Real Goblin

These lists really just suck me dry, I’ll tell you what. I don’t believe in releasing a list before the year is really up to begin with, but I also happen to lack the manpower to pump out a top 100 in NOVEMBER of all months.

This was a great year for music, etc, etc. Maybe every year is a great year for music. Who’s to say? Here’s your list you heathens:

50. Real Estate – Daniel

I don’t know how, but Real Estate is one of those bands that can release the same album every time and I still let them get away with it. Daniel is no exception. It’s filled top to bottom with their brand of guitar-driven indie rock – and I eat it up every time.

Favorite Songs: “Water Underground”, “Say No More”

49. Matt Champion – Mika’s Laundry

Just as Kevin Abstract took an unexpected direction with last year’s Blanket, former Brockhampton member Matt Champion delves into a similarly unforeseen direction on his debut solo album. The album presents some solid, playful melodies. Mika’s Laundry is at its best when Champion demonstrates his affinity for these pop/funk synth tunes – an unexpected surprise but a welcome one. 

Favorite Songs: “Slug”, “Aphid (feat. Dijon)”

48. cumgirl8 – the 8th cumming

Ay yo? Goth/punk cum music?

Favorite Songs: “girls don’t try”, “hysteria”

47. Claire Rousay – sentiment

Deeply honest, poetic, and entirely unexpected. Claire Rousay doesn’t have a background in homebrewed, auto-tune, bedroom pop (if that’s what you wanna call this). There’s a modern sort of cliché in which a person finds a song by an artist they’re unfamiliar with and dives into their catalogue in hopes of finding similar music. But no deep dive is so unexpected as one into Claire Rousay’s discography – which consisted until recently of field recordings of nature and public spaces. Those elements still find their way onto the album in parts, but when Claire does choose to use lyrics, she doesn’t mince words.

Favorite Songs: “head”, “lover’s spit plays in the background”

46. Fat, Evil Children – Fat Evil Dogs, Fat Evil Cats, Fat Evil bears, Fat Evil Rats

I’ll admit it. The album title grabbed me by the balls and wouldn’t let go until I gave this a listen. Ultimately, the band in question (Fat, Evil Children) aren’t as evil as they would have you believe. Their sound is mellow – more an acoustic, indie folk type situation then whatever 100 gecs esque tomfoolery probably came to mind. But it was pleasant and welcoming. And I came back for more on a surprisingly frequent basis. The band does occasionally push the boundaries, suggesting that something darker is lingering beneath the surface of their smooth, gentle sound. “I Wish You” and especially “Hatchet” are good examples of this. It breaks up the album, making the listening experience more rewarding and separating this from similar projects that might not be so impacted by a random shuffle as their creators may like to admit.

Favorite Songs: “Fooled”, “Taking Your Place”

45. Another Michael – Pick Me Up, Turn Me Upside Down

Another Michael follows up their 2023 album with a more complete project in Pick Me Up, Turn Me Upside Down. The songwriting is so unique but still feels timeless. No other album this year is going to include a song called “Seafood” and actually be about seafood.

Favorite Songs: “Is There A World?”, “The Diner’s Spoon”

44. English Teacher – This Could Be Texas

English Teacher packs a lot into their debut – an album full of twists and turns through genre and theme. The band is at their best when these songs build to their satisfying climaxes, with soaring guitars, strings, and cathartic screams from the frontwoman Lily Fontaine. 

Favorite Songs: “Nearly Daffodils”, “Not Everybody Gets to Go to Space”

43. MGMT – Loss of Life

Many tracks on the Loss Of Life ask big universal questions with an air of indifference. But they don’t create a discomfort in the listener. Instead, the feeling is a contented, mild satisfaction with one’s place in the world (no matter how confusing or small it may be). Despite its grander, more far reaching sound, Loss Of Life and Little Dark Age are equally the work of a band who’s happy to be where they are. MGMT may not have seen this life for themselves, but I’m glad they’re here now.

Favorite Songs: “Mother Nature”, “Nothing To Declare”

42. Wishy – Triple Seven

Wishy nails the 2000s pop rock sound on Triple Seven, their debut shoegaze/emo rock album. With multiple talented vocalists at their disposal, Wishy scratched just the right itch for me this year. I’m like a shoegaze black hole. I just consume it all the time and absorb it and do whatever the hell else black holes do. Maybe I’m more like one of those pregnant Sonic the Hedgehog drawings. But instead of food or people, it’s shoegaze that makes me so big and fat. Imagine being the band themselves reading this. You get on a year end list and then the write up is about pregnant Sonic.

