{"id":1399956,"date":"2024-12-04T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-04T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1399956"},"modified":"2024-12-04T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T11:00:00","slug":"the-best-rock-albums-of-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1399956","title":{"rendered":"The Best Rock Albums of 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lists & Guides<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The 30 Best Rock Albums of 2024<\/h1>\n
<\/div>\n
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Featuring Porridge Radio, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Gouge Away, julie, Friko, the Jesus Lizard, and more<\/div>\n
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By <\/span>Madison Bloom<\/span> and Nina Corcoran<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Image by Chris Panicker<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Of all the genres we cover at Pitchfork, rock might be the most elusive. What qualifies it, exactly? If it rips and shreds, surely it must rock<\/em>. But what if it has trap beats and AutoTune, or if it ripples with wordless, ambient electronics? Who\u2019s to say what gets etched in the rock canon? We figured it was worth a shot, so we selected our 30 personal favorites from 2024. These records span smaller bands with thrilling debuts, elder statesmen who continue to reinvent themselves, and indie artists who are just hitting their stride. Below, find our top 30 rock and rockish<\/em> albums of 2024, as chosen by Pitchfork staff writers Nina Corcoran and Madison Bloom.<\/p>\n

Check out all of Pitchfork\u2019s 2024 wrap-up coverage here.<\/p>\n

(All releases featured here are independently selected by our editors. When you buy something through our retail links, however, Pitchfork may earn an affiliate commission.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"Fake<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Carpark<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

30.<\/div>\n

Fake Fruit: Mucho Mistrust<\/em><\/h2>\n

Recorded in the wake of bandleader Hannah D\u2019Amato\u2019s breakup, Mucho Mistrust<\/em>, the second album from Bay Area punk trio, is 12 thorny tracks that draw blood from creeps, narcissists, and repeat peddlers of \u201cpetty bullshit.\u201d Snarl along with D\u2019Amato on cuts like \u201cPsycho\u201d and \u201cM\u00e1s O Menos,\u201d and get lost in the tangle of gnarled bass, shrieking guitar, and the occasional skronk of a saxophone. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"High<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Dais<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

29.<\/div>\n

High Vis: Guided Tour<\/em><\/h2>\n

The latest from London five-piece High Vis might retain the class-centric subject matter of their punk pedigree, but Guided Tour<\/em> is more of a Britpop record in scope and sonic ambition. Sure, there are scrappier hardcore nods like \u201cDrop Me Out\u201d and \u201cMob DLA,\u201d but the record also features some of High Vis\u2019 most irresistible power ballads, harking back to the towering reign of Blur and Oasis. In another hat tip to \u201990s UK musical exports, High Vis laid down a trip-hop beat and sampled South London DJ and singer Ell Murphy on \u201cMind\u2019s a Lie.\u201d Murphy\u2019s silken melodies coast under Graham Sayle\u2019s coarse dispatches, while a skittering snare beat propels everything forward. It\u2019s High Vis\u2019 most innovative song to date. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Pouty<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Get Better<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

28.<\/div>\n

Pouty: Forgot About Me<\/em><\/h2>\n

Josie & the Pussycats wish they wrote an album this catchy. Former Slutever drummer-guitarist Rachel Gagliardi laces her fingers around a baseball bat and winds up to whack her target\u2014the inevitable self-doubt that comes with aging\u2014into a pulp on her debut full-length as Pouty. Delivered with the urgency and ardor of the teen girl aesthetic, Forgot About Me<\/em> is a kiss-off written with the sparkliest gel pen available and an unmissable entry in knowing what you\u2019re worth. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Helado<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

4AD<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

27.<\/div>\n

Helado Negro: Phasor<\/em><\/h2>\n

With a rotating crew of drummers and Sufjan Stevens on speed dial, Phasor<\/em> is one nonstop groove with Helado Negro at the helm. On his eighth album, he reworks hallucinogenic synths into a rhythmic swirl while under the spell of the Sal-Mar, a unique 1969 synthesizer engineered to create an infinite number of sequences. The resulting songs are limitless in their imagination, shifting through billowy melodies and themes of affection, nurturing, and bliss. By the time closer \u201cEs Una Fantasia\u201d starts up, Phasor<\/em> makes you feel like you\u2019re living in the idyllic, rejuvenating dreamscape that antidepressant commercials promise. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Porridge<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Secretly Canadian<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

