Finalizing our list of the best songs of 2024—much as it is every year—took a bit of finessing. We nominated our favorites, made playlists, pitched our cases, debated and set arbitrary limits on artists and albums we knew would dominate the conversation (and maybe loosened one or two, for that matter). But one thing isn’t up for debate: This year was simply loaded with not just great songs, but ones that went harder than usual. There’s a lot about this year that we’d probably like to forget, but our 100 favorite songs of the year, at least, are worthy of the record books.
Written by Adam Blyweiss (AB), Adam P. Newton (APN), Casey Burke (CB), Colin Dempsey (CD), Elliot Burr (EB), Emily Reily (ER), Greg Hyde (GH), Jeff Terich (JT), Jeff Yerger (JY), Konstantin Rega (KR), Liam Green (LG), Langdon Hickman (LH), Noah Sparkes (NS), Patrick Pilch (PP), Tyler Dunston (TD), Tom Morgan (TM), Virginia Croft (VC) and Wil Lewellyn (WL)
Also, queue up our Best Songs of 2024 playlist.
100. The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis – “Fourth Wall”
Punk jazz is typically understood through the no wave skronk of James Chance or the Ornette-grind of John Zorn, but The Messthetics’ collaborative LP with saxophonist James Brandon Lewis is the literal meeting place between Dischord and Impulse! The closing track of their inspired debut pairing rides a hypnotic groove from rhythm section and Fugazi alums Joe Lally and Brendan Canty, providing a solid and muscular canvas for Lewis and guitarist Anthony Pirog to delve into slow-burning improvisational psychedelia. It never quite explodes into free jazz or a “Waiting Room”-style climax but instead keeps its mesmerizing train ride going right up to the end of the line, with Lewis’ journey extending just beyond its tracks. -JT
99. Caroline Polachek – “Starburned and Unkissed”
Written for Jane Schoenbrun’s harrowing film I Saw The TV Glow, Caroline Polachek’s blend of otherworldly vocals accompany a whirring of washed out synths on “Starburned and Unkissed.” There’s a push and pull between the track’s quiet verses and explosive chorus, leaving a hazy, fuzzy aura behind with it. Its sound is drenched in a haunting use of autotune and effects, creating an almost claustrophobic feeling that aligns with the film’s thesis. As Polachek sings “My heart’s a ghost limb reaching,” she puts the dread and anxiety felt by the characters into words. – VC
98. Helado Negro – “Best for You and Me”
Welcome to vintage Helado Negro. Roberto Carlos Lange assembled everything you might want in new-school Tropicalia, right down to the art-pop influences. We’ve got jazzy synth chord progressions, flitting keyboards in the background, fuzzy bass runs, and laid-back drums with the snare right behind the beat. But it’s the plaintive mood that holds my attention in that Helado Negro’s earnest vocals ruefully intones that he knows the relationship of which he sings is doomed. The song possesses a keen romanticism, but without any of the starry eyed positivity. And when mixed with a midtempo groove, you’ve got a perfect tune for nighttime drives post-breakup. – APN
97. Florist – “Riding Around in the Dark”
I envy the people reading this list who haven’t yet seen Jane Schoenbrun’s emotionally devastating I Saw the TV Glow and may be able to listen to this song without crying their eyes out. Even without its poignant place on that soundtrack, this song captures so much of the layered heartbreak particular to growing up. This is the story of youthful innocence lost to the trauma of a burning world, yet still beholden to the most fundamental trials of love and grief. – FJ
96. NewJeans – “Supernatural”
NewJeans follow last year’s excellentGet UpEP with another hit. This is pop music that is effortlessly catchy without being repetitive or overly saccharine; its three-minute runtime just flies by. Like Erika de Casier, who co-write four songs on theGet UpEP, the production on this single is influenced by late-’90s/early-2000s pop, R&B and electronic music, but “Supernatural” embraces its throwback signatures while still sounding fresh, the kind of song you can have stuck in your head without getting tired of it. – TD
95. Fabiano do Nascimento and Sam Gendel – “Astral Flowers”
Fabiano do Nascimento and Sam Gendel’s first collaborative album The Room is full of rich, warming tunes, playing into Gendel’s gauzy horns and do Nascimento’s entrancing seven-string guitar. Amidst a collection of charming, melancholic tunes, “Astral Flowers” asserts itself as one of the album’s best—It’s nearly saccharine but pulls itself back when it veers too sweet, leaning into the velvety tones of do Nascimento’s guitar plucks. The track is hypnotizing, a whirling blend of brass and wood, sweeping the listener away into the two instrumentalists’ captivating groove. Their delicate approach to the acoustic nature of their creation is a feat not easily achieved. – VC
94. Machinedrum – “Zoom” (feat. Tinashe)
If you didn’t know your streams any better, you’d surely mistake this cut for something influential from deep in the vibe of garage, two-step, and jungle-informed pop of the late ‘90s and early 2000s. In reality, this breezy bit of glitched horniness recenters those UK movements in today’s American south. A highlight of this year’s 3FOR82, it brings together North Carolina’s producer par excellence and the lilting vocals of Kentucky’s current R&B princess on a track that’s endlessly chiming and crystalline, from the high-end percussion and every synth run to her recounting/imagining getting “freaky on the weekend.” “Zoom” reinforces why it feels like Tinashe is suddenly everywhere, and why Machinedrum should be. – AB
93. Future & Metro Boomin – “Like That” (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
“Like That” will be primarily remembered as the shot heard ‘round the world that ignited the Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef. It’s also one of the more infectious, in-your-face tracks on Future and Metro Boomin’s We Don’t Trust You, a project that mostly drags under the weight of too many luxury rap stylings. But Kendrick’s verse here absolutely pops in its own right. “Motherfuck the Big Three / N**** it’s just big me,” he raps, and then puts his money where his mouth is by gliding over the beat, rarely repeating a cadence, completely loose but ready for war. If only Drake had been ready for what “My temperament bipolar, I choose violence” would really mean . . . – CB
92. Bright Eyes – “All Threes” (feat. Cat Power)
“All Threes” is unlike anything else in the Bright Eyes catalog. Even as the group has grown to favor maximalist arrangements, frontman Conor Oberst communicates with words first; rarely does he lean on rhythm. But “All Threes” is a song you feel before you unpack. It meets you where you are. Sultry and devilishly hummable, it pops in large part because of Cat Power, whose guest vocals lend a lounge strut. Still, this being a Bright Eyes song, there’s plenty of room for vitriol. And that Oberst finds a completely original way to malign Elon Musk is the cherry on top.– CB
91. mui zyu – “當娜喜歡寄生蟲(donna likes parasites)”
mui zyu, whose excellentnothing for something to die forcame out earlier this year, recorded some of the songs from the album in Cantonese as an “ode” to the Cantopop artists she listened to growing up, such as Faye Wong and Anita Mui. The work of translation, she writes, was “a labor of love” completed with the help of her father and the artist lei, e. “donna likes parasites” was already one of the highlights of the original album, a beautiful song, and it’s wonderful to hear its catchy, uncanny melodies reimagined in a new context which highlights the artist’s early musical influences. – TD
90. Molchat Doma – “Ty Zhe Ne Znaesh Kto Ya”
The Belarus-by-way-of-Los Angeles trio Molchat Doma specialize in music to dance alone to. On “Ty Zhe Ne Znaesh Kto Ya,” they push that concept to a darker extremity. The goth aspects that colored their previous work have been cranked up, granting the track a dramatic flair and an undeniable swing. Gone are the kitschy synths. Now, they’re vampiric. This development lurches Molchat Doma away from their “doomer” associations and into a bold new frontier, revealing that they rightfully deserve their place at the forefront of the darkwave revival. – CD
89. Brittany Howard – “Samson”
Former Alabama Shakes vocalist Brittany Howard links the tunes onWhat Now using atmospheric, pristine sounds from gongs and serene singing bowls. Her work has never sounded more confident or free. But not everything is perfect: On “Samson,” she finds a fatal flaw in her relationship. Stuck between keeping status quo and letting the relationship die, Howard’s indecision is put on blast. Likewise, “Samson” shares two existences: in the first half, the gravity of the situation becomes all-encompassing. In the second, the music floats in a weightless atmosphere. Above it, soaring trumpet notes and soulful drops of keyboard swirl around, anchorless, eventually enveloping Howard’s soul-shaking anguish. – ER
88. Touché Amoré – “Nobody’s”
Four years afterLament, an album that saw Touché Amoré incorporate lap steel guitars into their sound, comeback single “Nobody’s” signaled to their fans that the Burbank post-hardcore quintet’s sixth album,Spiral in a Straight Line, would be a clear return to form. Lead vocalist Jeremy Bolm’s screaming is some of his best yet, and the melodic yet muscular guitar playing from Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt that characterizedIs Survived ByandStage Fouralso returns for one of Touché Amoré’s most straightforwardly enjoyable songs for ages. – GH
87. Vince Staples – “Little Homies”
