Words by Peter Tanski
Peter Tanski grew up in the small but thriving Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area, fronting several bands and founding the music and literary fanzine, Exmortus. After a brief stint living in Manhattan’s Lower East Side and writing for Legends Magazine, he returned to Pennsylvania where he began to work with web based music site NEPA Rocks. He currently fronts the melodic hardcore/punk band, Heart Out, hosts The Book of Very Very Bad Things PodZine and as a columnist for Off Shelf with Shadow-Plays.
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In compiling my auditory epitaph for the year of our dark lord 2024, it strikes me that each and every record that I’ve chosen as the best of the annum, save for a few, were produced by artists that have been in my life for over 2 decades. Some over 3. Over 4? Two of them… 5 decades! Call it nostalgia masquerading as pop-music snobbery, but the veterans have certainly seen a massive renaissance due in large part to a youth movement indebted to the genre’s genuine articles.
It has been my habit to present the caveat that my best of lists are in no particular order, and this one is no exception. I have (as you may well notice) broken the artists into pods of similarly aligned acts. That’s less for the reader’s benefit and more for the sake of my own, warped sense of symmetry. Happy whatever-the-hell, and thank you for loving music, and loving what Off Shelf does. It is a haven for the disaffected, and we love it here.
10. Eminem – The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) (Shady Records / Interscope)
The hip-hop landscape has been easily the most fertile and innovative of all genres of popular music. Like punk and its offspring, emcees and producers in that sphere take more chances in the realm of sonic structure than one would believe. In 2024, innovative artists like the undeniably genius Kendrick Lamar occupied one hemisphere of that globe, while the smooth and whimsical beats of the Pete Rock and Common collaboration harkened back to early 90’s boom bap and souled out funkadelia. In the midst of brilliant youth and wizened journeyman, a middle aged Slim Shady was poised to do battle with his primary persona, Eminem. The titular M. Mathers resurrects his uncouth alter in order to put his brash, bawdy, and decidedly wrong-minded diatribes on full display as an eulogy to that side of his personality.
9. Soft Kill – Escape Forever (Cercle Social Records)
The Portland by way of Chicago “Jock Goth” powerhouse known as Soft Kill, one of the most beloved artists in the neo-Post Punk movement, have never really leaned into whatever genre they are relegated. Having utilized sounds from Death Rock, Dream Pop, Shoegaze, Darkwave, New Wave, Indie, Classic, and Street Rock, Tobias and his partner Nicole have always painted with aspects of sounds they enjoyed, but always remained rooted in punk. Their latest LP, Escape Forever and its companion EP, Roseland rides ever closer to perfecting what Blitz had attempted with Second Empire Justice.
8. Lesser Care – Heel Turn (self-released)
Speaking of Soft Kill, their spiritual cousins and home of their touring guitarist, Lesser Care, have crafted a bleak and dreamy slice of life from the streets of Texas with the undeniably grandiose Heel Turn.
7. High Vis – “Guided Tour” (Dais Records)
From the dank halls that gave us Merseybeat and Anglo-beatdown comes High Vis, the band that sat Madchester, mopey proto goth, and Madball adjacent New York Hardcore down and made them play nice on the dance floor.
6. Cock Sparrer – Hand On Heart (Pirates Press)
Born of the same pub rock and boot boy glam the bore acts from Slade to Motorhead, Cock Sparrer successfully chiseled their incendiary name into the sheer, stone face of the Oi! and Streetpunk scene, and still reign as the sole survivors of the original royal family of that sound. Hand On Heart is a solid backward glance at almost 53 years of creative bombastic and tuneful terrace chants full of love and vitriol.
5. Hot Water Music – Vows (Equal Vision)
In the back rooms of pizza joints and American Legions of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, a little band of bearded, burly Floridians that played a melodic version of hardcore with dueling gruff vocals and one hell of a bassist, to become an honorary local band. Over 30 years of slugging it out, and Hot Water Music return once again with Vows. With the injection of new blood in Chris Credswell (of The Flatliners, his second LP with the band) comes a new sense of urgency that packs the wallop Fuel For The Hate Game did 30 years ago. As a bonus, they have recently released a split with the undisputed kings of 90’s post hardcore, Quicksand to commemorate their tour together, along with…
4. As Friends Rust – Lightless (End Hits)
As Friends Rust were the group that so many of us bickered with the more traditional straight edge kids about. Vocalist Damien Moyal was in Culture, and they were a big drug-free favorite. I understood the position, but for my money, AFR were the right band at the right time. With their newest EP, Lightless they bring an exciting new dynamic (and some extra muscle from Andrew Seward of Against Me!) to an already phenomenal group, packing Dag Nasty and White Lion into their sound in tasteful and awe inspiring manner.
3. Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere (Century Media)
Speaking of metal, the band that has been on the lips and hears of every-damn-body-I-know has been Blood Incantation. With their new Sci-Fi epic, Absolute Elsewhere it’s hardly a secret why they’ve garnered such acclaim. This album actually increases your IQ with every listen! I can now Code!
2. The Jesus Lizard – Rack (Ipecac)
The Jesus Lizard have never been wrong. Like Scratch Acid before them, they hold their own special place in music. So caustic, so transgressive, so authentic. On their first album since 1998, Rack reclaims a point in time where something so prurient and sonically visceral could occupy the same space as utter intelligence and acceptance.
1. The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World (Lost Music Ltd. / Polydor)
You could have guessed. You should have guessed. They have occupied a massive block of real estate in my psyche since I was a small child in the early 1980’s, and will in perpetuity. The Cure has returned. Is “Songs Of A Lost World” the grand return to form their excellent world tour run promised? I believe it is. A morose and romantic return to the Disintegration era, the studio recording’s sonic palette actually summons their excellent live albums Paris and Show. It sounds like you are actually in the room with them. It’s tender, affected, and mystical. It’s love, loss, and the passage of time on wax. I admit, my point of view may be colored by a lifetime of fandom – bear in mind, I despise Wild Mood Swings – but I call them like I see them.