If you can bring yourself to believe it, we are already eight months into 2024 – yep, Barbenheimer kicked off over a year ago, folks. It is, however, easier to comprehend when you consider how many great albums have landed on your chosen streaming service and/or in your Amazon basket since you last sang Auld Lang Syne into a champagne bottle.
We reviewers at What Hi-Fi? all have our go-to playlists of familiar test tracks for putting new kit through its paces, which span as many decades as they do genres – but that doesn’t mean we aren’t constantly looking for new tracks to add to them. We’re hi-fi fans and therefore music fans, after all. So it sparked great debate when it came to collectively compiling this list of 2024 releases that we believe aren’t just solid songs but also solid test tracks.
Want to throw your hat into the ring? Please do, because the year and the list ain't over till it's over…
Adrianne Lenker – Sadness As A Gift
Words by Becky Roberts
Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief (in my opinion, the best band to have come out of Brooklyn since LCD Soundsystem) is six albums into her solo career, and the title of her latest, Bright Future, could just as credibly describe her career path as it does, intentionally and somewhat ironically, her view of the world.
The second single from it, Sadness As A Gift, feels like the perfect embodiment of her style and talent – poetic storytelling, line after line, alongside heart-shattering melodies via Appalachian instrumentation. Describing it as a ‘song for around the bonfire’ perhaps undermines its creativity as a breakup song – and the imperviousness of envisioned camp-goers singing it! – but its rustic feel and musical joviality are certainly infectious.
That it’s audibly evident that the album was recorded and mixed entirely on analogue tape will play into the hands of tonally warm, rich kit (lean balances simply won't do its organic production justice), while a system’s midrange expression, particularly in terms of dynamics, will be thrust under the spotlight as her raw, sentimental vocal and utterly devastating violin accompaniment run the show.
Pearl Jam – Dark Matter
Words by Harry McKerrell
I make no apologies for choosing a band that’s been going since the early ‘90s in a list of the best tunes of 2024. Dark Matter passes the requisite criteria for inclusion here, in that it was released in 2024, I like it and, most importantly, it’s jolly good for testing headphones and hi-fi.
Even without my rose-tinted spectacles clouding my Solomon-like judgement, Dark Matter is a belter of a test tune. Pulled straight from the Pearl Jam folder marked “loud guitars, louder drums”, it’s a hard-edged workout that sits on the more anthemic, extroverted end of the group’s sonic spectrum. Think less Jeremy and more Even Flow or Not For You, Pearl Jam fans.
I use it predominantly to assess how well a system can manage weight, authority and organisation, with the opening drum sequence offering the ideal chance to see what a decent (or not-so-decent) system can do when presented with brutal drum fills before massive, punchy guitar chords rampage into the mix. The test is a simple one: do you feel enough adrenaline to take on an Olympic decathlon? Yes? Pass. Anything less than that? Fail.
Yard Act – Dream Job
Words by Kashfia Kabir
Leeds-based Yard Act’s Where’s My Utopia? has been one of my go-to albums of the year (their Glastonbury 2024 set was a highlight). Dream Job is a jaunty melody with infectious hooks melded with a wry undertone to the lyrics that deal with the reality of working in the music industry today. On a less-than-capable system, this track could easily become one-note, cacophonous and messy. A great system, however, will reveal the layers of instruments and various backing vocals in an organised, three-dimensional soundstage that still works in perfect cohesion with the sardonic lead vocals. The taut bassline, scuzzy, electrifying guitar riff, synth highlights and jubilant chants of British slang (Ace! Mint! Boss! Dece!) should all come through with high energy, triumphant dynamics and snappy timing – all culminating in the thudding impact of that very abrupt end.
