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The It’s Time to Play B-Sides Top 20 Albums of 2024

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2024 for me was another year inching towards normal music activities following the COVID Lockdowns of 2020 (and really 2021). I saw two larger touring acts in a new venue in Des Moines (actually Waukee) called Vibrant Music Hall run by Live Nation. I saw Counting Crows in August and Black Crowes in October. A buddy of mine had extra tickets and offered them to me. The venue is really nice with decent sight lines from pretty much every part, and the sound system is really great. I recommend it. I also got to see Hiss Golden Messenger for the second time (the first time was at Eaux Claires Festival in 2015). M.C. Taylor was doing a solo acoustic tour performing the Bad Debt album in its entirety. This show was at Raccoon Motel in Davenport next door to the Davenport location for Ragged Records. Raccoon Motel is booked by Sean Moeller who does a fantastic job curating events there. It’s a really small venue so all of the shows are pretty intimate affairs. The opening act was a duo called Monde UFO who perform a kind of atmospheric jazz and vocal mix with samples and singing bowls. Their last album 7171 was really great, and they’re releasing a new album in 2025. Here are some pictures I shot of that show.

In 2024 my friends and I continued the tradition of meeting in Davenport at Ragged Records for Record Store Day. We had more guys coming along so we had a convoy of three cars leaving from Cedar Rapids, IA and it was a really fun time. We hit both Ragged locations (Davenport and Rock Island) and everyone got the titles they were looking for. Afterwards we grabbed lunch. It’s a great excuse to hang out with friends and buy some records. Analog Vault in Cedar Rapids participated in Record Store Day this year for Black Friday which was really convenient. I only had a couple of titles I was looking for (the 4th and final release of the Get Shown the Light Spring 1977 Grateful Dead shows on vinyl, and the LSD Remixes album) and they had both of them. I think whether I go to Davenport or stay in town has to do with what I want to get off of the list, so we’ll see. The other benefit to going to Davenport for RSD is that it gives me a chance to dig through Ragged’s massive used and new inventory.

Speaking of retail, 2024 seemed like the year that all of the vinyl community online was talking about the price of vinyl– both used and new. I certainly observed this as well. It’s very rare to see new single LP releases for less than $30 and I think that will be the new norm starting price. Used vinyl prices are kind of all over the place, the “big” catalog titles are creeping upwards to the point where it really makes more sense to buy the new reissues. Gone are the days of $9 Led Zeppelin used records. And, honestly, in many cases the new remasters of essential catalog titles (Beatles, Fleetwood Mac Rumours, Pink Floyd, etc.) sound better than early copies and are certainly more readily available (Walmart, Target, Barnes & Noble, Amazon). If I was starting out today, I wouldn’t hold out for OG pressings, I’d just start building the collection with the new pressings and that is the advice I’ve given to people wanting to get into collecting– which BTW, is still the case. If you only watched YouTube Vinyl Community videos, you’d think there is this mass exodus out of vinyl collecting. If there is, I’m not seeing it, but I suppose there could be a collapse coming, which honestly I wouldn’t be too upset about as I feel like a market correction has been overdue.

2024 was the first full year of the Vinyl Me Please subscription I signed up for in late 2023. After years of being dismissive of the endeavor, the announcement of the Miles Davis Electric Years box set in 2023 coupled with a coupon that gave a substantial discount to new subscribers pushed me to sign up. It was a pretty spotty first year for me, honestly. There was the whole controversy around the new pressing plant in Colorado that was going to do all of the VMP releases in-house which ended up falling through as the principle partners decided to take the plant over. This caused a rolling backlog and delay of a bunch of titles that honestly VMP hasn’t really completely recovered from. Little by little they’re catching up, but there are still titles pushed out to August of 2025. On top of that, they increased the monthly subscription price and also reduced the number of genre channels. So, now there are three channels to choose from. All of that said, the packaging and pressings are really top-notch and almost worth the monthly subscription. I upgraded three albums in my collection with VMP versions (Heart Little Queen, Joni Mitchell’s Hissing of Summer Lawns, Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled, Mirage and Tango in the Night). I also picked up some interesting Jazz releases that I might have not looked at if they weren’t part of the subscription. It remains to be seen if I stay a subscriber. I would really like to get the reissue of the Blue Note Story box set, but it seems to be delayed and I really want to get it with a coupon which means it has to be in stock.

