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100 Favorite Albums of 2024

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It’s the time of the season. The year end routine starts with the albums of the year. A good year of music again and even though the list is absurdly long, I still would have loved to be able to squeeze in another 50 or so. If a record is missing from this, it doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. I covered well over 600 albums on the new music weekly posts, so there’s a lot of really good music out there.

I did put the numbers there, but it’s totally arbitrary. Music is love, not a competition. Maybe first 10-20 at the top were somewhat obvious and my biggest favorites this year. After that it could have been alphabetical order just as well. I could move these albums up or down 20 spots and be just as happy with it. So the numbers are only there to give you a vague idea of what I loved the most, because everyone isn’t a music addict and willing to listen all 100 albums (actually 101, because I couldn’t decide which Rambling Nicholas Heron to include and therefore those share one spot on the list).

As usual, the list is totally subjective. I never try to make an objective list of the best albums or try to figure out what will stand the test of time. It’s just a snapshot of my taste in December 2024. Even my own list might look a lot different in two months. For example right now as I compile this, I’m maybe little less into country than earlier in the year. So I might easily look back this later pondering why the hell I didn’t include more country albums. I’m also just one man and there’s tons of stuff I haven’t listened enough or at all. Not to mention the hundreds of records that I didn’t even knew existed before reading other people’s aoty lists.

I didn’t write any blurbs, because I’m lazy and don’t have the time. And most would probably just check out what’s on the list anyway. There’s a Spotify and Tidal playlist if you are into such things. They actually have a lot more than 100 albums, because that was my draft for this. But I left them there as a giant bubbling under section. Maybe not wise because I know there’s stuff missing too. I didn’t add many Bandcamp / YouTube embeds, because if there’s a hundred of them the site will either crash or take forever to load. At least on mobile devices. It would make it easy to check out the records, but not worth it due to those issues. You’ll easily find them on Bandcamp, if you so wish.

Tidal Playlist
Spotify Playlist

100 FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2024

100. Rachel Love – Lyra (The Cat Collects)

99. GospelbeacH – Wiggle Your Fingers (Curation Records)

98. TJ Douglas – Dying (Team Love)

97. ROY – Spoons for the World (Idee Fixe Records)

96. Kaia Kater – Strange Medicine (Free Dirt Records)

95. Lindsay Reamer – Natural Science (Dear Life Records)

94. Jake McKelvie – A New Kind of Hat

93. Wren Kitz – The Thinker (Feeding Tube Records)

92. Kathryn Williams & Withered Hand – Willson & Williams (One Little Independent)

91. Lee Baggett – Waves for a Begull (Perpetual Doom)

90. Mary Timony – Untame the Tiger (Merge Records)

89. Ducks Ltd. – Harm’s Way (Carpark)

88. Jackie West – Close to the Mystery (Ruination Record Co)

87. Maya De Vitry – The Only Moment (Mad Maker Studio)

86. Humdrum – Every Heaven (Slumberland Records)

85. JP Harris – JP Harris is a Trash Fire (Bloodshot Records)

84. Styrofoam Winos – Real Time

83. Andre Ethier – Cold Spaghetti (Telephone Explosion Records)

82. The Pearlfishers – Making Tapes for Girls (Marina Records)

81. The Softies – The Bed I Made (Father / Daughter Records)

80. West of Roan – Queen of Eyes (Spinster)

79. Caleb Caudle – Sweet Critters (Missing Piece Records)

78. Bob Sumner – Some Place to Rest Easy (Fluff and Gravy Records)

77. Max Bien Kahn – Flowers (Well Kept Secret)

76. Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – Woodland (Acony Records)

75. Sinai Vessel – I Sing (Keeled Scales)

74. Jeremy Ferrara – Darkness is a Bright Sound (A for Effort Records)

73. Turner Cody – The Days of Duke and Nancy (Capitane Records)

72. Leyla McCalla – Sun Without the Heat (Anti)

71. Mr. Sam & The People People – Again! Again! (Tape Dad / Gar Hole Records)

70. Jon McKiel – Hex (You’ve Changed Records)

69. Pony Bradshaw – Thus Spoke the Fool (Black Mountain Music / Soundly)

68. Ned Collette – Our Other History

67. Kimmi Bitter – Old School

66. Jimmy Montague – Tomorrow’s Coffee

65. Wesley Fuller – All Fuller No Filler (Cheersquad Records & Tapes)

64. Mac Cornish – Never Made Much of a Lover

63. Laughing – Because It’s True (Meritorio Records)

62. Daniel Romano – Too Hot to Sleep (You’ve Changed Records)

61. The Reds, Pinks and Purples – Unwishing Well (Tough Love / Slumberland)

60. Kasey Anderson – To The Places We Lived (Nervous Kid Records)

59. Sierra Ferrell – Trail of Flowers (Rounder Records)

58. Scott Ballew – Rio Bravo (La Honda Records)

57. Jake Nicoll – Lonely Mission

56. Daniel Markham – Just Like a Dream (Velvet Blue Music)

55. Dorothea Paas – Think of Mist (Telephone Explosion Records)

54. Gabriel Birnbaum – Patron Saint of Tireless Losers (Western Vinyl)

53. The Secret Beach – We we’re born here, what’s your excuxe? (Victory Pool)

52. Charley Crockett – $10 Cowboy (Son of Day / Thirty Tigers)

51. Charlie Overman – Charlie Overman

50. Advance Base – Horrible Occurrences (Run for Cover Records)

49. St. Lenox – Ten Modern American Work Songs (Don Giovanni Records / Anyway Records)

48. Micah Schnabel – The Clown Watches the Clock

47. The Innocence Mission – Midwinter Swimmers (Bella Union)

46. Little Kid – A Million Easy Payments (Orindal Records / Gold Day)

45. American Aquarium – Fear of Standing Still (Losing Side Records / Thirty Tigers)

44. The Bird Calls – Old Faithful (Ruination Record Co)

43. Adam Remnant – Big Doors (Coiled Myth Records)

42. Adeline Hotel – Whodunnit (Ruination Record Co)

41. Luka Kuplowsky – How Can I Possibly Sleep When There’s Music (Next Door Records)

40. Vanessa Peters – Flying on Instruments (Idol Records)

39. Chime School – The Boy Who Ran the Paisley Hotel (Slumberland)

38. Christo Graham – Music for Horses (We Are Busy Bodies)

37. Shabason, Krgovich & Sage – Shabason, Krgovich & Sage (Idee Fixe Records)

36. Andrew Bryant – Loosa Schoona (Sentimental Noises Records)

35. Shawn Hess – Wild Onion

34. Josienne Clarke – Parenthesis, I (Corduroy Punk)

33. Simon Joyner – Coyote Butterfly (BB*Island)

32. Beachwood Sparks – Across the River of Stars (Curation Records)

31. Eric Slick – New Age Rage (Slick Records / Thirty Tigers)

30. Michael Feuerstack – Eternity Mongers (Forward Music Group)

29. Hello Emerson – To Keep Him Here (K & F Records / Anyway Records)

28. Chris Acker – Famous Lunch (Gar Hole Records)

27. Rambling Nicholas Heron – Cinema Teotro / Manuel’s Dream: Gunmetal Clouds (Suitcase Studio & Shop)

26. Alex Izenberg – Alex Izenberg & The Exiles (Domino Recording Co)

25. Desiree Cannon – Radio Heat (Gar Hole Records / Long Road Society)

24. Fred Thomas – Window in the Rhythm (Polyvinyl)

23. Quivers – Oyster Cuts (Merge Records)

22. VanWyck – Dust Chaser (Maiden Name Records)

21. Haley Heynderickx – Seed of A Seed (Mama Bird Recording Co)

20. Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future (4AD)

19. MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks (Anti)

18. Rosali – Bite Down (Merge Records)

17. Jennifer Castle – Camelot (Paradise of Bachelors / Solstice Radio)

16. Hurray for the Riff Raff – The Past Is Still Alive (Nonesuch Records)

15. Myriam Gendron – Mayday (Chivi Chivi / Feeding Tube Records / Thrill Jockey)

14. Anna Tivel – Living Thing (Fluff and Gravy Records)

13. Adeem the Artist – Anniversary (Four Quarters Records / Thirty Tigers)

12. Frontier Ruckus – On the Northline (Loose Music / Sitcom Universe)

11. The Lemon Twigs – A Dream Is All We Know (Captured Tracks)

10. John Moreland – Visitor (Old Omens / Thirty Tigers)

9. Mt. Misery – Love In Mind (Prefect Records)

8. Eamon Fogarty – I’m an animal now (Orphean Kiosk Recordings)

7. St. Yuma – Country Sleight of Hand (Quietly Records)

6. Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch (City Slang)

5. Office Culture – Enough (Ruination Record Co)

4. Willi Carlisle – Critterland (Signature Sounds Recordings)

3. Melissa Carper – Borned in Ya (Mae Music / Thirty Tigers)

2. Richard Laviolette – All Wild Things Are Shy (You’ve Changed Records)

1. The Lostines – Meet the Lostines (Gar Hole Records)

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OCTA New Music Weekly – Episode #308

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This is the last new music weekly of 2024. I need a little break and this is the best time to do it. This will continue in January. Most likely on week 2. Meanwhile there will be a lot of year-end lists.

New Advance Base is the album of the week. Also thrilled that there’s new EP from John Calvin Abney. Other new albums came from Field Medic, Lucinda Williams (The Beatles covers), Dolour, CIAO MALZ (EP), Rachel Baiman, The Psych Fi’s, Will Stewart (EP of Morphine covers), Effie Zilch, Ramona and the Holy Smokes (few weeks old EP) and Looze Koozies. I also included Little Kid album all the way from February. I missed it at the time, but Advance Base somehow led me into it and I fell for it badly this week.

From the Finnish side of things we have a couple of important album releases from Emilia Sisco and Sir Liselot. Plus an EP from Oudot ajat and singles gold from Saara Heikkilä, The Moontwins, The Bullets, Topi Saha and 1980 AD.

International singles part of this is really strong. I loved the new ones from Clara Mann, Sunny War, Thomas Dollbaum, Lou Hazel and Flora Hibberd. Some other early faves came from Matthew McNeal, R&D, Bonnie Prince Billy, Brigid Mae Power… again just to name a few.

That’s all for now. Like, share, follow and all the usual promotional nonsense. It all matters. Thanks for following this new music adventure during 2024. I know there’s plenty of bigger and better publications, so I really appreciate if you follow my take on the new music of the year. Of course good to follow many, because there’s so much new music that nobody can cover all of it and different people will highlight different things. This AOTY season is again a good reminder that even though I spent 5-10 hours making this thing every weekend and this year have featured well over 600 international albums and close to 100 Finnish ones, I’ve still barely scratched the surface. Most AOTY lists have at least 80% of stuff that I’ve never heard at all. Anyway, my version of those silly but fun eoty lists will appear fairly soon and this new music weekly will continue in January. Until then love love love.