Finding a new groove for his quippy style of rap, “Little Homies” is a welcomed addition to Vince Staples’ ongoing list of essential songs. As Staples states, “Life hard but I go harder” against a weaving bass that has an underwater quality to it, there’s a clear aim to make the best of life’s pressures—using stress and strife to craft a hazy, otherworldly sound to match his lyrics that often feel raw but sprinkled with a bit of hope.“Little Homies” has a shade of bedroom pop warmth to it in its beat, and Staples’ vocals are sharp. Yes, he’s offering up advice to his younger audience about how to deal with reality, but it also sounds like he’s not shying away from laughing his way through it.– VC
86. Erika de Casier – “Home Alone”
Erika de Casier’s music has always been sensual, but “Home Alone” is straight up horny. Sweat, fantasy, and a couple not-so-subtle double entendres find the Copenhagen-based producer on her own, but not for long. It’s an “are-you-thinking-what-I’m-thinking” cut, the ultimate booty call. Essentially the leadoff track from this year’s instant classic Still, “Home Alone” sets the tone for a record dripping with intimacy and passion, the perfect intro for heads and new listeners alike. The Dembow brings the beat; de Casier, the heat. And in case you weren’t catching her drift, she repeats the word “sexy” 50 times. – PP
85. High Vis – “Mob DLA”
London’s High Vis have proven their post-punk bona fides over three outstanding albums in five years, but the standout of this year’s Guided Tour reaches back into their hardcore background for something that provides more pure aggression and angst than transcendent melodic anthems. Vocalist Graham Sayle temporarily puts aside his big-hearted positivism for the sake of justified anger, asking “Is the price of life too much to bear? … They owe you more than a fucking living!” The grim reality of modern life is that it can break any of us all too easily; “Mob DLA” is primal scream and pit therapy for the sake of survival. – JT
84. Tinashe – “Getting No Sleep”
Tinashe’s “Nasty” became a hit this year, but her recent albumQuantum Baby’s second single “Getting No Sleep” is the sleeper favorite. It’s the perfect late-night song, a sublime mix of ambient and pop sensibilities, with skittering beats reminiscent of a deep techno track. It’s atmospheric without lacking hooks. Though more low-key than the other singles, its melody has staying power and the groove is infectious. – TD
83. Los Campesinos! – “0898 Heartache”
The Welsh indie pop group Los Campesinos!, once considered too “twee,” have definitively shaken off the label and leaned into more serious lyrical landscapes, steadily gaining fans in the process. On“0898 Heartache,” singerGareth Paisey delivers cynical lines about banal routine, unattainable love and the inevitability of death with touches of exuberance and even hope.Paisey also uses an economy of words to drive home the despair (“Cavalcade through antemortem, terminal suburban boredom” is a lot to open a song with, but he pulls it off).But despite the dark messages, there’s no sense anyone in Los Campesinos! is dying on the vine. The band sounds as fresh and optimistic as ever, awaiting their next incarnation.– ER
82. Cloud Nothings – “Running Through the Campus”
A direct and honest title to match an equally earnest track, “Running Through The Campus” is pure personal nostalgia. A midtempo highlight of Cloud Nothings’ Final Summer, “Running Through The Campus” is a metaphoric image of vocalist Dylan Baldi reflecting on his college years, whose halls and rooms he now moves through in his adult mind. There’s an optimistic end to all the nostalgia, however, with Baldi sweetly musing “can you believe how far I have come?” A fun, sensitive indie anthem from a consistently great band. – TM
81. Dua Lipa – “Illusion”
A force to be reckoned with, Dua Lipa continues to make dance music that doesn’t sound overdone or passé. Her latest,Radical Optimism doesn’t necessarily expand her sound, with a funky streak running through its songs. Yet standout “Illusion” is the kind of pop song that would bring the club to its feet. Her excellent voice has a strength to it that helps propel and sustain her music. She clearlyhas a handle on her sound,and she continues to pump out the hits you’ll almost certainly be hearing on the radio,at the grocerystore, or at the club. – KR
80. Half Waif – “Mother Tongue”
In the dead of an oncoming winter, the story of “Mother Tongue” begins where it ends—an aging woman, a life lost before it starts, and the search for clarity within nature’s order. Half Waif’s Nandi Rose processes her own miscarriage using the colors red and blue as they mix with water, her tender vocals playing with sad, yet patient, piano notes. Looking for similarities between nature and humans, she creates an inner dialogue, a voice of reason, which can only offer vague advice (“it’s only weather” “trust the moss”). Time will heal, she’s told, but a mother’s infinite love for something that once briefly existed remains an unbroken circle as constant as the sun. – ER
79. SZA – “Saturn”
An after-hours tune following the bursting-at-the-edges tracklist ofSOS(which cemented SZA’s R&B crown since her infallible 2017 debut), “Saturn” carries a delectable beat-drag, a tinkling bop, and conveys habitual behaviors and intangible feelings through melodic lines that could all be the main hook. Given the TikTokification of “Kill Bill”—a mildly murderous vignette about an ex—the more spiritual “Saturn” has also been given the sped-up treatment that certain age groups don’t really understand, but it demonstrates its mass appeal for social app devotees and snotty reviewers alike who eagerly await how she can top a year chock full of accolades and a Glastonbury headline slot. In her hands, that seems a breeze. – EB
78. Tierra Whack – “Shower Song”
Even after multiple EPs, we’ve only gotten the smallest of glimpses into this Philadelphia rapper’s psyche. Her proper debut World Wide Whack is a pastiche of short stories and observations obsessed with different forms of release, both joyful and mournful, suggesting a big personality on par with Missy Elliott run through an Odd Future meat grinder. “Shower Song” feels like the album’s technicolor centerpiece, supported by spare ‘70s-style synth-funk and giddy snippets of backing vocals. It’s an homage to every wonderful thing to come out of a good, long soak—cleanliness next to godliness, and her status as a queen manifesting as a deity on Earth. This is funky! – AB
77. Julia Holter – “Evening Mood”
Dreams are notoriously difficult to recollect. For most people, the details quickly blur after waking up, leaving only a faint impression behind. Julia Holter’s “Evening Mood” captures that ephemeral quality beautifully, the lush instrumentation blending into waves of formless sound. The production makes the listener feel as though they are submerged in water, hearing only a garbled refraction of the sound. Holter encourages you to surrender to that predicament. When it sounds so good, it’s easy to sink further into her world, to linger in that hazy dreamscape. – NS
76. Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso”
This song was everywhere and for very good reasons. It is a stone-cold bop in every possible way. Carpenter’s sultry alto carries the tune, whether she’s cooing with desire in the verses, conveying matter-of-fact rebuttals in the pre-chorus, or delivering sexy come-hithers in the chorus. But for all of the artfully crafted double and triple entendres in the lyrics that rightfully deserve attention, I’m agog at the combination of liquid basslines, Chic-esque guitar licks, and chilled-out drums that sit right in the pocket. It’s a near-perfect pop earworm that’s delightfully horny.– APN
75. Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, and Tyshawn Sorey – “Compassion”
Vijay Iyer, Tyshawn Sorey, and Linda May Han Oh are more in sync than ever on Compassion, and on the opening title track, Iyer’s piano takes the lead. The trio’s playing sounds like someone thinking and feeling with great care—working their way through problems in a way that is beautiful but never easy or expected. It seems reflective of Iyer’s aesthetic philosophy—as he said, “The unease I experience making art in times of suffering never goes away, nor should it; that tension shapes the creative process at every stage.” – TD
74. Houses of Heaven – “Within/Without”
Made with the technologies of their day, the early works of artists like Nine Inch Nails possess a certain recognizable primitivism that many modern musicians don’t or can’t replicate. There are, however, a few every year who dive back into the tinny keyboards, processed reverb, and dour lyrical delivery that first blurred the line between synth-pop and electronic body music. Houses of Heaven are on this year’s list to bring that particular noise. The title track from the Oakland band’s second LP feels lifted in equal parts from Pretty Hate Machine and Hesitation Marks, with Rachel Travers’ stuttering drum tracks and Adam Beck’s arpeggiated synths advancing Kevin Tecon’s frustrations with communicating. “Words twist and serpentine,” he sings, “call across the river’s gleam.” Every now and again they do, Kevin, every now and again. – AB
73. Nourished By Time – “Hell of a Ride”
Not long after the release of last year’s Erotic Probiotic 2, Nourished By Time’s Marcus Brown was still recording in his parent’s basement in Baltimore. Since then, he’s been signed to XL, collaborated with plenty of other “successful” artists, and toured around the world. But “Hell of a Ride” is an acknowledgement and reminder that in today’s day and age, these accomplishments are no guarantee of stability and only a modicum of success. As wealth disparity continues to increase as humanity teeters on the edge of self destruction, Brown asks what it means to be “living the good life” on the brink, just “ten minutes til midnight.” – PP
72. Kali Uchis – “¿Como Así?”
The leadoff track from Kali Uchis’ Orquídeas is merely the opening of a door, a ceremonial introduction to the eclectic and rich world that unfolds from there. But it’s hard not to just want to camp out here for a while, with gauzy downtempo synth haze blowing in like a warm breeze against propulsive house beats and Uchis’ dreamily expressive vocal performance. She reaches phenomenal, breathtaking heights against a lush and luxurious backdrop. “If you come around here,” she sings, “You’ll never wanna leave.” She’s right, you know. – JT
71. Denzel Curry – “ULTRA SHXT”
The Florida rapper’s 2024 album King Of The Mischievous South Vol. 2 was a new offering at the altar of the Dirty South scene that helped raise him. It was heralded by this anthem for Curry’s growing Ultraground empire, where his releases, his allies’ bars, and their merch fill up their collective coffers first and fastest. His samples and rhyme flow, with nods to Three 6 Mafia and other Memphis rappers, set his expectations to “watch the whole industry imitate/Same day pay/’Cause we gon’ make what n*ggas won’t forget.” Key Nyata backs him up by describing the aftermath, “it bother them bad/Talkin’ shit under yo’ breath/But will it continue when I got my foot up your ass?” Denzel Curry’s out here playing a whole other type of confidence game. – AB
70. Yaya Bey – “the evidence”
Yaya Bey’s Ten Fold standout “the evidence” feels much bigger than its two minutes and 41 seconds, its thick bass loop and gauzy synths creating a mood-lit, rain-streaked windshield view of uncertainty. At its core, though, “the evidence” is a blues song, Bey’s voice dipping into lower registers to convey the doubt and anxiety that’s dragging her down: “I’ve been holding out for something better/I’ve been changing under all this pressure.” The soul and conviction in her voice and the weight of its groove echo a weariness that’s nowhere near defeat, but still knowingly miles away from brighter horizons. – JT
69. Shellac – “WSOD”
One of the most eagerly awaited, yet ultimately saddest, returns to recorded music for noise rock fans this year was that of Shellac, whose guitarist and lead vocalist Steve Albini passed away a mere ten days before the release of their first new album in a decade. “WSOD” made for a terrific song on which to open sixth albumTo All Trains, opening with a catchy, insistent riff from Albini and the steady rhythm section of Bob Weston and Todd Trainer setting the pace, before the band pick up the tempo and kick into an abrasive energy around two minutes in. – GH
68. Hurray for the Riff Raff – “Hawkmoon”
It’s an interesting exercise to imagine this as what Haim would have become, a pitch-perfect blend of country-folk, indie rock and straight up pop. You can hear Yoakum and Shania Twain both in this, a little KT Tunstall and just enough well-distorted guitar to give it some dirt and earth. A song fit for feeling bad just as much as feeling good, these are sing-along hooks you could yarl out half-drunk just as well as you could belt them while sober. That’s a good country-rock tune in my book. – LH
67. Mary Halvorson – “Desiderata”
Experimental jazz guitarist, composer and band leader Mary Halvorson fuses noise, rock, avant-garde, distortion, free jazz, flamenco, and psychedelia in her music—sometimes several elements in one song—to stretch boundaries and create surprising results. “Desiderata” is progressive and chaotic, a jumble of sounds in which beauty lays embedded. Commotion collapses in a haze, a kind of audio deconstruction. Digital elements, cascading drums and Halvorson’s delicate, repetitive guitar playing combines to seismic effects. It’s challenging to hear. Moods change on a whim; loopy sounds become electronic and fuzzy as if haywire. Vibraphone and trumpet offer brighter tones. Jazz’s unconventionality and bold constructs can render it inaccessible to listeners. Halvorson makes the genre more approachable by taking monster risks. – ER
66. Baby Rose & BADBADNOTGOOD – “Weekness”
Baby Rose and BADBADNOTGOOD’s Slow Burn EP is a 2024 hidden treasure. With Baby Rose’s arresting, classic voice and BADBADNOTGOOD’s practiced balance of live playing and studio tinkering, the whole thing feels like a transmission from an alternate past. Anchored by an electric guitar riff that gets glued in your head, “Weekness” is the punchy centerpiece. It starts with a strut, pretty and gritty, then slows down under a more patient pulse as Baby Rose concludes her sad fable of love undone in a week: “Friday the fights couldn’t stop / Saturday was the saddest of all.” There’s enough ear candy along the way for every Sunday in perpetuity.– CB
65. GEL – “Persona”
The title track of Gel’s new short-player leans into the hardcore side of their musical DNA. Possessed by a frantic energy, the furious rhythm drives the song with a punk rush of adrenaline. Vocalist Sami Kaiser has a more aggressive scowl in their approach, as the lyrics are almost spewed in a more metallic fashion. Lyrically, Kaiser claimed that they’re writing in a manner that points the finger inward as much as it does outward—externalized self-loathing in motion. An authentic and potent slice of punk rock. – WL
64. Broadcast – “March of the Fleas”
“March of the Fleas” is a demo, an unfinished work left behind from sessions Broadcast’s Trish Keenan and James Cargill had begun before Keenan’s untimely death in 2011. But given the band’s tendencies toward effects-laden obscurity, otherworldly loops and hallucinogenic euphoria, you might not have reached that conclusion without being told. As the first proper song on the overflowing collection Spell Blanket, it’s one of the most complete statements on a compilation of unfinished fragments, heavenly backing vocals brushing up against a wash of fuzz guitar and Keenan’s mesmerizing siren song. Amid a treasury of intimate and soul-soothing material, “March of the Fleas” is the crown jewel.– JT
63. Cassandra Jenkins – “Only One”
It’s an intimate experience to hear the difference in Cassandra Jenkins’ voice from 2021’s grief-stricken “Ambiguous Norway” to this year’s playful “Only One.” Sultry horn arrangements and a broad, warm ambient synth set the new tone this time around, but as ever it is the subtleties in Jenkins’ vocal performance that cinch the magic. Jenkins seems to take heartbreak in a good-natured stride, reimagining the tribulations of true love as a divine comedy. One must imagine Sisyphus happy, yes, but also in love. – FJ
62. Uniform – “This is Not a Prayer”
This New York City band feels like a worthy successor to the blunt industrial-metal aggression of Godflesh, and their fifth album American Standard continues making uncomfortable music about uncomfortable topics. There’s a thrilling kind of monotony to a cut like this—where other compositions in both the metal and industrial spaces use instrumental technologies to fill every second with activity, Uniform are content to let notes and noise linger and hang in the air. “This is Not a Prayer” lurches endlessly forward like a level boss in a jump-scare video game, all the while screaming at you that the body horror you’re playing against is actually the horror of your own body. – AB
61. Gouge Away – “Dallas”
Gouge Away aren’t known for holding much back. The post-hardcore group’s songs typically come in short, incendiary bursts, singer Christina Michelle pushing her vocal cords to the limit with each fire-throated scream. “Dallas,” the six-minute closer to their latest album Deep Sage, is a slower and more tempered version of the group’s abrasive approach, still heavy in subtler ways but streaked with tears and racked with grief. Written after the death of a close friend, Michelle works through the emptiness that comes with loss: “I don’t know what you want me to say/You want an explanation but I can barely breathe/Brain’s evaporation and I’m just trying to hold on/But I feel so/Absent.” It’s not a scream into the void, but an inner monologue on infinite echo. – JT
