Top Ten Of 2024: Mark Hunt-Bryden
2024 has been quite the year… I got the chance to attend three very different music festivals; finally popping my long-awaited Desertfest London cherry after eleven long years, battling the elements to thoroughly enjoy the commercial juggernaut that is Download after a decade away and my fourth visit to the always-reliable classic rock-minded festival Stonedead.
On the personal front, there has been plenty of drama that I’m not going to bore you with here, as music is what we’re here to do right?
I read that 43 million new songs were uploaded to Spotify in 2023, at a rate of 120,000 a day. Sometimes it has felt like this year has only seen that amount increase with the number of promos we get offered, making it a struggle to get them covered, even with the dedicated team of writers we have assembled. As a result, this has made compiling a top ten of even just the records that I have reviewed this year a huge challenge.
2024 has seen many artists I probably would have told you at the start would be a shoo-in for this list edged out and not make the final cut, so stick around for my honourable mentions at the end as some great records just missed out. But for now, it’s time to get down to business…
10. i Häxa ‘i Häxa’
The interlaced threads that made up the stunning multimedia debut from singer-songwriter Rebecca Need-Menear and producer Peter Miles were released in four EPs throughout solstice waypoints during the year and dazzled with dark electronics, waif-like ambient passages and neo-folk vibes.
In one of the most complex and unique releases of the year, accompanied by stunning visuals, they finally brought together the whole piece in one package in mid-November to form an hour-long journey into their world. i Häxa‘s debut is a spectacular, searching musical creation and these emotional and interwoven tails take the listener on an unconventional ride through terrifying darkness and moments of triumphant elation.
Label: Pelagic Records
9. Oh Hiroshima ‘All Things Shining’
The shimmering beauty of All Things Shining, the fifth album from Swedish post-metal brother combo Oh Hiroshima blends elements of shoegaze, electronica and post-rock that are capable of rendering the listener in states of melancholy one moment and sending them soaring on a wave of euphoria the next.
From the powerful tones of Wild Iris to the blissed-out harmonies of Swans In A Field and the one-two punch of Leave Us Behind and Memorabilia, this is a nuanced album of cinematic, progressive music that scales incredible heights. I genuinely never expected to love this as much as I do, but their grasp on the ability to dynamically play with your emotions is absolutely on point here.
Label: Pelagic Records
8. Swamp Coffin ‘Drowning Glory’
Simply put Swamp Coffin’s sophomore album is a triumph. Not only does it form a personal victory over the extreme circumstances cruelly dealt out to the band, but it is the poster child for pressure forming coal into diamonds. An album that many would not have expected to ever come to fruition, Drowning Glory topped the pack of an APF Records roster that included 2024 releases from Wasted Death and Urzah.
Brutal uncompromising and yet catchy, with its snarling, sardonic humour, Swamp Coffin dragged themselves back from the brink to deliver a hammer blow to the senses. Drowning Glory is the ultimate cathartic experience and the jewel in APF’s crown this year for me.
Label: APF Records
7. SoftSun ‘Daylight In The Dark’
SoftSun came along and booted out what I had considered a dead cert for this list with their dream-like Californian meets Scandinavian brand of desert rock. The sounds of Yawning Man guitar maestro Gary Arce combined with the ethereal voice and heavy bass vibrations of Superlynx’s Pia Isaken along with drummer and studio wizard Dan Joeright to craft something truly special.
With bright sounds, crushing low end and Isaken’s breathy intonations, SoftSun’s droning doom gaze brings a stark celestial beauty that taps into the soul. Daylight In The Dark succeeds when you truly surrender yourself to the band’s ability to bring the intangible into consciousness.
Label: Ripple Music
6. Sons Of Alpha Centauri ‘Pull’
It is a testament to the amount of good music that came out this year that Sons Of Alpha Centauri‘s Pull seems to have been released a lifetime ago. Following up on 2021’s stunning Push, Kent’s finest continued their collaboration with Far’s Jonah Matranga and Will Haven’s Mitch Wheeler to produce another masterful piece of modern post-rock that takes influence from the 90s alternative metal scene.
Once more gliding riffs honed by SOAC are rounded out by the powerhouse engine room of the Sacramento screamers, creating a rich and robust tapestry for Matranga to paint anguished and uplifting anthems that tug at the heartstrings. Combined with the previous album, Pull makes an excellent companion piece to the band’s journey.
Label: Exile On Mainstream Records
5. Cortez ‘Thieves And Charlatans’
Some releases you just don’t see coming. Boston’s hard-rocking quintet Cortez crashed into my consciousness with lead single Odds Are just before they dropped their latest long-player in the middle of October. Instantly striking with the heavy mix of dynamics and bristling with stirring riffs, the album became a huge hit in my home.
Expanding their sound to mix psychedelic passages, anthemic choruses, and more hooks than a jellyfish’s tentacles topped off by the emotive range of singer Matt Harrington. Thieves And Charlatans checked all the boxes for what I want from a rock and roll album and then some.
Label: Ripple Music
4. Harvestman ‘Triptych’
Similarly to i Häxa, Steve Von Till’s 2024 spanning project, released under his Harvestman guise, the fascinating Triptych Parts One, Two, and Three helped define my musical journey this year. Compiled from field recordings made over two decades and featuring a cast of collaborators that include The Bug, Al Cisneros, Dave French and others, Von Till explores the primal and hypnotic connection between ancient waypoints and the futuristic visions of the constellations.
Filled with neo-folk Americana, dark ambient psych and dub, Triptych takes the listener on a journey quite unlike any other this year with its deep transcendental and meditative vibes.
Label: Neurot Recordings
3. earthtone9 ‘In Resonance Nexxus’
The reunion/rebirth of one of my favourite bands ten years after their last album, and the recent proclamation they were done and ready to move on, was a shock. That shock turned into elation as the fifth album, In Resonance Nexus, detonated with all the subtlety of a drone strike. Showcasing some of the most accessible yet hard-hitting tracks ever written by the band, this raging journey lived up to the billing.
Genuinely producing some of the heaviest and most melodic tunes in their arsenal, earthtone9 came roaring back out of nowhere. With smouldering tracks like Black Swan Roulette and the hardcore post-metal of Oceanic Drift, the band reclaimed my heart instantly as if they had never been away.
Label: Candlelight Records
2. Mario Lalli & The Rubber Snake Charmers ‘Folklore From The Other Desert Cities’
Breaking with my self-imposed ‘No live albums’ rule I had to include the jaw-dropping debut from Mario Lalli And The Rubber Snake Charmers. Whilst on tour in Australia’s Gold Coast, the band came together to create live improvised jams that are not captured anywhere else.
Stream of consciousness beat poetry from legend Sean Wheeler comes to life over the hypnotic chemistry between godfathers of the scene Mario Lalli and Brant Bjork. Backed by the stellar Ryan Gut, this is an experimental and mesmerising snapshot of musicians at the top of their game. Despite the volume of music that came after this record, it has remained firmly in rotation all year such is the quality of this psychedelic groove-laden spectacle.
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
1. Sergeant Thunderhoof ‘The Ghost Of Badon Hill’
As a fan of the band, I was always predisposed to like fifth album The Ghost of Baden Hill. At this stage in the game, Somerset’s Sergeant Thunderhoof were hardly likely to break out a mumble rap joint, but after the sprawling This Sceptred Veil, which rightly won them so much acclaim, refined and focused their sound, trimming any fat from the record to deliver their most emotional and finest work to date.
The Arthurian legends of their surrounding area drip with melodies, batter you with riffs that rally and call to arms and place you in the central of a concept album about unimportant people living their humble lives in the face of great struggle. Incredibly mature in songwriting and execution, The Ghost Of Badon Hill is an absolute triumph, and Sergeant Thunderhoof’s ability to blend aggressive elements of beauty with a crunching hard rock style is the top of the game right now.
Label: Pale Wizard Records
Honourable Mentions:
So, there we have it. That list surprised me in the end, and I felt I needed another ten spots to do the year justice. The fact there was no room for Greenleaf’s Head And The Habit, Julie Christmas’ Ridiculous And Full Of Blood, Wasted Death’s full-length debut, nor the Lost Dog Street Band or frontman Benjamin Tod’s solo album, Survived and Shooting Star respectively, was a matter of painful debate.
And that is without even talking about Wall’s debut, Big Scenic Nowhere or Per Wiberg which speaks to the sheer quality unleashed in 2024. But the beat goes on and I still have a few more reviews to write up as next year’s promos already start piling in… so whatever floated your boat this year, have a good one and I’ll see you on the other side.
Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden
