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Evidence Music 16.12.2022 ℗© 2022 Evidence Music

Kind of getting the community started here, so forgive the length of the post. Please feel free to comment about your favorite releases on your own terms.

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In no particular order, here are some album releases from the first two months of 2024 that I think have been fantastic.

Willi Carlisle – Critterland

I frequently find myself chuckling on Carlisle's collection of country tracks about things like the death of his father and his lover falling victim to the opioid crisis. The lyrics evokes David Sedaris's writing: some things are said (sang) in jest, other times it's off-beat takes on serious matters and sometimes it's just clever turns of phrases that thoughtfully capture the various modalities of life, good and bad. The music itself is true to the genre rather than particularly inventive, but the music and lyrics are in a happy marriage. For anybody liking this album I can really recommend his previous album "Peculiar, Missouri". I also found his personal essay on his music and life on No Depression kind of endearing.

Friko – Where we've been, Where we go from here

The band bills itself as a "new addition to Chicago's long lineage of forward-thinking indie rock" and cites classical composers like Chopin. To my mind, that description is completely irrelevant to why Friko's debut album is a great one. Rather than forward-thinking the sound is somewhat timeless, if not 2000's retro sounding. The heart on sleeve themes about the angst involved in living in the 2020's, sung in simple and catchy melodies and accompanied by a noisy rock ensemble is just what the doctor ordered for me. "Statutes" and "Get Numb to It!" are stand-out tracks for anyone who wants to dip their toes.

Glass Beach – Plastic Death

There are probably more sophisticated ways to describe what's happening over the course of Plastic Death, but for brevity: it's a lot. People seem to be disagreeing on what genre to put Glass Beach in. Suggestions range from math rock, emo and fusion to "theater kid music". But don't let the occasional changes of time signatures and heavy guitar riffs fool you. This is indie pop with catchy melodies and strong arrangements. "Comatose" is a standout track on the album.

Tapir! – The Pilgrim, Their God and the King of My Decrepit Mountain

This three act (and supposedly three disc on physical release) album is a pleasure to listen to from start to finish. Not only is the narrative cohesion contributing to a forward momentum between songs that makes you want to keep listening to the next track, the melodies are beautiful. Standout tracks to me include "Broken Ark" and "Untitled".

Honorable mentions

I'm getting tired of myself already and sure you are too (if you made it this far). So here are a few additional items for the list that I apparently couldn't be arsed to go into any detail on:

Everything Everything – Mountainhead

(very promising, haven't listened to it enough times yet though)

The Smile – Wall of Eyes

(duh)

Idles – Tangk

(many strong tracks on this one, but I'm still not decided on how much I like it)

Brittany Howard – What Now

(worth a listen, but uneven)