The Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2024

If you do not know what Indie rock means in 2024, then why did you click on this article in the first place? The bands that made the top ten list, are of the more experimental variety, many times bordering on post-punk, but not as fully immersed in the bleakness, though more albums lean into a darker mood than not here, though given the website you are reading this on that should not be a surprise. While indie rock lends itself to hipster culture, these are not intended to be the coolest albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say,

 After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2024. 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 indie rock albums of 2024

10-Cigarettes After Sex -"X's" 

The hushed androgynous intensity of Greg Gonzalez remains the same in many ways. This album finds the project has matured. There is a grounded melancholy not unlike that of country music, actual country music not the pop version, so I guess if you are too used to city life and do not have the kind of cowboy fantasies Orville Peck invokes then this folk music for closeted gay addicts, perhaps in recovery due to the lovely of self-reflection here.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/cigarettes-after-sex-xs.html

 

9-death doula -"Love Spells" 

There is a slight post-punk influence to the moody styling of this Portland band, but also a grungy jangle to what they do and a Mazzy Star-like longing, though their singer projects her alto rather than fading into the haze.  There is a jangle to the guitar, as the vocals unfold with a slithering ghost of a purpose.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-death-doula-love-spells.html

 

7-the Dandy Warhols- "Rockmaker" 

 This is on the weird left of Ween, as they stylistically do not take such drastic turns, and in many ways are creating pop music for those who ingest a ton of LSD. This album proves to be written in the same weird vein, but it flows pretty well, and even with the surreal sonic oddity this band can become they are effective songwriters. If you are a fan of this band you already know what you are getting into and will be down for it. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-dandy-warhols-rockmaker.html

6-The Raveonettes- "The Raveonettes Sing on .."

The 9th album from the Danish reverb rockers is comprised of covers. They are covering some of their most obvious influences but doing it in a way that still retains the Twin Peaks-like ambiance that has colored their body of work. If you are a fan then this band this will make perfect sense, and is a must-list. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-raveonettes-raveonettes-sing.html

5-Soccer Mommy -"Evergreen" 

    Gripping tenderness moves Sophia's fourth album with a compelling flow to the songwriting. The drums help keep it moving, more than leaving her wandering in the atmosphere of her guitar, though a surreal 70s vibe finds flute solos surfacing to provide a more expansive sound. Her singing style's hushed virginal vocal tones incorporate equal emotions and detachment.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/soccer-mommy-evergreen.html

         

4-Pale Waves- "Smitten" 

After leaning too heavily in the pop direction it's good to hear them back placing the focus on guitars and more emotive vocals that border on dream pop but are driven by a carefree 90s jangle. The hooks are here, and the pop tendencies make it an easy listen but it has more depth. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/pale-waves-smitten.html

 

3-Fontaines DC - "Romance" 

The one album that was over-produced paid off. The grooves are huge when they hit you with them and the vocals sound great. They have come into their own on this album. The hooks are dialed in where they need to be, and it's an infectious affair. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/fontaines-dc-romance.html

 

             

2- Middle Kids- "Faith Crisis pt 1" 

This album really could have taken number one, they were on my pop list as well, until I moved them back here as this is a guitar-driven album when it comes to who is supporting these stellar vocal melodies, this band needs to be as big as HAIM and opening for Taylor Swift. But they are too smart for their own good, and the songs benefit from this at the end of the day. 

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

             

1-DEHD - "Poetry" 

Over the years this band continued to grow on me until with this album everything clicked into pace. Their finely tuned garage pop is hookier than most pop on the radio. Some of the songs feel like long-lost classics from the early days of California garage rock, despite this band not being from California. At times this finds Beach Boys sounds colliding with the Velvet Underground. The hooks kept me listening which secured them at the top spot. 

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

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January's Top 10 Albums

Here is something I decided to do this year. Granted we do not know if we are going to make it to the end of the year, and 2025 will surely be our last, but 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. I think it 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 June, 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 indie pop to punk to black metal, so perhaps you will find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for January of 2024.

10-Slower- "s/t" 

Doom

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/slower-st.html

9-Inquisition- " Veneration of Medieval Mysticism and Cosmological Violence"

Black Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/inquisition-veneration-of-medieval.html

8-New Model Army - "Unbroken" 

 Rock/ Post-punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/new-model-army-unbroken.html

7-KMFDM- "Let Go" 

Electronic 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/kmfdm-let-go.html

6-Rejoice-"All of Heaven's Luck" 

 Hard Core

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/rejoice-all-of-heavens-luck.html

5-Modern Life is War -"Tribulation Worksongs"

Punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/modern-life-is-war-tribulation-worksongs.html

4-Alkaline Trio-"Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs" 

Pop Punk 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/alkaline-trio-blood-hair-and-eyeballs.html

3-Infant Island -"Obsidian Wreath"

 Screamo / Black Metal

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/infant-island-obsidian-wreath.html

2-Middle Kids -"Faith Crisis" 

Indie Pop

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

1-Cold in Berlin -"the Body is the Wound" 

Doom /Post Punk

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

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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. It is generally upbeat, though with introspective lyrics that are sometimes self-deprecating. The album is well produced and while sonically falling somewhere between HAIM and Boygenius, they are not quite as radio-ready as Haim even on more anthemic songs like "The Blessings", but this plays to their favor since most radio sucks. 

"Bootleg Firecracker" is not far removed from Taylor Swift's more organic moments, though Joy's vocal style is a little more indie folk here. She is not going for anthemic choruses either. There is a little more of a rock feel to "Highlands" The vocals are still really catchy, but the emphasis shifts a little toward the guitar riffs.  'Bend" finds Hannah strumming her way through what at first feels like a ballad until it gains more dynamic traction. The bass line to "Go to Sleep on Me" takes more prominence. When the guitar comes in it feels more like the Cure's poppier moments. There is an indie rock shuffle to "Terrible News ". They continue to prove themselves lyrically superior to the bulk of pop music with songs like "Philosophy". 

"Your Side Forever" is a little more of an honest and vulnerable take on pop.  The last song is more of a ballad, that sets the stage for a duet with Gang of Youth's David Le'aupepe, which works well enough for what it is for this album. Overall I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it sits with me, it is going to be hard to beat in terms of pop, and perhaps it's perfection will become clearer with more listens as it settles in with me, but a great replacement for the lack of new Haim.    

Faith Crisis Pt 1 by Middle Kids

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