As regular readers may recall, I dive, often deeply, sometimes frenetically, into new album releases every Friday. I still listen to my favorite albums of 2023 on repeat, especially these five from my Chi-town heroes. In my fool’s errand to be a Thoroughly Modern Millie (read: in my relentless fear of feeling old and irrelevant), I wade waist-deep in new releases. Luckily, 2024 has hitherto been a bangin’ year for new tunes. So with the first quarter behind us, here are my album picks of the year…
Okay. Hold up. So, I’m actually not particularly interested in writing about music. Even if I was, there are people who do that professionally and I’m perfectly willing to leave it to the so-called experts. Read them, if you dare. As I’ve previously noted in these pages, someone, maybe Monk, argued that writing about music is like dancing about architecture (a stellar simile that conjures an image of Elaine dancing on Seinfeld). So what do I want here?
I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want. All I really want is to share new music that’s making me feel perfectly alive, despite the desperate disquietude manifested by the gruesome reality that none of us are immune to the sheer inhumanity of humanity.*
I want to share because I hope, like I really really hope, that this music brings you joy.
Or at least an ephemeral escape.
There’s already a lot of killer music out this year, where should I stop? Well, we're three months in, so I’ll stop at three albums. If three is not enough, the evolving playlist of my faves of 2024 is here for ya.
Now where to start? Well, Sheer Mag’s new release is called Playing Favorites and, if measured by listens, it might be my favorite album of the year. So here we go…
Tina Halladay's vocals are bananas! Her dynamic range and emotive delivery bring an intensity that sets Sheer Mag apart from their peers. The title track will suck you in. Track two busts open like a KISS anthem before careening into Thin Lizzy territory. Mechanical Garden stands out for fearlessly taking the listener on a journey. Enjoy the ride.
I’d not heard of Grace Cummings before Friday and I’ve not stopped listening since. The Australian artist goes big, leaning into an alter ego of sorts, of which she said, “I didn’t want to be myself so I decided to be Ramona instead, full of intensity and melodrama.” Recorded in Laurel Canyon, for which track four is named, the cinematographic scope of the album is breathtaking. Ramona is produced by Father John Misty and, while I’m reluctant to give the dude more credit than he deserves, his influence is omnipresent. The back half of the album, kicked off by Everybody’s Somebody and Common Man are, in this dude’s humble opinion, the most breathtaking.
Also thoroughly breathtaking and cinematic, Brittany Howard’s What Now paints lush landscapes. I was curious how the former frontwoman for Alabama Shakes would follow up her solo debut, Jaime. I should’ve guessed. She did it her way. She also speaks the language of D’Angelo, Prince, Bowie and perhaps a few other mononymous artists. Oh! And Mavis Staples, who we ought to just be calling Mavis by now. Again, at the risk of giving a dude too much credit for a woman’s work, it’s hard to imagine this album without Nate Smith’s drumming. At the risk of giving Lazars too much credit, Emily Lazar mastered the album masterfully. Again, for me at least, it’s the back half of the album that shines the most compelling light with Another Day and Patience standing out.
I imagine that Brittany will contend with Kacey for album of the year.
For her sixth album (seven if you count a Christmas album, which, I mean, like, you should?), the Dimestore Cowgirl returns with compelling lyricism and raw authenticity. The authenticity delves into the autobiographical (looks like Kacey was a daily wake-n-baker for a couple tokes too long) and the astrological (which I can do without, sorry not sorry). Too Good to be True and Anime Eyes are the tracks I keep going back to. But Deeper Well, a song about moving on gracefully, hits as hard as the gravity bong she hit on her way out of bed everyday.
Well, it’s as clear as spring is in the air, women are ruling my playlist this year. While I limited myself to focusing on three albums, I would be remiss to not mention two more that keep me hanging on: Norah Jones’ Visions (infinitely better than you might assume) and Kelly Moran’s Moves in the Field (haunting prepared piano).
Oh, and Beyoncé, in case you haven’t heard.
Lastly, Dawn Landes reimagined The Liberated Woman’s Songbook, first released in 1971, a few months prior to the Roe v. Wade decision. This collection presents women's empowerment songs spanning from 1830 to 1970, their messages remaining maddeningly relevant today. Presented chronologically–opening with the 1830 ballad Hard Is The Fortune Of All Womankind and closing with Liberation, Now! written by Betty Friedan for the National Organization for Women's 1970 Strike for Equality–this album speaks the poetry of emancipation and sisterhood. It’s a living historical document that I look forward to sharing with my students. Back to school tomorrow. Eeek!
Again, my effort here is to share joy and, if needed, to offer a reprieve from the hard rain. To facilitate that, here is a short playlist of the songs discussed here. Happy Listening and Happy Spring!
-DL
* I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah