The Top 10 Pop Albums of 2024 ...so far

That time of year again. These lists serve as a decent snapshot of where the year is heading in terms of music. 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. When it comes to pop what you are not going to see much of are big mainstream radio artists that are part of the music industry machine that spits bullshit out on an assembly line with two dozen producers and even more songwriters making a product for the sheep to consume. Only two artists on this list come from that machine and both have risen above it, unlike the bulk of their peers. 

What I want from my pop is catchy songs that have actual instruments being played, rather than just empty calories being pumped into my ears. My people refer to this sort of thing as their guilty pleasures, and I do not use that term as anyone on this list is better than vapid shit kids on Tik Tok are dancing to. Hip Hop has pretty much been garbage this year, so don't hold your breath for much of that to appear, there are links to full reviews if you want to check these out and with all that said here are the top 10 pop albums of 2024 so far. 

10-Nadine Shah -"Filthy Underneath" 

Shah's voice her voice still sounds great and overall everything typically works certainly better than most of the pop music on the radio, this is comparable to her other albums.  

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/nadine-shah-filthy-underneath.html

9-St. Vincent - "All Born Screaming" 

You never know what to expect from her,  Clark who produced this album herself calls it post-plague pop. That makes more sense than not. Not her hookiest album, but it does have something to say and covers a great deal of stylistic ground while staying true to a theme. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/st-vincent-all-born-screaming.html

8-$uicideboy$ : "New World Depression" 

This is the fourth album by the New Orleans-based duo. The production value of their albums continues to improve, now finding the raw lo-fi quality that marked their early days as the first wave of Soundcloud rappers gone and it's not unlike when Bone Thugs N Harmony was at their peak in the 90s.I am happy to hear a hip-hop album with this mood and mindset coming out it's a relief. 

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

7-Allie X - "Girl With No Face" 

She has always created a more thoughtful take on pop music, however, once she thinks too deeply into things the more she drifts in a dark wave direction. This hint of the  80s can be heard throughout the album, as the 38-year-old singer continues to stay on brand even when it glides into more of a slick pop groove .

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/allie-x-girl-with-no-face.html

 

6-Faye Webster- "Underdressed at the Symphony" 

In the 70s there was a genre called adult contemporary. It was the kind of organic loungy music that was not the bubble gum of pop but found artists in the middle of country and jazz. There was none of the country twang, nor the complex excursions in jamming that jazz ventures off into. More produced than folk, but many former folk artists would cross over into this for radio play. Mellow is certainly a fitting word to describe it.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/faye-webster-underdressed-at-symphony.html

5-Snow Strippers - "Night Killaz Vol 2" 

This duo is the epitome of the Soundcloud generation, they are more experimental than your average pop album. It crosses over into electronica more often than not since the emphasis is on the beats and soundscapes being woven here. Tatiana is not the greatest singer, but the secret to this album lies in how her voice is presented. She works more off the charisma of her persona. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/snow-strippers-night-killaz-vol-2.html

 

4-Middle Kids-"Faith Crisis" 

This Australian band is moving in a poppier direction, which is still effective as they are writing pop songs with a great deal of heart and thought invested in them. Unlike most actual pop artists, they do not have a team of producers and songwriters but hash things out as a band, with the guitar still at the forefront of what they are doing, though the sugar-coated vocals of Hannah Joy are pushed further into the spotlight.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/middle-kids-faith-crisis.html

 3-DEHD - "Poetry" 

This album continued to grow on me thanks to infectious songs like "Mood Ring". The poppy indie rock jangle grooves better than most pop on the radio in 2024.  It feels like the days of  California punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/dehd-poetry.html

2- Charli XCX- "Brat" 

On her 6th album, there are 12 co-writers on 15 tracks and only 4 additional producers, which means she is doing better than the bulk of artists on the radio, though she falls on the more fringe side of pop, with only one foot on the mainstream despite having shared the bill on some high profile tours. This album is so good, that it had me wrestling with whether this should take the number one spot, as it has more infectious energy than the more reflective album that took the number one spot, the only thing holding her back is the fact she uses her voice to form a relentless stream of club hooks but does not have the depth to her vocal lines here that can be heard on the number one album, but this is a ton of fun, and who knows by the time I make my end of the year spot it might mange to knock the queen from her throne. 

