Albums of the Year: 2024

As a little amuse-bouche for you in that strange period between Christmas and New Year, we’ve assembled a short but perfectly formed list of albums that have connected with some of the label family this year. Avalanche Kaito and Ghost Dubs are new to me, and just incredible!

Ask That God by Empire Of The Sun (Adrian Brian Thompson, AnalogueTrash)

Album of the year lists are always a ‘mare for me because I love far too much stuff in an average year. This year, though, if I had to pick a single album, it’d have to be Ask That God by Empire Of The Sun. Pristine, uplifting electronic pop with hooks for days, proving once again why this band is a cornerstone of the genre, more than 25 years after their debut.

This album feels new and exciting, but also like a warm hug from a good friend. There’s enough classic Empire Of The Sun in here to make a long-term fan like me very happy, but enough contemporary electropop stylings to make it feel very of the now (though hey, they did very much pioneer this style of music).

Ask That God and its dazzling accompanying visuals showed they’ve lost none of their flamboyance nor their ability to write an incredible earworm.

Damaged by Ghost Dubs (David Little, Lines of Silence)

Any combination of the terms “ambient” and “dub” conjures up memories of listening to the first two Orb albums and a load of patchouli-scented copyists from the early 90s, suitably “herbalised.”

However, Damaged is as about as far from that as it’s possible to get while still fitting within those two categories. Ghost Dubs is a pseudonym of Michael Fieldler, aka Jah Schulz, German sound artist and deep dub explorer.

Fieldler’s dub is deconstructed, abstract, and often unsettling, but still underpinned by speaker-worrying sub bass and unpredictable grooves. Despite drawing from a limited palette, the 12 tracks are varied, immersive, and bear repeated listens to uncover hidden textures and sounds. Favourite track: The Regulator.

Talitakum by Avalanche Kaito (Dann, Be Kind Cadaver)

Angular, angry, and downright weird, Avalanche Kaito sound like nothing else in existence. Part noise-rock, part Griot fever-dream, theirs is a sound akin to The Swans if The Swans were from Burkina Faso: a doom-mongering, flute-laden, beautiful mess of frenetic rhythms and aggressive yelps.

Their second album, Talitakum, sheers off much of the more approachable aspects of their debut, focusing instead on long Krautish build-ups glued together by polyrhythmic drums, metallic clangs, and arpeggiating woodwinds.

Moments of more recognizable punk aesthetics give way to electronic drones and passages of spoken word; multi-layered vocals fired off at a thousand differing intensities, rapping, shouting, singing, howling; squelching electronics battling against math-rock drums and syncopated distorted guitars.

Listening to Avalanche Kaito is like listening to an alternative universe where punk music didn’t immediately turn stale and dull, its extremities logically extended into a broad palette of vitriolic sonic possibility.

Fine Art by Kneecap (Mark Buckley, AnalogueTrash)

Fine Art is one of those albums that could only come out of Northern Ireland. Rap that is messy, chaotic, caustic, and often politically uncomfortable, it challenges not just the perceived role of Northern Ireland within the UK but also its relationship with Ireland, the governing class, and the world.

In an era where even supposed political music is neutered, sanitised, and monetised to oblivion, Kneecap focus on the dark side of urban life where they grew up: a collision of urban crime, class struggle, colonialism, and the increasing popularity and concurrent stigmatisation of the Irish language.

There are elements of their lyrics that don’t sit well with me, probably because confrontation is so rare these days. But the trio try to position themselves as storytellers, not partisans – in their music at least.

And in an age where passion often seems missing from the charts and mainstream culture in general, Kneecap’s Fine Art is a real antidote to anaemic AI pop, and rock that sounds like it was designed with shareholders in mind.

If you like what you’ve heard, don’t forget that we also have a blog, and a whole mess of playlists if you fancy hearing more new music. Here’s to 2025 and a better, brighter future.