For a label as specific as indie rock, it may be hard to define what artists or bands fall under the genre outside of a literal sense. But, despite the broadness of the scene, the genre consistently pumps out some of the best material of every year, and one Grimy Goods particularly leans towards. 2024 continued that trend, with several up-and-coming acts staking a claim for the year’s best at the top and bottom of the year. And no matter how you define indie in an internet-dominated world — or rock, for that matter — there’s no denying the boundaries pushed by the artists and bands featured in this indie rock edition of our best songs of the year.
This feature was written by David Sosa, Sandra B. Olinger, and Steven Ward.
Australian duo Balu Brigada have polished off another electrifying spell of riff-driving goodness. Unfolding as a coiling release of jangly guitars, “So Cold” shares a jittery dive into the inebriated delusions and misinterpretations of an alcohol-fueled allure. The song’s lively music video, directed/edited by Claire Matthews, finds Henry and Pierre Beasley adorned and surrounded by red-hot hues as they dig into the jittery sizzle of their latest alt-pop earworm.
The band said of the single: “It’s the realisation that there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes to attraction, and that a lot of things that feel like ‘mystique’ when you’ve got beer goggles on, are actually just someone being elusive.”
Benjamin Carter has had a year full of indie bangers. The music maker sizzled with everything from delicious indie pop to anthemic indie rock. On “If I Could,” the track opens with a surf rock guitar intro, reminiscent of the early days of The Drums and Growlers. Before you know it, Carter’s soaring voice takes you through an anthemic arc where you cannot help but turn up the volume and sing along. The catchy single arrived with a clever visual directed by Abe Azab.
Always looking to the past for inspiration, Brigitte Calls Me Baby‘s somewhat refusal of contemporary sounds ultimately benefits them in standing out, with “Too Easy,” a melancholic ballad that could serve as a throughline between The 1975 and Roy Orbison. Singer Wes Leavins’ vocals are melodramatic in the best way possible, expressing heightened emotions and, more often than not, stealing the spotlight from the impressive instrumentation by way of the other band members. But the song’s climax is where all the band’s strong suits are at full display, with Leavins moaning in anguish as the instruments crash into each other at the same intensity as the vocals. The band’s grandeur at such an early stage goes to show their natural ability to strike gold with an exciting style.
Chicago trio Dehd deceptively begins “Mood Ring” on an aggressive note, where the roaring warns of incoming danger that instead becomes sudden love. The chorus’ melody then comes into the fray, quickly recontextualizing the punkish intro as the perfect lead-in for a track directed at the rosiest romantics. If it weren’t for Emily Kempf’s high-pitched vocals, the silly lyric that is “my sexy little angel” encapsulates the gooeyness of “Mood Ring.” In many ways, the track’s purity makes it the long-awaited indie rock answer to the Ramones’ “Baby I Love You,” another surprisingly sweet song from a band with a rugged edge. But like the “Tough and rumble man” at the center of the lyrics, there’s no purpose in resisting any romantic feelings over “Mood Ring.”
Always evolving in style and sound, the the soulful singer-songwriter Dreamer Isioma teams up with their new indie band, The Celestials, on their breezy lovestruck bop, “Obsessed” off their SOLAR SONATAS VOL.1 EP. Isioma might be obsessed with their new love, but they keep their slow seduction cool with laidback confidence and simplistic lyrics that speak for themselves. Space ray synths dot the live instrumentation defined by celebratory horns and smooth guitars fitting for the summertime, making the single even more lavish and bright.
With or without the out-and-about music video, Isioma and The Celestials’ good time playing music with each other would have been heard in the optimistic freedom of the vocals and production. But on the latter end of the song, the sun sets over the once breezy indie groove, trading it over for a climactic string section that closes out the final goodbye of a honeymoon phase now gone.
