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Sputnikmusic Staff’s Q3 Playlist 2024

Just in time (-ish) for the start of spooky season, welcome to the third installment for our 2024 quarterly playlist! Feel free to jam while reading what participating staffers had to say about their picks. Tell us what your favorites are in the comments, any new artists you may have discovered here, or let us know what should have been included (just remember this when it’s time for the end-of-year festivities)!

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Tracklist:

The Airborne Toxic Event – “Our Own Thunder Road”
Glory

Building a song upon references to Springsteen’s classic of classics is a dangerous choice, but in this case, The Airborne Toxic Event pull it off: the delivery is slow-burning, dramatic, and ultimately captivating. –Sunnyvale

And So I Watch You From Afar – “Do Mór”
Megafauna

I adore “Mór”‘s pensive, contemplative start before ASIWYFA’s trademark cacophonous cymbals and fun guitar noodling wrap envelop you like your favorite hoodie on a blustery day. Plus, there’s cowbell (could I have used more throughout Megafauna? Who wouldn’t?). I really enjoyed how well-balanced Chris Wee’s toms and snare were mixed, especially as the song teeters on going off the rails towards its end. See also: lively opener “North Coast Megafauna” and delightfully bombastic “Mother Belfast (Part 2)”. –Jom

Anthony Green – “Last Summer in America”
Last Summer in America

While the lights are a little dimmer these days, Anthony Green has quietly been on a tear lately that rivals any hot streak of his career so far. “Last Summer in America” finds the scene’s most active frontman staking ground in far more political waters than we’re used to hearing from him, but isn’t so surprising in retrospect. Anthony is nothing if not a man who feels, and there is much to feel about these days. His boyish charm doesn’t rally a battle cry to action; it merely calls to witness the moment we live in. Whenever Anthony and his guitar are involved, I’ll be grabbing a front row seat. –Odal

AWOLNATION – “Panoramic View”
The Phantom Five

Quite a melancholic sounding, but ultimately uplifting tune. On each AWOLNATION album, there is one touching track — and this is the one for The Phantom Five. –insomniac15

Blasfeme – “Ritualistic Exsanguination”
Black Legion

Medieval themes, old-school aesthetics, heavy metal influences… such a satisfactory combination! I’m 100% sure that I’ll remember Black Legion as one of this year’s highlights. –garas

Chat Pile – “Masc”
Cool World

WOOF. Wait. Wrong song. –AsleepInTheBack

Dora Jar – “Ragdoll”
No Way To Relax When You Are On Fire

Dora Jar’s first full-length is a dazzling display of mastery of a wide range of sounds, from frantic, glitchy pop to reflective indie folk, with a whole lot of earworm catchiness along the way. “Ragdoll” might take the case for the catchiest of its tunes though. Get out of my head! –Sunnyvale

Eliza & The Delusionals – “Lately”
Make It Feel Like the Garden

If you’re into atmospheric indie-rock, then it’s hard to pass up a song like “Lately”. Driving guitar riffs and lead synths intertwine with a cameo from Brian Aubert of Silversun Pickups for a striking, yet dreamy blend of aesthetics. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s a proper earworm. –Sowing

fauxdeep – “651”
then you’ll go home

2024 has had more of its share of truly impressive Sputnik user projects, and fauxdeep’s debut LP (courtesy of loveisamixtape) is no exception. A riffy but nicely-textured blend of shoegaze, alt-rock, and post-hardcore is the order of the day, and opener “651” will get you in the right headspace. –Sunnyvale

Foxing – “Secret History”
Foxing

Foxing’s self-titled release offers a plethora of impressive tracks to choose from, but I keep coming back to “Secret History” as the album’s best sales pitch. It’s the moment you know that Foxing is no longer fucking around, as they absolutely blow us away with a brutal wall of sound and screams unlike we’ve ever heard come out of Conor Murphy before. As an introduction to the record, it sets the scene for the band’s magnum opus — as a standalone song, it’s also one of the their very best. –Sowing

Geordie Greep – “Holy, Holy”
The New Sound

A jagged sermon of chaos and charisma, “Holy, Holy” is an unhinged spiral of avant-garde intensity that grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go. –dedex

Jamie xx – “All You Children”
In Waves

A pulsing, hypnotic journey through sound and space, “All You Children” lures you in with its deep groove and leaves you lost in its atmosphere. –dedex

Johnny Blue Skies – “Jupiter’s Faerie”
Passage du Desir

Formerly known as Sturgill Simpson, Johnny Blue Skies’ 2024 LP Passage du Desir marks one of his best yet. “Jupiter’s Faerie” illustrates exactly why, with flourishing strings that lend even more power to lyrics about the unexpected death of a friend. It’s a song that both swells with emotion and sweeps you away instrumentally. –Sowing

