Nite Songs Top 70 Albums of 2024 - Part 1 (70-61)

 

Okay, let's get this show on the road then. First twenty coming today then ten a day from now until New Year. As with previous years, I've provided a link to where you can buy the album while supporting the artist as much as possible, either via Bandcamp or direct via the record label (none of that exploitative Spotify/Amazon bullshit round here we'll have you know). Ready?

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70.    WIRE WORMS - "The First To Come In"

Doom-folk? Okay, consider us now having seen everything. This debut album from Leeds natives Wire Worms blends old school pagan folk music with an almost industrial style backing and even the odd nod to country music and goth rock. It doesn’t score a bullseye every time but Wire Worms deserve a hell of a lot of credit for trying something different and making a good job of it. With a little bit of refinement, we could have a genuinely seminal band on our hands here.

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69.    DESPERATE JOURNALIST - "No Hero"

Five albums in and Desperate Journalist remain very much a force to be reckoned with as No Hero provides the expected mix of mesmeric dream-pop and spiky post-punk delivered with all the panache we’ve come to expect from this band.

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68.    THE LIBERTINES - "All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade"

No, we didn't expect to see them in here either - there was a time in the early noughties when your correspondent genuinely couldn’t stand messrs Doherty and Barat. Twenty years on though and there’s a genuine survivor’s defiance to this album, especially on the likes of Baron’s Claw and Songs They Never Play On The Radio that’s actually quite beguiling. So yeah, who’d have thunk it, clearly a bit of maturity suits the Libertines well.

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67.    THE DICTATORS - "The Dictators"

The return of the Dictators without long time frontman Handsome Dick Manitoba could have been a recipe for disaster so it’s to the credit of the current line-up, headed up by bassist Andy Shernoff, that they came up with a solid comeback album mixing the fist-in-the-air punk rock of old with some wistful looks back at the good times and wishing they’d lasted a bit longer.

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66.    THE BELLRAYS - "Heavy Steady Go!"

First album for way too long for the soul power rock ‘n’ roll veterans, Heavy Steady Go leans into the poppier end of the Bellrays’ repertoire with some tracks even having an almost pub rock style feel to them. Crucially though, Lisa Kekaula and Bob Vennum’s indisputable way with a good riff and hook is very much still there and it’s this which makes the album a recommended listen.

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65.    RAZORLIGHT - "Planet Nowhere"

And if you thought the Libertines were an unexpected appearance on a Nite Songs album of the year list, you’d probably have got even longer odds on Razorlight, even then regarded as the poor relations of that scene, showing up. Yet Planet Nowhere showed genuine musical and lyrical growth taking place with Johnny Borrell and co, sounding like some great lost cross between Elvis Costello, Jonathan Richman and XTC. And that’s not a bad place to be at all.

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64.    GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS - "Sublimation"

Now three albums into their career, there's still no sign of Girls In Synthesis mellowing out and long may it be so. Although Sublimation is marginally less in-yer-face than its two predecessors (2020's Now Here's An Echo From Your Future and 2022's The Rest Is Distraction), there's an unnerving sense of disquiet bubbling away beneath the surface here making this a sometimes discomforting listen but one that never lets your attention go.

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63.    YUR MUM - "Duality"

Sophomore albums can be tricky beasts if not handled properly but Duality is a more than worthy follow-up to Brazilian ex-pats Yur Mum’s 2021 debut Tropical Fuzz, taking the raw garage punk of that album and building on it nicely by adding a few nuances while keeping that crucial heaviness intact. The sound of a band well and truly getting its feet under the table.

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62.    LIAM GALLAGHER & JOHN SQUIRE - "Liam Gallagher & John Squire"

Inevitably, this album ended up being overshadowed a bit by the Oasis reunion which is a shame because it was a good continuation of Liam’s recent run of form and maybe the best album Squire’s put his name to since the halcyon days of the Stone Roses with the likes of Raise Your Hands and From Mars To Liverpool being timely reminders of both these men’s talents.

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61.    NEW MODEL ARMY - "Unbroken"

Still as much of a force of nature as ever, Unbroken is exactly the sort of heartfelt and unsettling collection of songs that Justin Sullivan and co do so well. Grabbing you by the throat and insisting that you listen right from the opening seconds of First Summer After, the likes of I Did Nothing Wrong, Cold Wind and If I Am Still Me are the sound of a group still searching for the answers four decades into their existence and almost asking if you dare to join them in questioning the slurry forced down our throats on an everyday basis in the harsh climate of 2024. A vital band and one that we're lucky to still have.

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Right, ten down and sixty to go - join us again in a few hours when we count down from 60-51...