Favorite Songs: “Love On The Outside”, “Triple Seven”

41. Yard Act – Where’s My Utopia?

They really do make hits! Yard Act’s sophomore album, Where’s My Utopia? is a lot of fun. I’d never heard a Yard Act song before diving headfirst into this project. And I was not disappointed. “We Make Hits” is iconic. “Blackpool Illuminations” is one of a kind. I bet the singer has the biggest mustache I’ve ever seen. I don’t know, I’m just assuming. Let me look it up.

Ok the lead singer doesn’t but one of the band members does. It’s huge.

Favorite Songs: “We Make Hits”, “Blackpool Illuminations”

40. Rachel Chinouriri – What a Devastating Turn of Events

Put Florence Pugh in your music video and I’ve got your back. Rachel Chinouriri didn’t need to do all that to get my attention though. This is an excellent and much anticipated follow up to the EP series that Ms. Chinouriri has been trickling out over the years. Her sound took a dip into more of a pop direction than I would have expected, but it worked out.

Favorite Songs: “Never Need Me”, “Cold Call”

39. Allie X – Girl With No Face

A friend of mine, the gayest man I know, recommended me “Off With Her Tits”. I’m usually skeptical, because while he does like some great stuff, he’s also a huge Katy Perry “stan”. Sorry that KP has to catch strays here, but it’s important to know that he thinks her most recent album is great. Anyway, I listened to Allie X’s “Off With Her Tits” and was struck not just by the songwriting, but the vintage 80s soundscape she sang over. The song is one of many absolute throwback bangers on the project. The album uses a variety of surprising, booming sounds that really elevate the project as a whole. “Black Eye” opens with what I imagine is number 250 something on an old Yamaha keyboard’s sound effects category. The whole thing is really impressive and well worth your time.

Favorite Songs: “You Slept On Me”, “Weird World”

38. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Wild God

You never really know what you’ll get from a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album. His band has experimented a lot in past years and Cave, now 67, has been prolific throughout his storied career. On Wild God, the band dips into orchestral swells and big, broad soundscapes in a way that works very well for me. It’s one of my favorite Cave albums in years.

Favorite Songs: “Long Dark Night”, “Cinnamon Horses”

37. Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood

Katie Crutchfield has been killing it in the 2020s. Saint Cloud defined her sound in many ways, and Tiger’s Blood is an excellent follow-up (if you don’t count the record she released with Jess Williamson, which is also great). “Right Back to It” is one of the best songs of the year, helped in large part by harmonies from MJ Lenderman – who has an unexpectedly great vocal chemistry with Waxahatchee.

Favorite Songs: “Bored”, “Right Back to It”

36. Mk.gee – Two Star & the Dream Police

It might seem like Mk.gee came out of no where with Two Star & the Dream Police, his most popular album to date. But since his debut and sophomore projects, Michael Gordon has kept busy. He’s been lending his skills to a variety of artists since 2018. From co-producing many of the songs on Dijon’s Absolutely, to co-writing on Drake’s Certified Lover…ok actually disregard that one.

Regardless, Mk.gee has finally honed in on a sound that works best for him. Through gloomy, muted, and always well-written guitar lines, he croons echoing lines about whatever his little heart desires. He maintains an Alex G like cloud of mystery, and one that he wears well.

Favorite Songs: “Are You Looking Up”, “I Want”

35. Jean Dawson – Glimmer of God

Jean Dawson is one of the more interesting artists working today. I tend to enjoy most of what he makes, but every once in a while, he puts out a song that scratches a very specific itch in my brain. “PIRATE RADIO” is the song that does it the most, but he has a good handful. Glimmer of God added a few more to that pile. And the rest of it also happens to be pretty good.

Favorite Songs: “200 Cigarettes”, “Die For Me”

34. Ginger Root – Shinbangumi

Show me an artist making better retro city pop than Ginger Root and I’ll show you a gun tucked into my waistband and tell you to scram. For legal purposes, that is a joke.

On Shinbangumi, Ginger Root achieves a dangerously appealing vintage sound that keeps the listener coming back for more. Sadly, this one was overlooked this year. It deserves boatloads of praise.

