My Year in Music – 2024

Personally, 2024 was a great year for music.

My first love has always been film, but music has been a constant in my life for much longer, so I’m glad to have rekindled my enthusiasm for it over the past twelve months, revisiting some favourite albums and branching out to find new sounds and artists.

I finally bought a CD player and have already begun to pick up albums that have been dear to me over the years. I also had the pleasure of seeing Green Day live, which was a very special experience that I was fortunate enough to share with my brother – my fifteen-year-old self was fulfilled.

Engaging with the art in my life remains important to me, so I’m using the new year as an opportunity to reflect on my personal year in music, looking back on the albums and artists I was actually listening to in 2024, regardless of what Spotify says.

Summer Sounds - I LAY DOWN MY BRAT FOR YOU

For me, there are certain songs and albums that are closely connected to the time period in which I first listened to them. This past summer, there were two albums in my rotation that are now inseparable from the feeling of the heat on my shoulders, cool nights, and sunnier days:

Brat (Charli XCX)

I’m comfortable with coming across as basic as possible here by admitting that, yes, I did have a Brat summer.

I’ve liked Charli XCX sporadically over the years but have never been hooked enough to check out one of her albums in full. However, the allure of that acid green cover art, the catchiness of the singles, and the rave reviews convinced me to give Brat it’s day…and it ended up being played around my flat for most of the year.

This album is packed to the brim with killer dance tracks that are outrageously catchy and upbeat. “360”, “Von Dutch”, “365”, “Club Classics”, the list goes on. These bass-heavy songs get my blood pumping and the volume dialled all the way up.

These sorts of tracks, I expected.

What I didn’t expect was to be so affected by Charli’s more reflective songs in which she lays bare her feelings on fame, general insecurities, and her personal path in life. For all of the bangers, the sombre “So I” is a stand-out track purely for how raw and honest Charli is about her feelings of guilt surrounding her friendship with the late artist SOPHIE.

“I might say something stupid”, “I think about it all the time”, “Everything is romantic” – these more personal songs complement the crowd-pleasing club tunes and balance the album out so that it feels like a varied project that has something for every mood.

I have, in the last few months, picked up the remix album and must add that the Ariana Grande version of “Sympathy is a knife” is easily one of the best tracks from the whole Brat project.

I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU (JPEGMAFIA)

There is a B-side to my summer sounds, and it comes from the one and only JPEGMAFIA. Peggy is an artist whose work I’ve been fortunate enough to discover this year, first listening to the pulsating singles “don’t rely on other men” and “SIN MIEDO” back in July.

Lucky for me, a new album was right around the corner in the shape of I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU, which is easily one of my favourite projects of the year. I’m fortunate enough to live on the sunny South Coast, so walking along the beach with this album on a cool August evening made for a blissful first listening experience.

I was first attracted to JPEGMAFIA’s aggressive sound, with the likes of “I scream this in the mirror before I interact with anyone” and “JIHAD JOE” further scratching that particular itch – Peggy’s guttural screams on the latter are immensely satisfying. There’s an anger and energy in these songs that is extremely cathartic.

“Exmilitary” is brilliantly structured, as is “JPEGULTRA!”, from Denzel Curry’s electrifying feature to Peggy’s soft-toned outro verse – “Heard the church service said, “Come as you are”, So I showed up with a whole bunch of bitches that hate me”

Surprisingly, much like with Brat, it’s the unexpectedly slower-paced and introspective tracks on ILDMLFY that take the album to another level. “I’ll Be Right There” has a space-like quality with its twinkling instrumental, while the entire backend of the album has a notably more mellow tone.

The self-confessed terminally-online Peggy proves himself to be exactly that with “either on or off the drugs”, the rapper-producer sampling an AI-generated blues version of Future’s "Turn on the Lights". While I detest AI content in general, I can excuse the sample in this case because the final song is just so fucking good. “i recovered from this” is a magnificent closer, the vulnerable and self-reflective lyrics of which resonated with me more and more as the year went on.

Other than the aptly title Scaring the Hoes project with Danny Brown and a few singles here and there, I haven’t delved into Peggy’s past albums too much, but I look forward to savouring each one.

An Otherworldly Discovery - Magdalena Bay

This has been a great year personally for finding new artists, but the most significant discovery of them all has been Magdalena Bay. I cannot overstate just how important the Miami-based synth-pop duo's music was for me in the backend of 2024.

I first heard the immensely popular "Image" back in June, but really started to take notice with the following single, "Death and Romance". When the band dropped the enticing cover art for their sophomore LP Imaginal Disk, I knew I had to check it out, and holy shit, this is my undisputed album of the year.

I like to make track rankings after a few listens of an album, but with Imaginal Disk, I simply can't differentiate. The record works so perfectly as a complete project from front to back that if I want to listen to some of it, I end up listening to it all. The transitions between tracks, the ethereal interludes - it all blends together wonderfully.