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

1- Taylor Swift - "Dead Poets Department" 

While other pop artists have to grab your attention by putting on cowboy cats or trying on new personas their record labels want to convince you are breaking new ground, Taylor Swift has less to prove and is content just being herself. She captured the top spot despite artists like Charli XCX  delivering some of their best work, because at this point even when Swift comes closer to dialing it in she writes with more sonic breadth, and lyrical depth than what other artists are doing on their best day. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department.html

pst304

The Metallica Blacklist Review pt - 2 "Sad But True"

 

The new tribute to the Black Album called the Metallica Blacklist, is a collection of artists each covering a song from the band's biggest selling work. To review this as a whole would be a daunting task since there are 5 to 6 artists covering each.   So I broke this down by song,  So you are getting an installment of this review for each song. 

Sam Fender makes it clear he has heard plenty of Jeff Buckley but not really sure what Metallica is about. Sure he has a decent voice, even if the over all sound is less than original, he would have been better off with 'the Unforgiven" . I am more surprised by the fact Jason Isobell sounds more like legit country than . His version bears next to nothing to do with the original , but is better than what Fender does. This is also better than what the Mexican Institute of Sound does, which is just sample the original song and mix it against the sounds of their home country.   

Going into this Royal Blood would have been my pick for who was going to do the best just job of this one. The vocals kind of fall into the Weezer trap of not having enough balls and rely on the music to carry the weight of the song, though what they do going into the chorus works pretty well. I had the highest hopes for St. Vincent, as I know she likes metal, she instead gives it more of a Nine Inch Nails treatment with the slinky beat. She pretty much does what she always does and it just happens to be a Metallica, in fact I think I have heard her use a beefier guitar tone on her own songs. 

Kentucky's White Reaper would have been my second guess for who would do the best job as far as staying closer to what they original., In some ways they might have done this better than Royal Blood, I think they would be more suited for "Seek and Destroy" , but I will give what they did a thumbs up. YB Korean band also tries a similar approach, but try to hard while taking to many liberties and just do not have the balls White Reaper had . So I think White Reaper won this round.    

The Top 15 Rock Albums of 2014

I hate it when people say in no particular order,  have some conviction do some thinking and say here it is this album was the best. So here we go, the Top 15 best Rock albums of 2014. If you want to hear them or read a full review click on the urls under each entry.

15-Interpol-El Pintor

Remember when these guys seemed dark? In some ways,despite it's hooks the album winks to their legacy, wandering in circles around it wondering where do they stand in a post- Cold Play world and do they want to be a part of it. Considering the post- rock revival these guys feel more like Radiohead than Joy Division now.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/09/interpol-el-pintor.html

14-  Thee Sliver Mt. Zion Orchestra-"Fuck off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything

This album has some good grooves and answers the question what would Godspeedyoublackemperor sound like with vocals.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/01/thee-silver-mt-zion-memorial-orchestra.html



13-House of Capricorn-Morning Star Rise

If you miss H.I.M. these guys fill that hole, but with half the calories from all the cheese and more balls,

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-house-of-capricorn-morning-star-rise.html

12- St. Vincent -s/t

She nails Bowie's Scary Monsters sound and gives it a does of dance inducing pop that still manages to rock.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/05/st-vincent-st.html


11-the Estranged-s/t

This Portland band had a more Exile on Mainstream take on post-punk, which landed this on the rock list rather than the goth/industrial list coming next week.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-estranged-st.html


10-Nothing- Guilty of Everything

This shoegazing gem really grew on me over the past year. They come across as slightly more grunge like live.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/03/nothing-guilty-of-everything.html

9-Pig Eyes-s/t

Jeez didn't realize how many people put out self titled albums til I made this list. The guitar player from In Solitude shows you his punk side.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/10/pig-eyes-st.html

8- Whirr-"Sway"

The other big band of the shoe gaze revival, this one barely edged out Nothing, but it did on originality alone.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/09/whirr-sway.html


7- Cult of Youth-"Final Days"

For these guys to have come in at 7 rather than the top five means the competition was rather stiff, this might not be their best album , but it is a great one.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/11/cult-of-youth-final-days.html

6- Esben & the Witch - "A New Nature"

Female fronted post- rock that  at times invokes both Forget Cassettes and Chelsea Wolfe . How can you argue with that?

