Can you believe we're already a quarter of the way through 2024? Let's take a look at the top 10 albums played the most at WDIY for March and see how it compares to the start of the year!
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#10
Madeleine Peyroux
Let’s Walk
Just One Recording
June 28, 2024
Similarly to some of the other albums featured this month, this one isn’t even released yet and is already making waves. The critically-acclaimed jazz singer, songwriter, and interpreter Madeleine Peyroux is releasing first album in six years by the end of June. This is also her ninth album overall, and the first album in which she co-wrote every song with longtime collaborator Jon Herington. Lyrically, a lot of the record seems to be driven by the sudden social upheaval that stemmed from 2020; her more serious tracks deal with everything from the murder of George Floyd to sexual assault and her own emotional grapplings with it all. However, she also includes more lighthearted moments in the record as well, all culminating in the most widely varied and yet sonically cohesive album in her repertoire.
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#9
Lucinda Williams
Stories from a Rock n’ Roll Heart
Highway 20 Records
June 30, 2023
The triumphant 15th studio album by the American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams comes as a sort of victory lap: in the past three years, the legendary rocker has survived a tornado, a pandemic, and a stroke. Even though she can’t play guitar as a result of the stroke, she refuses to go down without a fight. She played more shows in 2022 than she has any year since 2017, except now she has a support team for touring and collaborating on songwriting instead of doing it all on her own. Her newfound love of being in the studio and working with other creatives has influenced her workflow so much that the sequel to this record is already done and set to release sometime in 2024.
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#8
The Decemberists
As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again
Yabb Records
June 14, 2024
After nine full-length albums since 2001 and six years of rest, this PNW indie rock band is back with their longest album to date and their first proper double-LP, which is split into four thematic sides. This also marks a new era of independence for the band as this is their first full-length release on YABB Records, the band’s own label, after a run of nearly two decades with Capitol. After a 20th anniversary tour was ultimately canceled and moved online for covid, they teamed up with co-producer Tucker Martine to open the floodgates for this new record. Members of the band have gone on the record to say that this particular work has felt like two decades in the making, building off of old works and reminiscing on how far they’ve come as a group. And as a way to truly flex their skills and wisdom, they recently released a 19-minute single ahead of the album drop in a few months.
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#7
Rickie Lee Jones
Pieces of Treasure
BMG/Modern Recordings
April 28, 2023
In her 15th studio album, Rickie Lee Jones celebrates a reunion with her lifelong friend and tried and true coworker, legendary producer Russ Titelman. Traditionally a jazz singer, Jones has never quite leaned into the title as much as she has before; the newest record is 10 covers from the Great American Songbook. While that in itself isn’t a very revolutionary concept as lots of talented performers have taken on the task before her, none have done it quite like Jones has. It’s not a retro flashback or a trip down 1970s nostalgia, but instead a more modern arrangement fashioned with Jones’ timeless vocals. The album was recorded at Sear Sound during a five-day stint in New York City.
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#6
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Live in London
Alligator Records
January 5. 2024
Heralded as the next best thing in blues, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram gave us his first live album at the very beginning of 2024. This blues guitar sensation has had fans clamoring for more since his mid-2021 release of 662. For his live recording, the young legend brought his quartet to The Garage in London for an absolutely electric crowd. He exemplified his masterful control over his music while still being spontaneous and wild. At 16 songs and 109 minutes long, many fans would probably consider this show their dream setlist. And for anyone unlucky enough to have not attended in person, we now can have it in our hands to enjoy over and over again.
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#5
Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton
Death Wish Blues
Rounder Records
May 19, 2023
The first-ever collaborative album from Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton (not counting their 2022 EP) and produced by the legendary Jon Spencer, Death Wish Blues is born from a shared passion for pushing the limits and bending the rules of blues music. Death Wish Blues melds their eclectic tastes into a tracklist of songs both emotionally potent and wildly contagious that helps fulfill their shared longtime mission of opening up the blues genre to entirely new audiences. This is Kansas City native Samantha Fish’s 12th album as well as her fourth collaborative one. As for the Texas native Jesse Dayton, along with an impressive resumé of guitar features for the stars, this is his 17th album to date.
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#4
Eli “Paperboy” Reed
Hits and Misses
Yep Roc Records
October 20, 2023
Eight albums deep in a nearly two-decade career, the earliest tracks on Reed’s Hits and Misses were made as early as 2009, following Reed’s career-launching album, Roll with You. The latest recordings were one in 2020, just before the release of his critically acclaimed album of Merle Haggard songs, Down Every Road. Now, after all this time, we have a remastered collection of originals and covers from a variety of decades and genres. Due to how spread out the production was, the 11-track album even has features previously only available as 45 rpm singles at the merch table during Reed’s international tours.
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#3
Sarah Jarosz
Polaroid Lovers
Rounder Records
January 26, 2024
This release is the seventh full-length from this four-time Grammy Award-winner. Similar to the energy and nostalgia kept in a candid polaroid picture, Sarah aimed to capture the bittersweetness behind the seemingly innocent moments that end up changing our lives. Her thoughtful and purposeful lyricism accompanied by the skills only a multi-instrumentalist can have crafts the perfect soundtrack to such a specific sentiment. Jarosz began writing the album after she relocated from New York City to Nashville, which would of course spark some big emotions in any artist. She also took a leap of faith and brought on songwriters Daniel Tashian, Ruston Kelly, and Natalie Hemby to help and collaborate with, with Tashian ultimately producing the album.
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#2
Van Morrison
Accentuate the Positive
VIRGIN RECORDS
November 3, 2023
This is the 45th studio album by the Northern Irish singer-songwriter. Yes, 45th album. What do you expect from someone who’s been making music and performing since the 1960’s? This is also his second album in 2023, following hand-in-hand with Moving On Skiffle, released in March. Just like its older sibling, Accentuate The Positive sees Van Morrison returning to one of his fondest childhood musical memories. While the last record was obviously all about skiffle (check out some of our older monthly articles to read more about it since it has been featured before), this time is all about rock n’ roll. Growing up in Belfast after World War II, Van Morrison was immensely inspired by the heady sounds of 20th century blues and rock n’ roll.
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#1
Aoife O’Donovan
All My Friends
Yep Roc Records
March 22, 2024
Fresh off the heels of Women’s History Month, American singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan’s released her first self-produced LP inspired by the passage of the 19th amendment. At a time where the rifts in the ever-evolving landscape of women’s rights are felt greater than ever, O’Donovan artfully draws on speeches and letters by suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt. She comes out the other end with a new list of original songs that marry together the modern perspective and her own experiences as a woman and mother. The project originated from a commission by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra in 2019 and turned into what O’Donovan refers to as a “song burst.” All in all, All My Friends wrestles with questions of what has, and maybe more importantly, what hasn’t changed for American women in the 100 years since gaining the right to vote.
