It was an interesting year for the economics of the independent music industry. Non-major labels and independent distributors accounted for nearly 50% of the recorded music revenue, the independent sector’s highest ever market share. This was knee-capped by the late news of Universal Music Group acquiring Downtown Music Group and its subsidiaries, who collectively would represent a significant chunk of this independent revenue.

While independent releases account for many of the best new songs and albums this year there is still enough to be concerned about when it comes to the future economic prospects for these artists and their music. Even inside the major label system at its strongest, the prospects for genuine artistry were shaky in terms of its ability to drive sales and now streaming revenue.

This is not generally a concern when it comes to the subject of music, as the best music and artists from this year opens up new prospects for the artform and is made with an eye for the future as well as being daring in the present. That they happen to reach a large audience (many of them don’t) is itself a happy accident. But the business of the music industry matters for musicians because commercial failure can sometimes be the end of promising artists.

It is also true that the major label system, where the weight of economic power still resides in the music industry, is capable of positively influencing the artform. A great artist whose work barely breaks through manages to get the attention of a major label which leads to a significant record deal and wider exposure and recognition. This is not only good for the artist but great news for music at large because the artist’s potential for innovation and creativity can be fully realized with greater resources.

The biggest news story of 2024 for the music industry was an indictment on the major labels and the industry and structures the major label system has maintained. Most females working in the music industry would recognize the patterns. The reality of these stories is always worse than you imagine. That’s why I think there is much to celebrate when the music industry starts hand-wringing about the decentralization of superstardom and hit-making. Hidden inside these comments are the idea that there was once a common culture that we all shared and that’s where the superstars came from. The reality is that never was a shared common culture. What most people think of as the historical shared culture was one that ignored many people’s cultures and left many great artists and works unheard and undiscussed by the industry and media at the time.

The best songs and releases of 2024 are great reminders of the important and invigorating energy of independent music-making—at all levels. From the large financial deals made by the larger distributors to the microbudgets of artists recording in their bedrooms and releasing their music online through a distributor on a subscription tier.

And while the modes of songwriting and production are as expansive as they’ve ever been, the media platforms available to consume these works became disarmingly smaller. This year I’ve become an exclusively TIDAL user and have enjoyed its recommendations and discovery playlists, particularly for emerging artists in the RISING playlists. Its owner, BLOCK, pulled back investment significantly in the product. Spotify continues its media focus outside of music. It is now always alarming to check back in to Spotify and see how unusable the free version is and that it is no longer a music product.

It’s hard to notice and codify trends when you’re living while the music is being released and a lot of the trends that are noticeable in hindsight are revealed through understanding of production and distribution circumstances—the circumstances based on what creative ideas artists are working on at the given time combined with the means of which that output is made public and consumed by a wider audience. There are likely new musical works from some of the best artists working today that won’t be heard until next year, or worse, never at all.

What I did find when listening through this list of tracks repeatedly was the instinctive need to expand expression and the artform.

What is evident in the best new releases are production techniques and songwriting that blur the lines between genres, the incorporation of anachronistic instrumentation and sampled sounds, layered and harmonized vocals, speaking-splitting bass and blending of the analog and digital world of music making. These characteristics push the boundaries of traditional songwriting and performance, although not always for the best.

Many artists working today are ill-equipped for live performance and this isn’t a criticism aimed at independent artists starting out. You could go through the Coachella lineup and find no shortage of artists who are unable to connect a great live performance together. The over-use of backing tracks and vocals, tend to remove the performer from performance, and so all we are given is a facsimile of artistry.

But when the live or studio performances are being connected, the results are as exciting and profound as anything ever recorded. That the production and musical ideas are being explored in such innovative ways is no accident. The growth of streaming, micro-attention economies and the freeing up of the listening space—the listening space now being anywhere—the very idea of the song and album has become secondary and superfluous to the musical experience.

That is, I think, why this music and these artists have come to the forefront of their industry. Not to surrender music to the world of online trends but to reclaim it.

Many of the best songs from this year offer a new kind of experience, one that’s not just catchy melodies or sculpted vocals but one that exists in the musical form and creates a distinctive experience for anybody lucky enough to hear it. This broadened musical landscape creates a malleable art form that can survive format changes and don’t have their power diminished by the casual listening habits of today. The ideas resonate and endure more so than the sounds.

My hope is that there are songs and artists on this list that you have heard before, and some that you have never heard before. Most of these artists I’d never heard of before until I discovered these songs. This is equally sad and motivating.

The songs in this list are part of a struggle to completely unshackle creativity. These are artists who are seeking uncharted sonic territories and lyrical ideas and are communicating personal truths in captivating and distinct ways.

Stream from the embed while you read or you can listen to the playlist on TIDAL or Spotify.

---

1. Kendrick Lamar — “euphoria”

There have been enough words written about the circumstances of this and other releases by Kendrick Lamar around the time “euphoria” came out. The culmination of the back and forth with Drake resulted in “Not Like Us”, the biggest music and culture moment of the year that only reinforced that Kendrick was operating in a musical mode of his own. Released prior to “Not Like Us”, “euphoria” doesn’t bop but it does bounce. Here, Lamar is aggressive and evocative, expanding the lyrical battle with Drake into a historical and cultural one. There were several times where I was forced to stop what I was doing, even delay walking inside my building, because I wanted to let the song finish without distraction. The production matched the ambition—notice the death knell sampled throughout but how strongly it punches through after the line “I hate when a rapper talk about guns, then somebody die”. Elsewhere, he’s digging through crates and finding gems, paraphrasing DMX (“I hate the way that you walk”), howlingly funny (“When I see you stand by Sexyy Red, I believe you see two bad bitches”), and spitting with brutal clarity (“Ain’t 20-v-1, it’s 1-v-20 if I gotta smack n—as that write with you”). By the time he gets to the most personal of his barbs (“I got a son to raise, but I can see you don’t know nothin’ ‘bout that”), it’s a “stop, he’s already dead” moment.

2. Don Elektron, MariaDennis, Sam Bruno — “MIRA MIRA”

When I discovered this song I bolted upright, such was the energy unleashed. It’s rare to hear and find works like this. Combining hip hop with industrial stomp and dancehall rhythm, “MIRA MIRA” unleashes the stunningly creative mic work of Amsterdam rapper Zanillya that fuses into an urgent call for rebellion. It’s the work of artists in tune with the peculiarities and darkened future of their generation.

3. ZADA — “Atlantic Times”

Ethiopia-born and Canada-based ZADA’s masterwork crawls out of silence and into a hypnotic and evocative house/Afrobeat groove. For a song like this to work requires an exact and thoughtful performance—it’s very easy to over-emote or over-sing. That ZADA stays in the vocal pocket and works in complete service of the song and production speaks to the musical ideas and songwriting smarts that run under all of her work. Impatient to hear more.

4. Lip Critic — “In The Wawa (Convinced I Am God)”

Lip Critic tore through this inspired new classic of NYC’s underground punk scene. The snare snaps in the high-end while they mix acoustic kick drum with speaker-blowing electronic kick notes while filling the soundscape with their inventive musical instincts.

5. Moses Sumney — “Vintage”

Returning from 4 years after his sophomore release (the excellent “græ”), Sumney is working here in such a beautifully layered song, unleashing the best falsetto since Prince. He weaves this falsetto in and around the music, coming back to this idea he’s created around the past that is both nostalgic and aware of reality.

6. Wand — “Help Desk”

“Help Desk” creeps out of the silence like the wind moving through trees. It’s a car on an endless straight road, the sun eternally rising in the horizon ahead. In their eleventh year, Wand have created one of the great musical works with ingenious instrumentation and mix choices. It induces a long train of thought while bringing stunning clarity to everything you might be processing.