Taking after the jangle pop that has dominated underground music scenes for the past few decades, Toronto duo Ducks Ltd. is a shining example of not fixing what isn’t broken, especially with their single, “Train Full of Gasoline.” The pair’s dueling yet intermingling guitars are always the driving force in all of their tracks, which is true for “Train Full of Gasoline.” However, the upbeat speed of the song, comparable to a hopeless romantic chasing down a train before it takes away their one true love, contrasts the somber lyrics.
Admitting that he’s “Always been a dumb ass” within the first few lines, Tom McGreevy comes to realize how bottling up issues over time is a wish for all of life’s problems to one day explode in your face when you least expect it. An energy that, on first impression could be interpreted as freeing is instead a frenetic anxiety trip leading to catastrophe, giving Ducks Ltd. a depth not many bands have.
Fake Dad’s “Crybaby” is a delightfully irreverent romp through ego-driven ambition and recognition. “I’m the real deal / Grade A Bitch / Coming in for the steal,” sings vocalist Andrea de Varona. The track relishes its melodramatic obsession with fame’s elusive glamor. With Josh Ford lying down jumpily scintillating riffs and a propulsive pummeling of drums, “Crybaby” embraces that manic sprint toward stardom. The song is a madcap indie-rock banger with a message.
Manchester singer-songwriter Xenya Genovese, who goes by Freak Slug has already carved out a corner within the gradually growing indie rock and pop sphere—one that has led to a career steadily expanding overseas, which includes her debut album, I Blow Out Big Candles. While Genovese still stays true to her familiar, softly sung vocal style, songs like “Spells” push the needle for what could be done within lo-fi. The screech at the start sets the tone for the rest of what quickly becomes an unpredictable track, switching between calmer portions that help build up to the suspense released by a distorted guitar overloaded with amps. The track is a fierce rock-bop, one that will surely put you under Freak Slug’s spell.
With a whopping six albums to their name since debuting in 2014, two of which came out this year alone, Melbourne duo Good Morning have zeroed in on their now soft, soothing brand of indie rock on each passing release. While plenty of good material came from their latest album — notably “Soft Rock Band,” which indirectly addresses their sound — the earlier released “Excalibur” lives up to their calming name. Compared to the lo-fi recording of their early work, “Excalibur” is a warm embrace of a song, where the marriage of intimate lyrics and crystal clear mixing transports the listeners into the same room as the band. The most exciting moment comes in the chorus, when the repeated “Over and over” melody comes after introspective situations described in the lyrics so specific, it’s as if the song was meant for one person in the world. Fortunately, the rest of the world gets to experience it, too.
Pretty much every track from Gossip’s new record Real Power is an uninhibited banger. Yet special consideration is owed to “Give It Up For Love,” injecting an explosion of fiery passion about halfway through the album’s romping salute to the strength of romantic and platonic affection. It also stands as one of the more potent meldings of jaunty rock and euphoric disco that gushes from the collection. As Beth Ditto takes the reigns — flanked by funky percussion and frenetic riffs — she delivers an excitedly urgent plea to surrender to its power.
If the cover art, assumingly inspired by the Stańczyk painting, weren’t a giveaway to the incoming disposition of “Care,” then aHana Vu’s vocals should do the trick. Off her new album Romanticism, “Care” is some of her best vocal work to date. She sings about being tired of monotonous routines and struggling to find reasons to care, whether for herself or an unnamed former love. Even at what sounds like her lowest point, Vu’s brooding is oddly pleasant and catchy amid her pleas for someone to return.
From start to finish, the acoustic guitar carries the impassioned vocals, even when the thundering bass and electric guitar momentarily steal the show. It’s a simple formula, but the track’s peak comes at the honest bridge. “The more I think about it now, I’m just a book you throw away / ‘Cause you don’t know what I’m about,” she confesses in an ingenious yet heartwrenching comparison that segues perfectly into a striking outro which soaks in Vu’s relatable sulking.
