The Best/Worst/Disappointing Albums Of 2024, So Far

Six months can feel like it goes by in a flash, or it can seem to drag on forever, in part based on the ratio of boredom to excitement we happen to encounter. The first six months of this year have not been tilting in the right direction, with the music I've encountered so far failing to lift my spirits as often as I would like, or seem to need. I have been asking for a while now whether it's bad luck, a cultural shift I haven't partaken in, or if I've hit the wall. I don't yet have an answer to that, and this year's crop of releases hasn't helped me to clarify my own thinking.

The majority of the records I've listened to this year fall into the 'fine, but forgettable' category, with few on either extreme of the curve. That said, there are a few that have elicited the strongest responses from me, so here they are, presented in non-spoiler alphabetical order:

The Best:

Cold Years - A Different Life

While not as good as their previous album, Cold Years is still able to show us they understand how to fuse elements of punk with strong hooks. This is a brighter album, and one with more diversity, which may have been even more effective for me if my own mood had not been as dark when it was released.

Hot Water Music - Vows

Recent years have had several albums of what I would call 'optimistic darkness' race up my yearly lists. Hot Water Music is the latest of those, taking an punk/emo aesthetic that doesn't hide from our faults and flaws, but wraps it up with an uplifting spirit that tries like hell to make the silver lining shine. When you need to shout out your frustration, and feel as if the rock you push will one day get over the top of the hill, this is the kind of album you reach for.

Lucifer - V

I have talked of many bands with the potential to grow into something great, but few of them ever manage the feat. Lucifer finally did with this record, where they are able to take their signature sound and use it to play hookier songs than ever. In that way, it's much like how Katatonia added just enough energy to their gloom to make the best record of their career. Lucifer has done that as well, producing their liveliest, most engaging set of songs yet. I've always liked them, but never found their records vital. This one is.

The Requiem - A Cure To Poison The World

A Confession; I've probably listened to "The Black Parade" as much as any record actually released this year. Perhaps that explains why I love this album so much, as it sounds like a spiritual decedent of MCR's masterpiece. With a bit of grandeur, and vocals that are as strident and emotive, The Requiem is a nostalgic throwback to an emo period I didn't get in touch with until much later. I just mentioned bands I thought of as having the potential to be great. The Requiem doesn't need that, because this record already is. All they need to do is show me it wasn't a fluke.

Sunburst - Manifesto

It's been eight years since we heard from Sunburst, whose first record I had thought was a fantastic bit of melodic progressive metal. I've found it more flawed than I remember now that I've gone back to it, but that's in part because this new record is even better. They are able to blend technical playing with big melodies, doing the Kamelot shtick far better than that band can anymore. With tight songs that are always focused on coming back to the sing-along moment, Sunburst has done something magnificent here, so let's hope it isn't another eight years before we hear from them again.

The Worst/Disappointing:

Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project

As I've noted, I love Bruce's trilogy even more than anything Iron Maiden has ever done. After nineteen years of waiting, I knew nothing could live up to my hopes. Preparing myself was a good thing, because this album is exactly the step down you would expect after nearly two decades of stalled momentum. There are the good moments and the songs that remind me of why I love Bruce's solo output, but they are buried in an album of 'artistic' decisions that prove experimentation doesn't always work. Bruce gets weird at some points, and he doesn't bring the songs to make it worth going on the whole journey.

Green Day - Saviors

I don't quite know how Green Day lost the plot so hard. Between their trilogy, and "Father Of All", they have released barely anything that rises above the bottom of the barrel in fifteen years. This new album is slightly better than that, but only slightly. They still feel as if they are recycling and/or ripping off their influences, and wrapping them up in lyrics that try to say something, but never make any sense. I won't make the obvious joke about the American Dream they sing of really being a nightmare, but I wouldn't be very happy if I woke up with this music playing in my head.

Neal Morse - The Restoration: Joseph Pt II

I could just copy-and-paste what I said about the first album of this set. Neal is still writing his most boring dad-rock, and doing it in the service of a musical that is completely unnecessary. Seriously, I think the wires got crossed, or he was hearing someone else's echo, if God was saying we need another, inferior version of the technicolor dreamcoat. It would be pointless if it was good, but it isn't even that.

Anette Olzon - Rapture

I love Anette's voice, and her renaissance has been a wonderful thing to see. I love the albums she did with Russell Allen, and the albums with The Dark Element. Unfortunately, the ones under her own name are by far the worst of the lot. She is given the worst songs Magnus Karlsson writes, and pointed in a heavier direction with occasional growled vocals. None of it fits her voice as well as the more melodic fare, and I spent the whole running time wondering how everyone involved thought this was the best way to go.

Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department

Calling this "Midnights" part two would be accurate, but incomplete. Both albums play with the same production and tone, but this record is even more cutting. That makes it even more strange that the acerbic lyrics are matched with even more lifeless music. "Midnights" was a flawed record, for sure, but it had a few classic Taylor moments that will live on as remembered favorites. I didn't hear a single track on this album I feel will have the same fate. When the lyrics are more memorable than the songs, I can appreciate it as a writer, but it makes for a disappointing experience as a listener. Hopefully, this era is nearing its end.