The BEST Albums of 2024 (Mid-Year)

Best Albums of Mid-Year 2024! I've never done one of these best of the year so far videos because I always thought it would spoil the fun of year- End season how very Grinch tastic of me I know but since I'm more sporadic with what new albums I review now I thought it might be fun to let you in on what I've been loving in 2024 so [Music] far hey neighbor if you don't know me my name is John and if you do my name is still John try to keep up today I'm scooping up 18 albums I've Loved this year so far check the description for timestamps and more info on the records and maybe drop a like And subscribe while you're down there tapping around this list is completely shuffled in no particular order but before we bite into the good stuff I finally made an album of the Year account so go follow me on aoty arv to keep up with my ratings many reviews and everything PEARL JAM - DARK MATTER else stop the all around my head Pearl Jam shook the rust off of whatever they've been chained to for the past few decades that's kep them sounding more restrained and grounded I definitely didn't hate their post backspacer records but Dark Matter leaps off the page as their best work since avocado I really think Dark Matter belongs with the band's top shelf material I love the velocity of the instrumentation Andrew watt as a producer is a surprisingly good fit the replayability of of the songs and the way Eddie veter packaged his lyrics Somewhere Between Love and TWENTY ONE PILOTS - CLANCY [Music] fear iell the street misleading marketing and the cringy welcome back to trench lyric in the opening single over compensate aside I'm pleasantly shocked at how strong Clancy is after a very mediocre album scaled in icy reuniting with producer Paul meany was a big win I love the elasticity as they lean into bombast without falling overboard one minute then into subdued Hooks and mellow flows the next which to be fair I'm realizing as I say it out loud that's kind of the typical top formula but I think they put a fresh enough spin on it to make it work really SPRINTS - LETTER TO SELF [Music] wellbody [Music] be straight out of Dublin it's sprints with a fierce unrelenting Post Punk driven debut album letter to self that's really had some staying power for me since it's January release garage Punk melts like scorching hot steel into their moodier Tendencies always elevating their front woman's belter of a voice no matter the emotion it's a sight to behold on the likes of shadow of a doubt where gigantic guitars pretty much lie in weit to burn you alive although songs like literary mind and Cathedral take a more direct approach to catharsis VAMPIRE WEEKEND - ONLY GOD WAS ABOVE US Mar well I hope you feel like loving someone [Music] [Applause] soon a master class in sound design vampire weekend's fifth album only God was above us brought the band back into the fold for a record that's equally intelligent evolved and Unforgettable Rich storytelling weaves together a vision of 20th century new York with everything from passing architectural references to the musical affectations featuring booming pianos upright Bass Beautiful brass Sensational percussion and the guitars just if you're not listening to this record you're doing it SCHOOLBOY Q - BLUE LIPS wrong the something is funny you might be the you he you know where to go TR to get money Let's Get It Go your girl got a negative you Q took his sweet time cooking up Blue Lips which is exactly what he should have done drop when the inspiration is there because these songs clearly had extra time to marinate and become more fully realized versions of greatness aggressive rapping and Soulful cring work in tandem to paint us a portrait of what I'll call irritable comfortability the track listing drives by pretty fast for 18 songs and 56 minutes not that you never feel the length Q was just smart enough to share the wealth creatively speaking instead of stacking all of the obvious bangers in one corner NIGHT VERSES - EVERY SOUND HAS A COLOR IN THE VALLEY [Music] technicality polish and precision are words I sometimes use when pointing out what I see as flaws but when it comes to the immense talet of Night Verses they're accelerated compliments flying by like Sparks every sound has a color is the instrumental actx First full album in 6 years and their best work yet it deserves your undivided attention because Night Verses are severely underappreciated despite their Unthinkable skill BEEN STELLAR - SCREAM FROM NEW YORK, NY [Music] level I wasn't expecting to sneak another album in so last minute but I'm really impressed with Ben Stellar a band whose debut album sounds a bit like '90s radio head with the dash of early interpole postpunk and plenty of attitude that's entirely their own passing judgment is the type of song that makes you scratch your head wondering how you didn't hear this sooner I mean come on this definitely came out in 2002 right what 2024 they drive the nostalgic Nails in with a sense of hesitation and uncertainty moving from the draining Melancholy of a song like pumpkin to can't look away which is a Rowdy dust up with self-loathing energized by a throttling drum performance that reminds me a lot of home THE LAST DINNER PARTY - PRELUDE TO ECSTASY [Music] living up to the hype is hard enough for any artist but to combatively scale the hype Mountain dance at the peak like it's an elite rooftop club then nonchalantly float back down like the card you wanted to play was up your sleeve the entire time that's a hell of a party trick Prelude to ecstasy is delightfully and intentionally pompous feasting on pretentiousness with a level of self-awareness and irony unlike anything I've heard thus far out of a jiny band with multiple members contributing excellent vocals ideas and instrumentation it's so easy to get lost in their world of alternative finesse a place where morbid curiosity and a taste for the High Life coexist in Pitch Perfect EVERYTHING EVERYTHING - MOUNTAINHEAD Harmony kiss to the ab need DJ somewhere in the afterlife everything everything continues to shoot freely from the hip this time kneeling a Target that to be fair is relatively hard to miss an entire ass Mountain there's something so unsettlingly on point about the concept of the album the idea of a society endlessly digging to build a corporate Mountain that serves as a metaphor for capitalism and how everything it touches turns