This last issue of the year is always the anniversary. Hard to believe it’s been four years since I started Music Regular. But we need not look so far back just now. We need only revisit the last eleven and a half months. For here it is: *drumroll* … My Favorite Albums Of The Year. As ever, it’s been a great year for music on earth. Just check out some of the stuff below. And look at those addendums. The cup floweth over.
There’s a fact that my mind keeps wandering back to lately: according to a recent study, there’s been more new music released per day in 2024 than for the entirety of the calendar year 1989. Kinda mind blowing, especially when you consider that, besides contemporary music, one can now also listen to unearthed recordings of Lithuanian coal miners from 1928-33. Were one so inclined…
With this plethora in mind, I wanna take a second to give a BIIIIIIIIG shout out to Local Dish. I’m loving everything about this Toronto label. It’s very evidently a deep labor of love with incredible intentionality, community and care behind it. At the time of writing this, they’ve released 22 limited-run 7” of pure heat this year alone. Do yourself a favor and spend some time on their Bandcamp. You’re sure to find something you’ll like.
As for below… more goodness abounds!
PEACE
click the cover to listen or go your own way ~~
Tidiane Thiam - Africa Conti
An absolutely beautiful collection of Senegalese folk music. The performances feel inspired and reserved, and the production is subtly inventive. Neither raw nor overly polished, there’s a nice mix of mystique and assuredness in Africa Conti that brought me great comfort over the past year. Not seeing other folks talking about this, so figured I’d best leave it here at the top.
Nala Sinephro - Endlessness
Entirely elegant, cosmic, spiritual jazz of the highest order. I don’t wanna get corny or hyperbolic here, but yeah, Nala Sinephro is on some other shit. An absolute must.
SML - Small Medium Large
I’ll be honest and say that, in the last few years, I mostly lost interest in International Anthem. I think the last new release in the catalogue I really loved was Jeff Parker’s Forfolks in 2021. And there’s no shade being thrown here–they remain one of the most important, fascinating imprints in North America. We’ve just been on different wavelengths, I guess? Anyway, SML changed all that. This one hit hard. It’s fun, it’s funky, it’s weird. It’s jazz, it’s komische. It’s my favorite dub album of all time 😉
Joseph Decosimo, Luke Richardson, Cleek Shrey - Beehive Cathedral
This was a completely unexpected surprise and delight for me. I’ve listened to this record A LOT this year. It’s a warming collection of old-time fiddle and banjo music played by three key figures with omnivorous ears. I truly know next to nothing about the traditions from which this music springs and I’m excited to dive in. For the heads out there reading this: where do I go from here?
Mk.gee - Two Star & The Dream Police
Really didn’t like this one at first. But then it got its fangely little teeth in me. As I was falling in love with it, I texted a friend and told him I still thought the lyrics were “dogshit”. I stand by that, but I think that’s also quite beside the point (for me at least). Mk.Gee inverts songform and arena-rock production in ways that are simply irresistible. Pop music is supposed to be at least a little stupid, right?
Michaela Antalová & Adrian Myhr - Sing Nightingale
This one dropped in late Novemeber, so it’s been in heavy rotation as I put this issue together. It’s walking that trad / avant folk / jazz line that rrrrrreally works for me. The vibe is so damn warm and enticing. You’ve got double bass, harmonium, santur, fiddle, and fujara (a tall, wooden bass flute traditionally used by Slovakian shepherds). This year’s highest recommendation amongst the more obscure things included here.
Jessica Pratt - Here In The Pitch
It’s been really nice to see Jessica Pratt having a serious moment this year. She has, hasn’t she? Her songs continue to crystallize to the point where a few on this record feel downright anthemic. Yet somehow still pocket-sized, as if they're yours to carry with you. Her music continues to get more accessible without losing a drop of its idiosyncratic intimacy. Pratt Spring was the season we lived though it hadn’t a name.
Eric Chenaux Trio - Delights Of My Life
It’s sorta hard to tell from where I’m sitting, but I think Eric Chenaux might be one of the most underrated artists of our time? Across a deep and curious catalogue, he’s perfected a kind of understated, existential romanticism that has no immediate analogue. His voice is the sweetest sour, his writing is rich with surreal beauty, and his guitar somehow sounds entirely perfect and also like an 8-bit fart. It’s crazy. He’s joined here by two absolute linchpins of Toronto’s jazz+adjacent scenes, percussionist Phil Melanson and cheshire notesman Ryan Driver. DELIGHTFUL.
Leo Dupleix - Resonant Trees
Resonant Trees consists of two longform pieces for harpsichord and small ensemble. It’s slow, spacious music that feels powerfully hypnotic. And despite being slow, I found its effects to be entirely immediate. Appreciation of it doesn’t so much require patience as it does openness. One of the most satisfying and harmonically rich sets of music I’ve heard in a good while.
Clarissa Connelly - World Of Work
This is profound music. The way it’s written and performed is absolutely mesmerizing. It pulls together instances of trad music, pop forms and the avant-garde in a way that doesn’t feel effortless per se (because this is also music of profound CONVICTION), but in a way that feels fated. It simply needed to be, and no other than a talent like Clarissa Connely could will it so. Also, I don’t usually tend to make such an award but… album cover of the year? I think so.
Sam Wilkes, Craig Weinrib and Dylan Day - Self-Titled
Similarly to the sentiment above re: International Anthem, I sorta fell out of interest with Wilkes and Gendel of late. Maybe a bit of over-saturation? Well, hell, this one brought me right back in. And, again, no shade thrown hither nor thither–but a big part of the appeal of this record is the guitar playing of Dylan Day. It’s somehow so delicate yet absolutely scorching at the same time. Chef’s kiss.
