2024 Honorable Mentions: Songs & Albums

Right on the edge of the best of the best.

Dec 18, 2024

So much good music from 2024, so little time. The following 10 songs and 5 albums are great, but just outside my top 100 songs and top 50 albums lists. Check them all out below, and listen to each one with the link provided in each entry. Happy listening!

Songs

“Tailor Swif” has been floating around for a few years now, and it’ll be a part of DON’T BE DUMB if A$AP Rocky ever decides to drop it. It’s as fun of a song that Rocky has done since his debut, effortlessly braggadocious and backed by a fun Hitkidd instrumental. LISTEN

The original version of “Talk talk” is one of BRAT’s more straightforward pop songs, and a fun one at that. After hearing the updated version with Troye Sivan though, it’s almost impossible to pick the original over this update. The instrumental is ridiculously catchy, vibrantly backing an expectedly horny Troye and Charli as they continue on about the difficulties of modern communication. LISTEN

According to the band, “Favourite” is one of Fontainse D.C.’s favorite songs they’ve ever made. You can hear why with the Smiths-inspired instrumental, finding that perfect vein of indie rock along with some of the group’s most sentinel lyrics. It’s a great closer to one of their best records yet. LISTEN

City pop is at the heart of every song on SHINBANGUMI, but no song owes more to the genre than “Only You”. From a rhythm standpoint this is as groovy as it gets, perfect for a night drive down Tokyo with the windows down. LISTEN

While I don’t like “meet the grahams” now as much as I did when it dropped, I’d be remiss not to mention it on any list like this. The level of venom and hate Kendrick spits across the song turns him into a serial killer, slowly offing Drake’s son, parents and allegedly hidden daughter. The latter figure probably isn’t real, but even if Kendrick took the bait, he spares no one on this murderous rampage. LISTEN

With little more than a piano and her voice, Laura Marling can make a grown man cry. This track is pitched from the perspective of meeting her newborn daughter out in the world, and it’s a loving ode and truly tearjerking track. LISTEN

Finding her life in flux brought about by the circumstances of her continuing acclaim, Nilüfer frames this change through a deteriorating relationship on “Mutations”. Its simple percussion and moody bassline give the song that raw life that I’ve come to love from Nilüfer’s music. LISTEN

I absolutely love “Hard Times” by Paramore, and I absolutely love Talking Heads. So what could go wrong with a crossover I wasn’t expecting? David Byrne’s version of the Paramore smash is a bit goofy, but in an endearing way. LISTEN

Much of Smile :D is about Porter’s relationship with his fans, and “Knock Yourself Out XD” is one of his best ruminations on that dynamic. The way he sees himself versus how fans see him is a central theme, buoyed by glitzy synths and a pop instrumental he fills well. LISTEN

If anyone but Sabrina Carpenter sang “Juno”, the shameless horniness would probably be too much. But she’s so damn endearing in her desire to find that perfect many for her, even if it’s in the kinkiest way possible. “Juno” is also one of the most sonically pleasing songs on Short n’ Sweet, if you can get past all those freaky positions. LISTEN

Albums

Damon McMahon has been building something like Death Jokes for a long time. It’s the project’s most vibrant project to date, filled with synths and dance rhythms that sound like the complete opposite of its dark title. Lyrically McMahon is still cryptic, commenting on America’s culture of violence and his own experiences within it. It’s all a far cry from the bare bones DIY-style he started within, but you love seeing the artistic growth, and it makes a great (and unexpected) swan song to the Amen Dunes project. LISTEN

In need of a musical bar fight? Jump into Cartoon Darkness and prepare to get your face smashed. Amyl and the Sniffers don’t need many reasons to brawl but they find plenty, going to town on Big Tech, constant wars and radical politics. Amy Taylor’s sneer is begging to pick a fight, and by the end you’ll have a bloody nose, some missing teeth, and the desire to jump right back into the fight. LISTEN

It wasn’t enough for Charli that BRAT is the most culturally significant album of 2024. She saw fit to rework every song on her most critically acclaimed work yet, bringing in a slew of friends that are locked in as Charli is. Most of the songs retain elements of the original but function completely differently, like the Ariana Grande-assisted “Sympathy is a knife” or the continued grief on “So I featuring a.g. cook”. Songs with tons of juice already like “Talk talk” and “Mean girls” find new life with new friends. Charli’s unwillingness to stay content is what puts her so far ahead to begin with, and her second album of 2024 is better than most other artist’s first record. LISTEN

Confidence Man are always searching for the party of the year, one they are pretty good at throwing themselves. 3AM (LA LA LA) is full of bangers you’re likely to hear at that time in the morning, and “la la la” is about as complex as the lyrics get. This isn’t the group’s most fun party but on the whole it’s pretty irresistible, and songs like “SO WHAT” and “JANET” are bound to get you bumping. LISTEN

Cascade is far from the spiritual odyssey he took us on with the late Pharaoh Sanders. Floating Points’ new record seeks to mesh his intelligent dance music senses with more accessible rhythms, and he does so in stylish fashion. “Birth4000” and “Del Oro” are thrilling EDM tracks with a sharp edge, and the record’s flow ensures there’s never a dull moment on this dance floor. LISTEN

2024 Honorable Mentions: Songs & Albums

Right on the edge of the best of the best.

Songs

Albums

Discussion about this post