Amanda's Top 10 Releases Of 2024

Amanda has been with us for around six months (at least, sorry, I don't keep tabs on these things and my memory is awful! - Rich) and has been such a great member of the Tangled team. Super friendly and knowledgeable in all things metal, alt rock, country, pop and even more! 

Unfortunately she'll be leaving us early next year, but not without letting us and you know her musical gems of 2024. So here are her top ten rotations over the past twelve months, in no particular order, and there's a variety of genres/styles to put your ear to. Thank you Amanda and we wish you the best!

THOU - UMBILICAL

Genre: Doom Metal / Sludge
WE HAVE IT!

Every track fills my brain so well I don’t have to think thoughts. I like not thinking thoughts. Seriously though, for a band coming up on 20 years it amazes me how every album feels like I’m hearing them for the first time and forever altering my brain chemistry.

"Umbilical" is definitely more accessible (but no less impressive), with its less sludgey/more grungy feel, it’s a good introduction to this prolific band.

Favourite track: I Return as Chained and Bound to You.

BETH GIBBONS - LIVES OUTGROWN

Genre: Alternative Pop / Acoustic
WE HAVE IT!

Yeah, THAT Beth Gibbons. There’s not much I can say about this. Hauntingly beautiful, intensely personal.

An album inspired by the endings and goodbyes in her life, Gibbons graces us with this wonderful, engaging and often times emotionally challenging gift.
I got emotional listening to this (just this?).

Favourite track: Floating on a Moment.

UNPEOPLE - UNPEOPLE EP

Genre: Alternative Rock / Metal

Unexpected but welcome coming out of Arctangent festival. Manic 90s energy, with just enough screaming to get you up, when the morning remains darker and darker as you wake up far too early like I do.

Can you dance to it? Probably not but I will try.

Favourite track: All of them. Banger beginning to end.

MANGY BONES - CONGREGATION OF RATS

Genre: Alternative Rock / Alt-Country / Folk

Whoooo boy, this is a strange one. Melding mid-century pop with gravelly folk-punk vocals and some seriously weird samples makes it a surprisingly enjoyable listen. I say seriously weird samples - pretty sure there’s some spooky Halloween sounds in the background in more than a few tracks. I’m here for it.

Favourite track: Wide Eyed Lonely Ghost.

DAISY RICKMAN - HOWL

Genre: Folk / Ambient / Drone

With a sitar droning along her opening track, it has a very counterculture vibe with an Anglican twist. She carries it down to the last with her playful arrangements that keep it from sounding overdone and stale.

Feeling ancient in origin, ritualistic and almost pagan in the way she chants - it’s easy to get carried away by "Howl". Striking on the first listen and only gets better from there.

Favourite track: Feed the Forest.

GEORGIA RUTH - COOL HEAD

Genre: Alternative Pop / Folk / Americana
WE HAVE IT!

The evening before the seasons change, a long drive down a deserted highway, a beginning and an end. Her fourth album is a poppy-folk inspired journey, a cohesive piece of work that spans time and space.

Switching gently from Welsh to Appalachian and back again, aptly named "Cool Head" is my go to chill-out album.

Favourite track: When it All Comes Down.

ODIE LEIGH - CARRIER PIGEON

Genre: Country / Acoustic

From her days with GemsOnVHS to "Carrier Pigeon", something about Odie Leigh’s songwriting has just floored me. If her first release was an ode to obsessive longing, her latest allows her to explain herself. She brings a mature self-awareness to her mess which forces you to be honest with yourself as a result.

Frank, emotional, and even a little dancey at times you’ll forget why you were ever sad in the first place. Oh, wait.

Favourite track: Either Way.

ZETRA - ZETRA

Genre: Alternative Rock

Another pleasant surprise and by far my favourite from Arctangent festival in Somerset this year is this two-piece gothy metal-gaze outfit, "Zetra".

Their first album-length release catches that electronic gazey vibe and amplifies it. With an energy that is wholly unplaceable and entirely their own this is another one I’ll have trouble taking out of rotation anytime soon.

Favourite track: Starfall (feat. Svalbard & Serena Cherry).

CHELSEA WOLFE - SHE REACHES OUT TO SHE REACHES OUT TO SHE

Genre: Alternative Rock / Electronic / Goth Rock
WE'VE GOT THIS!

I don’t think I can do this album justice with a mere paragraph. Another immense effort from Chelsea Wolfe that doesn’t miss.

This is her 7th album and honestly I don’t think she’s ever put out something I don’t like. It feels a bit like an erratic dream just before it turns into a nightmare. Thick and electronic with her signature sultry vocals warbling you through to the other side.

None of this made sense. It’s just good, I like it. No skips.

Favourite track: Salt.

JOHN MORELAND - VISITOR

Genre: Country / Americana

If John Moreland has no fans, I must be dead. If he releases something it will be my automatic favourite.

John Moreland breaks our hearts and we are grateful for it. What do you expect from a man who writes songs like Gentle Violence and Visitor with lines that read like dust bowl poetry?

"I’m a Louisville slugger aimed for the fences / While all my old defences keep me down" - grab a drink and get ready to cry.

Favourite track: Will the Heavens Catch Us.