My Favorite Musical Finds Of 2024

Women are on a roll! My picks of bands, songs, videos and the Album of the Year

Dec 23, 2024

Image from album art for “Keep Me Fed”, © The Warning

I’m going to start with my usual disclaimer, updated with recent data: There are an estimated 120,000 new musical tracks being uploaded to streaming services every day. Lets’ assume that only 1% of them meet a reasonable standard of quality. That still leaves us no hope of ever hearing most of them.

There are an estimated 500 hours of video uploaded to youtube every minute. My guess is that 70% of the videos are cat videos. Most of the rest seem to be people ranting or trying to sell shit, or both. That still leaves a hell of a lot to cover if your interest is music.

Now, some of our compatriots (like the intrepid Steve Goldberg, Jeffrey Harvey and Kevin Alexander, to name a few) have managed to come closer than most mortals to hearing all the music. When they publish their annual “best of” lists, it’s based on having listened to a shit-ton of new releases.

(How else do you even come up with 80 best songs of the year or ten best albums of the year? I stand in awe.)

Most of my scouting is x-U.S., which means exploring the 95% of the music world that is not made in America. It feels like a Jupiter-sized ocean, and it’s not nearly as well-mapped as our music industry is. So the whole thing is, honestly, hopeless. There are probably 150 countries where I still haven’t set foot, digitally speaking. This list includes four acts from Japan and one each from the Netherlands, Philippines, Mexico, Germany, and the U.S. That leaves a lot of uncharted territory.

To top it all off, I suffer from a wee touch of OCD. When I find something I like, I have trouble moving on. I listen to it obsessively until my neighbors are sick of it. Since I also work, my time listening to new music is limited. That means I hear less new music than I would like.

I haven’t been doing this long, so I’m still experimenting. I don’t have the same categories each year. I invent categories to suit songs, albums, or artists that compel me to find a place for them on a list. As for many of you who have already published your lists, this year felt to me like an embarrassment of riches.

All this is to say, when I post a “best of” list, take it with a grain of salt. I certainly do. I’ve probably missed tons of stuff I would love even more. What I can say is that these are artists and songs that plugged right into my OCD brain. When you put them to the test, they stand up to deep and repeated listening. They speak to mind and soul — at least mine.

Let me know if they speak to yours.

Ok, here goes:

Best New Band: Koiai

(I’ve written about them before—some of the text below is taken from those articles.)

Could This Be Your Favorite New Band?

Charles in San Francisco

October 12, 2024

Read full story

This is one of the most high-potential new lineups I’ve seen in a long time. They all came from other established bands, despite the fact that they are barely old enough to drink (Lisa-X, the band founder, is the youngest, at 19). I’ve been following most of them since they were little kids wowing viewers on YouTube. They seem to have great chemistry, and are practically igniting before our eyes.

“A New Picture” (Live, 2023)

This could be a soundtrack for a slasher movie set in a carnival ride (where have we seen that before?). The transitions between contrasting atmospheres in this one are jarring but work beautifully. It’s a tour-de-force for the guitarists.

“Come See Me”

This came close to being my song of the year—it was just edged out by “Unchained”, which is featured below. The combination of breezy yet wistful vocals, jazzy melodies and fills, and casual perfection, makes it a high-class earworm.

Come-back Artist of the Year: Bridear

When I first discovered the Japanese hard rock scene, one of the bands that stood out for me was Bridear. That says a lot, because the scene is quite overwhelming — I felt I was playing catch-up on something huge that I should have known about 30 years earlier.

Bridear wrote great music — full of catchy melodies and harmonies. At the same time, they went harder and heavier than most other bands. Their playing was unapologetically technical, and their twin leads were as good as it gets — in other words, they were the quintessential example of a “girl-band” stomping all over traditionally male territory.

Their 2011 song “Ignite” remains one of the best metal songs I’ve ever heard:

Then, in 2019, things sort of fell apart. Three of the original five members of the band, including one of the key songwriters, left for various reasons. The two founders were able to replace all the moving parts, but the lineup remained unstable and the songwriting became uneven.

They experimented with a variety of styles, with mixed results. Their relationship with their label was not in great shape. Many bands would have folded. But they persevered. They signed on with a new producer who has done a great job of re-energizing them and focusing them on what works. One of their new guitarists has also turned out to be a strong songwriter.

The result is a new album, aptly titled “Born Again.” It has been getting rave reviews from the metal press and critics, for good reason. It is a return to the band’s roots in old-school heavy metal. Their young guitarists have developed great chemistry and some welcome swagger. They are in the middle of a multi-stage global tour. Things are looking up for them.

Here is their latest single, “Braver Words”:

Best Cover Band: Missioned Souls

Partridge Family, eat your hearts out. Here is the real thing. Mom and Dad and four kids, in their makeshift recording studio in the Philippines, covering everything from Elvis to Led Zeppelin. Oh, man, can they play.

They are all multi-instrumentalists, and they switch around a lot. Some of their recordings feature the whole family, and some just feature the four kids. The youngest, Isaiah (“Ice”) is only 11 and is already a beast on the drums. They play with a confidence and equanimity which a lot of pro rock musicians could learn from.

“Rosanna” (Toto cover)

One of the best-written pop/rock songs I’ve ever heard. It was a chart hit, but probably like most casual listeners, I never thought about why it was so good. Musicians love it for all the complex, clever stuff with time signatures, key changes and even rests. It all adds up to something infectious.

