GL.24.06: Caseysimone Ballestas
GL.24.10: KEVIN WYCKOFF
GL.24.11: Jem Stirling
GL.24.12: Dillon North
GL.24.13: Marisa Plaice
GL.24.14: Desa Warner
GL.24.15: Mario Sanders
GL.24.16: Carl Anderson
***
Growing up as a small child on my step-father’s peat farm in Moylough, just west of Doocastle, I couldn’t fathom where the path laid out for me ran. It was a hard upbringing but an honest one. We weren’t the richest nor the poorest. Supper always on the table.
“Caoimhín!” he’d yell at me vigorously in the original gaelic - a name I’ve long since abandoned - as he laid the tairsgear for the hundredth time that morning.
“Quit yer daydreamin’ and get on with it.” … I was never cut for the life of labor.
Music.
Maybe it was the Slane hymns my mother would sing to me during the long dark. Maybe a faint tune I overheard on the wind. Whatever it was, it was the sound that drew me forward.
It’s through nothing but a series of small miracles that I find myself in this position. Here and now. Realizing a lifelong dream I never knew I had - being published in the annual BurnYourHits review. But that’s a story for a different day.
In honor of the year of our lord 2024, this list has 32 entries. 24+2+0+2+4. This is the way things are. What follows below is a selection of the new songs which moved me most this year.
With gratitude,
Kevin
—---------------------------------------------------------------
32. Rafael Toral - “Spectral Evolution”
Cheating a bit right off the bat with this forty-seven-minute single track album from Portuguese improv avant-garde jazz guitarist Rafael Toral. His layered pitch-warping drones make you feel embraced by a warm bath of birdsong that slowly evolves and builds. A real treat to see recreated live at this year’s Rewire Festival in Den Haag.
31. Iglooghost - “Geo Sprite Exo”
British oddball wonky/footwork producer prodigy Iglooghost has been, in my mind, the most boundary-pushing electronic creator of the past decade. His debut, Neō Wax Bloom, contains several of the most mind-melting sonic creations I’ve ever heard. This year’s third album Tidal Memory Exo pushes things into more industrial territory with traces of grill, grime, and UK bass. His dense, aquatic soundscapes still feel like they were made by aliens. “Geo Sprite Exo” is deconstructed dance music for the scuzzy alternative nightclubs on the outskirts of the lost city of Atlantis.
30. Nala Sinephro - “Continuum 6”
This Belgian ambient space-jazz artist made waves with her debut Space 1.8 in 2021. The follow-up elevates her transportational sound in every way. A single piece in ten cyclical tracks, you are gently lifted into a serene liminal space that warps and grows. The sixth part is my favorite, one of the energetic peaks. Pulsing electronics and smooth sax interweave yielding a totally blissed out atmosphere. Me gusta.
29. Ex-Easter Island Head - “Weather”
My favorite ambient piece of the year is the opening track from this oddly named electroacoustic group’s fifth album Norther. A blossoming and intricate work of music, which starts with a drone comprised of layers of prepared guitar, apparently orchestrated by note randomizers built from old cell phones, and cracks open with gorgeous yawning bass glissandos. A truly singular and otherworldly sound.
28. Everything Everything - “Enter the Mirror”
One of my longtime favorite groups put out another sturdy record this year. Their lush & cryptic blend of indie rock, synthpop, and progressive song structures feels as fresh as ever. My fave off the album, “Enter the Mirror” comes with this neato puppeteering video. Jon Higgs’ falsetto remains one of the more enigmatic voices in indie music. Happy they’re still plugging away.
27. Four Tet - “Three Drums”
Despite his newfound hobby of blowing out massive festival gigs with Skrillex & Fred Again (including some hilariously subversive track choices - this video of him closing Lollapalooza ‘24 with Autchre’s “Sim Gishel” cracks me the fuck up), Four Tet’s studio output has remained faithful to his roots as one of electronic music’s most talented downtempo/IDM/ folktronica producers. His newest Three is his thirteenth under this moniker & my fav since 2012’s Pink. The closing track here is a lush, hypnotic synth exploration underpinned by three sets of jazz drums.
