Adam Bosarge, Alex Banin, Alex Pattle, Amanda Bergman, Ax and the Hatchetmen, Being Useless, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, BIRTHE, Davis Gestiehr, Deacon, Dion Berardo, Doechii, Elephante, fantasy of a damaged coronary heart, Freya McKee, Hemlocke Springs, Iress, Isabella Storm, Jordaan Mason and the Horse Museum, Kneecap, Letters Despatched Dwelling, Lucy Kruger & The Misplaced Boys, Magdalena Bay, Maudify, Medium Construct, Melissa Aldana, Mk.gee, Polaris, Ratboys, Sly Jr., Sone, Supreme Particles, Th&o., The Caretaker, The Cassette, Vaticanjail, Wisp
From all of us right here at Atwood Journal, we want you a contented and wholesome new 12 months!
2024 has been an inspiring 12 months for music. Dwelling legends have additional solidified their legacies, while contemporary faces have change into new favorites.
Atwood Journal has at all times had at its core the mission to rejoice music of all genres, and this 12 months we continued our purpose to be an area of inclusivity and illustration by consciously highlighting artwork and artists from world wide. The 12 months in music was made all of the extra thrilling due to the broad vary of music we featured and centered on – from these acquainted names within the Prime 40, to creatives in probably the most underground, indie, and various of circles.
For thus many of those artists, music is greater than a mere technique of self-expression; it’s a vessel filled with superior potential. Lately, it has felt more and more essential to acknowledge and elevate those that use their artwork as a voice for the disenfranchised; the oppressed; the underrepresented; and the underprivileged. This 12 months, we proceed to acknowledge those that converse for extra than simply themselves, whereas on the similar time indulging within the acquainted, timeless themes of affection, loss, hope, connection, braveness, change, and the unending pursuit of happiness.
Because the 12 months involves an in depth, our workers took a step again to honor the songs, albums, EPs, live shows, and artist discoveries that had the best affect on our lives. With out additional ado, Atwood Journal is proud to current our curated record of 2024’s Artist Discoveries of the Yr, in alphabetical order by artist.
From Doechii and Mk.gee to Wisp, Medium Construct, Magdalena Bay, Th&o., Freya McKee, Amanda Bergman, and so many extra, these are our favorites – the brand new (to us) acts whose music and artistry influenced us probably the most. Please be a part of us in celebrating 2024’s contributions to the music world!
Mitch Mosk, Editor-in-Chief
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Atwood’s 2024 Music of the Yr
Click on on the artist’s title to skip proper to their entry!
Adam Bosarge, Alex Banin, Alex Pattle, Amanda Bergman, Ax and the Hatchetmen, Being Useless, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, BIRTHE, Davis Gestiehr, Deacon, Dion Berardo, Doechii, Elephante, fantasy of a damaged coronary heart, Freya McKee, Hemlocke Springs, Iress, Isabella Storm, Jordaan Mason and the Horse Museum, Kneecap, Letters Despatched Dwelling, Lucy Kruger & The Misplaced Boys, Magdalena Bay, Maudify, Medium Construct, Melissa Aldana, Mk.gee, Polaris, Ratboys, Sly Jr., Sone, Supreme Particles, Th&o., The Caretaker, The Cassette, Vaticanjail, Wisp
A reoccurring, musical blessing has befallen me this 12 months time and time once more, and that’s the prevalent serendipity of the YouTube algorithm. The YouTube algorithm is your buddy. It needs to present you gems you’d have by no means uncovered from the heaving amalgam that’s the platform’s deepest annals. This can be a sentiment shared by Adam Bosarge himself, who made certain as an instance his gratitude, albeit a confounded one, once I interviewed him earlier this 12 months. His catalogue is a myriad of wonders, a plethora of mysteries, a gauntlet of adventures, a gamut of quick tales to peruse, be amused by, be enamoured by their particular person personalities and whimsy, earlier than being swept up within the subsequent fascinating vignette.
“Buildings With out Rooms” is a private favorite; it’s an arcade of creative liberation and folly. It by no means takes itself critically, but it surely affords such a scope of musical bounty. It handles percussion in a very mesmerising approach. Adam Bosarge is a musician with a persistently distinctive catalogue. No matter he makes subsequent will likely be as much as him – and that’s fantastically thrilling.
The most intimate, ambient, and weak file I heard this 12 months was, surely, Alex Banin’s achingly dreamy sophomore EP, Since Winona. “And to be anyone’s somebody; to really feel like I used to be one thing for as soon as…” she trails off within the EP’s opening minute, her voice a lightning rod of uncooked emotion in a sea of seductive drum work. “I can’t keep concerned with your decisions. I can’t afford what you do in boredom these days.” It’s a spine-chilling introduction, and one that completely units the tone for the following fifteen minutes because the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter pours her coronary heart out, bringing listeners into her interior sanctum with soul-stirring finesse. Private highlights have included the intoxicating, completely mesmerizing “Doc Whiler,” the tender and turbulent “IN FEAR, ETC.,” the loss and longing-fueled “FKA Passat,” and the fantastically gut-wrenching, hypnotic, and heartrending “From a Completely different Life, It Appears” – every of which stands by itself, however is made higher by the songs round it.
Whereas she’s been energetic for 5 years, this EP served as my gateway into Banin’s oeuvre – and it’s opened me as much as a complete world of splendidly atmospheric, brooding, and alluring alternative- and (at instances) pop-adjacent music. Like all one of the best information, the true energy and power of Since Winona comes out if you take heed to the file in full, permitting Alex Banin to take your thoughts, physique, and soul on a sweetly spellbinding journey that, whereas fleeting, proves immediately memorable and irresistibly transferring.
