Experimental punk collective The Armed spent 2024 touring behind last year’s Perfect Saviors, and they also turned a stop of the Perfect Saviors tour into a live film/album and released the Everlasting Gaze EP with three new tracks from the Perfect Saviors sessions and three remixes of Perfect Saviors track “Sport of Form” (by IDLES, Water From Your Eyes, and Model/Actriz). Now, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Tony Wolski has told us about his favorite albums of 2024.
Tony’s list includes Mannequin Pussy, Nails, Kim Gordon, Magdalena Bay, J.U.S., and more, and he had a lot to say about each one. Read on…
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Tony Wolski’s (The Armed) Favorite Albums of 2024
Mannequin Pussy – I Got Heaven
This album seems generational to me. I’ve probably listened to it a thousand times. I actually didn’t even realize it’s only from this year when I started writing this because of how much time I’ve spent with it. We were lucky enough to play some festivals in Europe with them and my God are they also just unfathomably good live. And super cool, nice people. It’s sort of unfair. One of them has to have some sort of devastatingly horrible secret. Cmon. They cant be that good on record and live and nice. But for real. I watched Missy basically do ASMR in the middle of a rock n roll show for like 7 minutes to a packed out St Andrews in Detroit and you could hear a pin drop. The audience was captivated. I find her so much more intimidating and scary than all the jacked “Prison Break” extra looking dudes doing dog barks in their goofy ass hardcore songs. This band rips and this is one of the decade’s greatest albums, easy.
Nails – Every Bridge Burning
This is the first just straight-up aggressive music release I’ve found this captivating in a long time. Certain things distracted me from really enjoying this band in the past as much as I enjoy this, but this album is super duper undeniably fun. And it sounds insane. I think Kurt Ballou did it and it’s so good. Just extreme HM2-ass fun. Perfect gym record.
Prostitute – Attempted Martyr
Homeboys from Dearborn, Michigan—my hometown. This album blows me away. Total under-the-radar, last-minute AOTY contender for me for sure. It was recorded and mixed by our friend and collaborator Chris Koltay. We’ve been working on a new album at his spot in Detroit, High Bias Recordings. I went there to meet up with him before we started and he played me this album. I had never even heard of the band before and I just couldn’t believe how good it was. I immediately hit them up to see if they’d play our end of the year party, No Rest Fest. They did and like Mannequin Pussy, were every bit as captivating live as they are on record. This shit is terrifying. Everyone should be blasting this band right now. This record is unreal and they’re gonna be massive.
Kim Gordon – The Collective
This record is so sick. It’s so cool to see an artist creating 100% novel, relevant-but-not-”reaching” art at 71. She was and is 100x cooler than I could ever hope to be. This is Blackstar-Bowie, not Earthling-Bowie (although anyone who knows me knows I am a forever Earthling apologist and it does appear that history is being kinder to it as well…point is…she sounds very at home here and not like some sort of tourist). Massively inspirational and super listenable.
Body Meat – Starchris
Chris Taylor is a genius and it’s awesome to see this record get a little more visibility and his brilliance get more recognition. He deserves every ounce of it. This thing is a beautiful masterpiece of an album. Such a singular vision. We got to tour with him a bit last year and he was great. But I was also lucky enough to see him headline this year and damn—he’s just so much even better.
Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk
This album has such a high concentration of good songwriting it’s almost unbelievable. It’s like playing the top songs on most artists’ Spotify profiles—but it’s just a single record slammed with hits. And Mica Tenenbaum has such a beautiful voice.
Mark Guiliana – Mark
I’m a drummer. I love drums. And it’s so incredible to hear Mark create such an emotive, personal and “musical” album that’s so percussion forward. I’m very much an “active listener” but this one leaves enough space for your own thoughts too. Perfect for active listening or as inspiration for your own process.
Mark Lannegan – Bubblegum XX
Yes, it’s a reissue. But who cares? It’s top of the year for me. This album is so incredible. PJ Harvey sings on not one, but two songs. The whole player list is comical. Just a magical record.
J.U.S. & Squadda B – 3rd Shift
Best rapper in Detroit, which is saying a ton. An ultra unique voice and take on things. And in true Midwest fashion, just a prolific workhorse artist slamming out quality shit at a freakish pace.
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