Imaginal Disk
Magdalena Bay
Mag Bay’s newest album encapsulates autumn with its perfect blend of synthpop, psychedelia, and weird glitches. I was not crazy about my introduction to the album, “Vampire in the Corner,” but when the drums kicked in towards the end of the song, I was completely blown away. The infectious rush of emotions and rhythm illustrated the perfection of something short and sweet. After listening to the rest of the album, I found it fascinating that each song flows directly into the next while still retaining its individual character. This made each song memorable and fostered a wonderfully cohesive listening experience of an album. I can’t express my love for this album without mentioning the song “Angel on a Satellite” … holy crap, that song is otherworldly.
Wholly and Completely
Shelf Life
Shelf Life’s first of two projects in 2024 is a sucker punch of a record for oddballs, point-and-click horror gamers, and avant-garde plug-in heads. Wholly and Completely embodies Scotty Leitch’s objective for Shelf Life: to manipulate, more than make music — to puzzle together art that is equal parts off-putting/obscure and catchy as all hell. For the better half of the year, this was the only record I had downloaded to my phone, so I’ve listened to Wholly and Completely more times than I can count. Its strange amalgamation of synthesizers, soundbite samples, and sorrow is simply addictive. Shelf Life’s balance of virtual and acoustic sound is in its prime on the record: canned strings and 8-bit keyboards brush against acoustic guitar strums and gritty analog amps; distinctive vocoding is sandwiched between verses of northeastern twang; and autotuned and bit-crushed breakdowns follow sweet vocal bridges. Shelf Life refuses to mold itself into a genre archetype or take itself too seriously. The result is some of the greatest experimental pop witnessed this year.
Pinball
MIKE, Tony Seltzer
MIKE, a leading artist in the underground hip-hop sound of New York, is best known for his clever use of samples and emotional lyrics. 2024 saw his departure from this sound, yet it did not disappoint. With knocking bass sounds and the most lively beat melodies of the year, MIKE and producer Tony Seltzer’s collaboration Pinball claimed its territory on my AOTY list as soon as I pressed play. Seltzer’s beats have the kind of seasoning that makes it impossible to sit still, especially when paired with MIKE’s modern flow. To top it all off, the features on this project — ranging from Earl Sweatshirt to up-and-coming New York rapper and producer Niontay — are flawless, greatly expanding the sound signature of the New York underground.
Big Ideas
Remi Wolf
So many amazing albums were released this year, but I keep returning to Big Ideas by Remi Wolf. Each song is filled with unique takes on classic pop production, powerful vocals, and meaningful lyrics. I remember listening to the lead singles as they came out this summer in the car with my friends, later listening to the full album on a train from Berlin to Prague for the first time. This album then followed me to college; I listened to the songs while moving into my dorm and on the way to my first classes. This album may have started as my summer soundtrack, but it quickly became my album of the year.
Magpie
Peach Pit
Magpie is like an autumn sweater: its warmth offers solace from an otherwise nippy season. Despite having other favorites this year — Billie Eilish’s definitive Hit Me Hard and Soft and Sarah Kinsley’s divine Escaper — I don’t quite feel them like I do Magpie. During my first listen, Magpie immersed me in an overwhelming sentimentality that continues to rack my chest every time since. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why that is. I could praise the masterful guitar work by Chris Vanderkooy, how his fingertips expertly spin infectious rhythms. Or, I could discuss how the lyrics’ bouncy meter and tender tone kept me hooked. In truth, I think it is all of that and more. This album is potently intimate, though not quite sweet. In characteristic Peach Pit form, a touch of rueful bitterness lingers in the background. But there’s some advancing force here, some moving current, and it feels like love. It feels like a friend who wants what’s best for you. It feels like walking into a biting November wind and having an arm around you to keep you steady, to keep the chill away. So maybe Magpie isn’t a sweater. Maybe, Magpie is more like a hug.
Hardstone Psycho
Don Toliver
By no means is Hardstone Psycho the most meaningful album this year has given us, nor is it a particularly innovative addition to the field. It is, however, a beautiful 20-track product of Don doing what he does best: giving us catchy rock-rap songs. Separated into four discs and a deluxe fifth disc, Hardstone Psycho aims to capture a unique perspective, a different feeling, with varied success. Standout tracks include “Tore Up,” “Love is a Drug,” and “New Drop.”
