Dear Roadburners,
We have one more announcement to squeeze in before we take a break for Christmas. And as much as we’re looking forward – to all the great music to come our way in 2025, as well as Roadburn in April of course – it’s a wonderful thing to reflect on the year we’ve just had.
This isn’t a chart or a ranking, it’s just a few releases that we (your humble Roadburn booking team) have enjoyed listening to this year as we have worked on booking the festival. It’s not even close to an exhaustive list of the music that has inspired and motivated us over the last twelve months.
Some of the albums we enjoyed you may be familiar with already because they were performed at Roadburn this year (such as Inter Arma’s New Heaven) or will be performed at Roadburn next year (such as Thou’s Umbilical, Sumac’s The Healer or Oranssi Pazuzu’s Muuntautuja). In many ways, the Roadburn line up itself is our ‘best of’ list.
So, without further ado, dive in! Let us know if you discover something new here. If you’re not already there, you could join the Roadburners Facebook group, or the Roadburn discord server.
- Walter, Becky & Daan
Walter’s pick: Uncle Acid - Nell’ Ora Blu
“Due to my eye condition, it’s now very hard for me to do some things that others may take for granted, like putting an album on the turntable, or simply watching a movie.
“However, when Uncle Acid’s Nell’ Ora Blu came out, I ordered a vinyl copy of it straight away. I completely fell in love with the band’s venture into a more cinematic approach, creating a soundtrack to an imaginary Italian crime noir. The album allows me to conjure up and piece together the entire film in my head, experiencing it as if it was real.
“It is my album of the year, as it completely fueled my inspiration and my senses in different ways through its narrative, both sonically and visually, becoming a perfect escapism from my own reality.
“It’s also a redefinition of the band’s style, as the scope and feel really set it apart from everything they’ve done before. Nell’ Ora Blu is a must-have both for Uncle Acid aficionados and for anyone who admires the famous soundtracks by Goblin or any of the other iconic Italian prog masters of the early 70s.”
Becky’s pick: Couch Slut - You Could Do It Tonight
“It’s been over a year since I first heard Couch Slut’s You Could Do It Tonight and it continues to haunt me to this day. Their unsettling ability to shine a light on the darkest crevices of the human psyche, coupled with their acerbic noise rock chops means that this album is right up my street.
“It was an absolute joy to have them at Roadburn; both their secret set and their Terminal stage set were incredible – each showing different facets to the band, but both highlighting why they’re an essential part of the underground right now. Croissants and all.
“Long may Couch Slut reign, in all their filthy glory.”
DAAN’S PICK: SIERRA FERRELL - TRAIL OF FLOWERS
I witnessed Sierra Ferrell perform during the Americana Honors & Awards Show in Ryman Auditorium last year and nobody will take that away from me. What a voice and what a persona. Absolutely amazing album with old timey country!
Other notable releases
Hawkwind – Stories From Time and Space
Even in his eighties and sounding more vulnerable than ever, Hawkwind’s Dave Brock is still the quintessential traveller of time and space. Stories from Time and Space may end up being an exploration of the final frontier, but Dave is still pushing the band and his own imagination into new directions. It’s still Hawkwind, it’s still exciting, and it still feels like a spaceship with its doors wide open, inviting you to take part of the expedition.
Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere
As evidenced across their dual Roadburn performances, Blood Incantation are the reigning champions of combining crushing death metal with transcendental ambient soundscapes. Absolute Elsewhere is the pinnacle of this genre-fusion; an exquisite listen from start to finish. We’re aware that this album is getting high praise from e very direction – it’s hard to miss, but we couldn’t resist including it here as it’s sure to be an album that in the future will be a defining part of the sound of 2024.
Greet – Harmonium II
Whilst Greet is a new proposition – the very first release came earlier in 2024 – many a contented hour has been passed in the company of Matthew Broadley and his harmonium. Pastoral folk for the righteously incandescent. Well worth your time.
The Jesus Lizard – Rack
Good things come to those who wait, and what’s twenty four years between friends anyway? The new Jesus Lizard album was worth the wait, humming with all that glorious noise rock fury that made them such an important band in the first place. In the years of their absence no doubt an army of new fans have discovered their back catalogue but with Rack, they have something brand new to savour too.
Genital Shame – Chronic Illness Wish
Genital Shame is the project of Erin Dawson who has given her particular thread of black metal its own subgenre: TWBM, standing for Trans Woman Black Metal. Hailing from Pittsburgh, she gets the bedroom black metal balance just right between abrasive rawness and majestic transcendence.
Sunrise Patriot Motion – My Father Took Me Hunting In The Snow
Okay, yes, it’s an EP rather than an album, but it still deserves its place in this list. The follow up to 2022’s Black Fellflower Stream (which if you haven’t yet got stuck into, we suggest you do that too!), this EP dropped shortly before the band made their live debut at Roadburn. Combining soaring synths, black metal and post punk, it’s a glorious nugget to tide us over until another album comes our way.
Julie Christmas – Ridiculous and Full of Blood
We promise that this is not in the list only because Julie wrote a song inspired by her first Roadburn experience, although that was of course extremely flattering. After a prolonged absence, Julie has returned to our sound systems, not only ridiculous and full of blood, but fueled with an unmatched passion and backed by a stellar line up of musicians to round out her vision. Fusing elements of post-metal, noise rock and post-hardcore, Julie’s distinctive voice remains the brightest, most distinctive element. Julie Christmas is a whirlwind; that will never change.