Best Of 2024: Captain – Can Your Rover Do Any Sweet Kickflips, Bro?

I anthropomorphize things too much. Not always to the point of birds with arms throwing deuces my way for rocking a Napalm Death longsleeve from 1991, but in varying degrees of that high water mark. All inanimate objects I find to be indispensable or that I hold dear to my heart get a name (car: Freddie Hubbard, phone: Bombaata), and I attribute human qualities to most all animals that are simply out there busier than hell trying to endure life on a choking planet.

Chickadee: “Warning! Warning! There is a large creature in our midst! Warning!”
Me: “Oh, hi, Mrs. Chickadee! Are you happy to see me? I’m happy to see you, too!”

{dumps $20 worth of thistle into a feeder LIKE A DEITY}

@chowderthebulldog

Alternative example: A number of years ago I was up in Portland for an interview and to visit some close friends, and I just so happened to be lucky enough to land there on the weekend of the St. Johns Parade. It was about 10:30am and I’d just popped open a parade pop crafted by fucking Budweiser or Coors or something equally as dreary—because that’s what you do at parades in these barely United States, buster, no matter the time of day—and much to my surprise, along came a small bulldog riding a skateboard.

“A dog on a skateboard! And the parade hasn’t even started! NO WONDER EVERYONE’S MOVING HERE,” I proclaimed to all the hugely attentive buildings also enjoying the show.

The rover basked in wondrous glory for a few moments, and then along scuttled the dog’s parent (yes, we humans are precisely that sort of irrational), hauling with them one of the more demoralizing revelations I would experience to date, and I say that as an individual who once didn’t get a job at Blockbuster in my youth because I failed some sort of psych evaluation they gave potential candidates back in the day. (Don’t look at me that way.)

“Hey! Your dog is having so much fun on that skateboard! I wish I could feel that sort of joy,” I excitedly observed to the dogfather.

Without skipping a beat, dude revealed the dark truth that dogs like his enjoy skateboards because of a domination fetish. Like, the dog doesn’t really understand what the skateboard is, but in that walnut brain of theirs they feel the need to exercise dominion over it, and by doing so they somehow pick up the skill of skateboarding.

Well, here I was assuming the dog was skating for similar reasons I used to skate: It’s wildly fun, and by doing the deed righteously, you will look cool in front of others (especially Andrea from science class, who somehow refused to know I was alive.)

Sure, the dog probably wouldn’t skateboard if she or he didn’t reap some sort of joy from the exercise, but the mental dialogue is probably more along the lines of: “Fuck you, thing. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. Look how I’m overpowering you, you fucking thing. You will never get my food. I could do this all day. I WILL do this all fucking day.”

Then again… Who’s to say that dawg’s pappy was correct in their assumption? And, yeah, maybe the dog felt the need to dominate at first, but then learned to enjoy skating the way humans like me desperately hope a dog would love skateboarding. Or, even more interesting, maybe all excellent skateboarders are great at what they do because they approach their boards the same way bulldogs do. Have you ever been bitten trying to take a skateboard away from a pro skater?? OR!! Now, wait…

I quickly texted a friend of mine who happened to be a dominatrix: “Hey, do you have a skateboard?”

She didn’t, and I never gave her an explanation as to why I asked the question in the first place, because I like to be mysterious.

Anyway, I watched that dog skate away, and I was left with one prevailing conclusion: Animals aren’t people. That’s awesome in a lot of ways, but it’s also a little sad because I don’t want the magic stripped away that makes me believe the bird and rhino partnership I see on nature shows isn’t because the two animals talk pleasantries all day—the bird is there to eat parasites off the rhino, and the rhino is providing the bird vittles. Maybe I should stop living life like I’m in an animated film.

NEVER!

In general, I am happy being me. Often I see the world through muppet eyes, and that’s okay. Do you realize how fun the NEW STANDARD ELITE catalog is when experienced through muppet eyes?

The chickadees are as happy to see me as I am to see them, and dogs that skate are hoping to one day score a gnarly sponsorship. Period.

I’m doing something a little different this year. My top 20 is a great representation of my favorite metal albums of the year that (mostly) aren’t found on this year’s We Have the Power, but there were five albums that I definitely returned to the most, and I am going to anthropomorphize those albums to a modest degree in hopes of explaining why they managed to nuzzle closest to my heart. I’m a feeling guy. I’m of course impressed by skill, but texture, emotion and what sort of memories a piece of music conjures while spinning ultimately wins the day for me, so that’s my goal here. Cool with you? Good, because I already done did it.

