2024: Albums in Review
2024 has been a good year for country music, and these are my favourite albums to be released this year - not necessarily in order because I’m a little indecisive (but Zach Top is probably number one).
Cold Beer & Country Music by Zach Top
Whether it’s because of its uncanny 90s sound, its flawless production, its incessantly catchy lyrics or the fact that not a week has gone by in my life without a Zach Top track since its April release, Cold Beer & Country Music feels like it’s been around for longer than 8 months. There’s been a huge amount of conversation around “saving country music”, who’s making “real country music” or what that even means this year, but Zach Top is undeniably doing something that seems to answer all these questions. There just isn’t a bad track on this album, each one as confident as the last. He’s top of my list of 2024, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that 2025 will be a good year for this cowboy too. And you know I never lie.
Passage Du Desir by Johnny Blue Skies/Sturgill Simpson
Passage Du Desir, Johnny Blue Skies. Sturgill rebranded, reinvented and reignited. Nothing was lost, so much was gained. This album truly is 42 minutes of near-perfection. Something Sturgill can do perhaps better than any of his contemporaries, is unashamedly address the messiness of human emotions, and pair that with intricate, interesting, unique production. For a Sturgill newbie, I can’t imagine ending my year or heading into the next one without his music. Some more of my thoughts on Passage here.
Made By These Moments by The Red Clay Strays
Paired with their Live From the Ryman album, The Red Clay Strays proved their talent with Made by These Moments. In fact, they more than proved it, they shut up anyone doubting them and solidified their place as one of the best bands country has right now. With what could be a messily overwhelming number of musical influences creating their sound, the blend they’ve found works perfectly, it balances the genius of the greats in Southern music with a fresh and authentic Red Clay signature class - it’s cool. Full Moments review here.
Am I Okay? by Megan Moroney
Sophomore albums are notoriously difficult to do well, especially when your debut is named Country and Americana Album of the Year by Rolling Stone, but Megan Moroney followed up Lucky with the country-pop, rock-tinged, inspired-by-traditional-country, emo-cowgirl brilliance of Am I Okay?. It can’t be denied that females in music risk not being taken seriously when they wear short dresses, have blonde curls and sing about heartbreak, but they know that’s the case – take Swift’s ‘I wanna love glitter and also stand up for the double standards that exist in our society’ quote for example. It sucks that that’s the reality of the music industry, but refreshing to see that Megan seems to have noticed this, accepted its shittiness and goes for it anyway. I saw her sing about her feelings for 2 hours in a short blue glittery dress to an audience of girls, guys, Brits in cowboy hats and dads with their daughters – and everyone just adored her. Am I Okay? is an album that embraces big feelings and celebrates feminine energy, and it’s fun as hell.
Road to Nowhere by Zach Meadows
It’s been a good year for smaller artists too, when an artist finds their way into the country underground, to those that want more than what you hear on the radio, you’ll be celebrated and uplifted in a way that I’ve not seen in many other online communities. Zach Meadows’ Road to Nowhere, is one that I might have missed had it not been for Gabe Lee promoting his involvement on Instagram, and the guys I follow on Twitter (or X or whatever) who talk about music as much as I do. Tracks like Dogwoods and Texas Two Step are probably some of the prettiest songs to be released this year, they’ve been on repeat on my playlists and they’ve made me cry in my kitchen – and what else can you ask for from a country writer. I’m hoping Meadows makes it into the group of Zachs that are dominating good music next year.
Trail of Flowers by Sierra Ferrell
2024 hasn’t been Sierra Ferrell’s first year, but it’s been her BIG year. She’s found her way into almost every corner of country, collaborating with Post Malone on F-1 Trillion, Lukas Nelson on a bluegrass Adele cover, earning Grammy nominations and playing at big-name festivals and tour stops. But Trail of Flowers is what’s really proven just how diverse of an artist she is, aiming to make her listeners ‘feel nostalgic for the past, but excited about the future of music’, the album features bluegrassy Appalachian instruments, folky songwriting, rootsy-country infectious melodies (I Could Drive You Crazy and Dollar Bill Bar in particular), and some honkytonk energy. Sierra’s an old soul with fresh talent and the perfect amount of brashy boldness to make it clear that she’s sticking around. American Dreaming might just be my song of the year too.
Dark Cloud by J.R. Carroll
J.R. Carroll released his long-anticipated debut album Dark Cloud in December, just in time to disrupt countless end of the year album rankings – mine included. Carroll’s been releasing singles for a few years, but this is his first full-length project, with a Red-Dirt diversity and an Isbell kind of feel, it finished off a good year of music very well. Keyboard player for Zach Bryan, you could say that Carroll’s living in a bit of a Dark Cloud himself, or at least in a pretty heavy shadow, but his skilled and delicate lyrics indicate that he’s not hiding in that shadow, he’s just settled in it. The Oklahoma native might be a self-confessed recluse, but the album is colourful in its sound, comfortable in its ambition and confident in its writing.
The Great American Bar Scene by Zach Bryan
The Great American Bar Scene. Zach Bryan. I almost didn’t include this album on my list, and I’m not sure why. It came exactly when I needed it, it offers nostalgia, escape, fun, pain, love and some damn good writing; so maybe there’s something in the specific circumstance of an album that makes it feel too special to throw into an end of year list? I’m not sure, but several of the songs on here made it onto my Spotify wrapped - Memphis; The Blues (feat. John Moreland) being number one - and I listened to a concerning amount of ZB this year (over 10,000 minutes, feels almost shameful to admit), here are my full thoughts on the album that offered us a celebration of American culture, exactly when it was needed.
