Greetings to the friends of the blog, the artists we cover, and the friends of the artists we cover. Welcome to Grandma Sophia’s Cookie’s 100 Favorite Albums of 2024 List! As Brendan covered in his December 2022 appearance on the Indiecast podcast (they read his email), we are staunchly in the corner that it is stupid, bordering on immoral, to put out a Best Albums of the Year list before the year is done, which is why this one is a little later than some of our peers. With this list we want to highlight the artists whose music moved us the most this year, with a particular spotlight on lesser covered artists. Yes Brat and Diamond Jubilee are both phenomenal records you’ll find on this list but tbh you don’t need us to tell you that! Hopefully you both see some records on this list you love already get a much due spotlight and discover a few new ones that might be up your alley.
As always we are tiering our records, where there is one number one record of the year, two number two records, all the way down to ten number ten records. From there just about everything is tied at eleven. We put the number one album at the top of the list because all that scrolling is so annoying. All albums tied for eleventh were organized by album name in reverse alphabetical order. Next week we’ll drop our songs of the year list and in the coming weeks we’ll release our movies of the year list too. As always the first person to screenshot and send me this blurb proving they read the whole thing will get a free GSC hat sent their way! If you’re still reading this the hat remains unclaimed. We already have some exciting interviews lined up for the new year and couldn’t be more excited for all the good music we’ll be listening to and all the good movies we’ll be watching this year! May God Bless each and every person reading this list in 2025, we sincerely love and appreciate everyone who even just clicks on this little blog.
1. Ogbert the Nerd – What You Want
Ogbert the Nerd play a shouty and raw brand of revival style emo music that burned out in the flash of a pan over a decade ago, with a dozen bands who just about all flamed out in the middle of promoting their first album. The members of Ogbert the Nerd would be the first to tell you that their band isn’t for everyone and that they really shouldn’t have even made it to this second album. After all, their legacy would have looked a lot like the bands they so admire had they indeed quit after their first record I Don’t Hate You became a defining record of Fifth Wave Emo shortly upon release. Their first record had a Springsteenian longing to it, where by putting all their problems out into the world and dealing with them on the record Madison James and the rest of the band could move on with their lives as self actualized people. Then I Don’t Hate You came out, and did well even, but not a whole lot changed really. They still had to go to work and pay their bills. They still had issues with loved ones, big and small, faults on both sides. The band came to terms with the reality that their New Jersey was a little less Springsteen and a little more Clerks. They quickly realised the kind of stress that Snowing and Algernon Cadwallader might have felt after releasing thier records decade earlier; You feel very different driving hours across the east coast to shout till you need an inhaler at a basement show when you’re 24 than when you’re 29 after all.
Ogbert’s sophomore record What You Want sees the band accepting that life is a cycle of forgiving and being forgiven. Ironically, for a band who made their name first with their scrappy lofi debut EP, What You Want shines because the group really cleaned things up, this thing was prestinely recorded. Furthermore the tracks keep the raucous mosh pit energy while also being the catchiest and most pop forward of the bands short career, the gang are just better songwriters, collaborators, and players of their instruments than they were when they started this band. I’d have five of these songs on our best song’s of the year list (coming out early next week) if we didn’t have a one per artist limit, and I don’t see these songs leaving my rotation any time soon. Madison writes such simple and colloquial lyrics that get such a depth of emotion across, which are cemented with their life or death vocal performance. Whether its singing about how their greatest dream is “Wasting time like we wanted,” on “Bike Cops” or coming to terms with constantly letting loved ones down and being let down on “Just Like Always” two of the absolute best songs released this year, they just have a keen sense of cutting through to get at truly universal ideas. So yes, this one may not be for everybody. But for those of us who get it, this record is a religious experience. If you’re interested in reading more about the record, we wrote about the band’s barnburner of an album release show for What You Want in Belmar.
2. Ka – The Thief Next to Jesus
In what would prove to be his last record released before his passing earlier this year Ka returned to Christianity for inspiration for the first time since his seminal 2019 record Decendants of Cain. Here he uses the thieves to Jesus’ left and right who witness his salvation, one being saved and one being damned in the process, as an allegory for how Christianity can promise so much to and take so much from Black Americans. As many others have remarked he sounds like a preacher over the organ and minimalist soul sample production, giving one last sermon while he still had the pulpit. All the production is simple and understated, wholly in service of the song. I can’t help but tear up listening to “Borrowed Time” where Ka prays that when he goes that it might be on his own terms, you pray that whether or not he saw the writing on the wall that he was at peace with the world. He had many more lessons to bless us with but we’re lucky for the albums and albums of scripture Ka blessed us with in his life. Long live Brownsville Ka, one of the absolute best rappers and thinkers of his generation, a titan of the NYC underground who will be remembered long after he was buried.
2. Drakeo the Ruler – Undisputed Truth
There is such a double edged sword approaching a posthumous release from any artist, but especially one taken before his time like Drakeo the Ruler. THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH is the second posthumous release since the rapper’s 2021 assassination, recorded in a frantic period between his release from incarceration and untimely death. He sounds as effortless on the mic as he always did, and I can’t help but be appreciative that we have this music and that is up to his high standard of quality. He had such a singular vocabulary in rap, its hard to imagine any other rapper getting as much milage out of characters like “Archie Bunker” or “Stella Got Her Groove Back”. In the wake of his rediculous trial where his lyrics were constantly used against him in a violation of his Constitutional rights, Drakeo found himself blending the real and the surreal effortlessly after his release. There is a real strain to Drakeo’s voice on these tracks however, like he’s been recording nonstop for days and there was no end in sight. Man he just doesn’t sound anywhere close to done is what kills me listening to this record! He is not talking about his own “Perfect Eulogy” on the opening track despite how prophetic the track sounds listening now. Drakeo was a rapper who saw the entirety of the map, knowing how the local and national rap landscape would unfold years before his peers. His influence has only become infintely more apparent in the wake of his passing, its clear he is one of the seminal west coast rappers of his generation. Long Live the Ruler.
3. Mohammad Syfkhan – I Am Kurdish
Mohammad Syfkhan has lived many lives in music. He started in his native Raqqa, Syria in the 1980s as the leader of The Al-Rabie Band. His band would play a number of Kurdish, Arabic, Turkish and even Western songs at concerts, weddings, and special occasions all across Syria as he worked as a surgeon during the day. Then in the onslaught of the 2011 Syrian Civil War his son was killed and the rest of the family was forced to seek refuge, with some of his family ending up in Germany as he, his young daughter, and his wife were taken in by Ireland. Music became his way of both connecting with the greater Syrian community across Europe and with the music community in Ireland, leading him to open for the ascendant Irish folk group Lankum at the Cork Opera House in 2023. On I am Kurdish Mohammad brings together the Middle Eastern and North African music that raised him with a joie de vivre that’ll get you up to your feet. While Mohammad is the star of the show both as a singer and on the Bouzouki, he is accompanied by several stellar musicis he’s become friends with in the Leitrim music scene. A testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.
3. Sprints – Letter to Self
The Dublin post punk quartet more than lived up to the promise of their early singles and EPs with their rip roaring debut album. There is a real kinetic mania to these tracks. On the heavier joints like the aptly named “Heavy” and “Cathedral” Karla Chubb’s hushed talking turns to a scream in a way that feels more like a witch reciting spells to conjure spirits than it feels like the chatty kinda post punk that many of their peers make. Karla is not always angry on the record though she’s generally still biting. She puts a curse on anyone who called her good for an “Up and Comer”. Meanwhile on “Literary Mind” the anger turns to butterflies as this is the sole track where Karla doesn’t sound totally in control. A phenomenal debut, feels like they both should have got more shine on this one and set themselves up for a huge LP 2.
3. Pillow Queens – Name Your Sorrow
I am sure that they aren’t a slept on record for people on the other side of the portal to Dublin but the rest of us in the States need to catch up to Pillow Queens. The all-female quartet dropped their third record Name Your Sorrow with their own public art project. They encouraged Dubliners to write both what brings them joy and sorrow on a mural on Chancery Street in Dublin 7, and the tracks within have a similarly confessional tenor. Pam Connelly has a gorgeous and dynamic singing voice throughout. I have been enchanted with how she dances through the “Still gonna try to catch a glance of your eyes” line on “Suffer”, the record’s anthemic lead off single, since I first heard it. The real show stopper for me though is the third track and third single “Like a Lesson” where Connelly is trying to make sense of a relationship that may not be the best for her. She belts “don’t wanna ruin my life, but I wanna go home with you” in a manner that feels equal part emphatic and resigned, like she’s finally making the right decision and feels absolutely awful about it. The band got the name of the record from the late great Irish poet Eavan Boland’s Atlantis—A Lost Sonnet, where by naming their sorrow fable makers allowed themselves to drown in it. Here Pillow Queens are presenting an alternative method of dealing with the pain of that which won’t come back: You’re better off getting it all out in the air, whether it be on the wall, in your songs, or with the loved ones affected, knowing that you have a community to help pick you up when you fall.
4. Stay Inside – Ferried Away
On their sophomore release Brooklyn emo rockers Stay Inside got a little sentimental. They were thinking about how much they loved Coney Island but how the people who used to bring them to Coney Island aren’t in their lives anymore, leaving the beach community to feel like a living graveyard whenever they returned. They both missed their loved ones who’d gone and worried about which relationships might be the next to falter, and channeled those dueling anxieties into Ferried Away. While things get dark and dreary these songs are still catchy as all hell, particularly the rollicking “Backyard” and the titanic album opener “Bon Zs”. The band left the record both with a greater appreciation of their friends and loved ones but for one another in the band, as a track like “A Town to Give Up In” was about their fear that their drummer Vishnu might leave New York City, and the band, for a more normal existence in the suburbs. Good record to send to a buddy to let them know you’ve been thinking about them. I also love the records cover so much, if you’d like to hear the story check out our interview with the band from last year!
4. Jimmy Montague – Tomorrow’s Coffee
Among my very most played records of the year, Jimmy Montague creates his own yacht rock tinged sonic universe on Tomorrow’s Coffee. These tracks are backed by a full band and chorus, you never know where a marimba or a well timed saxaphone solo might find your way into these tracks, making everything sound so lush and lavish. You can imagine Jimmy taking the stage at a night lounge with a piano under his fingers and a cig in his mouth as the rest of his bandmates slowly fill things in as the song goes along. I cannot tell you the times I have been dancing around the city singing “Only One for Me” in my head. He sings with a devil may care attitude that he truly may be alone in this world, less coming to terms with things than singing through the pain. Kinda music that really sticks with you, and one of the absolute best covers this year. Big and lush and extravagent and joyous and totally unforgettable. If you’d like to hear more read our interview with Jimmy from last year!
4. Mannequin Pussy – I Got Heaven
Philly’s finest kick as much ass as they ever have with their excellent third album. They sing about how overwhelming love can be with a sound loud enough to make you feel as overwhelmed. It as adventerous sonically as the band has been to date, from the shoegaze tinged “Sometimes” to the punk as fuck “OK? OK! OK? OK!” to the dreampop of “Softly” and they do it all extremely well to boot. A record with something for everyone.
4. Mach-Hommy – #RICHAXXHAITIAN
Newark’s most reclusive wordsmith decided to bless DSP’s once again this year with #RICHAXXHAITIAN. Mach plays off Roc Marciano like Run and DMC on “ANTONOMASIA” as they challenge one another to keep up the pace. He’s similarly strong on the God Fahim assisted “PADON” but easily my favorite track on the tape is the titular “#RICHHAXXHAITIAN” where Mach tap dances on top of KAYTRANDA’s airy dancy production before 03 Greedo comes in to knock the hook out of the park. A pairing that felt like rap Madlibs when it was announced and has gone on to be one of my most played tracks of the year. Mach sounds like a man at the top of the mountain, letting you know the pain of the journey to get there and the wisdom he learned along the way. Both as casual and as confident as Mach has sounded on the mic, a man who knows he’s at the peak of his powers and is having some fun with it.
5. Gum.MP3 – Black Life, Red Planet
It seemed like a busy year for the full time PHD student, professor, DJ, and part time professional MeltyBlood player Gum.mp3. He’s released four projects this year, my favorite of which has to be Black Life, Red Planet (though please don’t sleep on his excellent remix series, his Mike & Niontay edit was lifechanging). On these tracks Gum starts small with a footwork and jazzstep base, building out tracks like a painter slowly filling out his canvas, creating a new world in front of your very eyes. These tracks are airy and light in a way that had me feeling introspective while still being catchy as all hell. It’s the kind of music that’ll have you bouncing on the dancefloor thinking about the trajectory of your life and how much your friends mean to you. Gum is also a wealth of knowledge, I recommend checking out his detailed breakdown of the influences behind Black Life, Red Planet on his website as well as his full fledged digital library.
5. 03 Greedo – Crip, I’m Sexy // Hella Greedy
03 Greedo had himself a prodigious year releasing something like a half dozen albums and close to as many EPs on his SoundCloud over the course of the year. It was apparent in the year before he was initially incarcerated in 2019 that the man was as a limitless fountain of musical ideas, and his 2024 run has been as impressive as any year any rapper has had. The tracks have nowhere near the urgency they did in 2019 and thank the Good Lord for that, this man should be able to lounge and record and shit talk on twitter till his heart is content. The range on these tapes is particularly remarkable, particualrly on Crip, I’m Sexy where he floats effortlessly over the Cash Cobain produced “Meet You In Traffic” to the feeling every bit as grimy as Icewear Vezzo and Peezy on “Ain’t Enough Pt. 3”. I nearly put all six records on this list but these two were the ones I listened to far and away the most. If you have not spent enough time with his Soundcloud output from last year you are doing yourself a disservice.
5. Little Hag – Now Thats What I Call Little Hag!
Avery Jane was looking for inspiration when naming her new diverse collection of indie rock tracks and found it in her massive CD collection, which still featured the That’s What I Call Music CDs of our youth. The songs found within her band’s new record Now That’s What I Call Littel Hag! are as fun and funny and sonically diverse as the album name might lead you to imagine but they pack one hell of a punch all the same. Avery has an indie pop bend with early album cuts “The Machine” and “The Suburbs” before rocking back out with the phenomenal “1000 Birds” where our titular animals quite literally shit all over her dreams. “You Blew It” is pop hit where Avery really indulges in exactly how much the dude blew it, really belting the chorus towards the end. However her voice is most impactful when deploying her ethereal vibrato, as she does to great effect trying to get her man to do the absolute minimum on “Would It Kill You?” A great collection of hits from one of the best singer songwriters working. If interested, give our interview with Little Hag a read!
5. AKAI SOLO – DREAMDROPDRAGON
Truly nobody on this earth is rapping like AKAI SOLO, the leader of Brooklyn’s ascendant TASE GRIP collective. He is equal parts philosopher and comedian, rapping like his stream of consciousness just happens to be in lockstep with the ebbs and flows of the universe. His most recent tape DREAMDROPDRAGON meditates on dreams and the subconscious while still having ears and eyes on the here and now. The tape also sees him playing with more traditional flows than normal on tracks like “Who Up Next???” showing he is equally proficient when he wants to get into that bag, mixing in his ecclectic freewhiling style effortlessly. If interested in learning more, give our interview with AKIA SOLO a read!
5. Oolong – Oolong
Oolong brought their noodly, freewheeling flavor of emo to new heights with their sprawling self titled sophomore record. You never know where the band might be taking you, as a slow and steady riff can hit a hundred miles an hour on a dime to turbo charge a track, as happens early on in “Tofurkey Tough”. These are also some of the catchiest and most danceable tracks of their career. You can tell who in the mosh pit knows the band’s discography by heart when the song stops on a dime and they keep hurdling forward. The band really leaned into the jammier side of their sound, letting songs meander and find their own momentum, and they are wholly better for it. I could see Oolong noodling out, playing a twenty minute rendition of “Daisy” to a sold out Jones Beach crowd in a few decades. I’d certainly be in attendance.
6. Fatboi Sharif & Fat Tony – Brain Candy
Fat Tony has been bobbing and weaving his way through the indie rap landscape for well over a decade now, and finds an unlikely companion in Jersey upstart Fatboi Sharif. Fatboi has become known for his ethereal and dark style of rap for half a decade now, but what him and the more upbeat and conventional Fat Tony have most in common is they’re both great collaborators, able to play off anyone in the booth and bring the best out of one another. Crazy hearing Tony shout out Steel Tipped Dove on “Golden Arm Revolver” knowing that Dove was also around back in 2013 when he was working with Das Racist. Really fun tape that doesn’t sound quite like anything in either rapper’s discography, hope this isn’t the last time these two link up. If interested give our interview with Fatboi Sharif from 2023 a read!
6. The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick – The Odyssey, The Iliad, and The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick
If this is indeed the swan song for the Philadelphia slowcore group, they sure went out with a bang. The group told me in an interview that the six of them felt infinitely more comfortable putting together this record than their debut and these songs indeed have the warmth of a group that’s really got to know how to bring the best out of one another. While there isn’t a skip to be found, and I am particularly fond the “Clair De Lun” close, the record has two stand out tracks. First is “April 25th” lead singer Ben’s touching tribute to his then girlfriend now wife, the epically scoped “Mr. Settled Score” where the entire band comes together for a journey worthy of all three books mentioned in the album title. Particularly glad I got to see them live this go around. So soft and yet so powerful. If you’re interested in reading more about the band, and their short lived intramural soccer team, check out our interview with Ben and Mike from last year!
