Every year, a collection of lists appear and attempt to define each year in music in 50-or-so records that the public may or may not have been aware of. The tradition makes sense; in years past, when albums meant a precious $16.99 spent, year end lists operated as an all-in guide on what was worth the buck (and, often, where to find it). It was also a far more sensible endeavor in times when music publications were specific to a creed. A look at The Source’s favorites 30 years ago boasts Snoop Doggy Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan, and Nas. The same year, SPIN Magazine celebrated Hole’s Live Through This as their record of the year. Even in years prior, Tiny Mix Tapes would present a vastly different list as Pigeons and Planes; both lists would’ve featured at least 30 records you had not heard until you opened the lists.
With our top 50 list, we aren’t taking a contrarian stance for the sake of it. As a college radio publication with little profit incentive, we insistently stand by the interpretation of our role as curators in disseminating the most underspoken and underrepresented musics that we hear in our every day purveys. This doesn’t mean a total exclusion of records released on multimillion dollar record label conglomerates. Some records from major labels even appear. We simply hope to create a holistic view of the year as we heard it, whether that’s in the rock records of Pennsylvania, the post-punk drama of Europe, or the rap tapes of New York City, from both the kids that grew up on Minecraft, and the heads that found De La Soul through a copied tape.
In line with this interpretation, there’s some glaring omissions that we decided weren’t in our best interest to include. 50 records is not very many, and it would be a shame for any one of these to be pushed off for a record that you can read about in two dozen other outlets. Charli xcx’s Brat was a major tour de force, especially for a community and generation that lives in the aftermath of PC Music, but the record doesn’t necessarily need the umpteenth ounce of praise from our end of the dial. Mk.gee’s Two Star and the Dream Police began the year as a hot indie hit and ended it with an appearance on SNL; at a certain point, this generation’s Eric Clapton simply left the hemisphere many thought he was to stay in forever. Albums from Clairo (Charm) and Bladee (Cold Visions) represented north stars for their respective hemispheres. Rap records from Vince Staples (Dark Times) and Kendrick Lamar (gnx) were strong entries from an old guard our staff were welcome to relinquish in favor of the more undercurrent and often younger voices that are hopefully highlighted on this list.
Curated by STATIC staff and editors teams, this is STATIC’s top 50 albums of 2024. – Benny Sun
50. Taking a Break From My Phone – Argo Nuff
On their sophomore album, Oakland-based ambient project Argo Nuff gives us an introspective, yet playful look into digital disconnect. Ironically, the entire album is laced with samples of various internet videos, bringing the listener back to earth after hypnotic, whirring guitar hums that come and go throughout the album. The sense of play extends to the track titles, with highlights like “unspoken rizz” and “gas station weed.” The project also features understated vocals from Obiekwe, Truman Sinclair, and Take Care (Sign Crushes Motorist), that add to the nostalgic warmth of the project. Taking a Break From My Phone feels like a long exhale after disconnecting from the digital noise at our fingertips, and reconnecting with the quiet beauty of the world around us. – Reid Ackerman
49. Endlessness – Nala Sinephro
I feel pretentious when I recommend the “experimental ambient jazz” of Nala Sinephro’s Endlessness to my less musically-minded friends. But without fail, and despite their usual music taste, everyone has fallen in love with it. Endlessness is on the bleeding edge of London’s experimental jazz scene, with contributions from the likes of Nubya Garcia and black midi’s Morgan Simpson. Simple yet expansive, Sinephro uses just a few instruments on each track – picking from a drum set, synthesizers, piano, and a couple brass instruments – to create unexpectedly ethereal “continuums” that blend not only into each other, but the listener’s environment, body, thoughts. – Josef Dunlap
48. Mi Latinoamérica Sufre- Meridian Brothers
Meridian Brothers, the solo project of experimental cumbia musician Eblis Álvarez, delivers a new record that adds to their discography of unconventional Latin music incorporating psychedelia and electronica. The record feels dark and unsettling, with the most upbeat song in the album being titled, “En el Caribe estoy triste (In the Caribbean I am sad)”. Mi Latinoamérica Sufre is a fever dream, devoid of traditional harmony, song structure or vocal performance. – Eamon O’Connor
47. Connect the Dots – Diamond Day
Connect the Dots made its way to us via a physical CD very kindly mailed to our radio station, and thank God for that. The record astounds you with its ability to make nine stupendous, fun songs, then shocks you once you find out the Montréal duo isn’t a household name. Much of the pulse of the album is courtesy of Quinn Bachand. Working on top of his dreamy production, Béatrix Methe’s vocals are seductive and fun, occasionally dipping into her native French. The result is bold, shoegaze-y pop that takes risks at no cost to the listener. Underneath the crowd-pleasers is Méthé and Bachand’s evidently vast experience, making chromaticism and rapidly changing textures sound as easy as another chorus. You could throw out a slew of genres and adjectives at this album – most of them would stick. – Bernarda Basualdo
46. GRAND POP – PAS TASTA
Pas Tasta’s origins are as eclectic as it gets, with the sextet of Japanese electronic artists having met one another through netlabels before bonding over a shared love for off-the-walls sound design. On Grand Pop, the production posse put their spin on Japan’s wider musical landscape in a dizzying swirl of J-pop and J-rock, with a similarly varied roster of features including VGM composer Taku Inoue and anime-opening icon Tatsuya Kitani. The album wears its Internet-age influences on its sleeve, ricocheting between dubstep, hyperpop and even the uncanny pairing of Vocaloid with baile funk on “B.B.M.” More than anything, Grand Pop‘s greatest strength is its ability to communicate its inspirations and synergize with its various collaborators, while still being a delightfully irreverent listen. – Kaleo Zhu
45. #gigi – skaiwater
A whole lot of deliciously deep fried music came out this year, but none cut through the noise as well as skaiwater’s bombastic takes on low-end, house, pop, and rap. Standing at the center of all sorts of left-field sounds and ideas, #gigi is a demonstration of a wide range of black music influences placed through the same saturated filter kids like LAZER DIM 700 and Nettspend are working through; skaiwater does it with a precision many of their contemporaries lack. Highlight guest appearances from KARRAHBOOO and Cortisa Star are ferocious. They both sound more than comfortable on the beds of static that the entire record lay upon. Once you’re able to stand up from the pummeling fuzz of skaiwater’s distortion, the future of music in 34 minutes is crystal clear on #gigi. – Benny Sun
44. PEACE OF MIND IN A TROUBLED WORLD VOL. 1 – Various Artists
Straight from the depths of NYC’s underground punk scene comes this incredible compilation album that includes tons of big names in the scene. Most of these bands don’t have their music on Spotify, and if they’ve even released anything, you’re most likely to find them on YouTube or Bandcamp. The music itself is a mix of hardcore with tinges of metal, punk with indie flair, and some flat out experimental noise. The album bounces around these aforementioned genres, but the intentionality of each song’s placement is clear, resulting in a listening experience that is as close to soothing as abrasive punk can get. If you want to get a taste for the D.I.Y. music scene in NYC without heading down to some dingy building and being surrounded by crust punks to watch 15 minute long sets, this compilation album is for you. – Konstantina Tsahalis
