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The 30 Best Albums of 2024 (So Far)

Konstantinos Pappis
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The 30 Best Albums of 2024 (So Far)

We’ve reached the midpoint of 2024, which means it’s a good time to reflect on some of the best albums of the year so far. As far as pop music is concerned, we’ve already had major releases by Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Ariana Grande, but it’s Charli XCX’s BRAT, still fresh off its release, that has captured the zeitgest. In the world of indie music, Cindy Lee became an underground sensation, blog-rock favorites like Vampire Weekend and MGMT delivered some of their most heartrending material to date, and the Last Dinner Party managed to live up to the hype. Meanwhile, Adrianne Lenker, Waxahatchee, and Jessica Pratt put out some of the most affecting singer-songwriter records we’ve heard this decade. Check out our alphabetized list of the 30 best albums of 2024 so far below.

Adrianne Lenker, Bright Future

“We look at the world once, in childhood,” Louise Glück wrote in her poem ‘Nostos’. “The rest is memory.” The quote springs to mind each time I listen to Adrianne Lenker’s new album, Bright Future, which might, as its title suggests, be looking out on the road ahead, but allows itself the treasure of remembering, the freedom to linger on memories that both fade and harden with the coming of age. Lenker – lead singer of Big Thief and one of today’s most acclaimed songwriters, recording her new album in a forest-hidden studio with frequent collaborator Philip Weinrobe and friends including Nick Hakim, Mat Davidson, and Josefin Runsteen – perhaps has little reason to introduce her new record by dredging up past trauma. But in these fortunate circumstances, she finds the clarity of her senses awakened as they were when running through the woods as a child. Read the full review.

Beth Gibbons, Lives Outgrown

Over the past two decades, Beth Gibbons‘ recorded output in the past two decades has included Portishead’s starkly haunting 2008 comeback album, Third, a magnificent performance of Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3, recorded with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2019, and a memorable appearance on Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mother I Sober’ in 2022. In her own writing, Gibbons, now 59, isn’t one to unpack intergenerational trauma the way Lamar does on that track, but her delivery of the chorus managed to perfectly encapsulate the tangled yearning at its core. Those great knots of time are threaded through her music, too, however inscrutable, and more than just feeling them keenly, Lives Outgrown is her opportunity to let them unfurl. Its somber, weighty, bone-chilling meditations never overstay their welcome, making brilliant use of both time and space. Read the full review.

Charli XCX, BRAT

Initially, the rollout for BRAT hinted at a rather single-minded focus: a return to the singer’s club roots with help from close collaborators well-versed in its language, namely A.G. Cook and EasyFun. In a live setting, CRASH’s mainstream flirtations also meant embracing her previous eras, whereas BRAT zeroes in on the present and is only interested in recontextualizing old hits that can slot into her set, the word “PARTY” looming behind her. But while it may be a party record, a club record even, Charli treats these spaces with the same nuance afforded by the singer that’s said to be the subject of ‘Girl, so confusing’. It’s perhaps too easy for an artist with Charli’s self-awareness to wink at her place in the pop landscape, gamified as it is. But none of the references on BRAT totally scan as such; even if they become cause for speculation, Charli focuses on the emotion, not the person or the world they belong in. Read the full review.

Chelsea Wolfe, She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She

The title of Chelsea Wolfe‘s new album might point to the continuation of a infinite cycle, but it also marks what the artist has called a “rebirth.” Though once again cloaked in a storm of noise, sound effects, and electronics, Wolfe’s music comes across as a meditative practice rather than an effort to chart an enigmatic and fantastical journey around the self. Rather than another resetting of musical boundaries or a simple regression to older, sludgier sounds, its aim is the reconciliation of “darkness and cosiness,” in her words, stepping toward the light in the converging paths of self-actualization and undoing. She’s has now found ways to separate the brooding, gothic nature of her past work from the perpetuity of toil and unrest, leading to her most spectrally cathartic and euphoric album to date. Read the full review.

Cindy Lee, Diamond Jubilee

As far as indie and underground music is concerned, Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee is 2024’s biggest success story. Despite not being available on streaming platforms, the album gained traction via word-of-mouth and received Pitchfork’s highest score in four years following its release. Between high-profile releases from Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, it couldn’t be easier to root for Cindy Lee, the stage persona of songwriter and guitarist Patrick Flegel, who has put out several records under the moniker following a stint as the leader of the ’00s post-punk band Women. But when you listen to it on your headphones – it’s the kind of album that keeps you company as you look out the window on a long journey – the ghostly sprawl of the music seems bigger than whatever hype surrounds it: melancholy, arresting, brilliantly executed, and the only 2024 record other than Jessica Pratt’s Here in the Pitch deserving of the term “hypnagogic.”

Crumb, AMAMA

Crumb’s third album, AMAMA, is no less hypnotic and disorienting than the New York band’s previous material, but it longs to keep its feet on the ground. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Lila Ramani, keyboardist and saxophonist Bri Aronow, bassist Jesse Brotter, and drummer Jonathan Gilad remain wandering experimentalists, and the new record – produced in Los Angeles alongside Johnscott Sanford and Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado – hones that quality by restlessly locking into a groove and playfully straying away from it. But, abstract as it still is, Ramani’s songwriting is also tenderly introspective and emotional, threading together signifiers of her upbringing with memories from the band’s early touring days. But through these trips, down beyond what we might reasonably call memory lane, Crumb wake to a more solid and present understanding of home. Read our inspirations interview with Crumb.

DIIV, Frog in Boiling Water

DIIV‘s new album, Frog in Boiling Water, lifts its title from the “Boiling Frog” in Daniel Quinn’s 1996 novel The Story of B. The premise is well-known and self-evident – if you throw a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will instinctively jump out; but if you place it into lukewarm water and gradually raise the temperature, it will be lulled into comfort and boil to death. The results are neither entirely bleak nor hopeful, and Frog is less of an explicitly political album than a politically outward-facing one, following a series of albums centered around addiction and mental illness. As much it curdles with anxiety and existential dread, the record is alternately haunting, soothing, sour, and enthralling, a culmination of DIIV’s singular sound after their attempt to make a “proper” shoegaze album with 2019’s Deceiver. Read our inspirations interview with DIIV. 

Ducks Ltd., Harm’s Way

In essence, Ducks Ltd.‘s appeal or approach hasn’t changed too much: their brand of jangle-pop remains infectiously melodic, sneakily poetic, and surprisingly existential for how breezy it sounds. But with their sophomore album, they’ve found subtle ways to expand and open their already assured sound. Instead of self-recording the LP, the band went to a new city and collaborated with an outside producer, Dave Vettraino, who has worked on records by musicians who contributed to Harm’s Way, including Macie Stewart and Dehd’s Jason Balla. Louder and more dynamic as the arrangements may get, the newfound confidence only grounds the band’s most distinct trait: daring to make frenetically sugary, meticulously crafted songs about all sorts of collapsing structures. Read our inspirations interview with Ducks Ltd.

Ekko Astral, pink balloons 

Dubbing their style – an uncompromising mix of hardcore, noise punk, and no-wave – “mascara mosh pit” music, the Washington, DC-based outfit’s debut album, produced by Pure Adult’s Jeremy Snyder, is by turns galvanizing, raucous, and uneasy, but never totally dispiriting – confronting a world of suffering and disillusionment not only by pointing to it, but ceaselessly invoking and subverting what it feels like to inhabit it. As hyper-referential as they are exacting, Jael Holzman’s lyrics are also as riveting as the music that drives them forward. “I can see you shifting in your seat,” she intones at the very beginning, but Ekko Astral ensure you remain strapped in. Read our Artist Spotlight interview with Ekko Astral.

Erika de Casier, Still

The world of Erika de Casier feels effortlessly inviting. Up until now, the Portugal-born, Danish artist’s output has been marked by a rich interiority; she takes the idea of bedroom pop seriously, illuminating the space where pop music is commonly consumed and crafted, whether casually or with fierce passion. Sensual, textured, and elegant as her songs tend to be, she also displays a playful sense of humour that elevated her sophomore effort, 2021’s Sensational, whose title continued the tongue-in-cheek swagger of her debut, Essentials, while finding new ways to quietly exude confidence. By the end of the album, de Casier’s journey feels subtly defiant; she welcomes the listener by promising “a lot of fun,” then shows more sides to her than either new or returning fans might expect. Read the full review.

Friko, Where we’ve been, Where we go from here

Co-produced by Scott Tallarida, with additional production from Jack Henry, and mastered by Heba Kadry, Friko’s first full-length is a stirring and dynamic expression of their sound, balancing exhilarating freak-outs with moments of dreamy contemplation. Featuring contributions from Free Range’s Sofia Jensen and Finom’s Macie Stewart, the record is marked by a communal energy that animates it just when the songs veer into noisy, melancholy abstraction. “I’ll laugh, you’ll cry/ Our world inside a song,” Kapetan sings on ‘Until I’m With You’, his voice almost breaking. The song is lonely, yearning, yet commits – like the album as a whole – to framing music as a form of communion in itself. Read our Artist Spotlight interview.

glass beach, plastic death

the first glass beach album was audaciously maximalist and wildly inventive in the way it both fused and revitalized elements of pop-punk, bedroom pop, and art rock; the effect was by turns playfully cartoonish, bizarre, haunting, and hyperreal. Its long-awaited follow-up, plastic death, is similarly ambitious yet even more deliberate and immersive – not only in stitching together disparate styles that move beyond their original identification as a “post-emo” group, but also in the juxtaposition of catchy hooks and labyrinthine arrangements, deceptively simple song structures and multi-part, polyrhythmic epics. Emotionally and thematically, too, frontperson J. McClendon’s shift toward abstraction allows them to examine the relationship between aggression and tenderness, nostalgia veering into mania, the self through society, in a way doesn’t elude present reality so much as violently point at it. Read our track-by-track interview with glass beach.

Good Looks, Lived Here for a While

Following Good Looks‘ radiant debut LP Bummer Year, Lived Here for a While is an auspicious and sneakily triumphant record that highlights the Austin band’s dynamic interplay, even during the more contemplative moments. The songs are, however open-hearted and anthemic, still centered around healing, whether dealing with family dysfunction, heartbreak, or the fractured country they call home. Tyler Jordan is a painfully aware songwriter, and his bandmates know how to tap into his concerns; together, they push through. Read our Artist Spotlight interview.

Grandaddy, Blu Wav

Jason Lytle drapes the songs on his first Grandaddy album in seven years – many of them ballads or slow waltzes – in tons of pedal steel (performed by Max Hart), its sweetness balanced by off-kilter electronics, over a foundation of acoustic guitars, piano, and lush vocal harmonies. The sound of Blu Wav feels both old-timey and timeless, if not futuristic, and its warmth is almost as pervasive as the melancholy. If a song title like ‘You’re Going to Be Fine and I’m Going to Hell’ makes it seem like Lytle is treating bouts of heartbreak and depression with a dose of humour, there’s no mistaking the haunting vulnerability of songs like ‘On a Train or Bus’ and ‘Ducky, Boris and Dart’. It’s a ride worth sticking to, all summed up in the first lyrics of early single ‘Cabin in My Mind’: “Well, it’s a long and lonely road/ But there’s a safe and loving glow.” Read our inspirations interview with Grandaddy.