6. Zoomo – Absolution
I love a good producer tape, and this is a great one. RRR affiliate Zoomo has become most known for collaborative tapes with YL, Starker, and Theravada but on Absolution he gets to truly show off his range, working with a bevy of the best rappers in the underground today. A beautifuly sequenced record, beats float into one another like Zoomo is orchestrating all this live. Hard to say I have a favorite, I could name six. AKTHESAVIOR kills “Paint on the Canvas”, “WIsh I Could Fly” sounds like it was tailor made for YL, Wiki raps like the rent is due on “Problem Solver” over an understated beat that feels like the kinda jazz they’d play on Hey Arnold. Papo2oo4 goes nearly Twista mode on “Must be Love” over a beat that feels like Kanye coulda made it in 2oo4. Great sonic variety where you’ll never get bored while still feeling like he mighta ripped all the samples from the same record just to be cheeky. The kinda tape I woulda loved to have as a CD in the car back in the day, feels like getting a hot streak of good tracks on the radio.
6. Mei Semones – Kabutomushi
There is nothing better than going to a show and getting your mind blown by an opening act, and that exactly happened to me when Mei Semones blew the barn doors off Baby’s All Right last year before Sobs could even take the stage. She donned the stage with violinist Noah Leong and viola player Claudius Agrippa who gave the performance who both added a softness and a real vigor to Semones’ angular guitar work, it was a combination unlike anything I’d ever heard. Kabutomushi is Japanese for rhinoceros beetle and Semones spends the record singing in both Japanese and English, weaving between the two effortlessly. I think every song on the tape has been a favorite since I’ve been spinning it but the one I remember first blowing me away was album opener “Tegami” which starts so small and quiet before the fellas on the string fill things up like an orchestra, leading to Mei belting an otherworldly “I won’t let you down” before again quieting things down on a dime. Kabutomushi can be a hard EP to pin down genre wise. Semones described the record as “jazz- and bossa nova-influenced indie J-pop” to Rolling Stone, though I’d add a touch of math rock to that stew. Regardless it is as catchy as all hell and unlike anything else you’ll spin this year.
6. MIKE & Tony Seltzer – Pinball
MIKE got a little funky with his annual drop this year, teaming up with longtime collaborator Tony Seltzer for a tape’s worth of raps. While he teamed up with Wiki and The Alchemist for last year’s Faith is a Rock Mike had self produced the majority of his records for the past several years, all keeping with his patent pending lofi vibe, so this record represents a pretty start auditory detour for MIKE. He sounds totally at home in the bubbling bleep bloops and drum rattles that occupy Tony Seltzer’s sonic universe. He’s less introspective on the tape, opting for a little more shit talk and bragadoccio and its fun to hear such a positive and uplifting figure in rap talk a little shit. Highlights include the early album stunner “Lethal Weapon” the late album jam “R&B” and the Earl Sweatshirt and Tony Shhnow assisted “On God”. Kinda shocked this record isn’t getting the same level of praise as his other records as of late honestly, its every bit as good and is the kind of sound I’d love to hear MIKE explore further.
6. Meaningful Stone 김뜻돌 – 천사 인터뷰 (Angel Interview)
What a sophomore statement from the Korean Music Awards 2021 Rookie of the Year. Angel Interview sounds every bit as, well, angelic, as the title might lead you to believe, carried by Kim Jimin’s heavenly singing, which falls on the tracks light like watercolor. The music within spans from the light indie pop stlyings of “Supernova” to the shoegaze heft of “Mikael” all in the first three songs. Things take a surprising turn for the abrasive with the last two tracks, the first of which is emo bordering on hardcore the second of which is a nightclub ready dance track. Would welcome an album’s worth of either experimentations, excited to see what this versatile artist has in store next.
7. 7th Jet Balloon – 7th Jet Balloon
After a strong couple of EP’s 7th Jet Balloon showed that they’re on the same trajectory as the emo bands they worship with their excellent debut LP. The record pay’s homage to both Tigers Jaw who inspired the album’s cover and their American counterparts Origami Angel, with a cover of their single “24 Hour Drive Thru” helping close out the record. The record is a raucous thrill ride from top to bottom, not a skip to be found. Highlights include “7” which has time for both a machine gun level drum roll from ssm while still being catchy as all hell, and the anthemic and rollicking “FUCK SUMMER” which has soaring highs as it unfolds like a short film. If you’re interested give our interview with the band a read!
7. Nemahsis – Verbathim
Palestinian-Canadian singer songwriter Nemahsis with her debut LP’s worth of enchanting indie pop bangers. Much of the record deals with her struggles with relationships and self love, like the fantastic “you wore it better”. However “stick of gum” is no doubt the stand out track, an anthemic romp where Nemahsis sings about her love of Palestine and the resiliency of the Palestinian people.
7. Papo2oo4 & Subjxct9 – We Don’t Miss // Mr. 3000
Papo and Subjxct are one of the most consistent rapper and producer duos working, they’ve been blessing us with at least a tape togther if not two per year for half a decade now. They called their own shot with We Don’t Miss, an incredibly diverse tape that featured tracks like “Had 2 Ball” which had been a staple of Papo’s live set for some time. Mr. 3000 really shows of the breadth of the duo’s talents, as Papo slides on everything from the warped electro on “Quickspeed” to the lavish horn section on “Fuck Ya Feelings”. Papo’s sports knowledge continues to be second to none, particularly on Mr. 3000, which features clips from the titular Bernie Mac movie throughout. Two impressive collections of tracks from two of the most consistent artists working.
7. Parannoul 파란노을 – Sky Hundred
The pseudononymous South Korean rocker became the center of the country’s indie music scene thanks to their lush, at times glitched out, shoegaze music, but Sky Hundred sees the band rocking as hard as they ever have, making some of the most frantic music of their career. These tunes arguably have more of an emo bent than their predecessor, and certianly keep up that melancholy streak lyrically. The album cover’s blank sky over an otherwise serene sunset tells much of the picture, Parannoul is finally bursting out of the bedroom space of his previous records. Things are beautiful, if not as he imaged, and much is still yet to be discovered.
7. Phiik & Lungs – Carrot Season
Brooklyn based machine gunners Phiik and Lungs connected with Houston producer Olasegun for one of the strongest rap tapes of the year. Where Lungs and Phiik seem to be trying to prove they can rap on literally anything and make it sound good on their Another Planet series, Olasegun chops his samples and creates pockets that let Lungs and Phiik show off the true breadths of their talents. “Left the Game Dizzy” with its Game Boy start screen sampling beat, but “John Taffer” is no doubt my most played track on the tape, thanks in no small part to Michael Christmas who is the one feature on the tape who tries, and succeeds, at keeping up with the speed of Phiik and Lungs.
7. lobsterfight – My Coat Hanger Is a Necklace
Colorado upstarts lobsterfight get lumped in with the Fifth Wave Emo movement because of their similar proclivities for silly referential song titles and an irreverent attitude in general, but the music found within sounds quite a bit different than their peers. It feels like they started with The Microphones as an influence and then had the cocophany of sounds that only the most online music fan might find influence them along the way. It is rollicking in a way that feels like running down hill, on tracks like “The First Time I Didn’t Get Fucked Up Was At Weekends during Mr. Brightside By The Killers” the song starts and ends with a kind of momentum where if any of them tripped up the whole band would explode.
7. Queen Moo – Too Troo
When I talked with Jason Rule, lead singer and guitar player in Queen Moo, about the band’s fourth record The Electric Trooth it was clear that he loved absolutely nothing more than being in Queen Moo, writing songs and playing shows across Connecticut with his best friends. While many of the tracks on The Electric Trooth hinted at that love, the record’s sequel Too Troo is truly a record about how much the members of Queen Moo love and appreciate one another and their Connecticut music scene, a borderline concept record about the fraternal bond that being in a band can bring. (We know it is a sequel btw bc while The Electric Trooth donned just one cow print clad electric lightning bolt, Too Troo features two.) The album was recorded at home and opens with “Song in My Heart” and has the feel of a live set played in a packed but attentive living room. The song is carried by some gorgeous cello work from Laura Wolf before Kevin O’Donnell closes it out with a thumping bass line. The next track “On The Run” is the band letting the world know they could make gargantuanly huge stadium rock whenever they want. Jason Rule has a totemic voice that absolutely shines on this track. While he’s singing about the band being on the run down I-95 hitting shows, you’d follow him on the run to the end of the earth. The next track “Ol’ Nolia” has a bit of a cheeky New Orleans bounce to it, and is every bit as anthemic as the previous track while retaining more of the jazzy unpredictability of their other work. The softest and most intimate track on the record is the penultimate “Queen Moo (The Song)” where Jason and Kevin sing to one another about the day they met and how they became friends together making music. Kevin sings about scamming some girls for a ride to Naugatuck for a gig, and the process of starting bands and leaving bands. “Queen Moo (The Song)” is a love song in the most literal terms, these guys want the whole world to know how much they love being in a band together and how much they appreciate that they’re still best friends a decade in. If you don’t shed a tear every time Kevin sings “Long as it’s you by my side, take this world for a ride. Hey J-Man, wherever you are I wanna be there,” then I don’t know, you clearly have a very different relationship with this band than I do. If you’re interesed in more, give our interview with the band a read!
8. Tamar Berk – Good Times for a Change
Tamar Berk has had a productive past half decade, pumping out a great album’s worth of power pop hits every year since 2021. Where previous albums saw Tamar looking back at musical eras in her life, as she told us about back in our interview about her debut solo record, this new record sees Tamar looking forward to the good times on the horizon. “That’s Not a Lie” feels like something that’d held together a 90s romcom trailer, a capital B Banger.