43. Darning Woman – Anastasia Coope
Haunting, cascading, ethereal, and stuck between time and place. On Darning Woman, Anastasia Coope explores sound poignantly, weaving her raw, echoing vocals and impressions of guitar plucks together into a wholly original vibrational tapestry. – Shannon McMahon
42. Motel Cable – Ex Pilots
Back in August, Pittsburgh lo-fi heroes Ex Pilots returned with a behemoth of a record (15 songs!) via Oakland’s Smoking Room label. Motel Cable is the first truly collaborative record amongst all members and features standout tracks like “Dog in the Yard,” featuring vocals by Mary Komondy and “Thirty Days,” which retains the charm of low fidelity without sacrificing the feeling of limitless sound. Following in the footsteps of Robert Pollard and Guided by Voices (“the only band that really matters,” according to the band’s frontman Ethan Oliva), the group has honed the craft of short and sweet tunes to perfection. – Shannon McMahon
READ and WATCH: Gaadge Interview / Gaadge + Ex Pilots | ALIVE IN THE BASEMENT | WNYU
41. No Depression In Heaven – Midwife
Mourning creeps up on you on No Depression In Heaven, where Madeline Johnston slowly hits you with returning tides of self-flagellating delusions of grandeur. Johnston is barely audible over a fog of reverb, yet she’s eerily present, floating distinctly over her guitar ostinatos. It’s not background ambient – the multi-instrumentalist’s control of the sonic space inevitably turns your ear into a sharp focus. As cloudy as it may be, No Depression In Heaven is grounded in write-what-you-know, boiling down scattered thoughts on mortality, loneliness, and the suffering of creation into deceptively simple lines. Maybe it’s good that the album barely exceeds a humble half hour. Any more would be too devastating. – Bernarda Basualdo
40. Absolute Elsewhere – Blood Incantation
Denver-based death-metal band Blood Incantation refuses to stagnate, which is abundantly clear on Absolute Elsewhere. This album switches gracefully between genres, ranging from relentless metal to complex old-school prog, taking a new approach to classic psychedelic rock. Their showmanship doesn’t come off as pretentious, even as every nuance on this album is thoughtfully placed, switching through time signatures, bongo sections, and even a mind-bending synth-metal track featuring German electronic wizards Tangerine Dream. Blood Incantation stays true to their metal roots, though, delivering skull-pounding riffs and brutal drumming as unabating as ever, all while providing themes of human identity and consciousness. – Jacob McKelvey
39. Sentir Que No Sabes – Mabe Fratti
On Sentir Que No Sabes, the orchestra is torn apart, remolded through computers and deft fingers, and pieced carefully back together. Each cello string takes the place of another instrument, a drum set limps between open spaces, and a handful of trumpets follow where Fratti’s melody goes. Fratti’s minimalist growling poetry merits laudation, but the instrumentation takes center stage, particularly on compositionally ambitious tracks like “Oídos” and “Descubrimos un suspiro.” For all its zeal, Fratti knows when to back down – the glimpses of genius are carefully doled out, measuring instrumental mastery over the potency of her songwriting. Sentir Que No Sabes weighs its own potential and takes a deliberate route. It certainly pays off. – Bernarda Basualdo
38. Ceremonies – The Sounds They Made
After teasing us with singles over the past two years, this year marked the debut album from The Sounds They Made. In their past releases, the group was distinctly raw and more sparse with their arrangements and production. It created an intimate vulnerability of their songs which paired well with Weber and Kemp’s whispering, yearning lyrics. Ceremonies represents an evolution to more lush and blended soundscapes, weaving in more blending in the production that creates a different kind of emotional resonance. One can hear the slowcore ambient post-rock blend on the title track, with the refrain “don’t get hurt again”, which has that minimalist depressing lyrical feel that has facilitated this resurgence of the past decade. The Sounds They Made is a freshly emerging creature in this revitalized period, and this album exemplifies their vast promise to continually ensnare all of us in their trance. – Shreya Doreswamy
37. Box For Buddy, Box For Star – This is Lorelei
Water From Your Eyes’ Nate Amos has used This is Lorelei as a side outlet for his experimental healings for over a decade, but this year’s Box for Buddy, Box for Star was a step towards a more serious direction for the solo project. Presenting alt-country with vocal homages to Elliott Smith and David Berman and a thoughtful synth twang, this album is an acoustic jam night around a flat screen bonfire. If Rachel Brown said Water From Your Eyes sounds “like going to the grocery store without a plan,” Box for Buddy, Box for Star feels like the gloriously futile wait in line to buy pineapple juice. – Teddie Chappell
36. Nobody Planning to Leave – ShrapKnel & Controller 7
Nobody Planning to Leave is the third act of PremRock and Curly Castro’s second wind. Finding name in the post-Def Jux era ruled by blogs, their collaboration as ShrapKnel under the Backwoodz Studioz label has proved to be some of the most left-field material from the New York label. Joining forces with Bay Area beatmaker Controller 7 on their third record, the list of references found on Nobody Planning to Leave is long. De La Soul, El-P, and even Silver Jews paint a picture of longtime rap acolytes continuing to flip fandom into product. Featuring veterans like Open Mike Eagle, E L U C I D, and Breeze Brewin, alongside younger contemporaries like Lungs, Nobody Planning to Leave is the murky underground album for those who don’t find the underground to be murky enough. – Benny Sun
35. Hex Dealer – Lip Critic
Hex Dealer is the debut album from the New York based 4-piece, Lip Critic, and oh, is it a good one. This album excellently blends elements of hardcore and punk music with the distorted 808s and sample chops of electronic music, resulting in one of the most abrasive and energetic releases of this year. Through the instrumentals, the band evokes classics like Death Grips’ The Powers That B or Machine Girl’s Wlfgrl, but what sets Hex Dealer apart is frontman Bret Kaser’s vocal delivery, which is almost reminiscent of Bauhaus’ theatrical goth rock. Some of the standout tracks on this record include “Love Will Redeem You”, “Milky Max”, and “In The Wawa (Convinced I Am God)”. – Eamon O’Connor
READ and WATCH: Lip Critic Likes It Loud: Interview & Session
34. Black Life, Red Planet – gum.mp3
North Carolina’s gum.mp3 understands that history is dance music’s best influence. Black Life, Red Planet is a multifaceted approach to making sense of a slew of dance music’s most undercurrent sounds – jungle, footwork, garage – through the lens of its predecessors. Across a trim 33 minutes, gum.mp3 presents the past’s vision of an electronic future, placing ideas from Samba-jazz next to funk rhythms and acid bass; Moog stabs on top of breakbeats; gospel riffs on top of classic Masters at Work drums. A critic and cultural scholar in his own right, gum.mp3 translates scholarship into practice. Black Life, Red Planet is an amalgamation of gum.mp3’s shelves, proving the future of dance music is in its past. – Benny Sun
33. Sayso Says – Che
With Sayso Says, Che propels his sound into entirely uncharted territory and carves out his own niche. The beats feature a lot of electronic inspiration, putting Che in a completely separate lane from many of his contemporaries. It doesn’t sound like he is rapping on the beats as much as him and the beats are on equal footing, both working in tandem creating a seamless synergy. The verses are mostly unintelligible, but the few words you can ascertain are compelling in their abstraction. So much personality shines through the album, Che embraces his internet-era identity, sampling Vocaloid and memeing Lil Xan. Sayso Says is the defining album of his sound, proclaiming that he has a voice that demands to be heard.
