Best Albums of 2024 (Bonus Episode)

[00:00:00] Well, 2024 is over. Well, practically over. Unless you're watching this in the future, in which case, good evening, time traveler. That's. You call that radio, December 2024. I'm quantum leaping from a pastime to tell you this is the best albums of 2024. Quantum Leap. [00:00:29] But obviously there is no such thing as best albums. [00:00:33] What about all the albums I never listened to? [00:00:37] What about all the albums I never listened to enough? [00:00:43] And what about all the albums I listened to at the start of the year but I forgot about? Because it's not like I'm walking about my notepad every time I listen to an album? So there's no perfect science to this. This, what this is, is my personal favorite albums of the year that I can remember off the top of my head, subject to change. [00:01:08] And, you know, there's no particular running order to this. I mean, what makes my 18th album of the year worse than the 19th album of the year? It's all a bit silly, but I like to see other people's lists, so I hope some people may be interested in my recommendations. [00:01:32] I like other people's lists so much that I might even make a list of the best, best of lists of the year. [00:01:41] But I think the main problem is there's just so much music. There's maybe too much music at the minute. [00:01:47] So I'm hoping that by me listening to all this music, people out there that are confused, like, what is good? All this is good. [00:01:57] In my opinion, all this is very good. [00:02:01] I do this out of appreciation for the hard work and the time and the money that goes into making an album in this day and age. [00:02:13] I do this to just recognize music that's touched me in some way, songs that have improved my life, things that have inspired me. [00:02:25] And I do this so one day in the future I can quantum leap back in time and feel these same feelings again. [00:02:37] Strap. Totally fine with it. Don't give a fuck anymore. [00:02:43] And I was going to start with the first song, but I don't even know how to pronounce it. So if I do go to one of those websites and how does it say it all? Atonsens. Alatonsness. Alatonsness. Alatonseness. But that's an American accent, so I might be saying it in a weird way. Alatonsness. And it means it's a word that refers to the end or stoppage, space and time. [00:03:09] It's the opening track, and it's a phenomenal song. One of the best songs of the year and One of the best songs Arab Straps ever did. [00:03:21] Just angry, grungy. The whole album's got a little bit more effects pedals to it than I was expecting. The music's phenomenal and Aiden Moffat's in top form. Songs of heartbreak, drinking, getting older, politics and it. They just sound. The whole band sounds in top form. They sound angry, they sound motivated. And I think it was back in May. I listened to the first time and I went, I bet you this is gonna be one of my albums of the year. And I've listened to it many times since, and it gets better and better with each lesson. And actually, actually seen Aidan Moffat at a free bar at Scottish Album of the Year. And hopefully I didn't embarrass myself because I was drinking free cocktails and I normally just stick to beer. But I said to him, it's a great album and I think you were robbed, and I meant that. So hopefully I didn't embarrass myself too much because. But Arab Strap were really quite influential and me starting to write music and perform music, it was the first time, I think. I think I got an Adam Strap song as part of a compilation with an NME CD that came Freeway A magazine that's how old I'm. [00:04:40] And I just heard somebody swearing in a Falkirk accent, and I thought, this is cool. It's nothing I'd ever heard before. Love it. Definitely one of the albums of the year. Go and check it quantumly. [00:04:57] JPEG Mafia I lay my life down for you. [00:05:03] This is the freshest sounding album of the year. [00:05:10] Obviously, if you've heard JPEG Mafia before, you've heard this, the style before. It's sort of industrial punk meets hip hop. [00:05:21] But, you know, he's always been experimental. He's always been trying out new things. But as much as I'm a fan of his back catalog, this is JPEG Mafia at the peak of his powers. [00:05:35] I've listened to it so many times. There's always something new to take from it. [00:05:40] Lyrically vicious and just the. [00:05:45] The unique way that he attacks these beats, the way that he mixes, the way that he splices, the way that he creates. You're. He's ahead of everybody else right now when it comes to the production. The production values are