2024 Mid-Year Music Report Card

If 2024 has been the best musical year of the decade so far, why have all the good albums already been forgotten?

By all accounts, 2024 has been a terrific year for music. That counts doubly when you consider that the last couple years — basically the entire 2020s — have seen a noticeable dearth of quality. That could be attributed to any number of things: the impact of COVID-19 on the music industry; an artistic stagnation in several genres; the rise of poptimism and “stan” culture as the dominant movement of the decade. Whatever the reason, it seems like 2024 has been a return to normalcy of sorts: the first six months of the year alone have already seen 15 (!) albums with a Colin’s Review grade of A-minus or better (and there are still several more that I haven’t even reviewed).

Then again, there are some negatives to go along with this, which could have something scarier to say about the postmodern (or post-postmodern) times we live in. Uproxx critic Steven Hyden wrote a brilliant article stating that 2024 has been the year of “memory-holed albums”: that is, there have been several releases this year that came and went and have been all but forgotten, no matter how big the artist or how good the album. Hyden points to LPs by Green Day, Kings of Leon, St. Vincent, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Kacey Musgraves, Dua Lipa and Ariana Grande to prove his thesis — all huge artists in their respective fields; all albums prompting a Google search to confirm that they actually exist. Even albums by Béyonce and Billie Eilish have been relatively muted.

So, why is that? As Hyden points out, there are many potential factors: too much music, attention spans are getting shorter, streaming platforms pushing certain algorithms, the Taylor Swift effect, etc.

And I tend to agree with his assessment. Even though 2024 has been one of the best years of music in recent memory, our culture has also been cursed with an era of sameness. Nothing is great, nothing is bad, everything ranges from mediocre to pretty good, which makes it harder and harder to stand out. You see it in the movie industry’s overabundant reliance on sequels and reboots; you see it in the NBA’s approach to team-building that values potential over skill; you see it in the blind brand loyalty where production companies and corporations are favored over real people; and, of course, you see it in the music industry’s week-to-week recency bias. Not everything is built to last, but these days it can so often seem like nothing is built to last.

As a music critic, I’d point to the rise of poptimism as perhaps the main reason. Not that I inherently devalue pop music, but I believe it’s created a shift in our collective cultural consciousness in which commercialism trumps quality no matter what. For instance, Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department was a mammoth letdown, but it’s been by far the biggest album of the year, nay, the decade. It ultimately doesn’t matter how utterly mediocre the music is; it’s still seen as a triumphant victory due to the sheer revenue it has generated. Are we now in an era of popular music where being the loudest is better than being the best? It could explain why those 15 A-minus albums have had such a short shelf life despite being so good.

Or it could be that 15 A-minus albums in six months is just far more excellence than we’re used to. Either way, 2024 has been a great year for music so far — we just need to cherish it on its own terms. Let’s start by taking a closer inspection at each genre:

POP

Pure pop music is garnering more critical praise than it ever has, which means the genre’s biggest stars are under a more scrutinizing spotlight than ever. It’s unfortunate that the likes of Swift, Lipa, Grande and Timberlake have all come up short this year, but their failures have given greater shine to the sub-genres of art pop and alt-pop. The future of 2020s music is in the hands of artists like Eilish, Kali Uchis and Charli XCX, all of whom have delivered good to great music this year without compromising their creative visions.

• The Good: brat by Charli XCX; HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish; Something in the Room She Moves by Julia Holter
• The Bad: Prelude to Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party; THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT by Taylor Swift

ROCK

Despite the dominance of pop, good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll is still viable. In fact, the two best albums of 2024 so far are by Vampire Weekend and The Smile, which proves that rock isn’t quite dead yet. Then again, the fact that all the best rock albums over the past six months are by legacy acts — Cloud Nothings, St. Vincent, Ride, Melvins, Sleater-Kinney, Chelsea Wolfe — who have been around for at least 10 years is somewhat concerning. Even the rise of Mannequin Pussy to first-rate band hasn’t come out of the blue: their previous album (Patience, released five years ago) was also a Grade-A work. The only noteworthy debuts so far this year have been by Been Stellar and Friko; bands who have potential but still need time to hone their styles.

• The Good: Only God Was Above Us by Vampire Weekend; Wall of Eyes by The Smile; I Got Heaven by Mannequin Pussy
• The Bad: Neon Pill by Cage the Elephant; If I Don’t Make It, I Love U by Still House Plants

HIP HOP

The much-publicized feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake has been the only event in popular music to somewhat dethrone the 24/7 Taylor Swift news cycle, and their epic rap battle has been a welcome change-of-pace that hearkens back to the genre’s old-school 1990s heyday. Nevertheless, I wonder how much impact it’ll have beyond the current moment. Other than “Not Like Us,” unfortunately, there hasn’t been much hip hop worth writing about: J Cole flopped, the two-and-a-half hours of Future x Metro Boomin collabs have been average at best, and the B+ albums by ScHoolboy Q, Shabazz Palaces and Tierra Whack are mostly meant to satisfy longtime fans. The best “pure” hip hop album this year is by Vince Staples — another legacy act. And the fact that 70-year-old Kim Gordon, former frontwoman of legendary noise-rock band Sonic Youth, has made the best and most experimental hip hop LP of 2024 is a pleasant surprise yet also a damning indictment on the current state of the genre.

• The Good: The Collective by Kim Gordon; Dark Times by Vince Staples
• The Bad: Might Delete Later by J. Cole

COUNTRY

Along with pop music, the genre that has undergone the biggest critical transformation/re-evaluation over the past few years is definitely country. Although I’m not very plugged-in to the huge mainstream acts, the number of artists from other genres that have transitioned to country — Béyonce’s COWBOY CARTER and Waxahatchee’s Tigers Blood being the most significant examples of 2024 — is a sure sign that things will continue to trend upward. We could be entering a new golden age of country.

• The Good: Tigers Blood by Waxahatchee; COWBOY CARTER by Béyonce; Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves
• The Bad: Rebel by Anne Wilson

METAL

Some genres never change, and metal in 2024 is exactly what it was 10 years ago. That’s not a bad thing — Judas Priest and High on Fire are still going strong, while young upstart Knocked Loose is giving metalcore a good name. You can always count on metal to appease its fanbase more than any other genre, meaning the style is somewhat predictable but essentially never grows old. You’ll get some great shit, but you’ll also get some shit shit, and that’s how metal will always be.

• The Good: Cometh the Storm by High on Fire; Invincible Shield by Judas Priest; You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To by Knocked Loose
• The Bad: Warp Speed Warriors by Dragonforce; POST HUMAN: NeX GEn by Bring Me the Horizon

FOLK

With the rise of country, folk music has also seen a surge in popularity among indie and mainstream circles. Case in point: Adrianne Lenker’s Bright Future is one of the best albums of the year so far and equals her output with Big Thief. She’s the best and most prolific songwriter in the world right now, and as long as she is still making music, the genre of folk will be in good hands.

• The Good: Bright Future by Adrianne Lenker; Lives Outgrown by Beth Gibbons

ELECTRONIC

The electronic scene has been a little disappointing so far in 2024 (not counting electropop). The most noteworthy albums have been soundtracks by Thom Yorke and Trent Reznor, while releases from bigger names like Justice and Gesaffelstein have been lackluster (DISCLAIMER: I have yet to listen to the latest release by Four Tet). Because the genre’s biggest stars have been so reclusive, electronica in the 2020s has lacked a distinct voice. Hopefully the upcoming Jamie xx album will turn things around.

• The Good: Challengers by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross; Akoma by Jlin; Confidenza by Thom Yorke
• The Bad: Hyperdrama by Justice

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