32. Crashing – Witches Exist
Hailing from the heart of Texas, Witches Exist’ puppeteer Jackson Baker gifts us Crashing, an album of southern soft ‘n heavy shoegaze (previously self-proclaimed as “cowgaze,” music “not just for cowboys,” and perhaps most charmingly, “Texas loud”). The record weaves itself through the framework of the storyline you learned in third grade: exposition, rising action, peak, falling action, and resolution. Starting off slow and steady, “Leaf” talks about Texas winter like it’s actually cold, enough to make even a veteran northeasterner cry. Baker then slingshots us into a string of thunderstormy heavy-hitters, shoving distorted, crunchy drums, fuzzy, unintelligible vocals, and unrelenting layers of pedal-fied guitar to the furthest reaches of your eardrums. The sounds seem to continue to devolve further and further into noise until the strangely extraterrestrial lullaby, “Tacomex,” and lastly, a swirly sweet solo on “???” that’ll turn your limbs jelly and your heart buttered up and asking for more of that ringing in your ears. – Miles Ellisor
31. EELS – Being Dead
Austin duo Falcon Bitch and Shmoofy deliver a humorous, catchy, and diverse group of songs on their sophomore project EELS. Evoking a modern approach to goofy art punk and surf rock reminiscent of Pixies and the B52’s alike, EELS is an fun and lighthearted listen, full of reverb soaked vocals, twangy guitar riffs, and catchy drum beats. – Eamon O’Connor
30. YOU’LL HAVE TO LOSE SOMETHING – SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE
A palpable departure from their preceding records, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE’S YOU’LL HAVE TO LOSE SOMETHING lives in the happy medium between clarity and confusion, between calm and chaos. While 2021’s ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH channels an air of anxiety through dream-like synths and discordant vocals, their 2024 release takes a step back from the upfront turbulence they were previously acquainted with. YOU’LL HAVE TO LOSE SOMETHING approaches a similar eerie discretely, incongruencies bubbling beneath the surface. Opening track “THE DISRUPTION” sets the tone perfectly, beginning with a slow-building echo and ending with a blood-curdling scream. The lyrics, “And then a shot / rings out / it bellows” are chased with a gunshot, an assailing cacophony, then, as abruptly as it began, everything comes to a hazy, melodic stop. Much like “THE DISRUPTION”, the album’s disorder feels well-earned and well-thought-out. – Alex Kerr
29. You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To – Knocked Loose
Knocked Loose is somehow heavier than ever on their first album since 2019. Bryan Garris’s vocal pandemonium underlines the album, and Poppy’s feature is particularly well-placed. Between unrelenting guitar, bass that sounds low-slung, and the perfect ratio of breakdowns to blast beats, this album feels like the otherworldly full body seizure and release of a sneeze that was held all day. While You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To is fresh in the context of the current metal and hardcore scenes, the album also bears the most classic marker of success for the genres: utter condemnation from suburban mothers. – Teddie Chappell
28. BLUE LIPS – ScHoolboy Q
Over the course of his career, ScHoolboy Q has been through it. But on BLUE LIPS, he finally sounds like he’s found a level of meaningful fulfillment, a place CrasH Talk only half reaches. Over the most dynamic and shapeshifting sequence of tracks he’s ever put together, we get to see Q fully inhabit his role as elder TDE statesman, while still sounding energetic and agile as ever. He isn’t constantly checking his back anymore in his most reflective moments (the beautiful “Blueslides,” “Cooties,” and “Lost Times,” among others), but rather sitting down to take it all in and let it all out properly, as morose as some of the reflecting may be. The braggadocio is still here in spades on standouts like “THank god 4 me” and “oHio,” but it now comes from a position of earned authority. I’ll be damned if it isn’t deserved. – Nil Bermejo Belbase
27. CASTS OF A DREAMER – 454
Ever since 454 began flooding the net with his speedy takes on cloud rap, he’s become an alternative north star. His footprint can be heard on the latest releases from MIKE and Earl, having co-designed the current sound for the fabled 10k global label. Facing cloud rap with the same attitude Madlib and Quasimoto faced jazz rap, 454 furthers his name as rap’s esoteric with CASTS OF A DREAMER, an originally cassette-only mixtape spanning 32 tracks in an hour. Taking a cue from fellow esoteric Cindy Lee, he continues to subvert the industry – its politics and its sound – at a juncture of his career where he could easily take the onramp to the interstate. Often imitated, 454 still runs several laps ahead of his closest competition. – Benny Sun
26. Lily of the Valley – 22° Halo
Poignant and soft, Lily of the Valley floats lightly across lead songwriter Will Kennedy’s intense feelings of grief and joy interwoven through his experiences of turmoil following his wife’s diagnoses with brain cancer. Built on soft guitar plucks, bouncy arrangements, and gentle vocals, each track captures memory like a faded old photograph. – Shannon McMahon
25. Life on the Lawn – A Country Western
Firmly leaving their slowcore roots in the past, A Country Western dove head first into the lackadaisical world of slacker rock and alt-country on Life on the Lawn. Opening with the chaotic dissonance of “Great is the Grip of the Hawk,” the band immediately sets the tone for their new, fast-paced sound which sprawls out across the entirety of the record– with the exception of a few breathers on softer tracks like “The Spine,” “Ridgeline”, and droning opus “Wasting The Weekends.” Through and through, Life on the Lawn proves to be the band’s most thoughtful and cohesive record yet. – Shannon McMahon
WATCH: A Country Western | ALIVE IN THE BASEMENT | WNYU
24. The Crying Nudes – The Crying Nudes
Cooked up in the same lab that brought us the music of Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland, the latest release of World Music Group delivers The Crying Nudes self-titled, debut album. While little is known about the band, like the members themselves or their history, The Crying Nudes produced an intimate compilation of nostalgic and bittersweet songs, not unlike their peers. The refined guitar strums blanketed by the lead singer’s echoy voice and sparse synths gives the band a distinguished and recongizable sound. The Nudes share a moody, vintage feel, featured on songs like “blood meadow,” which is reminiscent of the sulky gloom one would find crate-digging in a 90s indie-rock bin. The album is understated and purposefully restricted, stripped of bells and whistles to create appropriately twinkly lullabies and hazy melodies. – Lizzy Jack
23. Pinball – MIKE & Tony Seltzer
For years, MIKE has been that guy in New York indie rap. Since his breakthrough in 2017, he’s released nothing but reliably great projects from a quietly tormented soul, and in the process, he has placed himself as the vanguard of his scene. A shift was coming though, initially hinted at with the brighter tinge sprinkled over 2021’s Disco! and threading through to last year’s sometimes (comparatively) triumphant Burning Desire. On Pinball, recorded with versatile producer Tony Seltzer as a cool down in-between Burning Desire sessions, the switch truly flips. MIKE lets loose, indulging more freely in the strain of hip-hop usually championed by frequent collaborators Niontay and El Cousteau. He’s gliding over strutting drums and feather-fluffing samples, tossing off hooks and riffing off of them into oblivion, all without losing any of the essential MIKE-isms. Outro “2k24 Tour,” featuring Niontay, stands as one of the most casually grandiose hip-hop songs of the year, the rapping never rising above a drawl yet the song as a whole a clear candidate for NYC earthquake of the year. On “On God,” he teams up with twin soul Earl Sweatshirt, someone experiencing a similar stylistic weight-shed, to “Milly Rock” and enjoy the fruits of his labor – he sounds like the most fulfilled guy in the room. “And wait,” you’ll keep asking yourself, “MIKE is at the center of all of this?” To be honest, it’s hard to believe he was ever not. – Nil Bermejo Belbase
22. Romance – Fonatines D.C.
In April, Fontaines D.C. abruptly swapped the low-key aesthetics of their 3 previous albums for the bright, neon, and sort of terrifying 3D-modeled album artwork on “Starburster,” the lead single off Romance. Fontaines were firmly post-punk; their stage presence was minimal, and the most they dressed up was when they wore striped t-shirts instead of plain black ones. With the new Fontaines D.C., they took their fashion cues from Robert Pattinson’s GQ shoot and careened into a distinctly alt-pop-rock ravine. While this would spell bad news for any other band, Fontaines somehow made it work. Their foray into the more marketable mainstream, away from the overt political anger of Skinty Fia, would’ve been insanely easy to mess up if they were not Fontaines D.C. Grian Chatten’s vocal stylings could make lorem ipsum sound thoughtful and introspective, and Conor Curley and Carlos O’Connell’s lush guitars would back it up. The drums (Tom Coll) and bass (Conor Deegan) are what cement the songs on Romance as true earworms. For fans of the dismal Skinty Fia and garage-rock-y Dogrel and A Hero’s Death, their sudden poppy turn might’ve been a little off putting, but the cutesy jangle of “Favourite” and Skinty Fia-esque broodiness of “Desire” is sure to win back whatever good will their sudden aesthetic turn lost them. – Amélie Khiar
21. Backstage Raver – Dean Blunt & Joanne Robertson
Only 18 minutes long, Joanne Robertson and Dean Blunt’s Backstage Raver packs a punch far greater than its run time should allow. Unlike his 2021 release, BLACK METAL 2, Blunt focuses entirely on production while Robertson takes the reins on vocals. The indie-folk sound steering Robertson’s 2023 solo release Blue Car peeks through on “PRINCESS GUYANA”, with vocals as sweet and melodic as they are honest and arresting. The track’s crisp drums and hazy guitar riffs imbue a dream-like atmosphere you could listen to forever. When combined, the pair’s efforts blend together for an enveloping sound—truly a match made in heaven. Each track maintains its own unique ambiance, largely the result of Blunt’s well-tailored production. “she’s lost control again’s” melancholic bass line and reserved vocals maintain a calm, collectedness far removed from aforementioned tracks. Opener “SASSY’s” electric guitar riffs, and passionate wails start the album as powerfully and ethereally as you’re pulled out of it. Ripped from your sweet dream at the end of an all-too-short listen, you’re left yearning for more. – Alex Kerr
20. boy – 2Hollis
It’s a likely success story: the son of a storied hip-hop publicist and an indie rock musician emerges as the internet sensation of the year, complete with the melanin, or lack thereof, of the kind of rapper that usually sweeps the zeitgeist. The 20-year old has stirred more than his fair share of discourse, typically along genre lines when it comes to status, or supposed non-status as a rap artist. Much of the conversation is warranted; there have been more than a few white guys in their 20s to take space in hip hop only to use it as a launchpad for something “greater.” But the conversation is also a distraction towards a facet 2hollis brings to the table many of his peers don’t: talent. Entirely produced by Hollis, Boy pulls from a range of influences that he never necessarily tries to hide, though the replications are always spun with an at-least–interesting 2024 interpretation. Heavily reliant on its source materials, Boy works best when drawing from Crystal Castles, A.G. Cook, and even Skrillex than when it’s drawing from Lil Peep. It’s an effective survey of the hyper-digital rap and electronic birthed during the pandemic as its fans and artists figure out how to translate a music that was shared via SoundCloud links in Discord chats to a long term aesthetic worth paying $40 to see live. 2hollis feels the closest to cracking that code, even if he comes with belaboring strings attached. – Benny Sun
19. LL – The Hellp
Like their 2021 debut Vol. 1, The Hellp’s LL is a tightly-curated compilation of sort-of punk, sort-of electronic, sort-of indie rock tracks collected and refined across the last decade. The evolution of songs like “Halo” and “Sinnamen” can be tracked on frontman Noah Dillon’s burner SoundCloud and the band’s YouTube channel. Some remained sonically consistent over their years in the vault, while others became unrecognizable from their demo versions. The many iterations of these ideas never seem to chase trends or novelty, though, owing aesthetic inspiration only to the duo’s own obscure brand of indietronica, Bret-Easton-Ellis-esque fuckboyism, and rootless Americana. The album, and its music videos, embrace informed classlessness and shameless hedonism. It gets away with it, maybe because the music scene receiving them (with arms only slightly open) can’t help but take their shtick ironically. There’s a genuine heart behind the album’s playfulness; a sentimental hope that, despite pop music’s domination by algorithms and nihilism, we can still have some debauched fun. The Hellp is playing the long game and the proof is in the addictive, exhilarating, long-simmering pudding. – Spencer Sabath
