Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii
Lily Cochiaro: How does Doechii manage to bring a fresh sound to hip hop, while also bringing us back to its roots? I don’t know. All I know is I put on the album and I let the magic happen. She’s pulling from and interpolating Kendrick Lamar, Busta Rhymes, Digable Planets, etc… She represents everything we know and love about hip hop. There’s a reason Kendrick called her the hardest rapper in the game right now. Just look at the album cover! That’s her holding an actual alligator. I think this is her best work by far, and I hope the Grammys treat her well.
Carly Nichols: We got to witness many people get deserved recognition in the music industry this year, but my personal favorite has been the rise of Doechii with the release of her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal. I have been a lowkey Doechii fan for a few years, but this mixtape made me a certified hardcore swamp member. Doechii represents pure excellence in so many ways- her proud status as a queer black woman in a rap industry full of men is a beacon of shining light to so many people. She explores alternative fashion styles and in my opinion, is a trailblazer for queer fashion (Carrie Bradshaw with a back brace on). She is an icon and a legend already and I can’t wait to see what she does in the future.
This mixtape contains a spectrum of emotions and styles- “Nissan Altima” is an instant classic with confident lyrics and fast-paced bars, the storytelling track “Denial Is A River” helps Doechii cope with what she’s been through in a lighthearted, comedic way, and “Bloom” explores the struggle of the delicate balance between life’s responsibilities with more of a melodic track (yeah she can sing too!). She also parodies and addresses the rap industry as a whole in “Boom Bap”, and pays homage to her home state of Florida in “Boiled Peanuts”.
From my past listening experience, Doechii has always been a good (if not incredible) rapper, but consistency was her Achilles heel. I never came back to any of her full projects, just certain songs and singles. Alligator Bites Never Heal is a different story. This album is cohesive and 100% listenable. My favorite track changed almost every day when it first came out, and I still struggle to define which one is my favorite. It is on repeat all the time (runtime of 47 minutes) and has become one of my favorite projects of all time. I can’t say enough about how good this album is. 10/10.
Here in the Pitch by Jessica Pratt
DJ Buck (Clover Cove): This album has a warm and soft sound. It’s emotional and raw and sort of feels like a meditation or (I imagine) a sensory deprivation pod (I wouldn’t know). 10/10 couldn’t recommend more. If you listen and love it check out my show for more gib and gab.
Cartoon Darkness by Amyl and the Sniffers
Kaylen Flachsbarth: I didn’t know I needed a beautiful Australian woman to yell at me before I listened to this album. She is so beautiful and so Australian and boy does she love to yell at me! Great pump up album. Great album if you hate someone’s guts right now. Great album if you’ve flirted with being a femcel. Give it a go.
GNX by Kendrick Lamar
Nico Casabella: Another amazing project by the west coast rapper. Kendrick’s past projects have been very serious and introspective, GNX shows his more lighthearted side and makes for a very fun listen. He collaborates with other underground West Coast rappers who compliment his style very well. Overall, it’s probably his most laid back project thus far and I would highly recommend it.
Only God Was Above Us by Vampire Weekend
J-Fitz: Coming off the heels of a five-year hiatus, the legendary indie rock trio returns with their most direct and effective musical statement yet. While their previous album reveled in a rootsy, jam band revival sound, their new album is equal parts gritty and melodic, paying homage to 90s alt rock on singles like “Capricorn” and “Gen-X Cops”. The band also seems more ambitious in their song structures, embracing heavier use of guitar distortion and using sampled drums on tracks like “Mary Boone” and “Connect” (the latter of which actually samples their debut single). This gritty, reflective sound perfectly complements the lyrics, which reflect the perspective of an aging, world-weary millennial generation. Lead singer-songwriter Ezra Koenig writes about lost youth, generational trauma, and the rising tide of fascism in America, shifting between apologism, protest, and resignation. On the album’s final track “Hope”, he seemingly asks the listener to “let it go”, abandoning their own hope for good in the world and ensuring their own survival, yet in the context of the rest of the album this message ironically feels hopeful and pragmatic. By accepting the things in the world that you can’t change, you can gain the strength to fight for the things that you can.