Hovvdy, Hovvdy

Their new self-titled album sees them continuing their collaboration with producer Andrew Sarlo and multi-instrumentalist Ben Littlejohn, who worked with the duo on 2021’s True Love and 2022’s billboard for my feelings EP. This time, all four were present for each session, giving Charlie Martin and Will Taylor the space to hone their collaborative craft while finding ways to honour their lo-fi origins. The result is a 19-track double LP of sprawling intimacy, one that allows big choruses to jump out and quiet moments to linger longer than you might expect. It’s a gorgeous record about the passage of time that keeps you hooked, ensuring no amount you spend with it feels wasted. Read our Artist Spotlight interview with Hovvdy.

Jessica Pratt, Here in the Pitch

If part of the songwriting process is like sleep talking, how can Jessica Pratt’s music sound at once of sleep and outside of it, swimming in the unconscious while also alerting you of all the things you missed when you were lost there? How come she’s both the one talking and waking you? Pratt is so singularly capable of tuning into that hazy space that when she puts out new material after so many years, it’s like realizing you’ve been missing something, been a little lost for a long time. This might sound like an exaggeration, but it’s the only way I can describe diving into Here in the Pitch, her first album since 2019’s Quiet Signs. It might be the most lucid and grounded record of Pratt’s career, but it’s still governed by that uncanny feeling: the ambiguity of time, how it blurs and slips one by, or simply slips, and how a song can suddenly pick it up. Read the full review.

Julia Holter, Something in the Room She Moves

Though steeped in abstraction, there is a stark physicality to Something in the Room She Moves, which stands as one of the most sensual and somatic works in Holter’s career. Though the music glides in different directions, she never strays from the central goal of “evoking the body’s internal sound world.”Whether breezy, dizzying, soothing, or bombastic, Holter’s output has always been immersive, and her latest is, too; what she does differently is remove the distance from the people, spaces, and ideas she interacts with. “In the past my records were more focused on the past or the future, about love from afar, as maybe more of an ethereal thing,” Holter remarked in an interview. But Something in the Room sees the present as an endless stream – of days and nights, of unresolved mysteries, of love and grief entwined – and keeps its hands outstretched for everything that passes through it. Read the full review.

Kali Uchis, Orquídeas

According to the singer, Kali Uchis’ first label didn’t give Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) ∞, her previous Spanish-language LP, the proper promotional push. But after the success of ‘Telepatía’, which became her biggest hit yet, there had to be more support behind Uchis’ multi-faceted approach. But Orquídeas, which is named after the national flower of Colombia, also happens to be an overall stronger album than Sin Miedo, bolder and more dynamic in its embrace of different styles. She seeks not just to combine genres but, in her words, “re-define the way we look at Latinas in music,” and her take on traditional Latin styles like bolero and dembow are not only refreshing but integrated as fluidly as the way she switches between English and Spanish – which sounds seamless yet also has a way of punctuating her lyrical shifts and nuances. Read the full review.

Katy Kirby, Blue Raspberry

Katy Kirby‘s debut album, 2021’s Cool Dry Place, was full of clever turns of phrase, tender melodies, and hummable choruses that made it feel both genuine and instantly inviting. But what stuck with you long after its 30-minute runtime was the way it treasured human connection in different forms; Kirby’s natural tendency to home in and pick apart the little details made her songs feel special and effortlessly intertwined, even if they were written over long stretches of time. On Blue Raspberry, her sophomore effort and first for ANTI-, Kirby is even more intentional in fleshing out and untangling the similarities and contradictions between her songs and the people in them. Taking inspiration from albums like Andy Shauf’s The Party and Lomelda’s Hannah, it huddles moments of intimacy that are beautiful, yes, but also strangely playful, ominous, and crystallizing. Read our track-by-track interview with Katy Kirby.

Kim Gordon, The Collective

Kim Gordon didn’t invent SoundCloud rap, but she sounds like she just sort of stumbled onto a whole new sound. The Collective, the former Sonic Youth bassist’s second solo record, carries the fearlessly innovative spirit that has marked her nearly 50-year career, and though she knew early on she wanted it to be beat-driven, how much of it would sound like this particular strain of hip-hop if her collaborator wasn’t Justin Raisen, who’s worked with everyone from Sky Ferreira to Lil Yachty, Yves Tumor to Teezo Touchdown? The Collective is their second full-length collaboration following 2019’s No Home Record, which was dark and fractured in its own way, but not quite as thrilling or cacophonous. Gordon doesn’t sound like she’s absorbed a bunch of contemporary influences, or even dutifully acclimated herself in them, just daring to reel off them, hanging on to noise as the obvious thread to her legacy. Read the full review.

Mannequin Pussy, I Got Heaven

Mannequin Pussy have always recognized the power wrought from contradictions. Vulnerability has been as much at the core of their identity as their punk roots, making their music feel uniquely resonant when snuck between moments of searing aggression. I Got Heaven, their first album since 2019’s Patience, is an ambitious step forward that’s eager to express all different sides of the band: as rageful as it is hopeful, intense yet inviting, and altogether marvelous. Part of the record’s dynamism comes down to the way it was made: singer Marisa “Missy” Dabice, bassist Colins “Bear” Regisford, drummer Kaleen Reading, and newly added guitarist and keyboardist Maxine Steen decamped to Los Angeles to work on the songs with producer John Congleton, creating a collaborative environment that allowed them to revel in the nuances of Dabice’s writing – the intersection of pleasure and pain, fear and desire, the body and the divine – by adding new layers to their already versatile sound. Read our inspirations interview with Mannequin Pussy.

MGMT, Loss of Life

With their lates talbum, MGMT manage to cross the youthful naivety and exploratory tendencies that marked their early albums with the pervasive anxiety and newly streamlined sound of Little Dark Age. In that wandering, MGMT sound both settled and unburdened, which allows them to lean back into their roots, or reconcile them – the absurdism and genre-hopping of their early performances, the earnestness of the classic rock they’d cover in college. If anything, the template of Loss of Life is more faithful to the definition of classic rock that congeals when you listen to the radio as opposed to the obsessive classification of online music nerdom, so the ‘90s alt-rock influences of ‘Mother Nature’ and ‘Bubblegum Dog’ flow into the cinematic soft rock of ‘People in the Streets’ and the power balladry of ‘Dancing in Babylon’. Read the full review.

Phosphorescent, Revelator

“I got tired of sadness/ I got tired of all the madness,” Matthew Houck sings at the beginning of Revelator, his first Phosphorescent album since 2018’s C’est La Vie. It’s a killer opening line in part because it signals a fresh start, when really it ends up feeling like a grand return: Houck getting back down to the core of what so much of Phosphorescent’s discography has been about, only this time from a renewed vantage point. Though it only took him about six months to write and record Revelator, tuning into the flow of his own songs wasn’t easy. The song after which he named the LP was the north star. He enlisted collaborators such as Jack Lawrence of the Raconteurs and Jim White of Dirty Three, but a lot of time was spent alone, trying to get things right at the studio he’s built at home, dubbed Spirit Sounds. It’s hard to do, as Houck sings over and over on the final track, but the process proved constantly revelatory. Read our inspirations interview with Phosphorescent.

Rosali, Bite Down

On her fourth album and first for Merge Records, Bite Down, Rosali is once again joined by Nance, guitarist James Schroeder, and drummer Kevin Donahue, as well as Destroyer collaborator Ted Bois on keys. It’s a magnificent album that crackles with the energy of the band tracking the album live while also mirroring Middleman’s self-reflective and conversational – even in its introspection – songwriting, which can feel intimate, playful, patient, and deeply resonant in its simplicity. She fights the grief and resentment that’s built up over years of romantic entanglement with attention to rest, joy, nature, and slowness. “I’ll sit for hours/ Gazing at the light/ And I do wonder/ And waste my life,” she sings, taking a sweet turn at the very end: “No, I don’t wonder/ If I waste my life.” Read our Artist Spotlight interview with Rosali.

The Last Dinner Party, Prelude to Ecstasy

The marvelous thing about Prelude to Ecstasy isn’t the audience it’s already reached as a debut album, but the commitment to craft and world-building that’s apparent as soon as you press play. The whole thing starts with an orchestral overture, signaling the sort of theatrical bombast and ambition that bands – especially “post-punk” bands that grow weary of the descriptor – don’t embrace until much later in their discography. As a group that formed just before the pandemic, the Last Dinner Party have had to take the fundamentally uncool path of taking themselves seriously, fleshing out songs, and establishing a strong visual identity before transferring any of their ideas to the stage. Calling the record “an archeology of ourselves,” the group may like doing things the old-fashioned way, but the assemblage of historical fashion feels fitted to the intensity of the present moment, not a retread of the past. Read the full review.

The Smile, Wall of Eyes

On their debut, the Smile sounded revitalized and even impatient, managing to cram together disparate influences with an emphasis on groove. Its follow-up finds no use in harnessing the frenetic energy of tracks like ‘You Will Never Work in Television Again’, but it doesn’t mean their restlessness has subsided. For a record that can generally be described as more subdued than its predecessor, it’s strange how unsettled its restraint feels, each eerie detail and unresolved conclusion appearing to inch them out of, rather than sinking into, the ideal of graceful maturity. There’s no sense of complacency on Wall of Eyes, which abounds with proof of a band alive with ideas, curiously bending them to shape until it’s no longer of service. Read the full review.

This Is Lorelei, Box for Buddy, Box for Star

Written, recorded, and produced by Nate Amos (of Water from Your Eyes and My Idea) in the summer of 2022, This Is Lorelei‘s debut proper is sneakily earnest and playful at the same time, committing to the bit without veering into cliché. Prioritizing pure melody, it’s a collection of songs as shiny and gorgeous as it is disorienting; but unlike Amos’ experiments with Water From Your Eyes, the wry humour and chaos aren’t contained in the music so much as his lyricism, whose stream-of-consciousness sincerity is affecting as much as it can throw you off guard. But even when he shifts between perspectives and laces his voice in AutoTune for the sake of the song, the album’s romanticism and emotional pathos feel earned, precisely because of the funny, quotable ways Amos finds to present them. Read our Artist Spotlight interview with This Is Lorelei.

Tierra Whack, WORLD WIDE WHACK

Billed as her official debut, Tierra Whack’s much-anticipated follow-up to 2018’s Whack World is as whimsical as it is dark, disarming listeners with both its deceptive simplicity and musical experimentation. It’s a fun record, to be sure, but its layered, raw emotionality becomes impossible to ignore the deeper you dig in. “Separated by eerie piano interludes, the fifteen tracks of World Wide Whack showcase a darkly layered and emotional narrative on chronic depression — contrasted only by its near-constantly innovative off-piste R&B — and such depressive realism and intellectual commentary lends itself to Whack’s cartoonish fourth wall experimentalism,” Otis Robinson wrote in his Our Culture review. “Ultimately, World Wide Whack becomes the sort of record that cements artistic vision and legacy.”

Vampire Weekend, Only God Was Above Us

Making up for the gap between albums, 2013’s Modern Vampires of the City and Father of the Bride were both stylistic swerves: one darker and strangely haunted, the other sprawling and casually vibrant. But Only God Was Above Us is Vampire Weekend’s first album since Contra that’s more interested in merging and retaining qualities from different eras; though lyrically and thematically, strongest are the echoes of Modern Vampires, and there’s even a beautiful ballad, ‘Mary Boone’, that feels like a descendant of ‘Hannah Hunt’. The record is focused yet loose, joyful and noisy, anxious yet curiously unfazed. It finds a definition of “alternative” that’s entirely contingent on the band’s own trajectory and musical language, which it unsettles mainly by playing with two elements: distortion – whether sputtering through ‘Ice Cream Piano’ or abrading the bright touch of ‘Classical’ – and space. Read the full review.