18. #RICHAXXHAITIAN – Mach-Hommy
With masterful production from the likes of Kaytranada and other trusted collaborators in his circle, #RICHAXXHATIAN is filled to the brim with stunning samples effortlessly woven together with melodic and jazzy beats. With this dazzling backdrop set, Mach-Hommy needs to meet a high mark- and does. With the help of collaborators like Roc Marciano, Black Thought, and Big Cheeko, the album alternates between intricate bars and catchy melodic choruses. While Mach-Hommy’s cult following is largely a result of his highly intentional control of image and self-worth (via concealing his face with a mask, barring his lyrics from being online, charging $7000 for physical copies of his albums, etc.), he makes sure that his identity as an artist is on display throughout this project, which feels much more personal than his previous releases. Like always, Mach’s flow shines brightest in its synthesis of English, French, and Haitian Creole, which bleed into one others’ rhyme schemes, as well as each’s political and autobiographical revelations. – Luca Pasquini
17. Cascade – Floating Points
Three years after venturing into full-fledged ambient jazz with Pharoah Sanders on Promises, Floating Points steps back to house music in stellar fashion. In a year already populated by releases from other festival headliners like Fred Again, Four Tet and Jamie xx, the British producer’s IDM-influenced production and subtler musical sensibilities shine through across the album. Cascade’s addictingly minimalist sound, which walks the line between clubby grooves and deconstructed industrial undertones, perfectly showcases his penchant for crafting enthralling progressions and dancefloor energy alike. – Kaleo Zhu
16. Your Day Will Come – Chanel Beads
Shane Laver’s sophomore album manages to sidestep its “scene” and move into something exciting: a new indie that sings modern folklore over electro-indie persuasions. Its allure amongst the downtown youth is obvious; tracks like “Urn” are comfortable listens that tap into the longtime appeal of fuzzy guitars with bitingly ambiguous lyrics: “Sold out, you stare / Wish I had something to care for, a dare”. The Drain Gang adjacent autotunes of True Altruisms are blended into a more mature twang; emerging past the throes of post-post-rocks and into earnest mono-melodies, Chanel Beads’ versatility speaks zoomer without drowning in the meta-ironic. It’s Lana hitting her vape, it’s avoiding your Hinge match walking down Canal. Ultimately, Your Day Will Come is a coherent snapshot of a youth culture trapped between a need for the incendiary and the ever-present impulse to just Hang Out. – Bernarda Basualdo
15. Diamond Jubilee – Cindy Lee
Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee was one of the more mysterious records that generated a significant buzz this year. It’s only available via a physical copy, or streaming on YouTube or Bandcamp. Aptly, Cindy Lee evokes vintage charm on this record, heavily influenced by the psychedelic sounds of the 1960s, but they’re not limited to one genre. Throughout the record, we are met with straightforward psychedelic rock, surf rock, Phil Spector-esque girl groups, and even Kraftwerk inspired electronica. The album is long– 32 tracks that span just over 2 hours– but each song is able to introduce a new idea that keeps the listener engaged. Listening to Diamond Jubilee feels like coming across a collection of demos from the 60s, recorded by an outsider artist that never made it in the industry. There are songs that feel unfinished or poorly mixed, but that adds to the allure and world building that Cindy Lee has very successfully accomplished on this record. – Eamon O’Connor
14. Basspunk – Bassvictim
Bassvictim’s Basspunk is one of those albums that seemed to materialize out of nowhere, but took the electroclash and dance scene by storm within months. Evolved from dissatisfaction with the electronic scene, Bassvictim, the project of singer-songwriter Maria Manow and producer Henry Clateman, pulls no punches in achieving all that is their mantra: to become a victim of the bass. The album is a mere 10 tracks, each putting creative spins on a range of dance subgenres and each as technicolor-dissonant and trashy as the next. The bass-heavy intro of “Canary Wharf Drift” is an engine starting up, while the glitchy, chopped and diced vocals throw the track in cruise control. From their Polish witch-house on “As Long As” to their Jersey Club “Flop”, or even their frenetic, hypertextual lyricism in “Air on a G String,” Basspunk is a genre-breaking, post-ironic, and sleazy approach to the future of electroclash. – Lana Spota
13. Radio DDR – Sharp Pins
Just over one year after the release of his debut album Turtle Rock, Kai Slater followed up with Radio DDR, a more focused, refined exploration of his particular brand of jangly, lo-fi power pop. The reference points remain the same–The Beatles by way of The Apples in Stereo, The Cleaners From Venus, Squire, and The Shivvers– but the hooks are bouncier, guitar riffs are coated in an extra helping of sugar, and the omnipresent tape hiss almost becomes an instrument as opposed to a purely aesthetic gimmick. Half-jokingly referred to as an homage to a certain Gilmore girl, “Lorelei” is where it all culminates at its best. Slater expertly layers his fuzzy, echoing harmonies, driving drum beat, and earworm lyrics, ripping all the right answers straight from the perfect pop-song textbook. “Sycophant” takes a similar approach at a different pace. Stripped back to imperfect soprano vocals and soft guitar plucks, the track acts like a spiteful cradle with Slater singing, “Who’s gonna want you when you figure it all out/ Crossing their mind like a white light/ Upside up and inside out/ I’m the only one who knows you now.” “Race for the Audience” closes the album out, paired with a music video starring Slater and his rag-tag group of friends running through a wintry Chicago graveyard, the track connects every dot in his lineage of influences, wrapping the effort up in a neat little bow.
