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dontlookdown · 19 days ago

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Nick’s Favourite Music of 2024

Hello! It’s that time of year again! For me, at least, because I’m a stubborn man who insists on waiting for everyone else to do their lists before even starting the ridiculously long process of making my own. But I’ve never been bothered about being late, so long as I end up with something that doesn’t make me recoil in shame.

That said, as I came towards the end of my selection process I couldn't help but feel that my overall picks this year were more…subdued than usual? I can't say for sure why but the general state of things/the world over the last few months is probably a factor. That, coupled with my duties at work significantly increasing without enough preparation, meant that I've been feeling tired and not on-top-of-things and I guess it makes sense that I'd find comfort in generally softer songs than I would usually. I always look at these lists as being a snapshot of where I am at the time, so I’m not too upset about it being less musically diverse than usual, even if that does sting a little for the part of me that likes to think of himself as musically omnipresent. So, for the first time in a while, I'll have a bonus list of tracks that didn't make the cut at the bottom. I had several energetic tracks fighting for the last two spots, so they deserve a bit of the spotlight too.

SO, the balance may be off compared to other years. But the vibes? The vibes are immaculate, if I do say so myself. Below, you’ll find the list of my 20 favourite songs of 2024 (YouTube links in the headings, Spotify playlist embed at the bottom) in no particular order, along with a few words about why I love each particular one. Let’s go!

Father John Misty - “Screamland”

I frequently start these lists with a song that makes you sit up and take notice. “Screamland”, from returning champion Father John Misty is certainly that. After a short quiet build, the chorus strikes like being buffeted by a strong wind on a coastal cliff. In these moments, the sudden increase in volume and noise crunch makes it feel like the song might collapse under its own weight. I love moments like that, like the emotion being contained is about to break free completely, and the way the ending cuts itself short unceremoniously is perfect. This is my song of the year.

The Cure - “Alone”

“Yep, that’s The Cure”. Not the most enthusiastic response to a legendary band returning after 16 years but, knowing that Robert Smith and the band had been working on Songs of a Lost World for a long long time, there was a small part of me concerned about what it would eventually sound like. “It sounds like The Cure” wasn’t necessarily a guarantee. But I needn’t have worried. The album is a full dive back into the reverb-soaked Disintegration sound. Smith’s guitar and voice still sound immaculate, and it’s kind of perfect that the album opener and lead single “Alone” waits for three-and-a-half minutes before he reintroduces himself, letting the other members of the band set the scene. I’m glad that bassist Simon Gallup has stuck around too, as his contributions are a key part of what makes The Cure sound like “The Cure” to me, especially during this long intro.

Cassandra Jenkins - “Omakase”

Cassandra Jenkins’s “Hard Drive” was one of my favourite songs from 2021, although I burnt myself out half way through that year’s list and didn’t get to write about it. I’m glad I get a chance to make amends this year. She’s a unique talent, capable of weaving a spell through her music and vocal performances. “Hard Drive” was essentially a spoken word piece, but “Omakase” is practically a torch song by comparison. The title is a Japanese dining phrase that means placing your menu choice in the hands of the chef, and represents the idea of putting your trust in another person. Using it in the context of a relationship is beautiful, and the lushness of the music is a perfect accompaniment to that idea. I love the lyrics that gave the full album it’s title:

“My love, my light, my destroyer, my meteorite”

Speaking of which, the album was also a personal favourite this year, and highly recommended if you find yourself moved by this one track.

Billie Eilish - “Birds of a Feather”

My hipster-ish tendencies haven’t quite died off yet (but I’m working on it), and the thought of praising what became the most-streamed song of the year did give me pause. But then I would listen to it again, and that hesitation would completely melt away. It took a while. I listened to HIT ME HARD AND SOFT without hearing any standout tracks (my standards are, admittedly, stupidly high), but probably wasn’t listening closely enough. When I saw Billie Eilish performing this song in the Los Angeles portion of the Olympics closing ceremony, I assumed it was a new single I hadn’t heard yet. Surely I couldn’t have missed something this delicate and vulnerable? Reader, I had. Billie has a reputation for being great at setting a mood, but I don’t think she and co-writer/producer Finneas get enough credit for the way her songs evolve just enough over the running time to keep you engaged. Each verse has a slightly more assured vocal performance, each chorus has a slight addition to the mix to keep things interesting (culminating in the calm but squeaky keyboard line in the outro). It’s great production, is what it is.

Nilüfer Yanya - “Like I Say (I runaway)”

Speaking of setting a mood. One of the things I enjoy about my shortlist-building method of sticking every song from a year on shuffle (it’s longwinded, but effective) is that the songs that stand out really stand out. So it was with this single from Nilüfer Yanya. That buzzy acoustic guitar and programmed woodblock beat leap out immediately. And that’s before the chorus turns everything super-sized after 40 seconds. Nilüfer remains a calming presence throughout, guiding your ears through choppy waters to safe harbour.

