Some Records I Missed 2024
I’ll keep this little intro as little as I can. I can’t say for certain how this year was for WASH - because WASH is still how it’s always been, a resource for creative writing first and a spotlight for regional underground musical artists second - this was a big year for me personally, as a writer. In fact, I’m altogether a little disappointed in the level of coverage WASH was able to put out this year because I was too busy writing for other people: building a portfolio, honing my chops, stuff that people who want to have a career in this field typically do. I did my best, but my best so frequently feels unsatisfactory. Maybe you can relate.
Out of everything I’ve personally accomplished - getting published in print for the first time, going on my first international press trip, getting even closer to eking out a true living on this work - it’s the in-depth features for WASH I’m truly the most proud of. Some of my favorite pieces I’ve ever written are on this website. They’re not peer-reviewed, which maybe makes them not count, but I still like them a lot! Feel free to browse to see what I mean!
Anyway, I’m tired and so close to burning out; I need a break. I wanted to end the year off by writing a few words on some records I got the chance to hear that I really liked. yes, I could have also done formal reviews of them, but my trap is that I get caught up in wanting to write something really good and mentally buckle under the weight of the task. Lit was right!
What you won’t notice below are records by artists I already covered in depth this year, with the exception of records that weren’t part of that coverage. You already know I like that music; I wanna spread the love. Also, I don’t know what I don’t know, but I do know that there are plenty of records that are absent here because I missed them. (Even looking at this page with my finger over the “Publish” button I’m already noticing the lack of Brittany Davis.) I’m one guy with one pair of ears and one taste! I hope that’s okay. Just know that any and all of these could be at the top of your personal list, because that’s how good of a year it was for music in Washington state. And that’s a really, really good problem to have.
Links and embeds to each record below so you can listen at your own leisure! I’m only linking to mainstream streaming services if the records aren’t available on Bandcamp or elsewhere. I’m not doing a playlist! Nobody tell me to do a playlist! Be the change you want to see in the world!
A Non-Comprehensive Alphabetical List of Albums And EPs I Missed And/Or Didn’t Cover That That Either were or Could Have Just As Easily Have Been In My Published Top 10 ohhhhhhhh boy
Afrocop - Afrocop
A long time coming, but well worth the wait. After over a decade of existence, Afrocop’s self-titled debut showcases everything that makes the group special. Not everyone can pull off opening a record with its longest track, a ten-minute instrumental saga that bends space and time. For music that tends to fade into the background, you can tell how fastidiously each element is crafted, as in the gorgeous piano cascading over “Les McCant,” the softness of the synths on the “Elegantly Deceitful Simulation.” The whole record comes across as a paean to patience - take your time, put your back into it.
AJ Suede & WOLFTONE - Permafrost Discoveries
If I’m counting correctly, AJ Suede released not one, not two, but THREE full-length albums this year! What’s more, they’re also three of the best local hip-hop records at the same time - that’s just how Suede moves.
The way that music writer brains operate is that, when an artist is that prolific, it unfairly causes their releases to congeal together, as if they actually released one record released in bits and pieces over the year. But it’s hard to do with Suede because these are such categorically different albums vibes-wise - Opta Mystic is heady and insular in a way only a self-produced record can achieve, while the wholly instrumental Voiceless is akin to a spacious retrospective of Suede’s stuffed discography (good luck listening to it easily - it’s only available on vinyl).
Then there’s Permafrost Discoveries, which must be Suede’s greatest release of 2024 simply by process of addition. WOLFTONE has long been one of Seattle’s secret weapons when it comes to beat making, and the ones he contributes here are enthralling. They’re both lush and miasmatic, and all Overlook-level haunted, as if listening for too long were seriously ill portent. Suede is a wonder himself, but take into account the guests: the volley with Perry Porter on the labyrinthine “No Loss”; BlkSknn’s low, curiously even-tone lines on “Square Root of Two;” perhaps most strikingly, the cracked grandeur of Maya Marie’s voice on the lurching “Prove Me Wrong.”
Annie J - Been Loving You
Anybody who’s seen Annie J live knows what’s up. She’s one of those performers you don’t forget after one show. It’s natural talent and time combined, having worked around Seattle with acts like ODESZA, The Dip, The True Loves, etc. The fact that Been Loving You is only her second EP under her own name gives you an idea of how long she’s willing to wait on good material. This EP is all killer, no filler. Tight self-harmonies on “Makin’ Bacon,” the way her words curl “Around The Block,” even the pairing of flute and bass on “Interlude” - this is such an easy, and easy-to-recommend, listen it’s crazy.
