Alex Banin, ANT ENOCH, Caroline Kingsbury, deary, DIME, Gel, Woman Scout, Gore., Hans Williams, Her New Knife, Isaac Dunbar, Kaitlyn Olson, Lee Lewis, mary within the junkyard, Medium Construct, Moody Joody, Nathan Ball, Evening Tapes, NOEL, sacha, Stevie Invoice, Talia Raye, TEE, The Brook & The Bluff, The Volunteers
From all of us right here at Atwood Journal, we want you a contented and wholesome new 12 months!
2024 has been an inspiring 12 months for music. Residing legends have additional solidified their legacies, while contemporary faces have turn into new favorites.
Atwood Journal has at all times had at its core the mission to have a good time music of all genres, and this 12 months we continued our objective to be an area of inclusivity and illustration by consciously highlighting artwork and artists from world wide. The 12 months in music was made all of the extra thrilling due to the broad vary of music we featured and centered on – from these acquainted names within the Prime 40, to creatives in probably the most underground, indie, and various of circles.
For thus many of those artists, music is greater than a mere technique of self-expression; it’s a vessel stuffed with superior potential. Lately, it has felt more and more vital to acknowledge and elevate those that use their artwork as a voice for the disenfranchised; the oppressed; the underrepresented; and the underprivileged. This 12 months, we proceed to acknowledge those that converse for extra than simply themselves, whereas on the similar time indulging within the acquainted, timeless themes of affection, loss, hope, connection, braveness, change, and the endless pursuit of happiness.
Because the 12 months involves an in depth, our workers took a step again to honor the songs, albums, EPs, concert events, and artist discoveries that had the best affect on our lives. With out additional ado, Atwood Journal is proud to current our curated listing of 2024’s EPs of the 12 months, in alphabetical order by artist.
These are our favorites – the EPs that influenced and impressed us probably the most. Please be part of us in celebrating 2024’s contributions to the music world!
Mitch Mosk, Editor-in-Chief
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Atwood’s 2024 Music of the 12 months
Click on on the artist’s identify to skip proper to their EP’s entry!
Alex Banin, ANT ENOCH, Caroline Kingsbury, deary, DIME, Gel, Woman Scout, Gore., Hans Williams, Her New Knife, Isaac Dunbar, Kaitlyn Olson, Lee Lewis, mary within the junkyard, Medium Construct, Moody Joody, Nathan Ball, Evening Tapes, NOEL, sacha , Stevie Invoice, Talia Raye, TEE, The Brook & The Bluff, The Volunteers
The most intimate, ambient, and susceptible document I heard this 12 months was, for sure, Alex Banin’s achingly dreamy Since Winona. “And to be any individual’s somebody; to really feel like I used to be one thing for as soon as…” she trails off within the EP’s opening minute, her voice a lightning rod of uncooked emotion in a sea of seductive drum work. “I can’t keep concerned with your selections. I can’t afford what you do in boredom these days.” It’s a spine-chilling introduction, and one that completely units the tone for the following fifteen minutes because the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter pours her coronary heart out, bringing listeners into her internal sanctum with soul-stirring finesse. Private highlights have included the intoxicating, completely mesmerizing “Doc Whiler,” the tender and turbulent “IN FEAR, ETC.,” the loss and longing-fueled “FKA Passat,” and the fantastically gut-wrenching, hypnotic, and heartrending “From a Totally different Life, It Appears” – every of which stands by itself, however is made higher by the songs round it.
Like all the most effective information, the true energy and energy of Since Winona comes out if you hearken to the document in full, permitting Alex Banin to take your thoughts, physique, and soul on a sweetly spellbinding journey that, whereas fleeting, proves immediately memorable and irresistibly transferring. – Mitch Mosk
Some artists select to introduce themselves by glimpses of triumph and celebration. Australian singer/songwriter Ant Enoch has ostensibly executed the alternative; his first steps into this world mirror his lowest lows, and fairly frankly, we wouldn’t have it every other means. A breathtakingly lovely exhale of affection, loss, grief, and development, the artist’s debut EP Large Speak Large Celebration aches with the burden of life-altering change. Launched in Might, it’s a smoldering, soul-stirring document of intimate connection and unfiltered vulnerability: The Sydney-based singer/songwriter and producer spills the contents of his heavy coronary heart out in six diaristic and dreamy songs that really feel as if they had been wrenched from his innermost depths. He approaches every monitor with a mild, cautious contact, constructing ambient, all-consuming soundscapes crammed with sonic warmth and visceral feeling.