So, after all that, 2024 was a year when I bought a lot of records both physical and digital. I filled a lot of gaps in my collection, and I reviewed a lot of great releases for Little Village Magazine. This list is only for new releases in 2024– not reissues, though one release sort of straddles a fine line, but I’ll cover that below. Here is the list in no particular order other than when I come across it looking at my discogs and Bandcamp additions for 2024.

Salt Fox – MISS YOU, KYLE / LOVE YA, BOYS! – Cedar Falls band Salt Fox released their 2nd album in 2024. Their blend of guitars, synths and pop vocals is great, and maybe a little unexpected from an Eastern Iowa band. Superbly polished pop. I reviewed it for Little Village Magazine. No physical release, but is available on all streaming platforms (not Bandcamp).

Run Dog – The Big Room EP – LOVELOVELOVE this EP. Mopey guitar pop that reminds me of Glen Phillips of Toad The Wet Sprocket. I reviewed it for Little Village. I can’t wait to hear more music from this Cedar Falls band.

Johnny Delaware – Para Llevar – A new discovery for me this year, but Johnny Delaware has been on the fringes of things I’ve listened to over the years– he is part of SUSTO and The Artisanals. He popped into Analog Vault earlier this year and did an in-store appearance which I missed, but ended up hearing this album in the store on Black Friday, so I picked this up. Breezy Seventies influenced folk rock. Yacht Rock? No, not really, but it kind of exists in that space. Worth a listen, really great album!

DICKIE – Head Full of Hiss EP – After the release of Dickie’s last album Minus Thieves, he moved to Des Moines and retooled the band. Classic chamber pop rock. The first of a couple of EP’s dropped in November. Here is my review of the EP for Little Village Magazine

Chrash — Music for the Next Scene – Quad Cities band Chrash released their first album since their politically-charged album 2017: The Music. This ends up being kind of the band’s COVID album thematically and also what caused the delay. Some great tracks on here, my favorite is “Fox Fear.” Here is my review for Little Village.

Pylon Reenactment Society – Magnet Factory – Pylon Reenactment Society is sort of a “Pylon Part 2” with original Pylon singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay fronting the new band. The band is less Pylon than a band continuing the original direction of the seminal Athens, GA artrock band. While the band has been around for a few years, Magnet Factory is the first full length album from the band. It’s a fantastic record and if you’re a fan of the original band, it’s an essential release. “Fix It” with Kate Pierson of the B-52’s is a wonderful collaboration.

Kevin Gordon – The In Between – Kevin Gordon came back with his follow up to 2018’s Tilt And Shine. A nice mix of rockers and ballads as we’ve come to expect from Gordon. The lead track is “Simple Things” which is one of my favorite tracks from Gordon.

Mazarin – Pendular Released on Portuguese label Now Jazz Agora this is new jazz ensemble Mazarin’s debut full-length. The mix of live instrumentals heavy in synths and beats recalls the acid jazz era of the 90’s from bands like Brand New Heavies. This is a beautiful chill out record. Now Jazz Agora label head Rui Miguel Abreu and I go back to my days running the DJ Shadow website and chat boards. He sent me a huge package of 12” singles from his label Kami’Khazz back then just because he appreciated what I was doing for the community. When he announced that he was launching a new label, I was down to check it out and this first release is pretty damn great.

Jeff Parker ETA IVtet – The Way Out of Easy – This album is the second release from Parker and the ETA IVtet. The first one was Mondays At The Enfield Tennis Academy (where the band gets its name) on Eremite in 2021 and similar to that release, this album is based on the band’s live shows from the residency at that venue. The performances are improvisational in nature but retain a cohesiveness that I think comes from the use of melody and theme. Watching Parker’s career move from being a somewhat obscure Chicago jazz guitarist (though notably becoming a key member of Tortoise) to a go-to sideman in the new jazz scene as well as building a substantial solo and combo catalog of his own, not to mention a Grammy winner has been really great.

Nala Sinephro – Endlessness – Continuing this little run of Jazz releases is the second album from Nala Sinephro who creates ambient electronic jazz albums somewhat similar to Floating Points. Beautiful album.

Andre 3000 – New Blue Sun – Quite a bit has been said about this release. Andre 3000 of Outkast released his first solo album, and it’s an ambient flute/woodwind instrumental album. I really dig this, but a lot of people are pretty upset that we didn’t get “Hey Ya Pt 2.”