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/09/esben-witch-new-nature.html

5-Swans - To Be Kind

My favorite band this side of the Smiths only made it to number 5. These are a series of live jams they translated to the studio, but even when Gira is just playing around he is still better than most.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/05/swans-to-be-kind.html

4- Ice Age -"Plowing into the Field of Love"

These guys have grown in leaps and bounds, so much so the rock swagger injected on this album now makes them much more qualified for this list than being called post-punk.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/09/iceage-plowing-fields-of-love.html

3- Morrissey- "World Peace is None of Your Business"

Stiff competition for sure if Moz didn't take home the number one spot, it came down to two albums that I listened to more and were a tad more focused.



2-Merchandise-"After the End"

They really edged out Moz by the sheer fact I listened to this album much more than "World Peace is ..." . These guys matured as songwriters, the melodies are very memorable, even if this album is oddly upbeat and almost sounds like 70's rock in places.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/07/merchandiseafter-end.html

1- Wovenhand -"Refractory Obdurate"

This album kept drawing me in for more. It's amazing in all most every way.  Edwards really out did himself . This might be his heaviest album yet.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/04/wovenhand-refractory-obdurate.html

St. Vincent : s/t

Annie Clark earned her place on her by contributing vocals on the new Swans album, but she has also collaborated with Talking Heads front man David Byrne, so she runs in some illustrious Manhattan circles. This electro pop weirdness on this album is not unlike that from Bowie's "Scary Monsters" album. This is her 4th solo album, she got her start with Polyphonic Spree, though there is hardly a trace of their happy hippy pop.

The first single "Birth In Reverse" an ode to her bi-polar disorder, is poppy enough for the hooks to do their job, but not screaming sell out by any means.John Congleton of the Paper Chase produced this album. Clark calls it a part album you could play at a funeral, and I don't here this until the 80's synth ballad "Prince Johnny". It reminds me at times of Cindy Lauper. Despite having the talents of the drummers from Midlake and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings on the album, most of the percussive elements are programmed.

Though I would not call his album goth or dark wave as it's in the same sphere as maybe Imogen Heap, it still has the depressive undercoating to off set the more manic dance tendencies. The close to acid jazz "Huey Newton" might not carry the despair of Portishead, but expresses similar emotions. Normally electronic based music has a more plastic coating , but this album still manages to evoke a broad scope of emotions.

If you caught her performance on Saturday Night Live then you heard the very Prince influenced "Digital Witness". This vocal lines are also Sinead O Connor in the way the fuse quirky solemn phrasing with pop gloss.  "I Prefer Your Love" has kind of a "Nothing Compares 2 U" feel , but it is not as well crafted and is the first song that doesn't hit me on first listen.Lyrically I appreciate it. Her melodies are still better than whats on the radio today, but is the first awkward moment of the album.

Redemption comes in "Regret" a pop song of sorts that carries more punch, though her trademark seems to be to float out of  the groove in a more airy vocal line. It is some of her best guitar playing on this album. The song is arranged as a call and response. The song that resonates most with me on first listen is the often
acapella "Bring Me Your Loves" it has a dose of funk in space, that coils around her vocal acrobatics.

For the songs to be called "Pyschopath" it is very happy. The pulse of it is is cheerfully tense. The lyrics convey a similar state of mind, though bi-polar in they dynamic in way the chorus of this song juxtaposes it self against the pulse.The song works though it's not my favorite on this album but works better for me than "I Prefer Your Love". It's sense of movement keeps it going and compliments the often upbeat feel of the album. But she is upbeat in a similar manner to Xiu Xiu's more song oriented efforts.

The groove to "Every Tear Disappears" is pretty decent, but after you have delivered some pretty stunning moments, I think pretty decent isn't maintain your stride and falls more towards filler. I think the fact the vocal lines don't have the same attention to detail given in their construction is what keeps this song from soaring. The Sinead O Conner vibe returns on the slower paced "Severed Crossed Fingers" . As far as the albums slower moments go this song is stronger than "I Prefer Your Love".The melody is more defined and the music kinda floats behind it forcing her vocals to do most of the heavy lifting, but in this case it works.

