2024: My Favourite New Songs

Back at the start of 2025 I made a compilation of my favourite new songs of 2024. I shared it with some of my music fan buds. Now at last I am writing about it here. If you would like a copy and are not someone who is going to shop me to the copyright cops, let me know.

I created a Spotify playlist of these tunes, but some of the best ones are not to be found on that evil platform.

Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou Lalla Aicha 1 (from L´Bnat)

This is gnawa music from Morocco, which I understand to be a form of devotional music associated with the somewhat mystical Sufi strain of Islam. This lot are apparently unique in that they are all women, with gnawa music usually a male preserve. I saw them performing at Le Guess Who in Utrecht and was very taken with their call-response vocals, odd percussion, and Hamzaoui's playing of the sintir, which has a sound highly reminiscent of the Ethiopian bèguèna (as heard on Éthiopiques Vol. 11: The Harp of King David)

Mohammad Syfkhan Do You Have a Lover or Not? (from I Am Kurdish)

Syfkhan is an Irish based Kurd from Syria. He sings and plays the bouzouki to a programmed accompaniment. Not completely different to the music of Omar Souleyman (also a Syrian Kurd). While the live bouzouki forces things to be a bit less frenetic than with Souleyman, this will still have you bopping around your kitchen.

Mohammad Syfkhan is not on Spotify. This track is a total banger so I urge you to check it out on Bandcamp.

Deradoorian Digital Gravestone

I get it, it sounds a bit like Can's "Mother Sky". Angel Deradoorian used to be in the Dirty Projectors but left them at around the time people stopped being interesting in that band. She releases music on her own but also as half of Digital Pink. I think this is a taster for a forthcoming album and the lyrics might reference the Armenian Genocide, a horrendous event occurring around the time of the First World War (Deradoorian is herself of Armenian background).

Throwing Muses Drugstore Drastic

Fucking hell are Throwing Muses still going? This is another taster for an approaching album and I would be surprised at how strong this sounds if their last album (2000's Sun Racket) had not been a complete belter.

The Crystal Teardrop Running Out Of Time

Psych revivalists, but good.

Jane Weaver Love In Constant Spectacle (from Love in Constant Spectacle)

Title track from the divine Jane's wonderful recent album.

Maria Somerville Projections

I heard this on the radio and thought "I'd buy that piece of engaging neo-shoegaze for a dollar." Apparently Irish artist Somerville has been around for a while and released at least one mini-album but people are excitedly looking forward to the new album for which this is another taster.

Mary & The Pigeons Charcoal Wings (from Like Water)

In Stoneybatter there is this guy who feeds pigeons in front of his house, which has led to a division of opinions. The pigeons are generally in favour of his generosity, as are members of the rodent community, but quite a few human residents of the local area are hostile. Mary Barnecutt however is on team pigeon; hence the name of her band. She sings and plays cello, usually in combination with some other musicians, and is an intriguing and compelling performer.

Fears 4th of the 1st (from Affinity)

Mopetronica from London-based Irish artist whose real name is Constance Keane. I was unaware of her existence until a friend included one of her tracks on a previous end of year compilation.

Meljoann Bye

The poptastic sounds of Meljoann mean that she is very famous in an alternate universe. She makes her own videos and you can see the one for this song here.

Party Dozen Coup De Gronk (from the compilation TRL 2024)

I do not know anything about these people other than that they appeared on the compilation album TRL 2024, which I somehow ended up acquiring.

Morah Den Ise Edo (from the compilation Enough!)

Another track from a compilation, this time a fundraiser for Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah's Children's Fund, which attempts to bring medical aid to children in Gaza and also Lebanon. I can find no information whatsoever about Morah online, but you can read more about the Children's Fund here.

Also not on Spotify.

Ex-Easter Island Head Easter (from Norther)

A clearly gamelan influenced track from another band I saw at Le Guess Who.

NCH Gamelan Orchestra Lancaran Degung (from Kyai Jati Roso)

This is from the advanced National Concert Hall gamelan group, which plays music from the Javanese gamelan tradition.

Sanggar Sidakaria Gabor Dance (from Palegongan)

Let's edge it up with a recording of some more gamelan… only this time from Bali, where they have their own separate gamelan tradition. You have to imagine this and the previous track fighting each other.

Not on Spotify.

Loula Yorke Falling apart together (from Volta)

Because I am very impressionable I bought a copy of the Volta album when someone I know posted on social media about how a friend had released a record. This is the kind of oldschool analogue synth stuff Momma used to make.

Cormorant Tree Oh Terror Of The Countryside (from Moonish)

You know the way all Indian actors have Khan as their surname but claim not to be related to each other? In Ireland it is like that with women making oddball electronic music except they are called Keane and not Khan. Here we have a track from Cormorant Tree Oh, the trading name of Mary Keane, who makes music that uses electronics a bit but also various acoustic instruments as well as her voice. I think she is such an amazing artist that I was almost loth to include a track by her on this compilation for fear that some of my less house-trained buds would respond with a "what's this shite?" comment about her tune.

Souterrains Dead & Gone (from Souterrains)

This ties in with an art project about climate change and stuff. Here we have what is meant to be a tune made by someone in the future as they travel across the chain of islands and swamps that sit where Ireland used to be.

Not on Spotify.

Ian Lynch Máirseáil Chrapchosach (from All You Need Is Death OST)

Maybe you have seen the film All You Need Is Death in which case you will know what this is like. If not it I can reveal that it is droney folky possibly electronic music.

The Unthanks Dear Companions (from In Winter)

This combines Becky Unthanks' lyrics to a traditional American tune. This is one I know from singing it at Unthanks singing weekends and (spoiler) it does go a bit singing weekend towards the end.