It's that time of year again. Time to dissect our favorite records of 2024. Last year we did a top 10. I felt the need to extend this to the top 15. There are just too many great albums this year
15: The Cure: Songs of A Lost World
Lots of anticipation for this one. I tried not to get my hopes up. Generally, after waiting 10-20 years for a band to release an LP, I'm let down when they finally do.
The first two singles came and were alright..When the album dropped, I crossed my fingers and hit play on a gloomy morning while driving along a windy road on the Potomac River.
I was not disappointed. The rest of the album I found to be WAY better than the two singles that were previously released. I'm not sure I'd call it a masterpiece. And it certainly isn't like anything they've done before. I found the mood similar to their early 80's work that was much darker. It's a fantastic listen and a cohesive piece of work that people will remember and recognize as one of their best when they look back at their entire catalog.
14: Clan of Xymox: Exodus
The Kings of Darkwave reign supreme.
I didn't pay much attention to Xymox's albums after Medusa in the mid 80's. I gave this new one a chance and loved it. The subject matter and melodies are the kind you'd find right where they left off since
Medusa and honestly the world's problems aren't much different. So now, I want to go back and listen to everything in between to see what I've missed.
These tracks are truly beautiful. They haven't lost their edge. And if they had at one point, they found it again.
13: Film School: Field (Deluxe Edition)
Much like Soft Kill, they often reinvent themselves, but they always come back to their bread and butter, in this case; the distorted of guitar and vocals of the early 90s.
Out of the last 10 years' worth of new school and shoegaze reunions, this album is among the finest there is. I'm going to admit I'm cheating. This ISN'T EVEN A F*#&$*#%G 2024 album. It was released in late 2023, but it wasn't even on my radar until 2024. Is this weird? Yea. But I don't care. This deluxe edition WAS released in 2024 so THERE! Nyaaa!!!.
But seriously. It's so catchy and so lush, you need to give it a listen. Put it on while driving somewhere remote.
12: Farba Kindgom: PRIRVA
Do you link your Darkwave... Extra Dark?
It doesn't get darker than a band originally from Odessa, Ukraine, now touring constantly Eastern Europe in search of a home. These guys have been releasing the most dramatic music in all of the post-punk, gothic, darkwave genres in the past 3 years mostly in the form of singles and EP's (check their album, "Piece of Art 2022).
This album is probably the darkest of anything else on this list.
11: Crows: Reason Enough
An overlooked late comer to the post punk revival with all the energy of IDLES combined with the vocal styling of Interpol/Editors, with a pinch of goth and garage rock. Very fun yet very serious at the same time.
They put out a number of singles and EP's before starting to crank out full LPs five years ago and thanks goodness they finally did. A lot of modern music can get too artsy or moody. This is the perfect album to put in when you want to just rock out.
10: Bob Vylan: Humble As The Sun
I'm not going to check how many albums Bob Vylan has put out so far. All I know is that every time they DO put out an album, I expect them to eventually fizzle and run out of ideas.
This album is a great mix of everything they've done before: thrashing punk riffs, reggae, hip hop, and some truly bizarre trip hop style tracks. I'm not going to elaborate much more. I've said enough about these guys in my previous years' recaps. If you really are in the need for something energetic, you have to give them a try if you haven't already.
9: Vision Video: Modern Horror
Who would have thought that the Southeastern USA, specifically Georgia would be where much of the best modern goth, industrial, and darkwave bands would be coming from?
Vision Video is as close as you get to proper old school gothic rock today. It's much more on the romantic side. If that's what you're into, you're in for a treat. While the subject matter is as dark as their previous work, the melodies and style are a bit lighter than we're used to, flirting with mid 80's Cure-esque moods.
I don't know where the name of the band came from, but I found it funny the name is shared with a Christian film production company that produced movies with titles such as "The Cross and the Switchblade". It sounds exactly like the kind of song you'd hear from this band.
8: High Vis: Guided Tour
The singer's voice reminds me of Frank Cartner from the first few years of Gallows (and now lead singer of the Sex Pistols). Songs like 2023's "Desire" remind me of a more punk oriented version of The Chameleons.
In their short tenure, they've bounced around styles, flirting with punk, metal, greebo, and everything between. And they do it all so well; fierce and beautifully. The closest band I can think of to these guys would be maybe Pop Will Eat Itself.