insane. It's never boring, it's always changing. It will never be mainstream for that reason, but he's just getting more and more famous around the world. He was. I think I might be wrong, but I think Kanye west, he had a beef with Kanye west and he said I could help fix your album. And Kanye west brought him in. That's. He's a favorite producer's favorite producer at this stage. Please give it a listen. Not once. If you've never heard JPEG Mafia before, it might take you two or three times to get it. [00:06:36] But it's just, you know. And I've listened to so many times. I love it. [00:06:42] It's fresh. I just keep saying fresh, but it feels so fresh. Nobody's doing it with JPEG Mafia at the minute. [00:06:53] Fontaine's DC with Romance. It's been quite a journey for this band. They started out, it's kind of punk, but post punk. Dublin, angry, energetic youth. What a first album. What a debut album. I seen them play in Bristol at Downs Festival. What a day that was. [00:07:17] Grace Jones, Law on the Hill, Idols. It was Nina Cherry as well. What a day that was in Bristol. But when Vontage DC played, they had some sound issue. Is not their fault. There's something wrong with the sound. But they also played Transmit around the same time and they absolutely smashed it. And I just thought what an exciting new sort of energetic, angry, youthful band. And then they changed up completely. Since then they. They took a totally different direction. I would say there's some similarities with the way that Radiohead just changed. It got popular for doing something and decided we don't want to be tagged, we don't want to be typecast with that. And they just changed up completely. [00:08:08] At first I wasn't sure how to take it. I love Jackie down the Line from the sort of earlier change. [00:08:16] But I feel like this album is perfect. It's an emotional album. It can be quite slow at times, but in the best ways. And you know, I've heard people sort of. There's been some criticisms labeled at it, but I think you've got to really listen to it in a certain place. [00:08:34] I listened to it on a very long train journey after hearing Bad News and it was therapeutic to listen to it. [00:08:46] There's absolute classics like Starbuster and In the Modern World selling at the hydro. They're a stadium band and these songs work well at stadiums. They are Radio 1 playlisted band. [00:09:07] And it's quite unusual for something to be so popular and reasonably new. I mean, it's quite unusual for any band to sort of hit these heights so early on in their career and be good. That's the thing. It is actually good music. I'm also curious what they're going to do next because they just seem to be in it for the art and seem to be doing new interesting things every time they make a record and they don't really seem to care what what their fans or what critics think. It just so happens that it's popular. I don't think they went set out to make a pop album. I think it just so happened to be popular. [00:09:53] This is the most recent album I've added to my list. It's D with Alligator Bites Never Heal and I've Known by the way, I hope I'm pronouncing that right, Dutchy, because I've never really spoke to anyone about Duchy or said it out loud before, so I hope I'm pronouncing that right. A bit embarrassing. Top 10 album Can I say the name right? [00:10:18] I've been aware of our random songs. Random Verses appears on on an amazing album Taylor the Creator album, which is definitely top 20 if not top 10 as well. [00:10:32] That's a fantastic album. And I'm not usually a massive fan of Tellwell the Creator, but what an album he had this year as well. [00:10:40] But so obviously I'd heard her on that album. I'd seen her in ciphers and just songs here and there and I knew an incredible wordsmith, incredible rapper. But then I think it was Jess shared the the Tiny Desk concert on social media and I watched that Tiny Desk concert in awe. If you've not seen it yet, go and check it out. The Tiny Dess concert is kind of stripped back with a full live band and then I was aware that this is not just a good rapper we're witnessing. [00:11:18] We're witnessing a great one of the greats iconic performance at Tiny Desk concert that I'm more of a hip hop fan. I'm not such a fan of the. The R B stuff that usually gets thrown into the hip hop albums as much, but even the R B stuff it's. It's quite clear there's a self awareness in the lyrics that breaks through the fourth wall. [00:11:44] Almost raging that she has to do it for the record label. Slag in the record label and obviously they're trying to make a hat album and I think she's trying to make a