The ensuing expertise is unavoidably cathartic and soul-baring, as the sunshine of Enoch’s humanity shines by the darkness in his midst. The hazy, moody nuance and confessional upheaval of EP opener “Pure Gentle” units the tone for the complete EP. “Tv” invitations audiences to dwell with him in sweltering swimming pools of profound heartache as he sings a few good friend’s home burning down, reaching out to a beloved one in want. “Tunnel Highway” is a shiver-inducing seduction of intimacy’s depth (and fragility) that includes fellow Aussie (and Atwood’s Editor’s Decide) Moreton, aka Georgia James Potter. “With each breath they take, each candy lyric, each refined exhale, each line they ship in soul-stirring concord, all of it feels autobiographical, which makes experiencing this tune that rather more intense,” Atwood wrote in our monitor premiere, honing in on the provocative, emotionally potent lyric, “All the pieces that makes you are feeling, makes me really feel” – a line that speaks to the magnetic, majestic, empathetic pressure when two hearts beat as one. Becoming a member of the above three songs are new, beforehand unheard tracks “Newcomers,” “Large Speak,” and “Large Celebration,” every of which is as irresistibly catchy as it’s heartrending.
Enchanting, entrancing, and altogether impassioned, Large Speak Large Celebration is a seductively soothing masterpiece. Simply one in all this 12 months’s finest debuts, Ant Enoch’s EP treats listeners to spellbinding snippets of life’s lows, and even a couple of of its highs (taking a look at you, “Tunnel Highway”), all wrapped in a smoldering blanket of wondrous, soul-soaked sound. It’s a young tempest; a mild large of emotionally-charged, musically nuanced self-expression that lingers on the ears, and on the guts, lengthy after its nineteen-minute runtime. – Mitch Mosk
Caroline Kingsbury’s new EP opens on an plain, irresistible excessive notice – each actually and figuratively. “What if I advised you there’s a paradise right here on earth? Child babe it’s you and I,” the indie pop artist sings over pulsing drumbeats and strutting bass guitar strains. Inside seconds, she creates in her music an area for connection and freedom, the place all are welcome and embraced for who they’re. “In our home, simply you and me,” she proclaims in a stunning refrain, “They are saying we’re loopy, however child we’re free!” It’s a celebration – a simple euphoric embrace of herself, her group, and the broader world as she is aware of it.
Life isn’t at all times straightforward, however there are nonetheless loads of causes to smile – and on I Actually Don’t Care, Kingsbury pours her coronary heart and soul into 5 sparkly, cinematic pop songs that categorical simply how a lot she actually does care. Launched in October, the five-track document delivers fifteen nonstop minutes of daring and breathtakingly passionate indie pop that can have audiences dancing like nobody’s watching, singing like nobody’s listening, and smiling uncontrollably from ear to ear – as a result of this isn’t simply feelgood music; it’s feelgreat music. I Actually Don’t Care is similar Caroline Kingsbury followers have adored for years now, and but it’s in contrast to something we’ve heard from her earlier than. The songs pull from ‘80s dance pop, new wave, indie rock, and extra as Kingsbury asserts herself not simply by her gorgeous vocals, however by a shimmering, spellbinding array of devices that steal the highlight in the easiest way doable. Merely put, this document feels absolutely realized not simply from a singer/songwriter’s perspective, however from a full band’s perspective. – Mitch Mosk
Haunting and heavenly, delicate and dramatic, deary’s sophomore EP is a spellbinding dream pop seduction. The British duo naked their souls in a cathartic, all-consuming soundscape soaked in candy vocals, dazzling reverb, and dreamy sepia tones; moments of nostalgia, craving, connection, and wonderment collide and coalesce into one because the soul-stirring six-track Aurelia dares us to be daring, to dream massive, to be true to ourselves, and are to eternally put on our hearts unapologetically on our sleeves.
