One month down, eleven to go! January’s been busy—for me personally and in general. I’ve written about twelve of my favorite songs from this month, and included a couple playlists at the end—one is the long list of all my favorite songs of 2024 so far, and the other two are a jumble of tracks I’ve had on repeat as of late. Enjoy!
R.A.P. Ferreira, Fumitake Tamura - “elite mind flayer judo”
R.A.P. Ferreira’s collaboration with producer Fumitake Tamura is a thoughtful, understated triumph. On this track, his spoken word flow shines with precision and clarity, melding beautifully with the delicate, atmospheric instrumental. “Lord willing Imma get old and crankier,” he promises— a resolution we can all get behind.
I still feel a little bit hungover from the zeitgeisty British post-punk boom of the late 10s/early 20s, but these new Courting tracks are fun and quippy enough to stand out from the Windmill Brixton runoff. “Flex” is a delightfully dystopian worship song for the surveillance state. Over a sharp drumming and a flurry of horns, frontman Sean Murphy-O’Neill—who, back in 2021, barked “I think me and Kanye might still have sex”—exclaims with just as much conviction, “If you need a bad bitch, I can try!” A bad bitch indeed.
Carpool, CLIFFDIVER - “Open Container Blues”
I’m so excited for Carpool’s forthcoming album My Life In Subtitles and you should be too. The latest single is more of what they do best—brash, angsty, shout-along pop punk built around a massive chorus. They’ve recruited Briana Wright, vocalist of fellow SideOneDummy signees CLIFFDIVER to turn “Open Container Blues” into a raucous rollercoaster of a duet.
Gouge Away - “Stuck In A Dream”
Florida punks Gouge Away are back from their hiatus with a skull-spinning lead single for their first album in six years, Deep Sage. Christina Michelle’s vocals are as rough and face-melting as ever, with the rest of her band following along with razor’s-edge guitars and a battering, cacophonous rhythm section. Towards the end, it all boils over and then simmers to a stop as Michelle intones “I just want to wake up.”
I talked at length about this song when I reviewed Eliza’s debut album, Going Through It, for Paste. Its fifth and final single is like if one of the girls from the cream of the CVS-core crop—your Vanessa Carltons, your Sheryl Crows—were Zoomers with, as Eliza herself puts it, “half a gender studies degree” and enough self-discipline to delete TikTok but only for like a week. Eliza’s songwriting craft and cultural savvy combined with Sarah Tudzin’s production make for a self-aware pop song that hits hard (if a little too close to home).
Gotta shout out the new single from North Carolina legends Late Bloomer. Listening to “Mother Mary” feels like being a little kid falling asleep in the back of your parents’ car on a long road trip while the sun is going down, guitar fuzz enveloping you like a blanket. The hazy glow of the final chorus and outro is one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard so far this year.
I’m so happy to have stumbled upon the quirky, lovestruck, psychedelic pop-rock of Oslo, Norway trio Mall Girl. Though Pure Love opener “Inzane” is probably the best introduction to Mall Girl’s oeuvre, “Inside Out” is my personal favorite. As catchy as it is unpredictable, this track embodies all of Mall Girl’s most playful aesthetic instincts, and the guitar solo that rounds it out is totally sick.
Jimmy Montague - “Only One For Me”
Yacht rock is IN for 2024, and Jimmy Montague is leading the charge. His sound is bright, brassy, and beautiful, his smooth crooning and lush instrumental arrangements deeply indebted to Steely Dan and The Brothers Doobie and Allman. His sophomore LP, Tomorrow’s Coffee comes out next month and it’s gonna be THE album to play at backyard barbecues and whatever boat you can secure an invitation to hang out on once the weather gets warmer. Don’t fuck him on this one, folks.
This is a very North Carolina-centric list, and one of the state’s most precious somewhat hidden (but hopefully not for long) gems is singer-songwriter Rosali. Her vocals are so dulcet yet strong; she pours her entire heart into “Rewind”’s chorus. It’s a track that sways like a hammock in the breeze on a warm day, as Rosali reflects on a love that’s stood the test of time.
If I said that I song feels longer than it is, you’d probably take that as a negative. But in the context of my favorite track off plastic death I’m saying it to describe how surprising it is that a song that’s barely over five minutes manages to pack in multiple distinct, fully fleshed-out movements that incorporate the band’s vast array of forebears—Dismemberment Plan, In Rainbows-era Radiohead, the tappiest offerings from emo’s second wave. “rare animal” is emblematic of glass beach’s sonic depth and range at its most comprehensive. This one just *barely* beat out my close second favorite “puppy” (scarcity is relative, a puppy is a rare animal).
Liquid Mike - “American Caveman”
Last year a band—or a guy?—called Liquid Mike appeared seemingly overnight with an album of sticky, fast-paced pop rock (his fourth in just two years) and a small but very vocal ride-or-die army colloquially known as “Liquid Mike Hive.” Since this fateful Bandcamp discovery, the Upper Peninsula’s cult darling hasn’t let up. I didn’t know a line like “my friends still call when they wanna hang” could hit so hard until I heard it from the mouth of Mike himself, coasting down shining, distorted guitar lines like they’re great American highways. I reviewed Liquid Mike’s latest record, Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot, for Paste, and “American Caveman” is just one of many sizzlers on its stacked tracklist. Liquid Mike Hive, we ride.
Invoking Mariah Carey and John Gotti? Telling Tory Lanez defenders to download JPay or better yet, book a conjugal visit?? The fucking Megan’s Law line??? I would say that maybe we should call up Ethel Cain to see if she’ll make good on her promise to “rally the Amish” against anyone who dares to speak on Megan Thee Stallion, but after hearing Meg’s bars on HISS I’d say all her enemies are as good as dead.
Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman - “Right Back To It”
Tiger Blood is one of my most anticipated records of 2024. I’d already known that it would feature MJ Lenderman (also on my most-anticipated shortlist), but the sheer beauty of this back porch instant classic somehow exceeded my sky-high expectations of their impending collab. Katie Crutchfield’s vocals and songwriting are as fine-tuned as ever on this meandering alt-country ballad. We are, as the title humbly suggests, so back.
let's fucking go Sharp Pins