26.<\/div>\n

Porridge Radio: Clouds in the Sky They Will Always Be There for Me<\/em><\/h2>\n

So long as Dana Margolin fronts the British quartet Porridge Radio, I will love their records. Margolin\u2019s voice is so ragged, so battleworn, so distinct\u2026it has the power to plunge into and puncture vital organs. The band\u2019s fourth album, Clouds in the Sky They Will Always Be There for Me<\/em>, has its fair share of gut-wrenching vocals recounting toppled relationships and creative burnout. Leaning more on \u201990s alt than the post-punk of their breakout LP Every Bad<\/em>, Porridge Radio are playing with a grander sense of space and scale, teasing out a riff or a melody until all the noise comes crashing in again. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Bella Union<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

25.<\/div>\n

Personal Trainer: Still Willing<\/em><\/h2>\n

Indie rock\u2019s high-water marks are all across Personal Trainer\u2019s second album, Still Willing<\/em>: Pavement\u2019s slacker-rock coos (\u201cRound\u201d), Vampire Weekend\u2019s chuffed storytelling (\u201cTesting the Alarm\u201d), and Spoon\u2019s bass-forward simplicity (\u201cIntangible\u201d). Yet the Amsterdam septet never sound like they\u2019re imitating their predecessors. From its seven-minute-long opener to the blissed-out mid-song pivot that turns \u201cNew Bad Feeling\u201d into a jittery frenzy, Still Willing<\/em> is ripe with casually confident songwriting that bursts with spirit and enthusiasm. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

7th Heaven<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

24.<\/div>\n

Chatterton: Fields of This<\/em><\/h2>\n

If you speed up slowcore, does it just become noisy indie rock? Consider Chatterton\u2019s Fields of This<\/em>, an exemplary case study, as the hazy slacker rock the Oxnard, California, duo of guitarist-keyboardist Brock Pierce and multi-instrumentalist Logan Scrivner dream up is brash yet diffident. From the lo-fi romance of \u201cPretty Things\u201d to the testy \u201990s emo of \u201cLakewood,\u201d Chatterton are all mood and momentum. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify<\/p>\n

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\"Blue<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

The state51 Conspiracy<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

23.<\/div>\n

Blue Bendy: So Medieval<\/em><\/h2>\n

Blue Bendy often get lumped into an ever-swelling pool with Windmill-adjacent acts like Dry Cleaning, Black Midi, or Squid. But you\u2019d be mistaken to call them post-punk, even if bandleader Arthur Nolan has the new romantic panache of early Morrissey and Prefab Sprout\u2019s Paddy McAloon. On the London six-piece\u2019s striking debut, So Medieval<\/em>, Nolan rambles and wails atop post-rock jams, knotty guitar riffs, and baroque pop flourishes. Their tight form and prickly string work bristle against Nolan\u2019s yowling, absurdist sermons, but it\u2019s all invigorating rather than exhausting. Sometimes, more is more. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Godspeed<\/span><\/div>\n
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Constellation<\/p>\n

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22.<\/div>\n

Godspeed You! Black Emperor: \u201cNO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD\u201d<\/em><\/h2>\n

Godspeed You! Black Emperor\u2019s records have long illustrated apocalyptic conditions in grayscale with a burgeoning orange light glowing bright in the distance. Though in name it\u2019s frozen in devastating loss, \u201cNO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD\u201d<\/em> spends most of its runtime injecting lifelike colors back into their unmistakable post-rock. It\u2019s as if the older they get, the more certain Godspeed are that horrors are inevitable, but so is our survival if we do our part to clear away the rubble. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Seefeel<\/span><\/div>\n
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Warp<\/p>\n

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21.<\/div>\n

Seefeel: Everything Squared<\/em><\/h2>\n

If you prefer rock music that has the sonic heft of a babbling brook, Seefeel\u2019s Everything Squared<\/em> might be more tuned to your decibel threshold. For their first record together in 13 years, Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock laid down six simmering tracks that layer decaying distortion, sticky drum pads, sonic boom bass, and vocal melodies pinched and pulled into taffy-soft tendrils. It\u2019s a soothing and transportative ride. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Cola<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Fire Talk<\/p>\n

