2024 was a turbulent and surprising year in music if nothing else. At the forefront last year were women in pop. Sleeper hits like Chappel Roan’s 2023 album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess went meteoric last year; Charli xcx’s Brat was a practically unprecedented cultural phenomenon, and brought electronic pop back into the mainstream after over a decade of inconsistent success; Sabrina Carpenter’s open, funny, and unreserved songwriting on Short n’ Sweet captured attentions as she capitalized on her rising star; Clairo’s impossibly smooth Charm blended soft rock, RnB, soul, pop, and indie styles into her uniquely lush soundscapes; Billie Eilish released Hit Me Hard and Soft, a show stealing project that allowed her to redefine herself; more moderate sized artists and bands like Beabadoobee and The Marías grew in notability with their full-length projects this year.

Rap saw the return of Kendrick Lamar with his fourth quarter victory lap GNX after his prominent feud with Drake in the spring months; Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia broke his chain of releases on odd years in a surprising but still celebrated showing; well after its initial release, Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal commanded attention with its dynamism and unique songwriting.

This is all to say, 2024 was a great year for music at the forefront of culture. Amidst the din and the 365 partying though, you may have missed some impressive showings from smaller artists. 2024 was more than just a good year in the mainstream, it was a colorful year all around, so here are ten albums you may have missed last year and why I think they deserve your attention.

Imaginal Disk – Magdalena Bay

(My Personal Favorite)

Mica Tenenbaum and Matt Lewin of Magdalena Bay bring an entrancingly dynamic performance on their sophomore record Imaginal Disk. Strongly

rooted synthy, contemporary pop, with elements of prog rock, disco, and psychedelic music, Magdalena Bay’s sound is incredibly fresh but remains easy to digest. Detail-oriented production, infectious melodies, and dancy basslines shape a delightful listening experience while Tenenbaum sings of the complexities of love, identity, and, most importantly, transformation in a digital age. Magdalena Bay uses synths with a genuinely unique attention; this specificity forms their dreamy futuristic, even intergalactic palette. Gossamer key passages swell into driving melodies, and shimmering pads suddenly pulse into bouncy basslines on drums set on eighths instead of fours. The duo’s dedication to the small things forms the overlapping layers that make this project special. Magdalena Bay weaves in leitmotifs and recurring ideas that form a conceptual world over this 53-minute album. However, they never let the concept get in the way of the music; every song, even the interlude, could stand alone. Magdalena Bay brings an intentional, energetic, and standout performance on Imaginal Disk, where their dynamism is fully on display, as is their instrumental creativity and burgeoning expertise. Imaginal Disk is certainly worth a listen especially for fans of the pop renaissance that 2024 brought. Magdalena Bay simply asks you to lend an ear and dance along.

Scrapyard – Quadeca

A far cry from the amateurish “youtube rap” Quadeca was known for in the past, Benjamin Lasky threw a larger concept to the wind and instead cobbled together a strong selection of largely unrelated songs à la datpiff mixtape. Lasky’s style and genre are certainly hard to put a finger on; he blends eclectic inspirations into his bedroom-spun, heavily-layered sound. To Lasky, Scrapyard is practically a victory lap around I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You, his heady 2022 album in which he let go of his egoistic child star energy. Now he’s showing off his knack for songwriting, DIY production, vocal talent, and raw personality over 15 distinct tracks; he wanders from dream pop, to experimental r&b, to industrial hip hop, and back again and somehow he pulls it off. Even if his largely digital production is perhaps abrasive to the unfamiliar ear—especially on songs like “Guess Who?” and “Even If I Tried”—Lasky is tasteful in his palettes, bringing in live instrumentation whenever possible. It’s perhaps most impressive that this project, largely constructed of unrelated scraps and previously unfinished demos, feels so cohesive and polished.

Two Star & The Dream Police – Mk.gee

Atonal and non-traditional, on Two Star & The Dream Police, Mk.gee’s soaring guitar passages and distant vocals take the listener on a journey. A mix of Jersey Rock, RnB, and Dream Pop from another dimension, more than anything, Micheal “Mk.gee” Gordon’s style is divisive. Creative voicing, detuned instruments, distant room mics, layered effects, strange instrumentation, and a reliable baritone guitar frame this wavering soundscape. Whether you like it or not, the album will sound new, unfamiliar, and yet as if you’ve always known it; described by Gordon himself as a sonic imitation of a liminal space, there is a particularly uncanny feeling that runs throughout this album. Gordon’s expertise with the guitar is on full display, he plays with pedals, chaotic patterns, and a consistent lush voicing that fills the songs with a watery feeling. He isn’t just a talented guitarist though, his gifts for sequencing, percussion, and experimental instrumentation aid in the formation of his uncanny soundscape. Certainly a breakout solo artist and one to watch in the coming years, Mk.gee showcases exactly what makes him unique on Two Star & the Dream Police.

Tangk – IDLES

The British-Irish punk rock band the IDLES are back and they’re clearly having fun. Joe Talbot paints a masterpiece, switching between an impossibly fine and a magically broad brush, channeling his talent for songwriting into the band’s most celebratory record yet. Across eleven tracks, the band might craft a sharp vignette, or simply melt into the raw feeling at any given moment. In alignment with their slogan “hard rock for softies,” the band seems unafraid to tackle anything from the British monarchy to the joy of emotionally vulnerable male friendships. Assisted by Nigel Godrich of radiohead fame, and Kenny Beats, the notorious modern hip-hop producer, Idles stretches subgenres, bouncing out of their punk-rock and noise-rock niche and blending elements in mad-scientist-esque experiment. The band is quite obviously messing around, but in a way that is both polished and pruned. Tangk’s cover is a near-perfect representation of the album. A soft explosion, danceable and joyous, Tangk is a great starting point for anyone hoping to delve into the rock space of the current moment.

King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 – Denzel Curry

Miami rapper, Denzel Curry delivers a grimy and refreshing mixtape delivering all the classic nastiness of Southern rap on referential but modern production. Simultaneously inventive and iterative, Curry’s undeniably enjoyable project pays homage to a legacy he has now cemented his place in. Denzel Curry jumps off the success of his introspective and smooth Melt My Eyez See Your Future into a bombastic and club-centric return to his Southern roots. A sequel to his 2012 mixtape, the project is carried by Denzel’s youthful energy even twelve years after his breakout, and takes every chance it gets to celebrate hip-hop in the South. Curry has brought on a stunning list of features, all competing for the catchiest and most entertaining moments, and with shocking consistency, they deliver. Boastful and brash, this is easily the most puff-chested Denzel has presented himself on any project, and that glaring confidence shines through the entire record. King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 is an electric display of prowess and self-assuredness that’s also a delight on the ears.