8. Wavy Bagels & Driveby – A Carful
Brooklyn singer, rapper, producer, engineer, TASEGRIP affiliate, and retired pro wrestler Wavy Bagels connected with his longtime friend Jersey City producer Driveby to put together one of the most freewheeling and unique rap projects of the year. Wavy keeps to a laid back, at times sing songy, cadence that feels more like Slick Rick or J Live than any of his contemporaries. “San Juan” is a track that has stayed in my rotation since it dropped, so effortless. Feels like someone was just playing a trumpet and Wavy got dared to rap over it and it just happened to al work out, Driveby really knows how to serve the song with his samples. He contorts the horns at the end of “SAN JUAN” to sound like the joyful scream in the next song’s sample, which helps punctuate the titular “Struggle Meals”. A record that I really enjoyed initially and has only grew on me with time. If you’re interested in more on this record give our interview with Wavy and Drivey a read!
8. S!LENCE – AGUADURA
While S!LENCE has always loved the water, the element tested his love when his apartment flooded two years ago. He decided to see this tidal wave as a sign of inspiration, knowing the tide would eventually shift in his favor. This materialized in the form of his excellent new record AGUADURA whose cover sees Death himself taking a much deserved break on the beach. Highlights include “A Very Emotional Stone Wall” and “Cash Tree” which are even better live, and the Lungs and Fatboi Sharif assisted “Rubik’s Cube”. If you’re looking for more on this record, give our interview with S!LENCE a read!
8. Origami Angel – Feeling Not Found
Origami Angel don’t get enough credit for thier lunchpail approach to emo music. The band seems to be happy working in their own lane, getting to put out an album’s worth of emo pop to their dedicated fans. I feel like we don’t appreciate their consistency enough. Everyone wants the “big landmark album” but Gami casualy dropped three records and two EPs that’d be among the very best of many band’s careers in the span of four years. Here’s to the most workman like band out there right now. “Dirty Mirror Selfie” is as fun and silly and catchy as we’ve come to expect from DC’s finest. If you’re looking for a nostalgia trip, give our interview with Origami Angel from 2019 a read!
8. Mutant Academy – Keep Holly Alive
The resident titans of the Richmond underground rap scene got together for their Avengers moment on this excellent tape. As is the best case with these kinds of posse tapes it really sounds like Fly Anakin, Big Kahuna OG, and Henny L.O. sat in the booth trying to out rap one another as their bevy of producer friends each laid down the best shit they had in the bag. The tape like the group feels distinctly Virginian in that they have the warmth and bravado of Southern rappers with more of the rhyming sensibilities of their East Coast peers not to far north. A love letter to the block that raised them and the lane the group has carved out for themselves.
8. MAVI – shadowbox
On his first two records MAVI felt like a shining voice for the new generation of underground rap. He didn’t have all the answers and wasn’t always perfect but he was striving to be the best man he could be. On shadowbox MAVI clearly doesn’t feel like he succeeded at being the best man he could be and is grappling with everyone telling him he’s a good guy anyway. The fame has not gone to MAVI’s head, if anything it’s made him all that much more unsure of himself. MAVI is particularly dealing with a divorce from narcotics that preceded this record. He hoped they’d dull the pain and they created pains he couldn’t imagine, troubles with loved ones and creative stagnation chief among them. In an interesting twist too MAVI never really lets himself off the hook at the end of the day either. At a screening of Candyman put on in Brooklyn by Mavi and the Reel Notes Podcast, MAVI commented at how much better he’d felt in the months since recording and releasing the album, but he just really needed to revel in the shit of it all in the moment there.
8. Mk.gee – Two Star & the Dream Police
Artsy girl’s album of the year, and more proof that all the best stuff comes from New Jersey. The one rock and roll album that people who only listen to rap music like for some reason which is particularly funny because it has confounded a whole lot of rock people as a result. Lemme help fellas, the songs are good. Feels like some movie or commercial is gonna use one of these in the right way and he’s suddenly gonna be like one of the five most famous people alive, but hey we were all here first.
8. 2nd Grade – Scheduled Explosions
Imagine if instead of being a boomer in Dayton drinking beer to the point of incoherence Robert Pollard was a millenial in Philadelphia smoking weed that both made him feel better about the world while doing nothing to curb his ever present anxiety about the state of the world and you have a rough sketch of 2nd Grade’s Peter Gill. These tracks are fuzzy and bubby and some of the catchiest shit you’ll hear all year. Kinda tracks that’ll have you shaking your booty till you start singing along and go “wait a second, what’s this one about?”
9. NahReally – Blip
Jersey by way of Massachussets rapper NahReally linked with Dublin producer The Expert for a tape full of hilarious story telling over delicately flipped samples that feel more like spontaneously arranged live bands. Highlights include “Smarter Than I Am” where Nah laments on how long a Bibically long book has sat unread on his shelf, and how he is far from a sommelier. Another highlight is the excellent Open Mic Eagle assisted “Breaking Down in Real Time” where the two trade barbs about watching your body slowly decay under your own eyes, and the thoughtful and introspective Hemlock Ernst assissted “Movement & Light”.
9. xaviersobased – keep it goin xav!
xaviersobased’s ascent as a critical darling has been a sight to behold because not everyone gets it. There is something particularly hard for older music critics to grasp about the pitched vocals and repetitive lyrics, so xav and DJ Rennessy were kind enough to lay it all out for the uninitiated at the end of “Need Me” and beginning of “Get High”. The tape’s name and the interspersed interviews seem to almost be a real time reaction to how overwhelming the critical love and hate must be for the 18 year old rapper but the funny thing is how the tape makes perfect sense in the context of its influences. Xav grew up on Chief Keef and Lil B and Young Lean and grew up in New York City and the tape sounds like it had that quadrant of north stars. Very interested to see where the next decade takes Xavier. He feels like a fringe crossover star at this point whose music is destined for now to confound, but everyone will tell you they loved it in the moment 5 years from now.
9. 454 – Casts of a Dreamer
A solid follow up to the highly acclaimed Fast Trax 3 from Florida rapper 454. This one like the last is packed to the brim with turbocharged raps that feel like you have your record player on 7 inch when it should be on 11. Kinda music that makes you drive faster, raises the heart rate. If anything he feels even more in command of his sound on this tape.
9. Hinds – Viva Hinds
Right after things seemed to be looking up for Hinds after the release of their third record The Prettiest Curse. COVID hit. Then their tour got cancelled. Then their manager dropped them. Then their bassist and drummer quit the band the next day. Ana Perrotte and Carlotta Cosials found themselves alone, trying to put together the pieces, keep the band going, and figure out what their next record might be. VIVA HINDS sees the twosome locked in arms on the cover, lyrically confronting all their problems, romantic, personal, and professional, with a good natured laugh, turning the lemons life has dealt them into lyrical lemonade. The record is ascerbic and hilarious, particularly on “Boom Boom Back” where they scoff at being offered cocaine at a party they wish they skipped. The record also sees the Spanish group recording in their native language for the first time, I loved “En Forma” which reminded me a lot of Liz Phair. Great record, from one of the most fun bands rocking.
9. Kerosene Heights – LEAVING
These fellas just have the hit making gene man. This is one of the absolute best EPs to come out this year and they coulda put six bullshit tracks around these four certified slappers and it woulda been one of my favorite albums of the year. Every track is a hit that’ll have you singing along unvoluntarily into your headphones. “Night Walk Ultra” is the kinda song that would have been a titanic world conquering hit in 1999 but “Dennis #3” is definitely my favorite track on the mix. Cannot wait to see what this band has in store next.
9. Laila! – Gap Year!
Laila! hit the NYC underground music scene hard this year with her debut tape Gap Year! “Not My Problem” became among the most viral tracks of the year thinks to the Cash Cobain et al assisted remixes, though the rest of her tape is more laid back and old school than the sexy drill standard. “Like That” was another mondo hit but my favorite track on the record is the bouncy “R U Down?”
9. Carly Cosgrove – The Cleanest of Houses Are Empty
Carly Cosgrove more than avoided the sophomore slump with their second record, with some of the catchiest songs of their career. The group is feeling as emo as the album title might suggest, with album highlights including “Fluff My Pillow” which talks about the double sided coin of the comfort of your bed, as well as the aptly named “Zoloft”. While the group sounds like they could use a collective hug these tracks will have you dancing all the same.
9. Cavalier and Child Actor – CINE
Backwoodz Studios kept their hot streak going with two excellent releases from Cavalier this year. On both tapes the Brooklyn bred, New Orleans based rapper drops his street meditations over silky smooth beats. The effort with Child Actor is particularly relaxed and laid back where Different Type of Time has a real bounce to it.
9. Charli XCX – Brat
What needs to be said forreal. You are literally living under a rock if this is your first time seeing anything about this album. Not Charli’s best record sonically but without a doubt the best marketed album of the decade.
