[s2w2] my top 5 albums of 2024
i am become music review
This year, I listened to 46,025 minutes of music on Spotify (and that doesn't even include the countless hours replaying distantstar's megamixes on youtube!)
2024 was a fantastic year for new music. I oftentimes find myself shuffling the same playlists over and over again (or even- gasp- use the spotify dj!), but this year I was caught up listening to so many incredible new albums I had a hard time keeping track of them all.
Here are the 5 most memorable ones of the year (and, a few honorable mentions!).
5: Jacob Collier - Djesse Vol. 4
I'm a big fan of Jacob Collier and have been awaiting Djesse Vol. 4 for close to 5 years now, most of which under the assumption it'd automatically claim the #1 spot in whatever year it came out. To have it barely sneak its way onto a top 5 list of mine (and not even an all-time one) is not something I'd have remotely considered in any universe, yet here we are.
Perhaps the expectation of a grand finale was its greatest downfall. In a vacuum, Vol. 4 is a perfectly serviceable album-- but "perfectly serviceable" after the incredibleVol. 2 (which is on my top 5 all-time list) and its brethren Vol. 1 and Vol. 3 (which also hold their ground on my leaderboard) makes me feel quite underwhelmed.
Djesse Vol. 4 has its moments for sure-- Never Gonna Be Alone in particular has been one of my most-listened-to tracks for the past two years-- but much of it passes by as a forgettable, over-produced pop record. Jacob's songs have always felt uniquely his in the past, but I'd struggle to pick out most of Vol. 4's songs from the radio if I hadn't heard them previously.
For personal significance alone, Djesse Vol. 4 deserves a spot on this list. But it's also the only one here that I would not handily recommend. (Go listen to Vol. 2 instead!!)1
4: Fontaines D.C. - Romance
I'd first come across Romance because it came out on the same day as this list's #1 album (August 23, what a day!). This was the first time I'd heard of Fontaines D.C. and it certainly won't be the last.
“art-rock” feels like an apt label for this album. It dips into experimental territory on occasion, while returning to more traditional rock progressions every now and then.
Starburster is a very clear favorite, trailed (slightly ironically) by Favourite. There is such a stark mood swing in between those two tracks, which the rest of the album does a neat job of spanning. The titular Romance and In the Modern World are also mention-worthy.
3: Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee
At an intimidating 122 minutes and 9 seconds, Patrick Flegel's latest triple-feature project is breathtaking the entire way. Diamond Jubilee is less of an album and more of an ethereal out-of-time worldbuilding experience that just keeps getting better and better as I replay it.
What's even more charming about Diamond Jubilee is its absence on any major stream platform-- its release consisted of a single geocities-inspired webpage straight from the 90's alongside an official Youtube video.
2: Porter Robinson - SMILE! :D
Porter Robinson's Nurture is easily my favorite album of all time. SMILE! :D is decidedly not anywhere close to that, but it's a ridiculously fun, endlessly replayable listen nonetheless. Porter really let loose on this one— it’s much less meticulous than his previous works, but feels more genuine.
My two clear favorite tracks are Is There No Happiness Without This Feeling? and Easier To Love You, accompanied by the brighter-sounding yet still brutally honest Cheerleader- which, in my opinion, holds its weight even against the countless other highly-regarded releases from the pop world this year. And as polarizing as Year of the Cup and Kitsune Maison Freestyle are, this album wouldn't feel complete without them.
1: Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
I've been loosely following Magdalena Bay ever since Mercurial World hit in 2021, and almost let Imaginal Disk sneak up on me. I was listening to a random new-release Spotify playlist 18 days before release when Tunnel Vision came on. It made me stop what I was doing and think wait, when did Magdalena Bay release a new song? and why is it the best thing I've ever heard from them?
Needless to say I was incredibly hyped on release day, and my expectations were through the roof. Yet, Imaginal Disk still completely shattered them.
Imaginal Disk creates its own little universe-inside-a-CD, which truly gets kicks off when it's burned (only 22 more minutes!) within Image.
The four singles (Tunnel Vision, That's My Floor, Image, Death & Romance) are four of my favorite songs from this year, and they're not even my favorite songs on this album. That distinction goes to either Cry For Me or Angel on a Satellite, depending on how I'm feeling when you ask. Killing Time, Vampire in the Corner, and Watching T.V. are also all heavy hitters in their own right.
If there is one album this year that deserves an hour of your time for a front-to-back listen, it's this one.
honorable mentions
Brat, because no 2024 music list is complete without it. 360, Club classics, and Apple featuring the japanese house are my personal top 3.
Cascade by Floating Points is an instant electronic classic, and a wild (though totally expected) departure from his previous ambient work Promises.2
Two back-to-back jazzpop albums from Louis Cole and Cory Wong two weeks apart (Nothing and Starship Syncopation respectively), both with the Metropole Orchest!
A new Crywolf album (let me be your womb), a much calmer departure from the abject intensity of OBLIVIØN from a year prior.
weekly reviews!
I hope to be more intentional with the things I consume this year. As a part of that, I'd like to share some words about some of my favorite new discoveries of the week!
If you so desire, you may stalk my listens on Rate Your Music, digital reads on Sublime, and physical reads on my bookshelf page.
🎵 album review: The Last Dinner Party- Prelude to Ecstasy
A music review inside of a music review post? how meta!
To kick off the beginning of weekly reviews, this week's discovery from the hit new all-female British pop-rock band The Last Dinner Party featuring intentional over-the-top pretentiousness, catchy progressions, and strong lyricism. I was instantly enamored on first listen; we'll have to see whether it'll hold up to repeat listens, but I'm already looking forward to future music from them.
Favorite tracks: The Feminine Urge, Caesar on a TV Screen, Portrait of a Dead Girl
Rating: 7/10
✍ blog review: Fish Eyes by Amelia Wattenberger
This is the most beautiful blog post I have ever read. I am very inspired.
In addition to the stunning attention to visual detail, this post explores an open design question around how we think about and visualize information at different levels of abstraction (reading a novel is a very different experience than reading this summary, for instance). How can we design interfaces that allow us to context-switch between detailed long-form content and lossy-but-approachable short-form content?
that’s all from me for now. see y’all next week!!
My final Djesse ranking: 2 >> 3 > 1 >>> 4
Movement 6 of Promises is mindbendingly good.