Hey, thanks for being out there. Thanks for being a positive impact. Thanks for giving me the time of day. Thanks for having my back. Tell your dogs I said hello, and give your cats a ‘sup nod from me. We’re all in this together, even if sometimes / ofttimes we feel like we’re going solo. Love is the only way.

DEFEATED SANITY – CHRONICLES OF LUNACY

AKA MY FAVORITE ALBUM OF 2024

I’ve pretty much always been a fan of death metal that stretches boundaries, even in the earliest of days: Disharmonic Orchestra, Carbonized, Atrocity’s Hallucinations, so on & so forth. I have not, however, always been a fan of rigorously technical death metal that leans heavy into the brutal sphere. Sure, bands and albums here and there, but I start to get itchy when records in this offshoot take themselves too seriously or approach the production element with too much of a fine-tooth comb, which certainly has a tendency to happen. It needs to feel organically brutal, basically, and not stamped from some giant machine.

With Defeated Sanity, it was basically love at first listen for me. The whole origin story of a father starting a band with his son in hopes of sharing a music connection is just so heartening, and the fact that Lille Gruber’s dad jumped into such an extreme form of music so seamlessly is testament to the amount of lengths some parents will go through in order to find ways to bond with their kids. Of course, that’s assuming Wolfgang Teske wasn’t already cranking albums like Eaten Back to Life at family picnics, but I’m guessing that prrrrobably wasn’t the case. I understand the difficulties many people have with father figures or parents in general, and that grieves me, but this sort of origin story is a clear victory of the heart worthy of celebration, and walking into an initial DS experience with that already in your pocket? Huge advantage.

So, yeah, I think about that singular father / son connection whenever I listen to Defeated Sanity’s brand of wonderfully biotic, brutal and elaborate death metal, and despite the fact that they’ve made a conscious decision to once again CRANK the more brutal end of the equation to the Nth degree with Chronicles of Lunacy, that unique familial affinity and playfulness remains inextricably woven into the overall DS tapestry. The result is… Fun, for lack of a more profound term. Yes, cranking an absolutely crushing stomper like “Accelerating the Rot” is a far cry from having a catch with pops just before the sun sets on an ideal summer day, but maybe it doesn’t have to be when you look at life through the totally unique Defeated Sanity lens.

As weird as it may seem, when I listen to this record I think of my father and all the ways we’ve found to bond over the years. Granted, my dad probably won’t make the leap to brutal death metal any time soon, but we share a love of bands like Iron Maiden, Dio, Thin Lizzy and BÖC, and I know he appreciates the genesis behind Defeated Sanity, which makes me happy. Hey, maybe the boys can do a cover of “Cat’s in the Cradle” for the next album. Oh, please, let that happen.

Love you, pop! Love you, DS!

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Last Rites review

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OTTONE PESANTE – SCROLLS OF WAR

This is a bit of a strange one, he said whilst drinking a beer in the shower with the bathroom lights turned off.

If you didn’t catch the words I laid down concerning Scrolls of War earlier this year, here’s a snippet from the promotional copy sent to us by the PR team:

“There was a time long ago when droughts, famines, earthquakes, floods, and epidemics occurred almost simultaneously, within a very short period, forcing peoples to migrate for survival. These mass movements were desperate and caused atrocious and extremely violent wars. The ancients sanctified these wars in the name of a god leading them to victory, delivering the so-called ‘rules of war’. Priests were in charge of announcing the movements of the army to the sound of their trumpets and horns.”

So, the short of it is this: Ottone Pesante plays brass metal, and they do so in a notably loud way that builds layers upon layers upon layers of distorted storming, with a satisfying splash of post-rock in the corners to give the overall picture added atmosphere. That being said, even three months later I still don’t really know which tidy box Ottone Pesante best fits into, but as I said back in September, a logical tour might include bands such as Orthodox (Spain), Boris or Aluk Todolo, with eyes pinned on a suitable label backer like Southern Lord. For the sake of organization, let’s just go ahead and call this… Post-grindbrass.

Shuffling forward into anthropomorphic realms…

Scrolls of War is the first of a trilogy intended to explore the history of brass music through metal, and every time I listen to the record I think of… companionship with some of my closest friends and fellowship with the people of New Orleans.

Wait, what? Whoops?

Yep, every time I throw this record on the ol’ player I think about a semi-annual retreat I take to New Orleans with my best friend to visit some of my other very close friends who live and work there.