Chinese American Bear - Wah!!!
This is one of the more obvious misses on my part. Actually, I’m zero for two there. I really liked Chinese American Bear’s relatively humble self-titled LP from 2022 but never put pen to paper about it, so doing the same thing for their 2024 glow-up is borderline ridiculous. I knew I was gonna love this record the moment I caught wind of “Feelin' Fuzzy (毛绒绒的感觉),” which is more infectiously catchy than anything before it. It, and the delicate “Heartbreaker (伤心情歌)” are the core at the center of Wah!!!, though the material around it - the faintly psychedelic “Pink Strawberries (粉红草莓),” the gentle flow of “Bear Day (熊的日子),” and the synth bop of “Take Me To Beijing (一起回北京)” - make a satisfying filling, light and sweet as a mooncake.
Dark Chisme - Dark Chisme
I’m not a huge fan of goth and darkwave personally, but I’ve always found our regional affinity for the music fitting. It gets fucking dark here, after all. There’s a lot of stellar acts here practicing that sound in various capacities - Soft Release, Dead Wave, Ghost Fetish, ONONOS, et cetera - but I’ve been drawn in particular to Dark Chisme, the umbral project of DJ Gold Chisme (aka Christine Gutierrez). Their debut self-titled album, from the titular command “Move” on down to the strobing, climactic “La Musica Oscura,” is sublime. In the interim, Gutierrez takes a black-gloved hand and pulls at your puppet strings, forcing your body into action.
The Dip - Love Direction
Goddamn, this record. It’s kind of in a class of its own, not just regarding the quality of its performances and the twists of its songwriting, but on the amount of work and expense put into sharpening those elements. Just one look at the personnel list will make your head spin. But it makes the end result simply phenomenal. Even more so than other acts of its ilk, there’s a true classic sensibility to its arrangements - those layered flute trills and barely discernible whistles on the title track, the way the drums are cushioned by space on “Fill My Cup,” the hushed air and woodwind hits on “Humble Hands” - considering we’re now in the era of old records getting remixed for contemporary ears, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that this record is one of them.
Faith in Strangers - Manufactured Outcome
The whole year I just kept coming back to that opening track. I’m addicted to the way it develops, the hypertensive drums in roomy reverb, the fluid bass line, the brittle guitar line on top, the strained neck veins below the mic. “Strobe” kicks off Manufactured Outcome in an appropriate way for the level of energy it contains, and it might be its best representative, save for the lone scream that punctuates the begging of “Glaciate.” To my ears, it’s one of the best local rock records that not one listened to. Fix that promptly.
Fastbacks - For WHAT Reason!
Alright listen up you little rock and roll neophytes. I know what you think because I’m one of you - it’s the return of a punk band that was founded in the 80s, how good it can be? Punk, sometimes, ages like fries in a car seat. But For WHAT Reason! is exactly the kind of record what you’d expect from a groundbreaking punk act like Fastbacks - simple pop melodies strung together with speed and savvy - with the added bonus that it’s freakin 40 years later. I’m getting to appreciate that more as I get older. What I used to turn my nose up at is something I appreciate even more now. Plus I didn’t know I needed a seven-minute Fastbacks track until this record.
Fell Off - E/P
I love all of Rob Joynes’ (ne Paulson) projects, I do. It’s not because we share a first name or because he and I were once part of a Facebook group called Robs of the Greater Seattle Area. I’ve been following him since 2017 when Bobby Granfelt (also in that group, coincidentally) told me about Creech, a local band from the early 2010s who released an unsung classic called Pasture that must be peeped posthaste. For as long as I’ve known him, Joynes has written slow, sad, self-effacing songs refracted through multiple lenses, and he picked three of them in 2024: the ultra-heavy Fell Off, the comparatively greener pastures of Sunnyland with his brother Will, and the electric piano-led works released under his own name.
They’re all great, but for this list I’m selecting Fell Off’s three-song E/P for a bunch of reasons. Fell Off as a band features a murderer’s row of talented players, including Joynes’ husband Geoff and local legend JJ Johnson. Like their previous debut, it’s mixed for maximum gravity by Cameron Heck, whose production work has floored me ever since Rabbitkeeper. And though it’s only three songs, it makes for a remarkable trio, especially the extraordinarily dense “dalmatian jasper for liza.”