album and so the record label obviously. But it's as the production is amazing. [00:12:03] The. The lyrics are sharp. I keep on saying sharp but they are razor sharp. Razor sharp lyrics. Again, I'm a lyrics guy. I like lyrics and the lyrics are off the scale. The flow is absolutely incredible. I know people will try to compare to other female rappers, but I don't see a female comparison at all. There's maybe elements of Kendrick Lamar in there that I could maybe see. [00:12:31] I'm not going to compare it up to any other female rappers at all. I'm just going to say this is one of the best rappers as a whole that on an album that I've heard for a very long time. [00:12:43] So good, so good. I can imagine this is one that the kids will be playing as well. I can imagine it being very popular, but the kids probably shouldn't be listening to that parental advisory and all that. Some of the lyrics but you know, we were listening to Dre and Eminem when we were Waynes. All the bravado, all the Boss seem to be done in a sort of tongue in cheek humorous way. There's some really great confessional material in there as well and there's just some fun bangers and like even R B stuff that I normally would skip. I really enjoyed that too. It's well deserved to be in one. The Conversation for Album of the Year 100% Quantumly Paul Heaton the Mighty several he's opening tracks called A National Treasure, which is very fitting because in the last few years I would say he's a very definition of a national treasure in the minds of most of the general public. [00:13:54] Making the whole album is what you'd expect for Polish pop anthems, relatable anecdotes and a sprinkle of working class politics. [00:14:07] And what a year he's had. He's been selling at stadiums or stadium sized arenas like place like the Hydro, all while keeping prices affordable for people in lower incomes. He's charging at least half of what his contemporaries are doing, but actually throws a show with twice the spectacle. And he's just generally been a bit of a hero this year just by having a go at ticket companies and the greed that blights the music industry in general. He also throws money behind the bar. I mean, when I went to Transmit last year he threw money behind the bar at some East End Glasgow pubs as well, taking Bells Helsinger, Rhiann Downie from practical obscurity to international superstardom. My understanding that the way the story goes is that she did a beautiful south cover on Instagram over lockdown. He seen it and he invited her to record this album and go on tour with the band. And she does a brilliant job. She had some large shoes to fill, but she's excellent on it and she's now getting the bookings and praise and sales and streams that are talent warrants and she's got some big festivals coming up. [00:15:25] She's quite high up the bill, obviously. And having that experience of touring such big shows with Paul Heaton, it's going to be a big year in 2025 for her and she really does add to the album. [00:15:41] And, yeah, just when I listen to the album, it takes me back to sitting in my dad's car. [00:15:50] Well, the first car that jumps to mind was a Dolly Citroen. My dad had a Dolly Citroen 2cv. Is it good? I'll put a picture on the screen of it. As you can imagine, the most embarrassing car you could have as a 12 year old. [00:16:08] But I think there was a cassette player. [00:16:12] Maybe I'm getting mixed up, but I remember sitting in my dad's car, he had the cassette for Beautiful south carrying up the charts and it was the. The song Good As Gold but Stupid As Mud that captivated me as a child. And just the whole album is just classic after classic. So that's what kind of got me into the beautiful South. And then I found out about the House Martins after it. So I did things sort of a wee bit back to front. And every time Paul Heaton has something new, I make a point of listening to it. [00:16:49] I just hear that golden voice, that friendly, familiar, dulcet tone. [00:16:56] And unlike a lot of sort of pop music that I don't like is because I feel like there might be melody and there might be production, but there's a lack of grit to it. And I think although Paul's got a very melodic singing voice, there's a lot of grit to the stories he tells. There's razor sharp lyrics in there and just a fantastic writer and a man of the people. And I'll just throw in my own wee personal story, my wee name drop. But Paul Keaton actually played my band's song on the radio when we were literally unknown. We were with a few followers on MySpace and that was about. I have no idea how he found this, but emailed me and I thought it was a prank, but it was because he wanted to play a song called Jerry Mikhail Fuck My Wife. [00:17:47] And he asked if I'd a radio edit. I had no idea how to do radio edits back then. We just recorded an EP in a studio, but he still played it. He played that song Jerry McHale fought my wife on BBC radio. I think they reversed the word so it still sounded like it was like Jeremy Kale's been my wife or something like that. But that led to gigs and friendships in Manchester and, you know, certain Scottish radio DJs and podcast these podcasts, other podcasts, bloggers, bloggers. They just started taking my band a bit more seriously. [00:18:28] A bit more seriously. Like, not. Not very seriously. But, yeah, just by getting, you know, he said something nice about us that we could use in our bio as well, and that just really opened doors for us. And so I'm always appreciative of that. And, yeah, just. I'm a. I'm a big fan. He does things in his own way, his own pace. He's not concerned about trends or fame, but it just stays famous and stays relevant because he follows his own vision. And it's just heartwarming to see a good guy continue to knock out the park. [00:19:12] Lives outgrown by Beth Gibbons. [00:19:17] Now, most people, if you don't. If you're not familiar with the name, you will be familiar with our previous band, Portishead, one of my favorite bands of all time. [00:19:29] And there's just something. It's hard to, you know, pick your favorite albums, but I got my list down to about 20 or 30. If you're enjoying this, by the way, leave a comment and let me know and I'll give you another 10. Because actually, another former member reportedly said beak nearly made in the top 10 as well. They've probably been in the top 20 if I do another 10 recommendations. But, yeah, the voice of Portishead, and it's one of those iconic voices that just transports you to somewhere else. And I was in a park bench in Denniston listening to that. [00:20:10] I think it was. I think in May, so. But during July, I don't know. It was a couple months after it came out. I finally got in and listened to it, and I was just sitting on a park bench in Denniston waiting on. I think I turned up three hours earlier, dentist appointment or something stupid with that. And I just sat. I just sat there listening with a bit of sun. [00:20:33] And yeah, it was a. It was a. It was a tough week. I remember. [00:20:40] I mean, that's what. That's what music, good music should do, man. It just. [00:20:45] I could feel the sadness because coming out of my body just listening to Beth's voice and. Yeah, man, I mean, it almost made me emotional just listening to it. [00:20:57] She sings from the heart. [00:21:00] I believe her when she sings. [00:21:02] And it's just a beautiful piece of music, and I recommend it highly. Beth Gibbons. Life's outgrown quantumly. [00:21:15] And now to Providence, Rhode island, for B. Dolan. The Wind Is not the Body. [00:21:24] An incredible album. [00:21:26] First time I seen B. Dolan was. He was supporting Scrubby's Pip at the Archies. RIP to the Archies, of course. [00:21:36] And it just blew me away. [00:21:39] I teared. I think it was. Gasp had introduced me to him, but before I. I heard of him, but I seen him live that day and he absolutely blew me away. And I immediately invited him to play a venue I was working with at the time, Pivo Pevo, next to Central. And he came and play the show. [00:21:58] It was incredible. [00:22:00] And I've been following his career ever since. [00:22:03] And this album's been a while in the making because you had the Pandemic. [00:22:09] But B. Dolan also had spinal surgery and, you know, I know all about. About that kind of stuff with my own personal circumstances. [00:22:20] And he kind of stayed connected to his fans by doing Twitch streaming, kept his audience and he kind of kept them in the loop with all the movies he was making in this album. So I really waited. I feel like I waited a long time for this album. The hype was unreal. And then to finally hear it. Incredible. [00:22:40] The. The Rock Cried out was the. The first single to come from it. And there's something really beautiful about that song. Very touching. [00:22:50] And then you've got songs like the Traveler, which you can relate to from the touring life. [00:22:59] Fantasy Baseball is another good one. That. That's about the. The top five rappers. And that annoying question of who's your top five? [00:23:11] So that's why I made sure the first question asked P. Dole when he come on you call that radio? Was what's your top 50 rappers? [00:23:18] But yeah, he's a phenomenal album. The Last Temptation of Boy Coyote is a very