The Best Tracks of 2024 (So Far)
A look at new music from Kanye, Playboi Carti, The Smile, Vampire Weekend and more. Featuring @ANTIART
2024 holds a lot of promise, and already early in the year, the releases we've seen make us hopeful for more. We're going to highlight a few of the notable tracks so far and discuss what we eagerly await for the rest of the year. Additionally, we have curated the notable tracks in a playlist that we will continually update throughout the year.
SOUNDGEIST PICKS
Wall of Eyes presents itself as a cohesive and cinematic sophomore release by the Radiohead spinoff group The Smile. The superb production with a sonic familiarity best encapsulated in “Read the Room”, one wouldn’t be faulted in thinking this almost looks and tastes like the real thing.
There couldn’t be a better track to herald back the return of Ezra and friends than “Capricorn”. The first half of the track progresses exactly how you would imagine a Vampire Weekend sounding and then seemingly taking a page from Sufjan Steven’s “Goodbye Evergreen” we’re greeted at the halfway mark with a seismic crescendo that can best be summed as: They are so back.
On the subject of being back, that’s the question of the day (or year or decade): Is Kanye really back? While we are only in the midst of the Vultures arc, Kanye has shown flashes of brilliance on Vultures 1 while also having times where things just fall flat. It’s undeniable that Kanye has made a comeback to where he was a year ago but to what extent remains to be seen. Then again beautiful, well-produced, banging albums don’t just fall out of the sky, you know?
Talking Heads in 2024? You might get what you’re after. Following Stop Making Sense 40th Anniversary, a tribute album commissioned by A24 titled Everyone’s Getting Involved is set to release this year with the likes of The National, Lorde Toro y Moi, Kevin Abstract, Girl in Red, Jean Dawson, Miley Cyrus, and more. 2024 is where we want to be if it means Talking Heads staying front and center in the zeitgeist.
ANTIART PICKS
If you’re already bought into Playboi Carti’s schtick, then a chorus like “In the middle of the field, throw me a bomb / I’m throwin’ that bih like quarterback” will get stuck in your head on first listen. Producers Cardo, Ojivolta and duce.6x, along with Travis Scott, bring this new foggy and strange Carti era to life complete with a great music video by SEXISDEATH and INDIANABITCH 420.
Indie newcomer Mk.gee conjures the gorgeous ‘80s synth sounds of Phil Collins filtered through Jai Paul. “Dream Police” is beautiful guitar music with accents of vintage synths and hand percussion. It’s quiet, but unflinching and powerful in this really mystical way.
Despite her name, Shygirl has never been one to beat around the bush. “mr useless” is a nice and direct sayonara to an ex over high BPM trance from SG Lewis. Her entire new EP Club Shy, is filled with great tracks of this similar light and fun flavor, but if I had to pick just one this would be it.
Have you ever gotten a YouTube algorithm recommendation that didn’t totally suck, but was in fact quite a delightful treat to watch or listen to? I’m not sure how Night Tapes “Loner” made it to the queue, but I’m glad it did. You will really love their music if you’re in Alvvays or Chromatics, hushed, guitar led indie girl pop. Great visuals too.
There are just too many solo projects that rely too heavily on a full name lead singer, evading all mystery and personality. The Last Dinner Party is the anecdote to this. With five members, they provide a full and timeless rock sound that seems to have endless possibilities. “Caesar On a TV Screen” is a split personality cut, weaving back and forth between two unique sections, before crashing them together at the end for a grand finale.
I’ll cap off my list with a tasteful ‘80s throwback rock cut from Dua Lipa, produced of course by Kevin Parker of Tame Impala. I just really love the guitar and bass lines that guide the song, Dua’s voice and all the instrumental details like synths and bongos that provide a fuller picture. This is the kind of pop song that I wouldn’t mind hearing everywhere, all year.