As I sit here and write my end of year list, it dawns on me how much my taste evolves each year. I haven’t thrown out anything, my favorites over the years are still hanging in there on my various playlists and Spotify loves to remind me that I need to branch out more, but I noticed this year how all over the place my listening has been. It’s definitely been an interesting year for music, and I feel like this is my most eclectic end of year list yet.
5. Green Day Saviors
For many years, okay since I was thirteen, Green Day has consistently been my favorite band, so it’s not surprising their new album reached my top five. My favorite track off Saviors is “Bobby Sox,” although “Dilemma” and “Strange Days Are Here to Stay” are close runner ups. Green Day, like the rest of us, have grown up and are no longer the bratty punks of the nineties who shaped my generation, but full-grown rockers with families, yet “Saviors” feels like the closest they’ve been in years to capturing that authentic Green Day sound with an aged wisdom, and a new era as the backdrop. I got to catch them on their latest tour with Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid where the band played the entirety of American Idiot and Dookie for the twentieth- and thirtieth-year anniversary of both albums. Let me conclude with this, in 2024 they were definitely still as punk rock as ever with a banging show, and I was lucky enough to walk away with both a setlist and a Tre Cool drumstick. You can imagine I was glowing all the way home.
4. Vision Video Modern Horror
Post punk newcomers Vision Video always have a spot on my playlists. While early releases off Modern Horror have been out for a while now (including a favorite, “In My Side” which is usually their encore at shows), new bops like “Dead Gods” and “Living Dead” really caught my attention. This gothic straight-from-the-grave group are phenomenal live, really bringing out that raw and authentic punk energy along with a sense of community at their shows. With these dark times, their music offers a sense of hope and an excuse to get down and dance with all the other vampires.
3. The Cure Songs of a Lost World
It’s been known for a while that The Cure had an album in the works, and anyone who’s been to their last tour in 2023 definitely heard “I Can Never Say Goodbye,” but it felt like a long time spent waiting to finally hear the whole collection. All that waiting was worth it, because what we were given from the classic goth legends is a romantic synth-rock, atmospheric album that sounds even better during these moody winter days. Robert Smith’s familiar, whispery vocals create magic, singing each song like a poem. Songs of A Lost World is exactly what you’d expect from the band, but with an added touch of nostalgia and a feeling of the end.
2. Hans Zimmer Dune: Part Two (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Yes, a film score made its way into my most listened to albums of 2024. I told you this list would be my most eclectic yet. Dune Part Two was such a phenomenal film on every level (costumes, acting, effects, etc.) but the biggest part to me was the music. Any film lover knows that Hans Zimmer doesn’t mess around, and this soundtrack especially moved me. It had me in such a chokehold that I listened to it while driving through heavy city traffic, imagining myself as Paul Atreides riding the sandworm, knowing death was waiting for me if I make one wrong turn. It did help, truly. Anyways, back to the music, every track on this album tells a story. You hardly need the movie to tell you what’s happening because the music itself does that. It’s soulful and immersive as much as it is a badass intergalactic symphony. The story of Dune is already epic, but I don’t think I would’ve wept as much if it weren’t for the soundtrack enhancing every moment.
1. Conan Gray Found Heaven
A pop album might’ve stolen my number one spot this year. And I’m not ashamed, because this is a good one. Found Heaven by Conan Gray took on an entirely different style from what audiences are used to hearing from him. Radiating with eighties beats and a vintage synth core, this album is one hell of a bop. The music videos scream MTV video star, you know if MTV still played music videos. Songs like the heavenly title track, “Found Heaven,” or “Never Ending Song” and “Bourgeoisies” are pumped full of chaotic pop energy, so contagious you have to sing along, but my all-time favorite is “Alley Rose,” a ballad that feels like something right out of a 1970’s radio station. “Alley Rose” is chocked full of heart and soul, a desperate cry, a throbbing vulnerability enclosed in a power ballad style bop. The entire album is golden and such an iconic move for pop artist Conan Gray.
I’m Music Magazine Writer Alice Kearney