26. Chat Pile - “Frownland”
Hotly tipped Oklahoma sludge metal band Chat Pile tone down the mental-asylum-escapee vibes on their excellent sophomore record Cool World. Hammering, sour riffs and deliciously thick guitar tones trudge forward underneath singer Raygun Busch’s manic phrase repetitions. One of the best & most exciting heavy bands out there right now. Pure tension and dread.
25. Brittany Howard - “Red Flags”
The Alabama Shakes frontwoman continues her solo push into punchy, vocally layered neo-psychedelia soul explorations. Muted trash can jazz-hop beats and repeated choir-like mantras break open into a super nice expansive chorus where she flexes her powerful voice. Embellishments from acid-fried guitars, harpsichord, and intrusive studio compression add to the cool vibe. Almost beats getting a new Alabama Shakes record.
24. Knocked Loose - “The Calm That Keeps You Awake”
Fast-rising and terrifically brutal metalcore band Knocked Loose made a stir when Jimmy Kimmel fans demanded an apology after what is certainly the heaviest performance in late night show history. My favorite track from their latest, truly overwhelming record, You Wont Go Before You’re Supposed To is this abrasively percussive, furious and punishing tune.
23. death’s dynamic shroud.wmv & Galen Tipton - “Generate Utopia”
The vaporwave stalwarts partner with a wonky sound collage artist for a full album of ridiculous sounding deconstructed club bangers. The glitchy production on this track is insane; the intricate chirpy synths and heavy syncopated beats pair so delightfully with the hooky vocal sample. Might be a bit much for some but I love it. Feels like I’m trapped in a psychedelic washing machine rave.
22. Kiasmos - “Flown”
Ten years ago famed Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds surprised listeners with a symphonic micro-house album of wintery ambient synth tones and homework-worthy beats in collaboration with little known Faroese composer Janus Rasmussen. A decade later the partnership continues on II. This is my favorite of the many gorgeous & elegant tracks. Oscar-worthy study music.
21. Floating Points - “Fast Forward”
Riding the coat-tails of his massive collab piece Promises with spiritual jazz sax legend Pharaoh Sanders (RIP) & the London Symphony Orchestra, Sam Shepherd returns to his primary role of being one of the world’s best modular synth manipulators. His newest, Cascade, is a series of hard-driving, ever-evolving tech-house adventures with some of the most tactile, chewy tones released this year. “Fast Forward” is a highlight with cycling steel drum-like synths and pulsing bass propelling it to massive heights.
20. St. Vincent - “Violent Times”
I’ve been hit-or-miss with Anne Clark’s records since 2011’s Strange Mercy, but this year’s All Born Screaming pulled me back in. Her unique ability to balance beauty & destruction within a single song is on full display here. Big groovy horns and distorted beats pair with delicate vocals and a haunting melody. The vibes are distinctly James-Bond-theme. It's punchy, sexy and mysterious at the same time, before launching into a big cinematic finale.
19. Hannah Frances - “Keeper of the Shepherd”
This gen-z progressive folk songwriter got a massive boost when her third album got BNM’d by Pitchfork this spring. The title track here is an intricately fingerpicked two-step tune ringing with vital energy. The sonic timbre has just enough crust to enrich the propulsive melodic progressions & yearning hooky vocals. I love the little reverbed flute and lap steel accents. Feels so lived-in. One of my favorite new artists of the year.
18. MJ Lenderman - “Wristwatch”
Chill slacker guitar dude MJ Lenderman appears twice on this list and continues to emerge as one of the most interesting young songwriters, especially when you consider his role as lead guitarist in another rising band Wednesday. This twangy single brings an almost grunge-like aesthetic to its alt-country instrumentation. The chilling diminished chorus is a total earworm, with lyrics like “I’ve got a houseboat docked at the Himbo Dome … and a wristwatch that tells me I’m on my own” playfully ruminating on loneliness and modern isolation.