60. Father John Misty – “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All”
Few songwriters are better equipped to write about the Cosmic Joke than Josh Tillman, who has done this sort of thing before but rarely with as much rhythmic hedonism. “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All” is eight minutes of confronting the evidence of whether nothing really does matter (LOL?), from being told he’s the least famous person to turn down the cover of Rolling Stone, to the himbo Ken dolls, false idols, KO’d former champs and squashed rattlesnakes promising fame and fortune. It’s one punch to the stomach after another, a comedy of errors with annotations but no eraser, “Desolation Row” at the disco and a defenestration from the Tower of Song. In times like these, sometimes all you can do is dance. – JT
59. Mach-Hommy – “Sonje”
Hip-hop’s most elusive wordsmith is at the peak of his powers of “Sonje,” dispensing rapid-fire, typically cryptic rhymes over the sparkling keys of producer Georgia Anne Muldrow (credited here as Hephzibah). Thankfully, deciphering into Mach-Hommy’s lyrics is made easy by a mesmeric confluence of flow and immaculate production. At one point, the dense, relentless rhyme schemes of the second verse seem to defy breath. Like any great, slightly esoteric writing, “Sonje” expands upon multiple listens, revealing an artist making hip-hop of a distinctly Haitian, post-colonial and radical tint. – NS
58. Pissed Jeans – “Sixty-Two Thousand Dollars in Debt”
2024 was a great year for noise rock. Perhaps the world’s bleak outlook meant that we all needed a cathartic release? If this is true, then Pissed Jeans’ “Sixty-Two Thousand Dollars In Debt” might just be the best. A hip-shaking rager with great lyrics about paying off the endless debt that has become such a depressing feature of contemporary life, Pissed Jeans frontman Matt Korvette kicks back against modern misery with a phrase as elegant as any you’ll ever hear: “numbers are as made up as the monsters in my sleep”. – TM
57. Fievel Is Glauque – “Love Weapon”
Our editor rightly assumed two things: one, I would pass on this on name alone and two, after more or less forcing me to listen to it, I’d fall in love. This track works as a thesis for full-length Rong Wiecknes and the band as a whole: somewhere between chanson and prog, the tight and spellbinding arrangements of ABBA or The Beach Boys or Supertramp played with just enough muso panache against the Gainsbourg cool. This is art pop without the pomp, prog epics in a handful of minutes. – LH
56. Fred Thomas – “Embankment”
“Do you remember….?” asks Fred Thomas at the beginning of the leadoff track to his devastating latest album Window in the Rhythm, but he never mentions a holiday, a birthday, a party or a date. He instead describes the memory of a smell of a chemical that lingered through the air in the town he lived decades ago, a byproduct of a parking lot disinfectant that caused headaches and never went away no matter how much he wanted to ignore it. It’s a stand-in for grief, the lingering reminder of the loss of his friend Geoff, for whom he made a mixtape with the same Squarepusher song three times. “Embankment” is a stream-of-consciousness walk through that grief, of trying to make sense of what it means to live in a world with a good friend who’s no longer there, its gentle recollections awash in dreamy and graceful plucks of guitar and ascendant vocal harmonies. It’s a meditation on how a “single element can alter everything,” both its presence and its absence. – JT
55. DIIV – “Frog in Boiling Water”
DIIV’s album Frog in Boiling Water took four years to make and strained the group’s dynamics. On the title track, the band doubles down on those scarred emotions with heavier, darker messaging. With a creeping sense of despair, “Frog” sneakily builds tension from a stable, yet numbing, drone of guitars. Layering a staticky wall of sound on this neutral canvas creates a sense of dystopia that mirrors society’s collapse, a reality we’re already desensitized to. Singer Zachary Cole Smith, for his part, seems resigned to mankind’s fatal, irreversible flaws.Making an album based off an environmentalist writer’s exploration of how frogs ignore the warning signs of impending death is a wild direction to take, but it’s exactly what we need to hear. – ER
54. Ravyn Lenae – “Genius”
Most of the songs on Bird’s Eye, Ravyn Lenae’s second studio album, borrow from different genres with psychedelic flair. The leadoff track, “Genius,” sounds almost conservative by comparison. At two minutes and change, it’s a pop R&B confection in sound and an appeal to communication in its story. “Don’t take a genius to figure out what’s wrong with slamming the door” reads like an admonishment on paper. But in Lenae’s hands it’s a gentle call to action: don’t run away from vulnerability, because “what’s love without some confrontation?” Whether Lenae speaks to your love life or not, “Genius” hits with the perfect level of sweetness. – CB
53. Spirit of the Beehive – “1/500”
Perhaps the most clear-eyed moment on YOU’LL HAVE TO LOSE SOMETHING, “1/500” siphons melody into Spirit of the Beehive’s post-hypnic jerks approach to songwriting; fragmented, cut-and-paste songs that are as pretty as they are disorienting. Oftentimes, SOTB tracks are notably unpredictable, with the band ripping the melodic rug right out from under listeners. But “1/500” keeps it together, making it one of the band’s most melodic tracks to date. On one hand, YHTLS is a breakup record, but on the other, it’s a “now what?” record. “1/500” grapples with both themes and asks fruitlessly, knowingly, “what if?” – PP
52. Charli XCX – “B2B”
Brat summer couldn’t have happened if the album that kicked it off wasn’t wall-to-wall (or back-to-back) bangers. Sure, it’s a record about messy personal things, insecurities, anxieties, growing pains and creating something inspired in spite of or perhaps because of that chaos. But none of that would have mattered if it didn’t slap. “B2B” is just one of 15(?) songs on the album that does so, but it also goes harder than most other songs you’ll hear this year. It’s a pulsing dancefloor thumper about falling back into the worst habits and the arms of the person you maybe shouldn’t, which is probably that much easier with the aid of a song this intoxicating. – JT
51. Oranssi Pazuzu – “Muuntautuja”
Oranssi Pazuzu’s vocalist Juho Vanhanen said that Muuntautuja was created with the color black in mind, the album’s title track especially so, though its blackness is occasionally opaque and other times a watercolor. Purple prose like this demonstrates the lack of shape on “Muuntautuja,” which crescendos like the static on a television screen. It’s otherworldly for sure, but even more so, it’s the year’s most distinct soundscape. Though only four minutes long, “Muuntautuja” brings you into a world of amorphous shadowed figures and blurred radio signals, giving you just enough of an image that you know it’s not safe, but more than enough thrill to make you stick your head in again. – CD
50. Drug Church – “Demolition Man”
Arguably Drug Church frontman Patrick Kindlon’s finest lyrical hour; the brief, bouncy “Demolition Man” posits a philosophical thesis, wherein Kindlon equates humanity’s struggles with a lack of purpose, the kind that working dogs possess.