Partwork of Alex Pattle’s attract is the thriller he’s shrouded in. He appears to be very new to the indie scene, however the music is curiously developed. A trifecta of tracks is all that exists below his title, although all are certain by a shared lore – which conveys a life story of heartbreak, dislocation, and haunting reminiscences. My favorite monitor of his is Pears And Ghosts, wherein he describes “selecting pear bushes” with a ghost. There are many references to locations throughout his work, together with “Berlin,” “Rome,” and “Heathrow,” which in some boards has generated hypothesis as to the place his roots actually lie. I’ll take pleasure in sticking with this artist, listening to him develop, and hopefully having fun with extra additions to the sound; resembling some gritty electrical guitar work.
Ever since I first pressed ‘play’ again in June, Amanda Bergman’s sophomore album has change into a relentless companion to my every day comings and goings. It’s a soothing, soul-stirring, countless lullaby; a spellbinding set of candy serenades that envelop the ears whereas warming the center and nourishing the soul. Calm but cathartic, charming but charged, Your Arms Eternally Checking on My Fever is a breathtakingly lovely triumph of the human spirit. It’s directly tender and dramatic – an infectiously catchy, all-consuming assortment of radiant reveries, intimate interior reckonings, and weak reflections on life and demise, goal and place – what it means to reside, and what it means to reside nicely.
Bergman is not at all “new” to the music scene – she launched her debut LP Docks in 2016 – however Your Arms was her first launch in a number of years, and a bona fide “return” to the highlight for the Swedish singer/songwriter. Bergman has described music as “the reply to life,” and this album definitely feels just like the full-bodied realization of that philosophical assertion. From the smoky, scintillating seduction of album opener “Wild Geese, Wild Love” and the heartrending romantic ache of “I Love Him Til I Love Him Proper,” to the exhilarating propulsion of “Day 2000 Awake,” the cinematic, ethereal exhale of “My Arms within the Water,” the mild, tranquil ebb and movement of “The World Is Uninterested in You” and past, Bergman unpacks life itself – the world round us, in addition to her very personal existence – via songs crammed with gentle, love, and an intimate, simple sense of awe. Like a waking dream or a fantasy fulfilled, Your Arms Eternally Checking on My Fever feels otherworldly, but comforting. It’s the musical blanket we didn’t know we would have liked, able to tuck us in each night time. – Mitch Mosk
Some of one of the best music finds you if you least count on it. In my case, I found Chicago’s Ax and the Hatchetmen purely by happenstance earlier this month when the band stopped by my college’s radio station for a studio session. It wasn’t ideally suited, as I used to be anxiously operating forwards and backwards to arrange studio lights, tripods, and double-checking digital camera settings, priming the house to correctly accommodate a six-piece band of two guitarists, a bassist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and cajon participant. Because the chaos subsided and the band began taking part in, nevertheless, it wasn’t lengthy earlier than I discovered myself caught between the roles of the top videographer and an awestruck first-time listener.
Simply if you assume the whole lot’s been achieved, Ax and the Hatchetmen enterprise into uncharted sonic territory and rightfully declare it their very own. Having six folks in a self-identified rock ‘n’ roll band needs to be calculated and intentional, particularly inside a style that tends to cap bands at 4. Ax and the Hatchetment fuse jazz and blues with catchy various rock, providing a dynamic and refreshing listening expertise certain to pique ears and hearts. In any other case easy and sunshiney indie rock is made intricate with wealthy layers of horns and heat percussions, because the band combines formal jazz schooling with rock ‘n’ roll propensities to maintain spirits excessive and stress low.
Nihilism has by no means sounded extra jovial than on Being Useless’s Eels. The Texas-based indie trio explores the surreal humor of dwelling in a actuality of crushed desires and unrealistic expectations, spinning tales of mundanity with the charisma of a sunscreen commercial. Being Useless approaches their music with a storybook-like appeal, layering their difficult sentiments below a easy, nostalgia-laced guise, and like several memorable story, Being Useless thrives on unpredictability. Gritty storage rock to 60’s pastiche, impressionistic bed room pop to haunting avant-garde people, the band seemingly does all of it. However Being Useless isn’t impervious to temporary moments of melancholy. “There’s nobody to depend on … there’s no map left to information us” they sing on the somber “Dragons II”, pausing to lament the lack of a fairy story innocence (although it doesn’t take lengthy to proceed the rager). Showcasing a powerful aesthetic of expertise, intelligence, and flexibility, Being Useless’s inventive drive is to not be trifled with, making for one in every of, if not the brightest younger acts within the indie rock.
A discovery that originated in 1971! A lot occurs on TikTok earlier than it occurs anyplace else. Or, on this case, earlier than it occurs once more? An informal scroll can result in probably the most nice locations prior to now. For example, the transferring music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland, who recorded a self-titled sophomore album in 1971 to observe up a debut launched below his earlier title, Beverly Copeland, recorded previous to the artist’s gender transition.
The story of adversity saved me, however the music stopped me. “Color of Anyhow” evokes the whole lot that I bear in mind as a ’70s youngster falling in love with the simplicity of singer-songwriters possessing wealthy, hypnotic voices thickened by triumphs (and the troubles that initiated them.) For followers of Tracy Chapman, Joni Mitchell, and Judy Collins.
