Rinsing Out, Part 1: January to June 2024 in Review

Most people usually try to start a project with something less ambitious than trying to recap an entire year. They also don’t start projects at the end of a year. While I initially tried to cover the entire year in one post, I realized that this was a fool’s errand as I started going through the albums that I listened to this year.

This was a phenomenal music year. People have broken out. New artists have made their mark. Artists that have been dormant for a while are making excellent return albums, and many genres are experiencing true salad days. I’ve been super pleased with much of the music that has entered my ears this year.

Without further ado, let’s get into this whole process. This first post is only the first half of the year. Next week will be the back half of the year. It’s a great time to do it as there are few new records at the beginning of the year. Both posts will be organized alphabetically, disregarding “a” and “the” because I’m not a cretin.

Arooj Aftab - Night Reign

She’s just out here being the coolest jazz lady and absolutely destroying. This album is beautiful. Her and her band are firing on all cylinders. We’re lucky to have her music.

Beth Gibbons - Lives Outgrown

The leader of the influential trip-hop outfit Portishead releases a beautiful, haunting meditation on life and loss. This album kept reminding me of Hope Sandoval in the best ways. Two women who write haunting, beautiful songs, and release very little music, making it more important that we savor it when we actually get it. This is everywhere, and that is because it is excellent.

Beyonce - Cowboy Carter

Beyonce is one of the most profound forces in popular music today. We sleep on her at our own peril. Even though there are some missteps on this album (e.g., the Jolene cover), the fact that she (a) pulled this off and (b) it was light years better than it needed to be is a true accomplishment of her talent.

Billie Eilish - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

I know that people weren’t as up on this album, and that’s strange to me. This is easily one of her most consistent works. The songwriting is really strong, and the production is fantastic. Billie’s only coming into her prime, and this album is the proof of that.

Bodega - Our Brand Could Be Your Life

Aside from the fact that this is one of the best guitar rock albums from this year, it makes this list for two songs: one is “Tarkovski,” a song about the Andrei Tarkovsky film Stalker, and the other is “Webster Hall,” a song about terrible dudes at concerts.

Boldy James & Conductor Williams - Across the Tracks

Boldy James puts out three to four albums a year of hyper-specific drug rap and shit talking with no drop in quality. His tape from the beginning of the year with Nicholas Craven, Penalty of Leadership, where he talks about recovering from his car crash, could have gone here. His tape, The Bricktionary, with Harry Fraud also could have gone here. I chose this one because him and Conductor are in deep sync here. The beats hit hard and Boldy drops phenomenal lines. My favorite track is “Flying Trapeze Act.”

Bullion - Affection

A sumptuous blend of electronic and new wave sounds and sophisti-pop artistry. This whole album hit me in the way that Hats by the Blue Nile did the first time I listened to it; when I finished it, I realized that I had heard something truly excellent.

Camera Obscura - Look to the East, Look to the West

On their first album of new material in 11 years, Camera Obscura add some country sounds to their ever-sturdy indie pop and do what only they can: break you heart in so many different ways.

Charlie Crockett - $10 Cowboy

Charlie Crockett feels like a throwback of a country artist, telling stories of the down and out. Crockett and his band are lights out on this album, just playing with the ease of a crew that knows each other extremely well. A real delight to listen to.

Charli XCX - Brat

Everyone has correctly noticed that this album slaps. I'm with them: It absolutely does. It also shows how much Ms. Aitchison has grown as an artist. I’ve been with her since Sucker, so it’s nice to see her in such control of her sound. I love when pop stars hit this point in their careers.

Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee

This album brought back the mid-2000s music blog hype machine in full force. The actual question was is the album any good or are we in another Clap Your Hands Say Yeah moment. The answer is this album is amazing. It's like turning on a radio in a David Lynch movie. It's full of retro sounds and has a distinctly haunting, spectral vibe. I don't think it would work well though if it were only that. It works because the songs are absolutely rock solid. Patrick Flegel a/k/a Cindy Lee is a phenomenal guitarist, bringing needed depth and beauty to a project that could otherwise read as a boring pastiche. This is one of my absolute favorite albums of the year.

