NEW YORK (AP) — Ten of the highest albums of the yr, as chosen by Related Press Music Author Maria Sherman.
“Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé
She rode in on a white horse, in patriotic chaps and wielding an American flag. She declared, this “ain’t a Country album” however “a ‘Beyoncé’ album” — positioning herself in opposition to the style’s inflexible energy constructions. And but, she made the yr’s finest nation (after which some) launch: Beyoncé’s “Act ll: Cowboy Carter,” a 78-minute, 27-track masterclass in inherited and uncelebrated histories, pulling from the Black and brown performers on the core of nation’s canon, and offering visibility to oft-overlooked progenitors. It’s heard within the inclusion of Linda Martell, the primary Black lady to play the Grand Ole Opry. And it’s heard in Beyoncé’s pure twang, a return to kind for the Texas native — at instances, a vibrato that pulls straight from the earth. It could solely be 2024, nevertheless it’s exhausting to think about this report not being thought of one of many decade’s finest.
“BRAT,” Charli XCX
It wasn’t simply brat summer season, babes, however a brat motion: English singer-songwriter Charli XCX’s sixth album altered the language of 2024. The music oscillates between hedonism and nervousness — “the euphoria of a late night on the dancefloor and the creeping disquietude of the morning after,” because the AP reviewed it — but additionally manages to deliver the underground’s pop queen into the mainstream with out compromising her imaginative and prescient. There was a interval the place Charli XCX’s collaborations with the future-seeking PC Music collective and producer A .G. Prepare dinner appeared too progressive for on a regular basis ears. However “Brat,” and its vomit-chartreuse iconography, resonated. Listeners had been able to return to the rave — or attend for the very first time — and dance-pop music is much extra attention-grabbing for it.
“Alligator Bites Never Heal,” Doechii
When alligators kill, they do what is named a “death roll”: They sink their enamel into their prey and spin quickly, flipping their our bodies out and in of the water, drowning, disorienting and dismembering no matter was unfortunate sufficient to get in its manner. Florida rapper Doechii’s breakout mixtape, “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” embodies that form of depth — not in aggression, per se, however in acuity — for a flexible album that teeters from the romance of her clean R&B and the particularity of her flows. Single “Boom Bap” made her greatness recognized. Tracks like “Catfish” affirm it.
“Manning Fireworks,” MJ Lenderman
Final yr, AP named “Rat Saw God,” the album from Asheville alt-country indie rockers Wednesday, as one among 2023’s finest. The band options MJ Lenderman, whose “Manning Fireworks” is nearly frustratingly addictive. It is a report of hilariously evocative moments from pathetic folks (or is it pathetic moments from hilariously evocative folks?) atop purposeful, straightforward slacker rock melodies. From there, it is a kaleidoscope of good lyrical quick tales. (An oft-quoted favourite of his cult following? “Kahlúa shooter / DUI scooter” from “Joker Lips.”) For followers of other music, it’s a direct traditional. We’d recommend inserting “Manning Fireworks” subsequent to Pavement in your report shelf, nevertheless it’s unlikely to go away your turntable.
“Orquídeas,” Kali Uchis
When Amy Winehouse first emerged, she was celebrated for being a once-in-a-generation voice, an previous soul in a contemporary world — not overly sentimental or caught, however an artist keen to speak with the previous to make artwork sooner or later. In some ways, the identical could be stated about Kali Uchis and her 2024 album, “Orquídeas.” Her superpower is her syrupy voice, which feels in time and out of it — classically and effortlessly smoothing over and disrupting her lush sonic worlds. If 2024 is about fluidity — of style, language, love, loss and divination — Uchis offers a roadmap from restrained reggaeton to alt-R&B.
“GNX,” Kendrick Lamar
The vacations arrived early this yr when Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar shock launched “GNX” in late November. It is his first album since 2022’s “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” — and maybe extra tellingly, his first since his victory lap over Drake of their just lately reignited beef that impressed one of many yr’s finest songs, “Not Like Us.” In full, “GNX” builds off the promise of his blockbuster single — West Coast hip-hop showboating from one of many best dwelling rappers anyplace. However it’s Lamar’s efficiency that makes this one of many yr’s finest. Because the AP reviewed, it’s his easy potential to “switch cadences and lyrical perspectives mid-song” and seemingly limitless breath management that stand out.
“Hit Me Hard and Soft,” Billie Eilish
It usually looks as if there isn’t any report Billie Eilish can’t break, no accomplishment she can not summit. So the place was she to go, at simply 22, along with her third studio album? Up, because it seems. “Hit Me Hard and Soft” is a 10-track testomony to her personal ambition. It fuses insights pulled from her first two information — the gothic humor and weird manufacturing of her first report and the classist detours of her second — however wizened. There are the fan favorites of “Lunch” and “Birds of a Feather,” but additionally standouts like “Chihiro,” with its delicate promise and techno-house crescendo at its coda. Nobody is doing it like her.
“Two Star & The Dream Police,” Mk.gee
Upon first pay attention, if New Jersey guitar virtuoso Mk.gee confounds, don’t worry. He’s a 2024 success story who emerged totally shaped and utterly uncommon, solely to make followers of everybody from Justin Bieber to Eric Clapton — and their affect is heard all through “Two Star & The Dream Police.” The report is gauzy, ripe for a “lo-fi music to study to” playlist, but additionally instructions consideration for its spaced-out manufacturing and glowing pop, all reliant on the malleability of his guitar compositions. These vary from sticky staccato to a form of soulful ’80s melodicism.
“The Past Is Still Alive,” Hurray for the Riff Raff
Hurray for the Riff Raff, the musical moniker of Alynda Segarra, has lengthy studied Americana, blues, and folks punk, perfecting their craft with every new launch. On the narrative “The Past Is Still Alive,” their eighth studio album, Segarra pulls from their background as a hitchhiker, prepare hopper and outsider artist to doc the form of life-altering adventures — ugly and rejuvenating — that may solely occur removed from residence. It’s an attractive portrayal of the U.S. — all large skies, starry nights and idiosyncratic folks — in addition to dumpster diving, shoplifting, dependancy, politics, queer bars and poetry. In a phrase: America.
“Phasor,” Helado Negro
Almost a decade in the past, Helado Negro — the bilingual musical venture of Roberto Carlos Lange — launched the only “Young, Latin and Proud,” a celebratory exploration of Latino id that turned a rallying cry for indie youngsters with related heritage. It doubles as a form of framework during which to consider all of his artwork, particularly, the creative, breezy, sluggish synths of “Phasor.” The album, recorded in English and Spanish, makes use of digital sounds to specific inspirations pulled from nature. It is a wide-ranging launch, effervescent and bold, straightforward to hearken to and pleasure to dissect.