Now, hopefully you’re familiar enough with Nola to understand the unparalleled magic manifested in its every corner, fissure or perpetual orange construction barrel, but if not, just understand that any time spent in its presence—particularly the closer you get to Mardi Gras—you will be changed for the better for the duration of your visit. Sure, for some that means blintzes and Hand Grenades crammed into giant, kitschy yard cups, but for me it means experiencing the true spirit of the area with my extended family, which includes taking in Carnival and experiencing BIG BRASS MUSIC with people from every walk of life.

Bummer truth: New Orleans doesn’t really have a great metal scene. Yes, there are a few clear exceptions, but by and large if you’re gonna get bowled over by heavy music in New Orleans it will be at the hands of some serious brass players, which is obviously where Ottone Pesante enters the narrative. Scrolls of War is dying to be played live in some sweaty NO club at 2am, just as it’s tailor-made to peel from some beautifully nightmarish rendition of that cover as a terrifically intricate float cruising down Saint Charles Avenue in late February / early March. It’s just so easy to picture a giant version of that imperial sphinx swinging its arms and blasting steam from its horn—eyes glowing gold and all manner of effects such as beads, doubloons and toys blasting to outstretched arms.

That anthropomorphized beast leaps into the room every time I play Scrolls of War, but perhaps more importantly, so does the spirit of impervious friendship and the invigorating power that is the PEOPLE of New Orleans. Laissez les bons temps rouler, baby.

Bandcamp
Last Rites review

IOTUNN – KINSHIP

It’s not such a stretch to attach anthropomorphic elements to Iotunn’s sophomore full-length Kinship. The title itself clearly embraces images of fellowship by design, and the record’s underlying message that explores themes of human nature, brotherhood, tribalism and connectivity relates to all of us as humans because we are, occasionally to our detriment, a very societal beast with eyes wide open.

If you remain unfamiliar with the Iotunn blueprint, they are a band that’s unafraid of blending genres, all of which swirl around a very melodic crux. In the current form that rendered Kinship, they lean harder on elements of folky black metal with a unique little neofolk suggestion, but even that doesn’t quite encompass the full picture. Basically, Kinship doesn’t really sound like a record to be dropped from, say, Empyrium or Agalloch, but it’s sufficient to say these songs would fit snuggly on a tour with those bands.

Need further proof of the genre bending? I found a rather ridiculous and fraudulent way of wedging the band’s debut EP onto a year-end power metal list. Was it actually a power metal release? Absolutely not. But it flexed this super unusual “Ride the Lightning meets power metal’s gilded grandeur” that made the cheat seem at least a teensy bit feasible. By comparison, Kinship is a much, much darker and more introspective excursion—something that also asks a lot of the listener, clocking in at over an hour in length and really punching straight for the heart for the full runtime. A patient ear will find a great deal of reward, though, particularly if you flip for riffs (that Ride the Lightning love is still there) and notably stirring leads. On that last point, check out the solo 10 minutes into the opening “Kinship Elgiac,” or the whopper that lands 4:45 into the subsequent “Mistland.” The album is loaded with moments like that, and while it would be silly to NOT point toward vocalist Jón Aldará as a Kinship gold medalist (check out his work on the latest Hamferð as well—wow), for my money it is the brothers Gräs who lay down the killing blows with their stellar guitar work.

Right, anthropomorphism. One half of the founding Gräs brothers, Jesper, described the record in part as a narrative that explores “the journey of finding yourself by losing yourself.” That, uh… That right there hangs one of the more humanistic traits you could ever hope to encounter on the record. If there exists a human that isn’t familiar with that particular voyage, they are probably a Cylon (hopefully one of the hot ones). In this way, Kinship is all of us—humanity scaled down to our own personal treks where we find and lose our way in a perpetual ouroboros, culminating—we hope—in some sort of understanding that the destination was not nearly as important as the journey, and that we would be close to nothing without our fellow humans helping and guiding us along the way.

So, if you’re like me, whenever you reach for this beautiful, adventurous record, you will, in a curious way, reach for yourself. Luckily, the upshot is that story is tremendously rewarding, so give yourself a high-five this very instant. Glückliche Reise, fellow travelers!

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PYRRHON – EXHAUST

If you’re at all familiar my general heavy metal proclivities, I’m guessing seeing the fifth full-length from Brooklyn’s Pyrrhon will be the biggest surprise here. Hey, I’ve never been one to shy away from experimental death metal, but this? This arrives from a sphere that, at least on paper, hovers outside my wheelhouse. Death metal-wise we hear influences from Obscura, Unholy Cult and Formulas Fatal to the Flesh tossed into a meat mangler, and that’s speaking my language, but they also drip oils pressed from the early mathcore scene that produced bands like Botch, DEP and Deadguy, which is a scene I gladly watched unfold from the security of distant bench. Full disclosure: I’m a bit hypersensitive when it comes to music whose intention feels as if it’s trying to challenge us to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and that… Well, that is Pyrrhon’s sanctuary.

