10. Forever by Charly Bliss
I admit that Forever meant a great deal to me. Pandemic-related delays resulted in the Brooklyn quartet’s third album not dropping for five years. Personally, that meant Young Enough’s song “Capacity” has been stuck in my head since 2019. I needed some new Bliss to push it out of there. The pure pop beauty of “Tragedy,” which opens Forever, signals that I have found a remedy.
“Calling You Out” is an unstoppable pop anthem. “Nineteen” is a supremely wistful piano ballad that calls on Eva Hendricks’ most delicate vocals, while “How Do You Do It” reveals the toughness that sometimes hides in the sweet deliveries and tunes. Spencer Fox’s versatile guitar can be fuzzy and jangly as needed.
He can take a back seat to the synths that carry some of the songs on Forever but can throw in fills that keep the sound from getting too pasteurized. Forever is concerned with love, whether it’s the nostalgic sadness of “Nineteen” or the opening of a new chapter in the album closer “Last First Kiss.” And it’s all bliss.
9. Sha La La by Winnetka Bowling League
Winnetka Bowling League’s debut album reveals a band that can handle a wide range of sounds, all nestled within the broad confines of modern pop. They can do shimmering pop as on the title track of Sha La La. They can do wistful as on “No One’s Ever Kissed You,” which augments the pop with strings and sax. And there’s a propulsive techno beat on “America in Your 20s,” with its observation, “There’s nothing as serious or as funny as America in your 20s.”
Sha La La moves within small circles, but every song is a pop gem. “We’re Not Having Any Fun” is sadly dramatic, while “Breakfast For Dinner” is fairly perfect pop rock, and “Jesus Saves” milks all the delicacy out of vocalist Matthew Koma’s voice. BTW – Koma is on a bowling team – hence the name.
8. Pink Balloons by Ekko Astral
I’d like to think I’d still have Ekko Astral’s smashing debut album on my list even if they weren’t from my hometown of Washington, DC. But the fact is I may have never been aware of them if not for the proximity. Singer Jael Holzman can go sweet or tough with the slightest of turns of her voice, and that is an ideal fit for Ekko’s music. It is bubblegum noise. It is pop punk that exaggerates both parts of the name. The opening title track encapsulates all of that. They rock harder on “Baethoven” and get sludgier in “On Brand.”
They also draw on our mutual hometown for disturbing imagery in “Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between L’enfant and Eastern Market” – a largely spoken word poem on violence and death – and the creepy instrumental “Buring Alive on K Street.” But then they can go pure jangle on the infectious “Make Me Young” to keep things from getting too morbid.
One of the best albums of 2023 was Ratboys’ The Window, and its opening track, “Making Noise for the Ones You Love,” could be a good title for an Ekko Astral album. Like Ratboys, Ekko can explore varied flavors of pop punk, but they are at their absolute best just making waves of compelling noise.
7. Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman
It’s hard to believe Lenderman is just 25 years old. He has already put out a ton of excellent music, either on his own or as the guitarist with his band Wednesday. One listen to the opening title track from his fourth solo album, Manning Fireworks, reveals a singer/songwriter who sings like he has been around forever and seen it all. He is helped on that track by Wednesday vocalist Karly Hartzman and also gets some fiddle and trombone from multi-instrumentalist Landon George to create that down-homey feel.
Producer Alex Farrar adds a mellotron to the Allman Brothers-inspired “Joker Lips.” Lenderman doesn’t try to match Gregg Allman’s blues vocals, because, really, who can do that? But his voice still has enough edge to sell his consistent tunes. It can go harder, into Jason Isbell territory on “Wristwatch” or pay fine homage to the Band in “You Don’t Know the Shape I’m In.” There seems to be no end to the number of strong songs coming from Lenderman. I wonder what he’ll do when he turns 26.
6. Romance by Fontaines DC
I’ll keep this one simple. Some people lament the tired state of traditional rock & roll in 2024. I am often one of those people. Then I listen to the Irish quintet Fontaines DC and realize we are all overstating things just a bit. From the portentous opening track, “Romance” to the bright jangle of the closer, “Favourite,” they do nothing but rock.
This is not old-school R&B-based rock. This is modern rock that moves easily between squelchy guitar rockers and more- how shall I put it - atmospheric fare. When Fontaines does atmosphere, it is in the guise of the inescapable dance beat of something like “Starburster.”
“Here’s the Thing” and “Death Kiss” are the guitar rockers. “In the Modern World” and “Sundowner” are the orchestral atmosphere numbers. Fontaines pulls both poles off with aplomb. They can even skirt the midline on a song like “Bug.” Romance was produced by James Ford, known for his work with bands like Arctic Monkeys and Depeche Mode. The result is a wider soundscape that suggests Fontaines DC could go in many directions down the road.
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