Nite Songs Top 70 Albums of 2024 - Part 5 (30-21)

 

We're into the top half of this list now so let's get going and breach upon the Top 30...

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30.    CAROL HODGE - "EffortLess InSecurity"

Released in the closing weeks of the year, EffortLess InSecurity sees Carol Hodge engaging in a bout of self-reflection. The songs here are stark, sometimes uncomfortable, listening but the key is that Hodge is a genuinely good songwriter as evidenced by the likes of Queen of Fitting In and I'll Do The Begging. Another more than worthy release from a musician with a back catalogue full of them.

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29.    KID KAPICHI - "There Goes The Neighbourhood"

Kid Kapichi are simply one of the best punk bands in the UK today and while some of their contemporaries have put out sadly underwhelming albums this year (Idles and Pet Needs to name but two), these Hastings natives are continuing to go from strength with There Goes The Neighbourhood introducing a new more melodic feel to their material without losing the fury varying from the anger of Can EU Hear Me to the more reflective Tamagotchi and the wistful stripped-down closer Jimi. Difficult second album? Nah, this is anything but.

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28.    MARC VALENTINE - "Basement Sparks"

Following up 2022's excellent Future Obscure was always going to be a difficult task but in Basement Sparks, former Last Great Dreamers frontman Marc Valentine has delivered a worthy sophomore effort. Packed full of the ragged charm that made that debut such a blast, the likes of Tyrannical Wrecks and Skeleton Key showed that Valentine's ear for a good melody remains very much intact and this is an album well worth checking out.

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27.    FRANK TURNER - "Undefeated"

If 2022's FTHC saw Frank Turner suddenly dropping the folky acoustics that have been the mainstay of his solo career for a much angrier hardcore punk approach, Undefeated feels like his attempt to reconcile the two sides of his work and he does so with some panache. While Do One and No Thank You For The Music are packed with the fury that informed this album's predecessor, songs like Show People showed a more tender side to this record and he's struck the balance well.

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26.    THE QUIREBOYS - "Wardour Street"

After all of the infighting of the last few years, it was good to see Spike getting back to what he does best in the form of making good knockabout rock 'n' roll music. With Nigel Mogg re-enlisted on bass and Thunder's Luke Morley stepping in on six-string duties to replace the sadly departed Guy Bailey, Wardour Street comes across as a love letter to the band's fans and a celebration of what they've achieved from the stomping Jeez Louise and Like It Or Not to the wistful title track. Good stuff.

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25.    PETER PERRETT - "The Cleansing"

Touted as the former Only Ones singer's final album, The Cleansing is a worthy sign off from Peter Perrett if it turns out to be his farewell. Packing a lot into its twenty tracks, the trademark sense of claustrophobia hangs heavy over this album on the likes of Secret Taliban Wife and Survival Mode but there's always a sense of optimism that seems to return on the likes of There For You and Fountain Of You. Perrett is one of the great British songwriters of the last fifty years and deserves to be acclaimed as such.

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24.    GRACE PETRIE - "Build Something Better"

Grace Petrie remains one of the most underrated songwriters in Britain today and the fact that this album came out as far under the radar as it did is a real shame. Similar to her forebear Billy Bragg, Build Something Better sees Petrie casting a cynical eye over the world we live in in 2024 on the likes of King And Country and The House Always Wins. Yet the overriding message, rather than one of hopelessness, is that we do have the capacity to try and turn this shit around no matter how forlorn things may look at times. A great album from an accomplished songwriter who deserves to be a lot better known than she is.

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23.    PIZZATRAMP - "The Last Supper"

Talk about saving the best till last. The news that Welsh thrash-punk mainstays Pizzatramp were calling it a day in 2024 was a sad occasion but in The Last Supper, they've arguably served up their best album yet. Mixing a ferociously tight thrash-punk backing with lyrics which mix vitriolic anger and a sly sense of humour as evidenced on The Last Supper's tale of a vegan cannibalising far right scumbags and the dig at some of the misogynistic neanderthals who sully the hardcore scene on Mr Slam. A triumphant final statement from a group who will be sadly missed.

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22.    GRUFF RHYS - "Sadness Sets Me Free"

An album which seemed to be conspicuously absent from a lot of end of year lists, Sadness Sets Me Free shows that former Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys remains a man with an undeniable ear for a good tune. Much more stripped back and reflective than the Furries were, Sadness Sets Me Free has a real gentleness and warmth to it married to a sadness about the impersonal nature of modern life, laid bare on the likes of They Sold My Home To Build A Skyscraper and I Tendered My Resignation. Yet, similar to Peter Perrett, there's a defiant optimism here urging you to keep believing and making this album a much needed arm around the shoulder for times when it's needed.

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21.    THE MIDDLENIGHT MEN - "Issue 2"

Another group who seem to be sadly set to slide into inactivity following financial difficulties, it'll be a real pity if Issue 2 turns out to be the final Middlenight Men album. Building on the epic rock 'n' roll dreams of their debut, the likes of The Kids We Want To Be, Best Days Of Our Lives and especially the epic closer The Longest Goodbye made this a more than worthy follow-up to their storming debut. Hopefully, Nick Hughes and co will manage to navigate their way to unleashing Issue 3 at some point - it'd be a real shame if this band's story is set to end so soon.

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Coming up tomorrow - the Top 20! We'll see you then.