Nite Songs Top 70 Albums of 2024 - Part 2 (60-51)

 

Welcome to the second part of our end of year rundown as we look at those albums who agonisingly missed the Top 50 by a whisker.

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60.    THE CURE - "Songs Of A Lost World"

Okay so I'll admit it - when I first heard this album, I didn't get what the fuss was all about. This is very much the Cure in their less accessible mode with the 8 songs on Songs Of A Lost World clocking in at over 50 minutes. Yet persevere with this album and its highlights start to reveal themselves as the dark fug surrounding the likes of Warsong, Nothing Is Forever and the epic closer Endsong slowly dissipates to reveal a band who are still capable of surprising you in the fifth decade of their existence.

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59.    JOE SOLO - "Sledgehammer Songs"

Scarborough's finest left wing troubadour Joe Solo keeps on his good run of recent form with Sledgehammer Songs, another heartfelt collection of socialist anthems in waiting. From angry diatribes against the state of this country to simple odes to the power of good music and the importance of simply taking care of yourself, this album is an arm around the shoulder for when you need it most.

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58.    SAMI YAFFA - "Satan's Helpers, War Lazer Eyes And The Money Pig Circus"

Well, Sami can certainly claim our award of album title of the year if nothing else. Satan’s Helpers… packed all of the experimentalism we’ve come to expect from Yaffa’s solo work but crucially it always keeps that bedrock of solid arse-kicking rock ‘n’ roll that informs his best stuff intact to come back to.

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57.    JAMES - "Yummy"

Bands like James by all rights shouldn't be producing music this good this far into their careers. No less than Tim Booth and co’s eighteenth album, it’s also one of their best recent efforts with the likes of Is This Love and Life’s A Fucking Miracle tipping their hats to the anthems of old while soaring epics such as Way Over Your Head and Shadow of a Giant are anything but the sound of a band resting on its laurels.

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56.    JANE WEAVER - "Love In Constant Spectacle"

Jane Weaver continues to very much tread her own path on Love In Constant Spectacle. Like its predecessor Flock, this is relaxed psychedelia for shutting yourself off from the world outside to, almost like Slowdive chilling out over a cup of tea with Goldfrapp. Well worth investigating.

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55.    SHE DREW THE GUN - "Howl"

Following up 2021's excellent Behave Myself album was never going to be easy but Howl was a worthy sequel to that effort even if it didn't quite reach the full heights that its predecessor did. Led off by the bass-heavy title track, this album saw Louisa Roach aka She Drew The Gun largely in a more reflective mood with the hypnotic likes of Mirrors, Shine On and The Ritual showing a well thought-out songwriting craft and genuinely accomplished tunesmithery.

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54.    THE BATTERY FARM - "Dark Web"

With punk now being in its sixth decade as a musical movement, it's becoming increasingly difficult to surprise people with it anymore. Which is what makes bands like the Battery Farm such a blessing when you find them. These Manchester upstarts tread the fine line between belligerent punk anger (The Next Decade, John Bull's Hard Times) and moody gothic reflection (Under The Bomb, the title track), you'll hear echoes of everyone from Magazine through Joy Division to the Damned in here but the key is that this album never loses its own identity along the way.

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53.    COLLISION COURSE - "Landfill"

Anyone for a UK82 punk revival? Blasting through its 11 songs in just 21 minutes, Collision Course’s debut is a full knuckle-to-the-face slice of punk anger which takes its cue from the likes of GBH and Vice Squad to grab you by the throat and not let go throughout. Thrilling stuff.

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52.    MYSTERY LIGHTS - "Purgatory"

A band who I pretty much happened upon completely by accident, the Mystery Lights take the classic ‘60s garage punk sound and drag it kicking and screaming into the 2020’s. On Purgatory, you’ll hear echoes of everything from souped up rock ‘n’ roll through swirling psychedelia to the odd spot of cowpunk. Proof that not all revivalists have to be tedious “do-things-properly-or-else” bores.

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51.    AMELIA COBURN - "Between The Moon And The Milkman"

Middlesbrough folk poetess Amelia Coburn turned in one of the unexpected triumphs of 2024 with her debut album. Taking the listener on a musical trip including everywhere from Mexico to Dublin, it’s a beguiling album perfect for losing yourself in on a rainy afternoon while dreaming of better places.

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Well, first day of the review done. Join us tomorrow as we go into the hallowed halls of the Top 50.