Published on
July 11, 2024
Category
Features
Unmissable records from the first half of 2024.
The first six months of 2024 have been full of musical high points. From vulnerable cowboy crooning to 24/7 party girl anthems, the year has already shown the versatility and explorative desires of underground heroes and pop megastars alike.
Read below to discover the VF team’s favourite releases of the year so far, selected by VF’s Kelly Doherty and contributors Annabelle Van Dort, James Hammond and Emily Hill.
Adrianne Lenker
Bright Future
(4AD)
Leading on from the acclaim of 2020’s Songs/ Instrumentals this solo effort from Big Thief singer-songwriter Adrianne Lenker firmly dodged over-production impulses and stood true to the directness and intimacy of her songcraft. A straight-to-tape affair recorded with a close and longstanding group of collaborators, Bright Future intertwines familiar ideas of love, loss and memory with an openness and turn of phrase that keeps them enduring. Another spellbinding collection from Lenker that sounds all the better for her dedication to airing songs within a space and recording them as such.–James Hammond
Arooj Aftab
Night Reign
(Verve)
Lauded folk singer-songwriter Arooj Aftab delivered another haunting and tender body of work on her fourth album, Night Reign. Featuring lyrics taken from the Urdu poetry of Mah Laqa Bai Chanda and an experimental take on jazz standard “Autumn Leaves”, Night Reign is a rich and atmospheric record, buoyed by Aftab’s impressive and hypnotic vocal range and economical but engulfing instrumentation. A soothing, alluring listen.–Kelly Doherty
Astrid Sonne
Great Doubt
(Echo)
Astrid Sonne kicked off 2024 with an early excellent entry. A sparse, minimalist take on singer-songwriter fare, Great Doubt is Sonne’s most vocal heavy work to date and also her most fully realised. Contemplatively emotional and diaristic yet suitably abstract, Great Doubt is a triumph in intimate electronic and open-ended admissions. One for late-night listens that leaves plenty of space for interpretation.–KD
Beyoncé
Cowboy Carter
(Parkwood)
Continuing her run of genre-specific records (beginning with 2022’s ode to club music Renaissance), Beyoncé returned this year with Cowboy Carter–a behemothic 27-track amble through country, folk and Americana. A sweeping exploration that interpolates and samples the likes of The Beatles, Dolly Parton and Chuck Berry, Cowboy Carter serves as an alternative history for country music of sorts as she piles high the small-town girl and revenge narratives alongside traditional acoustic numbers and more experimental Southern trap stylings. It’s expansive and sprawling–the sound of an artist at ease with setting the agenda for a genre whilst making it her own. A major event from popular culture’s most regal figure.–KD
Billie Eilish
HIT ME HARD & SOFT
(Interscope)
Billie Eilish stepped up a notch on her third album, HIT ME HARD & SOFT. In ways a coming out record, Eilish bottles sapphic desire on the irresistibly hooky “LUNCH”, deals with the trappings of fame (“SKINNY”) and grapples with coming of age and gaining perspective throughout. HIT ME HARD & SOFT is Eilish’s most ambitious album in scope–where she built a name on minimalist, dark bedroom pop, this third record is expansive; moving between atmospheric electronic and stadium rock. It’s daring and thrilling while maintaining the mass pop appeal Eilish has commanded since the beginning. A fine example that pop music can still innovate.–KD
Bullion
Affection
(Ghostly International)
The fourth studio album from cult producer Bullion, aka Nathan Jenkins, is an irresistible collection of avant-pop songs, full of wistful melodies and driving ’80s synth beats while still retaining Bullion’s whimsical touch. Affection sees Jenkins at his most introspective and restrained, crafting contemplative pop music drenched in a nostalgic sheen. Featuring blink-and-you’ll-miss-it features from left-field pop darlings Carly Rae Jepsen, Charlotte Adigéry and Panda Bear, Affection is packed with unexpected delights.–AVD
Charli xcx
Brat
(Atlantic)
A true cultural phenomenon, Charli xcx took over both the summer and the colour green with her sixth album Brat. A rousing blend of club production and confessional lyricism, Brat sees music’s favourite party girl fully come into her own. A rare no-skip pop album, Brat‘s clash of fun hedonism and internal conflict vocalises the experience of those with one foot in the club and one foot in the future. It’s vulnerable, joyous, bold and self-aware–all the makings of an instant club classic.–KD
Christina Kubisch & Trondheim Voices
Stormsänger
(Important Records)