Exhaust, however, hits different. It’s still rawboned as hell and throwing attacks from every conceivable angle, like a school of piranha (pyrrhonha) storming a glutted goose. But it settles a little differently when compared to previous works by, I dunno, actually doing the thing without me feeling as if I need to swat at some invisible web that I just walked through in a sweltering jungle. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily calmer, but there are few more melodic hooks and perhaps a stronger noise rock authority, which really works for me. Regardless of the hows and whys, though, whenever I throw the album on, I think about the first manager I had when I finally landed a sweet job at the Record Exchange back in the early ‘90s.

Wait, whatsthatyousay?

Okay, so the Record Exchange was a new and used haven for music freaks in the Cleveland area back in the day, and Keith S., the manager at my store, was largely responsible for broadening my music palette by about twentyfold.

At the time, I was still mostly a ‘metal or gtfo’ kind of guy, and we had a system in place at work where employees could check out albums for home play similar to the way a library operated, so I constantly raided the metal bins. Keith was (and probably still is, I hope) a big jazz guy, and when he discovered my love of guitar-centric music, he pushed me to players like Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell and Wes Montgomery. Before long, every time I checked out some insidious metal CD that caught my eye, I’d let him pick something outside that sphere to help widen my perspective. I went through a number Metheny albums, some Chick Corea, and then struck solid gold once Mahavishnu Orchestra floated across the desk. From there, the flood gates just exploded, and I found myself interminably hungry to explore as many corners of the music realm as possible, as long as it wasn’t tepid radio rock. That feeling of challenging your governing propensities and broadening your sight is remarkably liberating, and Keith played a massive role in launching me into the insatiable music addict I am today.

So, yes, I admit that a record like Exhaust is not typically the sort of thing I reach for, and I sure as shit believe ol’ Keith would run for the nearest window if he ever heard it, but sticking with it these last few months as a person forever interested in challenging his boundaries has paid off immeasurably. Case in point: The solo that eventually drops in opener “Not Going to Mars” is one of my absolute favorites of the year. What? Pyrrhon drops guitar solos? Or maybe solo singular? Is that a thing? Well, it is in 2024, and the record finds all sorts of other ways to make me realize that a more patient ear with their earlier works is due after I’m done fully assimilating Exhaust, which I still don’t think I’ve fully managed to do. Hey, talk about legs.

Anyway, I probably wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for guys like Keith. So, while you might think of a sad lil dead pigeon when spinning Exhaust, I think of Keith’s looming presence behind that front desk saying things like, “If an album sounds too fucking weird to you, you’re probably not listening correctly,” and “Hey, this Jim Matheos guy ain’t half bad!” Hails, Keith, wherever you may be, and give Exhaust a chance—you’ll love and hate me for the rec.

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Last Rites review

WAR DOGS – ONLY THE STARS ARE LEFT

Maybe you caught it on our staff favorites list last week, and hopefully you read a bit about it inside the latest issue of We Have the Power. So, why the hell didn’t Last Rites give Only the Stars Are Left a proper review at some point during the year? Well, the rest of the crew didn’t really get hooked until mid November, and by the time I got infatuated, the record had already been out for a couple weeks. Generally speaking, people want to read about releases on the horizon, not what’s already on the table. Okay, that’s admittedly a pretty thin excuse, but at least you’re seeing us talk about the album now, no? Albums looooove being talked about at year end—go ahead and ask them.

In my opinion, War Dogs delivered 2024’s best kept secret with their sophomore full-length. Paraphrasing what I said in WHTP, War Dogs sound as if they “came into heavy metal listening to The Right Stuff™, then mined for The Right Stuff™ when it came time to dig a little deeper into the underground, and now they’re playing The Right Stuff™ when it’s finally time to deliver their own goods. So, what exactly is The Right Stuff™? Well, it basically amounts to loads of classic USPM in the style of Manowar and Virgin Steele, which leads to more epic hammerers such as DoomSword, Crescent Shield and IronSword, and then concludes with War Dogs launching an ideal amalgamation of all those bands into something that’s as EPIC and POWERFUL as an Eric Adams screeeaaaam from Into Glory Ride.” Yeah, I know: Sounds fucking awesome, no?