10. Chat Pile – Cool World
Spoiler alert: Chat Pile don’t seem to actually think the world is all that cool! the Oklamhoma City band writes about the tragedy of modern life and the human condition with the sludge metal edge they’ve become known all over the world for.
10. Chief Keef – Almighty So 2
Nice to see Chief Keef prospering after everything he’s been through. AlmightySo2 is the most commercial effort the Chicago rapper has had in some time with tracks like “Tony Montana Flow” and the Sexyy Red assisted “Grape Trees” racking up millions of plays. He continues to be as inventive with his voice as any rapper working, and can be as funny as anyone alive when he wants to be.
10. Combat – Stay Golden
Combat had been making noise the past few years with their raucous live show, and with Stay Golden showed what everyone in Baltimore had been screaming about the past few years. The group has the frantic energy that made PUP known all across North America with a Gen Z edge that reminds me a little of Arcadia Grey. Kinda album where you’d gladly run through a wall to get to the mosh pit if you heard it playing.
10. DORIS – Ultimate Love Songs Collection
DORIS gives a lot of himself on Ultimate Love Songs, showing how much you can pack into the tighest of timelines. It is a meandering record that you really have to give yourself over to in order to really understand. Rewards multiple listens.
10. Downhaul – How to Begin
When I talked with Downhaul about their excellent 2021 album PROOF it was clear it felt to the fellas like their grandest artistic statement to date. The details were meticulously planned and the tracks had weight and ambition to them, it more than hit the mark they were going for. It also seemed to take a lot out of the fellas. With How To Begin Downhaul feels like they’re getting back to basics in a way, writing the kinda relaxed jangly indie rock that populated their earlier albums. They’re still writing catchy songs about their lives changing and their loved ones and the highs and lows of life, they just seem like they’re putting a little less pressure on themselves this time around. “Sinker” and “Solstice” are a hell of a one two punch, though there isn’t a skip to be found.
10. El Cousteau – Merci, Non Merci
The ecclectic DC rapper follows up his excellent 2023 tape Dirty Harry with his strongest effort yet. The words just seem to fall out of his mouth right on time, equal parts nimble and nonchalant. Highlights include “85 South” and the viral Earl Sweatshirt assisted “Words2LiveBy”.
10. Mustafa – Dunya
Juno award winner Mustafa has had a trying past few years. After years of championing his hometown of Toronto with his music and poetry, singing about those effected by gun violence both locally and across the globe, his own brother was murdered not far from the neighborhood that raised him. Meanwhile he has to recon with the terror being inflicted on the Palestinian people daily, trying to help those he knows who were effected by the conflict. He channeled all that pain into Dunya his heartwrenching yet beautiful new record, where he uses his middle eastern tinged sparse folk arrangements to bear his soul for the world and anyone who will listen. The juxtoposition between how sweet his voice is and how sullen the subject matter can be further drives his point home. A record that has really stuck to my chest since I first heard it.
10. Gio Genesis – Second Nature
With his third project NYC native Gio Genesis continues to hone his unique d&b infused r&b sound. My favorite track has to be “New Balance” if not just for the angelic high note he hits on the chorus. Light, airy and scerene while still being able to get the party moving when it wants to.
10. GIP – G’s in Paris
Shawny Bin Laden is your consumate favorite rapper’s favorite rapper. The man is responsible for no less than half a dozen trends within the NYC drill scene the past decade and has even seen his influence grow overseas. Before his recent bid, him and his YTB counterpart Big GLTAOW decamped to Paris for a show and to record with local legends Jwels and Bob Marlich. The three came together for G’s in Paris, among the most unique and fun listening experiences you’ll have this year. Shawny’s slick rasp and GLTAOW’s booming yell already play off each other interesting enough, having them weave in with the French rappers is such a treat. Another successful sidequest for one of the most interesting rappers working.
10. Carlos Danger and Friends – Irish Hash Mafia
Irish rap producer Rory Sweeney put together a rap mixtape inspired by the Southern mixtapes that helped establish 90s rappers and regional scenes to help highlight the up and comers out of the Irish rap scene. What they put together is one of the most freewheeling and inventive tapes of the year, even if it sounds more like a 2010s tap mixtape than a 90s one. Curtisy steals the show out of any of the rappers on the tape, with two stand out tracks back to back in “Rap Heritage” and the headbanging “Rap Song 1”. My favorite track on the tape has to be “Password17” where Cool Hand Luke raps for almost five minutes straight no break while counting up as the verse goes along. Fun as all hell, you can imagine the lads packing into the studio over a weekend hyped as hell hearing one another rap.
11. Knocked Loose – You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
The crossover hardcore record of 2024, though I don’t necessarily think the Turnstile fans in your life are gonna be bringing this one to the table. They went into the studio and said how do we make this as loud and abrasive as humanly possible without sacrificing their undeniable catchiness and somehow made it out alive. Kinda music you listen to in the gym if you want it to feel like you’re already doing steroids.
11. Shawny Bin Laden – WickNation
Your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper got out the pen and got to work in 2024. He added to his Merry Wickmas series just a few days ago but really caught my ear a few months ago with WickNation, where he takes his trademark whisper flow in a slightly more commercial leaning direction to great results. He has a singular ear for hooks that just get lodged in your ear. Favorites include the Flo Milli assisted “Buggout” and the late record hit “Button”.
11. Michael Incognito – Welcome to the Family
New Jersey’s pop mobster Michael Incognito swore us to his omerta with his fun debut Welcome to the Family. “I Promise” is a stunner that really shows off the breadth of Incognito’s voice where “Let Loose” is the club ready bop. Excited to see where Michael Incognito takes us next. Maybe Vegas or more likely Atlantic City I guess.
11. NO MODEL – W.A.A.D.
NO MODEL showed a lot of promise with last year’s excellent THE DEMO and took things to a furious new level with W.A.A.D. The acronym stands for Weaponized Asian American Diaspora. The group was founded by a group of Asian friends spanning Maryland, New Jersey, and Massachusetts who met one another on their musical travels and wanted to make an explicitly Asian American hardcore band. As was the case on their previous EP, these are militantly pro-Asian tracks, the group is ready and willing to cover anyone who throws a racial slur their way in six feet of dirt. “Your Life in America” is a particularly ripping and brutal track, as the group sings about the dual life you have to lead as an Asian American, as is “교포” which focuses on how neither Korea or America truly feel like home for lead singer Sehun. The record felt particularly timely with the release of HBO’s The Sympathizer, it’d make great gym music for anyone training to topple their colonizing regime.
11. Thou – umbilical
The titans of the Louisiana sludge metal scene came back with both maybe their most intense and their most satisfying record to date. There are elements of 90s style grunge that creep in that I could not enjoy more.
11. Sierra Ferrell – Trail of Flowers
The West Virginia singer songwriter came back with her most freewheeling record yet, letting bluegrass and its many derivatives all touch this record. Beautifully performed and arranged tunes, real depth to the record. “Dollar Bill Bar” is one of the absolute best tracks of the year, she is a one of a kind story teller.
11. Roper Williams – Too Beautiful to Die
Last year’s GSC Album of the Year recipient continued to have some of my favorite beats of anyone in 2024, several of them on their excellent half beat tape half collab tape Too Beautiful to Die, where Hudson County’s finest continue to flip and contort samples to their whim. Highlights include “Glitch” where YL legitimately did fake me out the first time I heard the track.
11. Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood
Katie Crutchfield continues to hone in on her indie-country twang that made her a critical sensation with 2020’s St. Cloud. The MJ Lenderman assisted “Right Back to it” is tender and sweet, but I love the more rollicking tracks like the jangly “Bored”. Feels like this one was less hyped than the last because it was far less of a surprise but it is every bit as good.
11. Spaced – This Is All We Ever Get
An excellent record full of hardcore hits from the boys from Buffalo. Kinda shocked this didn’t blow them up more honestly, feels like maybe this was the record that is gonna set everyone up to give them an overdue make up score on the next record. Get in the mosh pit now while there is still plenty of room !
11. Semiratruth – The Star of The Story
Chicago born, NYC based rapper Semiratruth first caught our attention with their 2021 record I GOT BANDZ FOR THE MOON LANDIN’. Their their soulful and sparse production and strong, heartfelt lyricism helped land the record as our ninth best record of 2021. On The Star of the Story the production is again sparse, filled with glitched electronics. She keeps songs short, catchy, and confessional in a way that feels akin to what MIKE does with his records, particularly seeing as this record is also largely self produced. As otherworldly as their production work on this record is, Semiratruth stays grounded lyrically, singing about everything from how the piss smell of the subway can take something away from the beauty of the skyline to how she needs to pay her rent. A major step up from one of underground rap’s most singular voices.
11. Hurray for the Riff Raff – The Past Is Still Alive
Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Alynda Segarra started writing The Past is Still Alive shortly after she lost her father, letting that intense personal grief infect her songwriting. It led to an arresting record full of balads and waltzes that recon with the cruel nature of time and those who’ve moved on. Phenomenal and moving record.
