Our Favourite Albums and EPS of 2024
As the year comes to a close; we put together some of our favorite albums and EPs from this year.
Featuring Cecile Believe, Magdalena Bay, Diane Birch, Coolgirl, SKATELAND, Orca, Kukita, Vitesse X, Magana, Austyn Wohlers & Alexei Shishkin.
In each of these albums/EPs, you can feel the artists’ imagination shimmering throughout the lush fabric of the music; all induce strong visuals due to the dimension and depth of the music.
These albums range from ethereal 90s electronic with a dash of grunge; a digital ocean of azure bliss; an album that feels like it time traveled from a remote town in a Stephen King novel from the 1970s; an album that captures the surreal beauty of a dream, and more. Enjoy!
Tender the Spark - Cecile Believe
I find that Bandcamp is one of my favorite places to discover new music (as opposed to Spotify), because the visual artwork to accompany the music is front and center; so you discover music in the way that you would have in a music/record store, the artwork would draw you in, and from there, you would discover a whole new world of sounds and music.
This is how I came across this masterpiece of an EP from Montreal-based musician Cecile Believe (I was drawn in by the 1980s paperback/cult movie poster vibe of the EP cover) and discovered that within, lay shimmering treasures of wonder.
The first song Ponytail opens with rising synths and heavenly textures, shimmering like an iced-over lake in the night; before an earth-shattering bass enters with a goosebumps-inducing explosion. The production in this is absolutely divine; in its use of texture, how it builds anticipation and motion in how it ebbs and flows; with how alive the electronic elements feel.
Blink Twice is an eerie club anthem; this is the song that plays in a dark, underground nightclub in a dystopian science fiction movie; it is nothing short of mesmerizing. The Pearl is an uneasy, melancholy song; it feels like a deserted, haunted seaside town, with a deep sense of mourning throughout.
This EP is a true work of art; with the sheer range of styles, textures, genres and emotions swirling within, like a whirlpool.
Connect with Cecile Believe
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / Facebook / X
Imaginal Disk - Magdalena Bay
When I first came across Magdalena Bay; my life changed forever.
Mini Mix Vol 3 came up as a recommendation on Youtube; and I was immediately drawn to the DIY nautical 00s vibe of it; the music itself, alive with imagination.
Image was the second single to be released from 2024’s Imaginal Disk; a song in which lush electronics rush towards you and consume you; all laced with a slightly otherworldly quality (like it is playing to you from an alternate dimension).
The opening of the album She Looked Like Me! is a mishmash of digital sounds, glimmering like the artificial digital realm you are about to enter. One of my favorites is Watching TV, (it kind of reminds me of their previous songs, Top Dog); this song has sound effects that sound like they are from the transitions from an old kids' tv show, all swirling together to form a dreamscape, with entrancing vocals.
Imaginal Disk has to be experienced to truly understand it; it brings about the joy of using the computer in the 90s/early 00s, it shimmers with the wonder and potential of this digital realm.
Connect with Magdalena Bay
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / Website / X
Flying on Abraham - Diane Birch
Another Bandcamp discovery; this album cover caught my eye, as it looked like 1970s Audrey Plaza, mixed with a Peggy Lee album cover (we had one of Peggy Lee’s albums growing up, and the CD cover looked like this).
Flying On Abraham sounds like it is being played on cassette tape, as you drive your station wagon through the green hills of the 1970s countryside. It is beautifully smooth rock, with a bit of a folk Americana vibe sprinkled throughout, (it brought to mind Emmylou Harris and Carole King), the beat has the groove of soul, some of the musical phrases ending with a jazz flourish; which gives a nice autumnal flavour to the music.
Birch’s voice sounds like it is from another time; I have not heard a contemporary album that gets this sound so well, while still being so fresh and fully unique.
This is timeless, it has the core feeling of seasons and memory woven throughout. This makes you envision falling leaves, the colours of the countryside, and of the beauty of life itself.
Connect with Diane Birch
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / Website / Facebook / X
Road Closures - Coolgirl
This album, much like Lydia Deets, is strange and unusual, and it is utterly mesmerizing. This is a series of uneasy soundscapes, it sounds like a deserted town in a remote area at midnight; one that is surrounded by the thick of forest pines; which also houses giant concrete industrial plants.
On this night; something uneasy is in the air, is it aliens, or is it something else?
The composition in this is masterful, it produces vivid imagery and feels not just like an audio album, but a mysterious science fiction movie.
Connect with Coolgirl
Bandcamp / Spotify / Instagram / X
Joyce Howell, How are You? - SKATELAND
A burst of melancholic euphoria; parts of this EP reminded me of the lush splendor of Empire of The Sun (e.g. Walking on A Dream).
