The Top 50 Albums of 2024: Part Four (#30 to #21)

Part 4 of 6. We’re nearly there. Kind of.

Welcome to Part Four of The Perfect Prescription’s Top 50 Albums of 2024 series. We’re moving into the Top 30 today and I’m all out of fun ideas for the intro paragraph, so let’s just get started.

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Explore The Top 50 Albums of 2024 Series

[Honourable Mentions] [#50 to #41] [#40 to #31] [#30 to #21] [#20 to #11] [#10 to #1]

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30. ScHoolboy Q
“BLUE LIPS”
(Top Dawg Entertainment / Interscope)

The LA rapper’s sixth album — and first since 2019’s Crash Talk — might not have achieved the commercial success of his mid-2010s work, but it’s arguably the most consistent and impressive release of his career. The Freddie Gibbs collaboration oHio is an obvious standout, but you’ll be hard-pushed to find a poor track on BLUE LIPS.

29. Waxahatchee
“Tigers Blood”
(Anti-)

I’ve never really connected with Katie Crutchfield’s music before. Don’t get me wrong, I love country-tinged indie folk as much as the next bearded 40-something with a banjo, but there’s only so much I can listen to and the field is pretty crowded right now. Still, on the strength of the majestic Tigers Blood, I’m making extra room for Waxahatchee. Crutchfield’s jaw-dropping collaboration with MJ Lenderman on Right Back To It is one of my songs of the year.

28. Being Dead
“EELS”
(Bayonet)

I foolishly overlooked Being Dead in my provisional Top 50, but Gabbie (of the excellent New Bands For Old Heads) was confident I would enjoy EELS and she was absolutely right — this is exactly the type of indie rock I love. There’s a lot going on here, but two immediate (and quite specific) touchstones for me are Cherry Peel-era Of Montreal and Os Mutantes. Brilliant stuff.

27. The Healees
“Coin de l'​œ​il”
(Safe Suburban Home / Hidden Bay Records)

The shimmering guitars evoke genre heavyweights such as Pale Saints, Slowdive, and Swervedriver, but Coin de l’​œ​il is no tribute record. The talented quartet has utilised jangle and new wave influences to create an album bursting with freshness and colour. Read my interview with Healees here.

26. Liquid Mike
“Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot”
(Self-Released)

Are some bigger publications engaging in an obscurity contest with their EOY lists this year? I looked at The Quietus Top 100 the other day and I’d only heard 20% of their picks — and outrageously none of those were Liquid Mike.

A glorious nod to underrated 90s American power pop, Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot recalls and eclipses the best work of Everclear, Harvey Danger, and a thousand other bands you last heard when you rewatched American Pie and realised how creepy and weird the 90s were. Indeed, Mouse Trap is almost certainly a long-lost standout from a 90s teen movie soundtrack. If you like gigantic power chords, huge hooks, and unashamed fun, go and listen to Liquid Mike. If your heart yearns for a fusion of microtonal ambient drone and traditional Uzbek folk, other lists are available.

25. Best Bets
“The Hollow Husk of Feeling”
(Meritorio)

Sometimes it just feels like a band is custom-made for you. New Zealand’s Best Bets specialise in a raucous brand of power-pop, with nods to Flying Nun’s golden era, the better elements of Britpop, and 90s indie-rock. That’s basically my musical DNA. It’s a fun record rather than a perfect one, but isn’t that pretty much a defining feature of the power pop genre?

24. EggS
“Crafted Achievement”
(Howlin Banana)

Crafted Achievement is the second album from Parisian indie-pop band EggS. It’s a joyous little record, bursting with references to American 80s/90s indie — there’s even a song dedicated to the late Replacements guitarist Bob Stinson. The Howlin’ Banana label is on fire at the moment and this is another gem.

23. Yasmin Williams
“Acadia”
(Nonesuch)

Acadia is a broader, more ambitious collection than 2021’s Urban Driftwood, with Williams skilfully bouncing off various collaborators to explore the boundaries of her significant talent. While I probably preferred the pastoral beauty of its predecessor, it’s hard not to be blown away by some of the performances here.

22. Ka
“The Thief Next To Jesus”
(Iron Works)

Ka, the legendary Brooklyn rapper, producer, and firefighter, died suddenly and unexpectedly just two months after the release of The Thief Next To Jesus. He deserves a tribute, of course — his lyrical skills in particular were truly exceptional — but the high ranking of The Thief Next To Jesus is down to the sheer quality and emotional weight of the material, not the tragic death of its creator. It is a beautiful record, a gospel-inspired rumination on the role, relevance, and frequent hypocrisy of Christianity from his perspective as an African-American.

21. The Cure
“Songs Of A Lost World”
(Polydor)

Much has been written about The Cure’s unexpected and brilliant return. It’s a taut, well-edited album that ends with a bang — Endsong has a strong argument to be regarded as one of the band’s best-ever songs.

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All of the selections so far have been added to my Top 50 Albums Spotify playlist. Go ahead and save this one as I’ll be adding to it as this series progresses.

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