17. Svaneborg Kardyb - “St. Pancras”
This Danish nu-jazz duo makes tonally & rhythmically satisfying instrumental tunes that have a placid and cyclical nature. Their sound feels very minimalist and lived-in - playing just enough notes to fill the space. I listened to their latest record Superkilen a lot this year. A lovely soundtrack to personal moments of reflection, reminiscence and tranquility. Each track is better experienced in context of the record, but this one here is super nice.
16. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - “BABYS IN A THUNDERCLOUD”
There’s still no one who does it like Godspeed. The mysterious Canadian post-rock ensemble returned with No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead - their most cohesive, cinematic & apocalyptic sounding record in at least a decade. This melancholic protest symphony swells into a bombastic thunderstorm of gnarled crashing guitar wails and defiant strings. Undeniably Godspeed. The existential dread is palpable.
15. Mannequin Pussy - “I Don’t Know You”
Somewhere between dream-pop, hardcore punk, and feminist pornography exists Mannequin Pussy. Their excellent fourth album I Got Heaven is a confident, noisy, and super fun sonic adventure with pop-aware songwriting and the aesthetic tendencies of a noise rock band. This track is one of their most mellow & refined - letting the vocal hook take center stage. Gentle piano arpeggios and brushed drums aren’t things you normally associate with hardcore bands, but their ability to walk the high rope is a major asset. And then a thick fog rolls in.
14. Waxahatchee - “Right Back to It” (feat. MJ Lenderman)
This straight-up americana duet between Alabama songwriter Katie Crutchfield and MJ Lenderman (see list #18) is one of those instantly undeniable tunes. Melancholic and hopeful, it’s a golden slice of pure songwriting with a chorus that has real staying power. I don’t even know what else to say. It’s just an excellent song.
13. The Amazing - “Antichrist”
One of my longtime favorite bands (a side-project of Sweden’s Dungen) returns with a super understated and beautiful set of shoegaze-adjacent sleepy psych-rock tunes. I have always loved their unique ability to put me into a blissed out, catatonic state. This hazy dream of a tune floats through a wall of distortion, reverb, phase, and tremolo with the tight, papery drums keeping things in order.
12. Christopher Owens - “I Think About Heaven”
Jangly San Francisco indie band Girls were a thrilling flash-in-the-pan in my early college years. Their music video for early single “Lust for Life” is a core bit of manufactured SF nostalgia. Frontman Christopher Owens fell off the map and apparently went through a decade of homelessness and heroin abuse, so it was fantastic to see him reemerge with this year’s excellent I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair. The lead single is a beautiful, tender tune full of existential longing and dreamy psych-rock grooves.
11. FEET - “Why Would I Lie”
I adore FEET. The ‘little band’ I’ve been the biggest cheerleader for over the past couple years. Their second album Make It Up dials down the edge & zaniness, sounding right out of the mid-2000s Strokes, Maccabees, LIbertines scene. “Why Would I Lie” is their prettiest most delicate number, in the vein of songs like “Toothpaste Kisses” and “Mardy Bum”. My resolution for 2025 is to force everyone to listen to more FEET.
10. Mount Eerie - “I Walk”
Phil Elverum is a notorious indie folk journeyman & poet. His long and varied catalogue touches on slacker rock, drone, avant-folk, bedroom pop and even black metal, but his last few have been a devastating series of non-music albums mourning the sudden death of his wife & exploring his new life as a single father. This incredible new one, Night Palace, sees him emerging from grieving as an even more earnest and creatively insightful songwriter touching on all bits of his range. “I Walk” grows from its soft introspective intro - his voice half drowned by howling wind - into a beautiful noisy cacophony of raw drums and droning guitars.
9. Vampire Weekend - “Classical”
I thought Vampy Weeks might fade into the ether following Rostam’s departure & the middling Father of the Bride. Happy to be proven wrong. Time will tell where Only God Was Above Us sits in their oeuvre, but I came back to this over and over all year. The lead single here has all the classic VW elements dialed up to 11 - mixed production aesthetics, playful Bach-like scale runs, Graceland tinged afro-indie, intellectual lyrics, a ripping sax solo - and is an absolute earworm. Thrilled these guys are continuing to stay fresh & evolve.