There may be no new ground broken, but it is with his articulate appreciation of the past, and integration of modernity that Slater is able to return a youthful spirit to a tried-and-true style without feeling permanently stuck in a 1960’s timewarp, bringing hope to all the little kids out there with cassette tapes and a dream. – Shannon McMahon
12. 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips – Xiu Xiu
2024 was unquestionably ruled by pop music—shiny, happy, unabashedly commercial pop music. As natural as that felt (pop music is popular!) it still felt strange to hear what is essentially a pop album from these seasoned experimentalists. On 13” Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, Xiu Xiu is at their most palatable, their least upsetting. Miraculously, they don’t seem to lose any of their charm in the process. Tracks like “Maestro One Chord” and “T.D.F.T.W.” feel like immediate entries into Xiu Xiu’s essential canon. The album is arresting, catchy, exciting, intricate. Finally: A Xiu Xiu album you can listen to with your mom. – Darlene Marsh
11. keep it goin xav / with 2 – Xaviersobased
Listening to keep it going xav could be a watershed moment for any fan of hip hop: once you get it, you never go back. xaviersobased’s layered, autotuned vocals feel like first takes, but his rawness and enthusiasm capture you before you notice. It feels both spontaneous and entirely deliberate. xaviersobased’s nonchalant demeanor fits perfectly on the full range of production that ranges from hazy, spacey jerk beats to DJ Ess aggressive hoodtrap beats production. He glides effortlessly on jubilant tracks like ‘Get High’ as well (playfully) introspective ones like ‘UToldMeIWasAFuckUpGirl.” At just 27 minutes, keep it goin’ xav is a complete tonal rollercoaster; its only flaw is its brevity. Five months later, Xav kept it going on with 2, his tightest and most focused project to date. Ditching the disjointed feel of keep it goin and opting for a more focused sound, with 2 features some of Xav’s best verses over his most impressive beat selection. From flexing his Gucci wallet to referencing Naruto to the imagined “1c library” and “1c palace,” all while flowing like its second nature, what can’t xaviersobased do? – Will McClinton
10. I Got Heaven – Mannequin Pussy
“There’s not love on this record.” says singer Marisa “Missy” Dabice, of Mannequin Pussy’s new album, I Got Heaven, in a March DIFFUS interview. “No?” Her bandmate, guitarist Maxine Steen, questions. Whether it admits it or not, I Got Heaven is all about love — not clean or complete, but sorely, blisteringly human. Emerging from the heartbreak of 2019’s Patience, I Got Heaven reflects the reawakening that comes when we’re alone: acceptance followed by a longing for passion that excites rather than reminds. Boasting the band’s most experimental soundscape yet, I Got Heaven revels in the messy and blissful existence that gives itself up completely to its own fantasy. A synth line and brushed drums underscore the album’s melodic first half, contrasted by the more reminiscent hardcore latter half where the rhythm shifts from absolutely destructive to soft. Across ten tracks, Mannequin Pussy leads us on a search for a Heaven that’s decidedly on Earth. It’s horny and knows it. It’s also deeply feminine. Songs like “Loud Bark” and “Aching”, where Dabice alternates between screaming and moaning, serving and dominating, pleading and commanding someone, anyone, to touch her body — worship the sides of femininity typically shunned. Mannequin Pussy refuses to dilute female desire in all its violence and sweetness. Title track “I Got Heaven” is similarly transcendent; we are offered Eve’s apple as she encourages us to shed our faith, gaining autonomy but also self-assurance to love ourselves. Desperation and loneliness become a valve from which unashamedness explodes. Mannequin Pussy are radical in their audacity to be themselves despite uncertainty and contradiction. They’re funny and ironic and at their climax, irresistible. I Got Heaven dares to propose a utopia that already lies within us, toeing the line between coy and profane. – Miranda Liu
READ: Pitchfork Music Festival 2024
9. Manning Fireworks – MJ Lenderman
Coming off the success of an album as well-received as 2022’s Boat Songs, MJ Lenderman had a profoundly tough act to follow—his own. Some couldn’t overcome such a pitfall of their own making. Lenderman, on the other hand, plays right into it. Manning Fireworks is populated with laments for the unbecoming underdog. The album’s 9 tracks utilize the same facetious humor Boat Songs is notable for, a series of tongue-in-cheek quips paired with earnest melodies. Lines like: “It’s a Sunday at the water park / We sat under a half-mast McDonald’s flag” from “You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In” paint an unserious image split with a warm guitar part—unseriousness chased with a pinch of vulnerability. It’s this vulnerability that helps Manning Fireworks extract itself from Boat Song’s shadows, earning the album acclaim of its own. Between witty retorts and comfortingly nostalgic melodies lie glimpses of something heartbreakingly real. I’ve had the lines, “I could really use / your two cents, babe / I could really use the change” from “Bark at the Moon” stuck in my head since the album’s release in early September—but not paired with the laugh or grin I prescribe to many an MJ Lenderman lyric. The more I listen to Manning Fireworks, the more I resonate with the album’s toned-down approach, palpable truth hidden in every line. In “Bark at the Moon” Lenderman shares: “You’re in on my bit / You’re sick of the schtick / Well, what did you expect?” Is Lenderman singing to someone specific? Yes. At the same time, is he poking fun at listeners critical of his novelty? I think so. Throughout the album, Lenderman looks at his lover, looks at himself, and looks at us. In every way, Manning Fireworks demands to be listened to. – Alex Kerr
8. Night Palace – Mount Eerie
Releasing his eleventh album as Mount Eerie, Phil Elverum continues building on his catalog of naturalistic, thoughtful meditations while allowing chaotic distortion to find a renewed presence in his work. “the Gleam, Pt. 3”, the successor to The Microphones’ 2001 “The Glow, Pt. 2,” dizzily updates a decades-long decay. Synth organ meets distortion in “Non-metaphorical Decolonization,” as Elverum sings his elegy for America five days before election day. “I Spoke With A Fish” starts as a surreal, Vardaman-Bundren-esque hallucination that wanders into a lament on art’s failure to represent the fullness of the world – and ends with a sample of The Big Lebowski. Night Palace is a field recording of subjectivity with more to offer on each listen. – Teddie Chappell
READ: Mount Eerie @ Warsaw, 11/19/2024: Review
7. Almighty So 2 – Chief Keef
Almighty So 2 has little to do with its titular predecessor, a cult favorite that features Chief Keef at his most subversive and dense. Whereas the original tape saw Keef slurredly rapping behind atomic beats and shoddy DAW string sections, Almighty So 2 has polish and direction in a way 4NEM and Dirty Nachos didn’t. Working with the hindsight of his first decade, which saw him morph from a martyr to a monarch, Chief Keef harps on much of the same he’s rapped about his entire career (“I wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and kiss myself”). He speaks the same words from a different place than he did when Kanye picked up on “Don’t Like” and “Faneto” burned the underground. The rumbling drums on “Almighty (Intro)” sound like a marching band taking the streets after a local victory, and Keef’s growl on “Banded Up” paints the canvas with the same brush. An unlikely appearance from Tierra Whack flexes admiration for Chief Keef from the artsier sides of hip-hop, a world among many worlds that dragged their feet to recognize drill rap as the future and Chief Keef as its flagship product. Recognizing a kindred spirit, Keef offers Sexyy Red a place on “Grape Trees,” the record’s most aggressive instrumental, with a bellowing set of drum rolls that stutter with no rhyme or reason. Almighty So 2 is a victory lap after a career of victory laps; it’s easy to smell the flowers when you’re handing them to yourself. – Benny Sun