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20.<\/div>\n

Cola: The Gloss<\/em><\/h2>\n

When former Ought members Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy rounded up drummer Evan Cartwright for the first Cola record, it felt like a faint charcoal sketch compared with the vivid colorblocking of their prior work. But you might have to blame that on the pandemic lockdown recording method\u2026swapping files back and forth on Google Drive tends to dampen the ambiance. On Cola\u2019s second album, The Gloss<\/em>, the trio found their palette, blending more approachable melodies with biting guitar, a measured rhythm section, and Darcy\u2019s hyper-specific wit. The Gloss<\/em> might feature even more<\/em> songs about buildings and food, but Darcy always manages to extract new meaning from the mundane. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Julie<\/span><\/div>\n
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Atlantic<\/p>\n

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19.<\/div>\n

julie: my anti-aircraft friend<\/em><\/h2>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel anything now,\u201d singer-bassist Alexandria Elizabeth deadpans at the start of my anti-aircraft friend<\/em>. julie lean so hard into the sound of detachment\u2014howling grunge guitar, walls of fuzzy shoegaze distortion, feverish noise-rock drumming\u2014that their nerves start to tingle from the sheer vibration alone. The trio\u2019s debut album burrows so deep in that noise over the course of its runtime that, once the emotion starts to return, it\u2019s almost hard to recognize it at all. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Gouge<\/span><\/div>\n
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Deathwish<\/p>\n

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18.<\/div>\n

Gouge Away: Deep Sage<\/em><\/h2>\n

After several moves and pandemic uncertainties, Gouge Away almost broke up following 2018\u2019s Burnt Sugar<\/em>. That might explain why the Portland-via-Fort Lauderdale post-hardcore band performs with such extemporaneous vigor on Deep Sage<\/em>, thrashing and flailing in a release of anger that trades blind rage for determined revenge. Led by vocalist Christina Michelle\u2019s hair-raising screams, Deep Sage<\/em> mangles everything in its path with thick basslines and switchblade guitars until the floor is bloodied but the air, at long last, is cleansed. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/span><\/div>\n
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Ipecac<\/p>\n

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17.<\/div>\n

The Jesus Lizard: Rack<\/em><\/h2>\n

Ultimate rock\u2019n\u2019roll motherfuckers the Jesus Lizard returned this year with Rack<\/em>, their first studio album since 1998. But fear not: you won\u2019t whiff the geriatric musk that chokes so many long-awaited comeback efforts. Rack<\/em> rips, with no shortage of dick-swinging guitar or bashed-in snares. It\u2019s as if the Jesus Lizard were cryogenically frozen in their filthy jeans and torn tees, and then resuscitated with a shot of adrenaline straight to the jugular. Frontman David Yow sounds as menacing and deranged as ever\u2014though these days, he might<\/em> be less inclined to stage dive naked. Might.<\/em> \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Robber<\/span><\/div>\n
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Self-released<\/p>\n

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16.<\/div>\n

Robber Robber: Wild Guess<\/em><\/h2>\n

Way up north in Burlington, Vermont, Robber Robber recreate the disorienting conditions of a whiteout with their soft-punk meets krautrock sound. Wild Guess<\/em>, their first full-length conjures images of drunken adventures turned alarming mysteries. Prickly in tone but delivered in a comforting perpetual motion, Robber Robber\u2019s hypnotic indie rock could make even the most proficient jam bands envious. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Font<\/span><\/div>\n
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Acrophase<\/p>\n

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15.<\/div>\n

Font: Strange Burden<\/em><\/h2>\n

Austin quintet Font played local gigs for three years before committing any songs to tape. The constant tweaking and sharpening of live material paid off; their debut album, Strange Burden<\/em>, is taut and exhilarating. Prodded by the frenzied no wave of his bandmates, frontman Thom Waddill spouts off abstract yet highly articulate passages that have a sharp comic edge. Picture David Byrne doing Mad Libs. And then a funny little dance to express what words cannot. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Amen<\/span><\/div>\n
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Sub Pop<\/p>\n

