80 Favorite Songs of 2024 - Part 3

Time to shake what you got and get your groove on

(clockwise from top left) Haitus Kaiyote, Brittany Howard, Mildlife, Jalen Ngonda)

We’ve made it to the third episode of EW&SL’s favorite songs of 2024.

These following eleven stellar tunes should get you out of your seat (or bed) and onto the dance floor.

I certainly appreciate and find great satisfaction in music designed for the reclined position, but the stuff that makes my limbs move, my booty shake, and my hips sway is more often what I need. It’s what brings joy to my soul and doesn’t let me wallow in negative thinking.

You will probably recognize a few names here and hopefully discover some new ones too. I’d love to hear which ones stand out for you.

Part 4 will feature some of my favorite hip-hop and world music tracks of the year. So stay tuned for that.

Okay, let’s get to it!

To play episode 3 of the podcast/radio show, click the bar below:

1. Brittany Howard - Power To Undo

I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that Brittany Howard is one of the greatest vocalists, musicians, and songwriters of current times. When she sings, there’s a power, a force, a presence emanating from every molecule of her being that transmits to every molecule of my being (and probably your being). I felt it the very first time I heard Brittany sing as a member of Alabama Shakes.

This has only intensified since she’s become a solo artist. Her debut album, Jaime, showed that Howard could go deep and personal while still showing off her killer pipes and penchant for blending elements of rock, soul, jazz, funk, experimental, and a dozen other genres.

Four and a half years later, she’s released one of the best albums of the year with What Now? No sophomore slump for her. The themes are tied to romantic relationships this time around, both problematic ones and ones that are worth fighting for (sometimes the same relationship). The music here is gorgeous, challenging, unexpected, and completely and totally Brittany Howard.

I decided to go with the Prince-influenced track “Power to Undo” to kick things off.

2. Hiatus Kaiyote - Everything’s Beautiful

Australian soul/funk outfit Hiatus Kaiyote creates some of the most tasty jazz-inflected dance grooves in either hemisphere.

The interplay between vocalist/guitarist Nai Palm and her tight-as-nails band is a joy to behold. I love the way she plays with her voice, weaving it amid and around the guitar, bass, keys, and drums. This is especially apparent on my favorite track, “Everything’s Beautiful.”

3. Jalen Ngonda - Illusions

I discovered Jalen Ngonda earlier this year with his single “Illusions.” I had no idea he’d released his debut album, Come Around and Love Me in 2023. It’s excellent and I highly recommend it, but “Illusions” takes Jalen’s classic soul sound and hikes it up ten notches.

If you’d told me this was a song from an unheralded soul singer from the late ‘60s, I’d have believed you. That it’s written and recorded by a young, semi-unknown (but soon-to-be huge) soul singer in 2024, is remarkable.

Check out this wonderful live performance of “Illusions,” with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

4. Mildlife - Musica

Cool. Groovy. Slick but not homogenized. Definitely not mild. Those are words I might use to describe Mildlife. But they fail to fully capture the mostly instrumental jazz-funk that this Australian quartet brings to the surface on Chorus, their third studio album.

If I had to compare them to anyone, I’d say, imagine Air’s more upbeat tunes with a bit of Kraftwerk, add in some George Duke then toss in some Daft Punk.

How Mildlife describe their sound? According to an interview at lipmag.com, “Post-prog-yacht-rocktronica-no-fi.”

5. CVC - The Lowrider

Keeping the slick ‘80s-’90s funk vibes going, we get to celebrate the great CVC.

Another band I discovered in 2024, I couldn’t get enough of their B-Real album, which was a reworking of their 2023 album, Get Real. I wasn’t going to include them in this list because those are 2023 songs, even if reworked. But then they put out a single in the fall, “The Lowrider,” so I get to include them after all!

“The Lowrider” is pure modern yacht rock. It’s smooth, it grooves, it has melodies for days and it makes me endlessly happy. All it’s missing is a sax solo.

6. Yin Yin - Takahashi Timing

You yacht-rock haters can skip to the next track. But before you do, give “Takahashi Timing” a listen and see if maybe Yin Yin’s “Asiatic folk-funk, psychedelic surf rock” (description from a commenter on their Bandcamp page) is up your alley.

This genre-hopping Dutch four-piece blends so many of my favorite sounds that I’m convinced they were formed by taking a sample of my brain, putting it into a band-splicing machine, and spitting out Yin Yin.

This is the kind of AI I could get behind. (Note, this is not AI.)

7. Home Counties -Uptight

I’m still undecided if I should put Home Counties 2024 album Exactly As It Seems in my top 5 albums of the year list. The more I play it, the more I think I should. As that list will be my next post, the answer to that indecision may be already revealed (depending on when you read this).

“Uptight,” like pretty much all the tracks on the album, harkens back to an earlier musical era. I would say the early aughts by way of the post-punk 1980s. Or in other words: LCD Soundsystem meets Talking Heads.

I also get strong Confidence Man vibes here, as well, with the dual he/she vocal stylings of Will Harrison and Lois Kelly.

8. Blu DeTiger - Latency

26-year-old Blu DeTiger started playing the bass at age 7 and never stopped. Spending six years (from age 7-13) at the School of Rock with her older brother (who played drums), Blu was turned on to funk and club music and was forever changed.

Her slappin’ and poppin’ bass takes center stage on the funk showpiece, “Latency,” a high-energy banger that proves the old adage: all you need is a sick bass line and some cowbell and crowds will be eating out of your hands.

9. St. Vincent - Big Time Nothing

St. Vincent (Anne Clark) released arguably the best (and most personal) album of her illustrious career in 2024’s All Born Screaming. I’ve seen it atop many a top-10 list already and it almost made mine.

“Big Time Nothing” was the first single that I heard and I latched onto it immediately. The funky-distorted bass line (I assume it’s synth, but maybe not?) was what initially got me, but it was also the use of percussion, odd sound effects, and strings. And of course Anne’s too-cool-for-school vocals.

10. Noga Erez - Vandalist

Israeli pop star Noga Erez’s 2024 albumVandalist was a big surprise for me this year. I knew nothing about her at all before hitting play on a ‘recommended’ link on Spotify. I was immediately sucked in.

I do have a soft spot for catchy pop-dance tunes — Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” almost made this list — but “Vandalist” did more than just scratch an itch. It’s got stellar musicianship, the groove is tight, it’s got lots of audio treats (listen on headphones) and the production is fantastic.

The song it reminds me of most (sonically) is Britney Spears’ “Toxic.” Which, if you have followed this newsletter for a while, you know I’ve written about Britney adoringly.

Britney Spears - Toxic

Check out this great live studio version above. Even better than the original.

11. Bodega - G.N.D. Deity

My love for dual lead vocals in rock (expressed several times in parts 1 and 2) is expressed again for the final track of this dance-themed playlist.

Bodega, like Home Counties above, blends my love of early aughts alternative-dance rock (think Franz Ferdinand, Strokes, Bloc Party, Phoenix) and 1980s post-punk.

Don’t be surprised if Bodega appears in my top five albums post next week. (Shush - don’t say anything).

• Which dance-flavored tunes rocked your world in 2024?

• As always, let me know what songs here stood out for you.

• Stay tuned for part 4, coming next week!

• And part 2 of my favorite albums post with Sam, Jami, and Kevin hits your inbox this Wednesday!