The end of the year is looming and it’s giving us the opportunity to look back at 2024. In a few days, we’ll be asking you to share your top artist and album picks – stay tuned! Then listen back as our yearly tradition of counting down your favorites continues on December 30.
Benji McPhail’s picks
TOP 3 ALBUMS:
Alejandro Escovedo – Echo Dancing: This is a wonderful album of some reinterpretations of some of Alejandro’s previous material. It’s all good.
La Lom – The Los Angeles League of Musicians: Great record from beginning to end.
Chuck Prophet – Wake The Dead: Cumbia is the new punk rock.
TOP 3 SONGS:
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings – Empty Trainload of Sky: Absolutely gorgeous song about a really bad day.
JD McPherson – I Can’t Go Anywhere With You: Sounds like the Cramps in their prime.
Frank Turner – Girl From The Record Shop: One minute and 47 seconds of pure pop magic.
WILDCARD:
Homegrown Bites Volume 1 – I’ve done many cool things in my radio career but, I have never seen enthusiasm like this before. Everyone was excited to share what an amazing music scene we have here in North Texas. A lot of sweat went into making this project happen and the result was worth it.
La Bell’s picks
TOP 3 ALBUMS:
Marcus King – Mood Swings: Great songwriting. The album was relatable and authentic
Leon Bridges – LEON: This feels different for Leon and I like it!
Maggie Rogers – Don’t Forget Me: It has been a pleasure to hear the maturity coming from Maggie’s new works. This is the start of many.
TOP 3 SONGS:
Lover’s Leap – Elbow: I love the creativity and the bending of genres.
Inglewood Motel – Marcus King: A solid R&B groove.
Like A Woman – Lady Blackbird – My new anthem for myself and EVERY woman.
WILDCARD:
Experiencing my first DANCE concert – Jungle was ELECTRIFYING and NUTS!! 10 for 10!!
Lesley James’ picks
TOP 3 ALBUMS:
The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World: ‘Disintegration’ Pt. 2? I think so, and worth the 16-year wait.
The Last Dinner Party – Prelude To Ecstasy: UK’s buzziest new all-female indie band delivers big time on their debut, and played one of my favorite shows of the year at The Studio at The Factory in March.
Fontaines D.C. – Romance: Just when I think the Irish post punk band can’t top their last album, they do it yet again. Their artistic evolution and experimentation is infectious.
TOP 3 SONGS:
Fontaines D.C. – Starburster: Game changer for the Irish band who has been buzzing for several years… and hopefully will earn them their first grammy win.
Yannis & The Yaw – Rain Can’t Reach Us: Reminds me of Foals w/ some extra flare! Apparently there was a chance it could have been a Foals tune, but after singer and guitarist Yannis Philippakis shared the idea with the late, great drummer, and one of the founders of the afrobeat genre Tony Allen, it blossomed into something else. I turn up the volume every time I hear it!
St. Vincent – Flea: I love the twists and turns on this one from the homegrown hero… and the video of her playing it stripped-down to a bunch of rescue puppies bumped it up to my top 3.
WILDCARD:
Biggest reunion news of the year – OASIS! My favorite band of all-time announced their first gigs in 15 years. Fingers crossed the Gallagher brothers make it through their sold out stadium tour around the world. Well, at least through September 6th at the Rose Bowl in LA. That’s when I’m seeing them, thanks to my twin sister 😉
Jackson Wisdorf’s picks
TOP 3 ALBUMS:
Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy: One of the best debut records I’ve heard in quite some time, song-after-song this is an incredible album from performance to production (Fave tune = Sinner)
Osees – Sorcs 80: Had to sneak this one in, we don’t play much Osees on KXT, but this has been a record I’ve retuned to at least once a week since its release earlier this year. Sounds like DEVO on a bad trip (Fave tune = Casius, Brutus & Judas)
Clairo – Charm: Ah, something peaceful, such a great record by the young singer/songwriter, and bonus points for releasing a Margo Guryan cover soon after the release (Check it out, Love Songs) ((Fave tune = Sexy To Someone)
TOP 3 SONGS:
St. Vincent – Broken Man: Very good production and experimentation on this tune, industrial sounds and cool guitar tones make this one a track that I can listen to over and over again.
Clairo – Love Songs: Mentioned this one along with my favorite albums, but have to reiterate how great this cover is, and how awesome it is that one of my favorite songwriters of the 60s (Margo Guryan) is getting some well-deserved recognition from many new/upcoming artists on the record this track found a home on (Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan)
Michael Lee & The Wartime Limousine – I Get My Groove From You: Recently released by the Fort Worth outfit, this cover of the 1972 Bobby Patterson tune has been on repeat since I first heard it back in early November!