There are, of course, a handful of individual songs that are a cut above for me. The aforementioned "Death and Romance" is a synth-pop epic, while "Watching T.V.", "She Looked Like Me", and "That's My Floor" are additional highlights. I also love "Killing Time", particularly it's lyricism, which celebrates all the little things people do day-to-day to, well, kill time.

"The Ballad of Matt & Mica" is a grandiose closer, and like many of the album's other songs, it builds to a heavenly climax.

I was fortunate enough to see the pair perform live in November as part of their Imaginal Mystery Tour, in which they played the whole album. They're already blowing up in terms of popularity, but I fully expect them to grow further over the next year or two – as if their sold-out tour wasn't already an indication of the chord they've struck with Imaginal Disk.

In the final weeks of the year, I was listening to the duo’s Mini Mix Vol. 1 on repeat and still can't get enough. At only thirteen minutes long, it's a great starting point to check the band out and get a feel for their sound.

I'll undoubtedly be exploring their full discography in the near future, but I want to take my time with their work and not burn through everything they have to offer. But yeah, a new favourite of mine, for sure.

Revisit - Slim Shady LP and Marshall Mathers LP (Eminem)

Quick bit of background – When I was 18, I worked as an online shopper at Tesco for a few months during the summer. On Sundays, the shop didn’t open until 10am, so for the first four hours of the shift, I could listen to music. Each Sunday, for almost the entirety of those three months, I listened to Eminem’s first four albums on loop.

Almost a decade later, I’ve only revisited those albums in passing. In truth, I haven’t liked anything that the Detroit rapper has put out since the Marshall Mathers LP 2, and I couldn’t even finish his latest release, the incredibly underwhelming The Death of Slim Shady.

However, I developed a strong urge during the autumn to return to Eminem’s early work and spent the better part of a month listening to the Slim Shady LP and Marshall Mathers LP on repeat. While I obviously have a lot of nostalgia for these records, I still think they hold up remarkably well today.

Both albums perfectly balance playful, often bawdy humour with some honest self-reflection and dark fantasies. In the MMLP, in particular, so many tracks are tinged with a palpable aggression that’s very cathartic to listen to when the mood is right – “The Way I Am”, “Remember Me”, and “Marshall Mathers” are just a few examples of songs that are teeming with frustration.

I also love the storytelling in these early projects, particularly on tracks like “As The World Turns”, “Stan” (of course), and the infamous “Kim”. “Just Don’t Give a Fuck” and “Still Don’t Give a Fuck” have always been favourites, and "Role Model" has a killer instrumental. Oddly enough, the song I've played most during this personal Eminem revival (get it?) is "I'm Back", which juxtaposes its dark lyricism with a playful beat - I'll always love the band of kids screaming "Slim Shady!" during the chorus.

I could gush about both of these albums endlessly, to be honest, but for the sake of keeping things short(ish), I won't. "Kill You" is a perfect opener, "Brain Damage" is painfully funny, and the South Park-inspired "The Kids" is an all-timer bonus track - I'll link the surprisingly great demo version here.

Eminem's early projects mean a lot to me, and while it might be a while before I revisit them again, they'll remain the foundations of my musical taste.

I Get It Now - CHROMAKOPIA (Tyler, The Creator)

I’ve liked Tyler, The Creator for some time, but always more as a personality and artistic figure than a musician. That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed his music over the years, but only bits and pieces as opposed to really connecting with an entire project.

In the case of CHROMAKOPIA, Tyler’s work has finally clicked, and it’s comfortably one of my favourite albums of the year. Musically, it’s catchy, booming, and varied in production, but it works for me more on a lyrical level than anything else.

I appreciate, and have found myself continuously inspired by, Tyler’s championing of individualism, as he often highlights the importance of forming your own opinions, focusing on what’s meaningful to you, and being comfortable in your own skin. He even said in a decade-old interview with Larry King that something that really bothers him is people who are not comfortable with being themselves.

This rhetoric rings true throughout the album, but especially on tracks like “Take Your Mask Off” and the closer “I Hope You Find Your Way Home”. The lyricism shines through again on the likes of “Darling, I” and “Hey Jane”, in which Tyler explores his feelings on long-term relationships, settling down, and his inner turmoil where having children is concerned.

“Like Him” is another highlight, Tyler delving into his fatherless childhood and expressing how he feels about not knowing his dad but also bearing the burden of carrying his father’s traits, particularly in the eyes of his mother.

It’s an introspective and honest album, which also happens to have a few real bangers: “Sticky”, “Thought I Was Dead”, and “St. Chroma”, to name only a few. I’d love to see him live, but it’s so damn expensive!

Early Birds - Grimes and MF DOOM

Since September, I’ve been working early mornings, cycling to work at the deathly quiet hour of 3am. Naturally, I’ve found some music to accompany these lonesome journeys, with two albums becoming mainstays of these dreary commutes.

The late MF DOOM is an artist who I’ve always found alluring but have never taken the time to properly explore. That changed when a stupid tweet directed me towards “Hoe Cakes”, which in turn led to a full listen of his 2004 album, MM..FOOD.

Honestly, I don’t have a lot to say other than that this LP is kinda flawless.