clever written thing. Ice Cream Moss, which I assume is an ode to Glasgow Gang Fair. And I thought he dealt with that subject very well. You're talking about a very thoughtful writer here, somebody that doesn't just put any old shit on a page and record it. This A Bedonut album takes time, it takes effort, and the results are worth it. Phenomenal album. [00:23:52] The Wind is Not the Body. B. Dolan, go and check it Quantumly. [00:24:01] Next up. [00:24:02] It's technically an ep, right? It's technically an ep, but I've seen people win Scottish Album of the Year with less tracks. [00:24:12] How many tracks are we on here? Six tracks. Well, I think as an ep, Right. But it. It's an album for. It's an album that everybody needs to listen to. It's an ep. It's Boot Liquor by Do. But it's going in my albums of the year. Even though it's an ep, I don't make the Rules. I do make the rules. [00:24:36] I actually do make the rules. So it's an EP that's in my albums of the year. But Bootler has got to be there. Dos are probably the most exciting live band in Scotland right now. They're absolutely smashing it. They're on a. They're on a European tour right now and they just got their cast broken into. They've lost all their guitars and their merch and all that kind of stuff. So there's actually a GoFundMe. I'll put a link in to support them to so they can continue their tour. And they'll be playing. They're playing this weekend in Glasgow. They'll be back this weekend in Glasgow. But, yeah, go and support them. Go and go and download this ep. It's a fiver and it says buy digital album on Bandcamp, so that's good enough for me. The classic King of the Castles on there, it's got Hungry. Absolutely brilliant track. [00:25:27] It's got you the amazing chorus. You can't take a holiday for yourself, Billy. And it's shite being Scottish or. It's called Clearance and A Concrete Cowboy. It's a solid piece of work. I can't wait to hear a full album for them. They kind of start to do it as just the two brothers. We are back in track, but now they've got a full band and it's sounding amazing live. We shared the stage with him at Bearded Theory this year in the Convoy Cabaret shows. The Convoy Cabri for having us both. And, yeah, no, I believe solely when he speaks. I believe him when he screams into that microphone. The lyrics are sharp, the music's banging. It's the sound of Glasgow in 2024. And I think next year is going to be a massive year for them. They just. They just got a radio session on BBC Radio Scotland, which is an amazing start. I can see them going places. Get in there. I think the stereo gigs already sold it, so they're at the level now where they can sell out stereo next year. St. Luke's then the bar is. That's. That's what's happening. Dos are going to be one of Scotland's most important bands. So check it out, if you haven't already. [00:26:49] Kneecap Fine art. [00:26:54] There is no words to really say about the rise of Kneecap. I'm going to try anyway, obviously. Otherwise we'd be having a bit of quiet time. [00:27:05] Kneecap. I've been listening to Kneecap for a few years now. It was. I was originally suggested them by a friend who was interested in bringing them to Glasgow. And I kicked myself that I didn't get involved at the time. But I promised my partner that I was not going to get involved in live music anymore. I was going to focus on the podcast, which I did, but I'll regret that. But after watching the movie, I'm actually looking at another way. And I wonder how much of it was me being a shite bag. [00:27:41] Was I just scared to put kneecap on in Glasgow in case happened? You know, as a Celtic fan from a Rangers town, I know what it's like, man, how bad the west coast Scotland can be. [00:27:57] And so I have been reconsidering things since I watched the kneecap movie that they made this year and just thinking about, you know, it's not like it was bad, but you just get on with. But you know, there was a. There was a massive divide. Celtic Rangers, Catholic, Protestant and you know, you couldn't wear. It wasn't that bad but you know, you could. There were certain days where you. Certain places where you shouldn't be wearing a Celtic top. [00:28:23] And I hadn't really thought about that much until I seen the movie again. And it does make me reevaluate what it was like growing up in that kind of environment and to make such a good movie. I mean, I know I'm going to go back to the album a minute, but the. The movie tells a story of kneecap and it's like something of. [00:28:43] It's like train spotting. [00:28:46] An Irish train spotting or something like that. I think the best. I'm just trying