Ryan’s Favorite Music of 2024

For 15 years, my work—and life—clock was set to Pitchfork’s year-end lists. As one of the many editors, writers, and producers behind those annual features, I had a long-running system: figuring out my own faves, lobbying the rest of the staff, taking part in debates about which song or album should rank where, editing an endless number of blurbs, making sure everything was ready to publish, surveying the subsequent commentary, and then taking a two-week rest, feeling like I played my own little role in determining the best music of a given year. I won’t lie, it was a nice feeling.

This year is different. I’m no longer at Pitchfork. I’m not one of dozens of very talented people huddling together to create a huge list, feeding the insatiable desire for a definitive “best.” I’m a guy. OK sure, a guy with 20 years of music journalism experience. And a guy who relies on and is grateful for my four fellow Hearing Things founders each work day. And a guy who still lives and breathes music like my life depends on it—which, more than most, it kind of does. But still, a guy! There’s no illusion of “best” hovering over the following list. Instead, it’s a marker of what I’ve enjoyed, what’s moved me most, what I’d love for you to hear, too.

Los Campesinos!: All Hell

Bands can be like friends. There are some you connect with as teenagers and then never think about again. You might love others very intensely for a year or two before growing apart—they moved to a different city, tried out a new style that you didn’t like. Sometimes they make decisions heinous enough to make you feel unending betrayal. But then there are the ones that last. That grow alongside you. That understand you more and more as the years tick by. Los Campesinos! are one of those bands for me. 

The exuberant UK indie rockers soundtracked the romantic disasters of my 20s, and with All Hell, they’re entering early middle age right alongside me, too. How do you maintain integrity in a culture determined to undermine it? How do you stay close and connected with your loved ones while still being engaged with the world around you? And how do you have some fun with what’s left of your life, with all these anxieties raining down on your skull at every second? Los Campesinos! don’t claim to have all the answers. But they’re happy to tear into the questions, hopefully for decades more to come.

The collected works of mashup DJ Nick Cheo

It’s easy to dunk on mashups—they’re gimmicky, nostalgic, banking on nothing more than lowest-common-denominator shock value. Can you believe they put the vocals from X rap song over the beat from Y rock song?! But when they’re done well, the effect can be as satisfying as completing a 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. That’s why I’ve always welcomed an appearance by Ohio State University computer engineering student Nick Cheo on my TikTok FYP this year. Whether he’s mixing Sexyy Red’s “SkeeYe” with Frank Ocean’s “Nights,” or Migos’ “Stir Fry” with the Cranberries’ “Linger,” or (my personal fave) Lenny Kravitz’s “It Ain't Over ‘Til It’s Over” with Young M.A’s “Ooouuu,” Cheo’s low-key pride in his own creations seeps through the screen.

Ravyn Lenae: “One Wish” (ft. Childish Gambino)

Chicago R&B angel Ravyn Lenae’s “One Wish” recalls nothing less than Alicia Keys’ Old Kanye-produced 2003 hit “You Don’t Know Know My Name”: the golden-hour soul chop, the unimpeachable vocals, the longing. But instead of pining after a dreamy stranger, Lenae’s song deals with something more complex—her relationship with her dad. “One Wish” has Lenae thinking back to her 10th birthday, hoping her father would be there. “I can’t spend this one wish on you,” she croons, to heartbreaking effect. The song takes on an even fuller life when paired with its music video. It offers a snapshot of the 25-year-old’s singer’s life thus far, as viewed from the backseat of a car: She’s a little kid being driven around by her dad, a young adult doing donuts in the parking lot, finding out about the joys and pain of love. By the end, current-day Lenae is in the driver’s seat, taking her childhood self for a ride around the block. It’s the most powerful video I watched all year.

Cole Pulice, Eileen Myles, and Hunter Shafer: “Under the Shadow of Another Moon” / Lynn Avery and Cole Pulice: Phantasy & Reality

The ambient saxophonist and composer Cole Pulice has been on an untouchable run over the past couple of years, making some of the most heart-tugging instrumental music I’ve ever heard. And I’m happy to report their streak continued apace in 2024. They released a staggering collaboration with the writer Eileen Myles and the actress Hunter Shafer for Red Hot Transa’s compilation, as well as a gorgeous album with their longtime musical partner, Lynn Avery. Throughout every piece, Cole’s horn tone sets the beguiling mood: somber but grateful, hesitant but comforting, as light as a speck of dust and as heavy as the end of humankind.

Claire Rousay: Sentiment

Sometimes sitting in sadness is not just OK but necessary. Claire Rousay knows this all too well, and her Auto-Tuned emo-ambient experiment Sentiment is what you put on when you want your wallowing to have some meaning, dammit. At least that’s what I did earlier this year as I sat listless and unemployed, trying to figure out what music meant to me after toiling as a music journalist for two decades. As thoughts of doom swirled—Will I ever work again?—I took solace in Rousay’s creaking songs of desperation. If she can get through it and come away with something so beautiful, maybe I can get up off my ass too. I owe this album a lot.

Jonah Yano: “Romance ESL”

You have to have a certain amount of charisma to be able to sing the word “lover” and not sound like a total jackass. Jeff Buckley famously pulled it off with dramatic panache on “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over.” And so does the jazz-indebted singer, songwriter, and producer Jonah Yano, who pleads “I’m looking for my lover!” again and again on this highlight from his excellent third album, Jonah Yano & The Heavy Loop. “Romance ESL” tumbles headlong for a little over three minutes, collecting horns and piano runs and drum fills along the way, like a fuzzed-out snowball. The song’s version of romance is wily and sensory, just the sort of controlled chaos Buckley himself would have appreciated.

This—and only this—cat playing a keyboard

My TikTok feed can generally be broken down into the following categories: dumb comedy, random music, and cats. Sometimes the algorithms align and I’ll get a video that lives in the sweet spot between all three—like this one starring a very dramatic tabby composing an entire horror movie soundtrack with just a couple of sustained keyboard tones while staring into the soul of its terrified owner. John Carpenter, take note.

Dua Lipa: “Happy for You (Live on SNL)”

2024 almost made me feel sorry for Dua Lipa. Amid the brash, queer, fuck-everything pop stylings of Charli XCX and Chappell Roan, Dua’s highly manicured professionalism could feel passé. But there was one Dua track, and performance, that made a great case for her brand of old-school stardom. “Happy for You” is a conflicted song of longing in the Robyn mold, where Dua finds herself scrolling through an ex’s IG feed and sees them with someone new. But instead of freaking out, she suddenly finds herself wishing her ex well. “I must have loved you more than I ever knew,” she sings, breaking through to a new level of emotional maturity in real time. Her SNL performance took the song to new heights, including a breathtaking outro in which Dua looked to be ascending to the heavens through white smoke, whipping her hair like she really meant it.

MJ Lenderman: “Rip Torn”

This one features my favorite opening lines of 2024:

I guess I’ll call you Rip Torn
The way you got tore up
Passed out in your Lucky Charms 
Lucky doesn’t mean much

Songwriters, this is how you set a charmingly fucked-up scene! (RIP Rip Torn.)

Emory: “Tooth”

OK, I’ll admit it—I first came across a snippet of this song on my TikTok feed. I was intrigued by the production, like if the Postal Service went hyperpop, and the lyrical imagery of a tooth being ripped out by a slammed door, and by the person behind it all: a recent music-school grad named Emory Wellons, who looked a little embarrassed to be on TikTok. Then I listened to the full song, told all of my co-workers about it, and just kept listening. “Tooth” is familiar but fresh, a song that flashes images of toxic masculinity and familial trauma, bloody mouths and closeted guns, with a briskness that belies their seriousness. When the algorithm serves me something that willfully defies the algorithm, I’ll allow it.

Mount Eerie: Night Palace

Phil Elverum’s latest album under his Mount Eerie moniker is both a culmination of all the grief, overcast ennui, and fragile humanity he’s explored across a quarter-century of songwriting and production, and an epic new chapter that only deepens his Pacific Northwest lore. At 26 songs and 81 minutes, it’s a weighty project, but it’s buoyed by a sense of inventive wonder. There’s always a new sound, or production choice, or songwriting style to be discovered. On one short interlude, Elverum sings of soft air descending into his lungs, and then translates that whoosh into a distorted keyboard chord that lasts most of the track’s 62 seconds. Sound and nature and breath, working together, sustaining life.

Devon Again: “Cherry Cola”

Here’s one for the “how was this song not huge?!” pile. All the elements are there. An irreverent, blue-haired Gen Z singer who’s already tasted some viral success. Production that recalls Dr. Luke’s “Since U Been Gone” heyday (while not actually being produced by Dr. Luke). A fun video where Devon Again dances like nobody’s watching inside a toolshed. And a song that compares infatuation to a cherry cola sugar rush, using blissfully unsubtle innuendo fit for a Katy Perry classic. Pop does not get fizzier than this!

Viral guitarist Aiden Kroll’s cover of Charli XCX’s “Apple”

One of the benefits of a genuinely remarkable album like Brat seeping so deep into mainstream culture is watching how it is squeezed, twisted, and reworked by anyone with a social media account. Did I really need to see a handsome TikTok star named Aiden play bubble-funk guitar licks over “Apple,” transforming it into a lost outtake from Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories? Probably not. But I’m very glad I did. Nile Rodgers would approve.