Earlier this 12 months, I found BIRTHE, a unprecedented songstress whose sound is a melting pot of Soul, R&B, Pop, Funk, and Jazz influences. Presently on the point of a exceptional breakthrough within the music scene, BIRTHE’s artistry shines via her intricate use of strings and wind devices, weaving a wealthy, evocative soundscape. Her capacity to steadiness consolation with vulnerability is nothing in need of mesmerizing, a stand out single this 12 months from her is “Strangers,” serving as a testomony to her dynamic vary. A darkish Latin pop monitor with a danceable groove, The music captures the tumult of a poisonous relationship with an introspective lens, delivering each heartfelt depth and irresistible rhythms. BIRTHE’s uncooked ardour ignites each second of the music, leaving listeners enthralled by her authenticity and depth. “Strangers” is a sensory journey that underscores her dedication to creative integrity. Along with her forthcoming album promising to delve additional into this deeply private but universally relatable narrative, BIRTHE is undoubtedly an artist to observe.
Nashville artist Davis Gestiehr might not be a brand new artist, however in 2024 he definitely made a splash, releasing a plethora of tracks (and an EP!) that caught my consideration. Most notably was “Cool With It,” a single which I believe completely sums up who the artist is. For followers of The Strokes and different early 2000’s New York artists, Gestiehr captures that very same uncooked edge and gritty tone, taking music again to the fundamentals. A standard theme all through his songs are the driving guitars and crashing percussion, which set the backdrop to his confessional lyrics.
By no means failing to supply uplifting, feel-good anthems, it’s to no shock that Gestiehr has amounted to over two million streams and counting. He has even carried out with Billie Joe Armstrong at a Inexperienced Day live performance, who said it was “probably the most memorable second of [his] total life”. If that isn’t proof sufficient that Davis Gestiehr is an artist to observe, then I don’t know what’s!
An impartial artist whose beats and sound mixtures reveal his ardour for music and manufacturing, Deacon makes use of music to seize listeners and make folks really feel good. Together with his music profession as a mission for others greater than for himself, his artwork takes an autobiographical essence, principally masking concepts, feelings, and ideas about life and love. With airs of synth-pop, digital, and pop music, Deacon has made two albums (A NEW EARTH and JUSTAKID), and has additionally collaborated with artists resembling Nina Nesbitt, Loren Grey, and Jack Rucker. Not solely is Deacon the kid of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe, but additionally and extremely a younger singer and producer who’s tries to find sounds and share love and emotions via his thriving music profession.
I made an actual push to find new jazz acts this 12 months, and after attending the festivals in Montreal, Burlington and Washington, DC— to not point out a number of additional venues in New Orleans, Boston, Paris, and different cities— it’s honest to say I had already managed to achieve that regard by the point December got here round. Nonetheless, I’m very grateful to have squeezed in one other nice jazz artist discovery within the ultimate month of the 12 months: Dion Berardo! He’s a real Mediterranean native, having been born in Campobasso, Italy and raised in Megara, Greece. He now could be based mostly in New York Metropolis, although, and has been acting at a number of venues round city there these previous few weeks (Pi Bakerie, the Zin Home, and the Rum Bar) for the needs of constructing anticipation for the discharge of his new LP, All in My Head, which lastly got here out on December seventeenth.
All I can say is: The anticipation was definitely justified! All in My Head options 12 pleasant preparations of assorted lengths, every one in every of which showcases Berrardo’s spectacular abilities on the electrical jazz guitar. He’s additionally accompanied by his backing organist, Tommaso Perazzo, and drummer, Marcello Cardillo, who’ve lengthy carried out collectively as a trio. Their seasoned in-studio chemistry shines all through— as I write this, with the monitor “Gone With the Wind,” Dion’s delicate guitar taking part in has simply given solution to Marcello’s masterful work on the drums; spectacular stuff! I’m very completely happy to have encountered Dion Berrardo’s work simply in time to incorporate him in our piece on the “Greatest Artist Discoveries of 2024” piece and hope to see him carry out in live performance some day— if he makes it a bit of bit north of his present hometown of New York as much as my present hometown of Boston, you may undoubtedly rely me in for that one!
I had heard about Doechii a number of months in the past, however didn’t actually take heed to her music till I noticed her efficiency on Colbert. It is extremely thrilling to see an rising rapper who places a lot effort into her reside present. To be clear, Doechii isn’t a brand new artist. She has been releasing music for years, however has not too long ago acquired a considerable amount of recognition for her mixtape, “Alligator Bites By no means Heal.” Doechii’s lyrics are concurrently uncooked and intelligent, sustaining a eager sense of contemporary relevance with out ever attempting to be too fashionable. Her music is nice by itself, however its genius is elevated via her reside choreography. Her latest performances on Colbert and Tiny Desk present Doechii’s dedication to her artistry each via her musical efficiency and stage presence. Her leading edge lyrics mixed with 90’s impressed hip-hop preparations create an extremely contemporary sound, which I hope continues to develop in 2025.
Originally from Michigan and of Taiwanese descent, Elephante is now based mostly in Los Angeles and pursuing a profession as a DJ/producer after a earlier stint within the company world turned out to be not his calling. He’s now a number of years and albums deep into his music profession – his first LP got here out in 2016 and he’d made loads of remixes for different artists earlier than then – but it surely’s honest to say that he’s hit as nice of a inventive stride as ever earlier than with the discharge of his newest album, COPE.