11. Young Jesus – The Fool
After a few experimental and inventive records, John Rossiter got back to his midwestern rock roots with The Fool with some of his most sonically and narratively fascinating work yet. Characters like the titular “Brenda & Diane” can’t help but grab you by the collar. There is still an experimental bent as the songs float between genres, getting jazzy here and folky there, it feels like the most focused version of the Young Jesus project to date, and that seems to be due in great part to how much of himself Rossiter put into these songs. The way he’s belting about the broken family in “Rich” it might as well be his even if it isn’t literally.
11. Amindi – Take What You Need and Then Some
We loved Amindi’s Take What You Need when it dropped last year, with the Inglewood singer/songwriter landing at 11th in our 2023 albums of the year list. I wanted to highlight the Deluxe version of the record here still because I absolutely love the added tracks, two of which where Amindi brings off kilter collaborators into her sonic universe. Her and Vayda play off one another like Power Puff Girls juggling Mojo Jojo on “cult classic”, breathy and effortless. Meanwhile her duet with Mavi “OK” felt like they could be a lofi version of Ashanti and Ja Rule. Fun record made even more fun with a couple key additions.
11. Staff on Strike – Staff on Strike
An album full of indie rock bops. With NYC band Faculty on hiatus their lead singer Hugo decided to hack it on his own for a little while in this fun and inventive side project. “Chase the Day” and “Over the Picket Fence” are two of the best tracks on the record and make for one hell of a one two punch.
11. The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
An album that truly genuinely surprised me this year, I did not think the lads still had this level of songcraft in them. They sound every bit as dramatic as they did back in the 80s, none of the sincerity has been lost some how. They plod along as a glacial pace on the barnburning opener “Alone” for three minutes before Robert Smith finally comes in with “This is the end of every song that we sing, the fire burned out to ash, and the stars grown dim with tears” and I couldn’t help but burst a smile. Of course we’re starting at the end, where else would we. Beautiful beautiful music.
11. Fatboi Sharif & Roper Williams – Something About Shirley
Fatboi Sharif is opperating on a different wavelength than not just any of his peers but with any man on this planet. He sees his raps as short films and takes that approach to its logical conclusion with his Roper Williams produced 10 minute long single song EP Something About Shirley. It reminded me of Fatboi’s take on a Beau is Afraid type tale, as he tours us through the shifting contours of his subconscious. A much more approachable record than this discription may lead you to believe too, it is best to throw it on and let it just wash over you.
11. Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She
California singer, songwriter Chelsea Wolfe is every bit as moody and gothic on her new record, though it has a sleek industrial edge that brings a whole new side out of her. She is slowly stepping her way into throwing a true gothic dance party, though these feel more like songs your hear a dominatrix play than a DJ.
11. Baby Osama – SEXC SUMMER
Baby Osamaa was able to ride the sexy drill movement into becoming one of the hottest rappers coming out of NYC right now, and SEXC SUMMER showed she wasn’t going anywhere. If you are not familiar you may have heard “I DON’T MEAN IT” or “FREE MAX B” blaring out of car speakers this summer anyway.
11. Chow Lee – Sex Drive
The sexy drill album to end all sexy drill albums. Maybe the most unforgettable album cover of the year, Chow more than commits to the bit. These songs would still slap if he was talking about accounting but I am glad he isn’t.
11. claire rousay – Sentiment
Who would have guessed that autotune and quiet folky bedroom pop would make for such an emotional combination. claire rousay brings us into her universe on the rich and rewarding sentiment, a record as quiet as it is powerful.
11. ANORAK! – Self-Actualization and the ignorance and hesitation towards it
The SuperNiceBoys got a touch more experimental on their excellent second record, deploying drum machines and a number of vocal effects to their breezy breed of emo music. This whole record feels like a summertime drive with the windows down, serene music that is fun as hell. Try and listen to “Summertime” without a smile on your face. You simply can’t!
11. Fontaines D.C. – Romance
On Romance Fontaines D.C. walk the tightrope walk of getting a touch poppier and more nostalgic without getting hit with the sellout tag from their long time fans. The outfits are a tad more eccentric and they’re now working with James Ford, who is known for his work with the Arctic Monkeys and Gorillaz, but the charm and hits are still there in spades. The kinda album that people would have had a field day shitting on if it sucked but unfortunately for them it does indeed kick some ass.
11. Pootie & Nothing Neue – Rinse and Repeat
Hoboken rapper Pootie linked up with his long time friend NothingNeue for a tape where they compare the grind of keeping up in the rap game with the grind of running a carwash, where as soon as you’re done with one beat you need to get ready to wash the next one. Pootie loved Nothing_Neue’s artistic and business approach, building beats from the ground up sample-free. Nothing would ask Pootie what he was fucking with in the moment and then would tailor a beat that matched his energy, and that attention to detail comes through in the music. Highlights include the Dre Doso assisted “Million Degreez” and the bumping “Body Royal”.
11. Elucid – Revelator
Despite being half of one of the most critically acclaimed rap duos of the moment, it still feel like Elucid doesn’t get his due sometimes. While he’s known for his verbose raps there is an economy of words here. His statements are short and pointed, almost spoken word like, as the live instrumentation and ambient production work do a lot of the talking. Moody beats and though provoking rhymes about taking joys in the little things in life, particularly his family, in light of the cruelties of the world.
11. glass beach – plastic death
As ambitious as the Los Angelas then emo rocker’s debut record was, the second glass beach record wraps its arms around seemingly twice as much, both musically and conceptually. The band has moved in more of a prog direction with plastic death with a mean Radiohead streak in there but they still have their bleeding emo heart in their chest. Extremely literate rock music.
11. Ekko Astral – pink balloons
Old school sounding DC punk music with a modern edge. Jael Holzman sings about the hell that trans women are put through on a daily basis as the rest of the band channels her anger. Brash and raw and fun as all hell.
11. pillowinde – pine!pine!pine!
New Jersey indie pop upstars pillowinde continue to hone their sound on their excellent third album. The group has the digital feel of a band like Hey, Ily! with the power pop sensibilities of a group like Diners with some of the inventive spirit of a band like Weatherday. Extremely sacchrine and fun and catchy as all hell. “Naive is a Cruel World” and “Bunnily We Hop Along” are such a perfect one two punch, two of the best songs on the record that work even better in sequence.
11. Helado Negro – Phasor
Roberto Carlos Lange embarked to Urbana to see about a synthesizer, specifically the Sal-Mar” which was developed by American composer Salvatore Martirano with the goal of creating an infinite number of sound sequences. Much of the record is dedicated to electronic producers of yore, particularly “LFO” which stands for Lupe Finds Oliveros and is dedicated to electronic music legend Pauline Oliveros and legendary Fender engineer Lupe Lopez. A light breezy record that still fully brings you into its world.
11. GEL – Persona
GEL undoubtedly leveled up their sound with Persona. Sami Kaiser and the gang brought on Jon Markson, whose produced some of the bigger hardcore releases of recent memory, who helps the band sound gargantuan without polishing off the rough edges. Five great tracks, feels like the tape that sets them up for the major breakout with their sophomore album.
11. JayCinema – Perseverance / Alchemy / Pure Magic
11. Orion Sun – Orion
The New Jersey R&B singer is back with another tape full of meditations on heartbreak, really allowing herself to get into the mess in the details. The tracks have a light accoustic and electronic touch to them that gives the record a real warm feel. “Already Gone” has stayed in my rotation since I first heard it.
11. Townies – Of This I Am Certain
Born in Boston and based in Los Angeles, you could call Townies the Bill Simmons of bands, don’t know why you would tho. Apparently one of them is from Croydon, NH and it’d be kinda funny for them to claim the Mt Sunapee region really hard if they wanted to pivot. Anyway I had not heard of Townies before my buddy Salvay sent them my way but I was blown away by their debut record Of This I Am Certain. Album opener “Gallows” is a rip-roaring track that had me banging my head the same way I was the first time I heard Spanish Love Songs. You can already imagine packed sweaty crowds singing back,”I’m not so sure of much but of this I am certain, I am closer to the gallows than I’ll ever be the throne.” The group sticks to throaty anthemic emo though tracks like “Philip, Burn the Piano” get a little jammier and show some sonic diversity. “Jake Hemmerlain” almost feels like an homage to Jail Socks’ “Jake Halpin” with its name and math-tinged twinkle, it made me want to get the two Jakes in a room together. The real show stealer is the penultimate track “Rust” which has a rush to it that keeps your heart beating fast and sticks in your throat long after the track ends. Kinda shocked this one isn’t getting more love in emo circles honestly, especially seeing as it was produced by the legend Joe Reinhart, but hey plenty of time still for everyone to find it.
11. Drunk Uncle – O, Brittle Weather!
Austin emo rockers Drunk Uncle have no sophomore slump to be found with O, Brittle Weather! The Austin band decamped to an East Texas farm to write and record ther record and found a couple bangers out there on the prairie. They sound like if Cap’n Jazz could only drink Lone Stars, down to the twinkles and the horns.