Charli xcx - “Von dutch”

I completely accept that Charli “won” this year. Although Brat wasn’t my personal album of the year, it’s an incredible piece of work. Two works, technically, as I consider the remixes that were slowly rolled out over the year to be an essential part of the experience. Despite the “remix” label, a lot of these songs function as sequels to the original tracks, that expand on the stories and feelings in interesting ways. You probably already know about the great story behind Lorde's appearance, so consider this other example: Caroline Polachek takes the lead on a new version of “Everything is romantic”, in which she ponders the same anxieties of life that Charli did on the original, only for Charli herself to call her in the middle of the night in an attempt to quell her own fears. It’s a truly great album, and I’m not surprised it conquered the zeitgeist in the way that it did. My pick from the album is “Von dutch”, an overdriven club banger that was not only the immediate standout for me, but also a track I was actively anticipating when I was re-listening to everything for this list. I had everything sorted alphabetically by song title, so when I hit the “v”s…I was ready for it. That alone makes it literally one of the top 26 tracks of the year!

Creepy Nuts - “Otonoke”

Friends…I have become an Anime Guy. This will probably not be news to most people that know me. I’ve been watching it for a long time. I grew up with Pokémon, had a formative experience discovering Cowboy Bebop on DVD as a teenager, and have essentially become a One Piece evangelist in recent years. But in 2024 I reached the point where I was actively keeping track of new releases each season, and watching shows as they were airing instead of coming to them late. Because of this, there are three anime-related songs on my list this year, and that number probably won’t be going down on future lists. Selecting my favourite music is an exercise in repetition: what holds up over repeat plays, and what do I want to hear multiple times? And what song heralds the arrival of a new episode of the most exciting show I’ve seen in years? Had I only heard “Otonoke” once, it might not have ended up on this list. But, as the opening theme to Dandadan, I heard it once a week for three months and, let me tell you, it didn’t take long before my head was bopping along with gusto. I have a lot of respect for the musical acts that are asked to tackle an anime opening. Not only do you have to come up with a song designed to get the audience hyped for the episode, you have to match and compliment the mood of the show itself, and then find a way to do all that in a strict 90 second runtime. That can’t be easy, but some people find ways to thrive within those constraints. Hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts had already established themselves as one of them (I would love to know how they settled on that name), and “Otonoke” hits right out of the gate. It’s the perfect lead-in for the show, and a great piece of music in its own right, with some thrilling mood swings between the verses and the chorus.

Wishy - “Love on the Outside”

Wishy’s debut album Triple Seven perfectly captured a 90s-pop-rock-from-blown-speakers vibe that I didn’t know that I wanted. While there weren’t many bands from that era that actually sounded like this, songs like “Love on the Outside” have enough of that fluorescent sunshine feel to convinces you there were. Turns out you can just make your own nostalgia.

Blondshell feat. Bully - “Docket”

This was a collaborative gem I discovered through BBC 6Music. The driving chorus is a killer, one that always takes me by surprise.

Regal Lily - “Twinkling Ash”

Our second anime song on the list, this time from the wonderful Delicious in Dungeon. I actually went to Japan this past October (did Japanese Duolingo lessons for 10 months to prepare and didn’t have to use a single phrase in the end lol) and, while I promise I wasn’t stumbling around constantly thinking about anime while I was there, this song did end up playing in my head an awful lot. That’s probably because it’s got such a perfect travelling feel (as befitting the show it’s from), with a constant momentum that recalls blurred views from outside a train window, yet remains comforting. Even the inclusion of a rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” somehow adds to the cosy vibe, instead of disrupting it. Some very strong guitar work on this one too.

MJ Lenderman - “She’s Leaving You”

Wednesday guitarist MJ Lenderman nails a specific idea of ‘Rockin’ against the melancholy’, much like Neil Young and Built to Spill did before him. The second verse on “She’s Leaving You” is a crusher:

You said "Vegas is beautiful at night" And it's not about the money You just like the lights Though you know what is implied When your room is free You're feeling lucky

Christopher Owens - “Do You Need a Friend”

This one’s another heartbreaker. Girls frontman Christopher Owens returned this year, having had to live through some extremely rough stuff. There are songs on I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair that were supposedly planned for a new Girls record, before bandmate JR’s untimely death, and “Do You Need a Friend” could well be one of them. It returns to some of the same tricks as a previous favourite, 2011’s “Vomit”, with Christopher’s fragile voice, some heavily reverbed guitars and passionate gospel backing vocals. But everything gets maximised about a third of the way through, as the volume peaks and crunches and slows slightly. It sounds like the song is self-immolating. “If you really want to know, I’m barely making it through the days”, Christopher sings, and we completely believe him. It’s impossible to do anything else while this song is playing (speaking from experience, don’t listen to it at work). It’s awesome, in the traditional sense of the word.