Generifus - Summerberrys
What a delightful 26 minutes. I got turned on to this record by a friend of mine who has a notorious proclivity to Bob Dylan, and from its opening moments I can see why he recommended it. Singer/songwriter Spencer Sult outlines his vocal melodies with a similar looseness of pitch, and it works so well alongside this light, grove-like collection of tunes. You kind of can’t go wrong no matter where you choose to enter, but I do recommend the tumbling “Waking Winter,” the dusty gallop of “Eventually or Soon,” and “Body or Mind” with its bright-cheeked dueling guitars.
Hi Crime - Spirit & Candor
Perhaps more than anything, I love when my expectations are subverted. (I know, how very un-American of me.) So what struck me about Hi Crime’s newest record - other than, and probably related to, it being the product of a solitary mind rather than a band - was the shift from confident indie pop to a stranger, more instrumentally adventurous folk rock. And then once that surprise wore off, I started to realize the thoughtfulness, all those purposed touches that signal specialty.
Well produced, lushly orchestrated, and impeccably sequenced, Spirit & Candor succeeds from its outsized ambition. It’s purportedly one of those classically-structured LPs back when double-sided vinyl was the standard, which comes across in the front half’s dynamism and the second half’s inertia. Aside from the drums, Mitch Enter tackles everything - mandolin and banjo, piano and autoharp, the Clapton-like slide guitar on “Underwater Breathing” and “Green Stem” - with a maddened exactness to detail. Maybe the reason why I enjoy this record so much is because it reminds me of how I used to make records - I just know that back then I wouldn’t have ever produced something like this.
Iffin - HOMAGE TO CATATONIA (PICARO TWO)
I’ve personally enjoyed Iffin’s work since 2019, after When The Paper Graves first caught my ears. Mira Tsarina is obviously an extremely talented songwriter, and though a full LP’s gonna be out in February, I’m already struck by how HOMAGE TO CATATONIA (PICARO TWO) upgrades the production quality; that bass and drum set jumps out at you from the moment this EP kicks off. The compositions are diverse, from the serpentine “DOCUMENT OF DESCENT” to the droning “COST OF FLOSS” to the jaunty “KINDERKINGS,” and all of it is richly mixed (if it’s self-produced, good job). The project is deserving of way more attention, that’s for sure.
J.R.C.G. - Grim Iconic...(Sadistic Mantra)
For a band as deafening and texturally overwhelming as Dreamdecay, the core was always Justin Gallego’s drum/vocals combo. J.R.C.G. may have started as a branch from Dreamdecay’s birch, but they seem to ascend way faster. Maybe it’s because that drums/vocals core is now the obvious nexus around which everything - namely squalls of auxiliary instrumentation - swirls. It’s by no means less noisy, but it’s a more accessible version of what Dreamdecay did so well, and that’s perhaps why Sub Pop decided to get their act together and sign a local band for once.
Grim Iconic...(Sadistic Mantra) comes across as a whole piece, and it ought to be enjoyed that way. It’s pieces are impressively detailed - the head-pounding pulse and prismatic switch-up of “Liv,” the apocalyptic “Dogear” with its closing brass skronk, the tableau of dueling flutes on “Junk Corrido”, the way “Party People (Heaven) starts out already hungover - but in place they form a grander picture, To me, it’s a long drive down a southwestern highway landmarked by trash heaps, the sun sinking. The words are as obscured by effects as ever, but it all makes sense in the heart.
King Sheim - Spin The Spite
Spin the Spite boosts just about everything about King Sheim’s music; the sounds are snappier, the songs are tighter, the lyrics are sharper, the playing hits harder, and Celeste Felsheim’s voice makes more an even more compelling center. The only thing that’s stayed the same, really, is that voice’s ability to wring catharsis out of the discomfort that comes from maturing - fantasizing violent vengeance (“Amends”), acknowledging the inconvenience of vulnerability (“Right to the Bone”), learning how to suffer through callousness and backhanded compliments (“Greek Goddess”) - at the age where it feels like you’re trapped in perpetual self-realization. “I don't want to change,” she acknowledges on the title track, but it has to happen, and at least on record that change represents an enormous glow-up.
Kurt Pacing - Fear of Missing Out
Yet another release lost in the shuffle; this is very, very good slowcore. (Shouldn’t have expected anything less than a member of Seattle’s supernowhere.) You might not think it, but slowcore is notoriously difficult to execute; keeping tempo is a lot harder when the beats are so far apart, and the gaps of quiet in between them make clean playing even more necessary. But Kurt Pacing’s playing across Fear of Missing Out is so clean that the tracks instantly turn hypnotic, each one like a stretch of river gentle.
