Bringing together music bloggers to discuss music highlights from November
Our assembled cast of music bloggers and broadcasters return to share their thoughts on November 2024 in music.
Joining 5-9 editor, Andrew Belt, to answer the questions are:
Gemma Cockrell is a PR account executive and freelance journalist based in Nottingham. You’re most likely to find her listening to live music in one of Nottingham’s brilliant music venues or speaking about motorsport on her podcast, Down To The Tyre.
Adam Reeve is an editor/writer + other things-er for various places over many years. Currently for Dead Good Music - a music blog that pairs music and oranges together like you wouldn't believe.
Phil Taylor (aka Music Observer) lives in the East Midlands and spends a disproportionate amount of his time listening to music, attending gigs and wearing band T-shirts.
Phil is obsessed with music of all genres, with a leaning towards alt-pop, folk, indie rock and post-punk. He started his blog in 2021 as a way of sharing his feelings about good music; it quickly grew into a fully fledged venture with a focus on new releases as well as live reviews and interviews. He now writes for other publications including LeftLion, The Songbird, CLASH, DIY Neu Bulletin and Music in Leicester, as well as his Substack site.
5-9: November seemed unusually stacked with great releases. Is this what you thought as well?
Small Changes by Michael Kiwanuka was just one of the strong releases on 22 November
Phil: Yes, for sure! Particularly around 22nd for some reason - a huge rush of releases pre-silly season I suppose
Gemma: A lot of artists definitely saved the best until last. I thought I had my end of year list just about finalised but it got shaken up a bit!
Adam: November did seem to be stacked with albums, and a lot of good ones too. But I feel like that's been the case for the whole year. Each week it seemed there was a new release that deserved to be heard. 2024 has been one of the most stacked years for music in general, I think.
5-9: What was your favourite album in November?Â
Water by Fie Eike was Phil's favourite record in November (photo credit: Asia Werbel)
Phil: Water by Fie Eike was incredible.
Gemma: The Jester by Wallice.
Adam: I thought it would be hard to beat The Cure's, but then Kendrick Lamar decided to drop a surprise album. GNX would take it for me. It's just a lot of fun to listen to, and carries on the style we heard on 'Not Like Us'.
5-9: What were the best songs in November?
'this is my california' by mary in the junkyard was one of Gemma's favourite tracks in November
Gemma: 'this is my california' by mary in the junkyard, 'Back To Then' by GRACEY and 'Drown' by Bleach Lab.
Adam: Kendrick Lamar - 'squabble up', Gabriela Eva - 'Recovery' and Home Counties - 'Wild Guess (Acoustic)'.
Phil: 'on my way!' by renforshort for it's realistic positivity, 'My Sunshine' by Alexandra Leaving - angry rock energy in spades - and 'through' by Carla Aakre, which is one of my songs of the year - it's incredible.
We've now collated the monthly song picks into one, easy-to-find playlist, which also includes picks by 5-9 editor, Andrew Belt, and 5-9 Album of the Month hosts, Karl Blakesley and Kiley Larsen. Listen below:
5-9: What was the best gig in November?
renforshort provided Phil with his best gig experience in November
Phil: renforshort at The Lower Third in London on 29 November. It was a beautiful translation of fresh, intimate and honest pop to the live setting. She comes across as so keen to interact with her fans without a trace of a stage-mask.
Gemma: The Script at Motorpoint Arena - I’ve seen them four times and they are one of the only bands who can truly draw so much emotion out of me with their live set.
5-9: What's exciting you about 2025?
Dictator's upcoming EP is exciting Phil for 2025 (photo credit: Rory Barnes)
Adam: Honestly? It'll be waiting to see which new artists appear and become new favourites of mine. We had quite a few discoveries this year, and being able to become fans of them at the very start of their careers is quite exciting. Especially if they were to release more singles throughout the year, too.
Phil: Festival line-ups seem strong this time round, particularly those on the undercards. At the top of bills, Olivia, Chappell, Gracie, Charli are all there representing the current pop movement, but there will be plenty of indie and alt-rock artists, too.
I can't wait for an EP from Dictator at the end of January, and Hachiku's album at the end of Feb.
Gemma: The day festivals - like Beat The Streets and Dot to Dot here in Nottingham. And all the new music of course!
Hear hear! Thanks for taking part in the final monthly roundtable of 2024! A roundtable review of 2024 will follow - and then on to 2025! Thanks to everyone who has shared their thoughts this year.
To keep up to date with Gemma: @gemcockrell on X.
For Adam: @adamsoundsgood and @deadgoodblog on X.
For Phil: @MusicObserver1 on X and @music_observed on Instagram.
For a further deep dive into November's music, watch the Album of the Month podcast episode for November 2024 or listen to the episode on Spotify.
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