Another year is finishing up and @RockBodElec wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE presents 2024's Favorite Albums Part 1 (Honorable Mentions and Let Downs):
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Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but long playing releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle, Spotify, AI curated playlists, or streaming for us.
These are the albums that just missed out on being included in our top ten favorite for the year (coming soon). After some very excellent albums, we have a few releases from artists we dig, which we were let down by.
Like all of our lists or 'best of'', these are meant to start conversations, not end them...
Before we get to that, I need to give a quick overview of 2024 album releases. This year kicked major ass.
It has been the best year for music since at least the start of the decade and probably well beyond. Covid and lockdown had something to do it that for sure, but this year was so refreshing.
2024 had so many great releases that this list could have gone on for days. Many solid albums just missed out as we cut this list down. Most of these would have been high in our top ten had they come out in the past few years. All are worth your money and more importantly your time.
Honorable Mentions: In no particular order (until the last few):
Mary Timony - Untame The Tiger
For her first album in a decade and a half, Timony delivers a mix of freak folk, art rock, and a touch of pop on the excellently mysterious record.
A major shift in sound and style has really broadened King's world on this Rick Rubin produced record.
McCalla always delivers and RtBE are big fans. While Sun Without Heat may not be up there with her best (or at least our favorite), this record is still really good.
A fun find in 2024 for RtBE. Siri Undlin as Humbird makes some interesting folk rock on Right On.
This and the next entry were RtBE's second and third favorite jazz albums released in 2024. Foreverland isn't only a great cover, the music cooks from Harrold.
Garcia keeps on growing with new sounds and styles. Odyssey is, as the title suggests, and an intriguing listen all the way around that can both challenge and soothe. The only jazz releases we dug more that were released this year were Foreverland and the pumping live album from New Breed Brass Band which we talked about in our live/archival release post.
For a Vampire Weekend fan, this album is a real treat, an evolution that will likely parallel one's own journey into those years of settling in and just settling.
As an instrumental album, Sonido Cósmico is perfectly titled. This record goes for a cosmic sound and nails it while still retaining the Latin guitar traits that make the duo a joy. Easy Eye Sound and Dan Auerbach produced a few good ones this year, this was the one we came back to the most.
The debut studio release from one of the best New Orleans acts playing live out there today. The Rumble rule.
Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood
Another good one from Katie Crutchfield, Tigers Blood, is a confident mix of light rockers, pop-ish offerings and twangy strolls through Americana stories and struggles. It is a lot like another album we put very high on our top ten, and this year was so stacked, if you thought this one belonged up there, RtBE wouldn't argue.
A really nice modern pop rock record from Sarah Tudzin's as each of these songs are catchy, intriguing and affecting.
A solid album from Japandroids and if it is truly the last for the duo, good for them.
The following four records all were in our Top Ten at various points when we were creating our year end review, so they should be pointed out as such:
Parisian band who write metal about sea faring folk? Unlikely to hit home, but it surely does. RtBE's favorite metal release of the year.
A very pleasant surprise as the unexpected return of Dr. Dog was a success. This self titled album feels mature and it seems the band still has something to offer, which is great news for good music lovers.
Scott McMicken and Greg Cartwright, two of RtBE's favorite current songwriters, partner up for this organic, low stakes record and it is a winner.
I want to take a second with this one. This album surprised me on a lot of levels. First, apparently it was marketed as a 'return to rock' album which is weird, because the band's last few never left their old sound. Second, it was joyful, those last few albums from the band seemed like they were contractually obligated to go through the standard motions. Third, it was really more like three EP's than one LP. A split EP with Beck, a retro soul/rock EP and a more hip-hop based Blakroc EP. Fourth, it BOMBED! Black Keys had to cancel their summer arena tour and I am not sure if the band has actually recovered as the year closes.
All of this is surprising because RtBE liked this album as their best since at least Turn Blue. Ohio Players just sounds like Patrick and Dan are having fun in the studio, which they hadn't sounded like in a long time. It just missed our top ten (some of the Beck tunes do feel a bit AI inspired) but it is clearly one that RtBE liked much more than others. On the flip side of that, see the Let Down's below...
The Let Down's:
Now for the bad news...some albums that let RtBE down...we had high hopes for these...no dice. These are by no means the worst albums of the year; they are just from artists RtBE like/respect that went a different route which we didn't particularly care for.
There are always releases RtBE does not particularly like that others seem to, but these let downs are harder for us to swallow because these are artists we enjoy, love, or at least respect:
Now for the bad news...some albums that let RtBE down...we had high hopes for these...no dice. These are by no means the worst albums of the year; they are just from artists RtBE like/respect that went a different route which we didn't particularly care for.
There are always releases RtBE does not particularly like that others seem to, but these let downs are harder for us to swallow because these are artists we enjoy, love, or at least respect:
Black Crowes - Happiness Bastards
This record just feels super safe and dull for a band that could be so much more. None of these songs will live on in future Crowe shows after this tour. RtBE will take the Black Keys trying out something new-ish over the Black Crowes regurgitating the same old any day.
This feels like the classic case of a group looking to hit it big and whether it was their idea or a producers, they shaved off the edges that made them interesting, putting out a middle of the road, bland as all hell album.
This is a concert, but we said a lot about this one and now have "the worst show we have ever seen" answer.
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