Waxahatchee, Tigers Blood

2020’s Saint Cloud was a stunning balm of a record, one that saw Katie Crutchfield embracing the Americana aesthetic that carries onto the new record; she tried experimenting with more pop-leaning production for “a good six hours,” she estimates, but it didn’t stick. Reuniting with producer Brad Cook to record the album at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, this time with help from Cook’s brother Phil, Spencer Tweedy, and Wednesday guitarist MJ Lenderman (who plays on every song and provides harmonies on many of them), Tigers Blood leans into and refines its predecessor’s sonic palette in ways that make space for the growth in Crutchfield’s lyrics. If Saint Cloud aspired toward and invited the clarity that comes with getting sober, Tigers Blood settles into it without losing grasp on the melodic and lyrical acuity that makes Crutchfield’s music so impactful. Read the full review.

Tindersticks Release New Song ‘Nancy’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Tindersticks Release New Song ‘Nancy’

Tindersticks have released a new single, ‘Nancy’, lifted from their upcoming album Soft Tissue. It follows lead single ‘New World’, and you can listen to it below.

“Some say that there are only a few different types of songs,” Stuart Staples said in a statement. “‘Nancy’ definitely falls in to the classic ’guy fucks up / begs for forgiveness’ bracket – but hopefully with a few surprises along the way. Like much of Soft Tissue, the musical spark of excitement came from the creation of the rhythm track – Earl Harvin gated, echoed and fused with a CR78. Dan McKinna’s bass and David Boulter’s organ arpeggios combining into a heavy sauce. Nice brass too.”

Soft Tissue is due for release on September 13 via City Slang.

Horse Jumper of Love Share New Single ‘Snow Angel’ Featuring MJ Lenderman and Squirrel Flower

Konstantinos Pappis
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0
Horse Jumper of Love Share New Single ‘Snow Angel’ Featuring MJ Lenderman and Squirrel Flower

Horse Jumper of Love have unveiled a new single, ‘Snow Angel’, which features contributions from MJ Lenderman and Squirrel Flower. Accompanied by a music video from director Lance Bangs, the track opens the band’s forthcoming album Disaster Trick. Check it out below.

“A lot of my songs start with an image and then stream of consciousness takes over from there,” the band’s Dimitri Giannopolous explained in a statement. “I had this idea of a snow angel melting in the sun. It stemmed from the first poem in Actual Air called ‘Snow.’ Through this piece, David Berman explores the idea of snow metaphorically and abstractly. He relates the outdoors sounding like a room when it’s snowing and snow angels being shot by a farmer, vulnerable and isolated… I wanted to tap into a feeling of being outside in the cold and wanting something.”

Lance Bangs added: “‘Snow Angel’ felt like it wanted to be expressed visually as a kinetic, enveloping barrage of vision-confusion. We built contraptions, invented new techniques, prepared loud versions of the song at various speeds. After one particular take we realized we had conjured something in a continuous shot that didn’t look like things we had seen before, and that we didn’t want to look away or cut away to anything else.”

Disaster Trick is set for release on August 16 through Run for Cover. In addition to MJ Lenderman and Squirrel Flower, it features Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman, who contributed guest vocals on previous single ‘Wink’.

Why Bonnie Announce New Album ‘Wish on the Bone’, Share New Single ‘Fake Out’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Why Bonnie Announce New Album ‘Wish on the Bone’, Share New Single ‘Fake Out’

Why Bonnie have announced their new album, Wish on the Bone, which arrives on August 30 via Fire Talk. It includes the previously unveiled single ‘Dotted Line’, as well as a new track, ‘Fake Out’, which is about “trying to be authentic in a world that makes it impossible to be so,” according to the band’s Blair Howerton. Check it out below.

The new LP follows Why Bonnie’s 2022 debut 90 in November. “I’ve changed since that album, and I trust that I’ll probably continue to change,” Howerton said in a statement. “Maybe I won’t be the same person entirely two years from now.”

Howerton co-produced the album with Jonathan Schenke. “We were trying on musical hats,” Howerton explained. “There’s still some country on this record, but I wasn’t thinking about sticking to one thing. Personal experience of learning to be bolder and more assertive and trusting myself has carried over into my music.”

Read our Artist Spotlight interview with Why Bonnie.

Wish on the Bone Cover Artwork:

Wish on the Bone Tracklist:

1. Wish On The Bone
2. Dotted Line
3. Rhyme or Reason
4. Fake Out
5. Headlight Sun
6. Green Things
7. All The Money
8. Peppermint
9. Three Big Moons
10. Weather Song
11. I Took The Shot

Lunar Vacation Announce New Album, Share Finn Wolfhard-Directed Video for New Single

Konstantinos Pappis
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Lunar Vacation Announce New Album, Share Finn Wolfhard-Directed Video for New Single

Lunar Vacation have announced a new album called Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire. Produced by Drew Vandenberg, the follow-up to 2021’s Inside Every Fig is a Dead Wasp is out September 13 on Keeled Scales. Today’s announcement comes with the release of the lead single ‘Set the Stage’, alongside a music video directed by actor and musician Finn Wolfhard. Check it out and find the album cover and tracklist below.

“Our last album was super produced, manicured,” guitarist and vocalist Maggie Geeslin said in a statement. “This one’s organic. We embraced mistakes; it made the work even better.”

Commenting on ‘Set the Stage’, Gep Repasky shared: “This was the first love song I wrote about someone and then sent it to them. That is the first and last time I will ever do that. Love can make you do really strange things. It took some convincing on my end to fully realise this song, but that’s the best part about making music with my bandmates; they are the voice of reason and I trust them. So once the walls were down, we went in blazing, and changed the vibe of the sad, acoustic demo to the monster that it is now.”