Because the title suggests, this album has primarily been made for therapeutic functions (“Every of the songs is a unique method to coping,” Elephante explains). However regardless of how issues are going on your life, there’s loads to understand throughout this 10-track package deal launched final month. Heck, right here I’m, fortunately having fun with my winter trip in Lake Tahoe, and I discover myself loads impressed by the entire encouraging messages Elephante has tucked into right here for these whose spirits may have a bit of uplifting (“When the world is at its finish and the darkish’s about to win, all isn’t misplaced… ’trigger I bought you,” as an illustration). His work as a beat-maker impresses again and again, and the entire indie singers he’s introduced aboard (Olivia Ridgely, Linney, Amber Liu, babyidontlikeyou, and so forth.) flip in mesmerizing vocal work, one after the opposite. In the long run, I can “say it like i imply it” (to paraphrase the opening monitor’s title) once I say that COPE represents a significant emotional journey and a serious creative assertion on Elephante’s half.
This band fell into my lap out of the blue, and I’m so grateful (shout out to Tom Avis from Terrorbird Media). Their debut album, Feats of Engineering, launched in September, is so delightfully obscure in each approach. My preliminary impression felt like I used to be in a dingy basement, taking part in low-quality fantasy laptop video games, listening to one thing my ears mustn’t expertise. Bailey and Al have a playful relationship, creating their very own universe and be sure you are aside of it. Their debut file is vibrant, buoyant, and an ideal soundtrack to bop or sulk into insanity.
Freya McKee has a tender melodic voice that actually captures the messages she conveys via her music. She has actually perfected a fragile steadiness of the whimsy, shoe-gaze like dream pop sound – which I really like. I’ve personally been swept away by the flawless method wherein McKee is ready to intersect each her love for trend and music. In actual fact, the discharge of her first EP, Lychee Juice, coincided with the discharge of her SS24 assortment.
My private favourite music from the EP is “Lychee.” The music itself has such a coronary heart wrenching vulnerability, with lyrics about life that I personally am in a position relate to. That is in a approach comforting to me. Which is why I’m at all times wanting ahead to McKee’s releases; whether or not that be trend, music or each.
Hemlocke Springs is a kind of TikTok success tales that I hope we’ll proceed to listen to about. Others embody Corook and FLYANABOSS. After the North Carolina-based artist posted what she referred to as “the weirdest bridge you’ll ever hear in ur total life” in late October 2022, she rapidly realized that six million folks discovered the snippet of her music “girlfriend” bizarre in the suitable approach.
Being instantly thrust right into a music profession didn’t shake Springs from her capacity to jot down these bizarre (and really catchy songs) at will, which embody “Sever The Blight,” a 2023 single that I didn’t spend time with till this 12 months when its rightfully costly music video was launched. I didn’t know if Hemlocke might carry the synthy, digital beat-driven rock that helps her completely raspy pop vocals to a different degree. Good luck getting away from the refrain on this one!
Iress’ newest album, Sleep Now, In Reverse, perfects the artwork of captivation. Slowly sinking, the doom-infused rock soundscape surrounds you, swallowing you complete as you give up below its weight. Heavy, pulsing drumming maps a sonic path as a refined, haunting voice navigates her approach via layers of textured noise throughout the heavy, brooding ambiance.
Regardless of my latest discovery of their existence, the LA-based outfit is way from new to the scene. Launched earlier this 12 months, the 10-track file is a fruits of their earlier work, originating again to their 2010 formation by frontwoman Michelle Malley. The 4-piece welcomes newcomers and longtime followers alike to let go, totally immersing themselves within the expertise that’s Iress.
Hailing from Yorkshire, UK, Isabella Storm is a powerhouse artist that made waves in 2024 with the discharge of her fiery and unapologetic single, “CryBaby.” Giving listeners a style of what’s but to return, the artist has revealed that there will likely be a brand new EP this 12 months, that’s set to be the proper soundtrack for anybody going via heartbreak. Her trustworthy and candid lyrics are refreshing, oozing with confidence and sass. Storm’s music is empowering and motivating, as she reminds listeners of their value and encourages them to reside their most genuine, badass selves.
Having already confirmed herself as a drive to be reckoned with, she is the proper new artist for a era craving authenticity. Isabella Storm isn’t afraid to say it how it’s, and “CryBaby” demonstrates simply that. Described as an “aries scorned,” be ready to witness extra of her daring, passionate and brave anthems.
Jordaan Mason and their ensemble of musical horses have one main album launch to their collective title – ‘Divorce Attorneys I Shaved My Head’. It’s a powerful hear. A very powerful hear. Not as a result of it’s trite, or options lacklustre performances, however as a result of it’s brutal. It’s an album uncooked from crying, hoarse from screaming, bloody from bludgeoning itself out of frustration time and time once more. Thematically, it tackles the bewilderment and despondency of trasngender dwelling, from the desperation to be identifiable as something, to the dread and battle of intimacy. There are lyrics that ground you with how candid they’re, and there are others that swell with profundity and double-meaning; ‘I want to have a phrase with you’, or ‘our our bodies will likely be avalanches’ ring round my head commonly. I believe it’s an extremely essential album. It sheds gentle upon not only a mode of dwelling that calls for extra discourse, but it surely proffers, with out reticence or forgiveness, a perspective on it that’s unfamiliar, and completely awkward to deal with. I might advocate it to anybody for that cause, however with the caviat that it ought to be approached with warning – be sure you your self are in a very good place earlier than making an attempt ‘Divorce Attorneys I Shaved My Head’, you’ll be flummoxed by unbated feeling.
