10) Mildlife – “Chorus” 2024

This Australian psychedelic rock group takes influence from jazz to create their unique sound. The group has been making music together since 2013, with their first album, “Phase” coming out in 2017.
In their earlier work, they lean into being nonsensical while retaining elements of their musicality that were later fleshed out to create a richer sound. The band takes inspiration from acts like Tame Impala, upbeat and dancey with a bit of a rock twist.
This week’s highlighted track, “Yourself”, brings to mind influences from 80s Japanese jazz grooves and easy-going warm vocals.

9) Caleb Landry Jones – “Hey Gary, Hey Dawn” (2024)

Caleb Landry Jones began releasing music in 2020 with his debut album, “The Mother Stone”. Before this, he was mostly known for his acting. You may recognize Jones from his roles in “Breaking Bad”, “X-Men: First Class”, or “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, MIssouri”.
Despite a successful acting career, Jones can’t resist stepping into the world of music where he provides his take on experimental rock while drawing inspiration from some of the giants of the past, including The Beatles.
Our highlighted track, “Corn Mine” takes the listener on a trip through limbo, the dilapidated, disjointed, yet beautifully cohesive instruments dipping and swelling. The vocals lean into the late-60s Beatlesque strangeness that Jones often evokes.

8) CURSIVE – “Devourer” (2024)

Hailing from Omaha, CURSIVE has been making music together for 3 decades. Fans have come to know them for singing about challenging topics that face society, the desire for a nuclear family and the constant pressure to be perfect and never slip up.
With a vibe similar to punk bands of the 2000s, this album draws on a time when anger was pervasive in pop rock. As the years have gone by, their message has remained consistent, which makes this new album interesting to compare against what the new problems facing our society may be.
The highlighted track this week, “Up and Away” hits the ground running, combining elements from pop punk and post-hardcore with a slight emo twang. This track balances a light and heavy mix of compositions in the instrumentation, oscillating back and forth.

7) Bluhm – “Midnight Hill” (2024)

Detroit dream pop duo Bluhm released their second LP in August after their debut album from last year. According to Bandcamp, they describe their genre as “music for lovers and leavers”, infusing their sound with folk, indie, and pop.
On this album, Bluhm’s vocal duets rise along with the synth-embellished melodies, creating an emanating feeling of nostalgia for the future. Their fantastical pop reminiscence shows a vulnerability, finding solace in sharing hopes and fears.
The highlighted track of this week, “A Lot Like Her” blends a harpsichord-esque synth with shoegaze-inspired guitar accompaniment and a vocal performance reminiscent of artists like Mazzy Star.

6) Shredded Sun – “Wilding” (2024)

A trio of artists hailing from Chicago, Illinois make up the Shredded Sun lineup. Leaning into a more garage-rock sound, this group weaves the noisiness of your favorite local house show with sickly sweet guitar riffs.
Their hooks work in tandem with the sometimes gentler vocals, effortlessly bridging the gap between rough instrumentation. Switching between male and female vocals, this group brings a psychedelic energy with their jangling melodies.
The highlight track of this week, “Both Your Houses” features the defining characteristics of this group: harsh guitar sound with vocals that freely rise over the 90s indie rock/shoegaze backing.

5) Charli XCX – “BRAT” (2024)

This summer, neon green and Arial font were inescapable due to hyper pop sensation Charli XCX’s latest full-length album, “brat”. The UK singer teamed up with many of her longtime collaborators to produce one of the freshest batch of dance tracks in recent memory.
The singles for this album, “Von dutch”, “B2b”, “Club classics”, and “360” garnered lots of hype for the album to be full of upbeat party tracks. The song “Von dutch” even had a remix with TikToker Addison Rae released before the album was dropped. Despite all of the party girl energy exuded, some tracks offer introspection. One such song is “So I”, in which Charli reflects on her friendship with late hyper pop pioneer SOPHIE. Another is “Girl, so confusing” where she details her sometimes fraught relationship with fellow singer, Lorde. This track gave rise to a remix with Lorde herself. The latest notable remix was for a song from the deluxe edition of the album “Guess”, which was produced by The Dare and featured Billie Eilish for a guest verse.
For the highlighted track, “i might say something stupid”, brings forth a more serious side of the album. On this downtempo track, Charli grapples with feelings of inadequacy as she questions her own fame and the consequences of the public eye.

4) Khal!l – “HEART: Melodies of the Eternal Flame” (2024)

R&B artist Khal!l hails from Milwaukee, where he found his love of singing by participating in his church’s choir. This led to his passion for music inspiring him to learn how to play instruments and produce music.
Khal!l takes inspiration from artists like Blood Orange, Bon Iver, and Toro y Moi. These artists are known for different things like disting melodies, omnipresent vocals, and electronic production. Khal!l fuses all of these elements together to create this latest album.
The highlighted track this week, “Fast Break”, is a low-key experience with smooth R&B influences and expansive vocals.

3) Clairo – “Charm” (2024)

Clairo got her start by posting her bedroom pop tracks to the internet back in 2017. Songs like “Pretty Girl” and “Flaming Hot Cheetos” garnered the singer/songwriter swarms of fans, eager to hear what she could do on a record. In 2019, she released her first full-length project, “Immunity” which kept all the soft qualities fans had come to love with some higher quality production and clarity. Tracks “Bags” and “Sofia” from this project remain popular among fans and casual listeners alike.
After no album release for 3 years, fans were enthralled when Clairo announced “Charm”. The lead single, “Sexy to Someone”, showed a new side of Clairo. The artist-led into a new style of instrumentation with piano and woodwinds heavy in the mix. The release cycle also saw the artist’s first music video in 6 years, for the track “Juna”.
The highlighted track this week, “Nomad” presents a calm, balanced soundscape accompanied by gentle acoustic guitar picking and staccato strings.

2) Childish Gambino – “Bando Stone & The New World” (2024)

Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, started his musical career in 2011 with his album “Camp”. He was known widely as a comedian who got his start as a writer for “30 Rock” before becoming an actor. Both of us on the music team were big fans of his work in the show “Community” as Troy Barnes.
His comedy background and musical inclination explain the silly nature of his earlier work. When Gambino shifted into a more serious tone while maintaining his whimsy, he really began to shine as a musician. This album came shortly after the release of “Atavista”, allowing Childish Gambino to solidify his spot as a staple summer artist. Glover has also stated that this album will serve as the soundtrack to an upcoming movie of the same title.
The highlighted track this week is “Can You Feel Me (feat. Legend)”. This track features Donald Glover’s young son, Legend, who accompanies him by singing the ABCs.

1) beabadoobee – “This Is How Tomorrow Moves” (2024)

British singer/songwriter beabadoobee comes from the Philippines and takes inspiration from Pinoy vocalists as well as indie rock artists like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Alex G. The singer first gained notoriety when placed on a list with other rising acts, like Billie Eilish, and led to beabadoobee touring with Clairo to support her Immunity tour.
Her song, “Coffee” was sampled for a TikTok song, “Death Bed” by Powfu, which is when the singer really made her way into the public spotlight. This last fall she performed at Tyler, the Creator’s music festival, Camp Flog Gnaw, at the event’s biggest stage drawing an audience excited to hear the musician’s live vocals as well as her bass skills.
The highlighted track this week, “This Is How It Went” evokes a soft, dainty almost side of the genre. Beabadoobee’s gentle vocals lilt above the waltzing instrumentation as she sings of a complex relationship gone by.