By Logan Toleman
As 2024 wraps itself up in a neat little bow and the music industry slows down heading into December, I started to reflect on the bizarre landscape that the music scene has brought.
Many artists committed themselves to total sound changes, hopping on the increasing mainstream popularity of country music, such as Post Malone and Beyoncé.
Others experimented with the odd and eclectic — Tyler, The Creator, I’m looking at you.
While there were many incredible releases, I have dwindled down my top three releases of the calendar year.
HONORABLE MENTION: “Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing (REBORN)” by Set It Off
Florida-based pop-rock group Set It Off decided to take one of their biggest songs to date, “Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing” from 2014’s “Duality,” and turn it into their modern, more metalcore-adjacent sound — a la “Taylor’s Version”.
The band completely ditched the brass components in favor of a string symphony, brought the main riff down an octave and replaced the post-chorus with a slamming breakdown.
Lead singer Cody Carson’s soaring voice is enough to lure you to sleep with his incredible falsetto and scare you to death with his impressive, out-of-character scream during the breakdown.
If this is a sign of things to come from the band, then I consider myself beyond excited.
HONORABLE MENTION: “Standing In The Promenade” by tyler serranni
Rutland, Vermont native tyler serrani made his Plattsburgh debut on Sept. 21 at ZeebStock — a music festival hosted by Zeta Beta Tau — to incredibly positive reception.
Many individuals I have spoken to have complimented how diverse his setlist was, switching between high-energy anthems to moments of incredible emotional vulnerability.
This dynamic contrast is perfectly captured in his single “Standing In The Promenade.” Serrani manages to take a basic chord progression and develop it into an incredibly moving track with a ton of layers, each contributing to the emotional pain that is conveyed in the chorus.
Serrani once again proves that he is a lyrical painter using clever rhyme-schemes to portray the gravity of his intrinsic turmoil. This track is one that you’ll find yourself singing by yourself without even realizing it.
THREE: “The Food EP” by thayerperiod & SeamoreTheSeal
What do you get when you take two of the Northeast’s best producers, add a dash of flavor and a smidge of unhinged insanity? You get “The Food EP.”
I have been listening to this album non-stop since it was released because of how absolutely baffling it is. It is genuinely one of the funniest albums I have ever had the pleasure of listening to, given the juxtaposition of the content of the lyrics and the quality of production.
Anything that thayerperiod touches is golden, and this album is no exception. His bars on this hyperpop masterclass are absolute gems, only rivaled by SeamoreTheSeal’s absurdist sense of humor. For instance, the line on “Octopus Salad” that wonderfully states, “One time I ate at Applebee’s, DISGUSTING”.)
On top of the outstanding production and humorous lines, the tags and callouts throughout the 21 minutes are nothing short of madness with standout moments such as “Christmas”, “Blueberry Sunday” and “Oh My God, I Love Your Aquarium.” If you value an entertaining listening experience, I would highly recommend this hidden gem.
Standout track: Japanese Sweet Potato
TWO: “KO RABWA” by Topia
To put it bluntly, “KO RABWA” by Vermont native Topia is an absolute emotional rollercoaster. Its lyrical content was enough to make me tear up at the end of my initial listen.
This album is an incredibly introspective piece of art dealing with a plethora of heavy subject matter, from childhood struggle, home life, personal battles and loss.
All of this is reflected in the instrumentation of the album with a series of emotional acoustic guitar passages that evoke a sense of nostalgia, reflecting heavily on the album’s continued reflection upon childhood.
Standout tracks on this album include the gorgeous “SAVEU”, the powerful, trumpet driven “THISMYFATE,” which features a sound effect from Counter Strike: Global Offensive funnily enough and the soul crushing “so stay (we love you) #ripisabelle #suicideawareness”, which closes out the album, and is dedicated to a fan who tragically lost her life.
This album showed people that Topia is more than just a hip hop artist, but a singer as well. “KO RABWA” is Kiribati for “Thank You,” but the thanks is owed to Topia, who absolutely hit the mark on this one.
Standout track: “SAVEU”
ONE: “You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To” by Knocked Loose
Kentucky hardcore group Knocked Loose has been facing constant criticism for over a decade, yet they never faltered or waivered in their mission.
Many skeptics were concerned that as the band’s mainstream popularity continued to grow they would begin to sell out, but that could not be further from the truth. “You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To” is one of the heaviest albums in their discography. I was hard-pressed to find a single song on the album that did not captivate me.
The album has an incredibly uneasy feel to it throughout all 27 minutes, with each song dealing with heavy subject matter, such as religion, betrayal and grief.
Tracks like “Blinding Faith” offer some of Knocked Loose’s most crushing riffage, and lead singer Bryan Garris’ gnarliest vocals, while the two tracks “Moss Covers All/Take Me Home” cause an incredible sense of anxiety, giving off the vibes of an analog horror video.
The punishing tracks throughout the album come to a capstone at the last track “Sit & Mourn” which features haunting ambient guitars, a new trait from the band. This album absolutely dominated the hardcore scene, and is the strongest album that I have heard this year.
Standout track: “Suffocate (feat. Poppy)”