7. The Smile — “Teleharmonic”

The Smile have released three albums in two years and appear to be able to work through an endless run of musical ideas that they can cohere quickly. “Teleharmonic” made its debut in their last tour run and I was impatient to hear the recorded version of it. Thom Yorke’s vocal announces itself as part of the soundscape and their harmonic musical relationship is drawn to its conclusions with a punching bass line and a drum groove that explores the entire kit.

8. Yannis & The Yaw, Tony Allen — “Under The Strikes”

One of Tony Allen’s last recorded projects, collaborating with Foal’s Yannis Philippakis, it’s astounding to hear Allen’s musical inventiveness still very much alive when he was 80 at the time of recording this project. Released four years after his death, Allen adds a layer of creativity and history to the fretboard exploration of Philippakis, who has always been ready to infuse dance and afro-influence into Foal’s sound. The musical ideas for both of them come full circle here. A new classic.

9. Matt Karmil — “No Going Back”

Built around a repeating synth composition that lands with like a heartbeat drum, Karmil builds a world of sounds and musical ideas, hinting at dance, minimalism and UK garage. Pump this song into my veins and let it run at the end of my days.

10. Kaleah Lee — “Rotting Fruit”

“Rotting Fruit” was a Kaleah Lee’s quiet masterpiece released earlier this year. The arrangement might lean toward introspection and relaxation but the honesty and insight of Lee’s lyrical direction and delivery was one of the most exciting musical moments of the year.

11. Bryan Senti, Dom Bouffard — “Mirage”

Built around a simple piano motif, Senti and Bouffard build the song through swirling string accompaniment that builds and builds. Just when you think the layers can’t collide any further, they bring it back down and the final minute is the musical equivalent of the most satisfying exhale you’ve ever taken.

12. Dominika Płonka — “nie mam czasu na sb”

A Polish favorite and has been on a strong trajectory since her 2020 debut, Dominika Płonka brings this bright piece of disco pop that works as an anachronistic counter to the song’s subject matter—a desperate loneliness and disconnect from self.

13. A Burial At Sea — “tor head”

I hadn’t realized “tor head” would not contain a vocal (or that A Burial At Sea were an instrumental band) until toward the end of the piece. I kept expecting the vocal to arrive and I imagined how it could improve what was already here in the musical arrangement. It turns out there is no vocal and I imagine a vocal could not add any more depth or ideas than what is already captured. “tor head” grooves and introduces its ideas and re-introduces with patience. Very confident songwriting.

14. Nathalie Joachim — “Nan kò mwen”

Nathalie Joachim, hailing from Brooklyn, crafts a captivating vocal melody that dances around an alluring synth line and an offbeat drum rhythm. Sung in Creole, the lyrics are as evocative as the music, both expressing the concept of movement with energy and excitement until the very end.

15. Kiana Ledé — “LTF”

Working in the classic composition and arrangements of the classic r&b sound, “LTF” is one of the smoothest tracks of 2024, boasting some of the nicest guitar work you’ll hear. Ledé’s voice is perfect—delivering the lines with equal tenderness and direct intimacy.

16. Fire!, Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling — “Work Song For A Scattered Past”

A jazz masterwork built around a ripping and furious blues stomp.

17. Louis Culture, Tora-i, richie — “Babe”

Introduces its groove at the start and doesn’t let you, providing a hypotonic backdrop for one of the great chorus hooks of 2024.

18. Tyson, Wu-Lu — “Grunge”

Built around a guitar idea that recalls Smino’s best work, “Grunge” has its production sheared down to the bare essentials giving space for an astonishing vocal performance. The core theme is grace, and it’s rare to hear a song so effectively capture the honesty of an internal monologue.

19. Little Simz — “Torch”

Little Simz continues her run of crafting some of the finest rap masterworks of today. She starts off “Torch” with a warning, “don’t be afraid of the bounce”, while produce Jakwob drops a floor-bouncing beat. One of my favorite moments of songwriting genius—”Torch” sets up the expectation of a 4/4 dance beat only to introduce a snare in the second-half of the song in a half-time groove. It’s a simple choice that drastically changes the weight of the bounce.

20. Smino, Thundercat, Reggie — “Hoe-nouns”

One of the finest writers in modern hip-hop, Smino brings the collaborations to the fore. He continues to utilize his voice as an extended percussive arrangement, punching through and accenting the instruments around him.

21. Runnner — “thirteen”

Built on a simple melodic idea with the contrasting sheens of piano and a Rhodes, the journey and its payoff is well deserved. It’s even more bewildering at the end when you realize this was a live recording.

22. Fionn Regan — “TEIX MOUNTAINS”

A rich sound provided by the shimmering qualities of the acoustic guitar tracking and reverb-plated vocals. Here Regan’s vocal melt into the soundscape creating an evocative sound of memory.

23. Alina Bzhezhinska, Tony Kofi — “Anima - Breathe”

Wonderfully sweet interplay of instruments built around a jazz melodic idea. Romantic to it’s core and carries the lightness of its instruments into a meditative state.

24. Helado Negro — “I Just Want To Wake Up With You”

A big year for Helado Negro with a stack of great songs to show for it. “I just want to wake up with you” fuses it’s low end groove and locks in, providing a foundation for the sweetness of this love song.

25. Elmiene — “Sweetness”

Matching its namesake, you’ll struggle to find a more beautiful vocal performance than what Elmiene is doing here.

26. Dave Harrington, Max Jaffe, Patrick, Shiroishi — “Dance Of The White Shadow And Golden Kite”

Locks the core instruments into a tight tension and doesn’t let up. Keeps it going right to the end. A masterwork of songwriting that builds for a release but never relents.

27. Negative Shawdy — “Is It Me”

Carries a high energy and bpm, featuring one of the great guitar hooks and a vocal inflected with deep meaning and anxious interrogation. A generational anthem.

28. BLK ODYSSY, Wiz Khalifa — “XXX”

Running at a higher temp than both artists usually work at and evoking the electronic ideas of Gary Numan and the shimmer or BritPop, “XXX” is high energy pop songwriting that sticks with you.

29. CNTS — “I Won’t Work For You”

A new discovery for me, stands out by the great band name that signals the intention of the artists. Contains thick, distorted riffage worthy of the precision of Ministry or the crunch of Prong. Awesome track.

30. Jasiel Nuñez — “0 Sentimientos”

A sweet, melodic song that fuses traditional Spanish instrumentation with the maj7 musicality of romantic jazz while ultimately revealing heartbreak. Smart songwriting.

31. Dina Ayada — “Hummer”

Arrives with energy and delivers one of the biggest and great choruses of 2024. Impatient to hear more of Ayada’s artistic evolution.

32. MERCURY — “HIGH2GETBY”

Ear-catching from the start, announcing itself with a choice Bon Iver/St Vincent sample, Mercury works deep in the pocket and deep in their lyrical ideas. Counters the melancholic sweetness of the sample with an artist arriving at a stable state of mind.

33. Jelani Aryeh — “Sweater Club”

Wonderful and fresh pop-rock that coasts along without putting a foot wrong. Has the momentum and groove of an artist working comfortably in a higher state of songwriting. Easy to want to revisit this repeatedly.

34. Peter Cat Recording Co. — “Foolmuse”

A swooning song that evokes the 2010s romantic indie charm of Grizzly Bear and Cass McCombs, “Foolmuse” is the peak of a great release.

35. Den Der Hale — “A Part of Wrath and Stone”

Coiling itself around a bass melody and allows its sound to explore from there. Begins tight but opens up the frequencies to My Bloody Valentine levels of distortion and sonic beauty.

36. beabadoobee — “California”

A catchy, shimmering piece of pop-rock that encapsulates the romantic ideals of its namesake.

37. Flying Lotus — “Ajhussi”

Launches with a Vangelis-like vision of the future before dropping into a dance beat.

38. Ezra Collective, Sampa the Great — “Life Goes On”

Known for their live performances, this years release from the Ezra Collective expertly captures the performance. The energy is matched and double with Samoa the Great, one of the best MCs in the world today.

39. Dajah Dorn — “Love U 4 Free”

An interesting interpolation of The Beatles’ “Can’t Buy Me Love”, Dorn moves around this track with confidence and keeps the energy high. It’s the work of an artist growing in confidence. Impatient for more.

40. Jesirae — “Rise”

Minnesota/New York City rapper Jesirae delivers one of the great rap tracks of 2024. It’s hard to think of a rap performance that matched this level of energy and inventiveness.

41. SML — “Industry”

Astonishing melding of electronic groove with a jazz exploration and blues bounce.

42. Che Noir, Rapsody — “Black Girl”

Ché Noir and Rapsody deliver two of the most crucial rap verses in 2024. Essential listening.

43. Jahari Massamba Unit, Karriem Riggins — “Karriem’s Bolero”

Driven by a Riggins special—controlled rapid flourishes across the drums, pay attention to the two-step rhythm he builds just with his hi-hat runs. Excellent recording.

44. The Silhouettes Project, Asher Kosher — “Feel Enough”

One of the most impressive collective releases in 2024, the ideas of modern Britain are intricately captured and tied to the musical idea and personal experiences.

45. JPEGMAFIA — “i scream this in the mirror before i interact with anyone”

Returning with his trademark hi-energy mash-up ideas, JPEGMAFIA makes music with a singular vision that’s electrifying to witness and observe. Watch out for the drop in the middle of the song. Without warning, it feels like a punch in the face.

46. Sam Morton, Alabaster Deplume — “Let’s Walk In The Night”

A collaboration of swooning romance.

47. Big Brave — “not speaking of the ways”

Speaking splitting distortion and a vocal ready to fly off the face of the earth. This is a track that charts new musical ideas and exploration.

48. Adi Oasis — “Serena”

Classic soul and r&b groove meets a modern sensibility that sticks with you.

49. URCHN — “Open Up”

Contains a lot within its three minute run time. Delivers its energy early and keeps it moving until the end.

50. Colin Stetson — “The love it took to leave you”

Featuring one of the greatest song titles, Stetson continues to build ideas and sounds with simplicity, burying his sax into the ether before pulling it back out. The world sounds differently after this song.

51. Vince Staples — “Justin”

An exploration of desire and longing for intimacy, Staples connects that back to deeper fears of mistrust and trauma, operating with an honesty and lack of bravado rare among his peers.

52. Jake Xerxes Fussell — “Gone to Hilo”

Great recording and performance of a classic sea-shanty that gets to the essence of the lyrical meaning.

53. Tierra Whack — “CHANEL PIT”

Spits with venom and vigor, Tierra Whack released music in 2024 with a near unmatched creativity.

54. Kokoroko — “Sweeter Than”

Rises sweetly like a hymn, Kokoroko continue to put out some of the most inventive recordings who can hear today.

55. Silas Short — “ILIKEU”

Part of a collection of songs that evoke a certain mood and ambience. The confidence of the groove undermines the uncertainty of Short’s line of querying.

56. Mavi, Malaya — “open waters”

The relaxed delivery can be deceiving. There’s energy and boundless ideas happing here. Crucial independent artist.

57. Meshell Ndegeocello — “On The Mountain”

An expansive work that connects the political and creative fury of James Baldwin with Ndegeocello’s own.

58. The Smile — “Colours Fly”

Coiling the rhythm tightly and back into itself before they momentarily open up the sound. Every time Thom Yorke says “you can change your mind”, they ratchet up the tension again.

59. Mulatu Astatke — “Tension”

Still making music in his 81st year and still exploring musical ideas that have captured and eluded him for decades. Still relevant and still captivating, we should be grateful to still have Astatke.