It’s espoused with wry humor, and backed by Drug Church’s distinct chord changes and fist-pumping dynamic swells. Enough to make you “crash through walls” indeed. – TM
49. Bartees Strange – “Sober”
Bartees Strange has proven himself as one of contemporary indie rock’s biggest and best talents for crafting songs with memorable melodies and emotionally affecting vocals and lyrics. “Sober” features those hallmarks in spades. Opening with some Fleetwood Mac-esque keyboards, Strange’s chunky guitar riffing underpinned this paean to a person who made him “do a backbend” when he saw them for the first time. He sang in the choruses that “it’s hard to be sober” because he’s “never had a guiding light,” before some noisier guitars betraying Strange’s hardcore punk background take this powerful ballad to its closing keyboard bars. – GH
48. The Smile – “Don’t Get Me Started”
The Smile’s first two albums presented a logistical counterpoint to Radiohead’s more high-minded electronic arrangements through the trio’s groove-heavy instrumental jams (who knew Thom Yorke had those kind of bass chops?), anchored by drummer Tom Skinner’s nimble rhythmic work. “Don’t Get Me Started,” a highlight from third album Cutouts (released only months after its predecessor) once again retreats into arpeggiated synth ephemera, drifting gently into space as Yorke’s defensive if softly sung lyrics ring out with only the slightest note of hostility (“I’m not the killer… I’m not the villain”). But it’s Skinner’s light-wristed patter at the core of the song, reflecting the complex arrangements of the jazz ensembles he’s played in outside The Smile, that subtly reinforces this is a proper band whose interpersonal musical chemistry makes them greater than the sum of their parts.– JT
47. Caribou – “Honey”
Not to shoehorn death metal into a discussion about dance music, but the bodily reactions it draws from you when a stinky, heaping riff enters the foray are similar to those that erupt a minute and a half into Caribou’s “Honey.” It’s an involuntary response. Yet, a drop does not make a song, even one as mighty as this, which is why “Honey” keeps swaying to a garage rhythm and has the finish of a Ph.D. student’s dissertation. Dan Snaith stated that he wanted to make “broadly relatable music” with Honey in press notes. The record’s title track is just that—an immediate hit of feel-good energy polished to a sheen.– CD
46. Adrianne Lenker – “Real House”
Sometimes there’s nothing more powerful than silence. On “Real House,” the first song on her fantastic solo debut Bright Future, Adrianne Lenker opens boundless vistas with her voice and a piano alone. Lenker never just sings a note; she always says something extra with a small uptick, a lilt, a gentle fall. On a macro level “Real House” swings between two parts in a kind of quiet call-and-response, as she layers snapshots of childhood longing and loss like leaves of paper, whisking you deeper and deeper into her memory. Listening to it feels like a vacation from time itself. – CB
45. JPEGMAFIA – “Exmilitary”
An absolutely no-holds-barred rap track from one of the best in the game right now. Peggy’s aggressive flow sits front-and-center in the mix as he delivers brash knockout blows against anyone and everyone who’s ever doubted him. While this wheezing, circus-like organ sample undergirds the first two-thirds of the song, everything breaks loose at the climax, as hard rock guitars and clattering drums launch an all-out assault on your ears. He sounds crisp and defiant while the music lulls you into his hypnotic web before the energy hits maximum overdrive. – APN
44. Chelsea Wolfe – “House of Self-Undoing”
The up-tempo percussive elements to the second song on She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She stand out on an album that finds Wolfe staring into a trip-hopped abyss of murky emotions and atmosphere. Vocally, she sticks to what she does best, but when picking up the BPM, her gliding vocals sound even more ghostly in contrast to the elaborate backing. The vocal production of this song serves as a snapshot of the nuanced swathes of sonic color the listener is bathed in, with an overall mood that supersedes the lyrical narrative—something to be felt as much as heard or understood.– WL
43. The Cure – “A Fragile Thing”
Mourning and elegy are nothing new to The Cure, but the intensity—andfinality—of the second single fromSongs of a Lost Worldis simply devastating. “A Fragile Thing” builds slowly from a minor-key piano hook, gradually adds a vigorous rhythm and then applies softly menacing rhythm guitar that doesn’t become pronounced and fully distorted until Robert Smith has explained the hopelessness of a failed relationship in excruciating detail. By the time the chorus swells for Smith (in immaculate voice at 65) to sing “‘And there’s nothing you can do to change it back,’ she said/‘Nothing you can do but sing, ‘This love is a fragile thing’,” you’ve already been ripped to shreds. Bereft in an empire of pain—and there’s still five more songs on the album. – LG
42. Fabiana Palladino – “Stay With Me Through the Night”
Fabiana Palladino shows off an impressive songwriting prowess on her self-titled debut album, along with her impeccable taste—drawing from the likes of Sade, Janet Jackson and label head/collaborator Jai Paul through her future-nostalgia sophisti-groove. But it also doesn’t hurt that she’s part of a notable musical family, and her prolific father, bassist Pino Palladino, lends his deepest grooves to “Stay With Me Through the Night.” That rubbery funk anchors the song, making what might have been a more desperate lyric come across as more confident and even coyly playful against a backdrop of vibrant movement. That kind of funk is well worth passing on to the next generation.– JT
41. Haley Heynderickx – “Foxglove”
After six long years, Haley Heynderickx reemerges with a distinct western style, leaning even further into the idiosyncratic finger picking that catapulted her to indie folk icon. The arpeggiating cavalcade of intricate guitarwork is accented by intimate strings and shuffling percussion, urging the music forward. Heynderickx now turns her introspective lyricism outward. She wields a foxglove like a magic wand, invoking the truth from us: are we really satisfied, so disconnected from nature? No matter how honestly you answer, better keep your daydreams alive. – FJ
40. MJ Lenderman – “Wristwatch”
MJ Lenderman has, seemingly unwittingly, fallen into becoming alt-rock’s poster boy. He just wants to play guitar, damn it! But play it he can. As a sucker for both folky singer-songwriter stuff andBark at the Moon-era Ozzy, “Wristwatch” carries subtle charm its whole way before the axeman slings his instrument of choice, all crunch and fuzz, to sign off his hilarious satirical tale. Lenderman’s slacker presentation often hides his acute observations of loser male performance; in this case a persona whose smartwatch glorifies his lifestyle before dragging the rug from under his arrogant feet. Filled with sarcastic key stabs indicative of Lenderman’s odd yacht rock obsessions, cartoonish slide guitars and, most importantly, a houseboat docked at the“Himbo Dome,” “Wristwatch” felt like an accomplished classic right away, memes included. – EB
39. Jamie xx – “Baddy on the Floor” (ft. Honey Dijon)
Even for his most massive singles and his sounds meant for the biggest of big rooms, there’s something about Jamie xx’s music that has always felt precious and insular. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as his hand-crafted techno is pretty universally adored. But this particular cut on In Waves surpasses even his past use of Hall and Oates to turn the party out on behalf of The xx. Here, he glitches dialogue into entirely new feelings and statements—”don’t stop until the drop stops”—and lifts hard-hitting piano and horn stabs wholesale from “Let Somebody Love You” by Keni Burke. The resulting song cuts deep into the heart of disco house, in what might be his most populist and upbeat moment yet. – AB
38. Johnny Blue Skies – “Jupiter’s Faerie”
It doesn’t matter what persona Sturgill Simpson takes on, he can’t hide the fact that he’s a rare country singer who takes equal amounts of influence from Pink Floyd as he does Merle Haggard. Lyrically surreal and thoughtful, this emotive and grief-stricken ballad eventually builds up into a bong-laden take on ’70s pop with some interesting choices made on his vocal effects. While his Johnny Blue Skies debut album as a whole moves away from his more bluegrass side, this song might be one of the dramatic excursions inspired by his interest in herbal remedies. – WL
37. Geordie Greep – “Holy Holy”
The thesis of Greep’s evil pervert jazz rock is best shown on this track, a piece of music riven with Latin music, fevered rhythms and post-Steely Dan sophisticated jazz rock paired with lyrics presumably voiced by an incel stalker. Most music that explores darkness and figures this grotesque paints in darker colors; here, Greep paints in colors that are bold to the point of garishness. The dizzying arrangements disappear in the mania, each pivot of instrumentation and arrangement matching the building wildness of the narrative, prog via musical theater delivered with enough greasy evil that it bypasses camp and arrives at a psychosis episode. – LH
36. Beyoncé – “Texas Hold ’em”
On 2024’s Cowboy Carter, Beyonce delivered her own vision of a country album. “Texas Hold’ Em” became the album’s biggest hit with its addicting twang and groove, a sort of respite from the white male-dominated space that the genre has had for years. Beyonce’s take on the sound is cheeky and fun, her soaring harmonies adding a warmth and richness to the track’s Americana-rooted sound. The themes of the lyrics center on a carefree, relaxed mission, finding shelter in the fun of an acoustic song and dance.– VC
35. Mount Eerie – “I Walk”
From one of the most cathartic indie rock albums of 2024 comes a charmingly sad tune that welcomes your tears. While Phil Elverum has never shied away from emotions, no matter which project he records under, he’s also been through the wringer in his personal life over the past decade. This song attempts to convey the full breadth of those experiences, as it careens from its quiet folky intro to a charmingly raucous conclusion that almost falls apart under its mournful weight. It’s an exercise in therapy through music that’s honest and heartfelt instead of treacly and saccharine. – APN
34. Mdou Moctar – “Funeral for Justice”
Despite its title, “Funeral for Justice” is by no means a solemn dirge. Virtuoso Tuareg guitarist Mdou Moctar delivers an explosive, revolutionary cry, expressed with driving, electrifying rage. The target of his ire is announced in the first line, avoiding any unnecessary poeticism. “Dear African leaders, hear my burning question. Why does your ear only heed France and America?” You’ll struggle to find a more direct, unrelenting protest song this year. Moctar barely pauses for breath, his Tamasheq lyrics castigating those officials who allow foreign corporations to exploit the continent’s resources. When words don’t suffice, his soaring, overdriven guitar combines with pummeling drums to hammer the message home. – NS
33. Burial – “Dreamfear”
Did we ever think a sample of clicking would become a producer tag? Burial’s “Dreamfear” proves it can be done. For over two decades, William Bevan continues to push the boundaries of insular rave and dub while staying within the parameters of all things Burial. “Dreamfear” is particularly self-referential, borrowing samples from tracks past all while sounding like a spiritual successor to 2013’s Rival Dealer. The 13-minute epic is the heads-side to the equally transcendent “Boy Sent from Above,” both of which connect the not-so-fractured dots between early hardcore, trance, and Burial’s own discography. – PP
32. Mabe Fratti – “Enfrente”
Cellist and composer Mabe Fratti’s superpower is building awe-inspiring worlds from the starkest of elements, her two primary instruments—cello and voice—bearing most of the weight. “Enfrente” isn’t much different in that regard, its use of ample open space lending greater impact to the introduction of each instrument, be it the propulsive live-breakbeat rhythm or the light that refracts through its glassy synthesizers. Its whole feels exponentially greater than the sum of its parts, an art-pop masterpiece that, coupled with her lament about the distance between two people—“Vas un paso enfrente de mí, amor/Sé que no te puedo alcanzar” (“You’re one step ahead of me, love/I know I can’t reach you”)—echoes the compassionate conflict of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” Even at its subtlest, cloistered and clandestine, it has that kind of power. – JT
31. Mannequin Pussy – “Loud Bark”
I Got Heaven feels like a proper breakthrough album for Mannequin Pussy and “Loud Bark” encapsulates everything that it does so well. The track employs a memorable vocal hook and the quiet verse/loud chorus dynamic that never fails. Then there’s its attitude, which strikes a tricky balance between confrontational and endearing. The emancipatory, nuanced lyrics are wholly thrilling and effortlessly speak to ultra-modern concerns, adding up to an rock banger coursing with complex feelings. – TM
30. Knocked Loose – “Suffocate” (feat. Poppy)
Knocked Loose have leveled up, and “Suffocate” is the perfect example of their overwhelming, cranked-to-eleven ‘sum of parts’ approach to metalcore. There isn’t a single element left of their music not maxed out to brutal capacity. Bryan Garris is fully leaning into his less than conventional vocals, taking an otherwise standard script of rage and vindication to a special height. Their use of a reggaeton beat on the breakdown may not be the most elegant stylistic fusion, but the band sell it entirely with furious passion and unhinged production that make the snare hits rattle your soul.– FJ
29. Fontaines D.C. – “Favourite”
While 2024 saw Irish group Fontaines D.C. let out a harsher, grungier side of their work, they also closed their album Romance with the incredibly charming “Favourite.” It’s a sweet, loving tune of reflection and nostalgia, as frontman Grian Chatten sings, “I could claim the dreamer from the dream / make you feel everything you’ve never even seen.” Bookended with a jangly guitar riff, the track finds the band returning to their folk roots, making room for their earlier sound that so many fell in love with. It’s a serene few minutes for a band who has seen such a rise in the past few years, a sort of meditation for themselves after tremendous growth.– VC
28. Faye Webster – “Lego Ring” (feat. Lil Yachty)
Faye Webster takes on on a broader array of sounds with her fifth release, Underdressed at the Symphony, which showcases an artist with an ear for rich tones and blending genres. “Lego Ring” finds Webster collaborating with Lil Yachty on a single that wobbles in and out, playing with vocal distortions. It exhibits her desire to search for new textures and tones to develop, while her vocals continue to have a raw edge to them, never pristine or delicate. – KR
27. Lord Spikeheart – “TYVM”
It’s tech death. It’s industrial. It’s hardcore. And it comes from the ashes of Kenyan/Ugandan cybergrind duo Duma. Lord Spikeheart’s 2024 album, The Adept, is one of our favorites here at Treble, and he kicked things off with some electro-shock therapy on “TYVM.” Combining brutal blast beats, shrieking guitar tones, and guttural vocals to delirious effect, the result is a pummeling tune that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. The song is a furious attack on the senses, complete with a break-neck aesthetic that feels downright fanatical. Get ready to bend the knee to this newest entrant to the heavy metal aristocracy.– APN
26. Arooj Aftab – “Aey Nehin”
For such a distinctly nocturnal album, “Aey Nehin” is the perfect opener, setting the stage with a tone both sensuous and melancholic, distilling that particular romantic ennui that only the night provides. Equal parts haunting and soothing, Aftab’s vocals are mesmeric, moving through rich beds of harps and guitars with total ease and confidence. There is no strenuous push for emotion here. For Aftab, the night is a time of quiet yearning and solitude. If there is a soundtrack to the bleary-eyed gaze of the lonely bar-dwelling romantic, this might just be it. – NS
25. Kim Gordon – “I’m a Man”
What’s wrong with men today? Kim Gordon doesn’t seem convinced that it’s anything we haven’t heard before. On one of the heaviest and most intense moments of industrial hip-hop-tinged noise on her strange and wonderful The Collective, the alt-rock legend finds only the same cliches that have been around since long before the ascent of the Manosphere: “So what if I like the big truck… Don’t call me toxic/Just because I like your… butt.” Its onslaught of shrieking distortion would be terrifying if its lyrical content weren’t so wryly humorous. Nearly 35 years later, and the liberation from white male corporate oppression is still a work in progress. – JT
24. Charli XCX – “365”
WithBratstomping such a giant party boot into modern culture, Charli was all too happy to expand the lime green universe beyond its groundbreaking original form with A-list remixes and re-releases. Who can blame an artist whose accolades for a decade-long rewrite of pop music are well overdue? In that initial tracklist, “365” acted as the cyclical bookend from the club entry at “360,” the ultimate send off for Charli’s hyper-confident partygirl persona who, after facing lifestyle dilemmas, insecurity, and imposter syndrome allBratlong, decides the solution is a big night out that goes awry. Like the formula displayed by Mike Skinner’s “Blinded By the Lights,” A.G. Cook and Charli guide us through initial euphoria, corridors leading to ‘Daft Punk Rooms’, and toilet cubicles for overdoing drugs and DMCs with strangers. It’s perfectly sloppy and makes sure that“bumping that”plays on long after the party’s over. – EB
23. Chat Pile – “Masc”
Vocalist Raygun Busch described “Masc” as the saddest song on Cool World, but that requires some qualification; where the rest of the album exists in a state of existential horror at the outside world, this is entirely directed inward. A hazy expression of male vulnerability in a society that shames or sneers at it, “Masc” is a cry of desperation, grasping for a lifeline that feels like the barest tether as Busch sings and eventually growls, “Trust and bleed/I/Trust and bleed/I.” Driving and massive, hook-laden and intense, it retains the brawny sensibility of Chat Pile’s most furious moments, its veins wide open where an overdrive pedal can be plugged right in. – JT
22. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings – “Empty Trainload of Sky”
The moment the soft-picked guitar lead and understated backbeat of “Empty Trainload of Sky” announce the first Gillian Welch record in 13 years, you don’t feel the years between one bit. Welch’s music has always felt like something from a bygone age and likely always will … and there’s nothing wrong with that when the execution’s still this good. Her voice, aided by Rawlings’ intricate but unshowy country-folk arrangements, is no less beautiful now than it was decades ago on seminal albums likeRevivalandHell Among the Yearlings. She nods to modernity with wry asides like “Did I ditch that class in college?” in a deceptively simple song about the relentlessness of time. – LG