6. Imaginal Disk – Magdalena Bay
Imaginal Disk doesn’t download a new Magdalena Bay formula, but it doesn’t need to. Mercurial World stuck us in a 90’s computer with Mica Tenenbaum’s pixelated, dollish voice oohing about heartful, aching nostalgia. The tech is now a forever part of us, so why not make it glamorous? Imaginal Disk retains the duo’s love for sticking techy clicks and video game TKOs, loosens it, and adds a layer of smoothness and modern conventions. It’s eerie, yet welcoming. Robotic, yet human. If Mercurial World put us in the simulation, Imaginal Disk’s robot girl protagonist makes it part of us. “It’s here, imaginal disk. Say hello, it’s you!” Tenenbaum announces on “True Blue Interlude”. For all its escapism, the duo does not completely stray away from real life; “Angel on a Satellite,” beginning with harp and piano, places the listener firmly on a not-so-imaginal earth. The closing track, “The Ballad of Matt & Mica” is rooted in something more real as well. Here Tenenbaum croons about her move to LA and the path of Magdalena Bay. Maybe the digital world isn’t everything – the “happy ending” Tenenbaum sings of is triumphantly in the real world. Imaginal Disk finds the light in the ordinary and “not ordinary”, a phrase Tenenbaum repeats like a prayer. Blame it on the endless cycle of hating what’s current or the flat tech of the present, but Magdalena Bay’s liminal, Nintendo-DS-covered-in-gemstones world of the digital past sounds more captivating than ever. It’s not so much a departure as it is a software upgrade, and like Mercurial World, Imaginal Disk remains shiny and layered in an irresistible, glitchy pattern. – Alex La Loggia
5. Here in the Pitch – Jessica Pratt
Over the last decade, Pratt’s projects have continuously managed to “hit the spot”; a sort of liminal space; a place that simultaneously references the old and the new, the joy and the heartbreak that feels familiar. While the music cronies have decided on stuffing her into a “folk(ish)” category, Pratt doesn’t sound like anyone else…at all. This time around a few new timbres and colors orbit Pratt’s glassy vocals and acoustic guitar. A little bit of percussion here and there, and some layered countermelodies are here to add warmth, but the sound hasn’t gotten any bigger in scope. It’s still the same hauntingly beautiful songwriting, the same meditative atmosphere that never fails to take you into a daydream.
The first of nine tracks and standout anthem, “Life Is,” sets the bar high with a catchy pulse that needs to, and probably will be, used at the beginning of a movie. Some songs approach the border of jazz or bossa nova, gently swaying between the same two 7th chords. Others show off a longing mood that divorces from the guitar as the instrumental center of attention. In both cases, Pratt’s wistful melodies weave in and out of hypnotizing cosmic backdrops, constantly switching seamlessly from narrator to internal monologue. Her process as a songwriter mirrors this curious, constant search for the sublime that the lyrics on Here in the Pitch seem to gravitate towards, as she describes them acting as a natural extension of the resonance of the music. Whatever magic she has found in her search is undeniably an addictive exploration of emotions, rooted in the subtleties of the in-between. – Luca Pasquini
4. Britpop – A.G. Cook
Perhaps no artist has had quite a year like AG Cook. The lead producer behind brat, the prevailing popular album of the summer (autumn, winter, year…), and founder of the revolutionary label PC Music, AG Cook has a long list of iconic and influential collaborators. Prior to the release of Britpop, Cook had already revolutionized the way electronic music sounds (and somewhere around the turn of the 2020s, structured the scene the term “hyperpop” would encompass). From the title alone, it’s clear that Britpop is not quite the choose-your-own-adventure through dizzying electronic beats that Cook’s former albums were. Britpop invokes the memory of a British musical history through the twisted form of a nostalgic, digital referential tale with a magical edge.
Divided into three discs titles, past, present, and future, Britpop takes us on an echoing journey through time. During the opener “Silver Thread Golden Needle”, colors and clicks instantly start swirling – apt for the vibrant pink and green album cover. It’s a joyous, hopping electronic journey, setting the tone for the first act of the album. Similar to the multiple discs on 7G, it’s clear we are in for a sprawling, spiral narrative journey, reminiscent of those old click and find websites. Britpop is a tumbling record of a one-and-future digital sphere. On the second track the eponymous “Britpop”, Charli xcx’s glitchy voice starts a dizzying digital refrain of “Brit-brit-brit-brit like Britpop.” Perhaps the reference to a musical past is more in verbiage than physical manifestation, but the spirit of an English past remains. Signs of a gothic realm are invoked with lines about the devil on “Bewitched” and mystical ramblings on “The Weave.” Musically, the album is ever so slightly more traditional than the prickly and razored images frequently invoked by AG Cook’s brand of hyper clicky tunes. Moments of sharpness from past albums still show through on occasion. On the end of disc one, “Luddite Factory Operator” gives us a jarring jolt into the “present” section of the album, a bit of dark green poking through the bubble gum.
Even if a tune doesn’t mesh, chances are Cook will tweak it later in the story and add it to the long-stretching digital fantasy. In an era some are proclaiming the death of the album, Britpop is fetishizing it. An ode to a past in futuristic manner – the end of PC Music, which has ceased releasing new material, AG Cook’s work with artists like Charli xcx, and the tragic death of Cook’s longtime collaborator SOPHIE. AG Cook has created a masterful discography from melding the sounds of pop into a fun-mirror of expansive, sped-up chaotic artistry. Britpop is no exception to that. Though perhaps more of a memorial than a complete rework of Cook’s style, Britpop delivers on every front – past, present, and future. – Alex La Loggia
3. The New Sound – Geordie Greep
As the Northern Hemisphere bid farewell to summer, fans of a certain London prog-rock band were hit with the reality of having to say goodbye (for now?) to yet another life-giving force. In rather unceremonious fashion, Geordie Greep announced that black midi were no longer. That announcement came with another one: in essence, we were going to be plunged into completely unfiltered Greep territory, whether we liked it or not. The first order of business in Greep-land: let the black midi puppetmaster’s hyperactive mind fully off the leash. From the skittering riff that opens The New Sound, dozens more materialize- an abundance of riches spilling out onto the town- each more gorgeously orchestrated than the last. While bm already let each and every impulse push them further off the cuff, seeing Greep take full control of the spectacle somehow yields even more unexpectedly pleasing turns. Take the instrumental title track, for one, which sees a moonlit affair effortlessly morph into a Prince-grade arena rocker and back again, all while maintaining its rooting in the Latin rhythms that permeate much of the album. Or the alternately self-aggrandizing and doe-eyed “Through a War,” where “the streets sound like music, and the music is just noise” if you let the night take you there.
