningham played out of a sort of hole in the wall, shrouded by smoke, blasting Chicago house, then retro techno, then high-energy jungle on a mild, misty afternoon in Barking Park. As far as production goes, that’s where the Wolverhampton native thrives - in the shadows - as evidenced by his July album Statik. The record sees Actress bury a bounty of ambient techno delights beneath a thick layer of spectral ambience which only adds to the emotional density of the LP’s nine tracks. ‘Rainlines’ is a disorienting and fast-paced experimental techno piece, followed a few tracks later by heady, hypnotic, Latin-tinted ambient techno single ‘Dolphin Spray’. ‘Doves Over Atlantis’ is another highlight, though it’s more eerie and sorrowful than its sometimes jaunty predecessors.
Read my review of Statik for CrateEater
Brian D’Souza - Genius Loci
Brian D’Souza has collected a lot of plaudits for In My Dreams (I’m a Bird and I’m Free), his latest album as Auntie Flo. But possibly his best work of the year, released on his label A State of Flo under his own name, was Genius Loci. The record was recorded in the Het Hem gallery, a former munitions factory in Zaandam, the Netherlands, and features the accordian as its lead instrument. The accordian’s sound is totally surrounding, so much so that it feels a bit restrictive at first, but once your ears yield to the total force of the instrument, Genius Loci starts to reveal layers of sound that you didn’t realise had been there all along. In terms of auditory experiences generally, there’s almost nothing that could parallel this album in 2024, which is why it’s so high on this list.
Lost Souls of Saturn - Reality
Considering his reputation as a globetrotting, party-hard superstar DJ, you’d be forgiven for assuming that Seth Troxler’s own music was as chaotic as his lifestyle. But the American’s work as one half of experimental electronic duo Lost Souls of Saturn proves that he’s not just a wizard at the decks: he’s also a dab hand in the studio. Troxler and bandmate Phil Moffa’s second album, Reality, is deliberate and diverse. The record takes in slow, knee-bobbing ambient dub (‘Scram City’), intergalactic experimental house (‘This Foo’), ominous retro-futuristic synth-pop (‘Mirage’ featuring Adam Ohr, an alias of Footprintz and The Beat Escape’s Addy Weitzman) and more. The sounds here are very much informed by the dancefloor, but Reality sounds more like something you’d hear in a sci-fi film than a nightclub. LSOS is described in PR materials as a multi-disciplinary live project, and Moffa and Troxler’s world-building capabalities are clear to see on an LP that is close to flawless.
Fontaines D.C. - Romance
It might seem insulting to suggest that Fontaines D.C. are the breakthrough band of 2024 - they released their debut album to acclaim in 2019 - but the quintet’s fourth LP Romance has propelled them from underground favourites to bonafide superstars in a matter of months. The opening title track is moody and kooky, a lovesick rock ballad dressed up in fiendish makeup and clown shoes. ‘In the Modern World’ is a beautifully dreamy tonic for the oppressive constants of the social media age. ‘Bug’ and ‘Favourite’ are irresistible pop-rock headbangers straight from indie rock’s ‘00s heyday. The combination of broadly strummed acoustic guitars, soaring main stage electrics, groovy bass lines and liberally bashed drums forms the perfect backing to the distinctive vocals of Grian Chatten, a natural-born leading man. There are only a few records that I’ve returned to again and again this year - with so much good music coming out all the time, good albums fall by the wayside far too easily - but Fontaine D.C.’s Romance is one of them.
Claire Rousay - Sentiment
The highest of Claire Rousay’s two placements on this list, Sentiment sees the singer-songwriter at her most vulnerable. She croons in thick autotune about uncertainty, jealousy, sexuality and a great deal more across 10 tunes and 37 minutes. Rousay thinks out loud with admirable humanity. Many of these tracks feel as though they’ve been pulled straight from a weary young person’s gloomiest notes pages, or the depths of their voice recordings (in fact, I think ‘4pm’ actually has). This is electro-acoustic folk music for heartbroken people, for Gen Z, millennials, fans of Taylor Swift’s old stuff, fans of all of Bon Iver’s stuff, terminally online TikTok obsessives, staunch advocates for throwing your iPhone in a river, people who love pop music, people who hate pop music, and almost everyone else.
Helado Negro - Phasor
On Phasor, Roberto Carlos Lange inhabits his usual folky space in the electronic music landscape with an ease that very few possess. The album, his eighth as Helado Negro (Spanish for “black ice cream”) feels as though it’s been chopped up and sewn together, lovingly patched like a child’s favourite jeans time and time again, and with each repair more fluid, a better image of itself. Lange is hopeful and reflective on Phasor. ‘I Just Want to Wake Up With You’ is gloriously laid back, a tune longing to be played the lounge-around morning after a first date with the inevitable love of your life. “Trees begin to hold us still/ Living wounds won't heal themselves/ Streets flood with your love",” he sings on ‘Wish You Could be Here’, a restless and danceable modular synth-led tune betrayed by its tender and introspective lyrics. This record makes for ideal listening when you’re riding the high of a good mood, or when you need something to lift your spirits after a few long hours of existential dread. Phasor radiates genuine, imperfect positivity unlike any other album has in 2024.
