2024 was a good year! I found no shortage of good stuff to listen to. Ranking these records was not easy. But going back and getting to listen to them all over and over was a lot of fun.
Honourable Mentions
No Sunshine Collective – Nothing Personal
I gleefully described this record as a dose of AM radio rock ’n roll infused with rocket fuel and blasted through a pair of blown out car speakers. High energy. High speed. LOUD. I’m loathe to put anything released via my label Cartridge Heart (as the CD version of this record was) on my top 10 list. So I’m just going to leave it here. Def worth checking out.
The Linda Lindas – No Obligation
The Linda Lindas dodge the sophomore slump with their second release. The group – all teenagers – are still finding their voice and they wear their wide array of influences on their sleeve. The result is a diverse collection of cuts ranging from punk, garage and power pop. Listen Here
Top 10 Albums of 2024
#10 Striker
Ultrapower
Self-Released
Striker has come a long way from the speed metal outfit that debuted the Road Warrior EP in 2009. With wholesale personnel changes – only singer Dan Cleary remains from the original lineup – it’s not surprising the sound has shifted. Over the years the band has leaned into arena-friendly heavy metal. Ultrapower continues this trend. “Best of the Best of the Best” wouldn’t sound out of place in an 80’s martial arts movie. Personal fav is the lead-off track “Circle of Evil” which captures the energy of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest in their respective primes.
#9 The Follow Ups
Know Who Your Friends Aren’t
Faster and Louder Records
My introduction to Moncton-based Ramonescore act The Follow Ups was their clever ode to Scott Hall “Hey Yo (The Ballad of Razor Ramone)” or rather the cover version by Dave Rocket And The Jobbers. Intrigued by this clever mash-up of punk rock and pro wrestling I jumped into their new release Know Who Your Friends Aren’t. It’s snotty, unapologetic, ridiculous fun. I wrote about it at length here. It’s a good one!
#8 Amyl and the Sniffers
Cartoon Darkness
B2B
I will admit, I was late to the party on Amyl and the Sniffers. I didn’t pick up their first two LPs until the spring of 2024. I made sure not to repeat my mistake and grabbed latest release Cartoon Darkness upon its release. It’s a nice dirty rock ’n roll record loaded with piss and vinegar. Vocalist Amy Taylor is at her best when she dives off the deep end (venom drips from “Tiny Bikini”). Another standout track “Me and the Girls” leans on an infectious funk groove. But the album highlights for me are breakneck “Motorbike Song” and fuzzed out “It’s Mine”.
#7 Occult Witches
Sorrow’s Pyre
Black Throne Productions
Sorrow’s Pyre was my introduction to Sherbrooke stoner metal act Occult Witches. I was amazed to see that it’s their third full-length in as many years. Sounding a lot like Black Sabbath but with a better singer, Occult Witches by their own admission combine elements of hard rock, blues and baroque classical music. Through the use of dynamics, exceptional melody and explosive guitar work (especially on lead-off track “Malice”) they’ve constructed something special. Sadly, it is their swan song. The band just recently announced they are disbanding. Don’t let this record get away.
#6 Nothing Serious
Bitter Days
Steady Riot
Bitter Days is the first proper full-length from Nothing Serious – a band that lays claim to Basement, Ontario as their home. (I hear it’s close to Ajax, but that’s just hearsay). I touched upon it earlier. It’s a testament to the sheer power of melody and its ability to elevate a song. Whether it’s the catchy melodic hook of “Dying On The Inside” or the gut-crunching pathos of “Daxter” (frontman John Ward’s ode to his departed canine companion) Bitter as it may be, I found myself returning to this album throughout the year.
#5 Wasting Time
Hurry Up and Wait
People of Punk Rock
Cheeky title aside, Hurry Up and Wait felt like a huge leap forward for Toronto punks Wasting Time. I heaped plenty of praise on it here. Infectious tracks like “How Much I Miss Those Days” and “Whaddya Say” highlight the release. But over time I gained an appreciation for deep cut “Pearl” and the self-loathing it evokes. Wasting Time is an ambitious band that seems to always have something new up their sleeve. It will be interesting to see what they have for 2025.
#4 Ride
Interplay
Wichita Recordings
I joke that Ride guitarist and co-frontman Andy Bell is having a late-career renaissance, but with solo releases under his own name in 2020 and 2022, an electronic record under his GLOK moniker in 2021 and an ambient collaboration with Masal in 2023 between Ride’s last release This Is Not a Safe Place (2019) and this year’s Interplay, “joke” might not be the right word for it. Ride have always been unwilling to stick to a particular sound (in spite of the shoegaze label they earned through their early releases) and it shows in this latest release which might be their most experimental yet. Power pop is represented with openers “Peace Sign” and “Last Frontier”. Shoegaze aficionados will be pleased with the hypnotic “Light In A Quiet Room” which lulls the listener into a false sense of security before blasting them with waves of noise. Extra care went into stompy dirges “I Came To See The Wreck” and “Midnight Rider”. Personal fav “Monaco” plays with club beats and synths while soaring epic “Portland Rocks” is a welcome bit of fan-service. Bell has already announced his next solo album (set for release in February). Renaissance may in fact be an understatement.
#3 The Meringues
Pavlova’s Dog
Self-Released
2024 will go down as the year I fell in love with The Meringues’ unhinged brand of dirty rock ’n roll. Featuring snarling tag team vocalists and squealing guitars over a backdrop of swagger and danger (vocalist Amanda Pants has been known to strangle co-frontman Ted Evans with her mic cable on stage). I wrote here that they’ve captured lightning in a bottle. I was already a fan of their 2018 self-titled album. But Pavlova’s Dog better captures the mania and mayhem they bring to the stage. An essential 2024 release from a band that is going places.
#2 Green Day
Saviors
Reprise
After getting Father Of All Motherfuckers out of their system (their divisive 2020 collaboration with Nashville-based super-producer Butch Walker) Green Day is returning to the formula that made them superstars. Not Dookie, mind you, which may be a blessing considering the fellas are in their 50’s now, but rather the arena-sized grandeur of American Idiot. Singles “The American Dream Is Killing Me” and “One Eyed Bastard” will be comfort food for anyone who grew up on “Holiday”. Uptempo tracks “Look Ma, No Brains” and “1981” wouldn’t sound out of place on Nimrod. Cigarette-lighter-friendly (or maybe cellphone-light-friendly in 2024) ballad “Father To A Son” took me by surprise with its wailing guitars and strings as my personal fav. (It hits where I felt “21 Guns” missed) It feels strange praising a new record by comparing it to old records, but after Father Of All…, maybe familiarity is all we need from Green Day.
#1 Boids
S/T
Stomp
I’d first heard of Montreal trio Boids from the lips of a few trusted friends who assured me they were the band to hear. I wasn’t disappointed when finally saw them perform live at Toronto’s Bovine Sex Club (sharing a bill with The Meringues) over the summer. They quickly won me over with their hook heavy garage rock. That being said, the recorded material on their latest self-titled offering has dimensions that are hard to achieve as a three-piece on stage. (That’s my flowery way of saying the production is really really good) Personal favs include turbo-charged banger “Welcome To The Club” with its big chorus, head-bobber ”9V” which has tastefully layered vocals and super-snarky “Leather Jacket” highlighted by a huge The Cult-like guitar riff. This record was the soundtrack for many road-trips for me over the year and I was only too eager to share it with my friends. I hope you’ll check it out too.