James Blake - “Like the End”

I didn’t get much work done listening to this one, either. The last time James Blake made an appearance on these lists, it was with a song overflowing with an appreciation for beauty. “Like the End” is about as far away from that as you can get, while still clearly being the work of the same man. It’s a little exhausting how well he nails the tone of ‘the soundtrack to planet Earth’s end credits’, but I have to applaud the execution. “Doesn't it feel like the end?”, he asks. It definitely sounds like it, I say, shivering with new-found existential dread.

Vampire Weekend - “Hope”

We probably need some uplift after that, and “Hope” is…not really that, sorry. It’s an ironically-titled defeatist anthem (“The enemy's invincible, I hope you let it go”), and honestly kind of a bummer. But it’s also a great song, and my favourite from Vampire Weekend’s Only God Was Above Us, my album of the year. The album was a not just a return to form, but a return to the textured, rougher sound of Modern Vampires of the City (which has become one of my favourite records of all time), following the underweight, squeaky-clean sound of Father of the Bride. Every instrument on this record sounds rusty but well-loved, and there’s an overall lack of polish (that I love) to the songs that still feel complete. “Hope” closes the album strongly, which is why I’ve placed it here, in [checks list] spot 14 out of 20?

Adrianne Lenker - “Ruined”

This, er, downer section is only going to continue for just a little bit longer, I promise, but I can’t deny that Adrianne Lenker is really, really good at making feel-bad songs. Her solo album this year didn’t even have that many on it, admittedly. It was even called Bright Future, for god’s sake. I almost went for “Sadness as a Gift”, which has that full-band Big Thief vibe I love, but “Ruined” scratches an itch that only solo Adrianne can, lamenting the presence of people in your life that you just can’t quit, despite feeling like you really should. An enthusiastic but tear-stained thumbs up from me.

Riria. - “Antanante.”

I talked a little about the restrictions faced when making an anime opening theme with “Otonoke”. The rules are similarly tight for ending themes too, but the assignment is less about getting viewers hyped and more about bringing them back down to earth. “Antanante”, from this year’s remake of Ranma ½, is a masterclass in doing just that. Consider that the show in question is a madcap screwball romantic comedy with fantasy elements, and then consider that the song is one of the gentlest on this list, ignoring all the wilder parts of the show’s presentation to focus on its beating heart: the earnest and slow-blooming romance between the two lead characters (the official English captions on this video were a big help in understanding this). It’s a bold decision, and one that pays off beautifully. The title and opening lyric may translate as “I couldn’t care less about you”, but the musical choices aren’t fooling anyone. Everything is delicate and soft, floating along as if it were a dream, and there’s an intentional yearning to Riria’s vocal performance. I’ll confess to raising my eyebrows when the oriental riff makes an appearance. For the record, it’s usage in Japanese media is usually to indicate a connection to China specifically (which is a key part of the show), whereas its usage in Western media usually indicates that you’re about see/hear some really racist shit. However you feel about that, it doesn’t spoil the mood, which is kept charming by the cutest keyboard solo I think I’ve ever heard.

Waxahatchee feat. MJ Lenderman - “Right Back to It”

Here’s another floater Speaking of songs that float along nicely… I promise I came up with that segue before seeing the video for “Right Back to It”, in which Katie Crutchfield and MJ Lenderman ride a boat slowly drifting across a Texas lake at sunset in gorgeous super-widescreen cinematography. I like that this song was a deliberate attempt at writing a song about a long-running romance, as opposed to one that had just sparked into existence. It understands that unromantic gestures can be the most romantic in the long run. “That’s the good stuff,” as Robin Williams once said.

Chappell Roan - “Good Luck, Babe!”

I remember a time when Wham’s “Last Christmas” held a reputation of one of the very worst songs to be unleashed on the public every winter, which is why I find it so fascinating that that reputation has essentially flipped around entirely in the last few years (George Michael’s unexpected death at the end of 2016 was definitely a factor). I always quite liked it myself, largely due to the sound of the synths that lightly pulse throughout the song (I like Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” for similar reasons, and it’ll be interesting if that song can achieve a similar 180 once Paul passes on. De La Soul have already put in the effort). Having observed the growing tidal shift on “Last Christmas”, it made sense that another song about heartbreak built upon a similar sound would become a massive hit. I’m not making that connection to be flippant. All great pop songs build upon what’s come before, and George would have loved this, a queer break-up song that is upfront about its queerness and still broke through to the normie mainstream. I’ll admit that I hadn’t cottoned on to that side of things until doing research for this post, having not looked too closely at the lyrics, so that was a fun thing to learn! As I’ve said, the songs that end up on these lists are the ones that hold up over repeat plays, and this was one of them. By the fifth go-around (yes, I keep track of these things), I truly got it. Chappell’s vocal performance anchors the whole thing (that falsetto in the chorus? chef’s kiss), playfully defensive until she allows some righteous anger to sneak in during the bridge, where the strings and drums ramp up to support her, as she builds up to the most devastating “I told you soooo!” ever committed to tape.