Finn Wolfhard added: “When I listened to ‘Set the Stage’ I was taken by how atmospheric it sounded. The feedback and droning guitars made me think of dark and rich environments. Gep’s beautiful melody offsets the darkness by bringing a levity and brightness. The goal was to have that melody reflected by dance, choreographed by the amazing Elana Wulkan. We had an amazing crew and I’m honoured that Lunar Vacation asked me to direct this video for them, and even more honoured to call them friends.”

Check out our Artist Spotlight interview with Lunar Vacation.

Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire Cover Artwork:

Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire Tracklist:

1. Sick
2. Set the Stage
3. Tom
4. Erase All the B’s
5. Bitter
6. Fantasy
7. Just for Today
8. Better Luck
9. You Shouldn’t Be

Coldplay Announce New Album ‘Moon Music’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Coldplay Announce New Album ‘Moon Music’

Coldplay have announced their next album: Moon Music, the follow-up to 2021’s Music of the Spheres, will be out October 4. Its first single, ‘feelslikeimfallinginlove’, which the band debuted last night during their sold out stadium show at Budapest’s Puskás Aréna, is set to arrive on Friday, June 21.

Produced by Max Martin, the physical release of Moon Music will be the world’s first album to be released as a 140g EcoRecord rPET LP, with each copy containing nine recycled PET-plastic bottles recovered from post-consumer waste. The strictly-limited first edition run of Moon Music (both EcoRecord LP and EcoCD) will be produced at a “higher specification” than any future editions, according to a press release.

Coldplay is currently in the midst of a world tour in support of Music of the Spheres, which will wrap up with the second of two shows in Auckland, New Zealand on November 16.

Moon Music Cover Artwork:

Best Electronic Music Festivals in 2024

Our Culture Mag & Partners
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Best Electronic Music Festivals in 2024

With its ability to bring people together through rhythm and beats, electronic dance music has won over millions of fans worldwide. In this read, we will review some amazing EDM festivals in Europe. We will start with the second half of the year so that you have a chance to enroll in one or all of these thrilling events.

Waking Life (Crato, Portugal, June 19 — 24)

Waking Life is a week-long midsummer feast in Crato, Portugal that celebrates self-expression through art and music. With a varied lineup of artists, interactive artworks, performances, and audiovisual installations, the event provides a singular and immersive experience. Waking Life began as a dream project for a group of friends who mused of creating a community of kindred spirits in a balmy corner of the world. Since then, it has grown into a place where alternative lifestyles — ones that emphasize learning, living, and loving — are fostered. It is a dynamic forum for creative exploration, vibrant self-expression, and group envisioning of an unconventional society. Waking Life is a Portugal-based non-profit organization that is mostly run by volunteers, with the June gathering being its centrepiece.

For those looking for a psychedelic get-together in a living garden, this event is a must-visit because of its lively and welcoming atmosphere.

Audra (Kaunas, Lithuania, June 29 — July 03)

Held in Kaunas, Lithuania, the Audra Festival is a colorful five-day urban music and art festival. This year, the festival will take place across four zones, each with its own unique atmosphere and gigs. The lineup boasts quite a number of seasoned and emerging artists. Ben UFO is one of the headliners. He is known for his superb mixing skills and impeccable taste, which make them stand out among other big names. Having started his DJ career as a follower of the dubstep movement, Ben UFO craftily combines techno, house, and experimental music into a seamless, alluring whole.

Music lovers can explore the entire lineup and schedule their incredible experiences on the website as anticipation for the event evolves.

Tomorrowland (Boom, Belgium, July 19 — 28)

Tomorrowland is probably the most popular EDM festival in Europe. It debuted in 2005 and has grown to become one of the world’s most renowned music festivals. Among the many honors and prizes it has received are five consecutive votes for “best musical event of the year” at the renowned International Dance Music Awards.

The thrilling lineup of Tomorrowland 2024, which takes place in Boom, Belgium, from July 19 to 28, is sure to excite festival goers. The Tomorrowland team announced an exclusive set by Disclosure for the first weekend of the festival, which is well-known for its fantasy-themed stages and immersive worlds.

Street Parade (Zurich, Switzerland, August 10)

This event lasts one day only, but it is totally worth it. You will spend this summer fun-filled day listening to amazing beats along with a million of other techno fans, who travel to Zurich for this annual Street Parade. The 2.4 km street parade also features multiple enormous stages spread out across the city. The whole metropolis comes to life, and naturally, the celebration continues with a ton of exciting events taking place at different locations after hours.

Not only is it one of the very few free techno events in Europe, but it also features great DJ sets. Maybe Zurich is your dream destination this summer?

BEONIX (Limassol, Cyprus, September 20 — 22)

The idea behind BEONIX was to arrange a getaway for island residents and visitors and transform it into a global cultural occasion. One of the goals of the festival was to draw in a plethora of talented individuals, and not just seasoned and well-known artists. In 2024, BEONIX will celebrate its third edition. The event is scheduled to happen in Limassol, Cyprus, from September 20 to 22. With a total of three stages available, the primary stage of the festival will undergo a significant makeover that will enhance the audio and visual interaction, reflecting the event’s commitment to providing a 360-degree festival experience. The headliners of the event are truly amazing:

  • Tale Of Us,
  • ARTBAT,
  • and Fatboy Slim.

Amsterdam Dance Event (Amsterdam, Netherlands, October 16 — 20)

When this event comes to Amsterdam in October, things get really wild. Amsterdam Dance Event 2024 will open a new chapter in the festival’s remarkable history by upholding its commitment to offering an immersive musical experience. In addition to its renowned showcases and parties, ADE 2024 is a five-day, five-night event that is also a structured conference with workshops, performances, gear demos, and networking opportunities.

