10

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Wild God
(PIAS)

Wild God is an audacious title for an album that arrives at an uncertain and fraught moment. Shaking off the minimalism of his and the Bad Seeds’ evocative, liminal Ghosteen and following the fragile hope fighting fury and darkness in Cave and Warren Ellis’ collaboration on Carnage, Nick Cave reunites with the Bad Seeds as they roar back with an album teeming with the incredulity of life’s persistence. Nick Cave hovers over this album as a mythopoetic auteur, amalgamating Arthurian legend, Christian religious imagery, and specters of outlaw country poets, angelic visitors, and ghostly voicemails in a dizzying frenzy. Ellis and the rest of the Bad Seeds fill the album with dropping notes and ecstatic swells, enacting a catharsis that never feels forced. Grounded in ambiguity, he is both “amazed of love” and “amazed of pain.” It is music for the moment and might be Cave’s masterpiece. – Rick Quinn

9

Waxahatchee
Tigers Blood
(Anti-)

Somewhere throughout her six-album career, Katie Crutchfield stopped being merely another Americana folkie wielding an acoustic guitar and joined the ranks of America’s finest contemporary songwriters. “Right Back to It”, one of three singles from this year’s Tigers Blood, might have flowed from the Laurel Canyon folk-rock scene of the 1970s. Yet the song unmistakably captures the spirit of 2024, as guest vocalist and guitarist MJ Lenderman – on leave from the band Wednesday and his own brimming solo career – puts his ragged emotional stamp on the chorus. 

However, Waxahatchee is Crutchfield’s show as her Alabama drawl cracks against her newfound sobriety and songs like “365” and “Burns Down at Midnight” take root in your soul. Spare guitar lines by Lenderman and elemental drumming by Spencer Tweedy (son of Jeff Tweedy) enhance the feel of dusty porches and open highways. Waxahatchee’s lyrical knack for concise, poetic images informs songs that feel deeply personal and universally relatable. – Peter Thomas Webb

8

Jamie xx        
In Waves
(Young)

In Waves is the long-awaited sophomore release of Jamie xx (James Thomas Smith), also of the feted indie electronic outfit, the xx. This album has abundant intelligence through its savvy club beats, intermingled guest vocals by musicians like Panda Bear and the Avalanches, and its pop and soul references dropped here and there like breadcrumbs on a fairy tale trail. But none of these elements would matter if they didn’t come together to project a rich sensory world of poly-sourced rhythms, dancefloor strobe lighting, and cigarette breaks.

True to its name, In Waves is constructed in waves of cameo-driven compositions balanced by immersive sonic set-pieces. But there is no motion sickness. There is a sincerity to In Waves. Jamie xx may not have all the answers, but he intuitively knows that feeling, rather than overthinking, our way forward may bring us closer to certain essential truths. – Christopher J. Lee

7

Miss Li             
Livet, döden, skiten däremellan
(Pistol Packin’ Music)

When many people think of Scandipop, their instant reference is ABBA. However, Scandinavian and Nordic pop music have been continually moving forward since then. Scandipop has reached such a popularity level that Swedish music exports outperformed the UK last year. It’s outstanding progress for the genre’s broad tent that so much of it has gone worldwide while many of the songs are sung in their original language.

After Linda Karlsson finished her football career, she turned to pop as Miss Li. She began singing many of her songs in English but switched to Swedish in her later career. Beyond her massive vocal abilities–which can soar above a wall of sound arrangement, swing through jazzy pop, command the stage with her distinct brand of cabaret pop, and articulate with the flow of a premier rapper–her music has been enhanced by switching to Swedish. The language’s sing-song quality naturally lends itself to pop music.

In this year’s Livet, döden, skiten däremellan, she and her husband Sonny Gustafsson created the biggest and best Scandipop album of the year. Nearly every song is a single–seven to be precise: “X”, “Hälsa Gud”, “Ålderdomshemmet”, “Misstag”, “Maraton”, “Verktygslådan”, and “Småstadsdrömmar”, which began releasing in late 2022. They are hook-filled, dynamic, sing-a-long songs that sweep you up in pure joy. The record breezes by in 32 minutes with not a trace of fat. This year has been challenging, and 2025 scarcely looks to be an improvement. Miss Li is to the rescue, so get happy. – Sarah Zupko

6

Kim Gordon
The Collective
(Matador)

Is the distortion on Kim Gordon’s new album The Collective the same as the distortion found on Sonic Youth’s debut Confusion Is Sex (1983)? The Collective is full of innovative noise, albeit in a manner different from Gordon’s solo debut, No Home Record, released in 2019. This LP is essentially a hip-hop album in production and style, reinventing Gordon once more in her seventh decade. It succeeds primarily because it abandons a conventional format in favor of a sonic cut-and-paste approach that is comprised of delineations and collages of different ideas rather than formal songs.

Lyrically, Gordon intends to retain her identity, repeating “I won’t join the collective” on “The Candy House”, but she harbors residual uncertainty about being alone. The Collective ultimately marks a more radical stance than No Home Record with its bleaker, more panoramic vision of our disquieting present. – Christopher J. Lee

5

Fontaines D.C.
Romance
(XL)

Fontaines D.C. have evolved completely from the sneering, literate band from Dublin that burst onto the scene in 2019. As the name suggests, Romance focuses on the ideal as the group polish the rough surfaces from earlier outings. The record features two of the best songs of the year, “Starburster” and “Favourite”, but it’s the unabashed sentimentality that hearkens back to an era when Coldplay were king that really stands out. That and their ability to create moods previously unexplored in their work.  Fontaines D.C. have opened up a new realm of possibilities in their sound, proving that they are (perhaps always were) multifaceted. Couple that with some eclectic wardrobe choices and a spat with Oasis and Fontaines D.C. are poised to move into the upper echelon of stardom. – Patrick Gill

4

Mdou Moctar
Funeral for Justice
(Matador)

Even by Nigerien guitar wizard Mdou Moctar’s high standards, Funeral for Justice is extraordinary. Moctar’s always blazing guitar work drives forward searing anti-colonial messages essential to the present sociopolitical moment, making this perhaps his most vital and energetic album so far–and that’s saying something. Alongside him are drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane, and bassist/producer Mikey Coltun, all of whom keep up admirably with Moctar’s shredding.

More than any previous Mdou Moctar album, it feels alive: Moctar and his whole band are in the room with their listeners, fanning the flames of righteous resolve. The Saharan tishoumaren guitar style at the foundation of Mdou Moctar’s music has often been glossed for international listeners as “desert blues,” but at this funeral, there’s no time for mourning. Moctar and his cohort are here to remind us that resistance is alive as long as we keep fighting, and Funeral for Justice is a vow never to forget that the struggle must continue. – Adriane Pontecorvo

3

Cindy Lee
Diamond Jubilee
(Realistik)

Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee is a shimmering standout in 2024’s musical landscape, as it transcends traditional genre boundaries, weaving experimental pop, noise, and lo-fi aesthetics together. This expansive 32-track album intertwines elements of 1960s pop, like the Ronettes, with production that recalls 1980s post-punk stylings. Cindy Lee—an artistic persona of Patrick Flegel, formerly of Women—crafts an auditory experience that feels intimate and otherworldly. It’s a record that demands and rewards repeated listens, revealing new layers with every visit.

Lyrically, Diamond Jubilee meditates on loss, longing, and identity, themes underscoring the raw vulnerability that defines the album. Cindy Lee emphasizes the feeling by channeling a haunting vocal delivery throughout the album. This resembles a spectral croon, contesting the typically cis-male-dominated singing styling. At its core, the album is a meditation on imperfection—an exploration of fractured beauty and resilience in the face of despair. Moreover, the album gives voice to those outside the commercial spotlight. In doing so, Cindy Lee resonates with the jeopardized cultural movements that champion inclusivity, creativity, and the deconstruction of boundaries.

Diamond Jubilee unequivocally cements Cindy Lee’s legacy as an avant-pop visionary. Cindy Lee delivers a timeless masterpiece with Diamond Jubilee, reaffirming their place as one of the year’s most compelling and innovative voices. – Elisabeth Woronzoff

2

Beyonce     
Cowboy Carter
(Parkwood / Columbia)

Beyoncé doesn’t just put out albums; she makes artistic and social commentary. Since her self-titled LP in 2013, her records contributed to critical and topical conversations about race, gender, and politics. Her previous album, 2022’s Renaissance, celebrated Black queerness and club culture. On Cowboy Carter, the singer pays homage to her Texan roots and country music’s debt to Black creativity and Black excellence. Placing herself into a rich and diverse history, Beyoncé has released a brilliant country-soul record that celebrates the influence of legends like Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Linda Martell, Charley Pride, and Rhiannon Giddens. 

Cowboy Carter spotlights the deep connections between soul, pop, rock, and country. Sounds of Americana, folk, and even dance find their way into these songs. On the powerful opener, “Ameriican Requiem”, the pop diva proudly claims her space, anticipating the hostility Cowboy Carter would face from country audiences. She sings of her profound attachment to the South and Southern culture – a complex and complicated history of pain and beauty. On the excellent “Riiverdance”, Beyoncé brings some of her club sensibilities to the string-laden confection (courtesy of super producer The-Dream). The hit single, “Texas Hold ‘Em” (which also became a social media sensation), is a fun high point.

Cowboy Carter invites country music royalty like Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, Shaboozey. Perhaps the greatest moment on Cowboy Carter is a lovely cover of the Beatles’ “Blackbird”, which earns a gravitas in 2024 as civil rights, equality, and race relations remain as fraught and vulnerable as ever. – Peter Piatkowski

1

Charli XCX       
brat       
(Atlantic)

After more than a decade of being “famous but not quite”, Charli XCX entered 2024 with a renewed sense of purpose, and everything involving her sixth album was an artistic – and marketing – masterstroke. Juxtaposing confessional lyrics with club-banger arrangements is nothing new to pop music, but Brat explores that idea in a way that’s never been done before. For every moment that celebrates the euphoric hedonism of club culture (the pummeling “Von Dutch”, the brash “360”) there’s a moment of crippling self-doubt and deep existential crisis.

At 32, Charli understands the party can’t go on forever, and the anxieties she reveals throughout the record – embarrassing herself in public, being pitted against more famous female artists her age, not realizing her full commercial potential, the lure of quiet domesticity – are painfully relatable, lending humanity to the edgy, often minimalist arrangements. “Apple” is the bubbliest song about intergenerational trauma you will ever hear, “Mean Girls” is as cutting as it is contagious, and the glitchy ballad “Sympathy Is a Knife” ditches pop banality in favor of raw, unfiltered anguish.

The influence of the late, great genius SOPHIE looms over Charli’s work from the past decade, and the gorgeous “So I” is a fitting tribute to an artist the mainstream world wasn’t ready for while she was alive. By 2024 the world was ready for hyperpop and Brat’s brilliant rollout – the Brat Wall, the Boiler Room set, Pantone 3570-C, “I’m so Julia”, Lorde and Charli working it out in the remix, the viral “Apple” dance, “Kamala is brat”, Billie and Charli’s sapphic thirst trap, the innovative and raucous SWEAT tour with Troye Sivan, the remix album – added more and more momentum. By November, she was hosting and performing on Saturday Night Live and bringing Brat’s defiant energy to a massive crowd at Times Square.

It’s incredible to think that this album, which is so preoccupied with the question of whether all that work and public life is worth it, would be the record that catapulted Charli XCX to pop superstardom. It could not have been scripted any better. – Adrien Begrand