2024 Album of the year
The top albums of 2024 according to Waxing Lyrical
Joe: The first review I ever posted for Waxing Lyrical was a review of Ezra Collective’s 2024 album, Dance, No One’s Watching. It seems this was fitting, as it is most definitely my album of 2024. It’s a blisteringly good record, from one of the most exciting current jazz collectives on the planet. Infectious and powerful throughout, I embrace the more composition heavy evolution to their sound, which still shows off their immense talent. Closing track Everybody remains one of the greatest album finishers I’ve heard in a long time, and it still gives me goosebumps when I listen. Ezra Collective are taking jazz music to a wider audience – and I am all here for it.
Honourable mentions for my album of the year are:
Midas, by Wunderhorse, for the raw, gritty noise of one of Britain’s fastest rising rock bands, featuring huge tunes, such as title track Midas and Arizona.
In Waves, by Jamie xx, for the best electronic/dance album of 2024, which picks up where his debut solo release, In Colour, left off, with a thumping devotion to the dance floor.
This Could Be Texas, by English Teacher, the Mercury-Prize winning album which features unpredictable twists and turns from a group brimming with talent and style
Romance, by Fontaine’s D.C, with their evolving huge sound and image, which has this year catapulted them even further.
Jacob: Any year that Julian Lage provides new music is a good year and this year, he steals the show for my “best album” choice – albeit a narrow steal – with Speak To Me. This album possesses all the features that I love hearing from virtuosic jazz soloists who have reached a secure point of artistic integrity in their career. The interchange between acoustic and electric guitars in this album delivers varying degrees of intimacy and opens up space for the whole ensemble to shine. It’s a one of a kind jazz guitar album and Lage is a one of a kind guitarist.
One thing we love to do here at Waxing Lyrical is to celebrate UK Jazz in all its various forms, so it might seem surprising that I have gone with a stateside jazzer for my 2024 choice. As luck would have it, I also have an honourable mention list and it’s absolutely a celebration of UK Jazz this year:
We Have Each Other (EP), by TC & The Groove Family, which celebrates life and fellowship with a musical exuberance that’ll force you onto the dance floor.
Janek Gwizdala Trio (Live In London), by Janek Gwizdala, showcases the scope of improvisation in a live setting and is a reminder that jazz at Pizza Express can perhaps still provide something to behold.
Stream, by Fergus McCreadie; this album glides in the space between jazz, folk and classical forms of music and with track names like Mountain Stream and Driftwood, it’s a perfect ode to nature.
2024 Top Live Event
Our picks for the most exciting gigs this year
Joe: When choosing my favourite gig of 2024, I wanted to pick an event I’d attended in Newcastle, to highlight what we have going on up here. However, I soon came to the realisation that this wouldn’t need any effort. It is the case regardless, as my favourite gig of this year was, by far and away, corto.alto at Hoochie Coochie. I am incredibly grateful I got to see corto.alto and his band in such an intimate and well-loved venue, and they were phenomenal. The jazz-electronic fusion sounds filled every corner of the venue, and every member of the esteemed collective amazed with their talent and musicianship, prompting almost involuntary “whoops”, as well as cheers throughout the gig (from myself included). This group is surely the future of jazz, and a must-see for any jazz lovers.
The gig was made even more special by the astounding support from acoustic folk musician Daudi Matsiko; his raw, direct and evocative explorations of his life and mental struggles had the crowd in awe. It was beautiful, and the perfect way to lift the crowd’s emotions before the headline act.
Jacob: I’m going to lean into my bias, answering this one, as my choice for the best live event I’ve attended in 2024 is one that I also played a part in. All things considered though, I think you ought to let me have this one; my nomination is not based on my own performance or that of my band, who were one of the two support groups that night (not-so-shameless plug for SwanNek). My choice for the “live event” of the year is a gig that took place in Newcastle’s own Cobalt Studios early in Autumn, headlined by the high-spirited TC & The Groove Family. Alongside the incomparable experience of witnessing The Groove Family’s intense sound, the night also provided music from the mesmerising London-based quintet Knats, and Newcastle’s own jazz group SwanNek. Personal affiliations aside, I feel there are few gigs that host a lineup of such aptly suited groups than this and fewer that provide that level of energy; that’s why it’s made it to the top of my list for this category, without hesitation.
Personal discovery of 2024
We might have been late to the game for these picks but
they’re too good for us not to share
Joe: This year, I’ve explored the world of electronic/dance music much more than previously, so my personal discovery of the year is the amazing eclectic house music of Scottish DJ and producer Barry Can’t Swim – which, admittedly, I came across much later than I should have. He blends styles such as afrobeat and jazz with irresistible electronic beats, to create absolutely euphoric bangers you can’t possibly dislike. His 2023 album, Where Will We Land?, is a party from start to finish, and he maintained momentum into 2024, with the instant classic Kimbara, and a mighty festival and gig season, including a packed Glastonbury set, and two nights at the O2 Academy Brixton. Barry Can’t Swim has been on repeat for me this year, and he’s at the very top of my live bucket list.