This Week’s Best New Songs: Spirit of the Beehive, Nilüfer Yanya, Wishy, and More

Konstantinos Pappis
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This Week’s Best New Songs: Spirit of the Beehive, Nilüfer Yanya, Wishy, and More

Throughout the week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with the new releases that caught our attention the most, be it a single leading up to the release of an album or a newly unveiled deep cut. And each Monday, we round up the best new songs released over the past week (the eligibility period begins on Monday and ends Sunday night) in this best new music segment.

This week’s list includes Spirit of the Beehive’s glitchy, hypnotic ‘LET THE VIRGIN DRIVE’, which leads the band’s fifth LP; ‘Perfect Hand’, a shimmery highlight from This Is Lorelei’s new album; Wishy’s bright, swirling new song ‘Triple Seven’; Nilüfer Yanya’s dreamy yet dynamic ‘Method Actor’, the lead single off her upcoming album; Los Angeles shoegaze band MILLY’s pummelling, haunting new song ‘Bittersweet Mary’; Avey Tare’s eerily upbeat ‘Vampire Tongues’, which features his Animal Collective bandmate Panda Bear (Noah Lennox); and ANOHNI and the Johnsons’s’ delicate, emotive new track ‘Breaking’.

Best New Songs: June 17, 2024

Song of the Week: Spirit of the Beehive, ‘LET THE VIRGIN DRIVE’

This Is Lorelei, ‘Perfect Hand’

Wishy, ‘Triple Seven’

Nilüfer Yanya, ‘Method Actor’

MILLY, ‘Bittersweet Mary’

Avey Tare feat. Panda Bear, ‘Vampire Tongues’

ANOHNI and the Johnsons, ‘Breaking’

Building Strong Personal and Romantic Relationship Skills

Our Culture Mag & Partners
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Building Strong Personal and Romantic Relationship Skills

Success in dating Ukrainian women hinges on strong personal and romantic relationship skills. Understanding and mastering these skills can significantly enhance your connection and increase the likelihood of a successful, long-term relationship. Engaging in Ukraine dating online provides a unique opportunity to meet and connect with Ukrainian women, but it also requires a deep understanding of cultural nuances and effective communication strategies.

Effective Communication with Ukrainian Ladies

Communication serves as the foundation upon which all successful relationships are built. In the realm of online dating with Ukrainian women, the importance of clear and honest communication cannot be overstated. While language barriers may present obstacles, surmounting them can pave the way for a more profound and meaningful connection to flourish.

It is imperative to express your thoughts and feelings openly and honestly. Transparency regarding your intentions and relationship desires is key to establishing trust and mutual understanding. Active listening plays an important role in this process. By attentively listening to your partner’s words, demonstrating genuine interest, and responding thoughtfully, you not only convey that she is valued but also contribute to the cultivation of a deeper emotional bond between you both.

Furthermore, fostering an environment of open communication enables both partners to share their perspectives, concerns, and aspirations freely. Through this exchange, mutual respect and empathy are nurtured, fostering a relationship characterized by trust, understanding, and mutual support.

Trust and Respect in Relationships with Ukrainian Women

Respecting and understanding cultural differences is paramount when dating someone from another country. Ukrainian culture boasts its own set of traditions, values, and social norms that may diverge from your familiar customs. Demonstrating respect for her cultural background can significantly enrich your relationship.

Learn about Ukrainian customs, traditions, and holidays to gain insight into her way of life. Engage in cultural activities with genuine interest and enthusiasm, showcasing your willingness to embrace her world. This effort not only demonstrates your respect for her heritage but also fosters a deeper understanding and appreciation between you both, minimizing misunderstandings and strengthening your bond.

Trust and loyalty serve as foundational pillars in any healthy relationship. Establishing trust requires consistent effort and dedication, particularly in the context of online relationships where physical presence is limited. Demonstrating reliability and honesty in your words and actions is essential for laying the groundwork for trust.

Consistency is paramount to building trust. Uphold your promises and demonstrate dependability in your behavior. Show your Ukrainian partner that you are fully committed to the relationship and that she can rely on you. Remember, trust is a reciprocal endeavor – encourage her to share openly and honestly with you as well. By cultivating mutual trust, you fortify the foundation of your relationship, paving the way for its long-term success and growth.

Romantic Gestures in Long-Distance Relationships

Small romantic gestures can have a significant impact on your relationship. These gestures show that you care and think about her, even when you are not physically together.

  • surprise messages: sending a thoughtful message or a small gift unexpectedly can brighten her day and show that you are thinking about her;
  • shared activities: engage in activities that both of you enjoy, even if it is through virtual means – watch movies together, play online games, or cook the same meal while on a video call;
  • personalized gifts: Give her something meaningful that reflects her interests and your understanding of her – personalized gifts can show that you have put thought and effort into making her feel special.

Long-distance relationships require extra effort to maintain connection and intimacy. Technology plays a crucial role in bridging the physical gap and keeping the relationship strong.

Regular video calls are essential. Seeing each other’s faces and hearing each other’s voices helps in maintaining a sense of closeness. Use messaging apps to stay in touch throughout the day, sharing small moments and experiences to keep each other updated on your lives. Plan visits whenever possible to spend quality time together in person. These visits are crucial for sustaining the relationship and creating shared memories.

Resolving Conflicts in Relationships

Every relationship faces conflicts and problems. How you handle these situations can significantly affect the health and longevity of your relationship. While conflicts are inevitable, they also offer opportunities for growth and understanding between partners. Approach conflicts with patience and a genuine desire to understand the other person’s point of view. Rather than resorting to accusations or criticism, try to remain open-minded and empathetic. By actively listening to your partner’s concerns and viewpoints, you can foster a sense of mutual respect and cooperation.