After teasing a new album last year with “Truck,” alt-rock project illuminati hottiesare finally back with their latest single, “Can’t Be Still.” The build-up to the chorus attempts to keep a calm and collected tempo, but the burgeoning wanderlust heard in the lyrics makes it impossible to stay still to the indie-rock anthem. Sarah Tuzdin, who’s been making waves behind the scenes as a producer, embodies the song’s jittery sentiment, singing in multiple inflections that match the music’s high and low reaches in intensity. Although coming in less than three minutes, Tuzdin wastes no time getting to their desired destination, which happens to be an equally catchy and roaring call to keep moving forward in life.
Throughout the past few years, Jean Dawson has built himself around genre-bending albums and singles that turn pop music on its head. But Dawson’s position as a non-conforming creative makes him stand out among other emerging artists, something he reminded us of on his EP, Boohoo. Released in March, ahead of his new album, of the three tracks off Boohoo, the operatic rock anthem “New Age Crisis” soulfully stretches into multiple segments that never cause whiplash due to Dawson’s self-assured guidance. An ascending and descending piano pattern starts the song on an uplifting note, leading into Dawson’s ethereal vocals that would be right at home among a gospel choir. However, a roaring guitar takes everything in unexpected directions, leveling “New Age Crisis” as Dawson showcases a spectrum of hard-earned confidence.
Off her sophomore album CARE/TAKING, “People Move On” serves as the record’s thematic linchpin — reckoning with rousing but poignant intensity with the inevitable mutability of life and relationships forged and faded. Against the gentle rollick of guitars, Cornelius outlines all the ways life has routed her expectations, confronting the physical and emotional toll that has slowly piled up against her. The track touches on both the raising of her child and the dissolution of the companionship she once had with the father of that child. Punctuated by the flash of piano keys and a blaring alto-sax the song ends with a stirring message of personal perseverance directed at her daughter. One that centers on affirming to her that — despite the receding of love between her parents — she remains the radiant center of their universe and will never feel that love wane.
After becoming a trio within the past year and gearing up for their debut album, LA-based Junior Varsity showed how they caught their stride with the single “Cross The Street.” Tastefully combining electronica, pop, and punk, the band’s newfound affinity for the rock music that came out of the 2000s comes at a time when that sound feels revolutionary paired up against the usual indie fare. Without sacrificing any creative sonic choices, particularly the subtle electronic flourishes in the second half, “Cross The Street” is a bouncy warm-up of a song that has the power to rally up the troops like a standard riot anthem. With all the ingredients in place, Junior Varsity is primed for a deserved explosion in popularity.
This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway, the sophomore effort from Lola Young, would have been more than enough material for fans and new listeners of the English singer-songwriter. However, she decided to drop another single ahead of her tour, and we’re so glad she did. Without taking away from her album, “Flicker of Light” keeps her hype alive with a galvanizing mesh between pixelated electronic music and straight rock, something made apparent by the fast-paced tempo at the start. Proudly declaring “I’m still alive” during the chorus, her accented vocals add to the call-to-action sentiment expressed throughout the song while also serving as another texture in the thundering production. As a song, “Flicker of Light” is equal parts victory lap and proof that Young will not compromise her genre-meshing by any means. There’s no question she plans on sticking around, and “Flicker of Light,” although deserving of a spot on This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway in hindsight, highlights her appeal that has won over fellow musicians and listeners alike.
Mexico City’s Diego Solórzano, Rodrigo Blanco, Andrés Velasco, and Miguel Hernández, known together as Rey Pila, or King Battery in English, are among the many international acts who hold the electronic indie-rock of the 70s and 80s to high regard. The same is true for their single “One of Us,” a hard-hitting croon with glossy synths and drums that will slap you in the face and wake you up. Although the track starts off relatively stripped back, all four members gradually take it up a notch with slicked confidence that effortlessly weaves all the genres they occupy.
Repeatedly saying “Become one of us” as if it were an incantation, the bass and guitar cut through the electronic production to ensure the band’s raw instruments are heard in full. Towards the end of the song, the once rapidly increasing intensity is substituted for a smooth dance groove that reflects the quartet’s self-assuredness to stellar results. Even when considering subtle influences heard here and there, Rey Pila comes out on the other end as a band with their own colorful interpretation of rock both modern in sound yet timeless in its approach and accessibility.
Considering the indie-rock landscape that’s emerged within the last few years, it’s not a shock to see how fast Australian indie outfit Royel Otis has risen among the ranks of similar acts. Since their inception in 2021 by Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, who combined their first names in the same vein as their constant combining of genres, Royel Otis hasn’t slowed down with 2024 seeing them tour the globe in support of their debut album, Pratts & Pain. Among the 13 tracks, you’ll find yourself enamored and energized by the classic indie rock sound of “Fried Rice.” The guitar-driven earworm channels Royel Otis’ characteristically jocular songwriting through a jumpy entanglement of elastic riffs and clamorous percussion. At its core, the song narrates a moment of classic situational irony, diving head-first into attempts to snag the attention of someone you admire at a party. The only problem is, as the band explains, “they want everyone there but you, so you turn on the charm you think you found at the bottom of a bottle.”
A darkly swooning anthem that smolders irresistibly with its fast-paced drums underlying Waterhouse’s desperate and dejected vocals, the anthemic banger soars with hope because “there’s no point in being super sad.” The purposeful juxtaposition between the defeated lyrics and upbeat instrumental, inspired by 90s indie music that aimed to give the listener a sense of freedom, demonstrates the complexity she offers to the indie pop and rock scenes. Unsurprisingly, she flourishes over the soaring production, which takes the intensity of straight rock and filters it through a glossy, electronic coating. Although “Everything’s going wrong,” as stated by Waterhouse in the opening of the song, “Supersad” puts all the pieces of a great pop single together, with its energy nothing short of anthemic the way it builds atop simplistic melodies engineered to get stuck in your head.
On what is easily one of the best albums of the year, Vampire Weekend scours personal and existential rubble for some delicate truth to hold onto on their new album Only God Was Above Us. While the album is a spectacular track-for-track listen, “Mary Boone” is quite the highlight. Lifted by the breathy calls of a choir, the resounding “Mary Boone” presents the friction of past and present, of the life imagined and the reality offered, through a dazzling stroll through 1980s New York City. With gorgeous arrangements that twinkle at every touch of a piano key, which are both melodic and manic, the track shines uniquely with its fusion of some seriously dope hip-hop beats. Truly, a delightfully infectious listen.
Romanian-born singer-songwriter Vlad Holiday is gradually inching closer to a level of indie fame that collaborators Cage the Elephant enjoyed last decade with songs like “I Don’t Wanna Party Anymore” featuring Kacey Musgraves. Hoping to capture “the feeling the day after a long bender, sick of going through the serotonin dip over and over again,” the unlikely anthem captures the woozy effect of a hangover through a tasteful lo-fi interpretation of jazz. Musgraves, who has long dominated her own corner of country music but is unafraid to venture out into other genres, joins her fellow Nashville peer in a nearly unrecognizable vocal style for her, largely due to the tape delay Holiday processed her voice through. The decision is just one of many creative choices made on the song, with the smooth guitar, sluggish speed of the instrumentation, and Holiday’s own alluring vocals rounding out a standout track.
Across a career marked by multiple shifts in shape and direction, it almost feels backhanded to call the newest album from Xiu Xiu their most accessible. However, that’s far from being a bad thing, and “Common Loon” proves how their experimental spirit remains intact even at their most concise. The immediate explosion of guitars and synthesizers is what a bomb might sound like if set off within Xiu Xiu’s catalog, combining the elements of every album into one supernova of a song. While the familiar trademarks are there, whether it’s Jamie Stewart’s distinct, desperate croons or the near-esoteric lyrics, the disciplined balance between the abrasive and the pristine is what separates Xiu Xiu from any other band making music today.
This post may contain affiliate links. Ads and affiliate links are how independent blogs like Grimy Goods can operate. Thank you for supporting our work and being a part of our music community.