21. Chappell Roan – “Good Luck, Babe!”
Multiple factors contributed to Roan’s ascent this past year, like her opening slot on Olivia Rodrigo’s tour and her fervent queer fanbase, but “Good Luck, Babe!” asserts that primarily it’s because she has the “it” factor. The lyric “You’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling” contextually applies to a woman who’s hiding from her sexuality, but it also relates to how unstoppable Roan is here. She sings as if her voice could wrap around the globe. This was partially her intent, as she told Rolling Stone, “I was just wanting to write a big anthemic pop song.” And, she succeeded; “Good Luck, Babe!” a rousing track propelled into the stratosphere by Roan’s vocals.– CD
20. Jlin – “The Precision of Infinity” (feat. Philip Glass)
That Philip Glass doesn’t show her up on her own track is indicative of how far Jlin has come. We’ve loved her for a long time, but the early works of hers had an air of promise, of development. With the sophisticated “The Precision of Infinity,” which balances ebullient dance with ruminative and wistful piano work, we see her full arrival, a figure which renounces neither wing of her vectors of influence. We rightly laud Aphex Twin as a lordly talent; Jlin is likewise worthy of such reverence. – LH
19. Sumac – “Yellow Dawn”
What a beautiful dream. Is it drone, doom, free improv, psych, prog? The addition of Aaron Turner’s spouse Faith Coloccia, lead figure of her own brilliant group Mamiffer as well as a number of other projects, on organ is an inspired choice. These are big impressionistic swaths of music, a blend of improvisation and composition. A pure music. The mindlessness regarding genre is countered by an intense mindfulness of soundscaping, a purity of musical response. It’s heavy music devoid of anger: this is processing, this is beauty, this is acceptance. This is healing. – LH
18. Ka – “Such Devotion”
“Such Devotion” begins with a sampled quote from American Civil Rights leader and long-time Nebraska state senator Ernie Chambers: “We’re not gonna suffer anymore. No more turning the other cheek. No more blessing our enemies.” The full clip is a powerful, eviscerating critique of white supremacy, American imperialism, and this nation’s egotistical, hypocritical obsession with its own false morality. This clip, as well as quotes from pastor Wyatt Tee Walker and filmmaker/activist Marlon Riggs, are used across the late-great Ka’s swan song The Thief Next to Jesus, a record reexamining Christianity, race, and the rapper’s own relationship with his faith. – PP
17. Kelly Lee Owens – “Love You Got”
Kelly Lee Owens can’t sit still, and that might be her greatest strength as an electronic artist. After two consecutive albums representing different strains of arthouse electro, Dreamhouse flipped that script even further by releasing a collection of top-notch dance-pop bangers like “Love You Got.” The tune provides up-tempo bounce, dreamy soprano vocals, and breakbeats with heavy syncopation reminiscent of ‘90s house. Thanks to Owens’ penchant for stellar pacing, the song never dips into generic repetition, as she crafts big chord thumps, airy synths, and an ever-ascending energy into a remix-ready song that can drive people to the dance floor. – APN
16. Kacey Musgraves – “Cardinal”
A cardinal looked at Kacey. In the gorgeously swirling psych-jangle leadoff track from Deeper Well, Musgraves—in the grips of grief over the sudden and unexpected loss of a friend—attempts to make sense of the avian visitor that comes her way: “Cardinal, are you bringing me a message from the other side? … Don’t leave me behind.” Amid the song’s dusty desert-kissed 12-string riffs, Musgraves is left with no answers, just the image of the bright-red plumage of a messenger who speaks in song. – JT
15. Thou – “I Feel Nothing When You Cry”
Leaving a vast path of devastation at the minimum BPM is essentially Thou’s modus operandi, so when something like “I Feel Nothing When You Cry” comes along, it feels like a complete reset of everything we once knew about one of metal’s most elegantly agonizing bands. Kicking up a whirlwind of sludge that feels more rooted in hardcore, Thou deliver a certified ripper that’s made for live performances (which I saw firsthand this year—confirmed!). And despite vocalist Bryan Funck’s almost zenlike phrasing of “I am a rock in a sea of chaos,” it’s the chaos that keeps me coming back. – JT
14. Beyoncé – “YA YA”
An album’s fucking20thtrack is not usually where you find masterpieces, but “YA YA” is unquestionably that. Wielding the lower end of her vocal range like a flamethrower of soul, Beyoncé tears her way through a seamless pastiche of Black American music: Chuck Berry-indebted rock ‘n’ roll, hyperspeed doo-wop, a honky-tonk undercurrent and just a touch of Southern hip-hop bravado (the obvious-if-you-know-it nod to Gunplay’s “Bible on the Dash”). Incendiary lyrics veer between sweeping statements (“Whole lotta red in that white and blue, huh?”) and character sketches (“Wildfire burned his house down/Insurance ain’t gon’ pay no Fannie Mae, shit!”). Your mileage may vary onCowboy Carteras a whole, but if this track didn’t have you snapping, clapping, dancing or shouting along, check your damn pulse. – LG
13. Jessica Pratt – “Life Is”
In oneMulholland Drive scene, you’re sucked into thinking you’re seeing an old-timey movie performance before the camera pulls back to a studio lot, showing you it’s a modern day audition. “Life Is” has a similarly profound effect; returning to the real world feels near-impossible following its reverie. This opener to Pratt’s first record in five years is glorious in its antiquity, where even the newness of a drum intro is as thick and tender as an old comfy sofa. Pratt’s cooing voice evokes a grainy photograph, pairing exquisitely well with lyrics musing over the passage of time—the singer’s modus operandi. And like all effective world-builders, “Life Is” acts like a big coaxing hand to a spectral retro land you immediately believe to be the only place that exists, one that Pratt takes mere seconds to establish with calm aplomb. – EB
12. Beth Gibbons – “Floating on a Moment”
Singer and composer Beth Gibbons reveals who she is with confidence and a smartly curated rawness.Lives Outgrownoffers a folk-tinged alternative-rock sound with guitar and strings that offer a stylistic counterpoint to her famed work with Portishead. Gibbon’s voice is full of emotion on “Floating on a Moment,” the album’s first single. It’s tinged with a melancholy that teeters on the edge of morose but never tips over into it. Gibbons reveals a love and care for her craft, and shows that through its depth and devotion. – KR
11. Kim Gordon – “Bye Bye”
Who saw this coming from Kim Gordon? “Bye Bye” is an industrial trap speaker-blower, a masterful left-turn from a musician who has moved with the times in spectacular fashion. Atop all its aggressive distortion and merciless rhythms, there’s Gordon’s familiar laconic drawl, matching the ice-cold production with a sprechgesang list of daily accessories: “Hoodie, toothpaste, brush, foundation, contact solution, mascara, lip mask, eye mask.” A dark, deadpan and magical track from one of alternative music’s great visionaries. – TM
10. The Cure – “Alone”
Saturn returns, miserable and melancholic, scion of age. The deep purples and reds and pinks which used to score The Cure’s work here are replaced (relaced?) with sophisticated greyscale: the gentle silver of the strings against the stronger white of the piano, a throbbing black bass line set against its mirror in drums. Misery has always been beautiful for the Cure but here Smith offers perhaps the only valid evolution of that perfect work in Disintegration, moving it to the peaceable grandeur of ballrooms and old age, a neoclassical atmosphere without the obnoxious air. – LH