Bully - “Atom Bomb”

“Atom Bomb” is another song anchored by a vocal performance, if only because the musical accompaniment is mostly limited to just a single piano. But what a vocal performance it is (as befitting its title), with Alicia Bognanno’s howl barely containing her pain until it cracks completely during the final moments of the song.

Jessie Ware & Romy - “Lift You Up”

As you can probably guess from the title of this one, I wanted to send this list (and the year) out with some positivity. Jessie Ware is our reigning disco queen, and this collaboration with The xx’s Romy Madley Croft that she debuted during her hugely enjoyable Glastonbury set was a nice surprise. It’s simple enough, a believe-in-yourself banger, but I can’t think of a better way to ring in…*checks calendar* the 20th day of the new year. Happy Saint Sebastian Day, everybody!

Thanks for reading! If you fancy reading more like this, I’ve done similar lists/series for every year going back to 2011 (and basic lists for 2008-2010). Just copy and paste this link (https://dontlookdown.tumblr.com/tagged/best of 20xx) and edit the year to see them! (The spaces in the link are correct. Apparently, Tumblr has adjusted how certain URLs work, and now most of the links I’ve used in previous posts don’t connect properly. Great.)

And, as promised, here’s some bonus tracks:

Geordie Greep - “Holy, Holy”

I described Black Midi’s last album as sounding like “arson attack at a Cole Porter recital” . Now that frontman Geordie Greep has gone solo, he has refined that sound into “Steely Dan on meth”. Both of those descriptions are compliments, and “Holy, Holy” seems like the perfect representation of what the mind of a middle-aged, overly-charismatic sociopath would sound like (again, this is a compliment).

Gojira, Marina Viotti & Victor Le Masne - “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)”

What a moment this was, a real shot of adrenaline in the first half of the (overall excellent) Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Death metal band Gojira, suspended on the side of the Conciergerie, performing a furious rendition of a French Revolutionary anthem with opera singer Marina Viotti sliding in on a boat, surrounded by the spectres of decapitated nobles with fire and red ribbons exploding everywhere. I can see 2028’s Los Angeles ceremony trying to pull off something similar with Metallica. Good fucking luck.

Jessica Pratt - “World on a String”

The world of audio mixing and mastering is largely a mystery to me. One thing I can say though, is that Jessica Pratt’s vocals on Here in the Pitch are the perfect volume, and “World on a String” is like a warm bath on a cold day.

SPRINTS - “Up and Comer”

This punky rattler was one I clocked as a potential final-list-er early in the year. It didn’t quite get there but, considering the song is about being unfairly dismissed and looked-over, that’s somewhat apt.

Tommy Richman - “Million Dollar Baby”

I don’t pay much attention to what charts, so I didn’t encounter this until December, but I’m pretty taken with it! This is a rich mix of several flavours: I hear G-funk, Soulquarians neo-soul, even some of George Clinton’s more electronic work, and yet it still manages to sound very now.

Tyler, The Creator feat. Doechii - “Balloon”

Tyler remains the most entertaining rapper working today, partly because he manages to experiment wildly while still playing to his strengths. He’s just fun to listen to. I want to give a shoutout to Doechii as well, who not only matches Tyler’s energy perfectly on “Balloon”, but also had one of the best albums and singles of the year in Alligator Bites Never Heal and “Alter Ego”, respectively.

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thisworldisablackhole · 2 months ago

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Top 25 Albums of 2024

2024 has been a wonderful year for new music. I feel like I developed a deeper relationship with music this year than ever before. I started writing full reviews and actually consistently posting on this blog. The year has been challenging, but this dumb act of trying to structure my thoughts on a subject has given me a place to escape to while simultaneously strengthening the relationship between my brain, fingers, and ears. Read on for my favourite records of the year.

25. fantasy of a broken heart - Feats of Engineering

SOUNDS LIKE: SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS AND SWEET CEREAL MILK / LISTEN

Something about fantasy of a broken heart’s music feels nostalgic, like watching Saturday morning cartoons with a bowl of fruit loops. Synthesizers and electric guitars swirl around funky drum and bass rhythms to create fun melodies in colourful matrimony, and the disposition between the vocalist Al Nardo’s cutesy swoons and Bailey Wollowitz’s lower register narrations gives everything a kind of goofy and lighthearted Adventure Time appeal. There is a bit of an adolescent charm to the music that just makes me smile, but this is some of the most fun and forward thinking pop music I’ve heard in ages.

