Album of the Year for 2024

It’s that time again when I publish my “Album of the Year”, an honorable tradition here at the YARRED website.

Just kidding—this is the first time I’ve done this. 😂 (I had two goals this year: release a new album for the first time in ages, and start blogging about other music I love. Score on both counts!)

Before I unveil my album of the year, let me note a few previous years. I think my routine will be to choose an album that’s squarely in the genre I adore (retro-flavored electronica: chillwave, Berlin School, etc.), alongside a more mainstream runner-up.

In 2022: my Album of the Year was Riveria by L’Avenue (I was absolutely obsessed with this album—particularly the track Warm Breeze), and the pop runner-up was Dawn FM by The Weeknd (I’ve listened to this one so-o-o many times—incredible stuff).

And in 2023: my Album of the Year was Hydragate by S.A.W. (how could it not be when it features the illustrious Johannes Schmoelling, formerly of Tangerine Dream), and the pop runner-up was Bebe.

So…drumroll please…

My Album of the Year for 2024 is Into the Unknown by Nero

To say Into the Unknown was a long-awaited follow-up to Nero’s ground-breaking debut album Welcome Reality (2011) and the less impressive but still good sequel Between II Worlds (2015) is an understatement.

Band members Dan Stephens, Joe Ray, and Alana Watson took the world of electronic dance music by storm with their crossover appeal and masterful fusion of multiple genres and touchstones—hard-hitting often menacing synth pyrotechnics combined with the glass-shattering soprano vocals of Watson. And they shot to superstardom upon their collaboration with Skrillex on the dubstep remix of Promises. This was the sound of the early 2010s.

Now I don’t mean to imply Between II Worlds is a bad album. It’s quite good in fact…it just wasn’t brilliant to the degree that Welcome Reality was. It’s hard to produce great sequels! Thus the question quickly became: could Nero complete the trilogy successfully and with panache?

Thankfully I’m—finally—here to report that Into the Unknown is awesome.

I have a bunch of favorite tracks on here, but the one that really stands out for me is Gravity. It’s more akin to the vibes of a synthwave record than drum’n’bass or dubstep…which perhaps is why I love it so much. It’s just a very pleasing song to listen to, masterfully executed.

Another standout that’s more on the wild side is Draw Energy. We’re squarely in hardcore electronic territory on this one—more of an assult on the ears than a song in the traditional sense. And I love it.

It’s possible to claim the “heights” of Into the Unknown don’t quite hit the heights of Welcome Reality. On the other hand…this just might be a “better” album overall. It holds together extremely well, one track conceptually flowing into the next, and Alana Watson has never sounded better. What a pair of pipes she has!

I’m so happy Nero pulled through and over the course of 13 years delivered an electronic music album trilogy that is unparalled in the field. Bravo Nero. Well done.

As for the pop runner-up for Album of the Year for 2024, it is:

eternal sunshine by Ariana Grande

I will fully admit: I am not the target demographic for the fanbase of Ariana Grande. And I will admit yet again, I haven’t even heard anything else she’s done. All I can tell you is my kids were listening to songs from this album, and my ears perked up. There’s some really excellent material on here—supernatural, the boy is mine, yes, and?, we can’t be friends (wait for your love)…bangers all. My only real complaint is one I have with most modern pop music: way too much Auto-Tune on all the vocals. I don’t really get it: we *know* that Ariana Grande can really sing! Why mess it up with that weird robotic warble effect? Ugh.

But no matter. eternal sunshine is a very good pop album, and I’m glad to give the nod to Glinda. 😏

Honorable Mention:

I very nearly gave my Album of the Year award to 80s Ambient Reinventions by State Azure, only…it’s actually an EP-length compilation of songs released over the past several years. They are all covers of famous 80s songs, from Running Up That Hill to Love Comes Quickly, done in a sequencer-laden ambient/Berlin-School instrumental style that is achingly exquisite. Every moment of this album is *chef’s kiss*, and that really doesn’t come as a surprise considering State Azure has been making some of the best ambient electronica in the world for a long while now—not to mention they are behind the best Tangerine Dream covers I’ve ever heard.

So there you have it. My Album(s) of the Year for 2024. What will we be graced with in 2025? Stay tuned!

(And also stay tuned for more YARRED music, coming at you in the New Year. Yeah baby! 🤘)

/// December 21, 2024 ///