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14.<\/div>\n

Amen Dunes: Death Jokes<\/em><\/h2>\n

Of course Damon McMahon followed Freedom<\/em>\u2014his sprawling, silvery slice of Americana\u2014with an Amen Dunes album that rattles to warped lines of dialogue and clattering hip-hop beats. Death Jokes<\/em> is no less cinematic than McMahon\u2019s 2018 breakthrough, and it\u2019s certainly not lacking in his vibrato. But his use of samples lends an intriguing discomfort. Where Freedom<\/em> found McMahon straying from his noisier roots, Death Jokes<\/em> plunges back into the murk; he pairs a fist-pumping, wind-through-the-hair chorus with a delayed guitar loop and footwork hi-hats. He\u2019ll compress and warble his voice beyond recognition, toss in J Dilla keys, crank the distortion, and pur\u00e9e it in the blender. The rippling, soft-hued melodies that emerge from the discord feel all the more vital. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Sumac<\/span><\/div>\n
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Thrill Jockey<\/p>\n

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13.<\/div>\n

Sumac: The Healer<\/em><\/h2>\n

Imagine waking up in a sensory deprivation tank and calmly trying to break out, piece by piece, before the air runs out. Over four songs that span the length of a feature film, Sumac turn The Healer<\/em> into a beguiling feat of experimental metal that\u2019s at once cleansing and terrifying. A decade into their career together, singer-guitarist Aaron Turner, bassist Brian Cook, and drummer Nick Yacyshyn fuse their playing into an astounding beast hell-bent on escaping. Each hollow note and rattling string feels like you\u2019re one step closer to getting out, even if you don\u2019t know where \u201cout\u201d is. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Arab<\/span><\/div>\n
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Rock Action<\/p>\n

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12.<\/div>\n

Arab Strap: I\u2019m totally fine with it \ud83d\udc4d don\u2019t give a fuck anymore \ud83d\udc4d<\/em><\/h2>\n

Pop a Kolonopin and sink between the couch cushions for the duration of Arab Strap\u2019s brilliantly titled album, I\u2019m totally fine with it \ud83d\udc4d don\u2019t give a fuck anymore \ud83d\udc4d<\/em>. Sad bastard Scotsmen Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton are back with 45 minutes of dour rock, subdued electronics, and deadpan poetry recounting the bleary-eyed desperation of a life squandered online. \u201cWhen will I be cured of this crippling fucking fomo?\u201d Moffat asks on the wryly titled \u201cSociometer Blues.\u201d You might as well stay on the sofa while you wait for the answer. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Shellac<\/span><\/div>\n
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Touch and Go<\/p>\n

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11.<\/div>\n

Shellac: To All Trains<\/em><\/h2>\n

The only comforting part of To All Trains<\/em> being Shellac\u2019s last album is that it sounds exactly like Shellac always does. Released mere days after the irreplaceable Steve Albini died, To All Trains<\/em> takes pride in the band\u2019s surliness, the abrasive tone of its guitar, the sheer volume with which the drums are hit, yet none of these songs are concerned with legacy or impressions. The trio\u2019s sixth record is charmingly irritable in both of its moods: hopped up on fluffy coffee while cracking baseball jokes, or dragging out downbeats and lamenting power structures to goad listeners with mounting anticipation. Shellac tear through these songs like three lifelong friends\u2014this time it ends with Albini confirming in his gruff bellow, \u201cI don\u2019t fear hell.\u201d \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Nick<\/span><\/div>\n
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PIAS<\/p>\n

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10.<\/div>\n

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Wild God<\/em><\/h2>\n

Is Wild God<\/em> really a rock album? Only when kissed with some modifier: rock-opera, gospel rock, or even \u201csymphonic space rock,\u201d as Stuart Berman\u2019s Pitchfork review posited. Whatever you want to call it, Wild God<\/em> finds Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds wriggling free from the stranglehold of grief and floating up to rest on pastel, pearly clouds. They\u2019re not dead, just taking in the breadth of humanity beneath them\u2014the sorrow and<\/em> the joy. Cave\u2019s earthy groan is a bellowing contrast to the cosmic orchestral swells that swirl around him. He sounds weary but lifted. Like a preacher piecing together his once-shattered faith. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Exploding in Sound<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

