My favorite music and more from 2024

I did most of my year-end discussion in my post How did my listening evolve? Spotify Wrapped 2024, but I wanted to spare a post for my favorites (subjectively, not quantitatively) of the year.

As a shortcut, I put most of the items on my lists that are available on Bandcamp in this Buy Music Club list.

Best albums of the year #

  1. SWIM - In Circles (95 listens)

    • This scratched an itch in my brain that I can’t quite explain, but SWIM was one of my most-listened-to artists of the year (2nd, with 163 listens) and this album is a big reason why. Each SWIM track in my library averaged about 4 listens per track, which is pretty high. I thought I didn’t discover him until this year, but I actually first heard him on November 16, 2020, listening to his track Love (which is a total banger). At the time, he only had 4 songs out, although he released an EP a few days later.
    • RIYL: The Blaze, Tourist
    • Tracks: In Circles, Never, Condition

  2. Caribou - Honey (71 listens)

    • This album might be on the list mostly due to the show and boiler room set. If you have the chance to see Caribou play live, don’t miss out.
    • Tracks: Volume, Come Find Me, Dear Life

  3. Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter (130 listens)

    • I’m not a country fan, mostly due to lack of exposure and interest, but I do listen to a good amount of folksy pop (? rock ?) like The Head and the Heart or Mumford and Sons, and I love a good pop song. Following on from her electronic album last year, this album kept the banging beats. With 27 tracks (at least 7 of which could be classed as interludes), there were several songs that didn’t hit for me. As a friend pointed out, the album felt more like a tour of country music than a tightly packaged album that was internally consistent. And that’s a good thing, mostly. I didn’t enjoy the Jolene cover, nor the song with Willie Nelson, but a lot of them really stuck with me. This album has skips, sure, but too many bangers to miss the top 5.
    • Tracks: Sweet Honey Buckin', II Hands II Heaven, Texas Hold Em, 16 Carriages

  4. Tinashé - Quantum Baby (41 listens)

    • It’s nice pop music, what else can I say. She’s much more than Nasty.
    • Tracks: Nasty, Getting No Sleep, No Simulation, No Broke Boys

  5. Tourist - Memory Morning (98 listens)

    • Like several other albums on this list, at least 4 tracks on this album were released before the album, which is nice because they’re excellent, but annoying as well because that meant the album itself only had 5 or 6 new tracks.
    • RIYL: Bonobo, O’Flynn, Catching Flies
    • Tracks: A Little Bit Further, Siren, EST, Valentine

  6. Jamie xx - In Waves (35 listens)

    • Jamie is a reluctant 6, mostly because while this album didn’t initially hit for me, it got there in the end for me. I think it definitely suffered from anticipation and the overfamiliarity of the early-release singles. After some separation, I could treat it more like catalog and I can respect it for what it is, which is pretty good.
    • Tracks: The Feeling I Get From You, Still Summer, All You Children

As an honorable mention, I have to put Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood on this list because I’m listening to it while I finish writing this. I only really heard about this album from Said the Gramophone’s Best of 2024 annual list, which always introduces me to some gems I wouldn’t otherwise find.

Best EPs of the year #

A list, with some vibes descriptors.

  1. DJ Heartstring - In Your Arms

    • bouncy architected dance beats, an EP of three straight upbeat rave trace-y bangers.

  2. Cameo Blush - Just Concentrate

    • fuzzy driving soaring beats, as soon as 4 Me played I was a goner.

  3. O’Flynn - Tensoon EP

    • dancey thumping beats that make you want to spin. Count You In is an aggressive banger but don’t sleep on Medjool (I whisper “dates” to myself every time I read the track name).

  4. Fennec - Nice Work Vol. 3

    • groovy house and lo-fi beats, I kept coming back to the tracks on this EP, especially Better.

  5. Baltra - Breathe Deep

    • super solid airy floaty groovy beats, they can’t compete with last year’s track Luv-N-Me for perfection but a great release. Favorite track: Good Intentions.

  6. Upper90 - DREAM CATCHER

    • ravey trancey bangers, thumpy and dark, I don’t even know how I discovered this artist but it’s such a fun time. I like the first two tracks better than the last two.

  7. Jeigo - Fig

    • One of my friends described this EP as “we have Tourist at home”, which, true and probably explains why I enjoyed it so much. I kept coming back to the title track.

  8. exxy - Heaven on Earth

    • I waffled on where to place this one because I don’t think I really listened to the full EP until this month but the emotive nature of it (reminiscent of the xx in ways) made it resonate more with me. Favorite track: Trust (Don’t Let Me)

On the bubble:

Best tracks of the year #

Some patterns you might notice in my favorite tracks: fuzzy bass, built up intensity that opens up / empties out into something anthemic. Also pop edits sorry not sorry (not ever sorry). After the first 4, the rankings are mostly arbitrary.

  1. Once Twice - Nothing’s Perfect

    • a perfectly transformed edit of BeyoncĂ©’s Love On Top, but knowing that almost spoils the joy (sorry)
    • adjectives: crunchy

  2. Silva Bumpa - When I’m With You

    • I want to dance along to this track every time I hear it
    • adjectives: melodic joy, groovy footstepping

  3. Club Angel - Cry

    • A build of a track, it soars and makes me turn into a fist bumping foot stomping bro when it hits.
    • adjectives: four-on-the-floor, persistent, whining but in a plaintive way

  4. Tom VR - Caroline Polachek - Pretty In Possible

    • Bass-driven Caroline is even better imo.
    • adjectives: deep, haunting, stretched, layered yet empty.

