2024 Number 1: Big Big Train

Gemma's Top 10 Albums of 2024: Number 1
Big Big Train - The Likes of Us

Yes, Big Big Train. Again.

When we lost David Longdon three years ago, it hit me hard. Big Big Train had been my favourite band of the 2010s and played an important role in me rediscovering my love for music. And, needless to say, his voice was a big, big part of it. I never got to see Big Big Train live – I still haven’t. I was going to and then Covid came. And then fate took him away.

I’ve not been able to face listening to Big Big Train, until another twist of fate took me to Winchester, the city that’s been such a source of inspiration to the band’s tales of history and folklore. I took the path to the top of the hill, followed the trail and looked to the West. I played the song, heard that voice again, and found a way to mourn.

I was still pretty agnostic towards the current line up of BBT, until I finally caved and gave this years album – the first of new material featuring Alberto Bravin – a shot. Damn. From the moment thirty seconds in the famous horn section started playing, I knew the album would be at the top of my list.

The Likes Of Us. I wonder if it's a nod to "Driving The Last Spike", off the last Genesis album with Phil, sometimes called "the first Big Big Train song". They'll never see the likes of us again. And we never did. But their heirs are still here, and they're going to give it a damn good go.

So, it turns out this Bravin fellow can sing a bit. He shines beautifully in these songs that were written for his voice. His dynamic and emotional range is really impressive. He also turns out to be a more than capable songwriting companion to Greg Spawton.

The songs are once again indescribably beautiful, led by Spawton. Expertly crafted and full of warmth, many sonic nods to Genesis with the 12-strings and lush melodies, but also a bit of Crimson and ELP in the wilder moments. The origanic sounds of the violins and horn section give it that BBT flair.

The spectre of loss inevitably hangs over the album. Even the traditional whimsical song of childhood fun - "Skates On" - is imbued with the bittersweet taste of mortality. We're only here for so long.

Rikard Sjöblom hasn't written any music for this one - he left his best stuff for Beardfish this year - but his guitar work is always on point. Add the wondrous talents of Oskar Holldorff and singing drummer Nick D'Virgilio, and it's obvious Big Big Train are still Big Big Train.

It's not the most difficult album they ever made. As their grand opening statement of a new era, one of bittersweet retrospection mixed with careful optimism, they cast a wide net and made a celebratory, jubilant and accessible record that touched me emotionally in a way that I really didn't know they still could.

So the most British band in the world (even though they are a British-Italian-Swedish-Norwegian-American collaboration) continue to be the standard bearers for the music I like best. I'm sure David would have been pleased.

2024 Number 2: Kyros

Gemma's Top 10 Albums of 2024: Number 2
Kyros - Mannequin

Few bands have been killing it as hard as Kyros this year. They were unknown to me before now but I've become a big fan.

First of all. Shelby Logan Warne. She is a rock star. One of the most exciting, charismatic, talented singers and musicians in the UK scene right now. And she bought her own studio this year, too. What a legend.

Second, this is an album bursting at the seems with energy. It starts out with a sweet ballad, for the rest it turns it up to eleven. Musically it's a mix of prog rock and synthwave, elaborately produced, with a certain pop sensibility but also a tendency to veer into Haken-like instrumental chaos. And ultimately, they just write the bops.

Third, and most personally relevant of all: perhaps unsurprisingly, Kyros' words of personal struggle, growth and change have resonated deeply with me. I don't have to look for hidden, unintended double meanings to have songs that I can freely and openly relate to. And yet there's a universality to the words that everyone can probably find something in.

The album generated a fair bit of hype, but if you missed it: don't. Plus an honourable mention to the companion EP Fear and Love, which reprises a few of the themes found here. Total prog move. I see what you did there.

2024 Number 3: Meer

Gemma's Top 10 Albums of 2024: Number 3
Meer - Wheels Within Wheels

There's two ways of describing Meer. The hard way is this.

Cinematic. Refreshing. Elegant. Intense. Exhilarating. Unique and still familiar. Highly cool.