Whenever I reach for Only the Stars Are Left, I think about an old acquaintance of mine from the late ‘80s—a guy we called Couch. I have no recollection of how Couch got that odd nickname, as he didn’t exactly look like the sort of fellow who’d spend an inordinate amount of time melted into sofa cushions, and he sure as fuck wasn’t JD Vance, but we generally don’t get to pick the nicknames that stick with us. In any case, Couch was largely responsible for welding Manowar into my life. I was already familiar with the band by the time Couch and I met, but his unbridled enthusiasm for albums like Sign of the Hammer, Fighting the World (VIOLENCE AND BLOOOODSHEDDDDDD!!!!) and especially Kings of Metal was legendary, and most any session spent with the man lit the Manowar fuse with a GD flamethrower.

Now, spinning a record like Only the Stars Are Left, I can’t help but wonder if Couch still remains true to the faith, and if he does (how could he not?), would he enjoy pounding around the garage to songs like “Riders of the Storm” and “Vendetta” as much as he did back in the late ‘80s when he’d howl “BORN WITH A HEART OF STEEEE-AAAHHHLL” until the concrete floor cracked.

So, yeah, Only the Stars Are Left makes me remember good times with Couch—hell, he might as well be that warrior depicted on the cover. More importantly, though, it stands as the year’s most EPIC slice of ‘THE CAMARADERIE OF METAL’ you could ever hope to spin, so it also conjures grinning heavy metal friends gathered under the banner of glory and great times.

P.S. BEST SOLOS OF THE YEAR CONTAINED THEREIN.

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15 OTHER METAL ALBUMS LOVED IN 2024, AN UNCOMPLICATED STACK:

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THEURGY – EMANATIONS OF UNCONSCIOUS LUMINESCENCE

Key words: That scene in The Revenant where the mama bear attacks Leonardo DiCaprio for 30 minutes, but instead of DiCaprio coming out on top, the bear pulls out all his hot guts onto the forest floor and her cubs start playing in the steaming guts for a while before the mama bear goes “STOP PLAYING WITH YOUR FOOD,” and then the baby bears eat Leo’s guts and the mama bear goes about her business of crushing his chest cavity so she can eat his stupid heart. Take that, Leo.

• Bandcamp

SLIMELORD – CHYTRIDIOMYCOSIS RELINQUISHED

Key words: HONK! HONK! HONK!; Oh, this is greasy. Gree-he-he-he-he-say; “The pod plant was a plant species whose flower contained thousands of microscopic spores. Originating from an unknown location, a number of these plants had drifted through deep space until they came to Omicron Ceti III, a planet constantly bombarded in Berthold rays, which the plants thrived on.”

• Bandcamp

SUBMERGED – TORTURED AT THE DEPTHS

Key words: Does your album even lift, bro; drumming that sounds like a demon chopping wood or gtfo; Dutch kills the Yautja in the first ten minutes of the movie because even though said Yautja is invisible, he can hear Tortured at the Depths playing through its earbuds.

• Bandcamp

ORANSSI PAZUZU – MUUNTAUTUJA

Key words: David Bowie was afraid of Americans; what if you went to bed all snug as a bug in a rug and then woke up in a Clive Barkered version of Wonderland where you spent the first 45 minutes trying to outrun a Cenobite version of Trent Reznor before he eventually captured you and forced you to labor in some less than ideal lithium mines.

• Bandcamp

BRONZE – IN CHAINS AND SHADOWS

Key words: Everything Cederick Forsberg touches turns to gold and subsequently gets raided by Running Wild out on the open seas; if you ask vocalist Mina Walkure to name three songs by whatever band is on her t-shirt, she will probably name ten and then chop you right in the throat; trad metal for trad metallers who aren’t afraid to grin ear-to-ear.

• Bandcamp

DISSIMULATOR – LOWER FORM RESISTANCE

Key words: Remember the thrash and keep it holy moly; what if Voivod banged Dreams of the Carrion Kind and produced a child; isn’t science fiction, like, the best; we need more voice modulators in extreme metal; if you mosh in space it looks like slow motion.

• Bandcamp

NOXIS – VIOLENCE INHERENT IN THE SYSTEM

Key words: Squiggly-sqwoggly death metal; bath salt cannibalism; holy shit this rips; technical death metal that’s not tech death; Cleveland rots, but in the best ways possible; remember when Florida death metal was all we needed to eat; “Opener ‘Skullcrushing Defilement’ flies from the gate with that bonkers bass that just slappa-wappa-bobbles like a freshly landed 30” steelhead flopping its tits off on a pier.”