Corridor - Mimi

An absolute rocket of an album. So many ideas and sounds come at you within the compact 32-minute runtime, making it hard to keep track of everything. The most important thing is that the listen is extremely thrilling and engaging. I have yet to be bored while listening to this album, and I am always finding new things contained within.

Crumb - AMAMA

This is a strong release from a young psych-rock crew out of Brooklyn. I love this album because it pulls a strange trick on me every time I listen to it. The album drifts through the first couple of tracks, which are very good, and then in “The Bug,” the third track, it absolutely locks in. After that track, I’m completely fascinated by the album. I don’t know how it happens or why, but it does, and I find it intriguing every time.

Dehd - Poetry

This Chicago trio released their best album so far with Poetry. They’ve been on an upswing for a while, but they put it all in place on this one. The boy-girl harmonies, the tough rhythms, the delicate lyrics. It all clicks beautifully this time. A great indie pop album worthy of your time.

Dirty Three - Loves Changes Everything

Over the course of 41 minutes, the Australian trio puts on a masterclass of emotion and dynamics without using a word. Their music explores the dreaminess, the highs, the lows, the whirlwinds, and the beauty of love. It’s a gorgeous listen, making the 10 years between records feel immaterial. They can take as long as they want if this is what they come back with.

Ducks Ltd. - Harm’s Way

This duo is easily one of my favorite indie pop bands working right now. So, I was excited that this album was really good. On this album, they brought in some friends to help with vocals and some other instruments, and the result is an album that zips along and is a clear advance over their earlier work. There are more textures and dynamics on display, allowing them to put more of their own touches on the well-established college rock/C-86 sound that sits at their core.

Erika de Casier - Still

Erika de Casier has been out here making excellent R&B for the last few years. The simplest way to describe her sound is as a mixture of 90s R&B (e.g., Aaliyah) and modern dance music, particularly two-step/garage and drum-n-bass. She’s got a quiet delivery, but she absolutely owns the space. She's absolutely beguiling.

Fabiana Palladino - Fabiana Palladino

A striking debut if there ever was one. She comes out of the gate with her own perspective as a songwriter and a sound that mashes up nocturnal pop, 80s Minneapolis Sound, and R&B into an affecting whole. An absolute wonder of an album.

Helado Negro - PHASOR

An album from early in the year on which Roberto Carlos Lange spins out a heady mix of jazz, psych, kosmische, electronica, and latin rhythms. In reading that sentence, it makes the album sound pretentious. It’s really not. It’s stunning with its relaxed sounds and Lange’s easy delivery. This album always puts me on the nicest of vibes, and that’s what you need sometimes.

Jane Weaver - Love in Constant Spectacle

Jane Weaver has been working at the intersection of English folk music and psychedelic/krautrock music for a few albums now. She’s got the sound very much dialed in, and this album is clear proof of that. Her albums are always sumptuous, engaging affairs that are absolutely worth your time.

Julia Holter - Something in the Room She Moves

Julia Holter makes very visceral music. It doesn’t thump through your bones or rattle your teeth, but it is evocative and creates its own reality that you can feel within you. This album, centered around Holter becoming a mother, speaks to the variety of wonders and concerns that are evoked at this particular moment in life. It’s beautiful when you fall into it and absorb the sounds.

Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch

This is an album that I know is excellent, and yet, every time I listen to it, I’m legitimately blown away by it. The mixture of the Beach Boys-style sounds into her thoughtful songwriting and California folk is inspired and phenomenal. It’s absolutely stunning.

Kali Uchis - ORQUÍDEAS

This album came out at the beginning of the year, and it was somewhat forgotten in my view. It’s easily one of her strongest albums. She sings in Spanish and English, and absolutely crushes in both. She’s got a smooth, soulful voice and her production is sharp and engaging. If you aren’t familiar with what she does, this is a good place to start.