The New Sound by Geordie Greep
Kenny Tschida: “When I first heard that Geordie Greep was dropping a solo album, I felt that everything would be okay… and when The New Sound released, my prayers were answered.”
Isaac Whittemore: Geordie Greep doesn’t lose a step after his departure from black midi, The New Sound is all its title suggests and more. Incorporating Latin music to his repertoire was the perfect next step, as he adds groovy and dancy new layers to his already complex and singular sound. The New Sound is one that I hope he continues to explore.
Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman
Joseph Diehl: With plenty of incredible releases from 2024, I would say that Manning Fireworks is the one album that I consistently find myself returning to. There’s something about the nonsensical lyrics that just never fail to bring a smile to my face. He uses these lyrics to paint the pictures of some extremely sad personalities on each of his tracks but it never feels pathetic. MJ lenderman manages to present all of these poor personas in a charming way that often feels to me like a breath of fresh air compared to the much more bleak lyricism that usually comes with themes like this. The goofiness and style that Lenderman used on Manning Fireworks, combined with the alt-country sound just makes this album scream “Americana.” The rock-country sounds are simple yet honed extremely in, there’s some tracks on here where every time I listen I pick up on something new, like the clarinet in the background of “You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In” took a couple listens to even notice and now it’s what I focus in on every time. The instrumentation and lyricism of Manning Fireworks have continued to leave me with the strangest sense of longing that I cannot quite describe, it’s longing without the sadness and maybe it’s just the longing to listen to it again. I would highly recommend you check out the most sweet bittersweet album I’ve heard in a long time.
BRAT by Charli xcx
Arianna Kautz: Charli xcx has always found herself in a strange position within the pop music scene, from hit songs to niche cult following. With six studio albums out, BRAT felt like her last chance at truly breaking into the mainstream and she couldn’t have knocked it out of the park any harder. From songs about doing lines to mourning the loss of her good friend and producer SOPHIE, BRAT felt like the perfect album to represent Charli as a whole. She constantly dances the line between vulnerability and mindless partying without it feeling gimmicky, instead it feels extremely authentic and relatable. Brat and it’s completely different but it’s still brat was everything I had hoped it to be and more. Charli didn’t take the easy way out and simply add a feature to every song, but rather reworked every song entirely from production to lyrics detailing the same experiences but put into new context post-album release. The rollout, singles, release, deluxe, and remix album were all executed so meticulously and it paid off greatly. As a fan and avid listener, she left nothing to be desired without overwhelming her audience. Overall, all three BRAT variations deserved every second of attention and praise they received this past year.
Favorite Track: Sympathy is a knife
Mahashmashana by Father John Misty
Jacob Garcia: For me, the best albums to fall in love with are the ones where artists/sounds you previously didn’t care about suddenly make all the sense in the world. I experienced that in 2024 with Mahashmashana by Father John Misty. FJM was already beloved by many for his smug verbose persona — a persona which has a lot of sincerity and doubt hidden inside — but it wasn’t until Mahashmashana‘s lush but garish & overblown sound that I came to appreciate his faux “revelations”. His music sounds like George Harrison, Harry Nilsson, or the divisive less folky side of Leonard Cohen — it’s half a century late — but it catches so much of the absurdity of being alive at the present moment.
Prelude to Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party
Sophie: Coming from the same scene as UK bands like Black Midi and Black Country, New Road, The Last Dinner Party made their debut this year with a regal, melodramatic collection of BANGERS. This thing switches from beautiful ballads to firey glam rock whenever it feels like it, and it makes for one of the most fun albums of the decade so far.
Favorite Track: Caesar on a TV Screen
