Best Album Releases So Far In 2024

[runciblemoon]

Nice to have put the cat among the proverbial pigeons and provoke a little discussion (which was my intent, truth be told). I'll quickly leave my thoughts in relation to the albums mentioned to "show my working" a bit:

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - of the Last Human Being
I wish I knew why this band never clicked for me, as I love Idiot Flesh. But none of their three original albums quite resonated with me as I felt they should so I have been hesitant to give this one ago. Mind you, that was a long time ago. I probably do owe it a spin or two.

Plantoid - Terrapath
Pretty sure I was the first person to mention it on this forum! Definitely a highlight, and the closest to something that's felt fresh and new to me this year. But I feel like it's in the "promising debut" camp rather than a start-to-finish banger. Very excited to see where they go from here.

IZZ - Collapse the Wave
This didn't grab me after two spins. I've dipped a toe into a couple of their previous albums and it's always felt a bit in-one-ear-out-the-other. That's probably unfair. Maybe spin 3 will do the trick.

Avalanche Kaito - Talitakum
New to me. That's going on tomorrow's to do list.

Present - this is NOT the end
I keep forgetting this is out. I've not heard it yet because it's not available to stream on Bandcamp or the dreaded Spotify. No excuse, really. I'll pony up for it when payday rolls around.

Tom Penaguin - s/t
This is a very good album, no question, but as with Zopp's debut it's so precise in its evocation of the classic Canterbury sound that it feels almost like an exercise in historical re-enactment. Zopp mixed things up a bit and brought in some more contemporary influences for their second album so I'm hoping Tom P can do the same.

I guess what I'm driving at is that, compared to recent years I just haven't found "that one album" yet. 2021 gave me Shamblemaths 2, 2022 had Toehider's I Have Little to No Memory of these Memories, 2023 had Prima Materia by Agusa, Lars Fredrik Frøislie's solo album, The Chronicles of Father Robin and Sonar and David Torn's Three Movements (their best, IMO). I've heard a lot of music that's impressed me this year, but none that have electrified me.

As you all say, this is of course 100% subjective. I do not believe that any art can be "objectively" good or bad. But my experience of 2024 thus far has just felt comparatively underwhelming. Still, as I say, we still have a few months to go yet...

[Sputnik]

Tom Penaguin - s/t
This is a very good album, no question, but as with Zopp's debut it's so precise in its evocation of the classic Canterbury sound that it feels almost like an exercise in historical re-enactment. Zopp mixed things up a bit and brought in some more contemporary influences for their second album so I'm hoping Tom P can do the same.

Yeah, I'd agree that originality is perhaps this album's Achilles heel. I just think the compositions are so wonderful and catchy that it sort of transcends being merely a clone. But, that's just me.

Nothing else this year has grabbed me like this record, but I'm digging the new Aurora Clara quite a bit, as well as the Luz De Raida. We'll see what the rest of the year brings

Bill



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[Marco]

One rather not original but absolutely mind blowing one-man-band record that came out this year is Klark Sound's What is Music.

Think early Steely Dan meets Dungen, and you're halfway there.

[boilk]

Nice to have put the cat among the proverbial pigeons and provoke a little discussion (which was my intent, truth be told). I'll quickly leave my thoughts in relation to the albums mentioned to "show my working" a bit:

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - of the Last Human Being
I wish I knew why this band never clicked for me, as I love Idiot Flesh. But none of their three original albums quite resonated with me as I felt they should so I have been hesitant to give this one ago. Mind you, that was a long time ago. I probably do owe it a spin or two.

Plantoid - Terrapath
Pretty sure I was the first person to mention it on this forum! Definitely a highlight, and the closest to something that's felt fresh and new to me this year. But I feel like it's in the "promising debut" camp rather than a start-to-finish banger. Very excited to see where they go from here.

That's right! You were the one that turned me on to Plantoid in the first place. I've come to think that it is really solid from beginning to end. If the next one is even better, I'll be very happy.

As to Sleepytime, all I can tell you is that the new one is, for me at least, their most consistent from beginning to end.

Neil

[Hobo Chang Ba]

It's all a matter of taste, and as mentioned, one's definition of Prog. I personally think the Tom Penaguin album is pretty great. If it had been released in the 70s, I think it would be heralded as a Canterbury masterpiece.

In general, I find very few, if any, truly great albums in a given year. Most of those I like best I classify in my mind as "pretty good" or "very good" as opposed to "great." This year doesn't seem substantially different to me than most years in this regard. For me, pickings have been a touch slim, but lots of stuff comes out later in the year, so I'm not jumping to any conclusions just yet.

Bill

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Yeah, I'd agree. Most years if there is one five star album that's a great year. I'd usually be satisfied if there is a nice swath of very good to great, which is generally how I judge the year overall. I would also agree with Mr. Moon that there isn't one album standing out above the crowd for me at this point but ovearll I would say this year has been pretty successful.

That said, it is really still too early for me to be thinking about this, especially has there are still several albums that are coming out that I am excited to hear. So I reserve the right to refute all the things I just said in four months time.

[Steve F.]

Tom Penaguin - s/t
This is a very good album, no question, but as with Zopp's debut it's so precise in its evocation of the classic Canterbury sound that it feels almost like an exercise in historical re-enactment. Zopp mixed things up a bit and brought in some more contemporary influences for their second album so I'm hoping Tom P can do the same

It’s a great album and it’s also an extremely derivative album.

His heart and chops and list of instruments is in the right place, but he is shooting fish in a barrel, if you are a fan of that sound. IMO.

[NogbadTheBad]

It’s a great album and it’s also an extremely derivative album.

His heart and chops and list of instruments is in the right place, but he is shooting fish in a barrel, if you are a fan of that sound. IMO.

I am that fish in that barrel

[Steve F.]

I am that fish in that barrel

Well, I am as well, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t realize that I am being shot at / pampered to….

[Sputnik]

Well, I am as well, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t realize that I am being shot at / pampered to….

My guess is that Penaguin did this album more as a labor of love than really targeting some specific audience. It's true, there are a lot of Canterbury fans, so in that sense I think he could count on a certain amount of sales, though I'm not really clear how well this album is selling. It actually seems to be a bit of a sleeper release to me.

I just think his approach to this album was more about his own obsession with the Canterbury sound. He may have even known he'd get demerits from some for being so derivative, but he did it anyway, because this was what he wanted.

What also sometimes gets lost in the cases of these highly derivative albums is some really great songwriting. Derivative or not, I think he really nailed it on a lot of the writing on this record, which often has the sound of Egg or Hatfield or some such but not necessarily their specific approach. Despite the familiar paradigm, this album feels really fresh and fun to me. I just love spinning it, and that to me is the ultimate measure of a great record, but that's just my opinion. I tend not to be as demanding of literal progression in my Progressive Rock.

Bill

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[Steve F.]

I don’t disagree with you, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t have honest reflection on what it is and my being predisposed to respond positively to something that sounds like this.

Timing is not something to be completely ignored, imo; if it were released in 1974, it would still be derivative, just as Supersister were derivative, but it would also be contemporary sounding.

Released in 2024, it is purposefully looking back and sounding like 50 years ago. I already said that I enjoyed it; but I can’t pretend that it doesn’t strike me this way.

[Sputnik]

I don’t disagree with you, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t have honest reflection on what it is and my being predisposed to respond positively to something that sounds like this.

Timing is not something to be completely ignored, imo; if it were released in 1974, it would still derivative, but it would also be contemporary sounding.

Released in 2024, it is purposefully looking back 50 years. I already said that I enjoyed it; but I can’t pretend that it doesn’t strike me how it strikes me.

Of course. I was just thinking about it more from Penaguin's perspective and what his intent might have been.

Having made a couple of fairly derivative albums myself, I know I did it more as a labor of love than a mercenary attempt to garner favor with the Prog crowd. I hoped people would like it, but I really did it for myself more than anything. I suspect something similar is going on with Penaguin.

I can certainly understand feeling somewhat targeted. I'm just not certain that's what was really happening here. That's what I was trying to say... plus some other stuff about the music still being kind of cool. [emoji41]

Bill

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[runciblemoon]

Avalanche Kaito - I've given this a listen now, and it's definitely one of the most interesting albums I've heard this year. The fusion of avant-rock and traditional non-western folk performance techniques is I suppose a similar formula to PoiL Ueda, though not quite as complex or sonically diverse as that project (and obviously a different beast as it's pulling from a completely different tradition). I bet they're absolutely killer in a live setting.

[NogbadTheBad]

That's a great album

[thedunno]

Avalanche Kaito - I've given this a listen now, and it's definitely one of the most interesting albums I've heard this year. The fusion of avant-rock and traditional non-western folk performance techniques is I suppose a similar formula to PoiL Ueda, though not quite as complex or sonically diverse as that project (and obviously a different beast as it's pulling from a completely different tradition). I bet they're absolutely killer in a live setting.

This took a few plays to land with me but now I love it. One of the rare records that actually adds something different to my collection. Crossovers between afrobeat and western rock/pop have been made before but none sound quite like this one.

[runciblemoon]

IZZ - Collapse the Wave
This didn't grab me after two spins. I've dipped a toe into a couple of their previous albums and it's always felt a bit in-one-ear-out-the-other. That's probably unfair. Maybe spin 3 will do the trick.

Third time was definitely the charm. There's a lot to enjoy here, though I do think it's somewhat hampered by the second half of the album being much stronger than the first half.

[boilk]

Third time was definitely the charm. There's a lot to enjoy here, though I do think it's somewhat hampered by the second half of the album being much stronger than the first half.

I had a pretty similar experience, though like it a bit more than you out of the gate. There is a lot of strong stuff in the second half, it's true, but I really like tracks 2, 3, 4 and 6 too. I've pretty much warmed to the whole album at this point, really.

Neil

[Salvatore]

My fav so far is : Weather Systems! A brilliant album!

[Zappathustra]

Tigran Hamasyan - Bird of a thousand voices. . Come on people, you can do better than this. Stop browsing music, and go delve deep into this album, which is a work of great scope and great inspiration. There's so much to like in there, so much that moves the progressive needle. This guy is a real artist with a a vison of his own.

[NogbadTheBad]

Tigran Hamasyan - Bird of a thousand voices. . Come on people, you can do better than this. Stop browsing music, and go delve deep into this album, which is a work of great scope and great inspiration. There's so much to like in there, so much that moves the progressive needle. This guy is a real artist with a a vison of his own.

I probably need to pick this up.

[boilk]

Tigran Hamasyan - Bird of a thousand voices. . Come on people, you can do better than this. Stop browsing music, and go delve deep into this album, which is a work of great scope and great inspiration. There's so much to like in there, so much that moves the progressive needle. This guy is a real artist with a a vison of his own.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I so wish this was on bandcamp. His other albums are. I just do not understand why some labels seem to outright refuse to use it. Oh well. It's on youtube, the whole thing, for me to listen to... for next to nothing.

Neil

EDIT: I found the album on Presto Music, available for download. A bit of a pain in the ass to go through the process, but at least I was able to get him some money for his efforts.

Looking forward to digging into this double-album!

[Trane]

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I so wish this was on bandcamp. His other albums are. I just do not understand why some labels seem to outright refuse to use it. Oh well. It's on youtube, the whole thing, for me to listen to... for next to nothing.

Yup, to me Bandcamp is the number one channel to buy physical music (I still refuse to dowload), as I just ordered 10 albums (mainly from Northern Europe).

This is all that much more absurd that those album denied Bandcamp are available in its entirety on YT (and Spotify) for free and there is no way to buy

But in this particular case (Tigran), it seems like every track is animated, so it may be a hurdle to the intended commercialisation.

=========================


Even more absurd is that Free Human Zoo's latest album was not available on BC (their first two were ad bought a long time ago), and I still wouldn't own it today if I hadn't gone down to Paris to the Soleil Zeuhl Festival and bought it directly fom the band, almost one year after its release . The band didn't know why it was so and would look into it.
It now is:


This is a 2023 album, so not valid for this thread

[smcfee]

It's all a matter of taste, and as mentioned, one's definition of Prog. I personally think the Tom Penaguin album is pretty great. If it had been released in the 70s, I think it would be heralded as a Canterbury masterpiece.

It WAS released in the 70s. Some of it as Egg, some as National Health, some as Hatfield... .

I do really enjoy it though.

(EDIT: OK, I see a number of other people went on to make the same point).

[Trane]

just so everyone knows which album we're talking about, because he has another BC page (unlinked with this one) with different albums and music

[Seven8]

Tigran Hamasyan - Bird of a thousand voices. . Come on people, you can do better than this. Stop browsing music, and go delve deep into this album, which is a work of great scope and great inspiration. There's so much to like in there, so much that moves the progressive needle. This guy is a real artist with a a vison of his own.

I'm with you on the new release by Tigran, it's dense. Agree too that it's a shame it's not on bandcamp--I guess it might be because he's on a new label?--but my main beef is that the only place I could find to order a CD is on Amazon and that was over $27! I can buy a digital download on the iTunes Music Store for $10.99 but this is one of those where I really wanted the hardcopy. I've also got tickets to see him next spring which should be quite the multimedia experience.

[Zeph]

I've listened to parts of The Bird Of A Thousand Voices. At 1 hour 31 minutes it's a double album for me, which makes it challenging to keep my attention.