Kyle’s Top 10 Albums You May Have Missed in 2024

20 December 2024 / by Kyle Sikorski

Here at Met Radio, we’re celebrating the year 2024 with a series of lists rounding up our favourites of the year! We’ve invited station volunteers and staff to share their top ten of anything that encapsulates their year in pop culture (or otherwise). New lists to surprise and delight will be dropping on the Met Radio website every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this December!

 

I started my show Cratediggin’ about a year ago with one goal in mind: to find and share the best hidden gems in music. It doesn’t matter what genre it is or where in the world it comes from, if it’s good, it deserves to be heard. The very first thing I did when I launched the show last year was put together this same list, but for 2023 albums. Since then, I’ve spent hours on Bandcamp, scrolling through Apple Music, digging through crates at record stores, and following any rabbit hole that might lead to something special. The result was a list of around 100 albums that stood out to me for one reason or another. From that list, I’ve narrowed it down to 10 records (in no particular order) that I think more people need to hear:

 

 

The Room – Fabiano do Nascimento & Sam Gendel

There’s a unique beauty in simplicity done perfectly, and that’s exactly what Fabiano do Nascimento’s seven-string guitar and Sam Gendel’s alto saxophone achieve on The Room. Recorded in just two days, Nascimento’s guitar flows through complex rhythms with ease. Every note is carefully placed, making it completely mesmerizing. Gendel’s saxophone feels almost like it’s breathing, soft and intimate, weaving in and out of the guitar’s melodies like a conversation. Their chemistry is palpable. Tracks like “Foi Boto” and “Daiana” feel so personal, almost as if the musicians are right there with you. This album isn’t about showing off or being flashy; it’s about connection, about finding beauty in simplicity, and about letting music speak when words can’t. It’s the kind of record that just sticks with you.

Brama – Brama

Brama’s self-titled debut is a captivating fusion of ancient and modern, blending the droning resonance of the hurdy-gurdy with the almost mystical tones of Occitan, an ancient French dialect, to craft a sound that feels both timeless and urgent. The French quartet takes these historical elements and infuses them with the fiery energy and groove of ’70s hard rock, psychedelia, and krautrock. The result is a vibrant, genre-defying album that feels alive with raw, unfiltered energy while remaining deeply rooted in tradition. It’s rare to find music that bridges the gap between the past and present so seamlessly, and Brama does it with boldness and authenticity that feels entirely fresh.

Norther – Ex-Easter Island Head

Undoubtedly the most unique album on this list, Norther by Ex-Easter Island Head strips the guitar of its familiar persona, uncovering extraordinary beauty through subtlety and repetition. Using customized guitars struck with mallets and augmented by vibrational motors, the quartet crafts a world where evolving patterns bloom into hypnotic, immersive layers of sound. The album’s patient, rhythmic progressions draw deeply from the minimalist traditions of Steve Reich and others, yet feel refreshingly innovative, as each carefully constructed motif shifts and builds with mesmerizing precision. By embracing this unconventional approach, Norther completely redefines the guitar’s potential, presenting it not as an instrument of bold gestures but as a tool for meditative exploration and quiet transformation.

Contrahouse – Guerra / de Paiva / Hornsby / Konradsen

When experimental producers Guerra and de Paiva, known for their bold contributions to São Paulo’s avant-garde music scene, set out to craft a lounge-infused dance record, they assembled a dream team with an eye for reinvention. Enter Bruce Hornsby, the legendary pianist whose fluid, jazz-tinged keyboard lines once graced both Top 40 hits and jam-band stages, and Jenny Marie Sabel of Norwegian indie-pop duo Konradsen, whose ethereal, smoky vocals lend a sense of mystery to the project. Together, they’ve created Contrahouse, a genre-blurring odyssey where breezy lounge grooves meet late-night dancefloor funk. It’s a record that feels equally at home soundtracking a swanky cocktail party or an impromptu living-room rave, blurring lines between past and future, chill and exuberance, and all the spaces in between.