Fabiana Palladino: “Stay With Me Through the Night”

This is a groove with serious pedigree. Fabiana Palladino is the daughter of Pino Palladino, one of the most in-the-pocket bass players alive, known for his work with D’Angelo, Adele, and many others. Pino predictably funks up Fabiana’s bouncy lead piano on this song, finding the right notes to make the song slink. As if that weren’t enough, “Stay With Me Through the Night” also features percussion, synth, and production from cult hero Jai Paul, who knows a thing or two about diabolically infectious grooves. Everyone brings their A game, and the result is a retrofied modern classic that deserves a spot in the record shelf next to the likes of Lisa Stansfield, Chaka Khan, and Erykah Badu.

Baba Stilitz: “Stockholm (DJ Python Remix)”

Here’s a thing about me: I like songs where dudes artfully ramble in deadpan tones alongside an unfussy backbeat. Think Dylan, Beck, Lou Reed, Destroyer. It’s like they’re just waking up, they’re sick of their own voice and thoughts, and they’re just recording this because they don’t have anything better to do. The Filipino American Swedish songwriter Baba Stilitz deserves a spot among such a casually nonchalant group. On this remix of his track “Stockholm” courtesy of the masterfully chill New York producer DJ Python, Stilitz’s lackadaisical skewering of the Swedish capital and its cookie-cutter inhabitants is screwed down and paired with percussion and synths straight out of a 7 a.m. yoga class. “Young professionals carelessly living/I can’t say that I’m not jealous,” he shrugs. “Even though I live my life just like they do.” RIYL: Self-incriminating capitalist critique via Zen meditation.

Four Tet: Three

After being your favorite alternative artist’s favorite electronic artist for about a quarter-century, Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden found himself headlining Madison Square Garden and Coachella alongside Skrillex and Fred Again.. over the past few years. As someone who saw him play Chicago’s divey Empty Bottle in 2004, it was one of the most surprising—and deserved—musical coronations I could ever hope for. So what did he do next? A collab album with all of his famous new friends? Nah. Three is Four Tet pure and uncut, a record that recalls his best work, and ranks right alongside that work, too.

Mk.gee’s encore at Irving Plaza

I’ve already spilled a couple of thousand words on my obsession with Mk.gee and his album Two Star & The Dream Police, so I’m going to concentrate on my single favorite Mk.gee moment of 2024 here. It went down at his Manhattan show in May, when he played “Candy” for a second time that night during his encore. When he let the song loose in his main set, the crowd started singing along, loudly, seemingly taking Mk.gee back. It felt like one of the first times he was treated to such a full-throated response, and he couldn’t help but smile as he let the audience deliver his words and melodies back to him. So why wouldn’t he want to revisit that high as soon as possible? Introducing the song again for the encore, he said, “We’re playing this shit again, this shit rocks,” and it was impossible to disagree. (Thankfully, someone captured that exact moment for posterity.)

Syntrovert: “Freediving”

What this list needs is an out-and-out banger. Cue Syntrovert, the eclectic Chilean DJ and producer whose discography smears the borders between reggaeton, EDM, trance, and myriad other dance styles. “Freediving,” the peak moment from their incredible Pathfinder EP, is an invigorating whoosh that really does make it feel like you’re swimming next to a school of technicolor rainbow fish in the open ocean (I imagine). A steady bass throb sets the tone, while crashing waves, plinking keyboard melodies, elegant piano lines, tasteful wubs, chiptune pops, and trancey atmospherics wash in and out of the stereo field. For my next vacation, I might just toss this track into an A.I. trip planner and see what the hell happens.

Rosali: “Rewind”

“I’ll rewind for you.” It’s a perfect lyric, and North Carolina singer-songwriter Rosali goes back to it over and over on this highlight from her excellent album Bite Down. Those four words contain a world of generosity, along with some nostalgia (the video takes place in an old video rental shop), and a tinge of bittersweet angst. It’s like the song’s narrator feels the need to revert back to a past self so they can receive someone else’s love, sacrificing their current evolution in the process. It gives a whole new meaning to that vintage ’90s maxim: Be kind, rewind.

Nala Sinephro: Endlessness

Once and a while, an artist will come along who seems to have the ability to read my mind and give me the exact sound I’m looking for. And not in a nostalgic way, or in a way that just mimics my all-time favorites. Rather, in a way that pushes my listening—and the overall culture—ahead. That’s how I feel about the London composer Nala Sinephro. Her music combines the visceral spontaneity of jazz with the astral wonder of ambient, coming away with a mesmerizing swirl that I could listen to for hours day after day without ever getting bored. On her second album, Endlessness, every single tone rising from her synths, every choice of collaborator, every minuscule mixing decision is the right one. I don’t come across cosmic musical kinships like this that often, but when it happens, it feels like a relief: There are people out there who know what I want to hear before I do.

Want to hear all of this music in convenient playlist form? Great! I’ve compiled just the thing below—including some bonus faves not included on this list. But these Spotify and Apple Music playlists are only for paying subscribers, so please sign up now as part of our holiday sale to gain access! Thanks.