What I've Been Listening To - Half of 2024
If you want some new album recommendations, some artists to follow, or just some good writing about music, you're going to want to check this out. I revived this column just for you! (Yes, you.)
Last time we formally checked in on each other, I was sick in bed, digesting a heavy plate of Thanksgiving dinner, and trying to make sense of the first half of my year at journalism school. Since then, a lot happened! I got my degree, sold my thesis, wrote some stuff for some big-name (and small-name) publications, *almost* got a music critic job, became a CD collector, and entered my Hater Era.
Oh, and I listened to a lot more music.
This is a special round-up: I’ve dedicated this article to short reviews of excellent albums that I’ve either loved upon release, discovered for the first time, or revisited and appreciated in a new light. And since I don’t have the time (and you don’t have the energy) to cover everything I’ve loved these past six months, I’ve attached my seasonal playlists at the bottom of the article. Get ready to explore!
New Releases in the VEMU (Vic Essential Musicians Universe)
Declan McKenna, What Happened to the Beach?
After a solid, baroque pop debut, followed by a dynamic 70s prog rock masterpiece, What Happened to the Beach stands as a quirky, calm, and aloof record. It highlights Declan McKenna’s ability to drastically switch up his sound without losing his artistic identity. With wonky guitar riffs (“WOBBLE”), monotone whisper-singing over Thundercat-inspired bass-led beats (“I Write the News”), to messy and fried explosions of the rock band (“The Phantom Buzz (Kick In)”), to psychedelic cool-down sessions (“4 More Years”), McKenna really lets loose on this record, easing himself into new musical and lyrical territory. He certainly keeps his preoccupation with politics and social commentary, as many of the tracks’ lyrics reflect on celebrity culture, the dangers of yellow journalism, and climate change. Yet there’s also a playful, almost surrealist side to him we haven’t seen before (“Mulholland’s Dinner and Wine,” “Breath Of Light”). This was the album that defined my spring.
Vampire Weekend, Only God Was Above Us
Vampire Weekend returned to baroque pop and revived the early 2000s NYC rock sound for, arguably, their magnum opus. “Prep School Gangsters” inaugurated this year’s White Boy Summer. “Connect” brought back intense piano solos, interpolated the “Mansard Roof” drum line, and contained some of the best lyrics the band has written since Modern Vampires of the City (2013). “The Surfer” can’t forget the shells around his neck, and “Pravda” is the Russian word for truth. Need I say more? It’s a perfect album; perhaps it’s one of the top three of the year.
Clairo, Charm
I genuinely love Clairo’s whole thing. Her music always feels warm and sugary like a nice cup of chai, and with Charm, she radiated with such happiness and contentment, that I couldn’t help but gently sway along. The shift into jazz and R&B after sticking for so long to the bedroom pop only brought her sweet, soft-spoken vocals out more, making her look and feel much more confident and mature as an artist. “Sexy to Someone” was my song of the summer; while it’s about a cry for attention, it’s still brimming with confidence in herself and love for the world around her. The choice to seamlessly mimic the sound of the trumpet with her vocals in “Juna” elevates the track into greatness, contributing to the cozy intimacy of the track and serving as the clear evidence of Clairo’s talents as an artistic visionary. As I’ve been saying all summer, Charm is absolutely charming!
Charli xcx, Brat
When Charli xcx opened the final track of Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not with, “Hi, it’s me you’re all in danger / Never get invited ‘cause I’m such a hater (Ayy!) / Got my finger on the detonator / Crazy girl shit, gonna go spring breakerzzz,” I unlocked the full potential of my personality. Seriously, I felt like Hulk Hogan at the RNC rally, except instead of tearing off a Trump shirt to reveal yet another Trump shirt (gross), I just had a lime green baby tee with “brat” emblazoned across the chest that I ripped to reveal a similar, white “brat” shirt underneath. Let Brat-mania run wild, brother!
New Discoveries, Old-ish Music
1. Jockstrap, I Love You Jennifer B. (2022)
Sexy, witty, and full of club bangers, Jockstrap’s electro-dancepop debut, I Love You Jennifer B. is a triumph in concept, lyrics, and music. “Neon” begins with a quiet strum of the acoustic guitar, accompanied by vocalist Georgia Ellery’s low, frail voice. Before the sharp beat and heavy electric guitar kick in, and her voice warbles into a frayed, auto-tuned chorus, the first track feels like a modern English folk song. Yet, the dancing commences immediately with “Jennifer B.,” a completely electronic-based track that transforms the “Ching!” of a Mario Bros. gold coin into an audible wink when Ellery sings cheeky lines like, “It’s been awhile since I played for ya / Grab a Switch and I’ll connect with ya / Never thought I’d be a g-gamer girl!” And just when you get swallowed up in the sparkly, clubbing atmosphere of Jockstrap, Ellery reminds the listener that she’s a professionally trained violinist, absolutely shredding her instrument alongside the ecstatic, raging beat of “Debra.” If you love the artful balance between the soft, etheral, and frail and the electric, frenetic, and hard, I Love You Jennifer B. will be the masterpiece you’ve been waiting for.