Autobahn is seriously fun and unusual; creative sampling and audio chopping flutters throughout the intro, the verses having gentle bird song shimmering at the very edges of your ears. The vocals on this album are utterly divine, with a slightly haunting quality.
The song Joyce Howell, How Are You? is the star of the show for me; I love the slowly rising introduction over the beat; how it sets the scene with ambient sounds, (like the church bell ringing in the distance, long intros are great, they build suspense and immerse you in the world of the song), the guitar comes in like the sunlight breaking through the clouds, turning the sky is pink, this is an oasis of contemplation in the middle of a busy city. The beat is infectious, the vocals entrancing.
This EP is an achingly beautiful mix of shoegaze, bedroom pop and experimental electronic.
Connect with SKATELAND
YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / Website
This Infinite - Vitesse X
I don’t think I have ever come across an artist with the extensive catalog like Vitesse X has; in which every note of every single song is composed in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat as a listener, every chorus being thoroughly addictive; in doing so, she draws you into every song, instantly.
This Infinite is a mix between 90s lush electronic, with some grunge elements from that era; both are crafted together perfectly, neither feel separate, they blend to create something haunting and earth-shatteringly beautiful.
Connect with Vitesse X
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / Website / X
The First - Kukita
This 4 track EP brings me back to my teenage self; the days of Avril Lavigne, Busted and the likes.
Daydream has to be one of the best songs of 2024; this sounds as dreamy as a blue sky in the 1990s; the sheer power of the music I can imagine filling every corner of a stadium, as the sun sets.
Investor is a seriously cathartic punk song that you should let yourself unleash all of your frustrations to; this album is so much fun and a work of art from an incredible songwriter.
Connect with Kukita
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram
Sirens - Orca
I accidentally stumbled upon this on Spotify, and I am so glad that I did. The first song that I listened to from the San Antonio-based band was Outlaw (the second song from the album); which is a mesmerizing blend of folk, a bit of country, and indie pop, laced with luxurious, dreamy vocals - the results, bewitching.
I also love The Call which has some nice drum machine elements. This whole album feels like a modern classic; it also has a slightly peculiar vibe to it which I love, in that it feels like it is being performed in the lobby of a mysterious motel at night time; one that is buried deep in the mountains.
Truly wonderful.
Connect with Orca
YouTube / Spotify / Instagram
DREAMS - Magana
This shimmers in the space in between, in the glittering clouds of your subconscious, and the oceans of a dreamworld.
We open with a voice that sounds like it is poking through the veil of a dream, one that asks “what are you dreaming about?”. What follows is a burst of warm pads and synesthesia-inducing pads and synths; the surreal beauty of dreams working its way into the tapestry of soundscapes and music in this album.
I would recommend, some day, or night, for you to fully unplug, put on your headphones, and allow this to fully sweep you away.
Connect with Magana
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / Facebook / X
Bodymelt in the Garden of Death - Austyn Wohlers
Lush ambient sounds rush up to greet you; a warm rush of wind that carries with the a scent; one that reminds you of both the splendor and brutal, inevitable life cycle in nature; (for example, in a lush, dense swamp area, you see a lot of this unfold in front of your eyes).
This sounds like the shimmering chimes of a magical realism-tinged garden (it made me think of the garden from the opening scene in the 1995 movie A Little Princess), it reminds you of the sheer rich volume of nature and all of its sounds, alive all around you; this will immersive you into its kaleidoscopic beauty.
Connect with Austyn Wohlers
Bandcamp / Spotify / Instagram / Website
Greenwich Mean - Alexei Shishkin
The surreal, artificial blue in the EP artwork of this weaves its way into the tapestry of each song; this is honestly one of the most fascinating EPs that I have ever listened to; in that it has the vibe of a 90s PC computer game, while also feeling like it is from a surreal, heightened version of reality.
I cannot fully articulate what it is about this EP that makes it such an unusual work of art, there is something slightly uncanny about it, something magical - you just have to experience this one yourself.
Connect with Alexei Shishkin
Bandcamp / Instagram / Blue Sky
About Eimear O Sullivan
Eimear Ann O Sullivan is a multi-genre music producer, audio engineer and vocalist. After receiving a Masters in Music Technology from the CIT Cork School of Music, she went on to operate as a producer under the name Blakkheart. Her releases have received critical acclaim from Ireland's biggest music publications, such as District Magazine and Nialler9, alongside receiving heavy commercial radio airplay. She currently works in Cork recording studio Flashpoint CC. Previous clients of hers include the likes of Comedy Central’s Dragony Aunt star Candy Warhol, rapper Darce and Outsider YP. (Photo credit @Fabian Boros)
Contact Eimear O Sullivan at eimear.o.sullivan@musicngear.com
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