It’s the first weekday of December and the major 2024 year-end lists are flying out today. Here’s one from The Quietus, whose list every year is one of the most eclectic lists you’ll read. It has a handful of names that’ll be familiar to those who frequently read indie-leaning sites like this one (like Clairo, Charli XCX, Shellac, Oranssi Pazuzu, Still House Plants, Xiu Xiu, Roc Marciano, Arooj Aftab, Bill Ryder-Jones, Mach-Hommy, BIG|BRAVE, ScHoolboy Q, Kim Gordon, Fievel Is Glauque, Kendrick Lamar, Geordie Greep, Thou, Helado Negro, Alan Sparhawk, Skee Mask, Mdou Moctar, Blood Incantation, The Cure, MIKE & Tony Seltzer, Uniform, Chelsea Wolfe, Thurston Moore, MAVI, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Ka, Judas Priest, and more), but the bulk of their 100-albums-long list is filled with niche gems that you rarely see pop up on a major list. As always, you’re very likely to discover something new from The Quietus‘ list.
See the The Quietus‘ full list and read their commentary on each pick here, and if you want more where that came from, consider becoming a Quietus subscriber. They write: “By supporting The Quietus, not only do you help us keep the number of ads on site to a minimum and the lights on at the great server farm in the cloud, you ensure we can continue to pay our brilliant writers. There are no corporate media owners or shareholder profits to pay out. 100% of your subscriptions goes directly to those who contribute, keeping The Quietus independent and focused on never watering-down our cultural coverage.”
Here’s the top 20 of The Quietus‘ list:
20. Sealionwoman – Nothing Will Grow In The Soil
19. Gnod – Spot Land
18. Nonpareils – Rhetoric & Terror
17. Clairo – Charm
16. Tashi Wada – What Is Not Strange?
15. Charli xcx – Brat
14. Jacken Elswyth – At Fargrounds
13. Dialect – Atlas Of Green
12. Fat White Family – Forgiveness Is Yours
11. Shellac – To All Trains
10. Nadine Shah – Filthy Underneath
9. Oranssi Pazuzu – Muuntautuja
8. Shovel Dance Collective – The Shovel Dance
7. Rafael Toral – Spectral Evolution
6. Still House Plants – If I don’t make it, I love u
5. Mohammad Syfkhan – I Am Kurdish
4. Xiu Xiu – 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto With Bison Horn Grips
3. Moin – You Never End
2. Tristwch y Fenywod – Tristwch y Fenywod
1. Ex-Easter Island Head – Norther