But wait, first “gather ‘round, boys!” The Greep must tell you all about the unholy characters that inhabit this town. They’ll have you believe they were not the scum of this land, once upon a time. As has often been the case in the past, Greep paints supremely prickly and unnerving scenes, yet in such a peculiar way he comes off as particularly human, more so than ever before. There is the intrapersonal dismantling as he flips the last section of “Holy, Holy”; the sickeningly enamoured voyeur that inhabits “As if Waltz,” and that you almost want to sympathize with; the supremely self-obsessed loner on “Blues,” who you kind of just feel bad for. This portrayal of twisted humanity wouldn’t be so effective if it weren’t backed by the most emotionally whole music Greep has been involved in since at least Schlagenheim. The difference between that and this is that it now feels like the possibilities are absolutely limitless. Everything could be so much more than all it already is.
Hidden at the center of The New Sound is the tiny “Bongo Season.” Over the prettiest music he’s ever created, Greep paints a minuscule scene of two mice committing ritualistic suicide “in the corner of my room.” Grim. But somehow, within the space of four lines, as the “orchestra plays through the floorboards,” his singing ends up sounding like the most comforting thing on the asentire LP. The rest of the song lets the music take over. When performing live in a string of NYC pre-release shows, Greep and his band would often vamp on the song’s core theme for ages, letting everything and everyone get sucked into their orbit. And somehow, in that moment, it would hit you. Huh, so this is what it’s all about. – Nil Bermejo Belbase
2. Girl – Coco & Clair Clair
Girl’s 9 tracks lie in a euphoric space between densely produced cloud-rap and a forgotten GarageBand mobile demo your friends drunkenly cooked up at 2AM. This has been Coco and Clair Clair’s brand since 2017’s Posh. The sonic quality of the vocals and beats of their earlier work match the playful and blasé lyrics, with mixing and arrangement that sound distinctly iPhone-originated. Their style is unquestionable, from their soft, unassuming delivery of lines with syllables often barely syncing with the beat to their irreverent lyrical content that bounces from the pop standards of “You’re so cool/I wanna be with you/Everything you do”, to abrupt namedrops of Peter Rabbit and Graceland to an extended metaphor about toilet paper on “My Girl.” In verses of entrancing yet largely opaque lyrics decrying cucks on Raya, “silly little fugly [bitches]”,and “geezers that never heard of Weezer”, there’s an endearing invitation for audiences to join Coco and Clair Clair in what was once the dogma of pop music: dropping intellectualization and surrendering to a good time.
In a year with albums like Brat and Short N’ Sweet dominating the market on self-assured, unapologetic, sex-infused ego-pop, Girl filled a glaring void in the industry for artists who speak about drugs like they’ve never done them and about sex like they’ve never had it. Whether the appeal of the record comes from this refreshing, performative naivete or from the cool carefree it offers where an album like Brat seems more consistently fixated on aggressively proving its author’s status and relevance, Coco and Clair Clair seem like true people’s pop princesses. They never over-produce themselves, never over-market their output, and never seem intent on injecting their songs with undue vulnerability or calculated emotion. Across Girl’s tracklist are anthems of vanity, luxury, and lackadaisy that deliver so distinctly and successfully because any flicker of ostentatiousness is smothered by Coco and Clair Clair’s charming irony.
The record marks the cleanest and most sonically captivating the duo has ever sounded, but the content and delivery still imitate an inebriated conversation between close friends. “Vodka Diet Coke, I’m not doing any drugs/Write a hit song then I read a big book”, Clair Clair near whispers on “Kate Spade”. There’s nothing to overanalyze, no attempted social commentary, no spiritual journey they’re begging listeners to embark on. It’s just fucking fun. Rather than asking audiences to cling to them as marketable or sympathetic personalities, they’re set on offering their listeners 25 intoxicating minutes of glitter and dissociation. In a period so often described as unprecedented, apocalyptic, and traumatic, Coco and Clair Clair’s constant edging on comedy and demolition of the frontal lobe might be exactly what we need. – Spencer Sabath
1. Bright Future – Adrianne Lenker
There’s nothing particularly 2024 about Bright Future. In a year of bombast, of pomp and synth, and albums that loom larger in the cultural zeitgeist than the sonic landscape, it doesn’t feel like there’s much demand for another stripped-back indie folk record. It doesn’t really matter, anyway. Between her solo career and her work with Big Thief, this is Adrianne Lenker’s twelfth full-length release since she officially began her career a decade ago. It’s a little more country, a little sillier, a little more meandering than her previous records, but it’s nothing new from her. Even her process mirrored that of her previous solo album songs, holing up in a cabin à la 2007 Bon Iver, recording solely with analog equipment. Once again- this doesn’t really matter. Bright Future doesn’t strain itself to be more than it is, or try to trick anyone into listening to it. It’s twelve beautiful songs presented simply. In a way this makes it far more striking.
Opener “Real House,” for example, is confrontationally bare. Lenker begins the album slowly, taking her time, forcing the listener to settle into her melancholy. (“Do you remember running?”) Whereas on songs, she painted heartbreak with bright colors and mystical images, here, she presents it straight on. (“Thirty-one and I don’t feel so strong and your love is all I want.”) Lenker takes her time; she pulls no punches. (I wanted so much for magic to be real.) She’s created something beautiful, something that becomes magical in its groundedness. It’s solemn and it’s whimsical, it’s sparse and so, so full.
Unlike songs, in which Lenker plays completely, palpably alone, Bright Future welcomes the collaboration of R&B artist Nick Hakim on piano and vocals. His presence mirrors Lenker’s shift in lyricism on the album. Here, she tells stories of little worlds, of everyone around her as a reflection of herself. It’s an album totally uninterested in being of any moment, an album that exists so entirely of its own accord. It’s gorgeous and jagged, moving and so very complete, another outstanding work from one of our greatest working songwriters. (Just when I thought I couldn’t feel more I feel a little more.) – Darlene Marsh