“Hoe Cakes” remains my favourite track, but I’ve also grown to love “Beef Rapp”, “Deep Fried Frenz”, “Guinnessez”, “Rapp Snitch Knishes”, and “Vomitspit”. The flows, the bars, the production – it all comes together to make a tasty lil album. I also love the skits and cartoon samples; they work so well in realising the villainous, comic-like vibe of the project.

Accompanying MF DOOM on my morning rides has been Canadian singer-songwriter Grimes. I was first introduced to her uniquely dark brand of pop with the infectious “Oblivion”, as I suspect many others were. I’ve listened to her on and off over the years, but it’s been during these cold winter nights that her 2012 album Visions has really hit the spot.

I have listened to the front end of the album an unhealthy amount of times, “Genesis” and “Oblivion” specifically, as these are addictive tracks. That said, the rest of the LP comes together beautifully, with the abrasive sounds of “Eight” slowly morphing into the haunting tones of “Skin”. I’m also a big fan of the closer, “Know the Way”, which I find to be a comforting and soothing end to this, at times, alien project.

I’d be lying if I said I understood what Grimes was saying for the majority of the album, but it’s a testament to her sound that this doesn’t detract from the music. I mean, some of the song titles manage to evoke a strong feeling on their own – “Infinite Love without Fulfilment”, like, Jesus.

Anyways, this unlikely pair has brightened up my mornings and will now forever be associated with cold hands, streetlamps, and empty roads.

Bonus Cuts

There are a handful of additional albums that have been important to me this year, which I won’t discuss at length to maintain some semblance of brevity.

Aphex Twin continues to be an important artist in my life, with his twisted Come to Daddy EP not only taking over my headphones for most of April but the CD marking one of my first purchases after picking up the new player. I have much more to say on Aphex Twin in general, but I’ll save that for another time.

Similarly, on the subject of instrumental-based music, Masayoshi Tanaka’s An Insatiable High has been an infinite source of happiness, with the likes of “Sexy Dance” and the titular track getting me through the working day.

With seasonal depression came the catharsis of Lizzy McAlpine’s Older and Frank Ocean’s Blonde, as I listened to both albums for the first time. They’re both perfect for a particularly dour mood in very different ways, McAlpine’s tracks wallowing in sadness (and the existentialism of time), whilst Frank Ocean’s buttery vocals are nothing short of euphoric.

Speaking of euphoria, it’s been a good year to be a Kendrick fan. As if his four immaculate Drake disses weren’t enough, Kung Fu Kenny dropped a whole new album to keep us going through the winter. Needless to say, GNX was on loop for the final weeks of the year, with “tv off”, “luther”, and “gloria” being the stand-out tracks.

Oh, and “heart pt. 6”, which, on a personal level, is one of the hardest-hitting tracks of the year.

Reload It

Finally, a selection of individual tracks that have stayed in rotation for the whole year, excluding those in albums I’ve already discussed:

• Baby, I Love You - Ramones

• AFTERLiiiFE II - CHAOS MiiiNDED

• Chipmunk Reply - Devilman

• T N Biscuits - slowthai

• Glue Song - beabadoobee

• Gorilla - Little Simz

• KIKA - 6ix9ine

• Say It Ain't So - Weezer

• BURN - ¥$

• BEG FORGIVENESS - ¥$

• VULTURES - ¥$

• Just a Girl - No Doubt

• Loosifa - Juggaknots

• Perfect Day - Lou Reed

• Pure Souls - Kanye West

• Young Metro - Future / Metro Boomin

• Type Shit - Future / Metro Boomin

• Dream - Ryuichi Sakamoto

• Kiss the Ring - Hans Zimmer

• Wolves - Kanye West

• Say No Go - De La Soul

• Apocalypse - Cigarettes After Sex

• Money - Young Thug

• redrum - 21 Savage

• Spooky - Dusty Springfield

• Suzanne - Françoise Hardy

• silent stranger - Against the Current

• Tokyo Drift - Mallrat

• Middle of Nowhere - Macabre Plaza

• Mosquito - PinkPantheress

• Nike on My Feet - Mac Miller

• fukumean - Gunna

• Think U The Shit (Fart) - Ice Spice

• Slidin - 21 Savage

• Rich Nigga Shit - 21 Savage

• Field Trip - ¥$

• Death Kink - Fontaines D.C.

• I Hate Everything - The Alchemist / Action Bronson

• Vin Skuly - The Alchemist / Earl Sweatshirt

• Good Luck, Babe! - Chappell Roan

• Heart of Glass - Blondie

• We Still Don't Trust You - Future / Metro Boomin

• NISSAN ALTIMA - Doechii

• Hustlers & Hardcore - Domingo / Eminem

• Puff Daddy - JPEGMAFIA

• NEW MAGIC WAND - Tyler, The Creator

• #3 - Aphex Twin

• #19 - Aphex Twin

• #21 - Aphex Twin

• 4ÆM - Grimes

• Kill V. Maim - Grimes

• oh my love - FKA twigs

• Black Flies - Tracy Newman