1. John Calvin Abney – Shortwaving (Shortwaving EP, Ton Canyon Records)
2. Advance Base – The Tooth Fairy (Horrible Occurrences, Run for Cover Records)
3. Little Kid – Bad Energy (A Million Easy Payments, Gold Day / Orindal Records)
4. Rachel Baiman feat Sam Burchfield – Late to the Fire (A Sides / B Sides, Signature Sounds Recordings)
5. Lucinda Williams – I’ve Got a Feeling (Sings the Beatles From Abbey Road, Highway 20 Records / Thirty Tigers)
6. Will Stewart and Company – Cure for Pain (90 Acre Farm EP)
7. CIAO MALZ – Gold Rush (Safe Then Sorry EP, Audio Antihero)
8. The Psych Fi’s – Odds & Evens (Can Con, Bobo Integral)
9. Dolour – Running Forever (New Old Friends xx)
10. Field Medic – dandelion dream (boundless & true)
11. Loose Koozies – Haworthia (Passing Through You, Tall Texan Records)
12. Ramona and the Holy Smokes – Til It’s Over (Til It’s Over EP)
13. Effie Zilch – Taking Me Over (Multitudes, Redtone Records)
14. Matthew McNeal – Dropped the Ball (single, Matte Black Sound Company)
15. Sunny War feat Tre Burt – Scornful Heart (single, New West Records)
16. Thomas Dollbaum feat Kate Teague – Do Me a Kindness (single,
17. Jacksonport – Raincheck (single, Ay Caramba Records)
18. Lou Hazel – Bulldog (single)
19. Flora Hibberd – Baby (single, 22Twenty)
20. Clara Mann – Remember Me (Train Song) (single, The State51 Conspiracy)
21. Emilia Sisco and Cold Diamond & Mink – Don’t Let Nobody (Introducing Emilia Sisco, Timmion Records)
22. The Moontwins – All I Want Is You (Tell Me That It’s True) (single, Playground)
23. The Bullets – Seven Days (single, Nature Sucks Anyway Records)
24. Saara Heikkilä – Ota Viivi viski (single)
25. 1980 AD – Hyvinkää (kaikki väsyneet hevoset) (single, Alakulttuuritalo)
26. Oudot ajat – Pimeä huone (Ensimmäinen lähetys EP, Panama-levyt)
27. Sir Liselot – Palmupuut (Nämä kädet ei paljon suojaa, Minna Records)
28. Topi Saha – Purppurakuu (single, Soit Se Silti)
29. R&D – I’ll Speak Into the Bloom (single, Ruination Recording Co)
30. Chris Eckman – Genevieve (single, Glitterhouse Records)
31. I Am Oak – The Way I See It (single, Snowstar Records)
32. Brigid Mae Power – You Don’t Know Me (single, BMP)
33. Bonnie Prince Billy – London May (single, Domino Recording Co)
34. Jacob Miller – Cherry Blossoms (single, Only One On The Mountain)
35. David Ramirez – The Music Man (single, Blue Corn Music)
36. Jason Joshua – Prisoner of My Mind (single, Sheridan Music)
37. Kelly Finnigan – It Hurts Me So Much (single, Colemine Records)
38. The War and Treaty – Carried Away (single, Mercury Nashville)
39. Marc Anthony Samuel feat Triptides – Flow (single, Skyforest Sound)
40. Andy Jenkins – Leaving Before (single, Psychic Hotline)
41. Digits feat Edith Frost – Wild at Heart (single)
42. Specific Thing – Partial to Pop (single, Internal Organ Records)
43. Icarus Phoenix – When Cooper Briscoe Did Karate (single)
44. Dropkick – Primary Colours (single, Bobo Integral)
45. The Gentle Spring – Severed Hearts (single, Skep Wax Records)
46. Carriers – Sometimes (single, Brassland)
47. Gold Baby – Henry (single, Dogbone Records)
48. Emma Munger – Change (single)
49. Humbird – Person (single, Nettwerk)
50. R.O. Shapiro – Worthy (single)
51. Todd Day Wait – Lie to Me (single, Cloverdale Records)
52. JD Clayton – Arkansas Kid (single, Mulberry Records / Rounder Records)
53. Rambling Nicholas Heron – Late September (Manuel’s Dream: Gunmental Clouds, Suitcase Studio & Shop)
54. The Innocence Mission – The Camera Divides the Coast of Maine (Midwinter Swimmers, Bella Union)
55. Joni Ekman Group – Tulevaisuus (Joni Ekman Group, Näkki-levyt)

Spotify Playlist

Tidal Playlist

YouTube Playlist

A few Bandcamp cuts for the lovely non-streamers:





Oh and do buy the vinyl/cd/download. Spotify and other streaming services are perfect for these introductory purposes, but try to buy at least the music that matter the most to you

I’ll make the playlist on Spotify and then transfer it to other platforms. This means a few tracks might be missing from the from the other platforms, if they are not available there. Oh and there’s a bunch of older episodes on my Spotify profile, if you miss an episode or want to revisit.

If you are looking this after a week has gone, the embedded Spotify will show the latest playlist. I’ll just update the same playlist because if someone wants to follow it, they can just follow that one list and will get a new set of songs each weekend.

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Playlist

OCTA New Music Weekly – Episode #307

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This week around Thanksgiving is always very quiet on the release front. Only grateful for that, because I need time to put the eoty lists together.

New The Innocence Mission is the album of the week. Also really liking the new Rambling Nicholas Heron album. That’s a prolific songwriter, because I think it’s only a month or two since the previous one. But the quality stays high all the time. There’s also great new releases from Juanita Stein, Jim Bryson (EP), Eric Long, Ben Van Bonn, Rob Joynes (EP) and Sarah Summer (EP).

The Finnish release week was surprisingly busy for this time year. New Joni Ekman Group is the leader of the pack. Love that stuff for sure. We also have new albums from Kas Kan, 20 000 Hz, Hal Wickman and Idän mies plus singles from Jani Matti Juhani, Sanni Reilin, Kissa, KO:MI, Helmi Ada, Itcevät, Punomo, Janeveera, Honey Crisp, Tuomo Mannonen and Vyötiäinen.

Some early faves on the international singles category came from Darren Hanlon, Mirrored Daughters, Ryan Necci & The Buffalo Gospel and Cassidy Waring. Again just to name a few.