60. Floating Points — “Ocotillo”

Starts with a galaxy-exploding synth exploration before rooting the musical idea into a frenetic trance beat.

61. Nosaj Thing, Jacques Greene — “RB3”

A stunning work of dance music energy.

62. Brittany Howard — “Prove It To You”

Bringing her towering voice to this disco work, “Prove It To You” is the work of an artist growing increasingly confident in their vision.

63. Jlin, Kronos Quartet — “Maji”

Part of a collection of works inspired by Sun Ra, Kronos Quartet worked with frequent collaborator Jlin to combine an exhilarating work of historical jazz sampling and Sun Ra’s sense of melody and exploration.

64. Seun Kuti, Egypt 80 — “T.O.P.”

A fantastic recording capturing the energy of an Egypt 80 performance, with Sean Kuti corralling and guiding the band up the mountain and back down again.

65. BINA., Essence Martins, — “Sleepless”

Bittersweet r&b and pop that features one of the biggest chorus hooks that keeps rising.

66. Paul Kelly — “Going to the River with Dad”

I was lucky enough to catch Paul Kelly play an acoustic set in NYC in October. This was still an unreleased song when he played it. Pin drop quiet as the “performer” disappeared and the artist was laid bare with this work of memory. Also hits harder when you live very far away from your own dad.

67. Tiana Major9 — “alone”

That. Voice.

68. King Cruff, Banx & Ranx — “EASY!”

Bursting with energy and a dancehall style that King Cruff calls “modern Reggage”, “EASY!” is one of the year’s great songs that unfortunately missed the summer season but hopefully will be a standard for the 2025 summer block party.

69. Talib Kweli, J. Rawls — “SWAT”

Released on the best hip-hop releases of the year, this is song making of a vintage quality while keeping the lyrical ideaa fresh and resonant.

70. The Vernon Spring — “Outswum”

A floating, meditative work. The aural equivalent of floating in a salt bath.

71. ScHoolboy Q — “Yeern 101”

Now on his sixth album and arriving with a stunning video, “Yeern 101” is ScHoolboy Q working comfortably in his rhythm and rhymes. Always inventive and never uninteresting.

72. Pantha Du Prince — “Asha”

A German producer that’s been making interesting electronic music for decades, “Asha” shows no sign that the creative ideas are stopping.

73. Sunk Loto — “God Complex”

As someone who grew up when Sunj Loto broke through the Australian music scene, it’s wonderful to see a new release after their last album 20 years ago. Doubles down on the heavier elements of that release, here they benefit from smart production choices. The energy is high and the track layering is relentless. Doesn’t let up. Let’s hear more.

74. Jordan Rakei — “Freedom”

Operating in a musical mode that combines Jeff Buckley, Moses Sumney and part Radiohead, “Freedom” sounds like it was written with impatient energy, as though the musical idea needed to be captured before it disappeared. That urgency exists in the recording.

75. Ab-Soul, JID — “Crazier”

Pares down the arrangement to a percussion and bass, JID and Ab-Soul kill it.

76. Hak Baker — “Nameless”

Hak Baker says it at the start, “this sounds old school”, as he builds a story out of memory and furious experience.

77. Wiseboy Jeremy — “Temple Doors”

Wiseboy Jeremy released some of the best hip-hop this year, making great choices with beats and tasty lyrical ideas.

78. FIG — “The Goo”

A seemingly minor but smart piece of writing that rolls through like a slow Sunday morning. The song comes with sunlight haze.

79. Asher Gamedze, The Black Lungs — “High Land. New Home”

Fantastic recording and mix that is reminiscent of Van Gelder’s work, even the compositional ideas express the zest of Sonny Rollins. Joyful work.

80. Suzi Analogue — “Conversation Starter”

Blisteringly fast and hi-energy electronic dance that devolves into a synth and bass exploration.

81. ScarLip — “Blick (feat. NLE Choppa) (Remix)”

ScarLip’s verse drips and keeps the punch and energy of “Blick” front and center.