24. Elias Rønnenfelt - Heavy Glory

SOUNDS LIKE: GRITTY AND ORCHESTRAL ACOUSTIC BALLADS / LISTEN

Elias Rønnenfelt’s debut solo album might struggle to draw over casual Iceage listeners, but if you liked Rønnenfelt’s other band Marching Church, and can get down with a heavy dose of melodramatic embellishment, then you’re in for a real treat. Heavy Glory finds Rønnenfelt reaching for the acoustic guitar to focus more on grounded story telling as he strings together a collection of moody ballads that are ornamented by a collection of chamber instruments like double bass, violin, cello, and piano, amongst other oddities. The album is a bit of a mixed bag of production and songwriting techniques, but the atmosphere is fairly consistent throughout, and Elias sounds like he has found his sonic palace.

23. Christopher Owens - I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair

SOUNDS LIKE: DEPRESSING DREAM POP & SURF ROCK / LISTEN

Christopher Owens has returned with his first solo album in nine years, and in that span of time, life has thrown a lot of shit in Owens’ face. I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair find Owens writing some of his most depressing lyrics ever as he ponders life, death, and heaven as his backing band lays down some surprisingly bright and jangly grooves with all the surf and psych sensibilities that made Girls sophomore album so light and catchy. It’s a beautiful return to form for Owens, and I couldn’t be happier.

22. Inter Arma - New Heaven

SOUNDS LIKE: DISSONANT DEATH METAL AND GOTHIC BLUES / LISTEN

This was my first exposure to Inter Arma, and the turn this album took was so unexpected and fascinating to me. New Heaven starts off with a dissonant, blackened death pummel fest that lasts for the first three songs before transitioning to the dark side of the moon with an epic instrumental passage of soulful leads and plodding, funeral-esque drums. Then the second half begins to get really experimental with it’s blend of gothic blues, post metal and neo-folk. Guitars are sharp like razor wire, vocals are low and evil, and the whole thing just thunders with an atmospheric, dark energy. It’s truly a journey of an album for those who appreciate some genre diversity in their metal.

21. One Step Closer - All You Embrace

SOUNDS LIKE: MELODIC HARDCORE WITH GIGANTIC FUZZY HOOKS / LISTEN

Ever since One Step Closer's EP Songs for the Willow swept me off my feet in early 2023, I had been on the edge of my seat waiting for a full length. That EP showed a distinct shift toward more melodic inclinations, and the result was three of their most structurally interesting and emotionally fulfilling songs to date. This new album marks a further push into melodic pop-punk territory while still retaining the grit of their hardcore past, and while the song structures might be a tad less adventurous, it's still absolutely oozing in heart and brimming with memorable hooks and chunky nostalgic riffs that feel like the morning glow dissolving into your bed.

20. Porter Robinson - SMILE! :D

SOUNDS LIKE: SYNTH POP, INDIETRONICA, DISSOLVING SUGAR / LISTEN

I didn't want to love this album, but it hugged me tight and didn't let go. This one is for all the kids who grew up listening to shit like Owl City, Hellogoodbye, and maybe even a bit of The Postal Service. Gigantic synthesizers, catchy pop melodies, dance breaks, and bittersweet vocals. It’s a brand of nostalgia that makes me feel like a spoonful of sugar dissolving in rice krispies. I think Porter shot himself in the foot by frontloading this album with bangers, because the drop in energy almost deterred me from continuing to listen. But that opening sequence kept dragging me back in, and the mellow indietronica vibes of the second half grew on me big time, in big part due to Porter's self aware lyrics and sugary vocal melodies. This album is like that teddy bear from your childhood that you just can't let go of.

19. The Requiem - A Cure To Poison The World

SOUNDS LIKE: MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE REVIVAL / LISTEN

A Cure To Poison The World is an unadulterated love letter to the MySpace era of post-hardcore and emo that brings us straight back in time with a familiar sense of desperation and dramatic flair drawn from the school of My Chemical Romance and The Used. Despite it's derivative nature, this is still a highly competent release from a band that is genuinely just trying to recapture the glory days of raw and emotive rock music. No, they aren't doing anything new, but what they are doing is executed with such a high standard of quality and reverence for their predecessors that it doesn't even matter. I'm always impressed by how engaging this record is when I return to it.

18. Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey - Compassion

SOUNDS LIKE: HIGHLY EVOCATIVE PIANO, BASS AND DRUM JAZZ / LISTEN

When I signed up for Sputnik's "review a random album" game and was assigned this one, I was pretty excited about the opportunity to indulge myself in a genre that I don’t fully understand. Thankfully, you don’t have to be particularly smart or have a degree in music theory to enjoy this album. Vijay Iyer speaks directly to the soul with his piano playing, and together with Linda May Han Oh and Tyshawn Sorey, they have created a beautiful exploration of the human experience that covers a lot of emotional ground. There are some small bits of intensity and chaos sprinkled here and there, but the majority of the record is quite easygoing, and the ebb and wide range of moods on display keeps it incredibly engaging. If you listen to ONE jazz album this year, let it be this one. Shout out MiloRuggles!