2. Matt Maltese, Bad Contestant (2018)
Every year, there’s always that one artist that gets caught in the discovery fly trap and sticks to you permanently. This was Matt Maltese to me: first tuning into his 2023 record Driving Just to Drive, I became enamored by the charming lyrics, the gorgeous piano melodies, the silky smooth vocals, and the British-ness of it all (I am but a simple person). Soon enough, I just hit “Shuffle” and let his discography consume me whole. I selected Bad Contestant to review for the round-up mainly because of its adoable cheekiness. There’s a sense of silliness to his lyrics that never teeters into corny territory: Whether he’s singing about falling in love with a girl he met at a bar (“Nightclub Love”), or having a flop era but still looking cute (“Bad Contestant”), Maltese is always in on the joke, using himself as an example of the adorable and relatable quirks of human behavior. And while the majority of the record finds beauty in the mundane—adopting a bright, peppy piano and drumbeat—he still reserves room for profound, grandiose gestures of romance. His most famous track, “As the World Caves In” captures the severity of an imploding universe, having the violins, electric guitar, drums, and vocals all crash together while he chooses who he wants to spend Armageddon with. “Strange Time” is a quieter tune that evokes the intimacy of a den with its chilling steel guitar, easy-going drums, and subtle inserts of strings. I’m such a fan of this dude and his funky piano music!
3. Jonathan Fire*Eater, Tremble Under Boom Lights (1996)
When one listens to Tremble Under Boom Lights, it becomes clear that Jonathan Fire*eater was the indie rock band that never was. Well, they were: often seen as the beginning of the early 2000s garage rock boom, this New York band (bonus points for attending Columbia University!) seemed to have it all. Tremble Under Boom Lights has brash, rude, and undoubtedly cool lyrics that ooze with youth and sex appeal. Stewart Lipton’s over-enunciation and flourishing of the vocals sounds like a typical, young American making fun of the spoken-word verses of Blur’s “Parklife.” Tracks like “Give Me Daughters,” “When Prince Was A Kid,” and “The City Never Sleeps” are scrappy, raw, and full of explosive energy, capturing the specific vibe of a Giuliani-era seedy bar basement one might have seen them play. (The even cooler kids would have seen them play in Columbia dorm basements before they got locally famous, according to my book rec of the summer, Meet Me In the Bathroom.) Had they not had the falling out that caused the band to collapse, they probably would have been America’s Franz Ferdinand (the band).
Revisiting the Goods and Greats
The Strokes, First Impressions of Earth (2006)
Last year, I ranked First Impressions of Earth last on my discography ranking of The Strokes, but after revisiting it this summer, I have to reconsider what I originally disliked about it. Calling the band’s third album “unremarkable” was, in retrospect, unfair: The somber Mellotron-produced violin sound in “Ask Me Anything” could be seen as the testing ground for the band’s eventual forray into more electronic-based tracks. The full embrace of a grittier, surfier sound—as well as the looser, less serious lyrics (“On The Other Side”)—allows the listeners to see The Strokes as not just strong personalities, but highly-skilled musicians as well. Julian Casablancas’ vocals are a stand-out feature here; he’s crystal clear, venturing with a louder and angrier sound, and he no longer sounds like the cool kid who’s over everything around him. “Heart in A Cage” is also one of my songs of the summer, and I was correct last year for calling it one of the best songs The Strokes ever wrote.
Glass Animals, ZABA (2014)
One bad album led me back to Glass Animals’ roots: an electropop, jungle adventure with lyrics you could squeeze with your teeth, some of the tightest production probably ever, and a strong, drum-led beat that could cause anyone to erupt into dance. ZABA flexes Dave Bayley’s brain muscles to somehow put Henri Rousseau’s art to music, with songs like “Flip,” “Walla Walla,” and “Toes” capturing a mystical, tropical wonderland constructed from the artist’s memories of childhood fairytales. The quiet, little chimes at the beginning of “Gooey” welcome the listener to almost five minutes of sweat, steam, and one of the catchiest hip-hop beats in the band’s discography. “Cocoa Hooves” is pure excellency. This is an album that makes you exclaim, “God, remember when Glass Animals used to make music like that?”
Black Country, New Road, Live At Bush Hall (2023)
Yeah, anyone who knows me in person was probably waiting for me to somehow slip these people into my roundup. From seeing them live and having my whole life transformed by how amazing they were, to obsessively playing the record any chance I could get, I genuinely cannot stop talking about Black Country, New Road. This album is the beginning of the band’s new era: No longer a traditional set-up with one frontperson and vocalist*, BCNR fully embraces the chaos of live music. Each member switches instruments at least twice in the same song, and the band’s decision to record a live album of new music demonstrates their reverence for the physical act of playing and singing together in the same room. All get a chance to write a song in their own style. Compare Tyler Hyde’s angsty, somber songs about loss of identity (“Laughing Song,” “Dancers,” “I Won’t Always Love You”) to May Kershaw’s storybook, surrealist ballads about fictional creatures (“The Boy,” “Turbines/Pigs”), to Lewis Evans’ sweet, romantic tunes about friendship and love (“Across the Pond Friend,” “The Wrong Trousers”)…and then add Georgia Ellery absolutely shredding the violin, holding each track together like glue. Live At Bush Hall celebrates collaboration, asserting that every single member has a distinct, wonderful voice worth uplifting. As the record’s first and last words state, “Look at what we did together!”
If you want to know more about the songs I’ve been listening to these past nine months, check out my winter 2023/2024, spring 2024, and summer 2024 playlists! You will need a Spotify, though. Sorry in advance!
Header image made by author with the help of Charli xcx’s brat generator. All other images are credited to their proper owners underneath the photograph.
*Isaac Wood, former lyricist and frontman of Black Country, New Road, I demand that you make a return to music and publish your weird poetry again. “Bread Song,” “Sunglasses,” “Theme from Failure, Pt. I,” and “The Place Where He Inserted The Blade” are not enough anymore!
I also got into black midi this year, but given the recent breakup announcement, I think a proper retrospective is due at a later date.