The drum line, the famous “Porcaro Shuffle,” was invented for this song, and even professional drummers say it’s hard to pull off. Isaiah does a simplified version of it and handles it with aplomb. Naces, 15, on the keys, also did the backing tracks — you’ll see her in the insets. Neisha (14, lead guitar) — improvises the last few bars, and smashes it.

“Bestie” (Band-Maid cover)

The original is a romantic homage to friendship by my favorite rock band. Missioned Souls do something difficult here: While remaining almost note-for-note faithful to the original, they make it their own. Most covers involve a choice between one or the other. Watch for another spectacular guitar solo by Neisha.

Hopefully, the next step for this band will be recording their original music. They have all the tools to make something great. I hope they keep at it and that I can see them on tour one day.

Best New Old Band: Alabama Shakes

A few of the writers here participate in a monthly get-together, the “Riff Album of the Month” where we share music, old or new, that had an impact on us. For me, this is a wonderful source of music and artists I might not otherwise have found.

The best thing? It’s already curated by people who I know really listen to and care about music.

From the past year’s Album of the Month sessions, one artist in particular stood out for me: Brittany Howard. I knew nothing about her until Steve Goldberg featured her newest album, back in May. As it turns out, she made several writers’ year-end “Best of” lists, including Steve’s. She has a great, natural voice, writes interesting songs, and plays instruments on her recordings (a big plus for me).

I learned Howard had had her own roots rock band a decade ago. I’d never heard of them either, but I was blown away when I went back and listened. So, while several writers included her on their lists, here’s the twist: I’m including her for her original band, Alabama Shakes.

Here is their best-known song. I’d love it if she would bring them back for more of this.

“Don’t Wanna Fight”

…….

Song of the Year

Lovebites: “Unchained”

For me, one hallmark of this band is their ability to play any style of music and completely nail it. Here, they have gone further, and invented a new genre altogether: Gospel Metal. The lead singer, Asami, was actually pursuing a career in soul and R&B when she was spotted by one of the other members of the band. She had never heard of heavy metal, but she quickly found herself at home with it.

This song was written to play to Asami’s soul background. The melodic progressions and vocal cadences sound like a gospel song. They throw in a little guitar shredding just for good measure.

I saw them perform this live and it felt like a religious revival.

If you know someone who might like stuff like this, please go ahead and share it with them—it’s free!

Music Video of the Year:

Babymetal and Electric Callboy: “Ratatata”

These are two bands that are almost impossible to explain. But I’ll try.

Electric Callboy were founded in Germany in 2010, originally as “Eskimo Callboy.” They changed their name when someone told them the word “Eskimo,” as applied to hairy white dudes, was politically insensitive. They cross genres freely — think “Judas Priest meets Wayne’s World.” The only thing they seem to believe in is never looking serious.

Babymetal are one of Japan’s major cultural exports. They consist of three multi-talented young women who perform highly choreographed dance moves while singing pop verses over a thunderous bedrock of heavy metal. Yes, you are right, none of this sounds like it makes any sense. Actually, the incongruity between their appearance (tiny, pretty anime superheroes) and their sound (loud and generally brutal) is sort of the whole point.

Putting these two bands together was like squeezing fifty years of incompatible music genres into one song. No way this could work. Then I watched it.

…..

Live Performance Video of the Year:

Epica: “Arcana” (Live at Symphonic Synergy)

Epica, the Dutch symphonic band, take their name seriously. They write grandiose, epic songs, put on huge shows with full classical orchestras, and are generally, well, epic. Their lead singer, Simone Simons, joined them when she was 18, bringing an angelic voice that floated over the band’s massive sound. Over the 21 years since then, she has grown before our eyes into a monster vocalist with operatic range and control.

If you love both rock and classical music, this is where they collide.

Album of the Year

The Warning: “Keep Me Fed”

(Some of this is excerpted from a longer piece I am writing about this band.)

The Warning are:

Daniela “Dany” Villarreal Velez: guitars, piano, lead and backing vocals (born Jan. 2000)

Paulina “Pau” Villarreal Velez: drums, piano, lead and backing vocals (born Feb. 2002)

Alejandra “Ale” Villarreal Velez: bass, piano, backing vocals (born Dec. 2004)

When you are nine years old, a few months make a big difference. That is how old Alejandra was when she and her sisters recorded a cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and their father posted it on youtube. That video went viral, partly because it was cute, but mostly because they could actually play. Metallica’s lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett, complimented them on social media, saying the drummer, in particular, “kicked some serious ass”:

Today, this video has over 25 million views. Its greater significance is as a bit of internet archeology, a look back at three soon-to-be rock stars, when they were children messing around in their parents’ basement. That was in 2014.

Flash forward:

They have toured North America several times, both as headliners, and as the occasional opening act for bands like the Foo Fighters. They did entire tours with Halestorm and the Pretty Reckless , probably the top two female-led hard-rock bands in the U.S. today. Reviewers called it, among other things, a hurricane of girl power.

The girls largely write their own songs. They always share credit, regardless of which one was the primary composer. (Fans often refer to them simply as DPA.) They increasingly collaborate with other songwriters in order to expand their range, and top musicians are now approaching them about working together.

The current album was produced by Anton DeLost, who has also produced Highly Suspect, Cleopatrick and the Dead Poets Society. Some of the songs were co-written or co-produced by Dan Lancaster, who co-writes and produces songs by Muse and Bring Me the Horizon, among others (the Warning have toured with Muse).

The sources listed below include a wonderful interview of the band, just posted in June. It provides some great insight not only into The Warning’s writing process, but into life as a rising young rock band. I encourage you to make the time for it.

OK, Here are Spotify, Amazon and Youtube playlists of the album: