Luke Nuttall (Editor / Writer)
5. Pale Waves – Smitten
Finally—finally!—Pale Waves have got there. To be fair, they’ve been improving album on album each time, to where they were already vaulting above the staid, shallow pop-rock of their earliest work. But in casting back to that indie-pop they got their start on, now with the benefit of added experience, Smitten feels like the culmination of every bit of their efforts. Terrifically punchy and sharper than the majority of their catalogue combined, this is the sort of pop album that Pale Waves wanted to make from the start. It took a diversion into pop-punk that wasn’t to last to get here, but the journey’s end couldn’t have been more satisfying.
4. Mothica – Kissing Death
It’s rare that an artist will completely redress the shortcomings with their output without taking some sort of hit elsewhere. Maybe that goes to show that Mothica is more talented than initially given credit for, as Kissing Death is undoubtedly her greatest triumph to date. You’d never expect that after Nocturnal was so flabby and ephemeral, but here’s its complete opposite, straight off its back. It’s tighter and more luxurious (especially for alt-pop), with songs that genuinely hit the emotional beats they’re supposed to, not just skirt blindly around and are given the benefit of the doubt for it. In the ways that much of alt-pop and nu-gen feels like an act and is praised as if that weren’t the case, Kissing Death is the mirror to what it could be.
3. Dead Poet Society – Fission
Another album in the realm of ‘band previously from a bad scene gets a major facelift’, here. In the case of Dead Poet Society, they were squatting in the alt-hard-rock space, where they could never carve anything worthwhile for themselves from its generally lackadaisical form. Well, what a difference a bit of application makes! Fission is nominally the same as what they were doing, but cranked up to a level that this stuff has to be at. Now they’re heavy and fierce, making good use of that fretless guitar sound rather than lampshading it as a gimmick without proper use. That one thing can make a world of difference, especially when, for so long, it seemed beyond the possibility that Dead Poet Society would do anything of the sort. But in what seems to elevate everything that needed it, Fission is without question their best album. Maybe even one of the best albums this scene has produced in general, if you want to go further.
2. Kid Bookie – Songs For The Living / Songs For The Dead
Albums like this are what ‘biggest surprise’ categories were made for. It’s not just a case of Kid Bookie making a significant improvement, but doing so via a complete overhaul in sound that also finds room for multiple detours to widen itself even further. Compared to substandard alt / hip-hop crossovers in the past, the approach of hard rock multidisciplinarian is incalculably more rewarding, to where you’re tempted to overlook the looser folds yet to be addressed. The effort will do that, particularly when it’s coming in a headfirst dive into genre exploration where nothing feels off the table. Next to a swathe of identikit dark-poppers who’ll pay lip service to transgressive ideas with no evidence, an on-the-fly artistic rebuilding is more impressive than anything they’d likely even conceive of.
1. D.R.U.G.S. – Until God Shows
Where did this even come from? Why is the new album from D.R.U.G.S.—now retroactively yet another Craig Owens side-project—this good, without warning? It’s one of those little musical mysteries that always kind of thrilling to unearth, given that no one seems to have paid much attention to this despite being orders of magnitude better than it has any right to be. There’s almost the same energy as with the original, a reinvigoration of Warped-style post-hardcore that not only shed off its rust with remarkable haste, but grew and developed on it significantly. Being heavier than you’d otherwise expect is just one aspect; it’s actively crushing and soaring in ways that might as well be emulating Bring Me The Horizon, and not even doing that badly at it. And the fact that this is coming from D.R.U.G.S., a fossilised act who last sniffed relevance nearly 15 years ago, is mind-boggling. On principle alone, this is beyond belief.
Georgia Jackson (Deputy Editor / Writer)
5. Pixie Lott – Encino
Anyone outside of Pixie Lott’s social media followers wouldn’t have had the former pop princess’ return the music on their 2024 bingo card, but here we are. Her first record in ten whole years, Encino took on a more ‘70s rock-inspired sound, showing off Lott’s vocal chops to glorious effect. It might not have made much of a splash in terms of your average Joe’s awareness of the project, but felt like a warm hug from an old friend while still feeling fresh.
4. The Dandy Warhols – Rockmaker
Has anyone checked in on The Dandy Warhols the last few years? No, seriously. Aside from hints of garage rock, they’ve never really strayed toofar from the sound of car advert anthem Bohemian Like You, but this year they went fully in on their gritty side on Rockmaker. Scuzzy, groovy and weighty, this is a record for the most badass of vibes in the most unexpected places. Plus, Slash is on it, if you needed an actual rock legend’s seal of approval.
3. Twin Atlantic – Meltdown
A 2010s Britrock band? Releasing an album with actual Britrock songs on it? Yes, the bar is on the floor, but when nearly everyone around them is either breaking up or getting back together, it’s nice to hear Twin Atlantic head back to soaring, anthemic territory again. Meltdown houses some of the Scots’ best songs in ages and, while Deaf Havana had a year off and Kids In Glass Houses got funky, saw them become a beacon of hope for the thriving Britrock renaissance fans still hope for.
2. Joshua Bassett – The Golden Years
Joshua Bassett’s name was bandied around a lot circa 2020 as part of a love triangle with Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter (you’ve probably heard a lot more about what those other two parties are up to lately), but this year, finally free of Disney commitments, saw the release of his debut album The Golden Years. Anyone born pre-the year 2000 would not have a single expectation for this record, but it’s a collection of solid pop-rock that never crosses over to being cheesy. Want to feel like you’re in a coming-of-age film? Stick this title track on and you’re golden.
1. Camila Cabello – C,XOXO
After delving into her Latina side on Familia, it seemed that Camila Cabello had found a lane she felt comfortable in. Imagine the surprise when she dropped I LUV IT, a blaring hyperpop-influenced track that rubbed lots of listeners up the wrong way. On subsequent album C,XOXO, Cabello tried on shades of hip-hop and reggaeton alongside tender balladry, things that mix together on the record in a way that never feels stagnant. It’s not a combination that always hits the spot (see the record’s constant discussion in ‘worst of the year’ conversations), but songs like Dade County Dreaming and Hot Uptown do, plus taking risks like these is always better than making a record that gets forgotten.