An Atwood Journal artist-to-watch, the London-based duo of vocalist Rebecca ‘Dottie’ Cockram and guitarist-producer Ben Easton have been drenching our airwaves with ethereal and soul-stirring music ever since they launched themselves in early 2023. Aurelia follows deary’s lush self-titled debut EP (launched final November), constructing upon the atmospheric, reverb-drenched world they launched us to final 12 months. While they definitely evoke the likes of Mazzy Star, Slowdive, and Cocteau Twins, deary have, from day one, stood out as one thing particular – and their sophomore effort additional units them other than the swathe of recent dream pop and shoegaze bands.
Highlights abound on the journey from Aurelia’s seductively dreamy, scene-setting title monitor to its soothing finale, “Dream of Me.” Lead single “The Moth” is immersive, enchanting, and completely charming: A feast for the thoughts, physique, and soul, its thick wall of sound engulfing the ears as Cockram invitations us deep into her world: “You might be my universe,” she sings as heavy, reverb-laden guitars swell, soar, and drone alongside pulsing drums. Her golden vocals are a beacon of heat gentle in a cool, all-consuming setting. “I misplaced my means within the hearth, I’m a moth to the flame. Dancing too near need to really feel once more.” Songs like “Selene” and “The Drift” additional construct out Aurelia’s intoxicating, enveloping musical world marked directly by darkness and lightweight, motion and stillness, heat and coolness.
Into the whole lot they make, deary inject their very own unfiltered, unabridged humanity – making these songs, each a dizzying, dazzling rush, all of the extra compelling. Intimacy and vulnerability are however two hallmarks of Dottie Cockram’s songwriting; she pours her full self into her lyrics, as into her efficiency, leading to music that appears to make time itself stand nonetheless. Whereas for therefore many artists the sophomore EP is a steppingstone, for deary it’s a assertion of evolution and intent. – Mitch Mosk
Local hardcore music scenes are usually very tight-knit and protecting communities, with most artists cultivating loyal fanbases concentrated in close by cities and few extending far out. I found Miami’s DIME by happenstance (or was it by destiny?) whereas briefly by my Instagram discover web page, and God, am I glad I did. Although deeply linked to their hometown roots, having solely performed exhibits in Florida and surrounding states, the band has considerably captured my consideration in San Diego over the previous few months, as I incessantly test their web page for the opportunity of a present announcement in Southern California.
The five-piece launched their debut self-titled EP, DIME, in early February, an introspective but larger-than-life five-song undertaking mixing the likeness of post-hardcore and nu-metal, simply commanding ears and minds with vocal, instrumental, and lyrical rawness teeming with emotional complexity. The juxtaposition of pounding guitars with at instances melancholy vocals permits the undertaking to strike a steadiness between heavy and melodic, packing loads of punch whereas maintaining it wholly immersive. DIME builds a robust, identifiable basis with a good stronger musical debut, making a memorable and infectious listening expertise throughout a brief 5 tracks. – Isabella Le
Gel have tightened the screws on their new EP, Persona. It was launched on the finish of this summer season, and it finds the New Jersey-based hardcore band with a extra refined sound than earlier initiatives. The five-track EP was impressed by Carl Jung’s idea of the “shadow self,” and it delves into themes of authenticity, accountability and self-confrontation. There’s an alt-rock sensibility all through the EP that makes it extra accessible to only a hardcore or metallic viewers. A standout monitor is “Disgrace,” wherein vocalist Sami Kaiser scrapes the edges of their very own unconscious to indicate us an unflattering view of themselves with a degree of verve and uncooked honesty that borders on self-flagellation. Their screams are a catharsis, a balm over the publicity to facades that folks keep, notably throughout the hardcore scene. “Disgrace” actually showcases Gel’s potential to mix thick, sludgy energy cords and chugging riffs with dynamic tempo adjustments, leading to a cohesive idea undertaking that may be a testomony to the band’s development and attain. – Kendall Graham
One of the most well liked acts to return out of Sweden lately, Woman Scout mix uncooked, unfiltered indie rock ardour with emotional depth, catchy songwriting, and breathtaking vulnerability with the whole lot they make. Their critically acclaimed first two EPs Actual Life Human Rubbish and Granny Music (each of which have been featured on Atwood Journal) laid a strong, provocative basis, atop which their third EP Headache reckons, rises, roars, and radiates an intense, unrelenting, all-consuming warmth.