I will give this one a 9.5 . I might grow on me, the songs I was lukewarm on were still good, they just didn't contribute to what I felt to be the album's momentum. The more amazing moments balanced things out and make this a pretty fun listen overall ,

Swans: "To Be Kind"

Many of these songs may sound familiar if you caught Gira and company touring in support of "the Seer" as they were all developed live.The prowess of their new-ish bass player is highlighted in the riff that opens the first disc of this double album...or first folder depending on how you consume music these days.The groove drones like they do, Gira's vocals come across more like a Iggy Pop reading a poem. . It build into the chanted frenzy you know they are going to deliver, like in their most classic moments.

They had really gotten back on track with the Seer, not that the previous album which heralded their return was shabby at all , but this is less seamless when played back to back with Great Annihilator . Where most bands don't know how to use drone and noise elements with out just becoming nonsense , Swans artfully craft their songs around it. "Just a Little Boy" winds into itself and at twelve minutes it can afford to take it's time. The song starts with a dark slink that sounds like something from a David Lynch soundtrack before Gira's vocals slide into the grooves. His vocals raise into a preacher like rant as the song begins to build it's way into madness. I like the way his vocals transition out from under themselves, in some clever layering.

"A Little God In My Hand" has a clanging bounce in it's step. It almost reminds me of the Violent Femmes if they had been industrial, as the beat has a machine like precision to it. At 7 minutes it comes across as a pop song in comparison to the 34 minute "Bring the Sun" that bangs into a jarring drone like the band's golden years.

While the 34 minute monster is a hypnotic wonderment, you have to wonder how practical is a 34 minute song in todays iPod culture. In the first seven minutes there is a lot of chanting from Gira while they work themselves up out of the the trance state. They staff on the same "riff" and slowly build it up so by the 14 minute mark the cymbal crashes are ringing in your ears.By the 21 minute mark they have of course imploded into noisy twinkles, horse naying, and feedback  because there was no where else to go with the drone. In the songs final ten minutes there is a "No Quarter" like organ line that floats under Gira's shouts and ends up in a "Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun" like place. The first disc comes to a close with "Some Things We Do" is more of a breather after the 34 minute hypnosis, has now worn you out. It still has a drone to it , but the chant is more subdued and the mantra is less militant in its intent.    

The second disco starts off with a reminder of just how influenced by Swans Tool is. This is getting closer to metal territory and I am doubtful when Tool finally does put out an album they will be able to muster up anything this creative. The off time is layered with chanting in this 17 minute sprawl of psychedelics. It does one of their implosions into noise midway and comes out on the other side a more punishing creature.The tension is tightly coiled at the 7 minute mark in a manner Trent Reznor would be wise to take notes from. This is the albums first moment where I can't help but nod my head to it.

Gira's voice returns to the low resonance I want from him on "Kirsten Supine". This is a more delicate murmur of a throb. This is also a duet of sorts with one of the female singers who isn't Jarboe so there is no reason to mention them. The song doesn't take form until the 5 and a half minute mark, it just shimmers itself awake until that point. Two minutes later it really crashes to life and darkens up a bit like I needed it to.  The band doesn't forget to rock despite all the drone that is going on this go round, as "Oxygen" does just that in a very angular fashion. Its a little upbeat for Swans, but works. Gira is tending to lean more toward maniac ranting on this album than singing , almost at times speaking in tongues.

The tongues continues as the spirit moves them on "Nathalie Neal". The strum of acoustic guitars comes out of the noise to turn this into a real song. It carries the hypnosis that coats this album with it. The build is dissonant , but not a challenge to listen to. Lyrically this one my favorite song on the album, it goes back to more of a Children of God approach. The title track starts off as close to being a ballad as you are going to get from the band. The vocals benefit the most from the layering, until they dip down into the lower baritone that recall Gira's prime. Like Bowie , he just has to show me can can still do it if he wants to. They give you the pay off with a powerful crescendo, that will make for a deafening transition live when they pound the point home.

It's taken me almost all day to review this album. It is an undertaking , not just something to pop in. So make sure you are stocked up on your drug of choice and laying down for the ride. I'll round this one up from a 9.5 that it hovered around to a 10, because let's face it who else can make music like this?  They are my favorite band and I have a very romantic notion of what I want to hear from them , which is to take me back to a place they are no longer at so accepting that , which is easier said than done, lets me get out of the way and take this album in as the art it is.