Djrum - Meaning’s Edge
Djrum’s Meaning’s Edge makes no bones about its intentions. Opener ‘Codex’ brings percussive, single-mindedly electronic intensity right from the off, evolving quickly into a fast and techy IDM tune. Around the three-minute mark Djrum (real name Felix Manuel) expands the record’s sonic palate, throwing miniature junglist breaks into the mix before rapidly withdrawing them. Though the project is just 32 minutes long, Manuel packs a lot into Meaning’s Edge. 14-minute two-parter ‘Frekm’ binds orchestral-style woodwind passages with trap-esque sub-bass and various Latin-influenced drum sounds with surprising aptitude, before flipping the whole thing into a detuned and dissonant reflection of itself. As a DJ, Djrum is most recognised for his fast-paced mixing, his willingness to lurch between genres and across massive BPM ranges in a matter of seconds. But his production here is incredibly smooth, even when it’s not seamless. There aren’t many moments during the runtime of Meaning’s Edge when I listen and don’t think “wait, how has he done that?”
Jlin - Akoma
If Jlin was underrated before the release of Akoma, she certainly isn’t now. The Indiana native’s discography was already impressive - almost everything she’d done up to March of this year had been met with critical acclaim upon release - but with Akoma Jerrilynn Patton affirmed her position as the finest graduate of her class, the crown jewel in a second generation of footwork producers that took the genre to new, increasingly experimental heights. The signs of Jlin’s ascendancy are clear to see before you even listen to the album: Björk features on frantic opener ‘Borealis’, and revered pianist Philip Glass lends his influence to closer ‘The Precision of Infinity’. Patton’s rhythmic sense is as mind-boggling as usual on Akoma. At times she seems to float totally free of any kind of pulse, only to find the beat again on another plane. ‘Granny’s Cherry Pie’ is predictably sugary and light-footed, a brilliantly fun footwork ditty which is more accessible than many of the tunes here. Footwork made big strides into the spotlight this year, and Jlin should receive a great deal of credit for that.
Shabaka - Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace
Percieve Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace is the debut album by London-born, Barbados-raised musician Shabaka Hutchings. It’s a gorgeous, sweeping spiritual jazz LP punctuated by bittersweet flute passages and poignant vocal contributions by the likes of Saul Williams and experimental rapper Elucid, who spits wretchedly over ‘Body to Inhabit’, speaking of “ciphers never completed/ the face behind this mask behind this face”. Perceive Its Beauty seems to contain a lot of anguish - Hutchings expertly builds and dispenses tension throughout the record’s 46 minutes - but there are also moments of giddy release, of stargazing wonder and disarming stillness. ‘Managing My Breath, What Fear Had Become’ featuring Williams is touching in its hopefulness. ‘Kiss Me Before I forget’ with Lianne La Havas provides restbite after the busy drums and saxophone of ‘Breathing’, which is itself fantastic but quite intense. If you only listen to one jazz record from 2024, it should be this one.
T.Williams - Raves of Future Past
Raves of Future Past is a love letter to British electronic music, and the debut album by UK producer T.Williams. The album’s creation began during lockdown in 2020, when Tefsa Williams began to trawl through his extensive vinyl collection. Having become frustrated with the algorithmic confines of modern digital music, he was keen to reconnect with the sounds of British rave music of the ‘90s and beyond. What followed was Raves of Future Past, an LP which is both a collage of those influences and a total reinvention. Williams’ synth leads are brash and powerful, the producer often imitating the clanging digital brass sounds used in grime tunes. ‘Step in 2’ is a vibrant, defiant dancefloor track, indisputably British in its flavour. ‘Love All You Squares’ is another highlight, its synths reminiscent of the early dubstep of Skream et al, its percussion owing more to drum and bass. ‘She Loves’ is one of the best jungle tunes of the year. Raves of Future Past’s cover describes its creator as “the uncanny T. Williams”, a moniker which suits the producer well: this album is mysteriously good, particularly for a full-length debut.
1010benja - Ten Total
It seems a bit ridiculous to suggest that 2024 was the year that hyperpop died: Charli XCX’s Brat, though not a perfect image of the genre, drew from its well consistently, and to enormous commercial and critical success. As I write above, Brat is not this year’s best album, but it’s difficult to argue that it was paralleled in terms of a cultural moment. All that being said, hyperpop has faded during the last twelve months. It’s not the buzzword it was in 2023, and its chaotic, chronically online sound seems to have dated more quickly than most expected. With that in mind, could 1010benja’s Ten Total be the last great hyperpop album?
In many ways, not really. While the Kansas City producer does exhibit that genre’s trademark unseriousness - on ‘Peacekeeper’ he rhymes “'Ventually I wanna stop drinkin', smokin' marijuana/ But for now I'm like, ‘Changa, changa, changa, changa’", one part of a barrage of ridiculous lyrical ponderances - there’s also a generous dose of earnestness on Ten Total. ‘H2HAVEYOU’ sees Benjamin Lyman serenade a love interest over a powerful pop rock instrumental. His vocals are strained and painfully yearning, the expression of his passion limited only by the physiology of his vocal chords. On ‘Penta’, Lyman is at once insecure and defiant, levatating over a jaunty beat as he raps “Don't talk to me, stupid, 'cause I feel too stupid/ Don't talk to me, dumb, ‘cause I feel too dumb.” At times, 1010benja is unerring in his self-belief. Elsewhere, he’s crushingly regretful.
It seems appropriate that CrateEater’s favourite album of 2024 is also the most chaotic on this list. While hyperpop’s future might seem perilous, 1010benja is inarguably on the way up.
And that’s it for 2024. Thanks for reading!
I’ll be back in a few weeks with CrateEater’s first edition of 2025. I hope you enjoy a restful start to the new year in the meantime.
Luke