To celebrate the release of the KVSC Top 88 of 2024, we asked the hardworking members of our music department to share thoughts on their personal top five lists for the year.

We start with Beck, who joined our music department in the summer of 2024. Beck has been a DJ for the past few years and currently hosts Late Night Progressive Rock on Wednesday nights. On his night, the show turns into The Moshpit, highlighting the very best in heavy metal and hard rock.

Top 5 Albums of 2024 – Beck (Music Director)

1. MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
My number one pick was pretty obvious as soon as I heard this album. My previous encounters with MJ Lenderman have been few and far between, but this year I finally got a chance to fully listen to him. First time was when he collaborated with Waxahtchee on Tigers Blood with their song “Right Back To It,” which is such a simple yet powerful piece of folk music. The subtle harmonies MJ adds to the song during the chorus and the simple country guitar solo he performs at the end just make this a perfect piece of music. Now stretch that to a full album. Manning Fireworks opens with a simple acoustic track but picks up right away with the main hitter of the album, “Joker Lips,” which is an alt-country song for the ages. MJ’s slacker-country/alt-country style approach to songwriting (not only in music but his clear, almost apathetic, twang-singing) just appeals so well to me and is such a perfect blend of what country/folk was and what it can be in the future. Very good album and definitely my favorite from the year plus the only one I went out of my way to get for my vinyl collection. 10/10

2. Cameron Winter – Heavy Metal
Now when I heard front man of Geese, Cameron Winter, was gonna make a solo album I truly did not know what to expect. 3D Country by Geese is such a wacky and fun album, and, to be honest, that was the kind of energy I was expecting from Cameron’s solo work as well. Boy was I wrong, good lord. Heavy Metal is a striking turn from the Zeppelin-esque vocal approach Cameron was messing around with on 3D Country and instead he uses his voice as a tender vehicle to deliver some of the most odd yet prolific lyrics. The music is also super subtle but also powerful. Cameron demonstrates his multi-instrumental talents through the whole project and mixed with his vocal stylings offers probably the most unique album all year, and it deserves so much praise. A lot of this album sounds like the ramblings of a madman, but the sincerity and emotion in his voice almost makes you believe him. “God is real, I wouldn’t joke about this, I’m not kidding this time” 9.5/10

3. Feivel Is Glaque – Rong Weicknes
One of my favorite periods of music is this weird sect of jazz that came out of France throughout the ’70s. Bands like Cortex or Synthesis that were part of this jazz-fusion movement were my shit all throughout high school and I never thought I’d experience the joy of listening to Troupeau Blue for the first time again. Then my boys Feivel Is Glaque came around and made my freaking year. Duo Ma Clements and Zach Philips come together for their third studio album and create a cozy jazz pop/jazz-fusion album just in time for the cold weather. The whole project was recorded “in triplicate” and live at the Outlier Inn in 2023 and was mixed to its final product by Steve Vealy. The whole album to me sounds like you’re walking through a European city at nighttime during the winter. Ma’s voice mixed with woodwinds and the piano stylings of Zach just offer such a comfy vibe that I’m sure I’ll be bumping every time I need to cozy up next to a fire or the next time I’m hosting a cocktail party. 9.5/10

4. Origami Angel – Feeling Not Found
Now, I listen to a lot of stuff, but my friends definitely know that I’m a huge hardcore music fan. Most of my main bands are hardcore artists and (like every edgelord growing up) I basically grew up on pop-punk/punk. Bands like Green Day, Blink, Sum 41, and The Used molded my brain and made me the emo punk before you today. That being said, Origami Angel’s Feeling Not Found is such a perfect mixture of pop-punk and harcore it’s not even funny. OK, it’s a little funny, and awesome and cool and sweet and awesome. Origami Angel is Ryland Heagy and Patrick Doherty, and I would classify this album under “easycore,” which (if you’re familiar with the “blank-core” genres) is a mixture of hardcore rock and nostalgic pop. This project goes from catchy pop-punk choruses about computers and the matrix to the most insane breakdown you’ve heard. “Fruit Wine” and “Dirty Mirror Selfie,” which were the main singles, are just powerhouses of these whiny vocals that build to amazing breakdowns that are not only demonstration of the band’s heavy side but the main singer’s ability to scream his brains out. This project was also produced by the lovely Will Yipp, who has worked with amazing alt-rock bands like Title Fight and Modern Baseball. Love it love it LOVE IT. 9/10

5. Magdelena Bay – Imaginal Disk
Now if we’re talking about the best produced album of the year, I don’t think you’ll find something better than Mag Bay’s latest work, Imaginal Disk. These guys are the new wave of neo psychedelia/synthpop, and this project I’m certain will go down as their magnum opus. The whole project is a concept album about the protagonist, True (an alter ego of Mica Tenenbaum, one half of Mag Bay), who becomes a better version of herself when an alien puts a disk into her forehead. Her body then rejects this “new form,” and she has to relearn what it means to be human. Now, I believe the story makes the listening process better, but let me stress that this album stands on its own without the need of a story; it only adds to the beauty that is this project. Not only is the production amazing, the instrumental talents of both Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin are demonstrated in every way. Mica’s vocals are hypnotizing, and Matt’s basslines and guitar riffs just keep the whole album grooving. Also, fans of Lil Yachty might recognize a lot of the album’s production, which is fair because Mag Bay helped write a lot of his most recent project Let’s Start Here, which many (even me) consider his best work. 9.5/10

To see all this year’s lists, go to the Music News section of our website.