Lemon Boy - Eat. Skate. Die.
Lemon Boy set a bear trap the moment they start playing - they want nothing more than for you to underestimate them. The punk trio, dually led by guitarist Yaz Ahsani and bassist Nicole Giusti with Ethan Gellar on drums, are serious people playing an extremely unserious variation of punk music, with lyrics that delight in their bluntness. Eat. Skate. Die. lays claim to one of my favorite tracks of the year in “Guitar Center (Sucks),” which manages to cram a handful of musical in-jokes in with its regional topicality and brilliantly insipid lyrics.
Punk was originally a product of defying limitations, but Lemon Boy aren’t limited in the slightest. Their hidden virtuosities only come out when they want them to, like on a sudden lightning run up and down the fretboard on “Body Horror” or a searing solo on “Unless I Say So.” The rest of it is whatever they want it to be, whether it’s the cheeky pop of “Sugar Daddy” the vampiric fantasy of “Bite Me,” or the sisterly affirmation of “Puzzle Pieces” with its whimsical blast of kazoo.
Little Venom - Good Job Failing
Given that I’ve written about “Sabotage,” you already know I dig Little Venom. I never got around to covering their debut EP, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t listening to it on the regular. I will say that there’s a distinct sonic difference between the single version and the EP version: the latter feels much more claustrophobic mix-wise, like it was recorded in a large tube or in Tony Visconti’s studio circa 1978. I had to get used to it, but once I did I found the change positive, more visceral. Weirder mixes, people!
I knew Good Job Failing was gonna be good. Alaia D’Alessandro is still one of the most compelling vocalists around, and her explosion on early climax “Let It Break,” was among one of my favorite recorded moments of the year. Love Hoyos’ guitar work, especially on the shrill lead over “Dead Tamagotchi”; love Huben’s bass throughout, the element that always makes or breaks a post-punk band; still love Luca Cartner’s double time on “Sabotage.” I’m waiting on bated breath for a full-length.
Liv Rion - WRLD CRY
Soft around the edges and almost impossibly gentle, Liv Rion’s debut is an auspicious introduction to what will surely be an in-demand talent over the next few years. I’m sure she’s heard plenty of Cleo Sol comparisons at this point - I’ll add to the pile, sure. It doesn’t discount the mollifying effect of its seven songs, how they pass by like pink clouds on a beach; in particular, I remember falling for the thin piano and rim clicks of “Can We Get Along” and the cascading synth line of “Lost in Healing.”
Medium Weekend - Heap
Medium Weekend I’ve known for almost as long as I’ve lived in Washington state, and I’m always pleasantly surprised when I’m alerted to a new release, like an old friend that texts you out of a blue. And it’s even more of a surprise when that release is something like Heap, which couches the band’s outré song structures in even more warmth and high-definition light than before, having been co-produced by drummer Jak McCool and Cameron Heck. Throughout the record, Medium Weekend remain boldly experimental and unrepentant in challenging the listener; three of its tracks cross the six-minute mark, and each is a tangle of drum programming, samples, processed vocals, cymbal blasts, and silence - an apropos title indeed. Heap is made for immersion, and the trio make it easy.
Oblé Reed - RETROVISION EP
I wrote a LOT about Oblé Reed very early this year, so I’ll keep this short. His followup to last year’s LINDENAVE!, an EP with a full visual accompaniment, is proof that LINDENAVE! was not a fluke. The beats are just as strong, Reed continues to balance wide-eyed clarity with cunning turns of phrase, and the material on the whole backs up the success his debut LP enjoyed. I’ll link the full show here so you’ll understand what I mean.
Semisoft - Bitch
Every time I hear “Do Something With Yourself, Cowgirl!” in the wild (which is more often than you would think) I can’t help but recite its titular refrain in the same lax, unserious way as Alina Szekely. There’s a history of this flavor of easy-paced, cool-toned indie rock in the area, and Tacoma’s Semisoft build on that foundation with a short-but-sweet EP of cherry pits and cigarette butts. To these ears, the jewel in the crown is the title track, with Celia Glover’s loose kick-crash combo between Szekely’s verse lines, Malia Seavey’s counterpoint bass line, and the sneering harmony of its chorus. There’s no bullshit, just sunglasses hiding side eye for the loudmouth louts.