Fergus Jones - Ephemera
I slept on this one for most of the year. But wow! It’s so special. Firstly, this hits for me as a clear descendent of Rhythm & Sound, who I covered way back in Issue #6. Like those titans of dub, Ephemera’s balance of warmth and darkness is irresistible. Secondly, it’s a perfectly sculpted journey: the album arcs effortlessly through a number of genre touchstones and lands beautifully in the ethers of its own mystery.
Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee
Chances are, if you’re among my readership, you’ve heard this one already. I almost didn’t include it in this upper echelon because it feels so ubiquitous. But I’ve recently heard from a few folks lately that they feel it’s ‘overhyped’; that you could maybe ‘cut a few tracks here and there’. No. I’m sorry: just no. Diamond Jubilee is a tortured, glorious, glamorous ripper for the ages!
Still House Plants - If I don’t make it, I love u
This is the part of the newsletter where I must once again cop to some degree of bias. I work with this band. I adore this band. They make music with rock instrumentation that completely scrambles my brain and cracks open my heart. A lot of reviews I read of Still House Plants reference ‘intimacy’, ‘honesty’ and ‘vulnerability’. Those feel like pillars of this music to me. Yet there’s a more abstract quality as well - something I feel Matthew Schnipper nailed when, musing about it for Pitchfork’s Best Albums Of 2024, he wrote: “It’s like the music had a concussion and they’re doing their best to resuscitate it.”
Jon Mckiel - Hex
Again, I wrote the presser for this record. And the two fellas who made it are old friends of mine. But can you really mark that against them? Jon writes some of the most rugged, mystical songs being put to tape these days. There’s a great humility and tenderness at the heart of this music. And the amazing thing is: he’s been writing incredible songs like these for at least a decade or so. The wider world is finally taking notice.
Jeff Parker ETA IVtet - The Way Out Of Easy
Truly, madly, deeply locked in. I believe we’re witnessing one of the greatest jazz artists of our time in his prime.
Astrid Sonne - Great Doubt
I like to take records as they are. But in the case of Great Doubt, I’m genuinely curious to know what was left on the cutting room floor . I’ve been following Astrid Sonne since her excellent 2018 debut, and while she’s never been one for notably lengthy records or compositions, there’s something that feels particularly succinct about this record. Its mood and tone and texture are pitch perfect throughout. A beguiling pop record.
17 MORE ALBUMS I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BUT SIMPLY DIDN’T HAVE THE WHEREWITHAL TO WRITE ABOUT!
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Ulla & Ultrafog - It Means A Lot
Fievel Is Glauque - Rong Weicknes
Julia Holter - Something In The Room She Moves
Anastasia Coope - Darning Woman
Kelly Moran - Moves In The Field
Mabe Fratti - Sentir Que No Sabes
Do You Want More?!!!??!
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The Cosmic Tones Research Trio - All Is Sound | Navy Blue - Memoirs In Armour | Jlin - Akoma | Maalem Houssam Gania - Dead Of Night | Eiko Ishibashi - Evil Does Not Exist | Lynn Avery & Cole Pulice - Phantasy & Reality | Dirty Three - Love Changes Everything | Shabaka - Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge It’s Grace | D’eon - Leviathan | Jacken Elswyth - At Fargrounds | Mas Aya - Coming And Going | Tadleeh - Lone | Dawuna - Southside Bottoms | Josh Johnson - Unsual Object | Kali Malone - All Life Long | SlimeLord - Chytridiomycosis Relinquished | Fabiana Palladino - Self-Titled | Mohammah Syfkhan - I Am Kurdish | rain on pan - streets | Charli XCX - BRAT | Dean Blunt - Hackney Commercial Waste | claire rousay - sentiment | JESUSTHEMILLIONAIRE - Pretty much everything released on Bandcamp this year! | Ying Shui Di Jiang - Riding On The Wind | Linus Vandewolken - Oude Geuze uit Niemandaal | Anton Friisgaard - Taratai Akande | Laceration - I Erode | Işık Kural - Moon In Gemini | Haruspex Palace - Self-Titled | Ganavya - Like The Sky I’ve Been Too Quiet | Silica Gel - Swan Pond | Harry Gorski-Brown - Durt Dronemaker After Dreamboats | Billy Bultheel - Two Cycles | Adnata Ensemble - Oku | khc - Me And My Den | Ando Laj - Sacred Record | SiP Group - Leos Ultras | Hoover1 - What You Want | E-Saggila - Gamma Tag | Nidia & Valentina - Estradas | Fackowsky & Radsch - 4 Mama Pladsch | Jacob Wick - Something | more eaze - lacuna and parlor | Charif Megarbane - Hamra / Red | CS + Kreme - The Butterfly Drinks The Tears Of The Tortoise | Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere | Faze - Big Upsetter | Jennifer Castle - Camelot | Merope - Vėjula | Beatrice Dillon - Seven Reoganizations | Sedimentum - Derrière les Portes d'une Arcane Transcendante | Shabason, Krgovich, Sage - Self-Titled | Blunt Chunks - The Butterfly Myth
ICYMI, I started a donations page. All the money I receive will go back towards music (eg. purchasing physical/digital music, merch, concert tickets, supporting other music outlets, etc.). If you’re not able to support the newsletter financially (no presh!), you might also consider liking / sharing / following on Instagram.
ALSO, I started a ~*fun*~ tracking sheet that provides transparency on donations and spending. It also includes links to my Bandcamp + Discogs profiles. This is as much about accountability as it is an experiment in tracking my own financial investments in music over a calendar year.
I’m super interested in feedback / dialogue / suggestions. If you have ideas about the newsletter, want to share music with me, have specific questions / requests, don’t hesitate to get in touch. And please: share this newsletter with a pal if you feel so inspired!
Yrs.,
Andrew P.
andrewdanielpatterson [at] gmail [dot] com