A Year in Music | 2024
Lists are often approached with a certain sense of cynicism and for good reason—things are left out, biases are exposed, varying pressures assumed. For me, list making has always been a way in which to understand my vantage point within a complex media landscape and as a way to take in and appreciate each year as it goes by with intention. It’s also a very effective way to account for the obsessive amount of music I take in each year. As a graphic designer a lot of my time is spent at the computer and during that time I am usually listening to music. The lists that follow are albums that came out in 2024 that I spent the most time with, enjoyed the most, and/or thought were the most compelling/groundbreaking. The albums in these lists are considered to be personal favorites, as opposed to what I think is the best. There’s nothing definitive here. I try not to repeat any artist in order to include more variety. I don’t use streaming services. The links for these albums will go directly to their Bandcamp pages. If the artist doesn’t have a Bandcamp page, you can search for the music yourself. I hope you enjoy!
50 ALBUMS |10 SONGS | 25 EPS | YEAR END MIXES | SOUNDTRACKS | ETC
50 ALBUMS
1.
Sumac
The Healer
Thrill Jockey
2.
Charli XCX
BRAT
Atlantic
3.
E L U C I D
REVELATOR
Fat Possum
4.
Amaro Freitas
Y’Y
Psychic Hotline
5.
The Smile
Wall of Eyes / Cutouts
XL
6.
Beings
There is a Garden
No Quarter
7.
Kim Gordon
The Collective
Matador
8.
Colin Stetson
The love it took to leave you
Envision
9.
the body
The Crying Out of Things
Thrill Jockey
10.
Spekki Webu
HoxV 2: Phylogenetic Analysis
Amniote Editions
11.
Jlin
Akoma
Planet Mu
12.
Brittany Howard
What Now
Island
13.
Moin
You Never End
AD 93
14.
A.G. Cook
Britpop
New Alias
15.
Amen Dunes
Death Jokes/Death Jokes II
Sub Pop
16.
Paysage d’Hiver
Die Berge
Kunsthall Produktionen
17.
VA
TRANSA: A Red Hot Production
Red Hot Org
18.
#000000
<#000000
self-released
19.
Shellac
To All Trains
Touch & Go
20.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
”NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD”
Constellation
21.
Kali Uchis
ORQUÍDEAS
Capitol
22.
Tyler, The Creator
Chromokopia
Columbia
23.
Mount Eerie
Night Palace
P. W. Elverum & Sun
24.
DJ Anderson do Paraíso
Queridão
Nyege Nyege Tapes
25.
Uniform
American Standard
Sacred Bones
26.
Floating Points
Cascade
Ninja Tune
27.
Cindy Lee
Diamond Jubilee
self-released
28.
Xiu Xiu
13” Frank Deltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips
Polyvinyl
29.
The Cure
Songs of a Lost World
Fiction
30.
Mannequin Pussy
I Got Heaven
Epitaph
31.
Spirit of the Beehive
YOU’LL HAVE TO LOSE SOMETHING
Saddle Creek
32.
Beth Gibbons
Lives Outgrown
Domino
33.
Ben Frost
Scope Neglect
Mute
34.
Nicolas Jaar
Piedras 1 & 2
Other People
35.
Reyna Tropical
Malegría
Psychic Hotline
36.
Skee Mask
ISSO10
Ilian Tape
37.
Bríi
Camaradagem Póstuma
self-released
38.
musclecars
Sugar Honey Iced Tea!
BBE Music
39.
Oranssi Pazuzu
Muuntautuja
Nuclear Blast
40.
Low End Activist
Municipal Dreams
Sneaker Social Club
41.
Father John Misty
Mahashmashana
Sub Pop
42.
Tashi Wada
What is Not Strange?
RVNG Intil.
43.
Infant Island
Obsidian Wreath
Deathwish
44.
Adrianne Lenker
Bright Future
4AD
45.
Oren Ambrachi, Johan Berthling, Andreas Werliin
Ghosted II
Drag City
46.
Squarepusher
Dostrotime
Warp
47.
Billie Eilish
Hit Me Hard and Soft
Interscope
48.
Alan Sparhawk
White Roses, My God
Sub Pop
49.
Chris Corsano
The Key (Became the Important Thing [and Then Just Faded Away])
Drag City
50.
Ben Seretan
jesus was a slot machine (my big break 2023)
self-released
10 SONGS
1.
Armand Hammer
”Doves” [f- Benjamin Booker]
© Backwoodz Studioz
2.
Joshua Idehen
”Mum Does the Washing”
© Big Wednesday
3.
Charli XCX
”Everything is Romantic”
© Atlantic
4.
Joy Orbison
”flight fm”
© XL
5.
Bon Iver
”Speyside”
© Jagjaguwar
6.
Aphex Twin
”Rhubarb Orc. 19.53 Rev”
© Warp
7.
Mannequin Pussy
”I Got Heaven”
© Epitaph
8.
Objekt
”Ganzfeld (Djrum Remix)”
© Kapsela
9.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
”GREY RUBBLE—GREEN SHOOTS”
© Constellation
10.
A.G. Cook
”Luddite Factory Operator” [f- Alaska Reid]
© New Alias
25 EPS
1.
Armand Hammer
Doves 12”
Backwoodz Studioz
2.
Sumac
The Keeper’s Tongue
Thrill Jockey
3.
Djrum
Meaning’s Edge EP
Houndstooth
4.
Bon Iver
SABLE,
Jagjaguwar
5.
Olof Dreijer
Coral EP
AD 93
6.
My Heart, an Inverted Flame
The Frail Parish
Tumult Records
7.
Verraco
Breathe… Godspeed
Timedance
8.
Spekki Webu & Feral
Kentaga EP
Aube Rouge
9.
Villager
Sculptor EP
Pretty Weird
10.
Burial
Dreamfear / Boy Sent From Above
XL
11.
Objekt
Ganzfeld
Kapsela
12.
Maoupa Mazzocchetti
Cilicio
TraTraTrax
13.
Olof Dreijer & Diva Cruz
Brujas
Dekmantel
14.
Joshua Idehen
Mum Does the Washing EP
self-released
15.
Moses Sumney
Sophcore
Tuntum
16.
Rhyw
Melt in Unison
Fever AM
17.
Wata Igarashi
WIP09
self-released
18.
Fatboi Sharif x Roper Williams
Something About Shirley
Fused Arrow Records
19.
Liv.e
PAST FUTUR.e
self-released
20.
Simo Cell
Simo Live Cuts I
Livity Sound
21.
Bill Orcutt
The Four Louies
Fake Estates
22.
Terry Cotta
She’s Eclectic / Running
Peder Mannerfelt Produktion
23.
Objekt
Chicken Garaage
Kapsela
24.
JD. REID
sometimes i wonder 001–002
self-released
25.
bergsonist
Exploitation Occident
self-released
YEAR END MIXES
0:00:00 - The Primitives “The Ostrich (2024 Remaster)”
0:02:26 - Cindy Lee “GAYBLEVISION”
0:05:22 - The Olivia Tremor Control “The Same Place”
0:08:35 - Spirit of the Beehive “SORRY PORE INJECTOR”
0:13:21 - Fountaines D.C. “Starburster”
0:17:01 - Billie Eilish “The Diner”
0:19:55 - Mannequin Pussy “Nothing Like”
0:24:02 - Charli XCX “Everything’s Romantic” [f- Caroline Polachek, prod. Easyfun, El Guincho & A. G. Cook]
0:27:23 - The Cure “All I Ever Am”
0:32:38 - Contour “Seasonal”
0:35:38 - MJ Lenderman “She’s Leaving You”
0:40:15 - Jesse Welles “United Health”
0:41:41 - Adrienne Lenker “Sadness as a Gift”
0:45:53 - Cindy Lee “Always Dreaming”
0:49:28 - Animal Collective “Kids on Holiday”
0:56:00 - Ben Seretan “Every Morning is a”
0:59:08 - Willie Nelson “Do You Realize??” [Flaming Lips cover]
1:02:17 - Father John Misty “Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose”
1:07:20 - Bon Iver “AWARDS SEASON”
1:12:00 - Brittany Howard “Samson”
1:17:16 - A. G. Cook “Pink Mask” [f- Alaska Reid]
1:21:56 - Beings “Do Come Again”
1:28:21 - The Smile “Bodies Laughing”
2024 Year End Summations, Pt. 1
We All Got Work to Do
0:00:00 - Spekki Webu x Heliobolus “Passage of the Living”
0:04:09 - Xiu Xiu “Piña, Coconut & Cherry”
0:08:54 - Amen Dunes “Purple Land”
0:13:42 - james K “Blinkmoth (July Mix)”