Soft Boiled - Slice of Life
After first listening to Soft Boiled’s Slice of Life LP, I took a look back at the review I did for their “Early Mid Late Thirties” single and found that a lot of what I wrote there applies to the rest of the album, so I’ll link you there. What I’ll add is that, altogether, the record is just over 16 minutes of pitch-perfect college rock from people who have been fine-tuning that skill for a long, long time. The big difference between Soft Boiled and their spiritual predecessor, Happy Times Sad Times, is the switch-up from diurnal bombast to autumnal breeziness, most evident in Aniela Sobel’s majority of vocal leads. I love her voice and I love the way it’s processed, that stereo spread that complements the blunt edges of her delivery; it’s so classic for this kind of music.
Spiral XP - I Wish I Was a Rat
One of the most significant musical trends of last year was the revitalization of shoegaze among younger music listeners - not necessarily the classic “heavily distorted whammy-warped guitars over everything else in the mix” but the siphoning of its emphases on texture and pathos into myriad other genres. Not that genre matters anymore, but “shoegaze” is definitively a descriptor now; any type of music trading coherence for catharsis could loosely, but realistically earn that shorthand.
From its first few singles it was clear that Spiral XP doesn’t do shoegaze shorthand; it’s a full-on revival project. I Wish I Was a Rat, the band’s debut album, is further evidence of how deeply they understand what originally made the music worth listening to. It’s not just textures, its unconventional melodies and smart songwriting; it’s not just a voice obscured by noise, its leader Max Keyes’ gravelly bass scraping the baseboards. Its highest moments are a handful of anthems - the driving “Horse Money,” the floating “Window Room,” the deeply affecting “Bright Eyes” - that get closer to anything I’ve heard this year to evoking that old magic.
St. Yuma - Country Sleight of Hand
A criminally underrated band, but then good music is overlooked all the time, especially today (see: what’s missing from this list).
If you did listen to it, you already know that St. Yuma put out a hell of a fucking record this year. Dedicated to the late father of bandmates Stevan and Zach Alva, Country Sleight of Hand hits that alt-country sweet spot over and over again: songs like “Loma Linda” and “Low Hum” are melancholy and muted, gorgeous and grave underneath Stevan’s vaporous voice. It’s easy on the ears but not on the heart, given that it’s not afraid to wade into dissonant waters to prove a point about grief’s lingering presence. The longer I sit with it, the more I feel like it’s a can’t-miss album that too many people missed. Make it your first discovery of the new year!
Talaya. - c l E a R
Another record I kept coming back to after I discovered it, probably because its aquatic atmosphere and Talaya’s melismatic vocals recall one of my favorite records of 2023, Kelela’s Raven. Talaya Logan deserves way more recognition considering she’s an R&B juggernaut around these parts, both behind the boards and on the mic. c l E a R, fittingly, is the perfect entry point for her work - she kind of puts on a clinic here. From the DnB fake out of “just a minute” to the frizzy bounce of “we can just vibe,” the whole thing goes down so smoothly it’s easy to miss how pristine the parts are, right down to Logan’s exquisite voice.
Various Artists - From Far It All Seems Small: A Compilation from Seattle’s Underground
It’s, to preface, a very small piece of Seattle’s underground pie, but there’s no denying the quality of material here. Some of these bands I’ve known for a while, some of them are completely new to me, but all of them graciously delivered some of their best original material for this retro-leaning compilation. It’s a verifiable smorgasbord for which everyone will find their own favorites. Maybe this is a cop-out, but I really do like them all: TV Star’s “Ride” with its delightful swing, Supercrush’s addictive “Lost My Head,” the seasick lead of SHINE’s “Happy Diving,” KENNERO’s emotive “Sunlight,” it’s all wonderful. If your niche is heavy raincloud rock, this is gonna get many many rotations.
Yonny - Everywhere, But Always
Let’s be brutally honest (in a healthy way?!); I completely whiffed on local hip-hop this year. I was basically hanging on to Taylor Hart’s recommendations for dear life. Even though Yonny’s debut album dropped September, it took my until this month to get to it, and now it’s one of the albums I truly regret not putting on my Top 10. Everywhere, But Always is spectacular, straight up. There’s not an element of this record that isn’t working: Yonny’s a master of both his flow and his pipes, and he bends both around beats that are lush and teeming with interesting turns. I almost don’t want to spoil it. This is just one you gotta press play on, trust me.