Favorite Songs: “Show 10”, “Take Me Back (Owakare No Jikan)”

33. Clairo – Charm

Did Clairo cancel her Toronto show 30 minutes before the doors opened after some friends of mine had already crossed the border and made the two hour drive to see her? Yes. She did do that. I’ll try not to hold it against her while I write this. On Charm, Clairo delves deeper into a quiet, organic sound she first dipped her toes into on the Jack Antonoff produced Sling. Charm sees her continue that raw, gentle songwriting, but this time with an Andy Shauf-like instrumentation behind her. The strongest aspect of this album isn’t the writing though. It’s the composition and the smart instrumental choices. The soft flute on “Glory of the Snow”. The little vocal trumpet mimicry section on “Juna”. It’s these fun, unique choices that elevate this project more than anything else.

Favorite Songs: “Juna”, “Nomad”

32. Iron & Wine – Light Verse

Iron and Wine’s songwriting has always been strong. And that trend continues on Light Verse. Sam Beam is no stranger to this sound, so by now he knows how to make catchy, gentle folk songs sound timeless. “Sweet Talk” and “Cutting It Close” are perfect examples of this. He couples poetic writing with well composed acoustic instrumentation for a very pleasing listen. This is all punctuated by “All in Good Time”, which plays out like the amicable end of a long, storied relationship. Plus, it’s a duet with Fiona Apple. So bonus points for that.

Favorite Songs: “All in Good Time”, “Cutting It Close”

31. Jordana – Lively Premonition

A lovely evolution of her sound, Jordana’s fourth studio album is beautifully composed, timeless pop. Groovy Wurlitzer organs, sweet strings, and soothingly layered harmonies float across every song on this very tight 10 track project. Jordana continues to evolve as an artist in a fascinating way.

Favorite Songs: “Like A Dog”, “Wrong Love”

30. Beyoncé – Cowboy Carter

Beyoncé makes a compelling case for the best pop artist of the 21st century on Cowboy Carter. And she does it without releasing a pop album. Despite the current trend of country-tinged pop, Beyoncé comes by it honestly. She was raised on country music as much as anyone else from Houston, Texas is. But rather than pander to a new crowd, she makes each and every song her own. The songwriting is solid, but more impressive is the personality that overflows from all 27 tracks. Yes, 27. At an hour and eighteen, this is no small feat.

Favorite Songs: “16 CARRIAGES”, “BODYGUARD”

29. Remi Wolf – Big Ideas

Remi Wolf’s sophomore album takes the dreaded “slump” and throws it into a fuckin PIT full of GHOULS. Her vocals sound better than ever, and the album is more sonically consistent than her debut, making for a smooth and sick listening experience.

Favorite Songs: “Cinderella”, “Pitiful”

28. Nala Sinephro – Endlessness

If you’re wondering what this album sounds like, it’s exactly as the album cover suggests. In my favorite ambient/instrumental project of the year, Nala Sinephro takes the listener across 10 beautifully executed “Continuum” tracks that ebb and flow with such grace that I truly do feel the weightlessness of this project at times. If there was one album I’d choose from this year to listen to in one of those little pseudo-science water pods you float around in, it would be Endlessness. I don’t remember what those pods are called and I refuse to look it up. Sensory deprivation chambers maybe? I don’t know. Good album.

Favorite Songs: “Continuum 2”, “Continuum 8”

27. JPEGMAFIA – I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU

JPEGMAFIA’s production keeps getting better and better. “SIN MIEDO” is the kind of song that even my college roommate, Lucas, would listen to. And if you knew Lucas, you’d know that he’s lowkey afraid of “the rap music”. On I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU, JPEGMAFIA allows himself to get a little more introspective amidst all the “goofs”, as he’s been known to call them. True story.

Favorite Songs: “either on or off the drugs”, “i recovered from this”

26. Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown

The return of Beth Gibbons was not something I would have predicted for 2023. She arrives with an album as grandiose and weighty as you would expect. Lives Outgrown is essential listening if you’re gonna go stand at the bow of a steam ship and stare into the distance. It’s got a real power to it that a lot of people can’t replicate. It’s the kind that only Beth Gibbons can wield.

Favorite Songs: “Floating On A Moment”, “For Sale”

25. Vince Staples – Dark Times

Dark Times is aptly named. I was going to point out its timeliness, but it would be just as timely in any of the past 6 years. Even still, Vince Staples displays a level of songwriting that I didn’t know he had in him. This project was one to truly catch me by surprise this year. It’s short, but it packs a serious punch.