I know that sounds a bit schizophrenic. If you're a fan of a lot of different post-punk styles, you'll get a mix of all of them in this album.
7: Ministry: HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES
This album is still mostly industrial metal, but you can tell that that the last decade of revisiting and introspection has helped the artist formerly known as Alejandro Ramirez Casas open up the idea of actually trying again and working different influences into his studio work. Mix that with the fact that Al has become more politically literal and explicit, triggering the people who were never smart enough to understand that he's always been "woke" for the last 40 years is just... well... (kisses fingers). MUAH!
6: Kaelan Mikla, Bardi Johannsson: The Phantom Carriage (OST)
Years ago, I went to see a Halloween screening of the original 1922 silent film, Nosferatu, at the American Film Institute's original 1930's art deco style Silver Theater in Maryland. There was a small live orchestra at the front of the theater giving their interpreted live soundtrack to the movie. It was awesome. Icelandic Darkwave act Kaelan Mikla teams up with countryman composer Bardi Johannsson for a similar idea, creating a new soundtrack for a 1921 silent film from Sweeden.
I haven't seen the film. To be honest, I've never heard of it until now. I actually listened to the album a couple of times not realizing it was a soundtrack. I just figured it was a darkwave act I enjoyed trying to make a more dark-style classical music themed album, similar to what Boy Harsher has been up to. Kaelan Mikla usually has these Kathleen Hanna style vocals to accompany their tracks, but this is mostly an instrumental album, and it really is amazing whether you're listening to it intently or just as background music.
5: Fontaines D.C.: Romance
I was skeptical upon hearing about the release of their next album. Often when a band releases such a powerful run of albums to kick start their career, the talent seems to subside after they use up all their ideas. Not the case with Romance. This one subsided back into the indie area, but not without permanently being scarred by whatever darkness they experienced that inspired them to create Skinty.
4: Soft Kill: Escape Forever
This is the third year in a row that Soft Kill has appeared on this list. It isn't often there is someone so prolific that makes albums so consistently great every consecutive single year. Early Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees come to mind. Not only does Soft Kill do exactly this, but they refuse to restrict themselves to a single genre: Darkwave, indie rock, gothic rock, low-fi, jangle pop, etc.
This is an album that's eclectic, but still cohesive. No matter what mood I'm in, it's the type of record I can always put in and enjoy.
3: Twin Tribes: Pendulum
Twin Tribes is slowly becoming one of the heavyweights of modern darkwave. They headlined the Dark Ceremony festival in Houston with The Chameleons and Clan of Xymox. That's quite the hype to live up to. Their new album, Pendulum, contains the energy necessary to do so. While other established darkwave bands explore new avenues of music, Twin Tribes doubles down on the traditional style.
A mix of reverberating guitars, dark synthwave bass, and drum machines captures the essence of the last 10 years of darkwave music.
2: TR/ST: Performance
First, he released a killer self-titled EP after five years without an album. Then, not only did he perform at Cruel World 2024 in Pasadena, but he was billed in a prime time slot AFTER Jesus and Mary Chain and Ministry. Then after being teased with a few singles, he finally dropped a long-awaited album, Performance, which is the best dance album anyone has produced this year of any genre.
I find TR/ST's style similar to a modern darkwave version of Cocteau Twins. Robert Alfon's voice is not only a unique instrument in itself, but the lyrics are bizarre and cryptic, leaving open to interpretation which lends itself to all sorts of fun and mystery.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
1: Killer Couture: Everything Is Normal
Not overproduced; just back-to-basics angry, editorial of society style late 80's/early-90's music; the kind of stuff you could expect from Skinny Puppy's and Ministry's DGAF approach in the 80's.
Oddly enough I discovered these guys while flipping through my phone in some industrial related Facebook groups years ago inside a Hobby Lobby (one of the most conservative stores ever) in Pensacola, FL (home of Florida's 1st congressional districts, represented by (barf) Matt Gaetz).
Is this album enjoyable to the casual listener? NOPE! It's a kick in the balls. Please... don't listen to it with earbuds at a reasonable level. Blast it in your car or stereo system with your windows open and piss off everyone around you.
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Honorable Mentions:
Beth Gibbons, Nine Inch Nails, Beach, Windmill Hill, IDLES, The Rope, trentmoller, Jakuzi, Pixies, Phantogram, yot club, French Police, Tricky, Trevor Something, VR SEX
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