8. Patrick Holland - “Third Rail”
Outsider deep house artist Patrick Holland put out this eclectic mixtape, Infra, ten days into 2024. It features a smorgasbord of dance music styles held together by Patrick’s pristine production and rich approach to melody. The opening track here is a playful, energizing track with a bouncy four-on-the-floor structure and layers of chirpy synths evolving around each other. Randomly stumbled upon this thing and kept coming back to it all year.
7. Jack White - “Old Scratch Blues”
Jack’s best album since The White Stripes’ Elephant (?!) came out of nowhere and opens up with this fingerpicky blues rock barn-burner. He reminds us that no one does scorching, no-nonsense guitar/drums rock like he does. Deliciously thick fuzz riffs rip through the chorus and the raw guitars increasingly suck up the entire mix. Jack’s vocals sound frayed, spewing “You’re gonna find out” over warbled Hammond hits. Just when you think rock is dead, rock comes storming back.
6. Good Looks - “If It’s Gone”
This Austin-based ‘little band that could’ has been through a lot but their sophomore record of Spoon-adjacent, pseudo-socialist, anti-gentrification anthems gets my vote for most under-appreciated album of 2024. The first track and lead single is a perfect example of their refined songwriting and modern approach to heartland rock. A propulsive post-breakup tune that’s immediately one of those songs you feel like you’ve known for a while.
5. Bonny Light Horseman - “When I Was Younger”
I’ve been screaming at people to listen to this impeccable Americana double-album from Tony-winning playwright Anaïs Mitchell & Fruit Bats frontman Eric D. Johnson. I could’ve legitimately picked from fifteen different tunes to be on here. It’s golden hour perfection. Their distinctive voices pair so well together. This gorgeous, pensive duet ruminates on the passing of time and the wisdom of maturity, with one of my favorite song endings of the year.
4. Charli XCX - “Mean girls”
Not even this certified hipster snob could deny “Brat Summer.” I was big into Charli’s 2016 Vroom Vroom EP with its otherworldly production from the late SOPHIE, but never has her songwriting and delightfully creative electro pop production come close to these heights. Clearly there’s a ton of massive bangers on this thing, but every time that amazing dancehall piano sample drops I’m reminded that this throbbing party tune is the standout for me. Super hard to pick just one.
3. Geordie Greep - “Holy, Holy”
The twenty-five year old black midi frontman decided to depart his hugely successful group to release this solo record of insane asylum avant-prog Steely Dan tunes featuring a series of absurd character studies about weird sexual deviants underpinned by a furious rhythm session of Brazilian session musicians & Motown backup singers. It’s way too much and yet I can’t turn it off. The gonzo, epic lead single here sees him playing a pathetic, braggadocious version of himself who interrogates and swoons a lady in a bar before things somehow get even wilder.
2. The Smile - “Bending Hectic”
Thom & Johnny’s ‘not-Radiohead’ band put out two solid records this year and they haven’t sounded this heavy and mean since OK Computer. This gorgeous eight minute tune is an elegantly paced build & release. Johnny shows why he’s still one of the most inventive electric guitar players out there, while also penning one of his most stunning string arrangements. Thom sounds as angelic and despondent as ever. This one lulls you in and then comes crashing down.
1. Magdalena Bay - “Death & Romance”
How to even describe MagBay? Their sophomore record Imaginal Disk is an absolutely stunning collection of dancey progressive synthpop bangers that dig further into you with each listen. It’s a weirdo psychedelic fantasy epic about the merging of the human and digital worlds. It’s an insane set of sonic space-pop journeys, each blasting off to increasingly unreachable highs. It’s one of the best sounding and most fun albums I have ever heard. All songs should be this song - the dancehall piano, funk bass, huge synths, live jazz drums & massive chorus hit so hard. Endlessly replayable.
No comments:
Post a Comment