Wearing custom-made induction headphones that detect and record electromagnetic sounds, Christina Kubisch’s exposition of hidden sound worlds found a captivating balance with the human voice on Stormsänger. Merging the seemingly disparate elements of voice and electromagnetism, Kubisch’s recording of the electromagnetic sounds of a tram in Trondheim, Norway, served as the impetus for a collaboration with the Trondheim Voices vocal ensemble. Recording and re-recording playback of voice and electromagnetic sound in a church, the oscillations and undulations of the two parts intertwine and stretch out further with the ensemble moving to improvisation around the tram’s distinct sounds. One of the year’s most vivid realizations of concept that puts Kubisch’s compositional and imaginative rigour to good use.–JH
Cousin Kula
Vitamin D
(!K7)
Bristol-based five-piece Cousin Kula amped things up this year with their second album on the Rhythm Section International imprint. Designed with summer in mind, Vitamin D is a joyful and upbeat pivot from Double Dinners, inviting the possibility for some summer romance along the way. Across ten tracks they navigate between psychedelic and funk-infused frequencies bordering on alternative jazz.–EH
Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru
Souvenirs
(Mississippi)
Where last year’s Jerusalem gave a tantalising glimpse of Ethiopian pianist Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru’s rarely heard vocals, Souvenirs came as a full collection of home recordings that placed Gebru’s voice alongside her beautiful cascades of piano notes. Recorded between 1977 and 1985 and largely whilst in exile from her homeland, this collection makes for a spellbinding set which is marked by love, loss, and the intimacy of poetic works sung directly into a boom box. Essential listening from a legend of Ethiopian music.–JH
James Massiah
True Romance
(Levels)
James Massiah, the exceptional poet and musician from London, has carved a stylistic identity for himself in his approach to production–something that shone through in his 2019 Natural Born Killers EP and is only cemented further in True Romance. Charting his thoughts on 21st-century love, life and relationships, Massiah wields clean neon-esque electronic-flavoured beats and is inspired by a plethora of genres–notably grime, dancehall dub and acid. Truly some of his best work yet and a highly recommended tip for any fans of Dean Blunt or Lord Tusk.–EH
Jlin
Akoma
(Planet Mu)
Jlin continued her run as one of dance music’s most intriguing auteurs with her third studio album. As we’ve come to expect from Jlin, Akoma is an artful interrogation of club-ready sounds, driven by a precise and deliberate understanding of the power of percussion. In its glitchy traversing of genres as disparate as footwork, classical and trap, the release is unpredictable and intentionally disjointed, yet simultaneously silky smooth and fluid. Danceable and thoughtful, Akoma is an exhilarating collection that cements Jlin’s reputation as a singular talent in her field.–KD
Julia Holter
Something in the Room She Moves
(Domino)
Even the title of Julia Holter’s latest album—her first since 2018’s Aviary— tells of some numinous force, mystical and unknowable. Helmed by Holter’s ethereal siren song, Something in the Room She Moves is a blissful and beguiling collection of off-kilter chamber pop songs–rich with celestial synths and airy woodwinds. Ascendant and sublime from start to finish.–AVD
Kamasi Washington
Fearless Movement
(Young)
As the title of his latest record suggests, jazz titan Kamasi Washington’s third album as a bandleader is a sweeping spectacle, dexterously shifting between moods and genres, unbound by limitations. Where the dramatic arcs of Washington’s past records have oriented toward the cosmos, Fearless Movement is enamoured with more earthly concerns—namely the birth of Washington’s daughter, who touchingly features on “Asha the First”. With memorable appearances from an all-star cast of guest vocalists and musicians, including Andre 3000, Thundercat and George Clinton, Fearless Movement is a triumphant return from America’s leading jazz light.–AVD
Kali Uchis
Orquídeas
(EMI)
Kali Uchis released the successor to last year’s excellent Red Moon In Venus in a two-pronged attack that established her as one of pop’s most underrated gems. A predominantly Spanish language album (her second, following 2020’s Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios)), Orquídeas marks a departure from its predecessor. While the dreamy, sultry textures remain, cumbia and reggaeton strains establish dominance, making for a more club-ready energy. Full of seductive, melodramatic tales of sex and love, Orquídeas is a soundtrack for the lovers and the lovelorn. A beautifully rendered portrait of romance in both its peaks and valleys.–KD
Kim Gordon
The Collective
(Matador)