0:20:27 - Low End Activist “Innocence”
0:23:51 - Mount Eerie “Breaths”
0:27:20 - Moin “C’mon Dive”
0:30:44 - Burial “Dreamfear” [pt. 1]
0:39:38 - Nikki Nair “Catenate”
0:45:04 - Inerit “APDS”
0:53:16 - Burial “Dreamfear” [pt. 2]
0:55:12 - Jlin “Borealis” [f- Björk]
0:59:18 - Chris Corsano “Everything I Tried to Understand Wasn’t Understandable at All”
1:04:58 - Black Artist Group “For Peace and Liberty Part 2”
1:11:27 - Can “Paris 73 Zwei”
1:20:47 - Amaro Freitas “Sonho Ancestral”
1:25:36 - L’Rain “People Are Small/Rapture”
1:34:45 - Mount Eerie “I Spoke With a Fish”
1:37:51 - claire rousay “lover’s spit plays in the background (M. Sage remix)”
1:41:48 - Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling & Andreas Werliin “en”
1:51:07 - The Smile “Colours Fly”
1:55:38 - Godspeed You! Black Emperor “SUN IS A HOLE SUN IS VAPORS”
2:01:02 - Tashi Wada “Plume”
2:07:19 - Beth Gibbons “Lost Changes”
2:12:43 - Uniform “American Standard (Nightmare City Mix)”
2:26:16 - Floating Points “Ablaze”
2024 Year End Summations, Pt. 2
…and the next and the next and all the following
0:00:00 - The Lord † “Fahrenheit 451: The Reading”
0:03:49 - Infant Island “Vestygian”
0:10:20 - Cult of Luna “Tannhäuser” [Refused cover]
0:19:58 - Uniform “Clemency”
0:27:47 - Ben Frost “The River of Light and Radiation”
0:32:36 - the body & Dis Fig “Holy Lance”
0:36:25 - Mannequin Pussy “Of Her”
0:37:54 - Shellac “Chick New Wave”
0:40:14 - Moin “Happy in the Wrong Way”
0:44:28 - Oranssi Pazuzu “Bioalkemisti”
0:49:59 - Kim Gordon “The Believers”
0:54:32 - Bríi “Enlutados”
1:01:13 - Ghost Dubs “Chemical Version”
1:06:39 - #000000 “#131412”
1:12:48 - Paysage d’Hiver “Urgrund”
1:31:06 - the body “All Worries”
1:36:36 - Colin Stetson “Strike your forge and grin”
1:58:21 - Sumac “The Stone’s Turn”
2024 Year End Summations, Pt. 3
Such Brutal Honesty
0:00:00 - Quelle Chris & Cavalier “We Gon’ Need Each Other” [f- Brooklyn Zee, Che’dra Joseph, Paul Freedom & Nick Davio]”
0:02:06 - Sampha “Satellite Business 2.0” [f- Little Simz]
0:06:55 - Tyler the Creator “Take Your Mask Off” [f- Daniel Caesar]
0:11:03 - Mavi “Too Much to Zelle”
0:13:04 - Doechii “BULLFROG” [prod. Stoic & Mai]
0:14:35 - MF Doom “One Beer (Madlib Remix)”
0:17:14 - Mach-Hommy “COPY COLD” [f- Black Thought, prod. Quelle Chris]
0:20:58 - ELUCID “IKEBANA” [prod. ELUCID & Jon Nellen]
0:24:21 - Florentino x Martyn Bootyspoon “Gas Station”
0:27:59 - DJ Anderson do Paraíso “PATY TREM BARBIE” [f- Mc Magrella]
0:29:52 - Reyna Tropical “Conocerla”
0:33:37 - Kali Uchis “Diosa”
0:36:08 - Moses Sumney “I’m Better (I’m Bad)”
0:40:57 - Nicolas Jaar “Aquí”
0:45:32 - Low End Activist “Just a Number (Institutionalised)
0:50:04 - Squarepusher “Akkranen”
0:55:25 - Joshua Idehen “Mum Does the Washing”
0:59:16 - musclecars “Dream Boy”
1:01:51 - JD. REID “where the flowers grow” [f- Joe Armon-Jones]
1:05:19 - GloRilla “Wanna Be (Remix)” [f- Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion]
1:09:03 - Cash Cobain “problem” [f- 6LACK, Anycia, Big Sean, Chow Lee, Don Q, Fabolous, Flee, Flo Milli, Kaliii, Kenzo B, Lay Bankz, Luh Tyler, Rob49 & YN Jay]
1:16:42 - 070 Shake “Into Your Garden”
1:21:01 - musclecars “Hello?”