That’s all for now. Like, share, follow and all the usual promotional nonsense. It all matters. Now back to crafting the fun but pointless year end lists. Some of them might or might not appear before the next new music weekly. It depends how much energy I have after the work days. Anyway, a lot of those coming sometime during the next few weeks. And one more new music weekly. After that there will be about a month long holiday break to charge the batteries. It’s hard work (well hobby) to build hours long new music weekly playlist every weekend on your spare time. So I definitely need a break and this is the best time for it. Love love love.

1. The Innocence Mission – Your Saturday Picture (Midwinter Swimmers, Bella Union)
2. Rambling Nicholas Heron – Brutal Awakening (Manuel’s Dream: Gunmetal Clouds, Suitcase Studio & Shop)
3. Juanita Stein – The Weightless Hour (The Weightless Hour, Agricultural Studio)
4. Jim Bryson – Is This Blues? (Combinations 1+1 EP, Fixed Hinge Recordings)
5. Eric Long – As Blue as the Blue Gets (Portrait)
6. Rob Joynes – Forgiveness (Friendless EP)
7. Sarah Summer – Red Rover (Blessed Interruption EP)
8. Ben Van Bonn – Kite Hill Jump (Further than Thought)
9. Ryan Necci & The Buffalo Gospel – You (single)
10. Cassidy Waring – Hearse Chasing (single)
11. Darren Hanlon – Good Vibration (single, FYR)
12. Mirrored Daughters – City Song (single, Fika Recordings)
13. KO:MI – Theory (single, Minna Records)
14. Kas Kan – Jos tahtoo olla joku muu (En pelkää enää mitään)
15. Itcevät – Sä oot jotain muuta (single, Itcevät Records)
16. Punomo – Kuuntele mua (single, Playground)
17. 20 000 Hz – Pussaa mua valokuvakopissa (Kaaosteoria, Alakulttuuritalo)
18. Joni Ekman Group – En katso taakseni (Joni Ekman Group, Näkki-levyt)
19. Kissa – Jokainen maaliviiva (single, Svart Records)
20. Helmi Ada – Neiti Etsivä (single)
21. Jani Matti Juhani feat Knipi – Jos alkaa saan uudelleen (single)
22. Tuoma Mannonen – Kadonnut kaamokseen (single, Playground)
23. Juhlat – Alaovella (single)
24. Janeveera – Narkkari (single, Eclipse)
25. Sanni Reilin – Oi Bolivia (single)
26. Vyötiäinen – Mukalakivet (single, Panama-levyt)
27. Idän mies – Huomisen hyvää (Askel painaa, Idän miehen levyt)
28. Honey Crisp – Dopamine (single, Honey Crisp Musique)
29. Hal Wickman – Sunny Side of the Street (Hal Wickman)
30. Matt Moran – Dry County (single, Broken Tenor Records)
31. Kendall Lujan – I Want to Be in Love With You (single, ROLA Records)
32. John Southworth – Burning of the Notre-Dame (single)
33. Thorsten Nesch – Flying Down the Highway (single, Polterzeitgeist Records)
34. Jim Ghedi – Wasteland (single, Basin Rock)
35. Billy Allen + The Pollies – I’m Okay (single, Single Lock Records)
36. Ex-Vöid – Pinhead (single, Tapete Records)
37. Ally Kerr – Back Again (single, Much Obliged Records)
38. Lila Tristram – Martha May (single)
39. Humbird – Forgiveness (single, Nettwerk)
40. Darien Lane feat Jason Dea West – You Can’t Hold a Sound (single)
41. Simon Joyner – Port of Call (Coyote Butterfly, BB*Island)
42. Father John Misty – Summer’s Gone (Mahashmashana, Bella Union)

Spotify Playlist

Tidal Playlist

YouTube Playlist

A few Bandcamp cuts for the lovely non-streamers:





Oh and do buy the vinyl/cd/download. Spotify and other streaming services are perfect for these introductory purposes, but try to buy at least the music that matter the most to you

I’ll make the playlist on Spotify and then transfer it to other platforms. This means a few tracks might be missing from the from the other platforms, if they are not available there. Oh and there’s a bunch of older episodes on my Spotify profile, if you miss an episode or want to revisit.

If you are looking this after a week has gone, the embedded Spotify will show the latest playlist. I’ll just update the same playlist because if someone wants to follow it, they can just follow that one list and will get a new set of songs each weekend.

Continue Reading