• Bandcamp

INIQUITOUS SAVAGERY – EDIFICE OF VICISSITUDES

Key words: Stomping around like a samsquanch with a bee lodged in his nostril; back to the basics of beating your ass; brutal breakdowns, and not the kind Dawson Leery used to have; big fat guys wearing camo pants and shirts with illegible names on them; how are the members of this band not big fat guys wearing camo pants and shirts with illegible names on them.

• Bandcamp

BLOODY VALKYRIA – KINGDOM IN FIRE

Key words: Melodic, epic, atmospheric black metal that doesn’t suck; the heir to Pegasus’ highly underrated The Epic Quest; when is the new Dawn album actually coming out; thinking you’re about to get away with swiping all this treasure until a gaggle of about 13 kobolds spring from once hidden doors; one guy did all this??

• Bandcamp

JUDAS PRIEST – INVINCIBLE SHIELD

Key words: Leather; cats; The Fountain of Youth; Heavy Metal Parking Lot; “Madonna can go to hell as far as I’m concerned”; “I’m Graham, man. Like gram of dope”; driving with the windows down; nostalgic times; fluffy white beards; guitar solos; bands that can still fill arenas.

• Sample

MAYHEMIC – TOBA

Key words: Mille Petrozza’s bangs in the ’80s; high-tops; “Listen to fucking Bonded By Blood. And Endless Pain. And… never fucking relax. Just… get evil all the time. Live for violence, die for metal, fuck off in Hell”; full throttle.

• Bandcamp

ALUK TODOLO – LUX

Key words: What’s that dot on your sweater; do all crypts smell this good; who put this bat skull in the church collection plate; somewhere deep in the sewer system ailing rats vent their frustrations by playing metal to swarms of cockroaches.

• Bandcamp

MALIGNANCY – …DISCONTINUED

Key words: See-through negligees aren’t always a great idea; everyone loves a little uppercase Immolation; everyone loves a little lowercase immolation; your stomach is clear and I still can’t tell if you’re having a baby or if you ate too many classic Beef ’N Cheddars.

• Bandcamp

SCAVENGER – BEYOND THE BELLS

Key words: Vinnie Vincent’s leggings; the first Shotgun Messiah album; Skid Row the band AND the area; smoking in the boy’s room; exploding power lines; no original members / do not care; pre-owned with low miles; smokin’ leads.

• Bandcamp

SABBAT – SABBATICULT

Key words: Fur-lined groin plates; sweat; caves lit by torchlight; getting a bat stuck in your hair; cut brake lines; what I wish Darkthrone sounded more like today; Piledriver the band; imps; being bummed about going to Hell and then getting a solemn nod from King Diamond when you get there.

• Bandcamp

25 WONDERFUL ALBUMS OUTSIDE OF METAL THAT WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN HELPING ME PLOW THROUGH 2024:

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STRAW MAN ARMY – EARTHWORKS

For fans of: Quirky anarcho-punk with strong post-punk and krautrock appetites. Think Mission of Burma with a slightly more modern edge and you’re halfway there. Hey, the future is grim, so you might as well smash some bottles until everything folds in on itself. P.S. You will probably have to clean up the bottles, which doesn’t seem very punk, but we’re all adults here, ffs. This might actually be my hands down favorite album of 2024.

• Genre: Punk
• Bandcamp

YAMBAG – MINDFUCK ULTRA

For fans of: Fastcore that’s heavy and shits on guitar solos. Don’t play while mowing the lawn, or you will probably drive your snazzy Deere right into the neighbor’s gazebo. But then, maybe that was the plan all along. Cleveland loves it loud.

• Genre: Punk / Fastcore
• Bandcamp

BEAK> – >>>>

For fans of: Listening to an album that sounds like the modern interpretation of the sadly underrated and hugely unusual Paternoster self-titled. Which is to say, prog rock after bonging a load of Robitussin.

• Genre: Experimental krautrock
• Bandcamp

DELVING – ALL PATHS DIVERGE

For fans of: Relaxing on a Sunday morning with or without your little family and maybe a pet or twelve. No words to get in the way of your pleasant conversations, and just enough heft to make it clear you haven’t lost your edge. Oh, and it’s the guy from Elder, so it sounds like a close cousin of that without being a photocopy.

• Genre: Instrumental psych-ambient rock
• Bandcamp

KING CRIMSON – SHELTERING SKIES (LIVE IN FRÉJUS, 1982)

For fans of: One of the greatest progressive rock bands of all time doing their thing live back in ’82. Especially timely because I couldn’t afford to travel to see THE BEAT TOUR in 2024, and this concert showcases (mostly) songs from Discipline and Beat.

• Genre: King Crimson (duh)
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NEW MODEL ARMY – UNBROKEN

For fans of: Moody music to listen to while drinking warm things in a cold and tiny pub. The perfect starter kit for someone unfamiliar with the band, too, so SHARE THE LOVE once you’re done obsessing over it.

• Genre: Folky post-punk rock
• Sample

THE CHURCH – EROS ZETA AND THE PERFUMED GUITARS

For fans of: Albums that are packed to the rafters with a twisting, adventurous narrative that’s woven around a sound that will likely inspire you to think of the more intrepid works of David Bowie.

• Genre: Extremely durable post-punk / art rock from a pioneer in the genre
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NEWMOON – TEMPORARY LIGHT

For fans of: Understanding that most people who flip their responsibly sourced wool beanies over shoegaze will pick the latest DIIV album as the year’s best in that off-shoot, but this album is actually better. You know, if like me you’re one of those jerks that has to compare everything. Both albums great! This one is just tops.

• Genre: Responsibly sourced shoegaze
• Bandcamp

THE CURE – SONGS OF A LOST WORLD

For fans of: Uh, The Cure. I mean, it’s the band’s first new full-length in over 15 years, so it’s pretty much essential if you care at all about these cuddly goths. It’s especially satisfying if you happen to be one of those Cure fans who loves the slow miserable side of their career. Oddly enough, it’s not really a miserable album. THEY ARE SORCERERS.

• Genre: Uh, The Cure
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ABDULLAH IBRAHIM – 3

For fans of: Kicking back and letting the magic of likely the greatest composer / pianists to ever come out of South Africa wash over them for 2 blissful hours. One of my favorite chill albums of the year, easily. Ibrahim is so very talented at painting elaborate visuals with what feels like a very sparse approach. Be sure to read the album’s summation on bandcamp, as the design of this double live album is really quite innovative and fun.

• Genre: Jazz
• Bandcamp

ARILD ANDERSEN, DANIEL SOMMER, ROB LUFT – AS TIME PASSES

For fans of: Giving your brain some much needed stillness in a world that is anything but calm. Daniel Sommer is one of ECM’s seriously elite alums, and the playful, often improvised dance between his bass, the drums and all the peaceful guitar work here very much falls inside ECM’s comfy wheelhouse.

• Genre: Contemporary jazz unnnnnwiiiiiinding
• Bandcamp

BLACK ART JAZZ COLLECTIVE – TRUTH TO POWER

For fans of: Traditional jazz that doesn’t sound like it’s covered in dust. This album is wonderfully bright and bouncy, but it still manages to feel casual without being overly conservative. Great as a background, but even better as a mood enhancer or improver.

• Genre: Jazz
• Sample

GORAN KAJFES TROPIQUES – TELL US

For fans of: Winter. That’s okay, right? To be more specific: Soft, shimmery, light, brisk winter you might see in photographs. So, yeah, good winter. Winter with sun. Also, bandcamp calls this “hypno-jazz,” and that’s actually a rather apt descriptor for an album that delivers chilly enchantment through three songs that all stretch beyond 10 minutes.

• Genre: Nordic jazz
• Bandcamp

JASMINE MYRA – RISING

For fans of: Black and white photography in motion. Like, maybe some sort of kaleidoscopic effect that captures city life and positive human interaction through a contented, optimistic eye. This caught my attention because Matthew Halsall has his name tied to it as producer, and saxophonist Jasmine Myra’s approach to songcrafting and playing definitely sounds like something Halsall would have on one of his favorite playlists.

• Genre: Contemporary jazz
• Bandcamp

NALA SINEPHRO – ENDLESSNESS

For fans of: Letting negativity roll off your back like a champ. Endlessness is a tranquil affair that melds ambient electronic elements into a modern jazz pattern, and that blend is perfectly uniform in that all the strings, synths (sorta Nintendo-like at times, which is fun) and horns never let things get too drowsy. A subtle but crucial mood lifter.

• Genre: Contemporary jazz
• Bandcamp

POTTER, MEHLDAU, PATITUCCI, BLADE – EAGLE’S POINT

For fans of: Jazz, pure and beautifully simple. But, you know, not actually simple, as the players involved have all been in the game for decades and really know how to tie complexities into a faultless bow for an extraordinarily satisfying presentation. Don’t call it a supergroup.

• Genre: Jazz

THE NECKS – BLEED

For fans of: Slooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww jazz. No, not in a “is this record on the wrong speed” kind of way, but in the sense that Bleed manages to encapsulate a long (42 minutes) and quiet meditation that still manages to defy tedium. Have you ever sat in a meadow and found yourself completely immersed in the way a batch of marigolds tussles in the wind, only to have your little world suddenly rocked by a visiting monarch butterfly? Yeah, that’s the ticket.

• Genre: Let’s just call it ambient jazz trio meditation music and be done with it
• Bandcamp

TIMO LASSY, JUKKA ESKOLA – NORDIC STEW

For fans of: Not judging books by their covers. Everything about the way Nordic Stew is presented leads one to believe you’re about to step into a fairly typical Scandinavian jazz record. Hit play, though, and you’re immediately transported to the French Quarter in February. So, yeah, get ready to not sit still at all during these 47 minutes.

• Genre: New Orleans
• Bandcamp

ULYSSES OWENS JR. – A NEW BEAT

For fans of: Listening to jazz that makes you feel like: “Here’s Joe Cool hanging around the student union.” Okay, so maybe you don’t care about Snoopy and one of his alter egos. If that’s the case (like, wtf, my guy), then this is for fans of largely upbeat jazz that will remind you of the Jazz Messenger days. Also if anything that’s wrong with your heart isn’t healed by the song “Heart Full of Rhythm,” then maybe you have a busted old shoe in the spot where your heart should be.

• Genre: Hard bop jazz that has so much to give
• Bandcamp

ADAM WILTZIE – ELEVEN FUGUES FOR SODIUM PENTOTHAL

For fans of: Cinematic drone music from one of the founding members of Stars of the Lid that will make you feel confident and doomed in a single breath. Personally, I think it holds mostly positive energy, but it definitely feels like something that would work as a soundtrack to a show like Silo. So, dark, quizzical, dramatic, and you might die at the end, but you’ll have a hell of a time getting there.

• Genre: Ambient electronic
• Bandcamp

ANDRÉ BRATTEN – SLAY TRACKS

For fans of: Finding that secret room in Super Mario Odyssey where Mario slips into a Toad club, takes a bunch of MDMA, becomes Super Mollyo, forgets that he’s supposed to be searching for Princess Peach, and wakes up the next day without pants and next to a Tropical Wiggler. So, basically a good chill time with some very cool melodious techno. P.S. The album is actually inspired by the first Pavement EP, so I’m clearly losing my mind.

• Genre: Bleep boop chill
• Bandcamp

KIASMOS – II

For fans of: Techno tailor-made for people who no longer go to techno clubs because leaving the house at 10pm to have a good time is absolutely fucking insane. Bed techno? Responsible techno? Am I painting a horrible picture here? You know what I’m fucking talking about. Go to bed.

• Genre: Electro-pop
• Bandcamp

OREN AMBARCHI, JOHAN BERTHLING, ANDREAS WERLIN – GHOSTED II

For fans of: A kinda glitchy, funky, krauty, electronic version of rock, step, cha cha cha; rock, step, cha cha cha; rock, step, cha cha cha. Before too long you will fall into a delightfully humming trance and won’t care about being ghosted at all. That guy was probably a massive pud anyway.

• Genre: Dance trance drone
• Bandcamp

STEVE ROACH – REFLECTIONS IN REPOSE

For fans of: Combating silence with a perpetual form of near silence that eventually grows into a full orchestra once your brain finds that ideal resonation point. Reflections in Repose might actually be my most listened to album of 2024. Yes, that has a lot to do with the fact that it’s become a favorite calming presence when the screens and all the lights are finally doused, but familiarity has deepened our friendship to include all hours of the day and facets of life that require stillness and focus.

• Genre: Ambient drone
• Bandcamp

JOE HISAISHI & THE VIENNA SYMPHONY – SYMPHONY NO. 2 & VIOLA SAGA

For fans of: Scoring. Not in a biblical sense. Not in a ‘triple off the wall to win the series’ sense, either. We’re talking film scores, friends. And if the name Joe Hisaishi doesn’t immediately ring a bell, just know that he’s helped score loads of films from Studio Ghibli, a studio that’s produced films such as My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo and Spirited Away. This release give Hisaishi a chance to step away from those fantastical realms, but it still very much carries a similar sense of wild adventure.

• Genre: Don’t call it a soundtrack
• Sample

/2024

Posted by Captain

Last Rites Co-Owner; Senior Editor; That was my skull!

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