Blue Note Review Volume Three: TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLEE Boxset – Honestly, I thought that after two volumes of Blue Note Review, Blue Note was done with this considering that the first two were dropped in 2017 and 2018, and then Blue Note Records launched the Tone Poet run of releases which set the bar for quality and cost without all of the other stuff and the box. But, on the 85th Anniversary in 2024 they wanted to do some special releases which involved resurrecting the Review series. This box set focuses on trumpeter Lee Morgan who had a very impressive run of releases until his untimely death at 33 years old in 1972. In typical fashion we get a curated Tone-Poet-ish reissue of a vault release of a 1967 session. But, the reason I’m including this release here is the 2 LP (three sides) compilation of Morgan tracks done by current Blue Note artists like Bill Frisell, Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, Kenyon Harrold and more. This release could really stand on its own as a regular catalog release. The performances are great and shines a light on Morgan’s influence on the current jazz scene. This release is why I sought out and bought Morgan’s album The Procrastinator a couple of months ago. The Procrastinator will get a Classic Series reissue in October of 2025.Unfortunately this is not available on any streaming services, so I don’t have a link to it.

Bo Ramsey – Sidetrack & On The Range EPs – We got two EP releases from Iowa country blues legend Bo Ramsey. Both EP’s feature retooling of earlier songs displaying where Bo’s music is today. A mellow and mature perspective compared to his earlier bar busting, hard touring days, but really shows the strength of the songwriting.

James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg – All Gist – James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg reunited to make a follow up to their brilliant 2015 acoustic guitar album Ambsace. The album continues their American Primitive adjacent work. Recommended if you like William Tyler, John Fahey, Jack Rose.

William Tyler – Future Myths – Speaking of Mr. Tyler, he released a new album that was recorded in an (obviously) empty water tower. The album is a re-imagining of his 2019 album Goes West stripping things back to just his guitar in a hugely reverberate room.

Kelly Finnigan – A Lover Was Born – Another fantastic album from R&B savant Kelly Finnigan. It’s cool that he has so many channels to funnel his art into whether it is his solo albums, his work with Monophonics or as producer for other artists. Great record and one I heartily recommend if you dig vintage vibey R&B. On Colemine, of course!

Dope Walker – Heavy Revelations Dope Walker is a supergroup of Minnesota and Iowa musicians who have a shared history in the 90’s Midwest music scene. I loved the debut release Save Save from 2020. This album was started as a kind of a low key duo effort from Aaron Mader and Jeff Allen, but quickly expanded to become the 2nd album from Dope Walker. I think this album leans more pop psych than the previous album, but it’s really great and honestly more people need to know about these albums. Here is my review for Little Village.

Aerial M – The Peel Sessions – This was an unexpected release this year. Aerial M is one of the project names for David Pajo. Aerial M toured briefly as a trio and stopped into Maida Vale studios to record a session for David Peel. Long available as kind of a bootleg taping from the FM broadcast in the UK, it was finally made available as an official release on Drag City this year. Kind of a nod to the work he did in Tortoise briefly. The album art is a tribute to the Strange Fruit releases of the Peel Sessions over the years.

The Orb – Orboretum (The Orb Collection) – This is a compilation of songs over the career of The Orb, kind of a “greatest hits” but is also alternative versions and remixes of those tracks. The vinyl release is an octagonal box that opens like a flower housing 4 LP’s of different colors. I have a lot of the original early CD’s from The Orb, so it’s cool to have these remixes and this really amazing package.

The Black Crowes – Happiness Bastards – Honestly, the only reason I listened to this was because I was going to see them on this tour. I was pleasantly surprised by it. The band is in great form and is kind of all over the map stylistically. They obviously will always sound like The Black Crowes as long as the Robinson brothers are at the helm, but this certainly is an extension of what the band can do. Very guitar heavy, which is cool. One to crank and not think too much about it.

The It’s Time to Play B-Sides Top 20 Albums of 2016

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2016 was the 10th birthday of It’s Time to Play B-Sides, as unreal as that seems. This blog started as an offshoot of the regular conversations about music I was having at work with my friends and co-workers. At the time there wasn’t the proliferation of music sites that there are today, and informed or researched information about music was tough to find. With encouragement from my friends, I started this as a way to capture some of the tangents we’d get into at work. It also ended up being a return of sorts to doing a music website after shuttering the somewhat popular website I was running about DJ Shadow.  The name of the blog came from the signoff post I made to the DJ Shadow boards and was also a line from “Burning For You” by Blue Oyster Cult which always represented the desire to dig a little deeper into music– to flip the record over and listen to the songs on the B-Side.