17. Straw Man Army - Earthworks

SOUNDS LIKE: MELODIC PUNK WITH DEEP ANARCHO ROOTS / LISTEN

Without an ounce of hyperbole, Straw Man Army are simply one of those once-in-a-generation punk bands that are truly pushing the envelope of what punk can be. Not by reinventing the wheel, but by casting aside the self-perpetuating constraints the genre imposes upon itself, and grasping for influences that fall outside the fault line. At the end of the day, Straw Man Army are just doing what everyone else does: combining different aspects of the wheel into something that hopefully displays a shred of novelty, but it’s the way that they do so while still remaining arguably more punk than any other band in the scene that is so damn impressive. Earthworks is one of the most original and thought provoking punk albums ever made, and will probably remain so for quite some time.

16. Balance And Composure - with you in spirit

SOUNDS LIKE: POST-HARDCORE, A CALL FROM AN OLD FRIEND / LISTEN

I never cared much for Balance And Composure's post-Separation albums, but when they dropped two singles in 2023, I was ecstatic to hear a familiar (albeit matured) version of the same band that courted me through so many of my big teenage feelings. I think we were all on the edge of our seats hoping those singles would lead to an LP, and my gosh, when with you in spirit was announced, it felt like the band personally gave my younger self a paternal pat on the shoulder. Unfortunately, this album isn't perfect, it has some glaring flaws that kept me from binging it like I expected to, but it still holds up as one of my favourites of the year, and one of the most symbolically important comebacks ever.

15. Stand Still - Steps Ascending

SOUNDS LIKE: MELODIC HARDCORE, POP PUNK / LISTEN

A lot of my most treasured albums in the world are ones that initially confused me and forced me to drop my expectations. The first track I listened to from this album threw me off balance big time. I wasn’t prepared for Stand Still’s angle on hardcore to be so bold, unapologetically catchy, and with a singer that still has some grit, no less. They effortlessly blend punchy melodic hardcore and pop punk into 10 anthems of self determination and gratitude. Embracing positivity seems like one of the most defiant things you can do these days, especially within the realm of hardcore, and that's a big part of what makes this record so special. Don't get it twisted though, these riffs still pack a punch that could set a room on fire.

14. Interpersonal - The Long Bright Dark

SOUNDS LIKE: NOSTALGIC POST-HARDCORE AND POP PUNK / LISTEN

Interpersonal came out of nowhere and blew me away. When I clicked on sputnik user LucretiaMyReflection's list promoting his bands album, I never expected I would find something so polished and engaging. This little-known band from Missouri deserves to be huge, and I think they will be one day if they maintain this quality of production and songwriting. The Long Bright Dark morphs in a few different directions during it’s run-time from emo to post-hardcore and pop-punk, but all of its ideas are executed to near perfection, and they maintain a surprising sense of cohesion considering the diverse range of genre aptitudes that are displayed here in bright shiny cases. It all adds up to a package that is slick, memorable, and endlessly replayable. One of the best post-hardcore albums of the year, hands down. Interpersonal has a Long Bright future ahead of them.

13. Tenue - Arcos, bóvedas, pórticos

SOUNDS LIKE: A MONOLITH OF CRUSHING RIFFS / LISTEN

Atmospheric, crushing, epic—all words that could easily be applied to this release. Tenue blends screamo with atmospheric post rock, black metal, and crusty hardcore in a way that feels truly powerful. The songs on this album average at over seven minutes long, but they are brimming with jaw dropping dynamic shifts that keep every corner and bend feeling exciting and fresh. The Spanish vocals are raw and emotive, the riffs are punishing, and the tightly polished production job makes the atmospheric post-rock sections feel like columns of light breaking through the storm clouds. It's beautiful, it's crushing, it's intense. This will easily go down as the most underrated album of the year for screamo enjoyers, don’t fuck up!

12. drive your plow over the bones of the dead - tragedy as catharsis

SOUNDS LIKE: DARK & CHAOTIC EMOVIOENCE / LISTEN

drive your plow over the bones of the dead might have the best screamo band names ever, but their riffs and songwriting chops are even better, trust me. drive your plow effortlessly balance chaos and melody into a maelstrom of octave chords and fretboard mashing, but each song still retains unique properties and subtle hooks that really reward attentive and repeated listens. I highly suggest keeping the tracklist open for this one, because the songs fly by so fast and are connected by strings of feedback in a way that makes each song flow into the next like you’re really watching a live performance. Not only is this one of the best emoviolence records of the year, it stands up against the classics that defined the genre.