Kamasi Washington - Fearless Movement

While it is compact for him, Fearless Movement is a 80-odd-minute exploration of the power of jazz and its ability to free us all. I think that the ideas he is working through here are truly interesting, and the music itself is lights out. If you liked the previous work, there’s plenty to enjoy here.

Kelley Stoltz - La Fleur

Kelley Stoltz has been around for ages, and I don’t think anyone really thinks about him, which is unfortunate. His albums always contain gems of songwriting and excellent musicianship. Definitely worth exploring if you’re interested in a more psychedelic pop sound.

Lauren Watkins - The Heartbroken Record

In a fair world , you would already know who Lauren Watkins is. She would be on your country station all of the time. She’s a phenomenal songwriter and her production is interesting but not intrusive, allowing her lyrics and voice to shine. I can only hope that we hear more from her in the coming years as she is truly a talent.

Maria Chiara Argirò - Closer

A brief album of contemplative lyrics over beds of dynamic, club-influenced beats and clicks. A very atmospheric album that conjures a vibe of its own. It’s excellent for when you want to escape.

Mary Halvorson - Cloudward

Halvorson and her band created an album that highlighted each of them as soloists while also displaying how well they can play together. Halvorson has always been an adventurous guitarist, and this album is no exception. This is an album where more standard jazz styles bump up against experimental dissonance and myriad other genres to create an extremely interesting and engaging listen. I found myself rapt throughout this entire album.

Mildlife - Chorus

There are times in your life when you need to just groove and hard. This is the album that you should reach for. It’s 45 minutes of pure grooving excellence from this Melbourne-based jazz/psych fusion band. Could I say something more profound? Sure, but I don’t really need to.

Nduduzo Makhathini - uNomkhubulwane

2024 has been a year for spiritual jazz, and this entry is one of the best. Makhathini and his band open a world of exploration and transcendence over the course of three suites. A truly moving listen.

Neutrals - New Town Dream

An extremely good example of Television Personalities-style indie pop with some post-punk elements thrown in for fun. Much like the TVPs, Neutrals are obsessed with making detailed observations of the world around them, calling bullshit when they see it. A great album full of spiky guitars, rage against gentrification, and thick Scottish accents.

Nourished by Time - Catching Chickens EP

Erotic Probiotic 2 was a masterstroke, but the question becomes how do you follow that up? The answer for Nourished by Time is adding some new textures to the house/club sound mix and continuing to croon with the best of them. Hopefully, the new album will come soon-ish. If not, this is an excellent placeholder.

Nubiyan Twist - Find Your Flame

In a year where there was little hope to be found, Nubiyan Twist was a beacon of positivity, bringing grooves in spades. A true testament to the beauty of the Black experience.

Omni - Souvenir

Omni is one of those bands that I should like on paper, but I never did. Something about them never clicked for me. That was until this album. They opened up their rigid post-punk sound and let in some sun and air, making an album that is a bit more playful and engaging. Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of angularity in the sound, but the whole is considerably more fun.

Rapsody - Please Don’t Cry

This is added here as a general reminder that Rapsody is one of the best spitters in the game right now, male or female. She’s got bars, and everyone sleeps on her. My putting her here is not charity though. This album bangs from back to front. She has absolutely earned this spot by releasing an excellent album where she contemplates her place in the world.

The Reds, Pinks, and Purples - Unwishing Well

Glenn Donaldson has been turning out consistently excellent music for the past several years under the name The Reds, Pinks, and Purples. 2024 is no exception. Unwishing Well is a slightly quieter outing than previous records, but still incisive lyrically and dynamic musically. If you are interested in melancholy-tinged indie pop, The Reds, Pinks, and Purples will never, ever lead you astray.

Roc Marciano - Marciology

Every Roc Marciano album is a full stop for me. Always. I don’t care what I’m doing. I will stop it for Roc. That’s a non-negotiable. Marciology is an album on which Roc gets up to his regular wordplay and quiet menacing while also considering his own legacy in the rap game. As he says on the title track, he created his own lane, one that many other rappers have followed in. And, as always, the album is fire.