While the Belfast rap trio has been making music for someday now, 2024 was actually a breakout 12 months for Kneecap. Along with their new album High quality Artwork, a biopic depicting the early days of the Irish rap group helped increase their picture much more. Kneecap’s use of the Irish language is revolutionary, being a few of the first to rap in Gaeilge, whereas additionally inspiring a brand new era of Irish youth and folks with Irish heritage to begin studying the native language.
Whereas Kneecap’s existence and determination to rap in Irish is inherently political, the songs themselves are complete bangers. It’s laborious to take heed to one thing like “I’m Flush” or “Love Making” and never wish to social gathering. Even songs which have extra easy messages, calling for a united Eire, like “H.O.O.D.” or “Responsible Conscience,” are good for moshpits and banging again pints.
One day, I wrote a listing of recent bands to look into. Generally I play a roulette sport and choose ones that I believe could also be cool, and, it simply so occurs, I turned out to be proper about this one. Letters Despatched House is an alternate rock band from Germany consisting of Emily Paschke on vocals, Lara Ripke on bass, Robin Werner on guitar and Louis Schramm on drums. They play a very dynamic mixture of rock with huge, infectious melodies, introspective lyrics and hard-hitting manufacturing. They launched their debut album, “Eternally Undone,” this spring, and it’s filled with dynamic, atmospheric tones that shift between ethereal rhythm and gritty, distortion-laden reverb.
What’s so compelling about this band is its capacity to volley between tender, softer moments and driving, full-throttle rock. Tracks like “Request Denied” showcases Letters Despatched Dwelling’s knack for relatability and depth in the identical package deal. It’s a music that, to me, appears like being shocked that you haven’t been granted sure demise, particularly if you’ve been depressed sufficient to begin begging for it. Paschke’s voice is such an fascinating juxtaposition to the band’s music. She appears like she could possibly be a straight-up pop singer; she’s so clear, vibrant and melodic even when she’s singing lyrics that make it’s important to hear twice as a result of they’re so starkly completely different from the tone in her voice. This band deserves recognition past the German rock scene they’re shaking up. “Eternally Undone” is a unbelievable debut album from a band with an already-clear id and sense of goal.
An intense, sonically charged ambiance fueled by noise-infused rock, ambient pop and playful experimentation makes Lucy Kruger & The Misplaced Boys ever so addictive. Whether or not you ache for tender, finger-picked confessions or lengthy for the discharge of gritty, guitar catharsis, the Berlin-based outfit affords a treatment.
Kruger’s songwriting holds the occasional love letter awaiting postage and at different instances a puzzled roadmap to make sense of. Fall in love as intimately as her and shortly you’ll fall for her; longing to jot down her songs, ship her books, do something to make her hear and make her look deeply in the direction of you (“Heat II”). Each phrase escaping Kruger’s mouth tastes like poetry, leaving you greedy onto each syllable, each sound – till it’s gone.
Thriving throughout the house between familiarity and obscurity, their six LPs navigate shifting soundscapes in slightly below 4 hours of listening. Launched earlier this 12 months, A Human Dwelling dives into their newest exploration (and departure) of sound. By no means figuring out precisely what’s to return leaves you anxiously awaiting your subsequent repair.
When a buddy of mine despatched over Magdalena Bay’s album, Imaginal Disk, I used to be instantly sucked into the world the synth-pop duo (Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin) have been creating simply off of the album cowl alone, a younger lady (Tenenbaum) willingly and curiously wanting up in the direction of a determine, some alien, ghostly-like creature inserting a disk into the girl’s head. What lied earlier than was one of the fascinating and dynamic artists that I’ve come throughout in latest reminiscence. I believed I had heard what futuristic pop needed to provide, however Magdalena Bay’s discography is trip-inducing and transferring in a approach that I haven’t seen many artists efficiently obtain. Tenenbaum’s ethereal, floaty vocals solely strengthen the duo’s lyricism that unpack’s every kind of points that include the human expertise and Lewin’s expertise in musical engineering are in contrast to something I’ve ever heard. I hope this group will get the credit score they deserve for creating distinctive musical masterpieces as they transfer ahead within the business.
More music got here out on any given day this 12 months than throughout your entire coke-fueled binge of the Eighties. As somebody who can’t appear to search out something higher to do with their Saturday than troll Goodwill for CD jewel instances, this tidbit ought to carry me pleasure. However streaming has sucked the enjoyable out of discovering new artists in 2024. Even when YouTube grooved a fastball into my rose-colored emo wheelhouse, I couldn’t assist however really feel manipulated.
Fortunately, we will nonetheless benefit from Spirit Airways’ enterprise malpractice. Again in June, I flew to Chicago for Bummer Summer season, a proudly DIY emo fest hosted by tenmonthsummer, who simply dropped their first EP. Full disclosure: I might stan for this band even when they sucked. I take into account their singer/Twitter mouthpiece a very good buddy, worthy podcast opponent and even higher Mario Tennis companion. However destiny traces kicks ass, so please, give them your cash. Each artist on the Bummer Summer season invoice was well worth the worth of an all-expenses-spared flight, however my favourite was the one who challenged what I’ve come to count on from this scene.