11. Clairo - Charm

SOUNDS LIKE: ANALOG POP & FOLK WITH A SLIGHT PSYCH EDGE / LISTEN

Clario's third full length came as a big surprise to me. The rollout was quick, with only two of its eleven songs released as singed, so it was really hard to set expectations for, and that was probably a good thing. Clairo went in a more soulful direction this time around, channeling 70s analog pop and folk music with a light psychedelic edge. Charm pulls from the same lush arrangement of instruments that accompanied her on Sling, but there's just a little more snap and groove from the rhythm section, and the record is just a little more upbeat and less forlorn than Sling, both in it's vibe and lyrical themes. It took me a while to get used to as someone who played Sling to death, but it grew on me fast. It's infectious once you get it's quirks.

10. Dora Jar - No Way To Relax When You Are On Fire

SOUNDS LIKE: ALICE IN WONDERLAND TYPE POP & FOLK / LISTEN

Pop music can be so fun and fresh in the right hands. I had never heard of Dora Jar before this album released (shoutout sputnik user verdant for putting her on my radar), but No Way To Relax When You Are On Fire swept me off my feet faster than I could react. The palette of sounds here is just so diverse and full of life, Jar mixes all the best and weirdest aspects of pop and folk music and puts them in a blender. There are some moments on here that almost remind me of a cross between MGMT and Kate Bush, it's wild. She seamlessly reinvents her sound with almost every song, but the album still comes out feeling incredibly cohesive even if some of the styles she experiments with don't land as well as others. I have a feeling her sophomore album will be a HUGE success.

9. Foreign Hands - What's Left Unsaid

SOUNDS LIKE: OG METALCORE, POISON THE WELL, HOPESFALL, 7A7P / LISTEN

Among the current crop of early metalcore revival bands, these guys always stood out to me as having a bit of an extra edge, for lack of a better word. The bitter reality of their industrial hometown just seemed to resonate through every chord and scream like billows of smoke that only Delaware and Pennsylvania could produce. Foreign Hands just bring a hardcore ethos to everything they do—even in the studio, they chose to leave fancy production tricks behind to craft an album that feels like the portrayal of a band who never stopped playing in the garage. Guitars were plugged into amps, riffs were served straight to the dome, amen. The stripped down aesthetic of their sound can perhaps initially come off as plain in comparison to other current bands in the scene, but just pull your hood over your eyes, crank the volume, and let the agony consume you.

8. julie - my anti-aircraft friend

SOUNDS LIKE: 90s INDIE ROCK & SHOEGAZE / LISTEN

I never needed a reason to restore my faith in Gen Z. As a cusper myself, I always thought highly of their sense of humour and artistic creativity. Julie is just one more reason for me to believe that the kids are, in fact, alright. The members of this band are all currently in their early 20s, but they have managed to pin down the sound of 90s shoegaze and indie rock as if they were time travelers. I’ve never heard a modern record that sounds so close to Swirlies’ “Blonder Tongue Audio Baton”, not only in the way the guitar riffs and vocals are written and performed, but the production too. If you put a blindfold on me, I would swear this album was from '93. I don’t want to act like this album doesn’t have any merit outside of it’s ability to evoke nostalgia though. These songs are incredible in their own right and really put julie into a class of their own as contemporary songwriters. Do not sleep on this band.

7. Poppy - Negative Spaces

SOUNDS LIKE: POPPY GOES METALCORE / LISTEN

This album ended up being way more diverse than I could have ever expected. While I enjoyed the first few singles for this album, I was a little worried that FIFTEEN tracks of metalcore Poppy would get stale super fast. Thankfully, Negative Spaces retains a significant amount of Poppy's signature synth-pop weirdness, and ends up sounding more like a proper follow-up to 2020's I Disagree. The difference is that this time around, Poppy's metal influence is given ample room to blossom into fully formed ideas instead of being restrained to a collection of rock opera mashups. The track list ebbs and flows between moments of blistering aggression and dancefloor bangers that coalesce into a theme park ride that never gets boring, despite it's moments of derivative indulgence. If you look closely, it's pretty easy to see which tracks are just imitations other bands (BMTH, Knocked Loose, Loathe, Evanescence), but Poppy brings everything together with her unique personality into a package that is just so much god damn fun, and that's all that matters.

6. Crack Cloud - Red Mile

SOUNDS LIKE: ART SCHOOL PUNKS MAKE A PROG RECORD / LISTEN

Crack Cloud pulls a lot of inspiration from the era of 70s and 80s art punk, post punk, and new wave, but where the group really excels is with their plodding and methodic use of negative space. Red Mile is an exercise in minimalist song structures with maximal intent—gracefully shifting to make space for new layers of ideas and orchestral instruments without any trace of busyness or clutter. This is the punk kid's take on progressive rock, and it works so damn well. This album also just speaks to me on a personal level, being from the same city this band has spent a lot of time living in. There are lots of familiar themes regarding addiction, social class, dejection, and the scene itself that are all too relatable, but it approached these topics with a cryptic sense of poetry that is a ton of fun to sift through and find meaning in, it feels foolish to think I truly understand it at all. This actually might end up being one of my favourite albums of all time, no cap.

