Gold Soundz: The Best of October 2024
Highlighting the best music releases from October 2024
On the first Friday of October, I made the claim that it was the best release day of the year and now that the month has wrapped and we only have a few more weeks of new releases in 2024 ahead of us, I still stand by that statement. It should be no wonder that several of the records from that week have made it here as well and I could’ve added more from the likes of Caribou, The Hard Quartet, Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn, and Cindy as well. Needless to say, it was a stunning month for new tunes and I’m sure there is something here that will bring you joy. As we head into next week, I think we’ll all need to find solace in music and the entries below will surely bring you something you can enjoy.
Album of the Month:
CHAT PILE | Cool World
On their second album, the noise makers from Oklahoma City offer up some of their most extreme and brutal music to date. Nestled somewhere between metal and hardcore, the quartet find the proper balance amongst genres and absolutely let loose as they demolish their surroundings with some of the most abrasive and sinister music of the year. Meant to recreate the feelings of the current state of the world, Chat Pile musters up something so intense, but also so brilliant it’s as if we’re all letting out that collective scream together. This album is loud and full of fury complete with bruising beats, lacerating guitar lines, and pummeling bass all of which is held together by the diabolical yelps of frontman Raygun Busch. This sludgy record may be intimidating on the surface and the unrelenting frequencies of sonic mayhem is surely intense, but there’s also something so relieving in having an album that represents the collective malaise while still striving for strains of hope.
EP of the Month:
BON IVER | SABLE,
As long as Justin Vernon has been releasing music under the moniker Bon Iver, his output has not been frequent, but when he does give us new music, it tends to be rather prolific. Over the course of four albums, he’s transcended from reclusive folk artist with an acoustic guitar and stunning vocal harmonies to a glitch-pop wizard that seems to conjure new sounds out of the ether, almost with an electronic mindset that seems indebted to Aphex Twin. Five years after his last record, the excellent i,i, Vernon returns now with a very brief, yet incredibly satisfying EP that returns to his original sound of gorgeous, sparkling acoustic music that is a true return to form that most never expected. Even with its almost frustratingly short run time, the three songs on SABLE, bring us back to a special place and moment in time. It’s not a retread of nostalgia-grab, but something pure and honest.
Reissue of the Month:
CHARLI XCX | Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat
Just when it seemed like we had officially closed the door on Brat Summer, Charli hit us with the remix album. Collecting inputs from a guest list that includes the likes of Robyn, Lorde, Bon Iver, Billie Eilish, Julian Casablancas, Caroline Polachek and more, the variety and depth of these reworked tunes only amplified the record’s already monumental impact. The versatility here shines, never really alluding to what comes next as the range continues to build and boasts just how hard Charli has worked over the past decade to bring her hyper-pop sound to the masses. While for some it may seem like Charli has become one of the year’s overnight pop sensations, it’s actually just about time everyone started paying attention to her after years of putting in the work.
Don’t miss:
BLOOD INCANTATION | Absolute Nowhere
FIEVEL IS GLAUQUE | Rong Weicknes
GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR | “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD”
THE SMILE | Cutouts
WILD PINK | Dulling The Horns
Concerts (in review)
JULIEN BAKER + LUCY DACUS at Brooklyn Steel // 10.8.24
KOKOROKO at Baby’s All Right // 10.13.24
REMI WOLF at the Greek Theatre (LA) // 10.16.24
JONI MITCHELL & THE JONI JAM at the Hollywood Bowl (LA) // 10.20.24
AIR played Moon Safari at the Beacon Theatre // 10.22.24
ANDRÉ 3000 at Brooklyn Academy of Music // 10.26.24
MJ LENDERMAN at Music Hall of Williamsburg // 10.27.24
CASSANDRA JENKINS at Music Hall of Williamsburg // 10.30.24