The Top 10 Goth Albums of 2024

Having already started the End of the Year List season of with the Top 10 Post-Punk Albums of 2024, it's time to move in a darker direction with the Top 10 Goth Albums of 2024. If this seems premature,  record labels have already sent me most of what this year has to offer. After I sort through sorting through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2024. Perhaps it was marginally better than the previous year, though given the current climate of the world, we are progressing on a downward spiral, making dark music more important as a soundtrack for this.  The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Goth albums of 2024.

10- Meldamor - "My Ode to You" 

Synths collide with militant chanted vocals, not aggressive enough to be industrial, however there are plenty of creepy sounds conjured here.  The smoky female vocals hold more in common with Boy Harsher when they are in the lower depths of her alto range. This dark wave is done in a manner that resonates with 2024

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-meldamor-my-ode-to-you.html

 

9-Lila Ehja -"Clivota"

The darkness this delves into is a darkwave most fans of goth should find appeal. If inbut if you want a darkwave project not just trying to go for booty shaking but doing something with sonic depth this is it. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-lila-ehja-clivota.html

  8-Cold Cave - "Passion Depression" 

 Coming off a stint opening for Depeche Mode, Wesley is even more committed to the 80s-styled synth wave grooves, though his haunting baritone allows the project to retain its sense of dark wave. The songs coast on a neon-laced synth bass line through the dark alleys of Hollywood.   Vocally his cold croon works well here. He becomes even more submersed in the 80's

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-cold-cave-passion-depression.html

 

7-Aesthetic Perfection- "Bad Vibes" 

These guys have been around since the days of Myspace, and perhaps that is where you know them from. To their credit, they have kept their ears to pulse of where music was going and stuck to their guns to not lose a great deal of who they are in the process. Granted who they are is a Hot Topic marketing scheme to some extent. They carry a heavier thump to their sound and are equally parts driving and catchy, so songwriting for the win on this one. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/aesthetic-perfection-bad-vibes.html

6- Gvllow - "Twin Flames" 

He might be more well known for his work with sad boi hip-hop, but Gvllow is doing a pretty convincing job of working pop sensibilities in with post-punk. The first two songs owe as much to the Cure and Drab Majesty as it does to pop punk. It's catchy, with morose vocals that are more pop-inflected than say AFI's turn to similar moodiness. This is not as guitar-driven, though there are guitars present

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/gvllow-twin-flames.html

5- Cold In Berlin -"The Body is the Wound" 

These are tales of urban misgivings. What goes on in dark alleys behind dive bars. The band's sense of songwriting has become more refined on this EP. They are clearly the masters of their gloomy sonic domain here, and I can only hope they get more of the recognition they deserve.

     https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/cold-in-berlin-body-is-wound.html

 

4- Missiles - "Weaponize Tomorrow" 

This band from Sweden creates an alluring darkness with an almost punk drive. Guitars lurch into reverbed-out surf rock guitar tones, to sit over the bass player's dominant thump. These dystopian grooves are smoothed out by synth ambiance to set the apart from the pack.

 

ttps://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/missiles-weaponize-tomorrow.html

 

 

3- Astari Nite - "Resolution of Happiness" 

These guys were bound to evolve. I am glad they are. They have expanded their sonic palette, now drawing from dark emotive genres aside from death rock. The album at times touches on an almost Gary Numan-like take on New Wave If this is your introduction to the band it serves as a fine welcome into their majestic melancholy that is given more freedom here.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/astari-nite-resolution-of-happiness.html

 

2- Swan Wash- "Shadow Shadow" 

 This album packs a sonic punch, the band used to be members of a Siouxsie and the Banshees tribute, so this explains a great deal when it comes to the guitar tone. There are hints of death rock-flavored punk with an angular creepiness to it, This album feels  more urgent than Astari Nite's new one which gave these guys the edge for the number 2 spot.       

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/swan-wash-shadow-shadow.html

1-The Cure - "Songs Of a Lost World" 

If it was not for the Cure none of the other bands, on this list would be here. Though with that said, this album sounds like they picked up where they left off on "Wish". It is amazing they are still inspired to create something so perfect 14 albums later. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/the-cure-songs-of-lost-world.html

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June's Top 10 Albums

It's time for June's top 10 albums. Staying abreast on the month's highlights might help casual readers see what they missed, and give this the option to check these artists out. I am not doing little blurbs on them, just linking the reviews. This will help me organize my lists for the end of the year, by listing the genre of music the album falls under. This does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most, I have albums in my in-box that are not coming out til August, so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month there is a wide variety from post-punk to pop to hard-core, so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for June 2024.

