So much great music this year! I can never pick favourites as there's so many I'd want to recommend from 2024... But:
MY GOD — TAPIR!
Wonderful song which addresses the strangeness of the modern world, both it's beauty and its horrors. Very cute, weird music video:
https://youtu.be/xIJoRDCRcQ8
I've linked the Spotify above, as well.
Absolutely fell in love with Tapir! at the end of 2023. They released their debut album as a series of EPs, with the first two at the end of the year and the final one at the end of January. I'd be picking their songs Gymnopédie or Eidolon if they came out this year...
They're a wonderful live act as well — seen them in various forms (solo set from the singer, intimate set in the back room of a pub, and grandiose theatre piece with choir, props, and dancers) and each has been a very special experience.
Dec 30, 2024
Related Recs
@’s two releases to date are both fantastic, bringing back those freak folk vibes (a la dirty projectors, Joanna newsom, early AnCo) that I’ve been missing. I’ve been jamming this more recent one a lot lately and I love how they expand their LP’s sound with gloopy electronics without sacrificing their natural stank. Excited to see where @ goes next !!
Mar 21, 2025
I’ve been into this band since 2017 & they inspired me so much back when I was in college. I was also listening to them right around when I was both getting into the concept of “mathy” music and going to my local shows in NJ for the first time.
One of my most memorable shows was driving one of my newer friends to see Peaer on an autumn, Sunday night in a church recreational space, 40 minutes away on a super rainy night. The venue’s parking lot was gravel and next to the church’s graveyard and there was probably 20-25 people total, including the bands.
And it was so worth it, hearing Peaer live finally and seeing their musicianship in person. I have a real love for bands that are trios of drums, bass, guitar & vox, how you can hear everyone individually, but also how just 3 people can create such a wall of sound together. It was so important for me to see them live at that age, and I’m so glad I pushed myself to make the drive down there.
They haven’t come out with music since 2019, an album called A Healthy Earth which I had on repeat religiously. So to have a new single from them with that same guitar tone, funky time changes but new formulas and ideas has been incredibly lovely.
I’m thankful they’re still around and continuing to create 🍐
Jan 7, 2025
Top Recs from @greebo
I'm not obsessed with it but it's always sweet when the barista does something cool. This one yesterday made me smile because after seeing a few others I realised the guy was doing Pokémon! Fairly certain mine is mew or Mewtwo, I saw him do a horsea, pikachu, and squirtle too...
Mar 4, 2025
Koudelka was a photographer who documented Europe from the 60s onwards, recording the lives of travelling people, Soviet invasions, struggles with poverty, and more. He later became a member of the Magnum society and continued his work into old age. If you have the time, it's really worth digging into his work as he had a real eye for striking images that provide a lot of context for the situation he was in. He used to travel with very little besides a sleeping bag and camera so he often experienced the harsher side of life while on the job. At times his photos were smuggled out of the soviet borders, and published anonymously, to keep him safe. Check the link for a good starting point on Magnum's website!
Feb 10, 2025
