Albums & Songs of the Year 2024!
Published on 13 December 2024
How has 2024 been for you in terms of new music? Have you been sharing your Spotify Wrapped results with friends and followers? Whilst I expect it’s true to say that many of us listen to music from all periods of time, it’s good to note what has been happening this year across the musical landscape, too.
Have any new bands or artists emerged that have excited you this year? The streaming services release over 50,000 songs every day, so it’s very easy to miss new stuff and rely on older favourites, but our staff have been listening and taking note!
I recently reached out to a number of friends and colleagues to see where their musical heads had been at this year, and the results are below. Each staff member talks about their selections in their own words, too.From entirely new artists to new statements from established acts, there is a diverse bunch of music here for sure!
Have a glance at what the guitarguitar staff have been loving this year, and make sure to have a listen to anything that’s either unfamiliar to you or intriguing: your new favourite band might be on this list!
Martin’s Album of the Year: Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To.
It's been amazing seeing this band go from strength to strength and this album is their most cohesive body of work yet. With a high level of frantic intensity throughout, there is still enough dynamic contrast to allow the punishing riffs and tight rhythms to shine. The recent live performance of Suffocate on Jimmy Kimmel was a real celebratory moment for modern heavy music!
Martin’s Song of the Year: Dua Lipa - Houdini
Filled with catchy melodies and captivating synth sounds this is exactly what I want from pop music in 2024. All the cool vibes with minimal instrumentation and a groove that'll get you moving.
Lisa’s Album of the Year: Amyl & The Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness
Amyl & The Sniffers' Cartoon Darkness is loaded with great energy, old school punk power, cheeky but fun lyrics and rocking guitar riffs. Keeping the spirit of Punk Rock alive!
Lisa’s Song of the Year: Zombina and the Skeletones - Don't Kick My Coffin
My song of the year would be Don't Kick My Coffin by Zombina and the Skeletones. It's great to see the amazing Liverpool band is back with new releases this year. They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, good for listening to at Halloween but always fun all year round.
Keiran’s Album of the Year: Mk.Gee - Two Star & the Dream Police
It’s been a while since I’ve heard an album that immediately sent me down the tone rabbit hole as much as Mk.Gee’s 2024 album. An amazing mix of 80’s pop/R&B & an incredibly unique guitar tone, I was hooked after the first listen.
Keiran’s Song of the Year: Kendrick Lamar - Not Like Us
The best beef of the year, unreal scenes.
Nicole’s Album of the Year: Sabrina Carpenter - Short n' Sweet
I’m choosing Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n' Sweet for album of the year. I feel like we're entering into a new era of pop and Sabrina covers it perfectly across this album. It's funny, whimsical and all-round positive - exactly what we've needed in this doom-filled year.
Anna’s Album of the Year: Jerry Cantrell - I Want Blood
Song of the year: Jerry Cantrell - Afterglow
Say what you want but there is only one rifflord and to me that is Jerry Cantrell.
A lifelong fan of Alice in Chains, I was thrilled for Cantrell's much anticipated solo album which graced the world earlier this Autumn. I Want Blood is an absolute masterpiece through and through. Filled with the familiar heavy, Bogner amp driven doomy riffage of detuned guitars, sludgy, overpowering and liberating all at once. I was hooked on it from the minute the opening single - Vilified, dropped and fell deeper in love once I heard Afterglow. This wall-of-sound-ballad weighs heavy with emotive and sorrowful guitar melody matched by equally haunting vocals to then offer an ecstatic choral resolution, one that touches the listener’s deepest feelings.
All the ingredients are there in the album as desired: the mesmerising vocal harmonies that made AiC stand out amongst the other bands of the 90s Seattle Sound craze, the melodic heaviness of rhythmical guitars & drums nuances and - probably my favourite thing about Cantrell's songwriting - the unexpected journey of surprise each song takes you on.
Neal’s Song of the Year: Leprous - Like A Sunken Ship
The track has a little bit of everything that prog metal fans crave - huge guitar riffs, atmospheric synths, killer drums, soft vocals, massive screams. It keeps building from that infectious bass intro all the way to the epic outro that sees Einar hit some absolutely incredible notes. There's plenty here to keep me coming back for endless replays!
Gage’s Album of the Year: Ihsahn (self-titled)
I like the mixture of heavy, relentless riffs and interesting orchestration. I hit many PB's in training this year getting fired up to The Promethean Spark.