5. nothing,nowhere. - Hell Or Highwater

SOUNDS LIKE: EMO GONE COUNTRY / LISTEN

nothing,nowhere. has been one of my favourite artists since I discovered him through last year's VOID ETERNAL, which funnily enough shares the exact same #5 spot on my 2023 list. I swear I didn't plan that. It's safe to say I'm much more into the rock and metal oriented side of Mulherin's music than his emo-rap side, but while Hell Or Highwater still retains that influence, it's blended to a very well enjoyable degree here. Mulherin has been on a roll with switching things up with each release and incorporating disparate genres into his core sound, and the country direction he took here worked so well for him. It really allowed his knack for writing hook-centric emotional rock anthems to shine in a new light. This completely delivered on everything I could have wanted in another post-VOID ETERNAL album and cemented nothing,nowhere. as one of my all-time favourite current artists.

4. Touché Amoré - Spiral In A Straight Line

SOUNDS LIKE: IT SOUNDS LIKE TOUCHE AMORE DUH / LISTEN

Another band that has been important to me for over a decade. My dad once came home from work early and walked in on me practicing vocals in the living room to PTSBBAM blasted on the stereo. I was probably 16. The fact that they even found enough longevity as a melodic hardcore band to be putting out new music 17 years into their career is testament to their impact on people. Spiral In A Straight Line sounds like Touché Amoré finally shaking off the cobwebs and finding joy in making music again after the band being a heavy vessel of grief since 2016, it's such a breath of fresh air. I won't pretend I wasn't skeptical when the first single for this record dropped, but the simplistic and pure sense of melody that the band managed to imbue into their trademark aggression really won me over and quickly slotted this album into not only one of my favourite albums of the year, and also into my top 3 TA releases along with PTSBBAM and Is Survived By...

3. Like Moths To Flames - The Cycles Of Trying To Cope

SOUNDS LIKE: METALCORE, 2010s RISECORE ALL GROWN UP / LISTEN

Like Moths To Flames has been one of my favourite metalcore bands since I re-discovered them a few years ago. They've been consistently solid, albeit a tad generic risecore sounding since their first EP in 2010, but they have only grown a stronger sense of identity and a wealth of musical talent over the years, in large part thanks to the addition of Zach Pishney on guitars in 2016. It's actually quite rare for a metalcore band from the 2010's to still be improving and putting out some of their best material after 6 LP's. One of my favourite things about this band, and why I believe they've managed to be so consistent over the years, is that they aren't afraid to wax and wane in their evolution without ever losing sight of their DNA, thanks to Chris Roetter's steadfast vision. Over their career they have released albums that have gone back and forth from heavy metalcore to a more hook centric alt-metal sound, but it's always been good and it's always sounded like the same band. The Cycles Of Trying To Cope truly feels like their magnum opus, everything they've been chipping away at finally coming together in it's most cohesive and pristine form. Not only some of their most aggressive material to date, but their catchiest as well. Bravo.

2. Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood

SOUNDS LIKE: AMERICANA, FOLK ROCK / LISTEN

Waxahatchee's discography is one of those rare collections of music I can say I feel like I've grown up beside. Katie Crutchfield's music is like an old friend that drifts in and out of your life, but reconnecting always feels an exchange of tangential life experiences and mutual growth. American Weekend was there for me at 17 when I was naïve and confused about who I wanted to be in this world, in the same way that Tigers Blood is here for me at 29; settled into myself, a thousand times more emotionally aware, and dealing with much bigger problems. The Americana sound that Crutchfield has been growing into over the past few years suits her voice so well, and her songwriting and lyricism has reached a whole new level of subtle intricacy on this album. Seeing her perform this live in a beautiful theater only made my appreciation grow tenfold. She sounds even better live than on record, it's insane. It's just amazing to watch her evolve from lo-fi recordings in the bathtub into one of the most powerful singer-songwriters on Earth. Easy 5/5

1. SeeYouSpaceCowboy - Coup De Grâce

SOUNDS LIKE: METALCORE! AT THE DISCO / LISTEN

SeeYouSpaceCowboy was the band that really got me back into metalcore a few years ago when The Romance of Affliction came out. I fully drifted away from the genre around 2014, but metalcore was basically my first love as an angry, confused kid. It's the genre that inspired me to pursue playing music in the first place, and the discovery of SYSC not only reignited that love, it cascaded into a deeper reconnection with myself and the qualities of music that actually bring me joy. Heavy riffs, heavy screams, catchy, passionate hooks. So simple, but it gets me every damn time. Coup De Grâce is by far the bands best work to date, and one of the most unique takes on metalcore I've heard. They incorporated some really interesting dance punk and P!ATD cabaret influences into this record and tied it all together with such a stunning sense of identity and conceptual clarity. Coup De Grace isn't just my album of the year, it's a modern metalcore classic.

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