10- INERTH - "Hybris" 

Sludge 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-inerth-hybris.html

9-Julie Christmas -""Ridiculous and Full of Blood" 

Post-rock 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/julie-christmas-ridiculous-and-full-of.html

8-White Stones-"Memoria Via" 

Progressive metal  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-white-stones-memoria-via.html

7-SARS - "Nothing Hurts Quite Like Life" 

Metallic Hardcore 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/sars-nothings-hurts-quite-like-life.html

6-Umbra Vitae - "Light of Death" 

Metal Core

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-umbra-vitae-light-of-death.html

5-$uicideboy$ : "New World Depression" 

Trap

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/uicideboy-new-world-depression.html

4-Swan Wash - "Shadow, Shadow" 

Death Rock

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/swan-wash-shadow-shadow.html

3-Crippling Alcoholism - "Love From a Padded Room" 

Post Punk 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/crippling-alcoholism-with-love-from.html

2-Charli XCX - "Brat" 

pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/charli-xcx-brat.html

1-200 Stab Wounds- "Manual Manic Procedures" 

Death Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-200-stab-wounds-manual.html

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The Top 10 Goth/ Post-Punk Albums of 2024...so far

 

The great TikTok goth craze of 2022 is a distant memory to the lemming-minded masses and it is just another depressing day for actual goths to celebrate darkness. Since goth is about music with a side order of fashion, it's time to look at the mid-year report card for goth, post-punk, and industrial music this year.  I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they are really going to need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. Given my tastes things lean in the more death-rock direction. I like my goth to be aggressive, to the point, even one metal band made the list. Though most sub-genres are represented here, though not much of interest in terms of dark wave which really impressed me this year. There are very few projects here that rely too much on electronics as I am a firm believer in actual instruments making music.  I have included links to full reviews if you want to check these out and with all that said here are the top 10 goth/ post-punk albums of 2023 so far. 

   10-Blushing-"Sugarcoat" 

 Dream pop is the first handy label to throw on this Texas-based band,  but they do seem more serious about rocking out than most dream pop bands. They at times remind me of a shoegazing version of Veruca Salt, with how the vocals harmonize and entwined. Things swirl around you so it can be hard to tell who is doing what

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/blushing-sugarcoat.html

 

9-Louvado Abismo- "s/t" 

This band from Portugal gets it. Too many new post-punk bands don't pack enough of a punch sending me back to my old Killing Joke and Christian Death albums. This album stomps with dark aggression to make something that is sonically intense, The plead of the vocals feels real rather than someone trying to recreate what has already been done, but true to the legacy of the genre. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/louvado-abismo-st.html

8 -Bleakheart - "Silver Pulse" 

This band wanders off into a melancholic brand of dreamy shoe-gaze that moves at the speed of doom. Their heavy throb often keeps them from being mere dream pop. They have crafted a pretty sweet blend of sonic intensity and atmosphere. The vocals draw you in and earn repeat listens. The guitar often shifts its tone to  a more pastoral feel, to keep an organic feel, almost neo-folk mood. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/bleakheart-silver-pulse.html

7-Cold in Berlin - "The Body is the Wound" 

This band encompasses what I love in music, darkness and sonic heaviness. They flirt with metal without abandoning their post-punk core. Expectations are either met on their new ep or exceeded. They have managed to reach a stellar balance with dark wave synths, combined with the heftier drive 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/cold-in-berlin-body-is-wound.html

 

6-Crippling Alcoholism -"With Love From a Padded Room" 

This album came out under the radar earlier this year, so glad some digging around on the inner web allowed me to discover it.. They encompass a darkly honest misery I have not heard done this well since Planesmistakenforstars was a band. Raspy baritone vocals frequently entertain a marginally more upbeat melody.  While their Bandcamp keywords label this as goth, they are more like if Tom Waits fronted Interpol, so closer to post-punk. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/crippling-alcoholism-with-love-from.html

5-the Jesus and Mary Chain -"Glasgow Eyes" 