Rosali - Bite Down

With the help of David Nance and his band, Rosali Middleman presents an Americana/country-influenced album of plain spoken lyrics that cut to the core. Nance and the band are a perfect accompaniment here, fitting well with her voice and general essence and providing strange corners and dimensions to the songs. It might take a couple of listens before you pick up on what she’s doing and have it really register with you. But once you get on its wavelength, it’s a phenomenal album.

Shabaka - Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace

There has been a renaissance of spiritual jazz in recent years. Shabaka Hutchings, recording under his own name, has been one of the major players in this movement. Abandoning his saxophone, Hutchings picks up the flute on this album and creates a moving, thoughtful album that hits deep within. The title of this album tells you the exact vibe, and that feeling is amazing.

Still House Plants - If I don’t make it, I love u

An album that exists on an absolute knife’s edge. Much of the fun of the album for me was figuring out how they would hold their sound together. The croon and longing of Jess Hickie-Kallenbach sits in constant tension with the wavering, vibrating guitar work of David Kennedy and the skittering rhythms of Finlay Clark on the drums. They absolutely pull it off. It’s a head trip of an album, and I love it every time I get into it.

Sy Smith - Until We Meet Again

I can go on at length about how there is a lot of excellent R&B that gets overlooked by many music critics. I won’t here; that’s a rant for another day. To rectify this problem, I point you to Sy Smith’s release from this year, Until We Meet Again. Working with her frequent collaborators from the Foreign Exchange (also, go listen to them; they are excellent), Smith flexes her vocal range and presents an album full of jams that just hit in the way that the best R&B does.

Shellac - To All Trains

This is not here because Steve Albini is dead. This is here because this is the purest distillation of Shellac. The dark lyrics, the guitar riffage, the heavy bass lines, the insistent drumming. It’s all here in spades and condensed for maximum efficiency. As someone who does like Shellac but would wish for some editing from time to time, this album was a great listen.

The Umbrellas - Fairweather Friend

One of the true standouts of the Bay Area indie pop scene, The Umbrellas’ Fairweather Friend is an improvement over their 2021 release. Faster and a bit darker than that release, it’s an amalgamation of various strains of indie pop history (e.g., Orange Juice, Sarah Records, K Records) and their own perspective. Although the references can be heard, the album is not derivative; the Umbrellas are very much their own thing and that thing is great.

Vessel - Wrapped in Cellophane

This is a great debut album from a quartet based in Atlanta. It recalls some of the funner post-punk bands from the past like A Certain Ratio and Romeo Void (primarily because of the ample use of saxophone). I’m very much looking forward to their future projects.

Vince Staples - Dark Times

Vince Staples has gotten back on his bullshit and has added another jewel to his current run (Ramona Park Broke My Heart also went hard). I mean, I know he doesn’t care as he’s going to do him, but still, someone should be hearing what he’s doing.

Water Damage - In E

This album has been living rent free in my head for months. It can be described effectively in two words: repetition and noise. If those two words intrigue you, go listen to these four slabs (each track is around 20 minutes) of excellent psych drone at the loudest volume possible. It will be worth your time.

Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood

This album is on everyone else’s list as well. While this can speak to a generalized preference among music critics towards specific sounds, there are also times when everyone has to recognize that something is really, really good. This album is the later. With the help of MJ Lenderman and her absolutely crack band, Katie Crutchfield has written an album where she just sounds completely in control and comfortable. When you listen to enough music, you know in your bones when someone has just completely knocked it out the park. That’s how I felt when I first listened to this album. It’s how I felt when I saw her play this album live. It’s how I feel when any track from this album pops up in my life. She absolutely crushed it.

Yaya Bey - Ten Fold

This is a phenomenal progressive R&B album, reminding me of greats like Sa-Ra and Kelela. I love the lyrics on this album. She’s out here, doing her and being her best. I’m always going to get behind that. Most importantly, she gave us one of the most socially trenchant tracks of the year: “eric adams in the club.”