Maudify calls herself Midwest emo’s reverse UNO card and I’m selecting up what she’s placing down. MAUDSTYLE filters the subgenre’s trademark twinkles via an upside-down prism that’s coloured by hyperpop, cloud rap and queer rage. Maude actually flips into scorched earth mode with her band Splitjaw, however on “Marble Studios”, she lets her softer facet inform the bullshitters to stay it the place the solar don’t shine. “You may take that concern and you’ll f* proper outta right here“. Her sticky sing-raps sync in good concord with the meteoric bathe of breakbeats and a riff that loop-de-loops just like the tail of a comet. Not even the almighty algorithm might suppress her star energy.
It’s wild for me to consider how, again in January of 2024, I had no concept who Medium Construct was – particularly contemplating simply how a lot I coated his music this 12 months! But as I wrote again in late March – across the time he launched “Understanding U Exist” – the enjoyable factor about discovering an artist a decade into his profession is that there’s a number of hours’ value of Medium Construct music to dive into. Coming throughout him through Holly Humberstone’s Instagram web page (he opened for her throughout her European tour in February and March, and later featured on an alternate model of her music, “Cocoon”), I used to be immediately enraptured and brought aback – and rapidly discovered myself falling for his candid and cathartic songwriting model.
So dive, I did – headfirst, and all the best way again to Nick Carpenter’s musical beginnings. 2016’s debut Falling Aside proved to be the beginning of one thing very particular, and subsequent information softboy (2018), roughboy (2018), and Wild (2019) all discovered him evolving as a author and performer, whereas persistently spilling his aching soul via a slew of catchy, comforting, compelling songs. Then got here the main label signing, and in 2023 he launched Well being, his first multi-track providing through slowplay/Island Data.
Whereas the entire above music is phenomenal in its personal proper, I’d be mendacity if I stated his 2024 work wasn’t my favourite – as a result of it’s, and unequivocally so. I used to be telling the entire fact earlier once I wrote that each one of many twelve songs off Medium Construct’s breathtaking 2024 masterpiece Nation might (and will) be on Atwood‘s Greatest Songs of 2024 record. It’s a testomony as a lot to Carpenter’s abilities as a singer and songwriter, as it’s to his (and producer Laiko’s) skills as a world-builder: Nation is a file of uncooked humanity, honesty, vulnerability, and connection, and these traits shine particularly vibrant on songs like “In My Room,” “Chopping Through the Nation,” “Understanding U Exist,” “Seaside Chair,” and “Stick Round.” Nation is an intimate, unfiltered, and unapologetically uncovered people rock file that highlights and embraces Carpenter’s id in a approach that his previous information, whereas private to him in their very own rights, by no means fairly completed. It’s an album filled with actual, uncooked highs and lows – moments of heartfelt confession, human connection, non secular launch, interior reckoning, soul-searching.
After which got here November’s five-track Marietta EP – an exceptional fifteen-minute coda to what has, surely, been one of many busiest – and most enjoyable – years of Medium Construct’s profession. Named after his first hometown again in Georgia, the five-track shock launch is a good, turbulent, and masterful work, house to the hard-hitting “Triple Marathon,” the haunting “Yoke,” the dynamic and dramatic “John & Lydia,” and a lot extra.
Medium Construct’s music has been my private soundtrack to a lot of 2024’s highs and lows; past making for some nice driving singalongs, his songs ache fantastically, authentically, and relentlessly – bringing out one of the best in me as he brings out one of the best in himself. Two interviews this 12 months – one in every of which discovered us connecting over our shared love of The Workplace, the opposite of which noticed him giving me some stable, much-needed home-buying recommendation – sealed the deal in making him one in every of my favourite folks within the business right this moment. Evidently, the artist I hadn’t even heard of a mere twelve months in the past will endlessly be my “prime” artist discovery of 2024.
One take a look at the lineup for the 2024 Competition Worldwide de Jazz de Montreal, and it’s clear that there’s loads of new artist discoveries to be achieved at such an occasion. One artist I’m going to present a shout-out to in that regard is Melissa Aldana, who delivered one in every of my favourite units of your entire competition along with her band, the Crash Trio, at Place des Arts on June thirtieth. On prime of her spectacular expertise on the saxophone and chemistry along with her supporting gamers, I additionally recognize how she helped to justify the phrase “worldwide” within the competition’s title, by delivering some Latin-tinged jazz charateristic of her native Chile. ¡Felicidades por una gran interpretación, Melissa!
For me, 2024 was the 12 months of Mk.gee – a singular artist whose abilities can’t be overstated. Experiencing him and his music reside was a non secular expertise; his debut LP Two Star & The Dream Police (launched in February) is a drive to be reckoned with, and has rapidly change into one in every of my favourite albums of all time – even when I did sleep on it for the primary half of the 12 months. All these months after I lastly first heard it, the file nonetheless looks like one immersive music, chopped up into twelve components. Positive, every monitor has its personal lyrical and melodic contours; its personal emotion, depth, and that means; however for me, this breathtaking album is supposed to be skilled in a single complete listening session – not damaged up into components. A singular and beautiful triumph, Two Star & The Dream Police‘s magic – and, I believe, a lot of its success – lies within the overarching journey it delivers as a full-length listening expertise, and within the soul-stirring world Mk.gee deftly crafts for his viewers.
In actual fact, I’ve discovered that each Mk.gee music – from those on this album, to his more moderen tracks “Lonely Flight” and “ROCKMAN,” and all the best way again to 2020’s A Museum of Contradiction and 2018′ Pronounced McGee – incorporates multitudes, and each second is value revisiting 5, ten, and twenty instances, as you are taking increasingly more away from Mk.gee’s cryptic, cathartic, and all-consuming artwork.