1:25:50 - Nala Sinephro “Continuum 10”
2024 Year End Summations, Pt. 4
Let’s Talk About it
0:00:00 - John Perry “Sense in the Non-Rational”
0:00:15 - Kelela “Closure (Flexulant x BAMBII Remix)” [f- Rahrah Gabor & Brazy]
0:04:29 - Verraco “Godspeed >”
0:07:32 - Low End Activist “Self Destruction”
0:11:44 - Objekt “Chicken Garaage”
0:17:52 - Djrum “Frekm pt. 2”
0:24:22 - Lechuga Zafiro “Agua de Vidrio”
0:28:19 - WTCHCRFT “What Do You Call a Flood?”
0:31:49 - Yaeji “booboo”
0:35:14 - HiTech “SPANK!”
0:37:32 - Spekki Webu & Feral “Uruk”
0:42:04 - Kode9 “Death Rattle”
0:46:01 - Jlin “Speed of Darkness”
0:51:01 - Rhyw “Lavalantula”
0:54:25 - Lila Tirando a Violeta x Sin Maldita “All Day I Hear the Noise of Waters (Verraco Remix)”
0:58:01 - Lila Tirando a Violeta “Unworthy Praise”
1:01:30 - Floating Points “Vocoder (Club Mix)”
1:05:43 - Disclosure “Arachnids (Extended Mix)”
1:10:41 - Skee Mask “Small Stone S700”
1:15:27 - Joy Orbison “flex fm (freddit) [f- Lil Yachty, Future, Playboi Carti]”
1:19:34 - Overmono x The Streets “Turn the Page”
1:23:23 - Lechuga Zafiro “Encauce Destellante”
1:27:23 - Villager “Floating”
2024 Year End Summations, Pt. 5
Communication with a Memory
SOUNDTRACKS
AraabMuzik
AGGRO DR1FT
Milan
Daniel Blumberg
The Brutalist
Milan
Ben Salisbury & Geof Barrow
Civil War
A24 Music
Thom Yorke
Confidenza
XL
Trent Reznor + Atticus Ross
Challengers
Milan
Eiko Ishibashi
Evil Does Not Exist
Drag City
Trent Reznor + Atticus Ross
Queer
Milan
Alex G / VA
I Saw the TV Glow
A24 Music
Speakers Corner Quartet
Mr. Loverman
OTIH Records
Robin Carolan
Nosferatu
Sacred Bones
COMPILATIONS, LIVE ALBUMS, REISSUES, REMIX ALBUMS
Air Moon Safari [25th Anniversary Edition] [Virgin]
Alan Vega Insurrection [In the Red Recordings]
Alice Coltrane The Carnegie Hall Concert [Impulse!]
The American Analog Set New Drifters [Numero Group]
Angel Olsen Cosmic Waves Volume 1 [somethingcosmic]
Animal Collective Sung Tongs (Live at the Theatre at Ace Hotel) [Domino]*
Aphex Twin Didgeridoo [2024 Expanded Edition] [Warp]
Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works Volume II [2024 Reissue] [Warp]
Aphex Twin Music From The Merch Desk (2016 - 2023) [Warp]
Armand Hammer BLK LBL [Backwoodz Studios]
Bergsonist compilation vol. 1 [self-released]
Bill Callahan Resuscitate [Drag City]
Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet Four Guitars Live [Palilalia]
Black Artist Group For Peace and Liberty, In Paris Dec 1972 [Wewantsounds]
Broadcast Spell Blanket (Collected Demos 2006–2009) [Warp
Broadcast Distant Call (Collected Demos 2000–2006) [Warp]
Butthole Surfers PCPPEP [2024 Remaster] [Matador]
Butthole Surfers Psychic…. Powerless…. Another Man’s Sac [2024 Remaster] [Matador]
Butthole Surfers Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis [2024 Remaster] [Matador]
Butthole Surfers Rembrandt Pussyhorse [2024 Remaster] [Matador]
Butthole Surfers Locust Abortion Technician [2024 Remaster] [Matador]
Butthole Surfers Hairway to Steven [2024 Remaster] [Matador]
Can Live in Paris 1973 [Mute]*
Can Live in Aston 1977 [Mute]
Can Live in Keele 1977 [Mute]
Caroline Polachek Desire, I Want to Turn Into You: Everasking Edition [Perpetual Novice]
CHBB CHBB [2024 Reissue] [Soulsheriff Records]
Deerhoof The Free Triple Live Album: SO36, Berlin, February 7th, 2024 [self-released]
Galaxie 500 Uncollected Noise New York ’88–‘90 [Silver Current]
Godflesh A World Lit Only by Dub [Avalanche]
Hella The Devil Isn’t Red [20th Anniversary Remaster] [5 Rue Christine]
John Cale Paris 1919 [Remaster] [Domino]
John Cale The Academy in Peril [Remaster] [Domino]
Kelela RAVE:N, The Remixes [Warp]*
Klaus Schulze 101, Milky Way [SPV]
Laraaji Glimpses of Infinity [Numero Group]
The Lord † Worship: Bernard Herrmann Tribute [Southern Lord]
Lou Reed Hudson River Wind Meditations [2024 Remaster] [Light in the Attic]
Lou Reed Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964–65 [Light in the Attic]
Majesty Crush Butterflies Don’t Go Away [Numero Group]
MF Doom MM.. Food [20 Year Anniversary Edition] [Rhymesayers Entertainment]
Miles Davis The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8: Miles in France 1963 & 1964 [Columbia]
Moth Cock HausLive 3: Chicago Twofer [Hausu Mountain]
The Mountain Goats The Coroner’s Gambit [2024 Remaster] [Merge]
Norman McLaren Rhythmetic: The Compositions of Norman McLaren [We Are Busy Bodies]
Panda Bear & Sonic Boom Reset Mariachi EP [Domino]
Pavement Cautionary Tales: Jukebox Classiques [Matador]
The Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter SAVED! The Index [Perpetual Flame Ministries]
Slint Tweez [2024 Remaster] [Touch & Go]
Sonic Youth The Wall Have Ears — Live in London 1985 [Goofin’]
Squarepusher Ultravisitor [2024 Remaster] [Warp]
Sun Ra At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976–1977 [Jazz Detective]
Sun Ra Excelsior Mill [Modern Harmonic]*
Sun Ra Inside the Light World: Sun Ra Meets the OVC [Strut]
Sun Ra Pink Elephants on Parade [2024 RSD Release] [Modern Harmonic]
Sun Ra Kingdom of Discipline [Dead Currencies]
Susumu Yokota Acid Mt. Fuji [Remastered 30th Anniversary Edition] [Sublime Records]*
Sylvester Live at the War Memorial Opera House [The Complete Recordings] [Label]
Talk Talk The Broadcast Collection [Cult Legends]
