Albums etc. of 2024
Dec. 25th, 2024 06:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adevyishI spent a lot more time this year revisiting albums from last year and previous than listening to new stuff. The lack of pressure was nice? Nonetheless, I did find some new LPs & EPs to like (slash hyperfocus on) this year.
First up: honourable mentions.
羊文学 / 12 hugs (like butterflies)
I somehow missed this album coming out last year but spent a lot of time listening it to this year (along with odol’s Distances also from last year).
Now for the list proper.
Homecomings / see you, frail angel. sea adore you.
The title of this album suggests its theme: hopeful, dreamy shoegaze. see you starts off with more mainstream pop rock. Not to say it isn’t excellent: “Moon Shaped” is my favourite song this year, weaving anticipation of both the good and bad through its chords and melodies. It does delve into grungier sounds in “blue poetry” and “ghostpia”.
yonige / Empire
A solid post-punk album, exhibited in tracks like “DRIVE” and “デウス・エクス・マキナ”. From there Empire takes occasional detours into pop-rock (“愛しあって”), dream pop (“Club Night”), and punk (“Exorcist”).
BATROICA METAL SUMMER JACKET / EYES (EP)
A tight EP of unforgiving industry. “ハイウェイスター” kicks off with techno pop eerily reminiscent of early Sakanaction, but “シュガーロス” and “光る音楽” delves into the band members’ dark pop and punk pasts.
Nemahsis / Verbathim
Great indie pop album in the Canadian tradition. The lyrics are personal and vivid (“Stick of Gum”); the music everyday yet transcendent (“coloured concrete”). It’s in mostly pared down tracks where Nemahsis experiments with unusual chords (“Spinning Plates”) and rhythms (“fine print”), although she weaves heavier details into songs like “delusion” and “dead giveaway”. My only complaint is some of the songs are too short.
Group2 / Group2 X
A multitude of influences make themselves known on Group2 X, from math rock (“回”) to jazz (“Ordinary”), from beach rock (“SMC”) to psychedelic rock (“Milch!”). Despite all this, there is a very clear musical through-line, showcased in melting pots like “Syndrome”.
パソコン音楽クラブ / Love Flutter
Compared to their previous album FINE LINE, this is more electronic than pop. At times it feels like some songs should be set to autogenerated VFX flyovers; other songs bring the latest of the club scene Pasocom Music Club calls home. It’s the more emotional songs like “Child Replay” that make this album stand out.
TEMPLIME / EMPT MILE
TEMPLIME’s first album dives straight into the fun electropop with lots of catchy glitchy bits. The album is full of features, though the producer half of TEMPLIME also makes a vocal appearance on pop-rock-inspired track “EMPT MILE” as KBSNK. Then, in an unusual departure for TEMPLIME, they turn to drum ’n’ bass to explore deeper emotions (“MOON”).
kinoue64 / 放課後
This is one of three kinoue64 L/EPs this year. I picked this release because its theme of “after school” provides a selection of evocative motifs for kinoue64 to choose from.
downt / Underlight & Aftertime
This album is all about aural landscapes, from ambient folk (“8/31(Yda011)”) to metal (“煉獄ex”) to shoegaze (“AM4:50”). Poppier songs include “Whale”, “mizu ni naru”, and “111511”.
cali≠gari / 17
Meatier than a lot of their recent albums. Still distinctly cali≠gari, 17 differentiates itself from their previous output by digging from influences that surround cali≠gari, from 90s visual kei (“恣”) to neo new wave (“化ヶ楽ッ多”). Also I appreciate a new entry to cali≠gari’s Tokyo nightlife series in “東京アーバン夜光虫”.
As usual, the extras:
