by Guest Contributor Nathan Geist
Twenty twenty four. It feels a little absurd to be typing that out confidently. All the while knowing, we are just a few days from its end. What a year it’s been. The world seems a darker place, but maybe that’s just election year blues. The only constant, the prevailing wind, carrying us through from one moment to the next, elongating what felt like a blur: Music.
Its artistry. Its ability to take us places and connect, bearing joy and understanding, and filling us with such capacity and with such we may expand our souls. For those of us that create the music that fills and carries, and for those of us that are vessels; it is our collective job to share that freshness, that vitality.
And to finish it all off I would like to share with you what has filled my year, through its many ups and downs. Here are ten albums that you may have missed, overlooked, or are not in your typical listening rotation.
Starting off with St. Louis’ own Foxing and their self-titled 6th LP. It may be an oxymoron but this album oozes “fresh nostalgia.” With hints of older classics like Albatross and Dealer, the midwesterners return to their more aggressive roots, but lacking none of the production value or earnest chops of the last two records. From start to finish, the record feels like a “Foxing” record. And while it may be rooted in their history, it’s easily accessible. It feels artsy when it is supposed to be artsy (see tracks like “Spit” and “Greyhound.”) And it’s aggressive and emotive when it needs to be (“Secret History” and “Looks Like Nothing.”) And the 13-year career comes to a culmination on Tracks that do both (“Gratitude” and the record’s pinnacle “Hell 99.”). It may have been the year of the dragon, but this LP brought about the year of The Fox-ing.
Check it out Here.
Another highlight of the year was the very somber and thoughtful Island Perimeter, by Derek Inver aka Route 500. The record has more of an indie styling, but the focus here is from the Brighton, UK-based singer-songwriter on the dark and lo-fi folk aspect of what indie can offer. And even for its contemplative lyrics and dark soundscapes, the guitar and the vocals shine throughout the record. And at times, flowing through each track almost ethereally. This carries tracks like “Wrong Colour” and “Not Today” into an almost pixie-like state of flow. This shows a real level of craftsmanship for his 1st LP under the moniker. It feels like he has fleshed out what he wants to say and how he wants to say it here. And this fact cannot be more encapsulated by the record’s stand-out single “I’ll Play You Out.” This track features the soulful Bess Atwell. And the harmonies and harmonics of the guitars against the pair’s voices feel nothing short of a fever dream (further proven by the track’s 1.2 million plays on Spotify). The one strike against the album is that it feels too short.
Check it out Here.
In the latter part of 2023 and early part of 2024, there was this feeling in music channels online that we were facing a new wave in Shoegaze. It was anything but sudden. But Life on the Lawn by A Country Western, felt like the crest of that wave came early this year. Releasing in late March, A Country Western released 10 tracks of pure unadulterated rock music. A very polished (as polished as Shoegaze can be) third LP from the Philadelphia four-piece. And they hit everything on this record they need. Tracks like “The Dreamer” feel like a tightly rolled ball of yarn, with all the strands and fuzz fraying the edges. From track to track, the record keeps it fresh with no two songs sounding alike, but still retaining the band’s sound. The album’s first track “Great is the Grip of the Hawk” really opens the door and doesn’t let go until you hit the pinnacle of the record, the aptly named “Ridgeline.” but it doesn’t downslope when you feel like it should. And that’s the band’s, and the record’s, greatest strength. It holds you like a warm welcome until it lets you go until next time with “Wasting The Weekends,” the album’s closer. This is where I feel like their artistry shines, where they can combine their dissonance with melody and syncopation. One of the better shoegaze albums I’ve heard, ever.
Check it out Here.
One of the most “Summer” records I heard this year was Permanent Repeat by the Long Island emo outfit, Macseal. They are at their best here, crafting their trademark math-inspired hooks, while projecting a light and breezy ambiance to their songcraft. And although it at its heart is a quintessential ‘emo’ record, it left me warm and fuzzy. The record kicks off with the ultimate feel-good track “A+B”. The acoustic guitars rise to the top of the track, accentuated by the softer vocal performance. And goes further using an electric guitar to subtly compliment the soundscape, until it drives home the chorus. They accomplish this feeling on track number four, Easily Undone as well. In track two, Golden Harbor, they fall into their more emo roots. The hooks are most prevalent in their songs like this one. Vocal hooks, guitar hooks, and strong drum lines give that “dance like no one’s looking” vibe to the track. The latter half of the album feels like it was heavily influenced by the latter Saves the Day and The Early November records. Tracks like “Your Door” and “Dinner for Two” ended before I was ready. The final two tracks close the record out strongly, with “Hide Out” being my favorite track on the album.
Check it out Here.
Keeping to 2024’s trend of strong, vibey emo records, next, I have Riley!’s April release, Keep Your Cool. Released into Counter Intuitive Records’ really strong catalog this spring, the record just hits all the boxes of what modern emo is and what it can be. Immediately this record kicks off with their trademark catchy lyrics and guitar hooks. The first three tracks quickly entered my daily rotation. “777”, “Keep Your Cool, Man”, and “Bad Boys Boxing Club” all feel like homages to their influences and contemporaries alike. Track five, “[cries in Spanish]”, features a collaboration with their like-minded contemporaries Heccra, and the vocal interplay between them is something special. The record feels like this all comes naturally to the three-piece outfit. But their ability and hard work shine through on this record, which is just their third LP. One of my favorite moments is on “God is an Algorithm…”, near the end of the track, when they have a tasteful horn section. And finally, the record does take a surprising (albeit welcome), and somber turn on the closing track “Talk It Out”. I was surprised to hear them close the record out this way with the other nine tracks carrying a more upbeat tone. It left me in this state of euphoric melancholy. All in all, a great record.
Check it out Here.
One record I was looking forward to, but also surprised by was gestalt, introspective NYC rapper Deca’s release, Bough. A few singles had come out for the record, seeming like it would just be an EP, then I was pleasantly surprised on October 4th, with a 16-track release. His mixing and sampling are in full, unadulterated form on the album. And his lyrics are as catchy and thought-provoking as ever. His ability to comment on social issues pragmatically and artistically is as jaw-dropping as ever. The beats and choice samples by DLZMKSBTS are so auditorily pleasing that you almost lose yourself in the layers. “The Gist” is an instant classic in the lyricists’ catalog. His hooks here use vocal samples and his replies to them, to do something imaginative and unique. He uses his ability and wordplay throughout the record to get his points across, almost requiring you to look up the album on Genius to follow along. The social commentary is particularly strong on “War”, in which he is again unafraid to confront some sensitive topics and elicit an emotional response from the listener. My favorite track, “Caught in the Fray”, is a bit of a call back to his LP The Ocean, in which he returns to a form first heard on that album. This track features a pacing similar to a few of his better tracks from the album. Some other strong tracks on the album include “A Stillness”, “Time Heals”, “Sun Tzu”, and “Move Right”
Check it out Here.
There’s a lot to be said about a record when you headline multiple festivals after releasing your FIRST record. One of the year’s most polarizing and talked-about records is Prelude to Ecstasy, by The Last Dinner Party. The intrigue I have for this band and for this record as a whole is unmatched. It is operatic and theatrical, kickass and emotional. And it captured my attention like few albums do. And for a first LP to do this is nothing short of magical and triumphant. The record does not have many shortcomings. “Burn Alive” is the record’s first real song, and it is like a theater kid’s fever dream. Vocally impressive and lyrically sobering, it feels like a gateway drug into TLDP. The very mature “The Feminine Urge” beckons for the world to hear them, and we do. When Abigail Morris belts “Oh Ballerina, bend under the weight of it all” you can feel that this group is for real. Their maturity in their emotional songwriting and craftsmanship is something that some seasoned bands have a tough time reaching. My favorite track “Sinner” is a love letter to art-rock and baroque pop music. And maybe the most recognizable single “Nothing Matters” was featured on EA Sports FC 24, catapulting them to the mainstream. It is one of the better singles I have heard from any band throughout the year. These girls make it look and sound easy. (The record was re-released in October featuring a few choice covers and some acoustic versions of some tracks)
Check it out Here.
The first album to make the list of favorites from the year was a six-song EP entitled Twice Around the Sun from Ugly from the UK. This album was a breath of fresh air. I am not even sure if I would want to pigeonhole what this record falls into by identifying all the genres that they touch upon here. Like TLDP’s record, the sounds here are grandiose sweeping, and theatrical. It scratches in the troughs of my brain I didn’t know I had. Most songs are five minutes plus, of sonic walls, and lyrical flushes. No track misses the mark but songs like “The Wheel” and “Shepherd’s Carol” bat above their weight. And “Icy Windy Sky” is a track sent to Earth by heaven, I am certain of it. If each track was a dart, “Icy Windy Sky” would be a cruise missile taking out the whole dart board. The guitar lines, the vocals, everything is in perfect sync. It’s bliss. If you listen to any EP all year it should be this one.
Check it out Here.
An album that I had been following for some time, and tracking the singles, each more promising than the next, was Kylie V’s Crash Test Plane. The record seemed to fall quite under the radar. But deserved to be much more well received, with red carpet, velvet ropes, and all the fanfare. Kylie’s sophomore effort is much improved upon what she crafted in her debut Big Blue. Vocal hook-laden, lyrically evocative singer-songwriter indie pop music. The production on the record is quite subtle, never taking away from Kylie’s voice and guitar playing. It also features quite an array of instruments like pedal steel and horns quite tastefully. The record has a great launching point on “Okanagan Peach” and finds a quick stride in “Runaway” (the record’s best single). Themes like growth and resiliency and finding power within the madness, ring through the album as well as scorn and lost love. “Anomaly” is an example of the latter. What-ifs and questions some only think, Kylie sings, baring their heart here. The title track is quite the shining star filled with steel guitar and banjo, accentuating their voice impressively, capped off with a touch of gang vocals. “Year of the Rabbit” has touches of bluegrass or indie folk with its’ very welcome trumpet section. The record closes off incredibly well with three of the strongest tracks “Catherine”, “Swimming Pool”, and “Song in Open D”. All in all quite an eclectic, thought-provoking, and enjoyable listen. Bravo.
Check it out Here.
The final record on my list was probably the latest addition, having come back to it in late November. And I am glad I held off listening to it. This allowed me to listen with as much purpose and intent as Lizzy and her band put into the recording process for the album. And let me tell you this might be the best record I’ve listened to all year and hell maybe for several ‘years.’ It blew me away. I can’t remember the last time a record gave me chills as much as this one did. It honestly ruined other music for me for a few days.
Lizzy McAlpine began writing this record while they were finalizing the tracks on her previous record. The whole process taking the better part of three years. And the effort is evident. It is sincere and deeply personal. It feels at times like the last hug you received from a deceased loved one. There’s intent here. She paints frescos about break-ups, either imminent or past tense, and the questions everyone asks themselves but never really utters aloud are her medium.
The production of this album is immense while letting instrumentalization shine rather than electronic sampling. Rare for a pop album these days, although this album can’t be pigeonholed as merely a pop album. You can even watch (in awe) the making of the album on YouTube. Probably my favorite song of the entire year, “Staying”, is nestled firmly in the middle of the record, which is chock full of emotionally evocative, soul-rendering, and soul-soothing tracks. Some other highlights include “Come Down Soon”, “All Falls Down”, and the title track “Older”. This version of the record includes five bonus tracks.
Check it out Here.
Thanks for reading.
Nathan Geist.