Michael Kiwanuka – Floating Parade
Words by Joe Svetlik
Kiwanuka debuted this single at Glastonbury – it's his first new music since 2021, and it's a doozy. It continues his collaboration with producers Danger Mouse and Inflo, and has echoes of Cold Little Heart, the track that put him on the map (and became the theme tune to the smash HBO drama Big Little Lies). But it's more sophisticated and layered than his earlier effort. He's described the song's title as "the metaphorical movement of taking yourself out of an uncomfortable situation and seeking comfort elsewhere, driven almost solely by the power of the mind”. The dreamy, ethereal quality will make demands of your system, while the bassline anchors the track and stops it drifting off into arty-farty territory. If your set-up can communicate all the detail of the low-end without encroaching on the more delicate elements, it's a keeper.
Young Jesus – Brenda & Diane
Words by Becky Roberts
You never know quite what you’re going to get from the adventurous Young Jesus (aka singer-songwriter John Rossiter), who seems to have poked around in every nook and cranny of the indie-rock genre for what it feels like has been an ever-transitioning 12 years for Rossiter’s project – and not without crossing into others: folk, post-rock, jazz…
This year’s release, The Fool, actually sees the sound-shifter return to his musical roots of familiar folk-rock, although arguably more interesting than the music itself are the wild, seemingly personal stories Rossiter tells. That of lead single Brenda & Diane is, as they go, relatively relatable – about a guy who reluctantly sits down with “a couple old ladies” who are gambling on the run and turn out to have complex lives that humble him. The pop ballad has a lot for your system to chew on – a peppy beat and guitar bassline that never sit still, piano chords that should defiantly punch out at you, his passionate, attacking vocal that parades both ends of his extreme range, and a musical climax that brings depth and fun via strings and synths. Above all, the track’s propulsion and pace should come across.
Charli XCX – Von Dutch
Words by Lewis Empson
Brat summer has been in full effect since Charli XCX launched her latest album in June of this year, and the iconic lime green motif has cropped up in everything from presidential campaigns to advertising campaigns for airlines and tissues – we live in strange times. However, the infectious debut track, Von Dutch, has been on repeat in my earbuds for months now and for good reason too.
While the track is certainly tongue in cheek, its electronic dance influences are strong thanks to a pulsing synth beat and snappy drums that require a set of buds or over-ears that can deliver where timing and low-end punch are concerned. It’s also dynamically varied, with slowly building sections that lead to a swift drop and explode into the zingy electronic synth-laden chorus.
While it may not be a traditional test track compared to those we often use, Von Dutch is best served by a system or pair of headphones that know how to let loose and have fun while also remaining precise and controlled.
The Smile – Teleharmonic
Words by Becky Roberts
Less than two years after their acclaimed debut, we already have a follow-up from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner – and boy does it deliver. Bending Hectic is, for me, Wall Of Eyes’ most enthralling track, but Teleharmonic is ideal test track fodder, with droning synth ambience (classic Yorke!) and an atmospheric vocal metamorphosising into a grander, yet resolutely brooding, palette of progressive strings, wistfully haunting elements led by a flute, and increasingly frenetic percussion with a wall of shimmering cymbals. It's a dense but at the same time disciplined arrangement that will thrive in a system that highly regards spaciousness, depth and dimension as well as the organisation necessary to keep it all easily digestible.
Chappel Roan – Good Luck, Babe!
Words by Andy Madden
Will there be a better pop song in 2024? I doubt it. I’m a bit of a sucker for anything with some ’80s synth, and as I was skipping through my Amazon Music ‘My Discovery Mix’ I couldn’t help but be drawn in by the first few seconds. And wow. There’s a sprinkling of Kate Bush, a splash of Cyndi Lauper, and a generous helping of Gaga in there too, but Roan is no cheap imitation.
Good Luck Babe! has all the ingredients of a perfect pop song, from great lyrics, a hugely catchy chorus to a poppy beat that you can’t help but bop along to. Your system will also have to do justice to Roan’s impressive vocal range and all the subtle shifts in dynamics, not to mention dig out detail from the strings, bass and drums. Little touches of genius, from the sad strings, Chappel’s strategically placed little gasps and the way she winds down the track at the end put a proper chef’s kiss on this fantastically executed pop track.
If you have a spare four minutes, check out her performance of the track on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – you won’t be disappointed.
