Better late than never, right? Here’s a playlist, available on Apple Music, Spotify and Last.fm

My very favorites

Once again, I’m calling out a few albums and singles I thought were especially good. They’re presented alphabetically because I’ve chosen to ditch the “best of” framing I often go with; I’m not writing music criticism here, and I have no editor telling me what to do.

Album: all under heaven - what lies ahead ✅

Saw these guys blow up a suburban Wilmington skate shop in May (yes, I am serious). If you even dabble in shoegaze a little bit, they have the goods.

Album: Chat Pile - Cool World

Melodic, but heavy as hell.

Song: Clairo - Sexy To Someone

An absolute bop. Could see any number of pop stars having a huge hit with this song.

Album: The Cure - Songs Of A Lost World ✅

This album was released 4 days before the presidential election and 7 days before I got laid off. Suffice it to say that the timing of this release worked out well for me. The fact that it’s a late career classic was just a bonus.

Song: Dr. Dog - Talk is Cheap

Has that lilting, late-summer feeling that permeates all of their best stuff. An unexpected treat.

Album: Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More ✅

Spent a lot of 2023 and 2024 getting really really into early Breeders records like Last Splash and Pod, so this really hit the spot for me. Kim Deal is massively, massively underrated as a songwriter and pivotal figure of the past 40 years of music.

Album: Ekko Astral - Pink Balloons ✅

Song: Ekko Astral - Pomegranate Tree

Saw them open up for Ted Leo in June and to say they blew my fucking hair back would be a massive understatement. Bought this record at the show and it’s been burrowing into my head ever since. And somehow, “Pomegranate Tree” manages to reach and maybe exceed the highs of Pink Balloons. Ekko Astral might be the most important American band going right now, whatever that means.

Song: Father John Misty - Screamland

I generally have to take FJM in very small doses, but this track is absolutely haunting.

Song: Robert Glasper - Prototype (feat. Norah Jones)

Sounds like it was actually written for Norah Jones to sing. (This unfortunately appears to be an Apple Music exclusive.)

Album: Good Looks - Lived Here For A While ✅

The good Farmer Jones has been carrying on about these guys for a minute, so I took him up on seeing live them at Johnny Brenda’s in August and I sure am glad I did! Nice guys, chops for days, and they have the tunes to back it all up.

Album: Sarah Jarosz - Polaroid Lovers

We’ve always known Sarah Jarosz is a musical prodigy, but now we know what it sounds like when she finally decides to write an actual “pop” record.

Song: Billy Joel - Turn The Lights Back On

Unexpectedly beautiful and poignant.

Album: Katy Kirby - Blue Raspberry ✅

One of my most anticipated releases of the year and it did not disappoint. Saw her and her band play most of this record at Johnny Brenda’s in March and they were transcendent.

Song/Video: Not Like Us - Kendrick Lamar

Ubiquitous (complimentary).

Album: MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks ✅

Like many others, my houseboat has remained docked at the Himbo Dome for much of the fall and winter.

Album: Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven ✅

We first heard the ferocious title track last August, so it feels like this one has been around forever (in a good way, of course).

Album: The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis ✅

The Messthetics include Joe Lally and Brendon Canty, formerly of Fugazi’s rhythm section. This record absolutely rips.

Song: Peter Cat Recording Co. - People Never Change

A delightful little ditty from “the last band remaining in India.”

Song: Maggie Rogers - Don’t Forget Me

What a song, what a performance. Heart-rending.

Song/Video: Sunny Day Real Estate - Novum Vetus ✅

Seeing the band perform Diary front to back in May was a bucket-list item for me. The band closed the encore with a lumbering, triumphant version of this song, fitting for the victory lap they took 30 years after redefining emotional, melodic guitar rock with Diary.

Album: Mary Timony - Untame The Tiger ✅

Never really got that deep into Timony or her various projects before this record and god damn it, I’ve been missing out. She’s a treasure.

Album: Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood ✅

Song: Waxahatchee - Much Ado About Nothin'

Katie Crutchfield has been on an absolute heater. Tigers Blood beautifully expands the world built on 2020’s Saint Cloud… and then she has the audacity to toss off maybe the best song she’s ever written as a loosie single? The nerve.

(✅ indicates that I've purchased the album on vinyl, for accountability's sake. Support the musicians you love, folks!)