best albums 2024

quiet week | not much going on | heard nothing from silke either | maybe she got the message after all | though that's not like her at all >

on saturday after rehearsal we sat together for a while and argued about which is the best album of 2024 | couldn't agree on one | so i thought everyone could write down their top three here | and maybe a few words about them | hope this is interesting for you >

what are your personal favorites of 2024? >

1) Tom Odell - Black Friday: This is so great I have to listen to it over and over again. The whole album sounds like he recorded it on the fly - and just happened to have a whole string orchestra with him. It has everything that makes me melt away: velvety-soft piano, bittersweet harmonies, melancholic lyrics. The best sad beautiful album of the year.

2) Lucy Rose - This Ain't The Way You Go Out: So groovy and yet soft. Best uptempo album of the year.

3) Ashe - Willson: Crazy good songwriting. Best pop album of the year.

1) Lucy Rose - This Ain't The Way You Go Out: I already really liked the last Lucy Rose album (No Words Left) - but this one completely blew me away. Groovy and jazzy, but also ethereal and sometimes rather dirty. And fantastic songs.

2) Laura Marling - Patterns in Repeat: Classic singer-songwriter art at the highest level.

3) Bright Eyes - Five Dice, All Threes: Heroes of my youth - maybe I'm not neutral, but I like it.

1) Ashe - Willson: Don't give me Taylor Swift, what Ashe does is simply worlds better in every way. Her second album was a bit underwhelming but 'Willson' is killer again. Beautiful and totally cracked at the same time. You all need to hear it!

2) The Last Dinner Party - Prelude to Ecstasy: Lady Power. I love it!

3) Leoniden - Sophisticated Sad Songs: Only hits!

1) The Last Dinner Party - Prelude to Ecstasy: I really like everything about this. A bit of Florence & the Machine, a bit of Arcade Fire, a bit of David Bowie. When something is so overambitious, it has to be extremely good to stand up to the test. And this one succeeds magnificently.

2) Mine - Baum: Always nice when something from Germany absolutely holds up internationally.

3) Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard And Soft: Don't have to say much about this one, do I?

1) Beth Gibbons - Lives Outgrown: Hard to believe that 'Lives Outgrown' is the Portishead singer's first solo album. She has allegedly been working on it for over a decade. And you can hear that in every note. Dark acoustic guitars, muted drums, polyphonic droning and shimmering and this voice that shapes the most wonderful melodies. Gets better with every listen. An absolute masterpiece!

2) The Cure - Songs of a Lost World: Here, too, a grand master delivers another great effort.

3) Geordie Greep - The New Sound: I've already written enough about this here.

1) The Smile - Cutouts: two the smile albums in one year | makes it hard for me to decide | i took cutouts because it's calmer and that just suits me better right now | but wall of eyes is super good as well | i would have put it in second place if that wasn't a bit boring | hence >

2) Jordan Rakei - The Loop: everything incredibly well done >

3) Emiliana Torrini - Miss Flower: grooves and sounds almost perfect >

so what do you think? | Who is right? >

we also made a spotify playlist with songs from all the albums | you can listen here >