Mile End – Mile End

There’s something brewing in the Southern Ontario hardcore scene, and Mile End is at the forefront of it. Their debut draws inspiration from ’90s post-hardcore and screamo, as well as classic hardcore. The band’s raw vocals cut through the heavy bass and fast-paced drums, reminiscent of early Touché Amoré and Orchid. Tracks like “Tribe” and “Choose Life” are a chaotic blend of intensity and raw emotion, from the breakdowns to the lyrics, paying homage to their Brampton roots and the DIY community that shaped them. Mile End’s self-titled album captures the power of their insane live performances, delivering a fresh yet familiar experience for hardcore fans.

Delights of My Life – Eric Chenaux Trio

Eric Chenaux’s Delights of My Life is a beautifully immersive album that blends jazz, soul, and avant-garde elements into something truly unique. From the opening track, the album brings you in like a warm hug with its relaxed, dreamlike quality. Chenaux’s guitar work stands out, with its fluid, bending notes creating something completely mesmerizing. His tender, beautiful vocals add an intimate touch, allowing each track to feel like a personal invitation to a collective dream state. The Toronto-based trio, featuring Philippe Melanson on electronic percussion and Ryan Driver on Wurlitzer organ, builds a rich, experimental sound that’s still accessible. Tracks like “Hello Eyes” showcase their effortless genre-blending, making the album perfect for those seeking music that transcends the ordinary.

Paris Paris, Texas Texas – More Eaze, Pardo & Glass

Paris Paris, Texas Texas is a surprisingly beautiful collaboration between ambient magician More Eaze and pedal steel duo Pardo & Glass that masterfully blends ambient folk, noise, and electronic elements. The album takes you on a journey, weaving together gentle acoustics with glitchy, distorted electronics that create a beautifully disorienting experience. This contrast between softness and chaos gives the album a unique, evolving quality, with each track feeling both introspective and expansive. The production is some of the best of the year (not a surprise when it comes to More Eaze), thoughtfully layered and completely immersive, with each layer revealing more nuance. It’s a record that doesn’t just experiment with genre but pushes the boundaries of what ambient, folk, and electronic music can be.

Psychogeography – Anti-Spectacular

Psychogeography by Anti-Spectacular is a raw, intense album that powerfully aligns with its emotionally charged lyrics with incredible, technical guitar work. The lo-fi production expands on this, making it feel both personal and confrontational. Alex Hood, the Toronto-based musician behind the project (and creator of the popular satirical comic Haus of Decline), blends themes of gender transition, Guy Debord’s theories on spectacle, and the deep grief that comes with loss. Tracks like “Brutalize My Body” and “Skeleton” pack an emotional punch, with the intense guitar amplifying the lyrical weight. It’s a powerful, cathartic record that blends vulnerability with intellectual rigour in a way that feels incredibly fresh and urgent.

Feedback – Thee Alcoholics

Thee Alcoholics’ Feedback is a wild, intoxicating ride that channels the chaos of the times with unfiltered, reckless abandon. A heady blend of hypnotic repetition, raw distortion, and searing dissonance, the album doesn’t just sound gritty, it feels gritty, pulling listeners into its unruly, visceral world. Each track serves as a cathartic purge, a raw release of built-up tension that feels both unrelenting and strangely liberating. The discomfort it evokes is purposeful, tapping into something primal and unrestrained; every jarring note and abrasive texture amplifies its emotional weight. It’s far from easy listening, but that’s precisely what makes Feedback so gripping, its unapologetic roughness becomes a strange addiction, daring you to keep coming back for more.

The Best 1994-2024 Zoobombs

Like last year, I’m once again bending the rules for the last selection, this time by including a best-of compilation. But I just had to talk about one of Japan’s finest exports, The Zoobombs. Led by the incredible guitar virtuoso Don Matsuo, the band has spent the past 30 years carving out a unique and electrifying sound that expands on blues and funk rock through a distinctly Japanese lens. Known for their powerhouse live performances, one of which I was lucky enough to witness firsthand at The Monarch Tavern a few weeks ago, the Zoobombs are a force to be reckoned with. Their energy, raw talent, and magnetic stage presence are second to none. To celebrate their long career, they’ve released The Best 1994-2024, compiling 11 tracks that prove them to be unequivocally one of the most exciting live acts of all time.