to put it up as a higher quality of film as Trainspot and I watched it in the cinema. We took about 10, you call that radio patrons for a day and just. I was mesmerized by the storytelling. I laughed at all the comedy and the tunes were absolutely banging. What a soundtrack from it. There was some. But we're not going to get this. Let's get back to fainart the album. But yeah, just. Just to come from the underground. [00:29:20] Irish rapping. Rapping and Irish. [00:29:24] The idea that they're now playing Coachella and with all these fancy American talk shows is crazy, but it gives a lot. [00:29:36] It's really good to see from an underground perspective to see that sometimes it does happen. You know, sometimes things inexplicably get popular and people are rewarded rightly for their talent. [00:29:54] Fine Arts bangers from start to finish, it starts off working an ode to traditional music of old and then it gets straight into absolutely banging beats. The 808 state sample is incredible. There is the lyrics that I can understand. Obviously I don't speak Irish Gaelic, but the lyrics I can understand are always hard hitting. The flow and delivery is undeniable for both of them and the beats throughout are just phenomenal. [00:30:31] The beats throughout the album are phenomenal. [00:30:34] I seen them play the bars a few times now, but just seen them recently, last month again and the audience absolutely love them. The, the gigs are chaotic. You've got guys in tricolor balaclavas going mental, the crowd are going mental. [00:30:53] It's one of the best live things I've seen of the year. The film is one of the best films I've ever seen and the album is undoubtedly one of the albums of the year. [00:31:06] And here we have it. [00:31:08] My personal favorite album of 2024 is she Drew the Gun with how. [00:31:17] And it took me by surprise a bit because I've been a fan of she Drew the Gun for years. [00:31:24] But it's. It's normally more kind of sort of leaning towards indie post punk sort of sound. [00:31:31] And this is quite a kind of retro 80s vibe to it, so electronic sounds to it. [00:31:41] So it's a curveball but a welcome one. [00:31:48] Louisa, as a songwriter and probably one of the most underrated songwriters in the uk, I love people that use their own accents. [00:32:02] I feel like they're actually having a conversation with the listener and it's great to hear the Liverpool accent over such incredible music. [00:32:13] Louisa is paying attention to the world. [00:32:16] There's the themes of the album, there's a lot of. It's just like a breakup album, I think it is a breakup album. So there's a lot of turmoil and heartbreak throughout and there's also. [00:32:29] Louisa is paying attention to the landscape, the political landscape, current affairs. [00:32:40] And the ton of phrase is exceptional, knows how to start a song with a phrase that will just hook you in and that's you tuned in to the end of the track and then you want another one. It's addictive. I've listened to this album more than any other album this year and I think it only came out at the end of October or the start of November or something like. [00:33:04] It's a rare ability to write about abstract things, things that are happening in the news, personal feelings, yet somehow write an absolute banger of a chorus. [00:33:24] The melody, the rhythm, the pacing, it just. There's no skippable tracks, it just plays from start to finish like a perfect concept album. [00:33:40] And yes, it's sort of like a bit witchy, it's a bit sad. It's a bit angry, but you can still dance to it. And I think it's the sound of 2024. So congratulations. She Drew the Gun. You are. You call that Radio's album of the year and she Drew the Gun are going on tour in February. You can see them in Glasgow in February at Room two. And I'll hopefully see you there. [00:34:14] And yeah, let me know in the comments if you agreed or disagreed with my top 10 pics. Is there any that you've heard, is there any that you want to check out? And if I get enough reactions, if there's enough people comment, if I know, if enough people give a flying fuck what I think, then I'll do another 10 recommendations, because the plan was I was going to do 20 to 11, but then I thought I'll never get round to doing another 10 and then I'll just be stuck. So if you have enjoyed this, then let me know in the comments if you want another 10 recommendations, because I've probably got. I've got at least 20 top albums. I've probably got 30, so let me know if you want any more. [00:34:54] But that's my top 10 for now. Thank you for tuning in. Remember to like and subscribe and bye. Quantumly.