We’re officially halfway through the year. Well, almost. And looking back to January, there have been some outstanding releases from artists who have played Sofar shows. We know the year is far from over, but here are Sofar’s Best Albums of 2024 (so far).
January
AJ McQueen | Sorry Ma, I Was Distracted
The debut album from one of the hottest rappers around, AJ McQueen’s Sorry Ma, I Was Distracted is a dynamic collection of poetry and storytelling. McQueen’s life – from his upbringing on the Northside of St. Louis, to his gang involvement as a teenager when he got shot and nearly died – is on full display across nineteen tracks, interspersed with voicemails and phone conversations with his mom and grandmother. We covered this album in our February New Music Alert, and we’re stoked that it’s getting mentioned in our Best of list.
We love this album for its message, which blends family history and childhood memories, all in the face of mental health struggles and fulfilling one’s destiny. McQueen’s influences come through too, which include Nas, Kendrick Lamar, Lauryn Hill, and 2Pac.
Katy Kirby | Blue Raspberry
The second record from Brooklyn’s Katy Kirby brings a more subdued band sound in favor of Kirby’s sharp vocal delivery. Blue Raspberry is a work of immense depth, even if the instrumentation feels more laid back, the production more straightforward. Kirby’s songwriting skills have well and truly been honed since her 2021 breakthrough Cool Dry Place, and on the new record one can hear the echoes of Americana influence (Linda Rondstadt) and more contemporary indie country folk (Waxahatchee).
February
Runnner | Stardust
L.A-based ambient producer Noah Weinmann is known for his resourcefulness. But on his latest release, Starsdust, he had to really dig deep into the well of his creativity.
Weinmann spent the last few years working on his own debut album, Like Dying Stars, We’re Reaching Out from home. He used anything and everything he could get his hands on: cell phones and handheld tape recorders, the hum of an A/C unit, voicemails from friends, and pieces of cardboard rubbed together. While touring that record, Weinmann began tinkering with the stems he had left over from recording. Then after sustaining an injury, he turned to the files as a place of creative solace. These files became the basis for Starsdust, which was released by Run for Cover in April.
“I made one rule for myself while making this record and it was that I wasn’t allowed to record any new audio,” Weinman explains. “I was allowed to pitch, flip, stretch, and chop anything I wanted, but everything had to begin from something already recorded for the last album.”
JavyPablo | SOMOS JAVYPABLO
JavyPablo is a portmanteau of its members’ first names, brothers Pablo and Javier Imbroda, who hail from Málaga, Spain. Now based in Madrid, they’ve been making significant strides in the Spanish music scene, and their newest album SOMOS JAVYPABLO showcases their unique blend of pop, rock, and folk.
SOMOS JAVYPABLO acts as an introduction for audiences to their music, and explores themes of self-identity and mental health.
Kevin Holliday | LADYBUG
This one appeared in our March New Music Alert, and for good reason. Blending funk, soul, R&B, and indie rock, Kevin Holliday’s LADYBUG is all about being vulnerable when love comes to hurt you. Holliday brings a laid-back vibe across the album’s ten tracks, reminiscent of Tame Impala, Stevie Wonder, and OutKast.
March
Hannah Connolly | Shadowboxing
“It takes a hell of a lot of patience trying to hold a good thing down,” sings L.A.-based singer-songwriter on Shadowboxing’s second track, “Stuck in Place”. That line, a kind of mantra for Connolly, is the driving force behind Shadowboxing: an album ostensibly about grief and how to move past it – and whether we even should try to move past it, or instead sit in the pain. “This song is about appreciating where you are at the time without worrying about what comes next,” says Connolly.
Production began in 2020, with Connolly and her band writing and recording remotely over Zoom. The bones of the album are tinged with that uncertainty and isolation of the pandemic. Later, when the band was able, recording shifted to the backcountry hills of Idyllwild, CA – infusing even more isolation into the sound of the record. But the end result is a moving album in the tradition of Stevie Nicks and Linda Rondstadt.
Latrell James | Running In Place
Boston emcee Latrell James released his second studio album in mid-March. Running In Place is a layered homage to James’ father, and he wasn’t even sure if he would release the album because of its personal connection to him and his family. “Something in the universe told me to just let it go so here it is,” says James. “I know you are smiling, dad.”