Favorite Songs: “Black&Blue”, “Government Cheese”

24. The Last Dinner Party – Prelude To Ecstasy

Gotta love a group that comes out swinging with a sound that could have been developed over years. Nepo babies or not, The Last Dinner Party is an exciting group to watch in years to come.

Favorite Songs: “The Feminine Urge”, “Nothing Matters”

23. Doechii – Alligator Bites Never Heal

Doechii isn’t messing around with this album. Her flow is so effortless, and she has a 90s throwback quality to her lyricism at times – like on “DENIAL IS A RIVER”. On top of it being really well performed and produced, it’s also pretty funny at times. Doechii isn’t taken herself too seriously, but don’t let that fool you. She dropped one of the best records of the year – tongue in cheek as it may be.

Favorite Songs: “BOOM BAP”, “DENIAL IS A RIVER”

22. Friko – We’re we’ve been, Where we go from here

Friko, more like FREAKO. Maybe that’s how it’s already pronounced, I don’t know. Good album. Cool guitars. Cool energy.

Favorite Songs: “Where We’ve Been”, “Get Numb To It!”

21. Tyler, The Creator – Chromakopia

First of all, loving this year of the non-album cycle. Tyler, the Creator made an album and released it just a short while later. Kendrick Lamar dropped out of nowhere. Let’s keep that energy going into 2025.

Second of all, even more surprising than the unexpected album was its deeper than usual themes from an artist who is usually not found rapping about fatherhood or relationships (at least not with such honesty). There’s still your standard Tyler, the Creator fare here and there, like on “Sticky”. But forget Drake and J. Cole. Tyler has more right to the “big three” conversation than those clowns.

Favorite Songs: “Hey Jane”, “Take Your Mask Off”

20. Brittany Howard – What Now

Brittany Howard (of Alabama Shakes fame) hits hard on What Now, a sonically rich journey through her many musical talents. No hate on Alabama Shakes, but Howard is truly unleashed on this album and produces some of the best work of her career thus far.

Favorite Songs: “Earth Signs”, “Red Flags”

19. Porter Robinson – SMILE! 😀

For me, the discovery of Porter Robinson felt the way I imagine Lewis and Clark must have felt when they reached the west coast of the US. Nurture was nothing short of life affirming. It was one of two pieces of art that hit me in a real way during the pandemic – the other being Bo Burnham’s Inside. Nurture broke through my numb exterior, and Porter Robinson’s music woke me from my hazy, almost coma-like state.

So forgive me if SMILE! : D had my expectations high. Do I think this album made me feel the way Nurture did? No. Did it make me feel something else? Yes. On SMILE! : D, it feels as though Porter discovered a sense of self. Ironic though it may be, it’s still brings a smile to my face.

Favorite Songs: “Russian Roulette”, “Mona Lisa”

18. Father John Misty – Mahashmashana

A beautiful, grand, glossy and expansive return to form from Father John Misty. Pitchfork reviewer Anna Gaca put it excellently when she described this album as the band playing while the Titanic sank into the icy sea. Josh Tillman said this feels like his last Father John Misty project. And no matter how he meant for that to be interpreted, there is a sense of doom about the whole thing. Beautiful doom.

Favorite Songs: “Mahashmashana”, “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All”

17. Kendrick Lamar – GNX

Kenrick Lamar’s GNX is the first of his records that I’m experiencing in real time. I was a latecomer to the west coast powerhouse’s music, and so for me, GNX is special.

It’s not as introspective or “heady” (as they say) as Kendrick’s past work. And while it does go to those places, it really is more of a victory lap following the Drake of it all. Even still, it contains some of Lamar’s best songs to date. “Reincarnated” is a masterclass, but GNX also contains half a dozen or so bangers among the philosophical tracks. Kendrick and SZA have great chemistry, and her repeated appearances on the album make for a great listen.

*It wasn’t intentional, but it IS funny that I ranked these past two albums in this sequence so I’m going to leave it like that.

Favorite Songs: “dodger blue”, “reincarnated”

16. Luke De-Sciscio – Theo

This album paints parenthood, specifically fatherhood as something of heavenly beauty. Luke De-Sciscio is no stranger to the music industry. But Theo stands apart from the rest of his work in a very particular way. His style is characterized by raw, often first take acoustic ballads. In the 6 weeks following the birth of his daughter, Luke was inspired to create this album. And that love is felt in every line.