9. Floating Points – “Ocotillo”
Cascade may be a back-to-basics dance album, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get a beautiful interlude-cum-build masterpiece of ambience and texture. And it’s not just the influence of 2021’s ethereal Promises here (though there definitely is that). The bright synths continually evolve across the track’s eight-and-a-half-minute length, never staying in one form for long without an added layer recontextualizing the whole arrangement. Yet the recurring, jangly motif from harp and clavichord anchor everything. Sam Shepherd has a delicate ear for the balance before the drop, and “Ocotillo” is the perfect case study. – FJ
8. Nilüfer Yanya – Like I Say (I runaway)”
Nilufer Yanya has mastered a particular kind of dejected cool. Here she wields that quality to brilliant effect, establishing a calm, self-assured demeanor before breaking into a chorus of heavy guitar fuzz and sudden lyrical vulnerability. The playful character of the first verse (“I can never lose, it’s a state of mind”) is hard to find in the driving, noisy chorus—the pretense has evaporated, leaving someone craving reassurance, scared to lose their partner (“the minute I’m not in control, I’m tearing up inside”). “Like I Say (I runaway)” is Yanya at her best, irresistibly catchy and quietly haunting. – NS
7. Mannequin Pussy – “Sometimes”
In another era, a little band called Sugar inserted pop sensibilities into the overdriven punk rock Bob Mould brought from his first major musical concern, Hüsker Dü. Fans of Philadelphia’s Mannequin Pussy may not have expected them to pull off the same feat with their own brand of screaming noise-rock, but this track from I Got Heaven might just do it. Marisa Dabice’s melodies in the verses, the jangle-pop guitars behind them, the competing refrains in the choruses, the pushing-red riffs behind those—”Sometimes” is just earworm after earworm in style after style. “Come and leave your lonesome ways behind” isn’t just an in-song invitation to pair off, it’s a universal demand to rock out with whatever crowd you can find. – AB
6. ELUCID – “The World Is Dog”
Impressionistic and harshly beautiful, the opening song off ELUCID’s fantasticRevelatoris a cathartic and chaotic burst of energy. ELUCID jumps from gorgeous and terrifying imperatives to seeming-non-sequiturs to apocalyptic proverbs seamlessly—“Trust none, fear all / Small world, devolve / Jaws that grind, teeth that tear,” “Chaos hour, shadow play, hammers hang on loop / I’m chewing at the bit, hard to mark the day / Be not afraid”—over jazzy drums, bass, and noise, featuring bassist and composer Luke Stewart and production work from Jon Nellen. – TD
5. Charli XCX – “Von Dutch”
I’m not sure we could’ve gotten a better first taste of Charli XCX’sBratera than “Von dutch.” The song’s “Fuck you, this world’s MINE” bravado goes unbelievably hard: Easyfun’s careening production—cavernous bass, a near relentless drum track and arresting synth squelches—gives a vocally distorted Charli the perfect foundation to taunt her naysayers’ jealousy, turning “I’m your number one” into an intoxicating mantra. It’s a manifesto of thebratvibe—an instant club classic—but its rip-roaring glee also makes the nuance and emotional shifts elsewhere onBratall the more impactful. – LG
4. Waxahatchee – “Right Back to It” (feat. MJ Lenderman)
The quiet, everyday peace of mind of an enduring long-term relationship isn’t typically the stuff that great songs are made of. Reckless lust, Hollywood-cliché infatuation, tabloid-messy break-ups—these are what drive chart hits, for good reason. But there’s something that cuts much deeper about a song like “Right Back to It,” a country-rock duet between Katie Crutchfield and MJ Lenderman, despite the near-absence of drama at its center. “You just settle in, like a song with no end,” they sing, entwined in gorgeous harmony, “If I can keep up, we’ll get right back to it.” Love isn’t always fireworks and silk sheets, but real, honest, enduring love—even years down the line—is still something worth singing about. – JT
3. MJ Lenderman – “She’s Leaving You”
The thing about “She’s Leaving You”—and MJ Lenderman’s music in general—is how deceptively simple and direct it is. Give Lenderman four chords, and he’ll write you a song that’s both immediately human and achingly tender. Oh and he’ll make it rock, too. “She’s Leaving You,” the first single from MJ Lenderman’s breakthrough albumManning Fireworks,is a perfect example of what he does best on that record. The sad sack characters who rent Ferraris, think Clapton is the second coming, and go to Vegas if only for the lights could be anybody, or they could be you. “It falls apart, we all got work to do,” Lenderman and Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman (also Lenderman’s ex-girlfriend) sing together on a chorus that plays out perfectly and never overstays its welcome. I could listen to that chorus over and over again. It’s one of those singles where the first time you heard it, you knew you were listening to something special.– JY
2. Fontaines D.C. – “Starburster”
Fontaines D.C. embraced the mainstream potential of their sinister and sophisticated post-punk with the Britpop-sized anthems and grunge callbacks on fourth album Romance. But “Starburster” echoes the in-between spaces of ’90s and early ’00s alt-rock, threading Primal Scream with Big Beat, Beck and Garbage on a song that goes even harder than their rave-in-the-Matrix fashion sense. Vocalist Grian Chatten trades his evocative croon for a rapid-fire sequence of images (“I’m the pig on the Chinese calendar/I got a shadow like a .58 caliber/I wanna move like a new Salamander“), gasping for air during the chorus after what feels like one breathless verse after another. But those exaggerated inhalations are intended to replicate a very real panic attack that Chatten experienced prior to writing the album, and the claustrophobia only intensifies as the song progresses. “Starburster” is what it feels like when the walls start closing in and the only option is to kick your way out. – JT
1. Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
“Not Like Us” is a true chameleon. In one light, it exists because it’s a diss track—and a hilariously gratuitous one at that, a throwdown on Drake’s grave after Kendrick had already smoked him in their now-immortalized beef. But there’s a reason the song is firmly embedded in pop culture while the other three disses Kendrick put out are footnotes. The brash, bouncy Mustard beat inspires that non-specific “I’m gonna fuck shit up” sense of provocation. Like “Hey Ya” or “Pumped Up Kicks,” “Not Like Us” seems destined for a long afterlife dissociated from its lyrics.
But neither of those two songs contained plausible accusations of sex crimes. What does it say about pop culture that teens, athletes and entertainers are dancing gleefully to “Trying to strike a chord, and it’s probably a minorrr”? Why was so little of the discourse around the song focused on whether Kendrick’s claims were true? Why were underage victims invoked to one-up someone in a rap beef in the first place? In a certain light, this chameleon looks like a chilling sublimation of atrocity.
But “Not Like Us” is our best song of the year because it’s not any one thing. It does so much more than dunk on Drake. It’s a love letter to the West Coast. It’s an indictment of appropriation. It’s a one-size-fits-all bop. Thanks to Mustard, it gives us a great idea of what we’d get if we threw Lil Jon and Dr. Dre in a blender. There are entire essays to be written from each of these angles. And this sobering, complicated, infectious contradiction of a track is bound to show new colors long after this insane cultural moment is a memory. – CB
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