11. ShrapKnel & Controller 7 – Nobody Planning to Leave
Its been impressive to see ShrapKnel establish their space in the Backwoodz affiliated rap underground the past half decade. Curly Castro and PremRock were longtime friends and Wrecking Crew affiliates who’d been making music independently before joining forces as ShrapKnel, giving their work a new sense of life. This tape shows that the old dawgs have no issues learning a few new tricks, as the two sound at home with everyone from Open Mike Eagle to Lungs to ELUCID. Controller 7’s production has an industrial knock to it at times, incorporating everything from STOMP style sound effects to live instrumentation.
11. Mount Eerie – Night Palace
A welcomed return from the enigmatic and singular Washington folk/electronic/experimental musician Phil Elverum. The record is a sprawling 26 songs over 81 minutes, with some long meditations, some quick thoughts, and some of the genuinely sweetest tracks of Elverum’s career, across projects. I am always so happy to find “Broom of Wind” in my playthroughs, whose minute and a half goes by in a flask, a perfect table settler for the gargantuan “I Walk”. A great record to throw on as you get lost in your local park and think about the scope of your life.
11. 89 The Brainchild – Night Lives
New Jersey rapper, producer, and DJ 89 the Brainchild is the PATH train’s number one lothario on Night Lives, an album full of late night escapades. “All My Opps Want This Dick” falls somewhere in between Jersey’s Bandmanrill and the sexy drill of artists like Chow Lee and Cash Cobain that’s had NYC bumping all year.
11. FUTURE – MIXTAPE PLUTO / WE DON’T TRUST YOU
What a year for Future! He ignighted the entire Drake and Kendrick beef with “Like That” back in March and then arguably had a better year than both, becoming the first rapper to have three Billboard number one albums in six months. Might not be reaching the high highs of the DS2 days and there are duds here and there but man does he still have more in the tank. Guy is not rapping like he’s 41.
11. glaive – May It Never Falter
Glaive has proven more adapt to change with the tides than some of his hyperpop peers. He seems to have seen the mk.gee wave coming, or maybe he just heard 22, A Million and tried to find the middle ground between his last work and that. Fun tape, feels like an inbetweener and leaves me excited for the next one.
11. MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
The album that officially made MJ Lenderman the guy. Tricked everyone into thinking it was gonna be about the Manning brothers and then basically didn’t have a sports reference on the whole record, which is funny because of how many indie rockers he’s already influenced with that stuff. He just knows how to turn a phrase and point focus on the mundane and make it feel profound. I don’t think anyone has looked at their Apple Watch the same after “Wristwatch” and I certianly feel completely different these days when I park my house boat at the himbo dome.
11. Kay Flock – Make America Flock Again
Bronx rapper Kay Flock keeps his momentum going with this quick mixtape of tracks recorded before he was incarcerated in 2021. The cover also seems to be a fairly transparent bid to get a pardon from the incoming president. Far less abrasive than the tracks that made him famous like “Is Ya Ready” in fact the highlight is no doubt the laidback late album hit “Talk 2 Me” where he brings that same machine gun intensity to let his girl “Ain’t nobody gonna love how I love you.”
11. Father John Misty – Mahashmashana
He’s back and he’s on twitter! Josh Tillman still has the juice folks, still can write grandiouse ballads about the evils of the world and how much he loves his wife that sound like a million dollars. Still don’t know how much of it he considers a joke, though honestly his appearance on the How Long Gone podcast really did clear up a lot for me, he takes both all of it and none of it seriously. He hasn’t missed yet and its hard to imagine him missing any time soon.
11. Glass Beams – Mahal
I am a sucker for some mystery so Glass Beams had me at hello with the gorgeous intricate traditional masks the trio wore in their press photo, but the real mystery here is how more of the American music press has not picked up on this excellent EP. The Melbourn trio brings a modern bounce to traditional Indian music, incorporating elements of jazz, prog, psych rock, and even a little surf rock. While the group does sing on the record, as they do on the enchanting titular track, they eschew lyrics entirely, choosing to truly use their voices like any other instrument in the mix. This is music that truly transports you to another world. I highly recommend checking out band leader Rajan Silva’s excellent interview with Rolling Stone India for anyone interested in learning more about the group.
11. Oso Oso – life till bones
Jade Litrelli returns for a record full of the tightest and cleanest emo pop tunes he’s crafted to date. There is not a wasted second our sound across the album’s 29 minutes. “that’s what time does” has been lodged in my cranium since I first heard it and will continue to be for some time.
11. Riley! – Keep Your Cool
Riley! leveled up from the weedmo world into one of the cleanest and sharpest emo bands working. These tracks are fun and bubbly as all hell. Highlights include the early barnburner “Keep Your Cool, Man” and the Heccra assisted “[cries in spanish]”.
11. Wifey – Just a Tease EP
What a rockin debut from Brooklyn quartet Wifey. Five catchy as all hell power pop tracks that majorly scratch my Fountians of Wayne itch, if not a touch more theatrical. “Mary Ann Leaves the Band” feels like it could be the song that carries the movie in a mumblecore version of Eurotrip. Really fun really catchy rock and roll that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
11. tg.blk – ITS NOT THAT DEEP
Phenomenal debut effort from the Kenyan singer and rapper. A project that feels as casual as the title might suggest while still showing the breadth of her talents, from her gentle cooing on “gin and wine (ginuwine)” to the bars on “NYDFRYSTL”.
11. Sexyy Red – In Sexyy We Trust
No sophomore slump here, Sexyy Red capitalized on her momentus 2023 with arguably an even more prolific 2024. “Get it Sexxy” feels like something that woulda had cars bouncing in 2004 just as much as it did in 2024.
11. Foxing – Foxing
Foxing on their last album did what Fontaines D.C. did on Romance, trying their hand at a poppier cross over effort, and got slaughtered for it. Annoying tbh because a lot of that album rocks even if it does sound like a different band at times. Foxing got the message loud and clear and put together their self titled return to their shouty emo roots. Great record from a great band that I am glad to see still kicking ass and taking names.
11. KNEECAP – Fine Art
What a year for the lads from Belfast! Kneecap put rapping in Irish on the map with their 2018 album “3cag” slowly building their empire over the years. They took a much deserved victory lap this year, as their self titled biopic was not only a Sundance darling but Ireland’s nomination for the International Picture Oscar in 2025. Their new record Fine Art sees the lads continue to rap mostly in Gaelic about selling drugs and trying to get by in Ireland, though the tape is considerally more influenced by the modern UK Drill scene. “Better Way To Live” with its funky bassline though is a throwback and a highlight.
11. Kamasi Washington – Fearless Movement
Kamasi Washington saw Fearless Movement as his dance album, though less disco and more swaying in a crowd as you share a doobie and a nice breeze. The acclaimed saxaphonist brings a block party’s worth of friends along for the fun, from Thundercat to George Clinton to world renound floutist Andre 3000. Fun record that’ll no doubt get you moving.
11. Ben Quad – Ephemera
Ben Quad apparently are even more pissed that their van got robbed when they went on tour with Forests than I realized because they have eschewed their emo ways almost entirely on Ephemera for screamo. They are naturals in this genre as well, dropping five titanic tracks. Excited to see if this is their new direction or a fun little detour.
11. Wild Pink – Dulling The Horns
Wild Pink’s last record ILYSM was lead singer John Ross’ meditation on his cancer diagnosis and how it reinforced his love for his friends and family who made life worth living. On Dulling The Horns the band seems to be doing what they can to move forward with their lives while dealing with the inpermanance of it all. Who knew that life after cancer could be as monotonous and confusing as life before it. There is a strong streak of joy throughout the record, don’t get me wrong, but there is a propulsion to this record that feels like Wild Pink desperately searching for what’s next. They seem to be enjoying the journey at least.
11. Spring Silverr – don’t you think it’s strange
With don’t you think its strange Spring Silverr put forth the most realized work of their career. The musician grew up in the DC hardcore scene but lets in an amalgamation of influences from French House to emo to pop music into a genre they refer to as Queer Metal. There are some absolute hits on this thing, starting strong with the crunchy, emo tinged “Another Perfect Day, Another Perfect Night” through to the later album hit “Utility Models” that feels as massive as a Muse record.
11. ericdoa – DOA
Kinda shocked I liked this tape as much as I did. Really sacchrine, less hyperpop and more just pop pop honestly. “dancinwithsomebawdy” sounds like it coulda been on the radio in 2005 in the absolute best way.
11. Cindy Lee – Diamond Jubilee
I would love to hear Cindy Lee’s take on the reaction to her excellent new album Diamond Jubilee. After recieving a 9.1 from Pitchfork her concert tickets sold out overnight as the music press literati saw the concerts to come as the events to brag about having been at of the season. The praise and the immense reaction to it seemed to take a toll on Cindy who cancelled her tour halfway through after reportedly yelling “I feel like a fucking caged animal” at a show in Mikuakee. I hope they’re relaxed and moisturized and well fed wherever they happen to be because these tracks do indeed stand up as among the best of the year. Just press play and let this one wash over you as the two hours and change pass by. An experience of an album and one of the year’s very best.