Across 13 tracks, James shows his abundant penchant for flow, beats, and melody. It’s a breath of fresh air.
Reggie Becton | Sadboy, Vol. 2
With a voice like the Weeknd’s, Reggie Becton’s bold storytelling delivery is equal parts rap and R&B, yet all entirely unique to him. On Sadboy, Vol. 2, Becton picks up where last year’s Vol. 1 left off, leaning into his influences (Marvin Gaye and Prince, to name a couple) to reveal vulnerabilities of his own masculinity.
Karim Kamar | The Heart is an Empty Vessel
A mostly self-taught classical pianist, London’s Karim Kamar embodies the sheer beauty of stillness and negative space on his sparse yet emotive album The Heart is an Empty Vessel.
He began training eight hours a day back in 2013, working his way through a song book called 50 Greats for the Piano, which included works by Bach and Mozart. The result is Kamar’s work: a unique blend of classical and contemporary – neoclassical – that shines and stirs like the great composers of old, while being accessible and moving for modern audiences. Oh, Kamar is also known on TikTok for his videos performing at public pianos across London.
Konradsen | Michael’s Book on Bears
Expansive and still like the Norwegian wilderness from which they hail, Konradsen’s second album is Michael’s Book on Bears: a meditative examination of companionship and home. It’s cozy, tender – a postcard to the world from the duo’s little slice of woods.
The project of singer Jenny Marie Sabel and multi-instrumentalist Eirik Vildgren, Konradsen’s sound echoes contemporaries Amanda Bergman (Amason) and Kate Stables (This Is The Kit).
April
Tuyo | Paisagem
Afro-Brazilian pop trio Tuyo pairs both the summer energy of the Brazilian beach with the sweaty scenes of a São Paolo nightclub. On their newest full-length, Paisagem, the group taps into the folk, rap, and cumbia genres, all while threading their individual electronic and experimental influences throughout. Think Polo & Pan but more introspective.
Baby Rose & BADBADNOTGOOD | Slow Burn
With her distinct voice, Baby Rose’s music transcends decades. The D.C. native sounds beyond her years, blending the old and the new on Slow Burn, her new EP. It’s a sound reminiscent of both Billie Holliday and SZA, Karen Dalton and Kehlani. Produced by and featuring BADBADNOTGOOD, Slow Burn is an R&B record that dazzles effortlessly, and mixes jazz, Americana, soul, and psych genres with ease.
Lizzy McAlpine | Older
Upon first listen, Older immediately feels like a new era for 24-year old McAlpine. The songs dazzle in their solemnity, with McAlpine’s breathy vocal delivery piercing the stripped back acoustic instrumentation. From the heartbreaking “Movie Star” to the gripping “Vortex” – Older shows just how ahead-of-her-years McAlpine is as a songwriter.
The album’s steady confidence shows an artist who knows what she wants to say and knows just how she’s going to say it.
Medium Build | Country
Is it a surprise that Country is on this list? We’ve covered the singles from this album over the last few months, and when the full album dropped we knew it was going to be a hit. Nick Carpenter’s Medium Build came through the Anchorage, Alaska, punk music scene and emerged on the other side with fans all over the world.
The songs on Country are both funny and tender, self-critical and self-deprecating – masterful in the way they balance exuberance with catharsis. They explore Carpenter’s early childhood experiences (“In My Room”), life in Alaska (“Cutting Thru the Country”), and finding the one you love (“Knowing U Exist”).
Country is an album written on the road, the road nomadic Carpenter has lived on and grown up on throughout his whole career. But on Country, you can hear Carpenter begin to lay down his roots.
“I want this to feel lived-in,” Nick says. “It’s sort of me finding a defined place.”
May
Caity Krone | Nose Job
The debut album from L.A.’s Caity Krone is a jewel in the line of folk storytellers. Nose Job echoes Stevie Nicks, but also contemporary artists like Weyes Blood and Lana Del Rey. The songs conjure characters we’ve never met, places we’ve never been, and memories we’ve never had – but her songwriting ability puts us in those scenes every time.
Wanna see tracks from some of these great albums performed in-person? Grab tickets to a show near you!