Be patient when resolving conflicts, especially when cultural differences and language barriers are involved. Recognize that misunderstandings can arise from differences in views or communication styles. If you approach these issues with patience and a willingness to learn, you can overcome obstacles together and strengthen your relationship. You can use these conflict resolution and patience strategies:

  • open communication: maintain an atmosphere in which both partners feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings openly;
  • empathy and understanding: seek to understand your partner’s point of view and validate their emotions, even if you don’t agree with them;
  • mutual respect: treat each other with respect and dignity, even in times of disagreement – do not resort to personal attacks or derogatory remarks;
  • compromise: seek solutions that take into account the needs and preferences of both partners – be willing to make concessions and find a middle ground wherever possible.

Effective conflict resolution involves open communication, empathy and mutual respect. Be patient with each other, especially when cultural differences and language barriers are involved. With effort and dedication, conflicts can be resolved constructively, resulting in stronger and more sustainable relationships.

The Basics Of Online Dating With Ukrainian Women

Building strong personal and romantic relationship skills is essential for successful online dating with Ukrainian women. Effective communication, understanding and respecting cultural differences, building trust, and showing thoughtfulness through romantic gestures are key elements in fostering a meaningful connection. Maintaining the relationship through regular contact and handling conflicts with patience further strengthens the bond. UADreams offers the opportunity to meet and connect with Ukrainian women who share your relationship goals. By embracing these relationship skills, you can create a deep and lasting connection, leading to a fulfilling and harmonious relationship.

Siyu Ding: Celebrated 3D Artist with Over 12 years at Leading Gaming Companies

Abbie Wilson
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Siyu Ding: Celebrated 3D Artist with Over 12 years at Leading Gaming Companies

Siyu Ding, a 3D artist from Shanghai, China, has an impressive background, having worked at major companies such as EPIC and Activision Blizzard, and served notable domestic gaming giants like Tencent and NetEase. With over 12 years of extensive industry experience, she has contributed to renowned titles such as “Blade & Soul,” “Tera,” “Destiny 2,” “Justice Online,” “Call of Duty: Vanguard,” “Call of Duty: Mobile,” and “Call of Duty: MW3,” among other internationally recognized online games and AAA projects.

Despite her extensive involvement in numerous major projects and having 12 years of experience in the gaming industry, Siyu is only 35 years old. She embarked on her journey as a game art designer straight after graduating from college, driven by a deep passion for artistry.

From a young age, she loved drawing and asked to learn sketching during her elementary years. With a strong aspiration towards the anime art domain, she delved deeper into this field during high school as computer networks began to flourish. Exposure to computer games fueled her dream of becoming an anime artist. During her high school years in 2004, she founded an anime club, serving as its president and exhibiting her own artworks. She even submitted her creations to the well-known anime magazine “Cartoon King,” with her work ultimately featured in the magazine.

During her undergraduate studies, in addition to completing her animation coursework, Siyu co-founded an anime club with classmates, independently creating and publishing their own comic books. She also participated in Shanghai’s prominent CP Anime Exhibition, a rare feat for college students in 2008. Together with four university peers, she formed a small team, polishing their fan art in their spare time. Concurrently, Siyu reached out to printing houses, publishing her own fan art books that garnered impressive sales figures. She also self-taught 3D software to create her artistic pieces.

During her undergraduate internship, Siyu engaged in 3D post-production projects for renowned Chinese director Tsui Hark’s film “Flying Swords of Dragon Gate,” laying a solid foundation for her subsequent role as a 3D artist in the gaming industry. Graduating with distinction, she entered the esteemed gaming company EPIC, crafting exquisite 3D game characters for the large-scale Korean online game “Blade & Soul.” She later transitioned to projects with Tencent and NetEase, contributing to well-known Chinese mobile and online games like “Justice Online,” “Jian wang 3 MMO,” and “Ze Tian Ji.”

After honing her skills for over five years, Siyu joined Activision Blizzard’s Shanghai division as a senior 3D artist, creating stunning 3D models for “Call of Duty Online.” Her outstanding aesthetics and exceptional 3D artistry led her to be recognized as an expert artist and subsequently sent to Seattle, USA, to collaborate on Bungie’s acclaimed sci-fi FPS AAA title “Destiny 2.” She designed numerous futuristic tech-themed game character sets, greatly appreciated by players. Her works have been featured multiple times in the game’s promotional posters on major gaming forums, with several character sets prominently showcased in DLC promotional videos.

Siyu is an artist keen on researching 3D art techniques. After completing her work on “Destiny 2,” she contributed to “Call of Duty: Mobile,” creating impressive 3D characters and garnering remarkable results. Her designed characters once again took center stage in major mainstream media’s promotional videos and posters. The game generated approximately $209 million in IAP revenue, accumulating nearly $1.5 billion in total revenue since its launch.

Seeking fresh challenges, she ventured into the hard surface 3D art domain, a departure from her previous character design work. This new endeavor required extensive knowledge of mechanical structures and industrial design thinking. To create realistic WWII-era firearm game models for the “Call of Duty: Vanguard” series, enhancing players’ gaming experience, Siyu dedicated months to studying firearm structures, gaining inspiration from live shooting ranges, and tirelessly modifying design models overnight. Her goal was to provide a realistic gaming feel and visual quality while adhering to WWII-era settings. As a team leader, she formed her own team, simultaneously managing outsourcing vendors and collaborating with the US-based studio Sledgehammer Games to accomplish a substantial amount of 3D art for “Call of Duty” weapons. Siyu and her team’s designed 3D game models are frequently referenced in the Call of Duty wiki’s Vanguard series firearm image collection.

This year, Siyu participated in the production of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III,” with her work once again prominently featured as primary weapons in the official promotional video “Aftermarket Parts” Intel Drop | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III.”

Her portfolio showcases her expertise across various domains like character design, hard surface modeling, weapons, and vehicles. Siyu can effortlessly create exquisite cartoon-style characters, demonstrate intricate realistic firearms, and craft futuristic-themed props and character sets. Truly evolving into a polyhedral 3D expert artist, she navigates through any style with unbounded creativity.

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