9.<\/div>\n

Thirdface: Ministerial Cafeteria<\/em><\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t bother trying to keep up with Thirdface. The Nashville four-piece is so blitzed on their own concoction of grindcore, punk, death metal, and math rock that trying to follow the mutilated beats of Ministerial Cafeteria<\/em> will only make you dizzy. Instead, marvel at the chaos as it splinters: vocalist Kathryn Edwards\u2019 sneering reinterpretation of horror film allegories, guitarist David Reichley\u2019s adroit layering of techniques on \u201cBeneviolent,\u201d or how bassist Maddy Madeira and drummer Shibby Poole navigate the near-constant change-ups of \u201cMantras\u201d together. Ministerial Cafeteria<\/em> is meant to overwhelm. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Where<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

ATO<\/p>\n

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8.<\/div>\n

Friko: Where We\u2019ve Been, Where We Go From Here<\/em><\/h2>\n

Back when Bright Eyes signed to Saddle Creek, Friko singer-guitarist Niko Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger weren\u2019t even born yet. Though the Chicago duo\u2019s heart-on-sleeve take on indie rock owes a great deal to that band\u2019s baroque pop and piano balladry\u2014plus, intentionally or not, Kapetan sings with the same affected warble as Conor Oberst\u2014they forge onward with a distinct romanticism that verges on optimism. Where We\u2019ve Been, Where We Go From Here<\/em> is a bold full-length from a band that knows exactly who it wants to be and what they\u2019re capable of. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"MJ<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Anti-<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

7.<\/div>\n

MJ Lenderman: Manning Fireworks<\/em><\/h2>\n

Thank god for MJ Lenderman\u2019s twanged-out, hangdog drawl. Without it, his faded snapshots of Americana and pathetic machismo might just make you cry. \u201cWe sat\/Under a half-mast McDonald\u2019s Flag,\u201d he sings on Manning Fireworks<\/em> breakup ballad \u201cYou Don\u2019t Know the Shape I\u2019m In,\u201d one of the saddest, yet instantly recognizable scenes in Lenderman\u2019s growing stack of SadSack trading cards. His deck is full of drunk fucks, depressed service workers, and pitiful bachelors. A worthy torchbearer of Southern rock, Lenderman\u2019s songs possess the wry wisdom of great country music: That a man\u2019s \u201cmanliest\u201d exploits can raze him to nothing over time. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Meritorio<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

6.<\/div>\n

Dancer: 10 Songs I Hate About You<\/em><\/h2>\n

Few bands have come closer to sounding like cult favorites Life Without Buildings than Dancer, but the Glasgow art-rock band wasn\u2019t even trying to do so when they wrote 10 Songs I Hate About You<\/em>; Dancer singer Gemma Fleet just happens to hail from the same Bedfordshire county of England as Sue Tompkins. With her punchy vocal delivery, Fleet lights up her bandmates\u2019 mathy post-punk and charmingly imperfect synths with stories about costume contests, downtrodden characters, and clinging to perseverance. It culminates in a record that epitomizes DIY: wrangling together friends for fun, encouraging each other to bring their weirdest ideas to the table, and seeing how you can pull it off with spunk. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Bandcamp<\/p>\n

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\"Kim<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Matador<\/p>\n

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5.<\/div>\n

Kim Gordon: The Collective<\/em><\/h2>\n

If only we all had Kim Gordon\u2019s alchemical touch, the one that can turn the lamest of subjects into solid gold. Making a to-do list, scrolling dead-eyed through your feed, even checking emails would suddenly feel oh-so-cool. But forget it: We\u2019ll never be as fucking cool as Kim Gordon. Fortunately, The Collective<\/em> functions as a temporary Badass Filter we can all hide behind for at least 40 minutes. With the aid of avant-pop producer Justin Raisen, Gordon\u2019s unsettling speech fragments\u2014that vamp on the relentless nature of technology and consumerism\u2014float just above a froth of trap beats and industrial clamor. On a record that flirts with both no wave dissonance and SoundCloud rap production, Gordon has once again reshaped the rock landscape. Ugh. She can even pull off AutoTune. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

A-ZAP<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

4.<\/div>\n

Melt-Banana: 3+5<\/em><\/h2>\n

Over 30 years into their career, Melt-Banana still love pushing Japanese noise rock off a cliff. On 3+5<\/em>, their ninth album and first in more than a decade, Yasuko Onuki and Ichiro Agata inject pure adrenaline into their shrill guitar slides, maniacal drumming, and pitch-shifted vocals so piercing that they verge on inhuman. It\u2019s hard to fathom that just two people fire out this many notes at the speed they do, but Melt-Banana thrive on this type of hyperactive flurry. From the cheeky anticipation bubbling over in \u201cCode\u201d to the headbang-worthy punk of \u201cHex,\u201d 3+5<\/em> is a testament to the duo\u2019s infectious creativity and refusal to cede to time as they enter middle age. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Mannequin<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Epitaph<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

3.<\/div>\n

Mannequin Pussy: I Got Heaven<\/em><\/h2>\n

Following the unhinged heartbreak of their 2019 album Patience<\/em>, Mannequin Pussy came back this year with a primal, downright horny<\/em> record that mimics the rapture and anguish of desire. The range of emotions on I Got Heaven<\/em> emerge as alternating blows of punishing hardcore, dream-pop hooks, and scuzzed-out stadium guitar riffs\u2014but their style never sounds incongruous. The richness of this album is partially indebted to producer John Congleton, who encouraged the quartet to record several parts live, while capturing studio banter and sticking it around the perimeter of cuts like \u201cSometimes\u201d and the title track. Rattling with energy, I Got Heaven<\/em> finds Mannequin Pussy mastering modern punk and penning sticky pop licks with equal fluency. It\u2019s also the sound of a band reaching into their guts and laying it all on the mixing table. \u2014Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Dame<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Mannequin Records<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

2.<\/div>\n

Dame Area: Toda la verdad sobre Dame Area<\/em><\/h2>\n

Dame Area, the synth-punk duo of vocalist Silvia Konstance and producer Viktor Lux Crux, have been smashing and rebuilding their sound since they formed in Barcelona\u2019s underground scene over seven years ago. After experimenting with EBM beats and glossy electro-pop, the pair took a sharp turn, burning rubber on their way to the junk yard. Their latest album, Toda la verdad sobre Dame Area<\/em>, sounds welded together from sharp remnants of the scrap heap; it hints at the industrial hellscapes of Throbbing Gristle, and the punk nihilism of Suicide. But among the gnawing synths and blast-beats, Dame Area splice in a digitized string swell here, a bracing Flamenco rhythm there. For Konstance and Lux Crux, any genre or motif can be retooled into a jagged new shape. \u2013Madison Bloom<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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\"Ekko<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Topshelf<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

1.<\/div>\n

Ekko Astral: pink balloons<\/em><\/h2>\n

With their debut full-length, Ekko Astral carry on the legacy of D.C. punk bands past like Fugazi and Black Eyes like a torch flickering with the collective struggles of those around them. Written with intent and momentum, both musical and liberatory, pink balloons<\/em> rips through snarling punk and eerie experimentalism to forge a better world. While Ekko Astral are deadly serious about the life-threatening realities that trans people experience and how capitalism still manipulates those very people railing against it, they\u2019re also really<\/em> funny, whether quoting School of Rock<\/em> and Kreayshawn or blasting people who raise hell to get their seven dollar coffee drinks refunded. It\u2019s a radically fun combination. From start to end, Pink Balloons<\/em> is so textured, audacious, and fully realized that you\u2019d be forgiven for forgetting it\u2019s their first album. \u2013Nina Corcoran<\/p>\n

Listen\/Buy:<\/strong> Rough Trade | Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal<\/p>\n

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Listen to the Best Rock Albums of 2024 on our Spotify and Apple Music playlists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

Source URL: http:\/\/pitchfork.com\/features\/lists-and-guides\/best-rock-albums-2024\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lists & Guides The 30 Best Rock Albums of 2024 Featuring Porridge Radio, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Gouge Away, julie, Friko, the Jesus Lizard, and more By Madison Bloom and Nina Corcoran December 4, 2024 Image by Chris Panicker Of all the genres we cover at Pitchfork, rock might be the most elusive. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-1399956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-pitchfork-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1399956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1399956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1399956\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1399956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1399956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1399956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}