I have change into a child metalhead over the previous two years. I discover myself voraciously consuming steel music and its subgenres; there’s something so unexpectedly calming about listening to it. I believe as a result of it permits me to channel and cathart the chaos in my thoughts into one thing extra manageable. Polaris has been serving to me do this in 2024. The Sydney-based heavy steel band has been round since 2012, and I’m so sorry I solely listened to them for the primary time this 12 months.
Polaris has an electrical steadiness between laborious rock and metalcore that’s broadly accessible to greater than only a steel viewers. Their most up-to-date album, 2023’s Fatalism, is each sonically intense and emotionally reducing; the music “Nightmare,” my favourite by them, exemplifies this steadiness in one of the best ways. It’s lyrically dextrous in describing themes of social indifference and the implications of apathy. There’s an added layer of disappointment to this music because it was the final recorded with Polaris guitarist Ryan Siew earlier than he handed away unexpectedly. That information makes this monitor resonate all of the extra. Polaris is a beacon of resilience inside metalcore proper now, adept at channeling their private and collective challenges into highly effective songcraft.
Once once more, the facility of the web impacts my life in significant methods, and I used to be formally launched to Ratboys via a video gushing about their discography. Having heard this discography now, I can safely say that the gushing was warranted. I’m tremendous impressed at how basic but trendy they sound, with their highly effective indie rock mixing all sorts of sounds from emo, Americana, punk, various nation, and so many different disparate issues in-between. One other nice asset to their artistry? Their character. Every music carry a lot life-like vitality, from euphoric rock-outs to slow-burning comedowns. Guitarist/singer/songwriter Julia Steiner’s lyrics maintain tales from all kinds of locations starting from childhood experiences (on tracks like “Anj” off of Printer’s Satan and “Elvis is within the Freezer” from GN) to later-in-life snapshots (resembling “The Window” from The Window or “Management” off of GN), whereas the remainder of the band – Dave Sagan on lead guitar, Sean Neumann on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Marcus Nuccio on drums and percussion – rips via them along with her with tons of pleasure, ardour, and synchronicity. Critically, it’s spectacular how nicely the four-piece gell collectively, with their layered songs coming alive in such diverse methods. It’s tremendous laborious to not fall in love with Ratboys, whose origins in underground school rock scenes give them the aura of chill folks that you just’d love to hold with. It has change into one in every of my life objectives to satisfy the quartet. My sincerest apologies for catching wind of them this late, however I’m completely happy to be aboard!
The total Sly Jr. undertaking looks like a particular deal with for the actual followers – not least since you really needed to be taking note of even know this music existed! The solo undertaking of Sir Sly’s Landon Jacobs finds him channeling his band’s signature angst-fueled sound into new terrain as he unpacks his life’s present chapter – exploring themes like marriage, fatherhood, sobriety, and religion with a fine-toothed lyrical comb and soul-stirring, emotionally charged melodies. He’s launched a powerful, veritable trove of music since debuting with the stunningly weak “piggy financial institution” in January – placing out a debut album, the ten-track procreation, in July, and much more singles this fall.
Fortunately, a nonexistent advertising and marketing finances couldn’t maintain me from discovering – and subsequently falling in love with – Jacobs’ breathtaking, brutally intimate new songs. Sly Jr. is an achingly uncooked triumph of the center and the soul, and in case you have been ever a fan of Sir Sly, then I’m assured that, like me, you’ll fall headfirst in love with its son, Sly Jr.
Meet Sone, a boundary-blurring singer-songwriter whose journey from the colourful streets of New York to the cultural heartbeat of Hamburg has formed her into a very distinctive artist. Rooted in her classical opera coaching but unafraid to embrace alt-indie sensibilities, Sone’s music brims with uncooked emotion and an uncanny capacity to search out magnificence in life’s shadows. Her newest single “Blissful” is a testomony to her present for storytelling – a cathartic anthem that navigates the darkness however finally celebrates gentle and happiness. With a voice as versatile as her influences and a knack for crafting melodies that linger, Sone is an artist destined to captivate hearts worldwide.
I would as soon as once more prefer to commend my buddy, my non secular shaman of a few years now, the YouTube algorithm. There are some recondite depths that I might by no means have the ability to traverse unassisted. There are some troves of jewelry that my arms merely usually are not lengthy sufficient to scour the underside of. However in these most recluse vertices, the brightest, most flawless gems reside. The probability of me having found Supreme Particles by my very own alternative is innominate, however very low. This one is one other blessing.
My understanding is that Mild as Pores and skin was composed to be used as looped incidental music for the tunnel connecting terminals A and B at Frankfurt Worldwide Airport, which is sensible. It’s a work that travels, and doesn’t. It’s a collage of soundscapes: birds warble, chimes glimmer, chimeras of synth dialogue drone, glide, and bleet; motions blur, full landscapes envisioned seen, however fleeting, melting into each other. Each gesture is evocative – it’s certainly one of the redolent ambient information I’ve ever encountered – alluring, but liminal; the album is at all times simply past exact description. It’s a dream, and one I uncover one thing new in each time. I ponder if folks holidaying from Frankfurt Worldwide Airport would have had journeys that lived as much as how enchanting their stroll to their terminal would have been.