Ray’s Album of the Year: Ndox Electrique - Tëdd ak Mame Coumba Lamba ak Mame Coumba Mbang
Nothing has turned my head or grabbed my attention this year as much as this extraordinary music. Ancient African rituals of protection and positivity blended with complex grooves and gargantuan guitars? I’ll take that!
It’s a real antidote to the safe, sanitised music we tend to get sent towards our screens and ears. I’ve been hugely inspired by this record: it’s truly ‘other’, and has such an energy and agency about it. Maybe it’s best for you to discover them the way I did, from this live performance:
If you like what you’ve just seen, I’d recommend exploring more of what Gianna and François do (they are very busy with different projects) and a suitable place to get better acquainted may well be right here, with this conversation I had with them both back in August. The story behind the making of this album is as exciting and adventurous as the sounds themselves:
Ray’s Song of the Year: Jonathan Hultén - Afterlife
I was instantly captivated by Jonathan Hultén’s music five years ago when I heard Chants From Another Place. His follow up - out next month - doesn’t disappoint, and this first single is just mesmerising. It’s one of those songs that I have to intentionally stop myself from overplaying, in case I ruin it and the magic wears off! I spoke to Jonathan recently about it all, so keep ‘em peeled for a new interview soon!
Iain’s Album of the Year: Zach Bryan - The Great American Bar Scene
As arguably the most recognisable name in Americana in 2024, Zach Bryan’s rise to superstardom has been explosive but not without its speedbumps. While his personal life has taken attention away from his music at times, his high energy live shows and exhausting touring schedule haven’t gotten in the way of an incredible musical output.
A lot of fans are very vocal about craving the stripped back feel of his early releases, but I personally think that his writing has only grown stronger with each album. In fact, TGABS may just be the perfect middle ground between his early acoustic sound and the full band feel of American Heartbreak. The album has a great run of features ranging from John Moreland, to Watchhouse, John Mayer and even the Boss himself which add so much character to the project. Springsteen’s influence is massive throughout, particularly on story based tracks like Oak Island.
I love the balance with slower, quieter pieces such as Bass Boat which showcase Zach’s ability to capture life’s small moments in an emotive and relatable way. Overall, I think that he really captured a moment in time with this album which addresses where he is as an artist, bringing the listener into the chaotic world of touring and his struggle to come to terms with fame.
Iain’s Song of the Year: 49 Winchester - Leavin’ This Holler
We had the lads from 49 Winchester in for a clinic in Glasgow during our Fender month and a few of us were lucky enough to make it along to their gig at SWG3. With swagger, high kicks and 6/8 southern rock ballads aplenty, I was blown away by how tight a band they were. If you haven’t heard much of their music, I’d thoroughly recommend a deep dive.
For a taster, my track of the year is the epic title track of their new album Leavin’ This Holler. Being honest, I’d listen to lead singer Isaac Gibson sing the phonebook and the harmonies with Maggie Antone are stunning here. Give it a spin and dig your flannel and denim out while you’re at it!
Ryan’s Album of the Year: Life Till Bones - Oso Oso
Life Till Bones by Oso Oso is an emo pop / indie album that is injected with themes of love, death, and introspectiveness, perfectly complimented by a whole lotta great hooks back to front. The production by Billy Mannino (Bigger, Better, Sun) on this album brings Jade Lilitri’s songwriting to a whole new level, giving the album a driven yet lo-fi vibe throughout.
Nathalie’s Album of the Year: Liz Lawrence - Peanuts
My album of the year has to be Liz Lawrence’s Peanuts. Peanuts is a slightly funky and pretty bass-y upgrade from their last album. It’s one of those records you can put on over and over again and still can hear something new with every listen.
Big Machine and Strut have suitably ear-wormy qualities, whilst my standout track has to be On Loss and Overcoming Despair, which, being full of synth with an almost trance-like air, is far less melancholic in sound than the title promises.
Liz also absolutely rocks the chainmail both in the album art and on stage. If anyone knows where I can get my hands on a chainmail coif, please get in touch.
The Year in Music
So that’s what has been collectively rocking guitarguitar’s world this year, in addition to all of the usual favourites. I’m always pleasantly surprised about how eclectic these end-of-year lists end up being, and how unpredictable they can be!
Did anything jump out at you from our picks? I hope so! If they did, please share the passion online with other people, and talk about the music you love. It all makes such a difference, and in the end, it’s what it’s all about really, isn’t it?
Thanks for checking out our staff picks for 2024, and keep searching for new music: there’s greatness out there!