The focus of It’s Time to Play B-Sides has morphed a bit over the years, some of it due to the amount of time I have to dedicate to writing on it, some of it is because I have focused a lot of my music writing since 2009 as a contributor to Little Village Magazine. This also explains why this list includes a lot of Iowa artists since that’s what we review. That said, there are some really amazing bands in Iowa and even after I review the albums, they stay in regular rotation for me and earn spots on my list.

As many will note, 2016 was a really strange year for music– sadly, mostly notable for the striking number of losses: Glenn Frey, David Bowie, Sharon Jones, Greg Lake, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, Merle Haggard, Maurice White, and Paul Kantner. The one that really hit me hard was the loss of Prince. Prince represented for me the first artist that I discovered on my own. Most of my formative music taste came from my father and that music is still a big part of the foundation of what I think is good in music. Prince came onto the larger music scene for me with Purple Rain, and from there I followed his career, and bands he worked with closely. I don’t think that we’ll see another artist quite as influential or as boundless in talent and genius again. I hope I’m wrong, but I feel like part of his ability to branch out was due to the fact that he hit it big during a time when the music industry was creating  huge stars and he could afford to make some albums that were more daring and experimental.

The list below is in no particular order, but represent the albums that I listened to the most in 2016.

Bon Iver – 22, A Million – Justin Vernon got back on the horse. It really seemed like he wasn’t going to do another record as Bon Iver– he was burnt out of the attention and visibility he got from his Grammy-winning second album. He debuted a couple of the songs at the inaugural Eaux Claires Festival in 2015 with a glorious live show. It took the prodding of his friend Ryan Olson (Gayngs, Polica, etc.) to make him finish (or even keep working on) it. The resulting album seems related to the last album, but the textures and production are unexpected and frankly jolting in comparison, which was exactly his intention, I think. Lots of samples, and heavily affected recording techniques. I expect that this album will influence a lot of artists going forward. At the root of the album is still the perspective of Vernon. His losses and heartbreaks, the stories

Kalispell – Printer’s Son – Kalispell is the name of Shane Leonard’s solo music when he’s not working with other bands like Field Report and JE Sunde. Printer’s Son is a beautiful record, period. From my review on playbsides: “Printer’s Son is one of those rare records that is so completely imagined and executed that when you first listen to it, it seems to drop unexpectedly out of the ether. It’s a record that defies any convenient genre classification. Elements of ambience and folk and jazz come together to help deliver a grippingly emotional and personal album.”

Lissie – My Wild West – Rock Island-native Elisabeth “Lissie” Maurus becomes homesick and moves back to Iowa and self-releases an album based on the experience. Full of hooks, driving and anthemic, it’s a great start to a career back home. Here’s my review from Little Village.

King of the Tramps – Cumplir con el Diablo – A later addition to the list. King of Tramps from Auburn, IA packs a lot of classic guitar-driven rock remniscent of Black Crowes into their latest effort (which comes in a super-cool transparent vinyl version). Here’s my review from Little Village Magazine.

Durand Jones and the Indications – Durand Jones and the Indications – New release on the fantastic Soul and R&B label out of Ohio, Colemine Records. In 2016, Colemine Records started a kind of subscription series where they email you upcoming releases to allow you to opt-in to the special first-pressing variations. This is a much better approach to this idea than the forced-in versions that are the trend today. They let you listen to the releases and you can decide to be part of the drop or not. One of the releases was the debut release of Durand Jones and the Indications on transparent blue vinyl. Fantastic classic R&B in the tradition of Stax/Volt and Otis Redding. Check out the video for “Make A Change.”

Hiss Golden Messenger – Heart Like A Levee – MC Taylor’s second full-length on Merge started as a project to create musical accompaniment to an exhibition of photographs taken by William Gedney in 1972 of an Eastern Kentucky coal-mining camp. Initially the songs were going to be based on the photographs, but eventually took their own direction. The album is distinctively HGM with Taylor expressing the developing perspective of a man coming to terms with balancing a family life and a music career. I’ve been a fan from before the first release as HGM and eagerly await the next releases.

Steve Gunn – Eyes On The Lines – I found out about Steve Gunn through his connection to Hiss Golden Messenger– a one-off collaboration called Golden Gunn. His 2016 release is his debut on Matador Records. To me, his music is influenced by the great UK guitarists like Richard Thompson and Michael Chapman (whose upcoming release 50, he produced and played on).

