Rick Larson: We are in the ‘catching up on all the albums we missed the first time’ season. In March, Shalom, an artist raised in South Africa and recently graduated from Rutgers University, put out an album called Sublimation. A song on there called ‘Happenstance’ is the year’s feel- good hit of youthful awkwardness and anxiety. It should have been/should be a hit.
In August, Chicago band Ratboys came out with a very good album, The Window. Were you caught up in boygenius fervor, and still have a rootsy jones that can’t be sated? You’ll enjoy this. I like this band much better than that acclaimed trio. Big sound, hooks galore. ‘Making Noise for the Ones You Love’, ‘Crossed the Line’ and ‘Empty’ are topnotch songcraft. Everything on here is worthwhile.
Sam Atkins: It has been a relatively quiet Q4 for big music releases, so I’ve found myself diving into old favourites and my usual fallback soundtracks this month. The recent Metal Gear Solid collection has sent me back to fantastic scores by Harry Gregson Williams, Nobuko Toda and Norihiko Hibino.
The one new release that did stick with me though was the ‘debut if you don’t count that weird 16 minute mixtape’ album by PinkPantheress. Her music has been inescapable over the last few years, but Heaven Knows feels like the first fully realised piece of work we’ve had from her yet. Records like ‘Nice To Meet You’, ‘Blue’ and ‘True Romance’ feel much weightier and purposeful than her previous viral hits. A brilliant way to properly kick off her career.
Will Collins: The best thing I heard this month was The Weight of the Mask, the new record from Svalbard. It was released back in early October, but as the parent of a newborn I’m not getting to new releases in a timely fashion these days! It continues in the vein of their earlier work, a beautiful but crushing blend of black metal, shoegaze and noise. At points anthemic, soaring and almost overwhelming in its wall of sound approach, at other times delicate and intimate; it is the work of a band pushing the boundaries of what ‘heavy’ music can be. I have loved turning it up loud on my headphones and getting lost in it on my dark, wintery walks to and from work. There’s something almost primal and ritualistic in it as a listening experience. It may not have been on many people’s radar, but it should have been!
Fran Slater: I’m fairly certain that this was chosen by at least one of my fellow Picky Bastards in the October version of this article, but I have to give an additional shoutout to Am I British Yet? by V V Brown. This is a stark consideration of the situation for Black Britons which takes in a variety of themes, musical styles, and delivery styles – it’s subject matter is upsetting, but it is addressed with humour, fun, and honesty at different turns. I may have been late to listen to it, but it has staked a claim for a place in my Top Ten albums of the year. Like a less pretentious Sault.
James Spearing: It’s the time of year for list writing. No, not to Father Christmas, but a ranking of albums of the year of course. If you’re anything like me your inbox will already be full of different record shops and publications declaring their top 10s, 20s or even 100s. In preparation for a far less organised register of my own favourites, I went back to check on some of this year’s albums that I remember liking, but never came back to. Chief among these was Silver from Say She She. The LP and tickets so their March 2024 tour were purchased promptly after returning to listen to the album again. Highlights including ‘C’est Si Bon’ and ‘Bleeding Heart’ left me questioning my ability to listen to stuff properly the first time round. Maybe there’s a lesson there to reflect on come the next opportunity to write a list. It will be top of my resolutions in the new year.
Also, when I interviewed Holysseus Fly back in September, she told me she was planning her Wembley show now. After seeing her at a charmingly local gig in the south Manchester suburbs (where most of the audience were sat down), I can confirm she was correct. Get her into some bigger venues right away, and make sure you’re there to see it.
Tom Burrows: People don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it. Yes, this is a quote from a TED talk, but no, this is not LinkedIn. I mention it here because it’s also a truism for great art. And this highly pretentious intro is all for me to say: hurray for André 3000. Why do we love him as one of the greatest rappers? Because he’s a great artist. New Blue Sun, his instrumental album surprise-released in November, is actually good. And the reason is the same as the reason the Outkast albums are such classics. I’ve got more to say on this but I’ll save it for an article.
In other new release news, Danny Brown never misses. Quaranta is by some distance his most low-key album, but it feels appropriate given the subject matter. “Why am I still doing this?” is the theme of a pessimistic record, but it doesn’t stop him from doing it incredibly well. This is particularly highlighted on the gentrification-dissing ‘Jenn’s Terrific Vacation’ (get it?) and MIKE-featuring ‘Celibate’ – a song teased on Twitter way back on 2020 which delivers on its full release.
And finally for this month, I’ve just about given up on trying to catch up on the dozens of albums I’ve missed this year, but just in time I’ve fully clicked with Youth Lagoon‘s Heaven Is A Junkyard. Its sound palette driven by piano and electronic instruments is really quietly effective.
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