All all through 2024, I managed to find proficient musicians from many components of Africa. That features the Nigerian group Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, who I noticed on the Burlington Jazz Competition; a Malian/Senegalese/Ivorian trio on the Somerville Theatre; and the Namibian rapper Lioness, whose album If Not In This Life was one in every of my favourite indie discoveries for Atwood this 12 months. One act I definitely have so as to add to that record earlier than the 12 months Th&o. (pronounced “Thando”) of Johannesburg, South Africa, who simply put out his newest file, Emlotheni, final month. “This album to me is a sequence of tales from my coronary heart to yours,” he says.“Tales of unrequited love and burned hearts.”
Placing the half-hour into listening to these tales being advised throughout 9 tracks is completely value it. Alongside the best way, you’ll be uncovered to Th&o.’s elegant vocals and the multi-textured instrumentals he’s laid beneath them– R&B and funk are given a definite African taste and digital contact when blended collectively right here. The extra inventive merchandise he’s hooked up to this launch are value testing as nicely – they embody the quick movie to “Esuku,” and the music video to “Night time Until Daybreak” – in all my years of watching music movies, I can’t say throughout too many clips that include a sequence of pen drawings mapping out the music’s lyrics. Nifty idea! I may give Emlotheni a heat and heartfelt suggestion.
There’s a lot I might say about Leyland Kirby’s alias, often known as The Caretaker. Concurrently, there’s a lot I might say that already proliferates music boards and journalistic publications throughout the web, so I’ll endeavour to not reproduce any beleaguered factors. The Caretaker’s repute has burgeoned into unfathomable acclaim and imponderable swathes of critique. That is majorly attributable to ‘In every single place at The Finish of Time’, an assiduous undertaking that strives to characterize the ravaging decline of Alzheimer’s via music. By way of this, and all of the commentary that grew to become laborious to disregard on YouTube and the like, I prevented this album and artist for a really very long time. Movies of individuals cradling their heads, or breaking down into tears reside on digital camera, or essayistic unsolicited opinions scattered right here, there and in every single place actually put me off. Furthermore, it struck me as one thing I might should be actually prepared to satisfy. Alzheimer’s is, clearly, a deeply distressing subject. Having identified of and witnessed folks struggling with dementia, I used to be intimidated. Finally, the repute overcame my hesitancy – I used to be going to wish to take heed to it in some unspecified time in the future, as a ceremony of passage.
I might advise these piqued to begin with ‘An Empty Bliss Past This World’. It’s an accessible entry level that additionally provides an perception into the digital manipulation, sampling, and turntablism to count on from The Caretaker. With this preparation, I lastly embarked upon the trek that’s ‘In every single place at The Finish of Time’. Firstly, it’s gargantuan, encumbered by a run-time of six-and-a-half hours. I truthfully tried to take heed to it in a single go, however I needed to concede and break it into manageable chunks. To maintain this temporary, was it as terrifying and life-altering as folks made it out to be? Perhaps. Basically, it’s great, daring ambient music. Using leitmotif and reiterative melody are compelling and genuinely generate emotions of loss and longing. The gradual descent into skittish, clipping, guttural cacophony, earlier than bleak abyssal vacancy is poignant. It’s undeniably efficient, but it surely didn’t smash my 12 months. I might sleep afterwards. I might brush my enamel with out falling right into a pit of destitution and ennui. I believe the efficiency of the album has been laboured, however that’s not the fault of the composer. It’s an excellent album, that achieves what it needed to successfully. I believe it’s one other crucial composition, I might merely advise folks to not concern it as a lot as I did.
One of my predominant objectives this 12 months, so far as music discovery went, was to immerse myself on this planet of Southeast Asian various rock, a wealthy and burgeoning scene in its personal proper, but seldom acknowledged by its abroad counterparts. That was once I found The Cassette, a Vietnamese indie rock four-piece out of Đà Nẵng, a verdant, coastal metropolis in Central Vietnam. Very similar to town they’re based mostly in, the band’s sound is dynamic and ever-evolving, unearthing a lush, musical treasure trove hidden in plain sight.
The Cassette launched their sophomore LP, Từ Vực Thẳm Đến Rìa Ánh Sáng (which roughly interprets to From the Abyss to the Fringe of Mild) in April of this 12 months, showcasing a various 10 tracks infused with basic rock and pop ballad influences. Guitarist-vocalist Trần Hoài Thân’s wealthy and soulful voice effortlessly traverses the sentimental and somber throughout punchy drama and heat, downtempo melodies. There’s no denying that The Cassette has carved a distinct segment for themselves domestically, and we will solely hope that their future continues increasing as one of the riveting new indie rock acts out of Southeast Asia.
Another TikTok scrolling session introduced the music of Vaticanjail into my life. Her TikTok publish was captioned, “producing my very own music so it sounds precisely how I imagined it in my head” and the Chilean-born, Dublin-based artist’s music “Angel” (launched Nov. 29, 2024) sounds as intimate and world as she describes.
Perhaps not this globe, nevertheless. Assume Ariana Grande’s vocals filtered via the lightheaded dream of a cartoon membership scene. It’s barely intimidating through its insistent pulse however immersive and heat concurrently. I don’t like being intoxicated, however I really like being tipsy. “Angel” introduced me to that place.
Wisp is one other artist I’m completely happy to have found this 12 months. The 20-year-old singer has such a haunting and whimsy voice that pairs particularly nicely with the rock instrumentals that appear to be attribute of her sound. I believe it’s why she has continued to develop such a gentle and robust base of listeners. My private favourite music is “Your Face.” Once more one other music that’s each emotional, and coronary heart wrenching. As I’ve been coping with grief, I’ve discovered consolation within the dreamy, and melancholic voice and lyrics by Wisp.
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