The Reid Brothers are back for the 8th album of their 40-year career. For me, the album they are always measured against is "Darklands" as it was my introduction to the band and the most sullen of their work. This album does touch on their more depressive side at times but finds them employing a wide range of moods. It opens with a rather upbeat pulse. It is more experimental in a different way. It sounds like they are toying around with synths and effects. Jim's voice sounds ageless, with his hushed dusky muttering. Lyrically things are brilliant. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/jesus-and-mary-chain-glasgow-eyes.html

4-Chelsea Wolfe- " She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She"

Wolfe's 8th album, yes we are counting "Mistake in Parting" finds her diving into more of a trip-hop feel. That is a trip-hop that is thicker on the trip than the hop. Tv on the Radio guitarist Dave Sitek is the wild card in the creation of this album. This album flows with her body of work. Nothing feels out of her wheelhouse. It is going to take a few listens for the more experimental moments to really click with me, but the moods she invokes are once again welcome.

 

3-Swan Wash -"Shadow, Shadow" 

They used to be members of a Siouxsie and the Banshees tribute, so this explains a great deal when it comes to the guitar tone.  Their sounds carry more hints of punk, though an angular creepiness haunts it. There is an element to it that reminds me of Placebo, which is an influence that is a little left of center when it comes to what most death-rock revivalists are about.  Most of the songs are around the three-minute mark so they do not give themselves too much time to indulge in a brooding atmosphere. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/swan-wash-shadow-shadow.html

 

2-METZ-"Up on Gravity Hill" 

The band once again shifts the sonics of their attack on this album, though even amid its weirdness, is more accessible to a wider audience. Woozy guitar counterpoints punk-inflected vocals that are smoothed out by overdubbed harmonies on the chorus. The normally rough edges of noise-rock smoothed out by the more refined nuances of their songwriting to create a more 90s style atl-rock not unlike the bar-room brooding of the Afghan Whigs. The vocals serve a greater purpose than they did even on the last album.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/metz-up-on-gravity-hill.html

 

1-Astari Nite -"Resolution of Happiness" 

These guys were bound to evolve. I am glad they are. They have expanded their sonic palette, now drawing from dark emotive genres aside from death rock. At times taking on an almost Gary Numan-like take on New Wave. The post-punk jangle of the angular grooves proves to be a more compelling listen. t Lyrically great imagery is thrown at you in a collage of sentiments. There is little of the Christian Death worship that marked their earlier work.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/astari-nite-resolution-of-happiness.html

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Swan Wash : "Shadow , Shadow"

 

I was always hesitant to check this band out due to the fact they even use the same font as Swans to write their name. They have much more in common with Astari Nite, as they do not play harshly experimental post-punk but are a romanticized version of death rock. They owe less to Christian Death than Astari Nite. They do have more of a sonic punch on the second song of their new full-length.They used to be members of a Siouxsie and the Banshees tribute, so this explains a great deal when it comes to the guitar tone.  "Almost Gone" carries more hints of punk, though an angular creepiness haunts it. There is an element to it that reminds me of Placebo, which is an influence that is a little left of center when it comes to what most death-rock revivalists are about.  Most of the songs are around the three -minute mark so they do not give themselves too much time to indulge in a brooding atmosphere. 

An even more rock n roll jangles drive " the Upstairs Museum". Lyrically things remain interesting. It is this more abstract narrative, that keeps to the theme without playing to tropes. "Up the Stairs' jams off the darkness, which they hinted at in the previous song.  I like how the vocals are layered here. "Lights Are Outside" is more of a ballad. I like the contemplative nature of the vocals, as they incorporate elements of 1950s Phil Spector pop. Though the drummer has listened to more than a few records by the Police.  "Tavel's Gavel" muses to itself as the music takes on a hypnotic drone. At six and a half minutes it's also the album's longest song. 

"Before Today" brings older Siouxsie to mind, but is jammed out in a way that is more rock n roll than punk. I appreciate this fact as most of the death rock revival bands have leaned into the more punk side of the genre, and overall there is less rock in goth rock today are more acts are either darkwave or punk with creepy effects on their guitars. "Ownership" finds spoken vocals guiding the darker mood spreading over the song. I like the dissonant edge of the guitar. I like pretty much everything about this album it just has to grow on me in some era, though the fact I bought it off Bandcamp rather than wait around to find it online or for a promo to come my way speaks volumes to how much I do like this album, so I will round it up to a 10. 

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