  5. TC4 - Joy dub

    • I discovered this artist by shazamming a track during Sammy Virji’s set at 1015 Folsom and then digging into their expansive back catalog.
    • adjectives: open drums, depth,

  6. Bicep - CHROMA 001 HELIUM

    • I accidentally bought this song twice. Bicep was my most-listened-to artist the last time they put out an album, so it’s maybe not surprising I loved their first entry back this much.
    • adjectives: glitchy

  7. TC4 - Hurt you

    • Very similar structure to “joy dub” but a different vocal sample
    • adjectives: haunting, open drums (is it the same sample as joy dub? lol)

  8. Laurence Guy - Hey Baby

    • I was like “this song is pretty good” until I heard it played out and then I was like whoa this song.
    • adjectives: repetitive, cloying, driving

  9. DJ Heartstring & SWIM - Alone Again

    • I got really into ravey trance this year I guess and two of my favorite artists of the year on a track had to be good (and it was).
    • adjectives: soaring, energetic

  10. SHEE - Close My Eyes

    • Okay so like if you listen to all of these songs in a row you start to hear the type of my music that I like.
    • adjectives: bumpin, anthemic

  11. Diffrent - A Little Closer

    • Diffrent busting onto the UKG scene like the koolaid man with this sample-based banger. Interplanetary Criminal played it out a bunch before it came out and the b-side is also good.
    • adjectives: garage, garridge

  12. Joy Orbison - flight fm

    • I started to think this track might be overrated but then I listened to it again and, nope, still great. Looking forward to coming back to it when it’s not the most overplayed electronic song of the year that isn’t by fred again..
    • adjectives: buzzing, driving

  13. Cameo Blush - Please Tell Me Why

    • Satisfying combination of dark deep beats with soaring yet pleading vocals, a head bobber of a track.
    • adjectives: soaring, bouncy, layered

  14. bastiengoat - Let me see ya

    • A bit of a departure from the rest of these tracks, this track feels more like a conversation in a living room.
    • adjectives: intimate, bouncy, lo-fi

  15. Floating Points - Birth4000

    • I didn’t even realize this was based on the Donna Summer track until embarrassingly late. This track has been inextricably linked with flight fm for me for awhile because they both have similar builds and reveals imo. I didn’t love the album, but this track is still a standout.
    • adjectives: fuzzy, satisfying, takes you on a journey

  16. Laurence Guy - Most Perfect People (Are Mostly Not Perfect)

    • a joyful house tune with echos of jangly guitar, I almost saw him play this year but didn’t make the effort to see him open (it was at the midway it was far okay).
    • adjectives: twangy, jangly, soaring, headbobby

  17. Tom VR - You’re Making My Teeth Grow Longer

    • My teeth feel the same but my ears don’t. This kind of not ambient but drone-y type music has been a closet enjoyment of mine for a couple years (see also: Aloka, Surusinghe).
    • adjectives: bouncy, pop rocks, deep, throbbing, sideways, persistent

  18. Whethan & Elley Duhé - Money on the Dash (Marlon Hoffstadt Remix)

    • Trancey rave bop, just try not to sing along.
    • adjectives: daddy, kitschy, eurodance

  19. Dresscode & Sudoo - Usually

    • It’s a catchy track that does the whole layered then open then layered pattern that really hits for me. The sort of song that might make me dance in a circle.
    • adjectives: driving, thumping, persistent

  20. DJ Counselling - It’s Perfectly Clear Right Now

    • This artist just kept showing up on my SoundCloud weekly playlists and kept being good so here we are.
    • adjectives: fuzzy, cloying, drone

Best shows of the year #

  1. Caribou at the Fox: Best crowd, great set, excellent evening.
  2. Sammy Virji at 1015 Folsom: The most energy I think I’ve ever seen at 1015 in all the years I’ve been going to shows there.
  3. Bombay Bicycle Club at the Fillmore: The only lowlight was not getting a poster at the end of the night because they didn’t sell out early enough. So grateful they have a live album. So grateful they still play songs from the early days. Made me miss going to rock shows.

Best book of the year #

Frostbite by Nicola Twilley, which is a fascinating and excellent social history, sorry not sorry if you encountered me during the weeks I was reading this.

Here’s a few quotes I loved:

controlled-atmosphere cold storage turned apples into widgets, and the only way for widgets to compete is on price.

Futures markets began with corn, wheat, and soybeans—commodities that could easily be stored for months in silos or sacks. With the advent of refrigeration, these kinds of contracts soon became common in the egg and butter markets too.
The commodity Hackett told me he would most like to trade is potato futures, a market that used to exist until J. R. Simplot, the billionaire credited with commercializing frozen French fries, defaulted on his contracts—“ just because he got on the wrong side of the market.” “The exchange allowed him to do it,” Hackett explained. “And it ended the futures market right there and then.”

In 1900, only 5 percent of married women worked outside the home; by 1940 that number had risen to 36 percent, and by 2000 it was 61 percent.

Other 2024 highlights #

I didn’t blog a lot in 2024, but I wrote some big posts: