December 16, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26)
Looking back, 2024 was truly an incredible year for music. With timeless rap beef, exciting indie releases and a banner year for pop music, the music industry made releases this year that have proven to be some of the most exciting we have seen in a long time. Here are my 12 favorite projects -some underground artists and others new household names- I’ve heard of this year.
12. Mount Kimbie-The Sunset Violet
British electronic group Mount Kimbie’s exploration into indie rock and post-punk fell criminally under the critical radar this year. The group employs fellow British art rock band King Krule to help create a fantastic textured atmosphere with a contrast of punchy, clicky drums and reverb-soaked synthesizers and guitars. The genre shift made on this album is executed and conceptualized fantastically.
11. Kendrick Lamar-GNX
Rapper Kendrick Lamar takes his final victory lap following his conflict with Drake. The surprise drop of this album late into the year created an excitement matched by Kenderick’s ferocity and energy on several of the more dance-forward and energetic tracks on the record, without sacrificing his signature introspection and lyrical talent. Production from Mustard and Jack Antonoff makes this album unique in his catalog but certainly very high quality.
10. Cindy Lee- Diamond Jubilee
The earliest months of the year saw an overwhelming excitement for Diamond Jubilee, the expansive and ambitious triple album from songwriter Patrick Fiegel’s project Cindy Lee. Diamond Jubilee is almost granular and somewhat twee in its production with a hypnagogic sound that harkens back to songwriters of the 70’s and 80’s. The album can feel like a chore with its crushing length, but every song is rewarding in itself and feels truly transportive.
9. Fourtet- Three
British electronic music pioneer Fourtet makes his thirteenth release one of my favorites in his extensive catalog of releases. Fourtet’s atmospheric and ambient approach to the compositions on this album are incredibly soothing and scratched an itch in my brain that felt incredibly satisfying. This album is a go to study album for me and I highly recommend the project for a calm and meditative experience.
8. The Cure- Songs for a Lost World
Gothic rock and post punk legends The Cure make a return from a 16 year hiatus with the most timely and sad record in the band’s history. Frontman and mastermind of the band Robert Smith tackles existential angst and fear over bombastically extravagant instrumentals that envelop the ears of its listeners. The Cure really outdid themselves with this release and proved to the world why they are one of the best bands to ever do it.
7. Soshi Takeda- Secret Communication
The only EP to make my list today doesn’t overstay its welcome or self-indulge within its 6 tracks. Tokyo based electronic producer Soshi Takeda masterfully combines house music with new age and ambient synthesizers and samples that make for a truly transcendent body of work. Anyone with an interest in electronic beats, house music, or ambient music really should check out this highly underappreciated master of his craft.
6. Fontaines D.C.-Romance
Irish post-punk outfit Fontaines D.C. gained their highest amount of critical reception, absolutely exploding in popularity stateside and especially in the U.K. The band harkens back to jangle pop and indie rock like on my favorite track of the year “Favorite” but also brings in a refreshing and innovative take to guitar music in the 2020’s. The textures of the guitars on the record combined with the poetic musings on modern life delivered by frontman Grian Chatten justify the excitement that has surrounded the band since the release of this album.
5. Floating Points- Cascade
The crown jewel in a fantastic year for electronic music is the masterclass presented by British house artist Floating Points. The drums on this record are irrefutable and brought right into the forefront in a stew of sound effects and samples. The beats are relentlessly dancy and catchy without relying on repetition, or feeling too pretentious. This album deserves to be a modern classic and serves as an amazing gateway into the world of electronics.
4. MJ Lenderman-Manning Fireworks
Newly crowned prince of indie rock MJ Lenderman presents a 9-track airtight showcase of his songwriting. This album does not have time for excess or pretention, the album is too tightly packed with pedal steel guitars and straight forward song structures. MJ’s depressive stream of consciousness and ramblings about love and growing older matches the musical influences from Neil Young and Jeff Tweedy that make the record hopelessly nostalgic, and accessible to all music listeners.
3. Friko-Where We’ve Been, Where We Go From Here
Chicago noise pop duo Friko take the crown for the year’s most exciting and promising debut album. Friko continues the long, proud tradition of the windy city’s vibrant and energetic indie scene, taking clear inspiration from artists like The Smashing Pumpkins. The softer cuts on the album contrast with the fuzzed out higher tempos of songs like “Get Numb to it!” and the title track. Friko showed a great amount of maturity in the infant stages of this band and certainly made this band one to watch in the coming years.
2. Charli XCX- Brat
The pop album of the year showed dance pop veteran Charli XCX realizing her true potential and creating something truly special and memorable. The Brat movement was a fundamental part of music culture this year and a masterclass in music marketing and branding. The aesthetic this album generated was paired with one of the most solid and well-built mainstream pop albums in years. A current pop album with the density and substance that Brat has is truly something to celebrate.
1. Adrianne Lenker- Bright Future The modern era’s greatest songwriter released yet another beautifully crafted and compact singer songwriter albums adding to an extremely consistent discography with her band Big Thief, and her solo project. Lenker’s finger picked guitars layered with strings and pianos create such a delicate and fragile atmosphere that Lenker’s voice bursts through. Her lyrics deliver gut punch after gut punch with their brutal honesty and existential musings about love and the meaning of life. This record feels like a collective therapy session which will force you to examine yourself and everyone around you, it is truly a special listening experience.