Talking Heads Talking Heads: 77 [2024 Super Deluxe Edition] [Rhino]
Throbbing Gristle TGCD1 [2024 Remaster] [Mute]
Throbbing Gristle The Third Mind Movements [2024 Remaster] [Mute]
Universal Order of Armageddon Universal Order of Armageddon [Numero Group]
Weezer Weezer 30 [Blue Album] [30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition] [Geffen]
VA Allergy Season — Hypersensitivity: A Decade of Allergy Season [Allergy Season]
VA Ambient Curation Compilation vol. 2 [Ambient Curation]
VA area127: 127VA003 [area127]
VA area127: 127VA004 [area127]
VA Arthur Baker Presents Breaker's Revenge: Original B-Boy and B-Girl Breakdance Classics 1970-84 [Soul Jazz]
VA Ayo Ke Disco: Boogie, Pop & Funk from the South China Sea (1974–88) [Soundway]
VA Beehive Breaks [Numero Group]
VA Bologna For Palestine: Non-Stop Electroacoustic Improv [Maple Death Records]
VA Cardinals at the Window: A Benefit for Flood Relief in Western North Carolina [self-released]
VA CEASEFIRE (NR Magazine) [NRFVA00FP] [NR Magazine]
VA Chromesthesia: The Color of Sound Vol. 1 [Chromesthesia]
VA Congo Funk! Sound Madness from the Shores of the Mighty Congo River (Kinshasa/Brazzaville 1969–1982) [Analog Africa]
VA Dekmantel Ten: A Decade of Dekmantel Festival [Dekmantel]
VA DJ Notoya Presents Funk Tide: Tokyo Jazz Funk From Electric Bird 1978–87 [We Want Sounds]
VA East Wind: Revolutionary Japanese Jazz in the 70s [East Wind]
VA Eccentric Soul: The Shoestring Label [Numero Group]
VA Eccentric Soul: The Tammy Label [Numero Group]
VA Eccentric Soul: The Tartar & Note Labels [Numero Group]
VA Even the Forest Hums: Ukrainian Sonic Archives 1971-1996 [Light in the Attic]
VA A HOMELAND DENIED: A Compilation for the Palestinian Liberation (Hardcore 4 Gaza Initiative) [self-released]
VA International Chromies Vol. 15 [International Chrome]
VA Jon Savage’s 1983–85: Welcome to Techno City [Ace]
VA Merciless Accelerating Rhythms (Artists United for a Free Palestine) [self-released]
VA MIAMI SOUND 2: More Funk & Soul From Miami, Florida 1967–74 [Soul Jazz]
VA Musicians for a Free Palestine [self-released]
VA Naya Beat, Vol. 2: South Asian Dance & Electronic Music 1988–1994 [Naya Beat]
VA no pare, sigue sigue 2 & 3 [TraTraTrax]
VA NTS — funk.BR - São Paulo [NTS]
VA Optimo 25 [Above Board Projects]
VA Playlist Lynchpins: Poetry, Soundbites and Field Recordings from Blurred and Obscurred [WFMU 2024 Marathon Premium] [WFMU]
VA PTP: RESIST COLONIAL POWER BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY [PTP]
VA The Shape of Punk to Come Obliterated [Epitaph]
VA STUDIO ONE POWER MIX! Super Star Sounds from the 1970s, 1980s, and Beyond [Soul Jazz]
VA Super Disco Pirata: De Tepito Para El Mundo 1965–1980 [Analog Africa]
VA Superclásico Vol. 1 [Superclásico]
VA Synthesizing the Silk Roads: Uzbek Disco, Tajik Folktronica, Uyghur Rock & Crimean Tatar Jazz from 1980s Soviet Central Asia [Ostinato Records]
VA Thank You, Dream Girl. [The Tabula Rasa Record Company]
VA Virtual Dreams II: Ambient Explorations in the House & Techno Age, Japan 1993–1999 [Music From Memory]
VA Wayfaring Strangers: Motel California (Cosmic American Music) [Numero Group]
VA We Will Stay Here: Music for Palestine (Benefit for MAP (Medical Aid For Palestinians) [Love Boat Records & Buttons]
VA You Can Be a Star! Deep Disco and Crossover 70's Soul From the Now-Again and Soul-Cal Vaults 1972–1982 [Now-Again Records]
Tools used
digital
Adobe Photoshop
Apple Pages
Apple Music app
Bandcamp
Soundcloud