You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
Knocked Loose
As a longtime metalhead, I have clung stubbornly to the progressive leanings of the genre— to my own detriment. It took Knocked Loose, a decidedly non-metal band, to reconnect me with the raw energy of the heavy metal idiom. The guitars take a circular saw through a black metal musician’s pedalboard. The drums could easily be mistaken for a rhinoceros wantonly set loose in a kitchen supply store. Hell, Bryan Garris delivered the best ‘D1 crash out’ of a vocal performance I have heard since my days of playing ranked Overwatch. The record has a visceral, drywall-punching quality, distilled to a polished yet raucous concentration of aural mayhem that I haven’t heard in a long, long time. Oh, and remember Poppy? She’s here too, as is Chris Motionless (for the two, maybe three, Motionless in White fans left.)
I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet (Deluxe)
Del Water Gap
I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet (Deluxe) is another fabulous release from Holden Jaffe’s long-term project Del Water Gap. I first heard some songs off this album at Summer Sendoff, an end-of-the-year music celebration at my former college, where Del Water Gap had been hired to play the semester to a close. Prior to the concert, I had never heard of his music before, so I thought I should get acquainted with his discography before seeing him play. That day was already the peak of my semester; I ate hot dogs with my friends on the grass below the sun, trying to be patient enough to wait for Del Water Gap to take the stage at 9 p.m. after three student bands performed.
GNX
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar began the year lyrically eviscerating one of hip-hop’s greatest icon(oclast)s and closes it with GNX, a swaggering, unrelenting statement filling the pop-rap power vacuum with something heavier, bolder, and reverent in its irreverence. Channeling the restless spirit of Tupac Shakur and the raw hunger of a new West Coast underground clawing its way into the culture, Kendrick declares, “Fuck a double entendre, I want y’all to feel this shit.” Feel it, we do. He blends playful intensity with earnest sentimentality, screaming “MUSTAAAAARDDD” in euphoric tribute to the sonic architect of his two-stepping anthems, DJ Mustard. In the gleeful ecstasy of a burgeoning wave from the buzzing West Coast scene, he punctuates a comically stripped-back FL Studio-type-beat posse cut with giddy “WHAAAAAAs”. Kendrick knows better than anyone that hip-hop has always been a team sport, a culture where everyone started from the bottom. With GNX, you best believe he’s bringing the whole team with him.
Bright Future
Adrianne Lenker
Bright Future offers a collection of some of the most raw, vulnerable songwriting of the decade thus far. I was familiar with Lenker’s work from her previous album songs and her work with Big Thief, but this album provides a different, far more tender experience, not just in terms of lyricism, but within the album’s sound as well. “You showed me understanding, patience and pleasure, time and attention, love without measure” is a line from “Free Treasure” that perfectly encapsulates the emotions this album brings.
Found Heaven
Conan Gray
Found Heaven quite literally brought heaven to my ears — not only because Conan Gray is my favorite artist, but also because no other artist has created a more authentic 80s-inspired pop sound this year. When he first came out with this album, I was startled — it was so different from his classic style. His last album, Superache, had a melancholic lust for love, while Found Heaven is a self-assured rejection of people-pleasing and pining.. and I love that. It is amazing how Conan can so successfully depart from his usual style to experiment with something equal parts fresh and tributary. The number of times I have been in the shower, silently screaming the lyrics of “Bourgeoisieses” at an imaginary concert is ungodly. The combination of danceable upbeat instrumentation with absolutely gut-wrenching lyrics performed in Conan’s lower register (which he has rarely done before) is refreshing. This album will always have a special place in my heart, so much so that “Alley Rose” will play at my funeral, and the only way you will know I am really gone is if I do not wake up to sing the bridge.
Trail of Flowers
Sierra Ferrell
I did not like Trail of Flowers as much as Ferrell’s previous effort, Long Time Coming, and indeed not nearly as much as I have enjoyed the visceral experience of the several Sierra Ferrell shows I have seen. However, the originality of the album and the way that it cannot be constrained to any one genre makes me love it. Drawing inspiration from Romani jazz, bluegrass, and traditional cajun music, Trail of Flowers is unlike anything else that came out this year. I feel like so many artists of today are clearly standing on someone else’s shoulders —look no further than all of the young guys singing their hearts out, wishing to be the next Zach Bryan. Sierra Ferrell appeals to me because she’s entirely the opposite. Although a wide range of American traditions influence her music, I cannot pinpoint just one performer that she is following in the footsteps of. Her live covers of Janis Joplin are pure psychedelic rock, yet her acoustic efforts see her collaborating with some of Nashville’s best banjo pickers and fiddlers. Her aesthetics are equally erratic: a punk-rock nose ring, a vintage fur coat, and maybe a turquoise-studded belt buckle. This kind of genre-bending to create something new is exactly what I look for in a good artist. Trail of Flowers is my album of the year because it distills this genuine artistry into twelve songs — twelve songs that at first glance don’t go together very seamlessly, but somehow create exactly the right kind of cohesion.
Featured album images from Spotify.
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