Although simply seventeen minutes robust, the feverish five-track document feels directly seismic and spellbinding – demanding its viewers’s undivided consideration by spirited sonic seductions crammed with youthful vigor, earnest aching, and charged, charming, cathartic, stadium-sized refrains. It’s not a lot that Woman Scout’s songs are all-consuming, however reasonably, they’re ever-present – each crammed with magic moments that promise evoke actual emotional responses out of us listeners, all whereas getting caught on repeat in our heads. – Mitch Mosk
Gore. Are a hardcore trio primarily based out of Texas, and so they launched their debut EP, A Bud That By no means Blooms through Spinefarm Information. I’ve seen over the previous two years feminine metallic, hardcore and heavy rock vocalists getting much more of their due. I wish to put Gore.’s EP into the combo, as a result of it deserves the hype that it’s gotten. It’s a incredible undertaking with imagery that’s equal components brutal and exquisite. They arrive to the scene with a dynamic mixture of metalcore and industrial with various rock sensibilities, due to guitarist Alex Reyes and bassist Devin Birchfield’s synergy; all of this performs towards singer Haley Roughton’s enrapturing mixture of harsh and clear vocals. “Babylon” is a standout monitor, completely encapsulating what’s so nice about Gore. There’s churning and chugging riffs, tempo adjustments and sharp, witty lyrics that disarm as a lot as they enchant. It’s a really enjoyable, menacing face-melting experience exhibiting that Gore. has positioned itself expertly to be a family identify within the heavy music scene transferring ahead. – Kendall Graham
With his charming, emotionally charged voice and a litany of heartwarming melodies in his arsenal, singer/songwriter Hans Williams is a surefire alternative – and simple favourite – for all followers of the “Stomp and Holler” folk-pop style. The 5 songs off his debut EP Extra Than One Manner Residence are soulful, sentimental, and seductive – calling to thoughts better-known contemporaries like Noah Kahan, Zach Bryan, and The Lumineers, all whereas standing other than them. It might be a short while earlier than the Vermont-born, New Orleans-based Williams carves out his personal definitive “area of interest” in what has clearly turn into one of many 2020s’ “it” genres, however he’s for sure on the hitlist, with songs like “Pores and skin,” “No Surprise,” and the titular “Extra Than One Manner Residence” aching with intense, all-consuming folk-soaked fury. – Mitch Mosk
Shoegaze may’ve reached essential mass final 12 months. However in contrast to the Brits — who, by the mid-’90s, had already fled the scene for Oasis — this new wave of younger People remained on indie rock’s innovative in 2024.
Her New Knife banded collectively over Florida’s faculty airwaves, however that they’ve settled into a distinct segment proper right here in my hometown makes good sense. Although usually solely an business chief in terms of carjackings and mascot debauchery, Philadelphia has stood on the frontline of shoegaze’s revival due to native champions Julia’s Battle. Similar to their labelmates, Her New Knife aren’t dulled by nostalgia. chrome is lullaby polished their pedalboard with aching slowcore, the glint of post-punk and a cartoonish hammering of krautrock.
Zoomers salvaged shoegaze from the cultural dustheap partly as a result of it displays their worry for our collective future, however Her New Knife are sick and bored with dreaming. “That is taking too lengthy“, Edgar Atencio muttered with all of the veiled contempt of a basic overachiever. Written in an try and hack away at their very own preconceptions for the band, “purepurepure” places a contemporary scare into the time period free spirit. The guitars don’t swirl like pinkish clouds of cotton sweet; they scrape and screech like an extended and crusty fingernail throughout damaged glass. “Cease f*ing with your self / Simply do what you need.” As if on command, a digital splash of keys ripples above the murky bass line with an analogous twinkle to the look in Norman Bates’ eye.