82. Tyler, The Creator — “Rah Tah Tah”

A wildly inventive songwriter, Tyler’s return after the masterwork of “Call Me If You Get Lost”, “CHROMAKOPIA” and this track doesn’t match its predecessor’s experimental style but makes up for it with bombast and electronic fury.

83. Africatown, AL — “Reconstructed Memory”

An astounding work of sonic journalism and furious memory, Africatown, AL places the happenings of the past and current events directly in front of the listener. Characters and musical ideas are drawn from non-musical sounds and fixates of specificity, making this album a living and breathing idea of Black America.

84. Kamaal Williams — “Everything in its Right Place”

A repeat Radiohead explorer, Williams “gets” the musical ideas that lie at the core of Radiohead’s genius. He extends these further into the realm of jazz instrumentation, acknowledging that the originals are jazz works themselves.

85. Oan Kim & The Dirty Jazz — “Rise”

Runs itself along a lullaby of a bass line and lets the rest of the arrangement explore the ideas around it. Cohesive and smart music making where dawn is on the mind.

86. Goat — “Goatbrain”

Featuring a great mix that separates the sound into frequencies and channels. Helps that it has a galloping beat to drive it along and no shortage of musical ideas to expand the sound.

87. Liela Moss — “Dark Kitchens”

Features a very tasteful drum compressed within an inch of its life, then squashed by a pummeling bass while Moss plays with vocal ideas that cuts through and stays in the memory.

88. Kokoko! — “Butu Ezo Ya”

The genre of this is “future of music”. A collective based in Democratic Republic of Congo play with phonography, synthwave and Afrobeat ideas.

89. Yirinda — “Thurum Voi (Look There)”

An stirring blend of modern composition and instrumentation layered with dreamtime history, Yirinda features one of three remaining Butchulla songmen from the K’gari region in Australia. The result is a meditation on history and deep cultural ideas that get to the heart of the Australian identity.

90. Błoto — “Kozak”

Pinned together by a brutal drum and bass beat heavily in lockstep.

91. El Khat — “La waLa”

Berlin-based Yemeni band, El Khat take inspiration from the sounds of the 1960s, recreating a wonderful input distortion on the brass while placing the genre into a modern context.

92. Rosie Lowe — “In My Head”

Grooves along with a tasty bass pumping through the sub frequencies and a catchy chorus hooks. Oozes confidence.

93. Earthen Sea — “Another Space”

Takes its time to move through a simple enough idea but rightfully keeps the bass melody in the center, creating the musical equivalent of an affirmation.

94. Poppy — “have you had enough?”

It’s surprising and welcoming to see the journey artists make as they evolve as songwriters. Poppy’s early works we’re smart pieces of pop. Now Poppy is in full-fledged metal mode. Combines the electronics and vocal hooks of Nine Inch Nails before exploding into Deftones-like low end groove.

95. Chat Pile — “Frownland”

Like a gateway drug to heavy music, bringing the grunge crunch of The Mark of Cain back to the world. The mix is claustrophobic from the start and only gets tighter from there.

96. ISOKNOCK, Isoxo, Knock2 — “TROUBLE”

Pushes your speaker frequencies to the extremes while doubling down on a wild dance beat.

97. Risa Taniguchi — “So Loud”

Starts with the tension set to 100/10 and doesn’t let up. The musical equivalent of amphetamine focus.

98. Ex-Easter Island Head — “Norther”

Plays creatively with the idea of placing digital instruments into a physical space. Notice the reverb on the percussion and how that opens up the rest of the electronic arrangement.

99. Les Amazones d’Afrique, Alvie Bitemo — “Mother Murakoze”

Combines the vocal work of 4 native African languages with the buzzy electronica of Nine Inch Nails. And it works.

100. dreamcastmoe — “HAND DOWN, MAN DOWN”

An evocation of memory and found joy over Marvin Gay funkadelia that places dreamcastmoe’s new works at the center of independent artistry.