Jason Shrum Attempts to Curate His Top 5 Albums of 2024
Another year has passed, and we were once again treated to so many great new albums. I just hope that 2025 presents us with as much music enrichment as these last 365 days. I am attempting to list my Top 5 records of 2024 and in doing so I have scratched out so many, then rewritten some of those deleted mentions and then re-rewritten the entire list multiple times. Each time that I have done so I have compiled an original listing once again. I have narrowed it down to 10 records that I think have the protocol to be a Best Album of 2024; but what are those parameters? Is it just what I like? Is it awards or most downloads? Is it based on what the mainstream is saying about that artist, their work, and their final project. I have dabbled in a little of all these things and have come to a clear-cut decision. Kind of. I guarantee you that I changed this list that you are currently reading during the compilation of this article. Of those 10 finalists here are my Top 5 Records of 2024 in no particular order (because I would never be satisfied with a definitive #1)
MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
This is the Asheville based singer/songwriters fourth album, and I believe he has found his true voice in it. Don’t get me wrong, his previous records are good, like really good, but I sense that he is coming into his own and is finally tackling his realist self. He captured all of it in Manning Fireworks. Lenderman always writes from the heart and has continually sung with emotions being in the forefront. He is sincere when speaking of the whimsical and that is his superpower.
Manning Fireworks is the culmination of his dry wit against the simple and mundane. MJ Lenderman could convince you that watching paint dry is a beauty to behold. His guitar riffs are gentle backgrounds for the powerful imagery of his verbiage. He has set the playing to outline the songwriting, and it is gorgeous. His sound is endearing and the peak of this album is the song ‘Wristwatch’. He refers to his Apple watch a pocketknife, meaning it is capable of doing all these “amazing things”, but at the end of the day it just makes you feel more alone and pathetic. In an interview with The New York Times, Lenderman said the song is inspired by Andrew Tate and “this idea of alpha males gaining popularity. People spend thousands of dollars thinking they can learn how to be the ‘perfect man’ or something. It’s embarrassing.”
The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
Those that know me and have read my previous articles about this album would surely think that this is my number one choice for Album of the Year. However, I have put aside some of my personal love and have tried to look at these albums as a whole and how they affect everyone rather than my own needs. That being said, this album is very close to being perfect. We waited 16 years for a new Cure album to drop and maybe that has something to do with its appeal, but I don’t think that’s the full story. Rather, I’d like to think that from the artists perspective, frontman Robert Smith wanted to deliver an album that met his and our expectations instead of putting out drool. Maybe a mediocre record would have been just fine for the massive amounts of Cure fans who would except anything from their goth leaders, because at least we would’ve gotten something. However, what we got was brilliance.
This album is dripped in sadness which is what classic The Cure fans thirst for. With long ghostly synth melodies framing songs like ‘Alone’ and ‘Endsong’ the haunting bass line drives melancholy through the veins of the listener. They had absolutely nothing to prove with this album, yet they proved that they have sustaining relevancy. More than that, they have brought years of wisdom, loss and insight into their music rather than projecting those dynamics.
Charlie XCX – Brat
Brat is probably the best Pop Album of the Year. The 31-year-old has reshaped her sound and changed up her vocal approach to create this multi-dimensional construct that leans away from the glitter and glam that made her a superstar. Now she faces the negative effects of fames burning spotlight. I was not a Charlie XCX fan before this record. I heard a lot of the same themes and subject matters jammed between car commercials on FM radio for years. This record hits different though because of the growth. I suppose since I am fifty now, I want more context in my music, and I’m not easily influenced by just a good hook or danceable beat, although those still don’t hurt either.
Charlie XCX explores what makes her tick in these songs. She admits her insecurities and breaks down the obsessiveness that she felt while trying to get to the top of the charts and prove her worth. Her vulnerabilities are more noticeable in this record. I believe that they have always been present, but buried behind an intentionally placed arrogance, in order to deflect any insecurities. Then there is the fact that she brought on an A-list of collaborators. The team-ups with Lorde, Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish add multiple new and girl-powered narratives to already provocative songs. This album offers more depth than we have seen from the artist than ever before, yet it maintains those banging club mixes on ‘Guess’ and ‘Spring Breakers’ that we want to hold onto. We are starting to see that the old Charlie may have been more of a character that she played rather than who she really wants to be.
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft
The writing and production of this album might be unmatched. Billie is back at it with softly spoken lyrics basted in somber settings. It’s a rainy-day record to be sure. This latest work has been perceived as “not as fun” as her previous outputs by various critics, but again, to me it’s the growth. I’d prefer my artists not to churn out the same format every time. Rather, I want to bask in their reflection, understanding and change. Hit Me Hard and Soft, does that. It shows a maturity and admittance to subject matters that might be harder to put in the liner notes than before.
The album flows fluidly across the tracks as she opens up about self-image, relationships and seemingly the industry which she has become a mega-star within. It is soulful and heartwarming to listen too. She tells a tale about her life in the music industry and that person she used to be. Some lyrics that really resonated with me include: “People say I look happy / just because I got skinny / but the old me is still me and maybe the real me” and “I tried to end it all, but now I’m back up on my feet.” The album title is indicative of the way it plays out, as you near its many crossroads. With her 23rd birthday approaching on December 18th its remarkable to witness the journey between her first three albums. She is certainly not lacking in courage and a willingness to tell us how she is really feeling. And that’s nice.
Jack White- No Name
This record is completely stacked. It is a culmination of blues and punk that makes amps shake off the stage and White Stripes fans rejoice in the magnitude of the production. It’s a primal sound that resonates for 42 minutes and skyrockets Jack White into the mega-sphere of great songwriters and guitar players.
If you don’t know the story, earlier this year customers at Jack White’s Third Man Record shops in London, Nashville and Detroit received a free gift with their purchases – a white-label vinyl album with a generic white sleeve, titled “no name”. Their Instagram posed a picture of the album with the caption reading “Rip it.” That’s exactly what you need to do. The track ‘Old Scratch Blues’ has one of the most dynamic and yes, scratchiest, blues riffs you’ll ever hear and White’s vocals pierce through the distortion of fuzz to empower an already powerful track.
This isn’t a reflective Jack white looking to slow down and get rooted again, but rather this is what I think he wanted the next White Stripe project to entail. The record towers over and engulfs any other contemporary rock music being played today. It is raw and raucous and is littered with a barrage of DIY garage rock sound that rips.
The other albums on my Top Ten:
Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch
Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us
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