So Young Tracks of the Year 2024.
For us at So Young, 2024 was home to another six print magazines (one being our 5oth edition), our first vinyl compilation celebrating 10 years of So Young (including music from Fontaines D.C., Wunderhorse, English Teacher and more), eight nights of brand new bands for our We Are So Young club night, our second Japanese issue of the magazine, another year hosting the Market Stage at Truck Festival and so much more.
Whilst the above kept us very busy, not to mention the addition of our releases at So Young Records, none of it would be doable without the incredible stream of new music from exciting new bands and artists that we’re proud to champion every year. It’s time to celebrate this year’s releases. Our team of writers responded to our call for their favourite songs of 2024.
In no particular order, here are the So Young tracks of the year 2024…
Amyl and the Sniffers – U Should Not Be Doing That
It was clear from the lead single on Amyl & The Sniffers’ third album that it was going to be a huge year for the Aussie gang. “I was in LA, shaking my shit / while you were down in Melbourne saying Fuck that bitch,” sang a determined Amy Taylor on the instant anthem, loaded with all the cheeky grit and humour we’ve come to love them for. – Rhys Buchanan
Perhaps the defining tune from their latest album ‘Cartoon Darkness’, ‘U Should Not Be Doing That’ offers contemplative and introspective lyrics that are delivered with a self-confidence, anger, and sincerity that commands respect. The irresistible bass and drum groove that pushes the song forward is the perfect hook to help drive Amy Taylor’s declaration of defiance home. – Ed Sargent
Kassie Krut – Reckless
Hip as absolute fuck, there is nothing that isn’t brave, moreish or immaculately cool about Kassie Krut’s ‘Reckless’. From the ridiculously charming melodies, to grueling guitar clangours resembling both harmony and revolt, the NYC trio saw a line of connection from Broadcast, to Dizzee Rascal, to Cabaret Voltaire and fucking went for it. How could something so catchy also sound so off the hinge? Who cares, add it to the queue. – Elvis Thirlwell
Fcukers – Bon Bon
The NYC group, best known for their work reviving New York’s club scene, dropped this 90s-inspired’Bon Bon’ back in May, causing anyone lucky enough to hear the track since to splutter out “getcha bon bon” at any given moment. Safe to say, the single was a catchy one and had the perfect pick-me-up beat to it. – Alicia Tomkinson
Fontaines D.C. – Starburster
Never before has a panic attack sounded so beautifully exciting and yet so accurately depicted. ‘Starburster’ is the utterly breathtaking manifesto from the band of the year. I can’t be the only one who obsessively learnt every word? Right? – Sachin Turakhia
Cardinals – If I Could Make You Care
Blending Irish folk with 90s alt-rock grit, Cardinals delivered a haunting slow burn with ‘If I Could Make You Care’. A track that swells with heartbreak, desire, and betrayal. What begins as delicate and restrained explodes into wailing feedback and crashing waves at the edge of the world. By the time it reaches its fiery peak, you’re left wrecked, awash in its aching power. – Will Macnab
A more intimate and tender moment from the usually swaggering and heavy Cardinals, the beauty of this track is in its simplicity. Opening in a profoundly vulnerable manner, with just the pairing of bare vocals and guitar lines, the song’s emotional heart is found in a confession, “I love you” before it swells into a more angsty, unruly beast. The result is an achingly moving and unflinchingly authentic confession of desire. – Eve Boothroyd
A great year for hearing “nothing beats the thrill of loving you, *town name*, I love you” live. – Kalisha Quinlan
mary in the junkyard – this is my california
Sneaking itself into the soundtrack of my every tube journey since coming out, Mary in the Junkyard seems to capture every feeling you can’t quite put into words and echo it beautifully with such rawness and vulnerability. Even the grey-skied, dreary morning commute becomes bearable when accompanied by the track’s ethereal vocals, floating you above everything and giving you a soft place to land. – Talitha Messham
Nilüfer Yanya – Like I Say (I Runaway)
Nilüfer Yanya has been a staple of the British indie scene for some years now, but her 2024 album ‘My Method Actor’ seems like a particular stride forward for the singer. ‘Like I Say (I Runaway)’ is a standout, the twisting rhymes twining with the gentle layers of sound that build over the song. Yanya’s low, smoky vocals are also at their best here, making this song a real delight. – Edie McQueen
Mên An Tol – NW1
Arrivals don’t come much better than ‘NW1’. After toiling away in rehearsal rooms and arriving with a blistering live set on the London scene, Mên An Tol eventually made good on their promise as one of the capital’s most exciting new forces with their first single. ‘NW1’ came as a breath of fresh air on the UK guitar landscape as the band deftly paired poetic folk traditions with a prime britpop swagger. – Rhys Buchanan
Lime Garden – Pop Star
Lime Garden’s ability to craft the most irresistible, effortless of indie gems reached yet another apogee with ‘Pop Star’. The lofty dreams and brutal realities of being an independent artist bottled up inside a unctuously dynamic and anthemic guitar-pop rocket, it’s beautiful hope and beautiful misery mushed up into song, lumped in with the stardust, bundled in ribbons of autotune, and mainlined straight to the heart. – Elvis Thirlwell
Ugly – Shepherds Carol
Ugly 2.0 is one of the most exciting sounds to appear in 2024. The rising guitars and stunning harmonies of ‘Shepherd’s Carol’ feel like music fit for the Albert Hall; exquisite. – Sachin Turakhia
Nukuluk – Raining