WILDCARD:
One of my favorite moments of the year just happened in mid-November – A 3-hour marathon set by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard in Austin. This discography-spanning set had a little bit of everything in it – From the Thrash Metal Sounds of records like Infest the Rat’s Nest, and tracks off their early heavy-psych albums like Float Along-Fill Your Lungs to a 30+ minute disco-synth odyssey – This was one of the coolest shows I’ve ever attended (10/10, would recommend)
Waffles’ picks
TOP 3 ALBUMS:
trauma ray – Chameleon: Been waiting 6 years for this immaculate debut album offering from the killer Fort Worth shoegaze band. Been on repeat since it came out.
Jacob Metcalf – Monitiors: A beautifully delicate collection of songs to cry to while drinking a warm cup of tea, thinking about your ancestors and the passage of time.
Henry The Archer – The Garden: The kind of record that ebbs and flows with killer musical quality, where you can sing along and get out all the emotions.
TOP 3 SONGS:
Mitchell Ferguson – Breathe: The kind of song you put on to relieve your existential crisis.
Trees Marie – Run to the Sturgeon Moon: She has one of the greatest rock n roll voices our generation.
CURL – “*” : The kind of great modern punk that reminds you that punk ain’t dead.
WILDCARD MOMENT:
Getting to see Vandoliers play on the Bobby Hotel rooftop from an even higher rooftop vantage point during AmericanaFest 2024. A surreal moment to see the Dallas hometown heroes lifted up and adored in a different city:
(My KXT article): Lonestar Shindig brings Texas heat to AmericanaFest at Bobby Hotel’s rooftop lounge | KXT 91.7
Eric Bright’s picks
TOP 3 ALBUMS:
Old 97s – American Primitive: Released in 2024, but sounds like a classic that could have been released in 1999.
Laura Marling – Patterns in Repeat: I don’t understand why she’s not a huge star, but she’s a sublime guitarist and singer and this album’s great.
Johnny Blue Skies (Sturgill Simpson) – Passage du Desir: Excellent country rock, with some weirdness thrown in. And I support my fellow former Navy sailors.
Amy Miller’s picks
TOP 3 ALBUMS:
Fontaines DC – Romance: Something about this band pulled me in the first time I heard them and I’ve been watching them ever since, waiting for them to blow up. They’re well on their way, if not already there. Looking forward to their show next year at The Factory!
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard And Soft: There’s a good chance Billie Eilish will end up on my “Best Of” list any time she releases a new album. One of the most unique pop stars of our time, Billie gave us one of the catchiest songs of the year with “Birds Of A Feather” which is on this album.
Royel Otis – Pratts & Pain: Like a lot of people, I discovered this band from their covers of “Linger” and “Murder On The Dance Floor.” I loved their sound and I love their original songwriting just as much.
TOP 3 SONGS:
Like A Bird – Adrian Quesada & Abraham Alexander: Adrian and Abraham wrote this song specifically for the movie, Sing Sing, and it creates such a beautiful backdrop to one of the most powerful scenes in the movie. The hook was stuck in my head after hearing it the first time – always a great sign of incredible songwriting.
Pulling Teeth – Slow Joy: One of the most promising artists to come out of North Texas is Slow Joy. Love the dynamics and lyrics in this song which has become a fan favorite. Keep your eye on Esteban Flores (aka Slow Joy) in 2025.
Speyside – Bon Iver: This song hit me hard when I first heard it and has since become my favorite Bon Iver song to date. I could listen on repeat (and have!).
WILDCARD:
Leon Bridges, Abraham Alexander and Brandon Marcel performing “Ivy” on stage at Dickies Arena. It’s such a beautiful song on Leon’s new album and seeing the Fort Worth trio perform it live was one of the best moments of the night.
Preston Jones’ picks
TOP 3 ALBUMS:
Dua Lipa – Radical Optimism: A front-to-back masterpiece from one of pop’s more overlooked superstars, this glittering, pulsing dispatch from the dancefloor is irresistible.
Norah Jones – Visions: Light, limber and brimming with some of her most arresting work to date, this album from the Texas-bred, New York-based singer-songwriter feels effortless.
Leon Bridges – Leon: The pride of Fort Worth turns inward with his latest record, resulting in a melodic, often moving survey of life, love and the land he calls home.
TOP 3 SONGS:
The Last Dinner Party – Sinner: This British indie rock quintet smashes together carnal self-awareness (“I wish I knew you/Before it felt like a sin”) and an almost Victorian-punk sensibility — somewhere, the ghost of Freddie Mercury is grinning.
Kacey Musgraves – Arm’s Length: Taken from the extended version of her latest LP, Deeper Well, this viciously introspective song is the most devastating and most gorgeous song Musgraves has yet written.
Jack White – That’s How I’m Feeling: A scorching blues-punk rave-up from White’s guerilla surprise album No Name, this muscular, fuzzed-out single kicks like a mule.
WILDCARD:
Green Day reached new frontiers in head-scratching merch, “de-mastering” its debut, Dookie, and re-releasing it via multiple, peculiar methods, including a Teddy Ruxpin, a doorbell and a toothbrush.