William Tyler – Modern Country – Nashville guitar wizard William Tyler, who works with a lot folks including Hiss Golden Messenger and Lambchop, released another album of his particular atmospheric guitar acrobatics. For me, his albums add a wide cinematic soundtrack to whatever I’m doing.

Scott Hirsch – Blue Rider Songs – Scott Hirsch is the silent partner in Hiss Golden Messenger, but for his debut solo album (which has been a long time coming, frankly) he delivers a breezy laid-back album that sounds like JJ Cale’s best work.

Bo Ramsey – Wildwood Calling – Bo Ramsey returns with his first album since 2008’s Fragile. This album, recorded in his kitchen is instrumentals showcasing his distinctive country blues style he is reknowned for. Read my review in Little Village Magazine.

The Pines – Above the Prairie – It’s safe to say that any time The Pines release a new album, it will be on my favorite albums for that year. Their signature atmospheric take on folk and blues has developed slowly over the releases to the point where it is nearly its own genre. I can’t think of any other bands that sound quite like The Pines. Read Matt Steele’s review in Little Village Magazine.

Chrash – Things My Friends Say – Chris Bernat of 90’s alt rock band Tripmaster Monkey released their first album of angular pop rock on Quad Cities indie label Cartouche. From my review in Little Village Magazine: “Things My Friends Say is an album that distinguishes itself in the landscape of new releases by the determinedly outsider approach to songs which, in the end, are damn catchy.”

Freakwater – Scheherazade – This reboot of Freakwater was a long time in the works, but turned out one of the best albums in their catalog. Scheherazade is a more rich and expansive version of their sound thanks to the band, which includes Jim Elkington of seemingly every band related to Chicago. Read my interview with Janet and Catherine in Little Village Magazine (Part 1, Part 2).

Halfloves – (self titled) – The Iowa band The Olympics reboot with the guiding hand of Brendan Darner to create a dark pop record of singular vision and execution. Read my review in Little Village Magazine.

SIRES – Soul For Sale – Another rebrand/reboot of an Iowa band– this time the former Dylan Sires and Neighbors become SIRES and also work with Brendan Darner to create a moody masterpiece (I think I see a trend here). Fantastic record, though– from my review in Little Village Magazine, ” They’ve crafted an album packed with smart, bright classic hooks as well as dark, lusty bombastic rhythms: an impressive juxtaposition in contrast.”

Max Jury – Max Jury – After a run of amazing singles and an EP, Des Moines native Max Jury releases his debut album, and the anticipation built by the singles was justified. Max Jury is a jaw-droppingly solid album. From my review in Little Village Magazine, “a balanced delivery of Spector-esque wall-of-sound and an updated take on early ’70s R&B and soul.” It’s too bad that it’s going to take Jury moving to the UK and blowing up over there before his native country takes notice.

TWINS – Square America – More Sires, please. This seeming dynasty of anyone with the last name Sires cranking out amazing pop rock continues with Cedar Falls band TWINS, whose second album on Maximum Ames takes their guitar rock guns and point them at 70’s big hitters like Cheap Trick and KISS. These guys continue to slug it out on bar stages, but could easily fill an arena with their big sound if given the chance. Read my review in Little Village Magazine.

Devin Frank – The Vanishing Blues – Devin Frank of Poison Control Center releases an album influenced by 60’s psych. “With The Vanishing Blues, Frank has made a refreshing stylistic statement by using a sonic palate derived from psychedelic rock’s dawning era — using bits of Syd Barrett, Donovan and the Zombies. This makes the album a delightfully unique and compelling standout in the landscape of releases this year.” – from my review in Little Village Magazine.

The Multiple Cat – Intricate Maps – This was an album I feel like I waited a long time for. I first heard these songs when Pat Stolley brought the band to Mission Creek Festival in 2015 opening for The Sea and Cake at The Mill. Really fantastic album that is tough to summarize. Lots of vintage tones in the guitar sounds, but not really a retro record, “It’s tempting to suggest that Stolley’s use of these elements makes Intricate Maps somehow retro. However, this stitched fabric of sound is more than the sum of its parts. It is a polished work that both honors the tradition of alternative rock and puts a current spin on it with Stolley’s signature production work.” from my review in Little Village Magazine.

Christopher The Conquered – I’m Giving Up On Rock & Roll – Dramatically bold anthemic rock that can barely be contained in a record. Christopher the Conquered is a one-man tour-de-force of pop, funny poignent and self-aware. Here’s my review for Little Village Magazine.