St. Vincent – Hell Is Near
Words by Becky Roberts
Really, a few tracks from All Born Screaming would have the potential to make this list if it were three times the length – Reckless for its PJ Harvey-esque vocal performance and heavy apocalyptic one-eighty, Violent Times for its Bond-like brood and dynamism – but Hell Is Near is, for me, more musically interesting in its playful, Pink Floyd-esque experimentalism. It’s eerie, it’s ethereal, it’s beguiling. I’ve run it through several products in the past few months, and not all have had the timing and rhythmic knack to convincingly stitch the string melody to her overlaying vocal (1:20). How does your system fare?
That finicky little sequence aside, the album opener from one of the year’s best-produced albums demands deep and agile bass reproduction from the first note, and just as astute analysis further up the frequency range as her haunting, choral vocals, a curtain of glistening synths and high-pitch piano notes come into play. Kit with a poor sense of layering and organisation will have nowhere to hide here, either. Captivated? Your system’s doing its job.
Waxahatchee & MJ Lenderman – Right Back To It
Words by Becky Roberts
Alt country at its most wistful, picking up where 2020’s Saint Cloud left off. The warm-toast-and-honey harmony between a lilting Katie Crutchfield and mellow Jake 'MJ' Lenderman, together with their acoustic strumming (Crutchfield) and gentle electric (Lenderman), bely a song brimming with depth and emotion. Indeed, this duet may well be the year’s most beautiful contribution to the folk-indie scene, not to mention one of the most enjoyable and straightforward tests of a system’s midrange insight. Waxahatchee fans will by now know to expect a full and soothing texture from Crutchfield’s delivery; the two should sit close but shouldn’t bleed into one another or drop their individual inflections; and never should that finger-picked banjo in the right channel lose its purpose beside the front-and-centre vocal and electric solos. The ever-present bassline should distinctly anchor and gently propel but not dominate or feel alienated from the melody.
Arooj Aftab – Bolo Na
Words by Becky Roberts
It was only last year when Arooj Aftab picked up a Grammy Award for ‘Best Global Music Performance’ (she actually won it the year prior too) that the Pakistan-American singer-songwriter came, belatedly, onto my radar. What a personal discovery that turned out to be. With her music existing somewhere and everywhere between Western and Hindustani classical music, minimalism, poetry and folky-jazz fusions, and predominantly sung in the Urdu language, Aftab is nothing if not visionary.
In Night Reign's highlight, a menacing, grubby bassline with statement-making, marching band-esque snare-drum brushes serve as the grooving undercurrent for her reinterpretation of a traditional Urdu love song – which is actually less love song and more a cry out against the biggest systematic flaws in today’s world – as spoken-word artist Moor Mother and vibraphonist Joel Ross help the haunting, meditative piece reach a provocative impact that runs through much of the album. What begins as a brooding percussion beneath Aftab’s floating vocal expands into increasingly edgy storytelling and atmosphere-enhancing guitar, drums and piano that swirl beautifully around the soundstage to create something unique and, above all, memorable. Openness, headroom, bass agility, midrange transparency – it’s all required.
Joy Orbison – flight fm
Words by Joe Cox
In this age of short-form videos and even shorter attention spans, it's almost impossible for new music to stick in our collective consciousness for a few days let alone a few weeks. This phenomenon arguably couldn't be more apparent than in dance music, where every weekend provides a fresh influx of videos of dancing DJs and heaving dancefloors, each potentially pronouncing a brand new "big tune" for our ears and the algorithm. But one man seems to have a knack for cutting through the noise.
Joy Orbison first broke through with Hyph Mngo, the futuristic garage soundtrack of 2009 that was picked by many as their dance track of the year, and now in 2024, thanks to flight fm, he is once more in the running for that accolade, delivering one of the few truly memorable club tracks of the year.
Again, we have skippy garage beats, this time accompanied by a perfectly distorted bassline, overlayed with tweaking synth lines and increasingly fuzzy feedback. Subtle but powerful, delivering a series of rolling crescendos from a hypnotic hook, it's the definition of simple but effective, and a great test for bass definition and detail, timing and your system's ability to deliver dynamics.
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