They play the kind of baroque, cinematic rock music with a progressive edge that is instantly warm and likeable. Add it to a high standard of songwriting, songs that seem to get only more and more intense as the album progresses, and some of the best singing I've heard this year.

Another thing that makes them unique is that their singers are a dueling sister and brother combo, Johanne and Knut, who seem to have made a bet as to who gets to be the most impressive rock vocalist in Norway. Knut's melancholy wail is magnificent, but Johanne's raw power frequently steals the show.

Frequently the songs seem deceptively simple, with verses and hummable choruses, but the sonic palate is so layered, the instrumental sections so elaborate, the melody lines so beautiful, that it's an album you can keep listening to. It works on both the immediate level and the level of deep immersion that us progheads value most of all.

The easy way is this: It's really, really good music.

2024 Number 4: Beardfish

Gemma's Top 10 Albums of 2024: Number 4
Beardfish - Songs For Beating Hearts

Comeback albums. They always do well on this blog.

I followed Beardfish during their initial run of albums, since the Sleeping in Traffic days. They were always a promising band… but I never felt they completely lived up to that promise. All of their albums – and they had plenty – seemed to fall just short of the major league to me, although Mammoth and Comfortzone got pretty close. There was something that wasn’t quite there. Great, energetic prog songs always sat alongside meandering pieces, grungy bits that were too gnarly for comfort, or things that felt a bit clunky or overwritten.

There was also a comedy aspect to Beardfish. The humour was often compared to Zappa (some songs even shout him out) but that comparison never really rung true for me. There was a menace about Zappa, kind of a mean streak perhaps, while Rikard Sjöblom (to his credit) is a cuddly teddy bear. There was never that nasty edge to him.

By the time Beardfish broke up, Sjöblom had already joined Big Big Train, most definitely a major league prog band, and he otherwise occupied himself with his Gungfly project. Did he still need Beardfish in his life? Did we, for that matter?

Well, here’s the proof of the pudding. Songs for Beating Hearts might be Beardfish’ best album yet. It's certainly their most consistent. Biggest change? They yeeted the overt attempts at comedy. Maybe the fans won’t like that but honestly, it’s about time this band stopped hiding behind the funny and start playing with conviction. But there’s still plenty of energy, warmth and joy to be found here.

The strong opening song, the mighty centerpiece epic, the heart-wrenching ballad and the powerful closer, all is present and accounted for. It's played with emotion and that playful edge that Beardfish is known for. Whether or not we needed them back, it's good to have them back.

Also, if I had a nickel for every song called "Oblivion" with Rikard Sjöblom on it that came out in 2024, I'd have two nickels. Which is not a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

2024 Number 5: Barock Project

Gemma's Top 10 Albums of 2024: Number 5
Barock Project - Time Voyager

I hear you like symphonic progressive rock. Well, have I got an album for you.

Barock Project started off as a typical Italo-prog group, but they switched to English early on in their career. I'm not familiar with their previous work, but it's obvious I've been missing something. This is the kind of album on which everything goes right.

From the grand opening onwards, it's obvious that there's masters at work. They have it down to a fine art form, exactly the right sounds at exactly the right moment. Bombastic or playful, simple or complex, a breather at exactly the right time. A nod to Genesis here, a bit that sounds like Queen there, a perfectly tasty organ solo, a folky bit, a rocky bit, everything is put together so expertly that they almost make it seem too easy. It's a long album but it positively flies by.

It's almost impossible to be at all interested in prog rock and not be impressed by this album in some capacity. It hits the exact sweet spot with such expert precision that, actually, I find I have kept it at an arms length. I do that with albums that are too good. This is music that serves my every whim, maybe I want to be challenged.

In fact, this album probably would have made it into the top three, if not for the fact that they're using AI images as cover art. Lame lame lame! Lame, and unethical, too. There's such a dedication to craftsmanship on display on the musical front, the disdain for the visual arts is heartbreaking. On the list of things musicians should stop doing, that is number one.

In fact, as an aside, I'm less than impressed by most of the cover images on my list. What happened to the Mark Wilkinsons, Roger Deans and Storm Thorgersons of this world? I know that, with the end of physical media, cover art has become less important, but does that mean we can't be arsed to pay a proper artist at all anymore? Surely there's some added value left to actual artwork? 