JPEGMAFIA – “don’t rely on other men”
I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU

I have now finally (probably, maybe) come to terms with the fact that Peggy’s latest cannot toe to toe with hoes, BUT there are saving graces. Burst and release in real time with other men. Do it. –AsleepInTheBack

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – “Field of Vision”
Flight b741

Given the insane clip out of their output, it’s remarkable how relatively fresh King Gizz remain. Their latest album is ultimately bound to get lost in the sea of their more significant accomplishments, but “Field of Vision” stands tall as a goofy, badass highlight. “I’ll be your silly / I’ll be your silly billy” is Dudes Rock made manifest, emphasis on the man. –Odal

macaroom – “geinin”
burning chrome

It’s been a while now since Macaroom’s brand of fae indietronica relegated its shifting layers of glitch in favour of a folklike pursuit of childlike wonder; “geinin” is a return to their enigmatic style, tentatively easing open a door to goodness-knows-where and casting an undeniable enchantment over one of the year’s most irresistibly ambiguous thresholds. –JohnnyoftheWell

May Erlewine – “Most of My Time”
Most of My Time (single)

May is one of the best kept secrets of the Lake Michigan area. All she does is pump out elegant and cozy bangers that are perfect for cozying up with a cup of coffee and drinking in the day. “Most of My Time” is an ode to love that swings and sways in the breeze with a gorgeous array of easy listening instrumentation. Sweet and comforting, it’s the kind of warm song that will get plenty of run as the leaves turn and my Chicago Bears inevitably disappoint. –Odal

Monolake – “Thru Stalactites”
Studio

Every Monolake album has at least one track where its cold-shoulder techno pulse, enigmatic backdrop and ruthlessly clinical production somehow match up with exactly what your heartbeat and attention should be feeding off, beat-by-beat, and — well, you guessed it. –JohnnyoftheWell

NAILS – “I Can’t Turn It Off”
Every Bridge Burning

Unexpectedly, the more time I’ve spent with 2024’s Nails reconfiguration, the more I’ve grown to love it. What I lamented as dull and derivative has warmed with familiarity, becoming closer and closer to that sweaty swill that it homages. Hurriedly write off at your peril. –AsleepInTheBack

Nala Sinephro – “Continuum 3”
Endlessness

It was never on my bingo card for the chief highlights of this shapeless late-starter of a year to come from chamber and ambient music, but Nala Sinephro takes time out from Endlessness‘ magical progressive electronic/jazz odyssey to indulge both to perfection. –JohnnyoftheWell

Ravyn Lenae – “Genius”
Bird’s Eye

Now that’s pure, weightless R&B: silky, ethereal, and as addictive as it is effortless. –dedex

State Faults – “Leviathan”
Children of the Moon

YoYoMancuso and dozens (oh, stop booing… there are dozens of us. Dozens!) have it right when pointing out “No Gospel” and “Bodega Head” as unequivocal highlights from Children of the Moon, but attention spans being what they are (when it comes to picking songs clocking over 9 minutes long for this feature), “Leviathan” makes for an easy choice as a certified ripper (“I’m not a funeral flower / I’m gonna bloom if I want to”‘s delivery is unmatched). While I try not to make any prognostications about the site’s year-end features (under the threat of ‘undue influence’ and/or anti-hype campaigns), I’ll be gobsmacked if this isn’t found in both lists’ Top 10s. –Jom

STAYC – “Cheeky Icy Thang”
Metamorphic

Kpop girl group STAYC decided to drop a sassy single that harkens back to prior hit “RUN2U”. Like its spiritual predecessor, “Cheeky Icy Thang” oozes groove and fun. –insomniac15

Sungazer – “Against the Fall of Night”
Against the Fall of Night

Although I haven’t quite sunken my teeth into this record, I immediately gravitated to its opener, especially its last minute with sublime saxophone complemented by a magnificent rhythm section. Don’t write off the frenetic synths that immediately precede this section, though — their absence would diminish the title track’s allure. –Jom

Xiu Xiu – “Veneficium”
13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips

You can never tell what Xiu Xiu decide to try next, so hearing a rather straightforward rock song from them with potent low end and distorted guitar was quite a nice surprise. –insomniac15

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Participating staff writers:

AsleepInTheBack, dedex, garas, insomniac15, JohnnyoftheWell, Jom, Odal, Sowing, Sunnyvale

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