With this many methods up the sleeve of a single EP, it’s what Her New Knife are able to that’s really horrifying. – Will Yarbrough
To his credit score, Isaac Dunbar has at all times been a “fearless freak” – a singular voice beating to the tune of his personal drum, following his coronary heart, trusting his intestine, singing loud, proud, and unapologetically – but on his new EP, the singer/songwriter sounds particularly free. It’s as if one thing clicked inside as he entered his twenties, and his world went from reds, greens, and blues, to complete technicolor. Such is the dynamic shift that happens when one strikes to the Large Apple, the town that by no means sleeps. Dunbar channels New York Metropolis’s uncooked, relentless (and irresistible) power into Beep Beep Repeat, a daring, in-your-face, and completely intoxicating document of letting free, dancing all evening, dreaming massive goals, and discovering your home within the concrete jungle. If he could make it right here, he could make it wherever – and if these six songs are any indication, then there really is not any restrict to what Isaac Dunbar can do or the place he can go.
Launched in April, Beep Beep Repeat is exhilarating, intense, and – like the town that impressed it – completely all-consuming. Isaac Dunbar’s first launch since 2022’s eight-track Banish the Banshee EP sees the alt-pop artist from Massachusetts really coming into his personal whereas channeling the spirits of pop trailblazers earlier than him: Bits of Bowie, Mercury, Gaga, and Jagger shine by breathtaking, soul-stirring, and head-turning vocal performances stuffed with glitz, glam, and unfiltered, uncompromising ardour. From the fiery beats and occasion ambiance of “House A” to the extraordinary, quick, and emotionally charged power-balladry of “American Excessive,” the cathartic, intimate upheaval of “Backseat Woman” and past, Beep Beep Repeat is the product of a soul unleashed.
And Isaac Dunbar is most definitely unleashed. – Mitch Mosk
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“I put on my coronary heart out on my chest,” Lee Lewis sings firstly of his debut EP. It’s the bare-naked reality, and the right introduction to an artistry constructed round unfiltered, unapologetic self-expression. Lewis’ songs had been themselves a type of remedy and therapeutic, and so it comes as no shock that they’re as cathartic as they’re confessional. The Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter dwells within the deep finish of life’s emotional spectrum as he untangles the brutal internet of internal battle and turbulence that outlined his twenties, unpacking his id and lived experiences to find his precise voice as an individual: In different phrases, his humanity.
An Atwood Journal artist-to-watch since his very first single, Lee Lewis holds nothing again on the seven-track One thing Burning, an achingly intimate and all-consuming seduction of clean, sultry R&B and smoldering soul. It’s an unforgettable entrance, and one which immediately units Lewis aside as a singular powerhouse of passionate, breathtaking sound. – Mitch Mosk
Based out of London, experimental alt rock trio mary within the junkyard launched their debut EP, this outdated home, again within the spring. It’s a terrific illustration of their fashion and ethos. It’s just a little bit bizarre, just a little bit unsettling, you at all times really feel like some enormous breakdown is correct on the verge of many of the songs. Though this type of catharsis is delivered in different methods throughout the 4-track undertaking, the band excels at maintaining listeners on their toes in a near-constant state of pressure, ready for some form of chaos to occur. This EP is actually about managed chaos and what a bunch of eclectic musicians can do with it. They’ve been described by Dazed as “indignant, weepy, chaos rock” and that looks like an apt summation of the band’s power. Opening monitor “ghost” introduces cyclical drum patterns intertwining with a deep bass line, creating one thing nearly directly mystical and legendary. Vocalist Clari Freeman-Taylor, bassist and viola participant Saya Barbaglia and drummer David Addison have brewed up one thing very distinctive right here, counting on the emotional depth of each the music and the lyrics to spotlight their bright-looking path within the various music scene. – Kendall Graham
Medium Construct’s Nick Carpenter tapped his roots, his historical past, and his household for 2024’s critically acclaimed album Nation, after which he went again house in November’s Marietta EP. Named after his first hometown again in Georgia, the five-track shock launch homes songs that didn’t make the minimize for April’s full-length album, in addition to some newer tracks that Carpenter refused to sit down on. From the intimate rush of “John & Lydia” – a dynamic, dramatic, empathetic ode to his personal dad and mom – to the religious hang-out of “Yoke,” which options the one and solely Julien Baker (a longtime, shut good friend), Marietta is a good, turbulent, and masterful work. The hard-hitting opening monitor (and lead single) “Triple Marathon” aches on a number of ranges as Carpenter wrestles with romance whereas his profession takes off, singing from each his and his companion’s views as steadiness – and happiness – appear to evade or elude him at each twist and switch. Closing tracks “Dad’s 4Runner” and “Pale Blue” are sonic opposites – one an indie rock rager, the opposite a heat, mild folks ballad – however each discover the singer/songwriter baring his soul in basic Medium Construct trend, singing his coronary heart out whereas leaving all of it on the sector for us to see, hear, and (most significantly,) really feel. – Mitch Mosk
The presidential election outcomes had been made a little extra palatable for me with the discharge of Moody Joody’s enchanting debut EP just some days later – and whereas the sting of American politics stays in my bones, so does this document’s cinematic heat. A radiant, energetic, and emotional 20-minute document crammed with escapist goals and romantic reveries, Dream Woman is a spirited, sweetly shimmering seduction of indie- and alt-pop surprise. The Nashville-based trio of Kaitie Forbes, Kayla Corridor, and producer Andrew Pacheco dwell in intimate areas of need, doubt, connection, and catharsis on six infectiously catchy, sweaty songs – every of which appears to spotlight one other of this charming band’s many marvelous sides. The anxious waves of uncooked, stressed power that ripple all through “Floor Management” make for a good introduction, and all that lies forward – be it the drama and warmth of “Dream Woman,” the steamy pulse of “Velvet Connection,” or the glistening glow of “El Camino Excessive” – is pure, unadulterated musical gold. – Mitch Mosk
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Listening to Evening Tapes’ new EP actually does really feel like diving headfirst into somebody’s goals, and maybe it’s simply as effectively – the aptly titled assisted reminiscences is a seductive soundtrack stuffed with hypnotic melodies, sultry beats, and sweaty synths. Add to that alluring combine lead singer Iiris Vesik’s celestial vocals, and the result’s completely enchanting, if not wholly mesmerizing: By seven spellbinding tracks, the London-based trio create a heat and wondrous cinematic journey filled with heavy feelings and charming sounds. Whether or not you’re taken to the document’s extra ambient moments (the softly stirring “straightforward time to be alive” is pure perfection in that regard), or extra moved by the gorgeous electro-pop pulse of tracks like “projections,” “loner,” and the Daft Punk-esque “drifting,” assisted reminiscences proves itself a ravishing, diverse wonderland of sound. – Mitch Mosk
I first encountered Swedish singer NOEL when his tune “With out Calling” was pitched to me again within the spring. I loved the monitor and wrote favorably about it in our Weekly Roundup, concluding that “He’s on an admirable pattern proper now, all issues thought of.” A number of months later, I’m happy to announce that that admiral pattern of which I as soon as spoke has been prolonged into the autumn and manifested in his most up-to-date EP, Mementos. Right here, “With out Calling” is joined by an extra 4 tracks that additional showcase NOEL’s strengths within the songwriting division.
“Out of my Thoughts” outlines the mounting stress and stress in his life, maybe attributable to life within the present biz: “My worry will get the most effective of me, it steals away my sanity, I shut my eyes however I can’t sleep… these demons hang-out me each evening.” The remaining tracks paint an additional image of his present psychological state – “Nightmares,” as an illustration, talks about “the insecurities and doubts that may come up if you’re chasing your goals.” NOEL’s skills as a multi-instrumentalist additionally shine all through, as he may be heard shifting between the piano and guitar, together with his Scandinavian buddies like Kris Eriksson contributing some 808 drum-heavy manufacturing as effectively. Ultimately, Mementos ought to give NOEL loads of momentum to take his musical profession even additional within the new 12 months. – Josh Weiner
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Stevie Invoice is as charismatic, as charming, and as unfiltered in actual life, as she is in tune. The Dutch artist’s sophomore EP I used to be a platinum blonde is a stunningly dreamy, achingly intimate, and fantastically susceptible exploration of self-discovery by a younger grownup’s lens. It’s a spellbinding (re)introduction to the New York Metropolis-based singer/songwriter: A heat and welcoming document whose catchy internal reckonings and candid reflections captivate and compel, bringing us ever-closer to Invoice and the wondrous indie pop world she is constructing, each round herself and inside herself, in actual time.
For Invoice, altering her outer look by going blonde had an affect on the lady inside as effectively. It was an act of transformation, exploration, revolution, and self-discovery. It was as a platinum blonde that she discovered the braveness to take some main life dangers, escape of her consolation zone, and discover herself as a younger twenty-something navigating New York Metropolis. In order her blonde hair grew out and she or he grew to become a brunette as soon as extra, a barely older, barely wiser Invoice determined to embrace inventive adjustments inside her music – embracing the basic rock influences and pop-oriented sounds she grew up listening to. The ensuing EP is a sonically and emotionally charged reverie: A fascinating wonderland of guts and development, all channeled by a litany of immediately memorable, simply lovable melodies and intoxicating, infectious beats.
Highlights abound on the journey from tender title monitor “Platinum Blonde” by “Hahaha,” the visceral and spirited “Hurts to Maintain On,” and finally the cathartic nearer, “Our bodies.” “Lalala,” the EP’s last single (launched in early August), is a definitive standout; an irresistibly catchy and carefree anthem (named after the Kylie Minogue basic “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”), it’s a a seductive celebration of music’s particular potential to empower, encourage, uplift, and enrich our lives. “And it goes similar to this, sing it with my lips like, la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la,” Invoice sings, deep in her personal sun-kissed daydream. “And I swing with my hips and I blow you a kiss like la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.” And similar to that, we’re hooked.
Then, after all, there’s “Hahaha,” which was named one in all Atwood Journal‘s Songs of 2024: Between the celestial heat of Invoice’s gorgeous falsetto, the infectious power of her melodic guitar work, and the uncooked ache embedded deep in her songwriting, the indie pop artist gained me over immediately along with her infectious breakup anthem. As charming as it’s churning – and extremely inventive – “Hahaha” is a kind of broken-hearted confessionals that lifts you to higher heights, whilst Invoice dwells in her personal achingly intimate depths.
Whether or not you’re singing “Hahaha” or “Lalala” or something in-between, these songs seize a younger artist coming into her personal sound with grace, confidence, and an unapologetic dedication to share her true self by music. What extra may anybody presumably need, or hope to listen to? As she unpacks themes of change in and out, Stevie Invoice dives into what it means for our most cherished relationships to evolve; for us to let go of family members and go away reminiscences behind us as we develop and evolve; and, after all, for hair itself to rework. – Mitch Mosk
2024 was an enormous 12 months for Essex-based artist, Thalia Raye. She launched her debut EP, Shadows, which propelled her right into a succession of gigs and festivals across the nation, massive TV appearances – and secured her a characteristic on David Grey’s 2024 single, “Plus & Minus.” Who doesn’t love Grey? The headline monitor on the Shadows EP is “Not A Heartbreak,” which I had the pleasure of seeing dwell, from a small stage in Harlow, Essex, when Raye was simply getting on her toes in 2022. Even again then, the uncooked emotion, honesty, and vocal expertise blew me away. I anticipate massive issues from Thalia Raye in 2025 and past. – Hamish Monk
A poet first and at all times, the Liverpudlian born Terell Farrell – identified to the remainder of the world by his artist identify, TEE – has, for the higher a part of the previous decade, been one of many UK’s best-kept secrets and techniques. In 2021 – after working alongside the likes of Little Simz, Ghetts, Cleo Sol, and N-Dubz – he grabbed maintain of the mic and stepped into the highlight, formally introducing himself and his susceptible, visceral phrases by lovely raps stuffed with breathtaking ardour. VALLEY FM, launched in June, is his third undertaking (following 2023’s LOOP and A Dozen Roses // A Love Story), and his most formidable manufacturing to this point. TEE himself has described the document as his most susceptible – “the most effective model of myself” and “my assertion to the