Kim Gordon’s second solo record, The Collective, pushes her open-genre approach another step forward as she reunites with producer Justin Raisen and sets sight on the current malaise. Documenting her gaze on this current state of affairs with disruptive twists; general paranoia, separation, dystopian technologies and convenience culture get a certain reanimation within Gordon’s deadpan narratives. Set to trap beats, guitar skronk and industrial noise, The Collective works on a language of disruption and distention, serving as another point in case for Gordon’s continued abilities to dodge nostalgia and engage with music in the present tense.–JH
Lars Bartkuhn
Nomad
(Rush Hour)
On his second solo album for Rush Hour, German producer, musician, and Needs Music co-founder Lars Bartkuhn concocts a syncretic alchemy of fourth-world rhythms, ambient soundscapes, and deep house beats. An expansive journey across otherworldly sonics, Nomad sees Bartkuhn successfully combine his improvisatory experimental instincts with more dance-friendly sounds.–AVD
Micha Volders & Miet Warlop
ICCHĀ
(Mutropia)
A powerful and dynamic release that was conceptualised during 2023 in Dhaka, Bangladesh by the talented Miet Warlop and brought even further to life by Micha Volders. This collaboration between seven extraordinary Bangladeshi performers and the Belgium-based artists was realised at the opening of the Dhaka Art Summit. This live performance created a powerful intersection between performance and public space whilst simultaneously exploring the relationship between humans and language. Recordings for ICCHĀ were curated carefully to capture the rich heritage of the Bengali language whilst blending electronic frequencies. Featuring vocal performances from slam poet Shayer Noor, Muhammad Shanto, Tanny Das Gupta, ICCHĀ captures and navigates the vibrant frenzy of the streets of Dhaka.–EH
Moor Mother
The Great Bailout
(ANTI-)
VF artist and poet/musician Moor Mother was on exceptional form with the breathtaking The Great Bailout. A dense and artful interrogation of the British slave trade and colonial project, The Great Bailout is a heavy fog of echoey, dark vocals and minimalist, deconstructed productions. The project is spearheaded by defiant spoken word–refrains such as “Where they get all the money?” (“ALL THE MONEY”) and “God save the Queen because who else life has value” (“GOD SAVE THE QUEEN”) pack a raw punch, staying with the listener long after the record stops spinning. Boasting an exceptional list of collaborators including Lonnie Holley and Kyle Kidd, The Great Bailout is Moor Mother at her best–KD
Saoirse
The Monogamous EP
(Peach Discs)
Peach Discs hit 20 releases with this superb EP from label friend and favourite Saoirse whose past life as a drummer is reinvigorated for five techy rollers imbued with her signature style and rich percussive rhythmic drive. Written partially in the confines of lockdown, the music jaunts through feelings of optimism whilst contrasted with the harsh looped realities of not knowing when this whole thing was going to end. A truly diverse but punchy EP from one of the most versatile DJs in the scene.–EH
Simo Cell
Cuspide Des Sirènes
(Temet)
French producer and DJ Simo Cell takes the listener on a sprawling adventure through 16 tracks for his debut album. Intended to be consumed in one sitting; it tells the tale of Cuspide Des Sirènes. Simo Cell has a much-respected club repertoire alongside a host of EPs and remixes, but this takes things to the next level as it bursts at the seams with wobbly basslines. Exploring themes of magic, enchantment and charm, Cuspide Des Sirènes depicts a journey through the wilderness in an attempt to confront demons.–EH
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Challengers (Original Score)
(Milan)
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed their second score for Italian auteur Luca Guadagnino, serving up a high-octane, thumping score for 2024’s most buzzy movie (so far). Reznor and Ross’s sweltering techno-beats slam back and forth like a ball on a court, elevating the action on screen to adrenaline-fuelled heights, but, importantly, it also makes for an exhilarating stand-alone listen. An OST fit for the mightiest club soundsystem!–AVD
Waxahatchee
Tigers Blood
(Anti-)
Waxahatchee, the moniker of singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield, returned this year for an excellent sixth album. On Tigers Blood, Crutchfield further fleshes out the Americana of 2020 career highlight Saint Cloud. Upon initial inspection, Tigers Blood is an easy-moving road trip record, filled with relaxed country guitars and Crutchfield’s distinct vocals. Below the surface lies the lyricism of a fallible narrator, one that, despite the easygoing front, faces daily difficulty and isn’t above a flawed emotional response. Whilst less obviously intentional than its predecessor, Tigers Blood is another great entry from Waxahatchee.–KD
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