If you’re a sucker for a song about a parent/child relationship, these should tug on some heartstrings.

Favorite Songs: “Spinning”, “Towers Span People”

Further Reading: Luke De-Sciscio’s Music is Viscerally Beautiful

15. Jack White – No Name

Well you finally did it. You rat freaks finally bullied your old pal Jack White into some wild state of mind from the days of yore. He picked up that old blues guitar and made an album of songs better than most of what even the White Stripes had to offer. The door of my local record shop had a hand-written sign that read “No, we do NOT have any more No Name.”

This is sort of the good-ending version of the most recent Eminem project. Rather than trot out an old persona for nostalgia’s sake, Jack White reaches back into his bag of tricks to reveal a hidden compartment of absolute blues rock bangers that you didn’t even know he had left in the tank. It’s a phenomenal outing from the longtime indie rocker, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Favorite Songs: “It’s Rough On Rats (If You’re Asking)”, “What’s The Rumpus?”

14. Mount Eerie – Night Palace

Phil Elverum is a generational talent. He writes music in a way few others can. And in his return as Mount Eerie, he reminds us that he’s still got ideas to share. But this is no typical folk music project. Elverum takes all manner of risks – from pseudo spoken word to ambient noise tracks and everything in between.

Favorite Songs: “Myths Come True”, “Non-Metaphorical Decolonization”

13. Mannequin Pussy – I Got Heaven

A great album cover. Love a good boar album. And I love an album where the artists demonstrate a wide range. And this is certainly one of those. “Split Me Open”, the closing track, is like a microcosm of everything that makes Mannequin Pussy great. The um…the band I mean. I don’t fuck those store mannequins much.

This talented four piece goes from songs like the sweet and soft “Nothing Like” to the loud and angry “OK? OK! OK? OK!” with equal ease and mastery of their sound. This is an album with a lot to offer.

Favorite Songs: “Nothing Like”, “Split Me Open”

12. Hovvdy – Hovvdy

Hovvdy has been lurking around in the outskirts of the indie scene for some time now. Their debut album, Taster, came out in 2016. Since then, the band has released their own brand of atmospheric indie pop (if you can even call it that) through five records. On their 2024 self-titled release, they really created the quintessential Hovvdy album. This is a unique type of music that instantly puts me in a daydream-like state. It takes me back to a completely different time in my life, even though I only recently discovered the band in the last year or two. This is one of those albums that’s hard to describe. Not in terms of sound necessarily, which is something akin to indie folk/pop, but in terms of the feelings it elicits.

Favorite Songs: “Big Blue”, “Forever”, “Bad News”

11. Mustafa – Dunya

“Love letters to the hood”. That’s how Mustafa describes his own work. The subject matter that Mustafa sings about is one that’s been well documented. But his approach feels entirely new. Faith, struggle, culture, life and death and the cycle of violence – these are all themes common to modern music. But Mustafa sings about them with an unexpected tenderness. His music is infused with his life experiences and influences, which are rich and varied. This is one of the year’s must-hear albums without a doubt.

Favorite Songs: “What Happened, Mohamed?”, “Gaza is Calling”

10. Charli xcx – brat

BRAT is everything people say it is and more. The opening track is so undeniably fun. And the album that follows i8s the quintessential Charli xcx sound. It genuinely feels like she could retire after this, because surpassing BRAT seems like an impossible task unless she completely switches up her sound. One of the more surprising aspects of BRAT is the tracks that experiment in a bit of self-reflection. Like Charli can’t help but break character every once in a while. You can only party for so long. Eventually there’s going to be a long, quiet, Uber ride home. BRAT really reached it’s peak influence around the time CBC released an article explaining what “brat summer” was to old British people, but it was fun while it lasted.

Favorite Songs: “Apple”, “360”, “Mean girls”

9. Laura Marling – Child of Mine

Another album about parenthood forces its way onto the list. I fear that my biological instincts (and my mother) are clamoring for me to have a child. Laura Marling, like Luke De-Sciscio, paints a beautiful portrait of parenthood. But whereas Luke’s was beautiful in its absolute rawness, Laura’s is more deliberately layered and composed.

Favorite Songs: “No One’s Gonna Love You Like I Can”, “Patterns”

8. Cindy Lee – Diamond Jubilee

The initial allure of Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee was its inaccessibility. You won’t find this album on any streaming services. It appeared as an unceremonious YouTube link. In the age of month long album hype cycles and rumors and leaks, Cindy Lee’s dreamy double album just appeared on the scene. That in itself caught my attention more than anything other potential marketing strategy, ironically. It also so happens that this is a phenomenally diverse record. It’s lo-fi pop and it’s not. It’s so much and yet so focused. It truly does need to be heard to be believed.

Favorite Songs: “Flesh And Blood”, “Golden Microphone”

7. Ka – The Thief Next to Jesus

Ka’s The Thief Next to Jesus is no breeze to listen to. Whether or not the longtime underground artist knew it would be his final work is unclear, but it certainly plays that way. Its focus is on Christianity, faith, and all the questions that come along with it. Among all the religious themes are clever, thoughtful bars – many of which truly do feel like the work of a man staring into the void. The gospel samples often sound like they’re playing through a radio across a smokey room, and the choppy quality makes me feel like I’ve just been shot and I’m waiting to die. In a beautiful sort of way.

Favorite Songs: “Beautiful”, “Such Devotion”

6. Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch

This became my go-to album for strolling through a grocery store and acting mysterious, which is the only way I can tolerate the grocery store in any capacity. You people don’t know how to act, I swear to god. Regardless, Jessica Pratt has really honed in on the ideal sound for her voice here. Drawing on some of that darker 60s era pop, Pratt creates a shadowy shroud for the listener to crawl inside of and lay down for a while. 

Favorite Songs: “Life Is”, “World on a String”, “The Last Year”

5. Future Islands – People Who Aren’t There Anymore

The best thing to come out of Baltimore this year (Bills fan, sorry Ravens). The sheer theatrical nature of Samuel Herring’s vocal delivery elevates this album. The shimmery swelling synths that populate every song make me feel ethereal. Somehow, despite Future Islands being a mainstay in this genre for nearly two decades now, People Who Aren’t There Anymore feels like a breath of fresh air and a revitalization of a style of synth driven indie music that would have me wholly uninterested just last year.

As a friend texted me when I shared this record with them, “banger status. He talks funny and I like it”. 

Favorite Songs: “King of Sweden”, “Say Goodbye”, “The Sickness”

4. Cameron Winter – Heavy Metal

Fools. Every last music publication that put out a list before the release of Cameron Winter’s Heavy Metal are fools. I’m lazy, no doubt about it. But I was in no rush to finish my list before this album, which was a spectacular listen destined to grow on me. Cameron Winter (of Geese fame) is a talented vocalist and writer, and this record is living proof.

Favorite Songs: “Love Takes Miles”, “Cancer of the Skull”

3. Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk

Magdalena Bay feel truly unleashed on Imaginal Disk, a bright, bold exploration of their sound. The band describes their sophomore project as a concept album. It follows a series of imaged consciousnesses implanted into the minds of primates by aliens. But our protagonist is a failed experiment, and instead of the planned process, she instead explores the human experience in a dreamlike state. And that dreamlike feeling is expertly captured across each and every track. The album is balanced, beautifully produced, and perfectly entrancing.

Favorite Songs: “The Ballad of Matt and Mica”, “That’s My Floor”, “Fear, Sex”

2. Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future

Unsurprisingly, Adrianne Lenker’s newest album is the kind of project that leaves you in a catatonic state. She’s known for writing hard hitting, gut wrenching tracks. But Bright Future excels even above the rest of her already beautiful discography. Each and every song tugs at your heart strings, especially the opener and closer. Brimming with raw emotion and honesty, Bright Future is truly gorgeous. Lenker is, without a doubt, one of the greatest living songwriters and should be recognized as such.

Favorite Songs: “Fool”, “Real House”

1. Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us

The long-time indie rockers have dropped their finest collection of songs to date in 2024. Only God Was Above Us is a brilliantly constructed, genre bending masterpiece. The band’s use of classical instrumentation, orchestral swells, and distorted, noisy guitars are expertly blended with familiar elements that fans will appreciate from the history of their sound. Time and time again, this album surprised and delighted me, leaving me with my jaw on the floor on more than one occasion. 

Favorite Songs: “Mary Boone”, “Classical”, “The Surfer”

Happy Holidays from Gubb. If you don’t like this list then tell it to Gubb and see how you like it when he bites you.