DEC 20 — A year that’s filled with quite a few highlights—my band Couple celebrated our 30th anniversary—has been made richer by the presence of so many good, great and even outstanding albums. 

Being a guitar-oriented guy when it comes to making music myself, of course my listening habits would be dominated by guitar-oriented music, but even within this narrow scope, I fell in love with so many new albums that to even try to limit this list to 10 albums was a very tough ask.

Still, here are 10 albums that I’ve loved and probably listened to the most out of the many, many new albums I’ve discovered this year. 

Maybe not the best of the year, but these are the ones that are closest to my heart.

Militarie Gun – God Save The Gun

Out of all the younger hardcore bands taking a stab at 90s alt-rock and grunge, these guys are undoubtedly my favourite. 

Their debut album Life Under The Gun was my top choice in 2023, and they’ve gotten even better at crafting energetic pop songs with this second album, which naturally has to top my list this year. 

Filled to the brim with one melodic, ultra-catchy song after another, this would’ve been a monster hit album if it was released in the mid 1990s or early 2000s, when the radio was still heavily playing guitar-based songs. 

Take your pick from God Owes Me Money, BADIDEA, Thought You We Waving, Kick or Fill Me With Paint, these bangers will leave you tired from jumping around and singing along.

Alien Boy – You Wanna Fade?

I won’t pretend to have heard of Portland band Alien Boy before this, but I stumbled upon their song Changes earlier in the year and was immediately captivated by their sound, a brilliant blend of Britpop and power pop melodies with that 90s alternative/shoegaze guitar sound that a lot of young bands today seem to love very much. 

Singer songwriter Sonia Weber proves to be a deft hand at crafting infectious melodies and casually poetic lyrics, like on my favourite song Pictures Of You: “There’s pictures of you in my room hanging behind my eyes. What is this feeling? It’s been a long time.” 

An album that holds huge promise, I hope this one makes them explode into the US national scene, which is something they fully deserve.

Turnstile – Never Enough

This is most definitely the biggest album of Turnstile’s career, and the one that launches them into the top tier of the international music industry, with festival headline slots galore alongside big names like Sabrina Carpenter, Lorde and Kid Cudi. 

But I have to admit that it took me a few listens to truly appreciate how this album is another step forward for them, much like how Glow On was a major step forward from their second album Time & Space. 

One of the reasons I was a bit hesitant with this one was because quite a few of the songs sound like they’re repurposed from Glow On. 

But it’s in the bits and pieces in between and in the middle of the songs here that Turnstile have chosen to make their steps forward, like the sudden yet smooth turn towards house music on my favourite song, Look Out For Me, which is probably the highlight of the whole album for me.

Totorro – Sofa So Good

I don’t think anyone expected a new album from French math rock wizards Totorro, especially after some members of the band launched a new band called Do It Later which released a new album called Feeling Spent earlier in the year. 

So, when they suddenly teased new music with a song called New Music and then proceeded to release this new album Sofa So Good in October, the huge fanboy in me almost squealed with joy, and this new one is a wonderful return to what made their debut album Home Alone so fetching – huge catchy Midwest emo-ish riffs with lots of playful and clever forays into time signature and tempo changes. Favourite song: Matthews Bridge.

Liquid Mike – Hell Is An Airport

At this rate, Marquette, Michigan power pop heroes Liquid Mike will probably end up on my list every year as they continue their prolific streak with another new album, and another irresistible collection of pop songs at that. 

There really isn’t much that I could add to what I’ve written about them before. 

If you love Guided By Voices, Weezer, Fountains Of Wayne, Everclear, basically all that catchy guitar pop stuff from the 1990s, Liquid Mike will most definitely be your new favourite band. They’ve been mine for at least three years now.

The Wildhearts – Satanic Rites Of The Wildhearts

I’ve long maintained that if ever I was to be stuck on an island and I had to pick the complete discography of only one band to accompany me there, it would have to be British hard rockers The Wildhearts. 

They’re the only band in the world who can seamlessly transition from heavy, headbanging Metallica riffs into catchy Teenage Fanclub melodies in the same song, and make it work as a seven or eight-minute song, complete with tempo changes and extended guitar solos. 

Just listen to album opener Eventually or closer Failure Is The Mother Of Success for evidence of this. 

If, like me, you’re a huge fan of their first two albums Earth Versus The WIldhearts and PHUQ, this one is a throwback to the epic songs of that era, but with the modern metal production of Chutzpah. 

Absolutely essential Wildhearts!

Skinhead – It’s A Beautiful Day, What A Beautiful Day

Sometimes the simplest of innovation/variation has been out there all this time with no one to take it on, and when you finally hear it, it’s just mind-blowing how you didn’t think of it first. 

That’s what I felt when I first heard this second album from hardcore band Skinhead, which skillfully mixes Oi! with hardcore. 

Imagine The Business or The Oppressed with Drug Church vocals, and you’re more than halfway there. What a brilliant idea, and what a brilliant album.

Agriculture – The Spiritual Sound

Outside of new albums from Deafheaven, it’s been a while since black metal has entered the general musical conversation, and this second album from Los Angeles band Agriculture is set to change all that. 

Describing their sound as ecstatic black metal, that is exactly what you’ll be feeling when listening to this album, a forward thinking and brave blend of everything, including death metal, noise, punk, math rock and even country, which adds plenty of flavour into the ones we often associate with black metal – extremity, speed and atmosphere. 

Taking a Zen Buddhist approach to spirituality instead of the usual Satanic imagery, this is one of the most refreshing black metal albums I’ve heard in years.

Sharp Pins – Balloon Balloon Balloon

On my list last year with his album Radio DDR, young Chicago musician Kai Slater returns with another shining example of jangly power pop with his latest album Balloon Balloon Balloon. 

Doubling down on the jangly 60s influence and lo-fi aesthetics of Robert Pollard and Guided By Voices, this 21-song album is a treasure trove of retro pop in all sorts of guises. 

It also contains, in my humble opinion, one of the most achingly brilliant songs of the year, called I Don’t Have The Heart, which won’t sound out of place as the highlight of a compilation of lost songs from The Zombies, The Kinks or The Who.

Spiritual Cramp – Rude

A huge leap forward from San Francisco band Spiritual Cramp, this second album is an outstandingly confident collection of catchy pop songs wrapped up in a package that sounds like a 1990s alternative band or 2000s indie rock band with a huge jones for 80s new wave and 70s punk. 

With production that makes them sound a bit like if The Hives loved The Ramones and Talking Heads equally, this is an album that deserves a bigger audience, with songs like album opener I’m An Anarchist or Go Back Home that would sound right at home on the radio. 

A really fun listen, again and again and again.