Nukuluk is a South-East London experimental hip-hop collective, and their imaginative experiment was represented in their song ‘Raining’. A merging of their exciting ability to drive music forwards in the future with techniques intersecting electronica and field recordings, whilst situating themselves in these sentiments of nostalgia and mourning experiences of the past. The vulnerability and memories of connection personally aroused a gesture of respect to a famous quote Leonard Cohen quote – ‘I don’t consider myself a pessimist. I think of a pessimist someone who is waiting for it to rain. And I feel soaked to the skin.” In the wetness of Winter, the storms of Spring which will drench our collective exhaustion, our soaked yet burned out souls, succumb to the cathartic rain. – Teddy Maloney
Pencil – The Window
A masterclass in songwriting, ‘The Window’ takes the mundanity of the everyday and crafts it into a story of loss and isolation. Pencil take cafes, shop fronts and even the toys in a window and morph them into a narrative exploring the desperate desire to contact another person. The music swells, pushing the relatively simple opening tones into a wholly new and entrancing sound. – Eve Boothroyd
Ebbb – Himmel
Synthesizing the feeling of extraterrestrial beings making their first contact with earth,Ebbb’s gorgeous, ethereal, and strange debut single ‘Himmel’ gave us a taster into what it might be like on ‘the other side’. Discovering whole new physical rules for light and rhythm and laying it down for us in mesmeric avant-pop form, ‘Himmel’ marked the elliptical recorded entrance for one of London’s most intriguing new voices. And then some! – Elvis Thirlwell
MJ Lenderman – Wristwatch
Although ‘She’s Leaving You’ got the ball rolling on cult-favourite turned indie monolith MJ Lenderman’s fourth album ‘Manning Fireworks’, it was the record’s third and last single, ‘Wristwatch’, that burrowed its way into my track rotation. Lenderman proves his storytelling abilities once again through an ironically hubris speaker accidentally revealing their loneliness whilst boasting and clambering to prove their material wealth. It’s bittersweet and somewhat ridiculous yet more than capable of breaking your heart a little bit. Instrumentation-wise ‘Wristwatch’ swings back and forth, somehow managing to sound the way it feels and becoming fundamental in fostering my new found love of pedal steel. It really is the centrepiece of the album. – Amber Lashley
Pebbledash – Killer Lover
In a year where Irish bands have dominated alternative culture with massive album releases from Fontaines D.C. and Kneecap, lurking in the shadows are Pebbledash, a Cork 6 piece who this year released the heart wrenching ‘Killer Lover’. A beautiful depiction of one’s relationship with their hometown, the joy of knowing somewhere completely and the desire to escape it to something new. It’s fuzzy instrumentally which aids the beautiful refrain, that carries us out of the song in extraordinary fashion. This is a band to look out for in the new year, in fact this is a band to look out for the rest of your life! – Peter Martin
English Teacher – Albert Road
The Mercury-winning Album was so strong that most song’s could have made my list, but English Teacher work hard throughout ‘Albert Road’ to make it a truly excellent closer – tying together the ideas explored throughout the album, large-scale instrumentation, impactful lyrics and of course Lily Fontaine’s powerful vocal performance that builds and builds throughout the track. Mostly, ‘Albert Road’ is English Teacher’s victory lap; the grandest of finales. – Peter Martin
Decius – Walking in the Heat
Pent-up sexuality, sultry sounds, and squirming vocals combine with a teasing rhythm, creating a hard-hitting, stop-you-in-your-track single that is simultaneously awkward and bold. – Ed Sargent
Croíthe – The Kiss
Croíthe joined the emerging young talent from Dublin, with their debut single ‘The Kiss’ – showcasing their talent, enthusiasm, and angst. The track perfectly summarises their image in moody guitars and daunting lyrics, making for a compelling listen and introduction to the band. – Mia Lambdin
Lobby – Weight
Coming towards the end of year, lobby released, their debut EP, ‘nightdriving’. The whole EP itself is great, a mixture of sounds, arising out of a slow-core tradition. With a varied compositional core, and a wide range of instruments, styles and moments, the songs rise and torment, cascading into a cacophony of chaos only to be released the moment before breaking. Coming back to usher in respite. Of particular note was ‘weight’ the final track of the project. The call and answer duet style, a conversationalist approach accompanied my mind on many a Winter’s walk; with the early sunsets set to remain for the foreseeable, perhaps they will also talk to you. – Teddy Maloney
The Itch – Ursula
‘Ursula’ is the first and only song released by London’s The Itch so far; its glamorous feeling and lipsticked mania is a testament to how far they could go. Baroque and feverous, the synths alone will rearrange your insides with the same power as a pounding bass on a dance floor – maybe even more, for there’s something kingly in the song’s intelligence and retro swagger. – Edie McQueen
The Dare – Perfume
“I’ve got a new obsession of mine”, and I have too. This is one of those tracks that, even if you wished to, could never leave your brain. From seeing it live for the first time in Brighton before its release in June, I knew the brazen sleaze of electronic twangs and pulsating hits would be something that would linger in my playlists as the year went on. In true “le dare” style, ‘Perfume’ carries a nostalgic New York nightlife vibe, infusing a frenzy of guitar strings and chaos into a rave-like, groovy bass, encouraging you to dance and move through till the early hours. – Alicia Tomkinson
Listen to our tracks of the year in this playlist.
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