A reasonably timely list of the best albums of 2024

I won’t spend too many words introducing this list — I’ve already explained my taste and methodology several times on my previous year-end lists, dating back to 2021. The overarching themes here are shoegaze, hyperpop, ambient, electronic, and psychedelia, as usual; with a big helping of skewed folk and country this time around. This was … Continue reading A reasonably timely list of the best albums of 2024

The spectacular rise and depressing demise of Charli XCX’s Brat Summer

It was inevitable that I would end up writing about Charli XCX’s Brat — without question not only the album of the year but the pop-culture event of the year. But the crazy thing is how the nature of this essay changed so dramatically several times in the course of just a few days, from … Continue reading The spectacular rise and depressing demise of Charli XCX’s Brat Summer