11. YL – Diamond Collection / Basketball Diares
Every year YL drops two or three tapes full of NYC shit talk with detailed explanations as to how he’s dressed better and living nicer than you over the most luxurious soul samples that one can chop. He has been one of the single most consistent rappers working for over a half decade now and is having as much fun on the mic as ever. “Lay Up Lines” has stayed in my On Repeat playlist since the tape dropped.
11. Bladee – Cold Visions
If you’d told me in 2013 that the guy Young Lean put on “Plastic Boy” would be among the most critically acclaimed rappers alive I’d have been incredulous. He has outlasted many and proved all the doubters wrong, and with Cold Visions he put forth his strongest and most mature project to date. The years have built up on Bladee and while he sounds beleaguered at times he continues to be resilient in his own shy little way.
11. Parlor Talk – Changing Colors EP
A solid debut from the Brookyn post emo rockers. Loud and abrasive and anthemic as all hell, feels like you are there in the room with the lads. They feel like they’re somewhere between Gaslight Anthem and Foxing.
11. Arcadia Grey – Casually Crashing
The Chicago by way of Indianapolis emo rockers followed up their seminal 2019 record Konami Code with a tape full of bangers that live up to the high standard they set with tracks like “Moshpit Girlfriend” and “Skrrt Cobain”. “Made 4 Luv” is a barnburner about needed to love yourself before you can open yourself to love from others. Meanwhile “P Daddy Hoodie” is an homage both to the classic green sweatshirt and any merch that might make you feel warm and fuzzy at the end of the night. Really fun and freewheeling record.
11. This Is Lorelei – Box for Buddy, Box for Star
Sometimes I find songwriters using a million different bandnames for different projects annoying unless they really do sound different, as is the case for Water From Your Eyes’, My Idea’s, Beetle’s, and This is Lorelei’s Nate Amos. This moniker is Amos’ solo catchall for his more experimental sounding music and this is his first attempt at recording a proper album under the name, recording everything himself. I cannot stop thinking about how he looped a kid’s xylophone with an organ on “Where Is Your Love Now” to create something that feels like a band from a cartoon. Silly while still being fully sincere, audacious while still being understated. Really sits with you and leaves you wondering why. Its like 90% Wilco and 10% mk.gee.
11. Cliffdiver – Birdwatching
Cliffdiver just seem like nice people trying to have as much fun as possible, on their records, at their shows, and in their regular lives. While this is packed with the humility and self loathing that comes with being an emo band but they don’t let that stop the party. Cliffdiver has a tinge of a ska feel thanks to Thomas Dony Nickles’ saxaphone work and is better for it. The record starts with the rollicking “dayz gone” and rarely slows down the speed. Very silly, very goofy, very fun, very kickass.
11. Rickshaw Billieʼs Burger Patrol – Big Dumb Riffs
Yep, you guessed it. This one has a lot of big dumb riffs. As fun a record as you’ll hear from the metal scene this year. Great record to send to the guy in your life who was obsessed with Turnstile last year.
11. Red Sun – Best Buds 🙂
To say that Red Sun are students of emo would be the understatement of the century. They’re freshmen in the genre musically but clearly scholars behind the scenes, from their twitter presence to the bevy of allusions and influences that you hear in the lyrics, read in the song titles, and even see on the cover. That being said this is no mere pastiche, the gang has some barnburners of their own right. They are at their best when they feel most sincere funnily enough. “faker! what was that?!” is the catchiest and the least silly song on the record, you really feel like they’re pouring it all into that one. “Red SUNFO” is similarly anthemic and intense. Great start from a band that’ll no doubt be in your feed with new music soon enough.
11. Swami Sound – Back in the Day (Deluxe)
Swami Sound set the dancefloor ablaze last year with Back in the Day, his hotly anticipated debut record. This year’s Deluxe Edition features a half dozen of Swami’s friends and influences remixing their favorite track on the record, along with a few more original numbers. The party starts strong with KAISUI’s glitched out remix of “Hope It Stays” and I love the frantic, bordering on manic bounce that Dazegxd gave to “Midnight Dominator”. However Ryan Hemsworth’s “Refuse” remix is the remix I’ve been coming back to most. It is a deconstruction of the song that takes the original’s longing and languished vocals and let them float in the ether, like the worthlessness felt is too strong to even acknowledge. Its strongest track in my opinion is the Swami original “So Real” featuring Netanya, whose vocal take he lets play naturally the first go-round before pitching things up for the second. It’s as adventurous and free flowing as his legendary live show, you know it’ll have Mi Sabor Cafe bumping this summer.
11. JAY PLUSS & TENTEN – ASHIGARU PART 2: THE HIDDEN SCROLLS
Charlotte rapper Jay Pluss linked back up with Zimbabwe by way of NJ producer Tenten for a sequel to their excellent 2021 tape. The tape continues with Jay Pluss’ East Coast shit talk on the mic as Tenten flips samples that have a tinge of East Asian flair and one hell of a knock to them. Tenten brings a different kind of cacophony to these beats, you can tell he’s resourseful with his catalogue of sounds and doesn’t jump for the most obvious solution. Highlights include the Gam and Phiik assissted “Asinine” and “A Warrior’s Pride” where Jay Pluss raps like he’s about to launch into an anime spanning journey.
11. Contention – Artillery From Heaven
Tampa Bay straight edge’s finest thrash metal rockers tore the roof of of their new record. As James Mealy, our local metal correspondent put it “This record makes me want to break a mirror with my forehead.”
11. No Good With Secrets – Another Side
Madison James has made headlines this year whether they wanted to or not. Things spiraled out of control very quickly after they acquired the taylorswift.bandcamp.com domain and got the attention of not just Stereogum but Us Weekly. This ended up being a great commercial not just for the upcoming Ogbert the Nerd record but for Madison’s excellent power pop side project No Good With Secrets. While Madison has certainly had their fair share of lo-fi projects Another Side sounds absolutely pristine, with all of the pop, polish, and energy of their New Jersey forefathers Fountains of Wayne. The party gets started early with the rollicking “Apartment” an ode to that New Jerseyian right of passage of nervously navigating the city for the first time to your friend’s apartment only to find out Murphy’s Law has jurisdiction in the five boroughs. My absolute favorite song has to be “Waited Too Long” which lured me in with the 50’s girl group style “Ahhs” only to completely hook me with the ska tinged keyboard work that carries the track. And to think Travis Kelce probably had to give this tape a listen just in case Taylor ended up asking him about it.
11. Los Campesinos! – All Hell
Every three or so years Los Campesinos! decamp from Cardiff to let the world know they’re still shredding out there. If it isn’t their best effort it feels the most them of any of their records to date, with well bordering on over written lyrics backed with plenty of back references and allusions for fans to sink their teeth into. Great record that could put a bow on one hell of a career if LC wanted it to, but I got a feeling they’ll be back in a few years still ripping it to shreds.
11. Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere
A record that sounds as ferocious as it does meticulously organized. As precise as death metal can sound on wax, echoing the brutality and precision of the pyramids on the cover.
11. OSO & Driveby – 6WD
OSO and Driveby have the chemistry of people who’ve known one another their whole lives because they actually have. The real life Hudson County NJ cousins connected for a sequel to their excellent 2021 EP 4WD with twice the songs and four times the bars. The tape opens up with “CRYING MONEY AWARD” where Driveby lays down a crooning vocoder and a light Final Fantasy-esque piano loop before OSO evokes Robert Downey Jr, rapping “You’re the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude thinking shit was all fine. We had horizontal spines from when the rug was removed, still mutherfuckers that owe an onion or two,” and that’s just the first fifteen seconds. Highlights include the the rickety roll of “Owe Me One” and the Lungs’ assisted “Runs With Ice”.
11. skaiwater – #gigi
Somehow an album that is both completely all over the place sonically while being totally cohesive, an algamation of sounds that could only make sense if you also discovered them via The Feed. Uses the hot sounds of the day from Afrobeats to Jersey Club to Brazilian funk to create a futuristic sound that somehow doesn’t feel at all derivative. Really exciting record from a particularly exciting talent.
11. jackzebra – 王中王
The Chinese cloudrap upstart broke through in a major way this year with 王中王, which translates to King of Kings, a 35 song, hour fifteen minute long collusus of a record. He sings in an autotuned yelp that many have compared to Bladee, though jack brings a different edge to his work than the Swedish iconaclast. Jack brings a real sonic grandiosity to this tape, fitting of the name, though lyrically he is a great deal more cynical. He is also one hell of a live performer, I felt lucky to catch his NYC debut at the Broadway last month.
125. Katy Perry – 143
A comeback record that truly cemented Katy as one of the great pop divas of her time, and definitely a record that I listened to and remembered coming out this year. Definitely didn’t flop becuase she tried to write a women’s empowerment anthem produced by Dr. Luke, a man who was famously sued by Ke$ha for sexual assault. Just looked up 143 on Spotify to try and find this record and hilariously got fed the 2010 Bobby Brackins and Ray J song, along with four others called “143” before getting fed the album. So great work Katy. Was gonna use this slot to make a joke about how in a year Beyonce will be retroactively be renaming Cowboy Carter to Cowboy Knowles but decided I did not want to face the wrath of the Beyhive.
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