from gold to Dust In Due Time Jonathan hegs is such an endearing singer and front man I love that with his bandmates he's created an unshakable discography that just had had a mountain head of an album added to its ALLIE X - GIRL WITH NO FACE repertoire throbbing Gothic pop spreads its wings and Roars on the excellent synth pop record Ali X dropped this year girl with no face without a doubt it's Allie's most personal Adventure yet unchaining her past with an evocative catchy Swagger that never fails to make me feel excited and invested as she effortlessly World hops between fever dreams and grimier synth ballads there's a feeling of magic bleeding into every song on the album from the full throttles sing your ass off Anthem off with her tits to the confidence booster staying GREEN DAY - SAVIORS power us tonight surprise surprise Green Day and artv meeting again on a best list I know but listen there's a first for everything and this is the first time I've done a midyear list in my 14 years on this Unholy platform so it's fitting that their 14th album just so happen to show up aging Punk tastes like fine wine on saviors as the trio blasts through power cords that feel familiar sure but with this grav digging base and a rugged sense of self-awareness it's able to set itself just far enough apart so that everything's not bleeding into the past THE SMILE - WALL OF EYES friend [Music] W cat of if a light for attracting attention was the electrical charge wall of eyes is the power source that peels back the layers of color to crack the codes floated out there by its creators the evolution continues to bend in a way some would call hectic packing an entirely unexpected punch on the likes of the wonky tah harmonic on the Same album that gave us the spellbinding warning read the room those are among the tracks that have haven't left my rotation since January it's all about how the smile continuously Cycles through pressurizing and depressurizing the atmosphere while never becoming too self-important to get out of its own BRING ME THE HORIZON - POST HUMAN: NEXT GEN way Bring Me The Horizon surprise dropped the second installment of their postum series and I honestly think that's the best way they could have brought this Frankenstein monster to life not monster as in bad scary stay away more like balls to thewall chaos that satisfyingly combines elements of heavy metal alternative hyperpop EDM and a whole lot of other crazy stuff that kind of has me wrapped around its finger finger finger finer from the first chorus of Utopia I knew my expectations were about to be destroyed and it kept happening throughout and I'm so happy next genin turned out to be this Wonderland of nostalgic futurism speaking of backwards du radical optimism is not appearing I thought it was really disappointing but I've got another female artist instead who bounced back faster than you can say KACEY MUSGRAVES - DEEPER WELL [Music] starcross figure rest of folksy country looks so good on Casey Musgraves this is one of the most talented voices in music today and it doesn't hurt that she's also giving us deep well this beautiful collection of thoughts being untangled from a mostly content state of self-reflection some may find this album boring but that completely misses the point beauty is often hiding in the Small Things life's most underrated DECLAN MCKENNA - WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BEACH? moments the mechanism is breaking down again joyful Gloom meets psychedelic pop on English singer songwriter Dean McKennon interestingly titled third album what happened to the beach I think this is Dean's best work yet it's immersive screw B but clever to disguise the undeniable pop Hooks and a cat of Many Colors a blend of satire and dreaded apathy in one jar where his first album was pretty heavily political and zeros more personal lp3 lets political dread flood his personal life is a way of coping with the dizzying nature of modern ALKALINE TRIO - BLOOD HAIR & EYEBALLS living down when we fall apart you'll be there Tom Delong reunites with blink Matt ska returns to the trio balance has restored itself in all is as it should be for alkaline Trio's punishingly good blood hair and eyeballs versions of you is what made me believe the album might actually be great it's Dan and Matt swapping vocals over an ominous Punk Grove and while it remains tops for me I think it does have some competition from other Stellar cuts like the title track bad time and even shake with [Music] BILLIE EILISH - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT me a blockbuster album with no singles that delivers exactly what its title promises unheard of Billy ish's lean mean sad girl machine Hit me hard and soft is her most creative cohesive Vision yet she leans heavily on her brother phineas's hypnotic production not to discredit Billy's own growth that I am hearing vocal and lyrically but it's most definitely the musical atmosphere powering the VINCE STAPLES - DARK TIMES [Music] flight first off the Vince Staples show was so [ __ ] good it's on Netflix please watch it in second matter of business Vince is officially gone Gambino mode with this tight RPP walk he's doing between the screen and the speaker yeah okay dark times is the rapper sixth album providing a shadow of uncertainty with gloomy emotive beats that fit like a glove to Vince's impactful words Everything feels effortless but not without effort if that makes sense guest contributions are kept to a minimum Vince Stacks up bangers and ballads with menacing creativity and the head tripping production never really loosens its grip ST. VINCENT - ALL BORN SCREAMING [Music] gritty syn textures stunning guitar Grandeur in venomous vocals all make her seventh album feel like a showdown with Destiny she put out Daddy's home a few years back and I just didn't click with it however the crystal ball was given another shake and now we're in this future where industrial Rock lives in harmony with stunning tracks like violent times the simmering hell as near and the master class big- time nothing acting as a new kind of win for the sales I hope you enjoyed seeing my favorite albums of 2024 so far let me know your list in the comments and while you're down there help a guy out in the algorithm like subscribe turn on those notifications and also check out some of my recent videos to keep the watch party going and I'll see you next time on AR TV