Curious what notable personalities in the scene think was great this year? So is TGEFM! So we reached out to some of our favorite luminaries ranging from musicians, label personnel, and more for their “Best of 2024” lists. Now, listen: TGEFM is not a taskmistress. Contributors can write these out however they want. So if it doesn’t actually look or read like a list… and sometimes it really is just a list with no other observations! Who cares?
Kevin Day created Part-Time PR nearly a decade ago. In that time he has represented some awesome acts like Kill Lincoln, Half Past Two, Sammy Kay and Omnigone. In addition to his work with Part-Time PR, Kevin also performs with Errth and Graduation Speech. As both an artist and an artist representative, Kevin has proven he has his finger firmly on the pulse of the music scene and was kind enough to share his favorites of 2024 with us here.
Part-Time PR Linktree
Best of 2024:
Wild Pink – Dulling the Horns: Since the moment that I listened to their self-titled album, I absolutely fell in love with this band and I always welcome new music from them. Dulling the Horns feels a bit more in line with the things that I loved on their debut but more refined and with a confidence that comes with being a band for almost a decade. There’s a layer of thick fuzz on everything that gives this album some muscle that previous releases haven’t had and, lyrically, it might be their best work yet. This has been on repeat for me since it was released.
Bright Eyes – Five Dice, All Threes: I have a rocky relationship with Bright Eyes and Conor Oberst. I was in high school when they started to blow up, and I ignored them heavily. Aside from his solo album Ruminations (which is probably my favorite of his work) and I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, I’ve found that his output has been hard to connect with. I could pick out songs on each release that are amazing, but as a whole, a lot of the albums don’t seem to stick with me. That is not the case with Five Dice, All Threes. I’m not exactly sure what it is about this album. Maybe the right place and right time, maybe the sense of tragedy that seems to be bubbling underneath, maybe the stellar musicianship…whatever it is, I find it magnetizing.
The Blackburns – S/T: This one totally blindsided me. The Blackburns know how to write a hook, and they do not let up. Fuzzed-out alt-rock that can certainly get the “90’s” tag, but one thing that makes it stand out is that, much like a lot of bands that popped off in the 90s, The Blackburns approach all of this with a tongue in cheek attitude and playfulness that makes it so easy to fall in love with.
Hedge – Better Days: You might know Christopher from his work in The Young Leaves. If you don’t know them, do yourself a favor and go listen to Alive and Well. Hedge is sonically somewhere between Husker Du and Superchunk with a knack for writing highly melodic earworms that feel caked in dirt. Better Days is like digging up some old mixtape full of long-lost gems. An absolute monster of a debut.
Broadcaster – Daylight: When I heard that my old friends in Broadcaster were releasing new music, I couldn’t believe it. There was a period in my life where I spent countless hours, days, weeks with these guys in a van, playing shows, and just hanging out. Their ability to write a simple pop song was something I always envied because they did it with such finesse and made it look so easy. Daylight picks up where they left off and all I can say is “WELCOME BACK, BOYS.” Endearing lyrics, big choruses, all killer and no filler.
I wanted to give some love to other artists as well, so here’s some of my favorite songs of 2024 that aren’t from the list above:
1. Wild Pink – “Air Drumming Fix You”
2. Sailor Down – “Locals Night”
3. Yotam Ben Horin – “Translucid”
4. UgLi – “gho5tz”
5. Marathon States – “Bay Area Station”
6. Late Bloomer – “Birthday”
7. The Feeders – “Sara You’re My Savior”
8. Town Liar – “Game Night”
9. New Junk City – “Dr. Friendman”
10. Rutterkin – “Metamorphoses”
11. Heavy Lag – “Rats”
12. Show Me the Body – “Peace Corps”
13. Alkaline Trio – “Versions of You”
14. Waxahatchee – “Right Back to It”
15. Chuck Ragan – “Wild In Our Ways”
16. The Copyrights – “In there Somewhere”
17. Planes Mistaken for Stars – “Fix Me”
18. Karate – “Silence, Sound”
19. Drug Church – “Hey Listen”
20. American Thrills – “Fixer Upper”
21. The Magic Robin – “Springtime Rental Fee”
22. Gabe Hascall – “Happening in the Mirror”
And of course, I have to bring some attention to all of the wonderful bands that I worked with through Part-Time PR this year. Here’s what you should check out:
1. The Kilograms – S/T
2. States of Nature – Brighter Than Before
3. Night Windows – In Memories
4. Graduation Speech – Arcane Feelings
5. Strategies – “Morning Shore”
6. Half Past Two – Talk Is Killing Me
7. Eat Defeat – My Money’s On Me
8. Joe Gittleman – Hold Up
9. Sammy Kay – July 1960
10. Omnigone – Feral
11. Massive Nightmares – S/T
12. Brackish – Rearview
13. Kill Lincoln – No Normal
14. Early Riser – Big Life
15. Sadlands – “Bandits”
16. Divided Heaven – “Living Funeral”
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
