Mk.gee has been an unexpected thread in a year of music that’s pulled me in many different directions, punctuating the need for unique, sonically interesting music alongside the huge pop and rock albums that we’ve also been treated to in 2024.
Music, this year, isn’t worth mentioning without the surprising jump in sophistication that Fontaines DC took with Romance, which captured a perfect mix of love and hatred for the world and the people in it. The band has matured since their last album, Skinty Fia, evolving the gritty post-punk sound that started with Dogrel in 2019, and abruptly scrapping any political edge to their lyrics. Ironically, this change in attitude caused a few men next to me at their show in Wolverhampton to shout, “Stop playing this woke shit!” while spilling lager over their Dublin City FC shirts.
But when I needed a fix of that heavier sound, Wunderhorse answered with Midas. The second album of their discography gave us raw emotion and incredible music, the highlights of which were Harry Tristan Fowler’s infectious guitar riff on the title track and lead vocalist, Jacob Slater’s transformation into a character for his raw, powerful performance on “July”.
Yet for my Album of the Year, Michael Gordon (AKA Mk.gee) brought me right back and showed me exactly what I had been seeking. Two Star and The Dream Police is an ocean of sound that I can’t swim out of. The final track “Dream Police” reeled me in after creeping into my Spotify Discover Weekly back in the spring. With a runtime of 33 minutes, it’s clear that Mk.gee wanted to create an experience. Rather than a project to pick and choose tracks from, Gordon takes us into a liminal corner of our brain as we scramble to relate it to anything else.
Pulling essences from the likes of Genesis, Lindsay Buckingham and Prince, Mk.gee is unlike any guitarist I’ve heard before. With so much technicality in his playing, it’s even more impressive knowing he isn’t showing off but playing perfectly to the song and nothing above it. Seeing this talent live in the autumn solidified my choice for album of the year. A spiritual experience is the only way I can describe it. Watching the reverse spotlight behind him glint off of his Fender Jag while playing “How Many Miles” felt like I was truly watching a future guitar hero. Something out of this world.
Three More Essential Albums of 2024:
Fontaines DC - Romance
Wunderhorse - Midas
American Football – American Football (Covers)
Musical experiences of the Year
Other than watching Mk.gee make the Electric Brixton feel like a place of worship, a one night only Greta Van Fleet performance in the Royal Albert Hall was another true highlight of my year. Growing up I would watch John Bonham’s drum solo on “Moby Dick" live at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970 on repeat, studying how a man that grew up down the road from me might be the coolest person that ever lived. So, seeing such an impressive prog rock band on the very same stage fulfilled a childhood dream, and let’s face it, if I can’t get Led Zeppelin, Greta Van Fleet are a damn good substitute.
Track of the Year
Mk.gee - "Dream Police"
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