My Favourite Albums of 2024

My top albums of 2024:

 

MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks

Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood

Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well

Mary Timony - Tame The Tiger

St. Vincent - All Born Screaming

Kim Gordon - The Collective

Laura Marling - Patterns In Repeat

Jack White - No Name

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings - Woodland

Sturgill Simpson (as Johnny Blueskies) - Passage Du Desir

Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More

Sierra Ferrell - Trail Of Flowers

Best Gigs of 2024

This year really was all about MJ Lenderman for me. Not only did I see him with his other band Wednesday finally (their last album ruled 2023 for me), but I also saw him doing his first ever UK solo show all by himself at Rough Trade East (and got to meet the man himself) and saw him twice with his incredible backing band The Wind at the fantastic intimate shows at The Garage. 

Kim Gordon at Koko

Kim Gordon

Crimewave

Koko, 25 June 2024 

Can you believe I got to see both Kim Gordon and Kim Deal doing incredible live shows within days of each other? How lucky am I? But this show from Ms Gordon really was something spectacular and I feel blessed by the punk rock gods to have witnessed it. 

Sonic Youth at The Forum

Sonic Youth
Hush Arbors 
The Forum, 23 October 2009

Every time I've seen Sonic Youth (about four times in total) they've had a weird-ass support act, from Japanese noise bands to the free-form jazz band whose drummer attacked a heckling audience member. In contrast to these, Hush Arbors were pretty straight ahead and ordinary. I had seen them before doing an acoustic set supporting Vetiver earlier this year, and they were a pleasant listen, full of folky harmonies and sweet melodies. I did wonder how they would fit with Sonic Youth but it turns out that with their instruments plugged in they supplement the folky harmonies with fuzzed-up guitars and sounded more rocked up and interesting than I remembered them.