world,” all of which is born out within the precise music – by achingly intimate, emotionally intense performances on songs like “don’t sleep” and “getaway,” the latter of which is a heated fever dream reckoning with the selection to remain in or go away a poisonous relationship. TEE’s candid lyricism and his distinctive strategy to songwriting (the person cares extra about storytelling than he does a “catchy” refrain), mixed with the dramatic moments he deftly crafts on each tune, assist make VALLEY FM a panoramic world unto itself – one which aches by and thru with the artist’s personal uncooked, lovely humanity. As TEE passionately sings on EP nearer “make it”: “So right here’s my toast to those on the highway much less traveled, ain’t simply the robust ones that settle for the decision to la and la… That is all I’m fabricated from, each morning, each wrestle, that is blood, sweat, and tears, the one piece to my puzzle.” – Mitch Mosk
Happy accidents occur if you least anticipate them – and the outcomes may be really extraordinary. For The Brook & The Bluff, a sequence of recording classes with completely no strings connected led to among the most fun music of their profession. The Nashville band’s newest EP is a breathtakingly lovely golden-hued reverie: A daydream come to life, stuffed with sunny, candy tones, sultry, seductive choruses, and spellbinding lyrics that ache in and out. A breathtakingly lovely mix of yacht rock, soul, folks, and basic ’70s pop, This Might All Go Nowhere may very effectively keep true to its identify, and turn into a deep minimize for the diehards; or it may very well be the beginning of a daring new period for one of the thrilling indie bands of the 2020s. As a result of that’s the factor about joyful accidents: You by no means fairly know the place they’ll take you.
Launched in November, This Might All Go Nowhere is a spiritually uplifting, smile-inducing kiss of sonic sunshine from a band that desires nothing greater than so that you can really feel pretty much as good as they did whereas making these songs. Highlights abound all through the EP’s 18-minute runtime, with every monitor inviting audiences to indulge in a second of sun-kissed heat and dreamy connection. All 5 songs need to be listened to in full, beginning with the document’s lead single and opener “Unhealthy Unhealthy Information,” which kicks the whole lot off with a candy, seductive sonic warmth laced with aching emotion. Wealthy, stacked vocal harmonies harking back to The Beatles and The Seaside Boys add contemporary layers of depth and feeling to the band’s efficiency, making the rise from mild verses to hovering choruses all of the extra exhilarating:
These moments I lay right here,
Staring on the ceiling fan,
the shadows are boxing
They combat with these slippery palms.
It goes on and on and on once more that feeling
It goes on and on and on once more
I really feel like I’m falling aside.
Child, it’s dangerous dangerous information,
however you must let me down straightforward
Darling, it’s unhappy however true you
have to let me down straightforward
Songs and EPs come and go on a regular basis, however I’ve received a sneaking suspicion this newest batch can be sticking round for an extended whereas. As irresistible as they’re completely infectious, these 5 tracks seize the magic of The Brook & The Bluff – a band who, on the finish of the day, are having the time of their lives, whether or not or not we’re tuned in. – Mitch Mosk
With infectious indie rock magic and R&B/dream pop vocals, South Korean various quartet The Volunteers have by no means didn’t ship a propulsive and thrilling listening expertise. On the band’s newest EP “L”, basic rock ‘n’ roll guitars and empowering percussions drive the resonant 5 tracks, as frontwoman Yerin Baek’s sweet-yet-haunting vocals ramp up drama and melancholy. Although not probably the most lyrically intricate, the appeal of the EP lies elsewhere – exactly, its potential to evoke nostalgia in all its kinds and powerfully salient reminiscences by pure sonic greatnesss. The Volunteers inform an evocative and poignant story throughout a short 18-minute EP, a fantastically immersive and dreamy rock undertaking that’s certain to captivate new and outdated listeners alike. – Isabella Le
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