Jacob: I’ve long been a distant admirer of folk music and folk identity; however, this year saw the first (and hopefully not last) portion of my formal study in the subject. Surprisingly, to me at least at the time, my fascination with northern English folk music and my primary practice in jazz took me to the Appalachian Mountains in the US. For those also wanting to follow this route and without an idea of where to start, I’ve got to recommend the broad compilation album Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways. Dock Boggs’ Sugar Baby is a particularly great listen, with his detailed, blues-inspired banjo playing and intriguing Virginia pan-handle accent. Whatever you listen to in this compilation album, it’s so important to go and read about the stories behind these people and the manner in which they were recorded – that’s part of the joy in engaging with folk recordings.
Coolest collaboration of 2024
The track collaborations that got us shouting from the rooftops
Joe: My collaboration of the year is Nubiyan Twist and the legend that is Nile Rodgers, for their collaboration on the track Lights Out. It’s an upbeat, jazzy gem of a track from Nubiyan Twist’s album Find Your Flame, and this record was the soundtrack of my summer. It’s a vibrant, joyful jazz album, which also features the likes of Seun Kuti, corto.alto and K.O.G, of which any of these would have been great choices for this category. Lights Out was the obvious choice for me, though: the iconic and instantly recognisable Nile Rodgers guitar style riff is the perfect complement to the groove and energy radiated by Nubiyan Twist, and the adjoined forces of such heavily adored, respected and skilled artists/songwriters was only ever going to end with a track as ecstatic as Lights Out.
Jacob: I thought this was going to be a tough category… and then I remembered Starship Syncopation by Cory Wong and Metropole Orkest – an album containing other fantastic musician collabs. Cory Wong’s sound has solidified itself in the annals of history, in spite of, or perhaps because of, his involvement with a wide span of musical ensembles over the past few years. Through these ensembles, he’s demonstrated the reflexivity of his definitional funk-inspired guitar technique and clearly expressed his meticulousness toward composing, arranging and recording. I think that amongst all of his musical exploits, his work with large ensembles – be that big bands or contemporary orchestras – have been his most effective. Cory Wong and the Metropole Orkest have given us dense, feel-good music before, with the Live In Amsterdam album, and this new invention provides even more of that. Big arrangements, big tunes, big collabs
Favourite album cover of 2024
Our picks for the most inspiring artwork of 2024
Joe: My favourite album cover of the year has to be that found on English Teacher’s debut album, This Could Be Texas. It’s a painting of Ilkley’s Cow and Calf Rocks, West Yorkshire, by Gilly Fontaine-Grist, frontwoman Lily Fontaine’s mum, with a central ‘creature’, which represents the band through an abstract sculpture. This appears to contain features somewhat resembling an ear, guitar, and maybe a cello. On its own, the album cover is brilliantly artsy, and clearly linked to the band’s proud Northern roots. However, it’s when experienced in conjunction with the band and the album as a complete, that you realise how perfectly representative it is. On stage, for example, the painting hangs behind the ‘creature’, and elegantly embodies English Teacher’s aesthetic and artistic rock essence, all whilst paying homage to their identity, origin and inspirations.
Jacob: Album artwork performs more of a role than people think in the reception and organisation of music, whether released digitally or physically. It can assign genre or mood and can even allude to fidelity of the music and its timbral makeup. With this in mind (and you can tell I’ve clearly thought about this), I’m going to choose the artwork for root tape 001 by bodyroot. Alongside being an inspirational debut EP, the visual design and photography for this release is perfectly made; the juxtaposition of the natural and digital world captured in the artwork aptly prefaces the marriage of acoustic and electronic sounds heard throughout the EP.
All eyes on 2025
What we’re looking forward to most from the year ahead
Joe: It’s difficult to pick; next year is looking like its shaping up to be a brilliant year for live music in Newcastle. Fontaines D.C. have got a huge show in Exhibition Park, supported by English Teacher, which I am probably the most excited for. However, I am also interested to see what Newcastle’s newest and biggest festival, ‘Come Together’ has in store – it’s a five day festival, and they’ve already announced two huge names in Robbie Williams and Kings of Leon. I am very keen to hear who else they have lined up, and I hope for some good local representation.
Jacob: I am unbelievably excited for 2025, with the release of Joshua Burnside’s upcoming album, Teeth of Time, as well as countless other releases by artists I follow. My bands SwanNek and Nauta have numerous releases this coming year, as well as shows to look forward to. Further than that, I am looking forward to attending gigs in Newcastle such as Kamasi Washington’s headline at the Glasshouse as well as the plethora of small-medium sized jazz gigs that are taking place across the city. We’re planning on covering everything that we attend and are also planning on bringing you interviews and exclusives from the scene here in Newcastle in 2025.
Waxing Lyrical 