Time Voyager is a very fine album that is sorely undersold by its own cover.

2024 Number 6: Ritual

Gemma's Top 10 Albums of 2024: Number 6
Ritual - The Story of Mr. Bogd, Part 1

Let's have a concept album on our prog list. Always a staple of the genre. This one tells of a rich man who is propelled by fate to change his life and become a better person, a fable for our times indeed.

Like Viima, Ritual are folky and Scandinavian, but their approach is completely different. Ritual are among the great maximalists of prog, bringing lots of energy, Gentle Giant-like canons and musical chaos into a swirling whirlwind of an album. Of course, there are also sedate, reflective moments in this story of introspection, but it's mostly a wild album full of crazy fairy tale adventures. It's like going to the Efteling on amphetamine.

Lots of acoustic instruments are hidden in the mix, but there's moments of mad rock 'n roll too. The singer understood the assingment and has gone full theatre kid on this one (which he also did on the previous Ritual record, which came out a cool 16 years ago). Being Part One, the album doesn't really have a satisfying ending. It just closes in the middle of the story.

Yes, Ritual take their time to craft albums. They are one of the oldest bands on my list, going back to the nineties, but this is only their fifth album. This means that it's entirely possible we might have to wait a while for part two. I have no doubt it'll be worth waiting for.

I also believe that releasing part one and two separately rather than as a double album was the right call. Two hours of this would have been a little too intense. But part one is a deeply enjoyable, energetic adventure.

2024 Number 7: Kendrick Lamar

Gemma's Top 10 Albums of 2024: Number 7
Kendrick Lamar - GNX

Yes, I’ve got a hip hop album on my prog rock list now. It’s my list, folks! If you can’t deal, I have a proper prog rock album for you tomorrow.

There’s no power move quite like releasing an album out of nowhere with no hype or buildup whatsoever, and if there’s one artist who can pull it off surely it’s the guy who this year proved that, without a shadow of a doubt, there’s no big three, just big him. We all enjoyed the spectacle, but what comes after the victory lap?

Drake is alluded to briefly, but he’s mere dirt on the foot of a man who’s always ready to move on. GNX is a punchy, snappy album that varies widely in tone, mood and subject, but it all flows together quite beautifully. It’s more of a backwards-looking album than a forwards-looking one. Legends like Tupac are duly honoured in “Reincarnated”, the album’s emotional centerpiece. The whole thing is a love letter to the West Coast hip hop tradition. There’s a waft of nostalgia to it. There’s something refreshingly free of trend chasing here, barring the trends that Kendrick himself has created.

I’m not steeped in hip hop culture and I won’t pretend I get all the references, or even most of them. I just vibe with it. The sentiment expressed I related to the most is the feeling of being out of empathy for the other side, tired of being asked to compromise who you are, and choosing to prioritize yourself, your own authenticity and development, maybe your own mental health, over endlessly pleasing people who almost certainly wouldn’t do the same for you.

In less capable hands, Kendrick’s move away from heady concept albums like TPAB and Mr. Morale into more song-oriented, straightforward fare might have seemed like a semi-conscious capitulation to the only punch Drake threw at him that almost kinda-sorta nearly stuck: Kendrick just opened his mouth / somebody hand him a grammy right now. Maybe he deliberately positions himself less as an auteur who appeals to the beard stroking intelligentsia, and more as a pop star, someone for the people?

It slides off him anyway. Kendrick is just too good, too good at writing rhymes that make you think and analyze, that make you share in his melancholy or righteous anger, that make you want to listen over and over again. All the while he’s staying firmly in the realm of authenticity and knocking out, what’s the word, bangers, almost as an afterthought. He can do whatever he wants. Maybe he felt he needed to prove it, maybe he didn’t. I wouldn’t say he makes it look easy, the man is intense, but he does make it seem inevitable. I can understand why lesser rap arists (a category that includes basically everyone else) get infuriated by him. So be it. The king rules, the goat bleats.