2024 Year in Review: Hardcore MUSIC
By Ayden Eilmus
It feels like people say it every December, but I’m going to say it again: this was a crazy year for heavy music. Hardcore’s moment in the sun continued throughout 2024 and brought us fantastic new releases from bands big and small, old and new. I couldn’t bring myself to pick just one favorite, so in an attempt to capture a wider breadth of music, this review has been split into categories: single of the year (songs released as one-offs that did not appear on albums or EPs), EP of the year, album of the year, performance of the year, moment of the year, and an MVP award. Genre purists need not read on.
SOTY: Scowl - Special
Following 2023’s epic Psychic Dance Routine EP and a relentless year of touring, Scowl are back in the lab with legendary producer Will Yip to further hone their signature blend of pop and hardcore. Announced alongside a campy horror flick inspired video and news that the band signed to Dead Oceans, “Special” delivers on this promise and then some.
Honorable mentions: Militarie Gun - Thought You Were Waving; Common Sage - Edin (feat. Geoff Rickly and Steve Pedulla); Die Spitz - i hate when GIRLS die; Koyo - Mile a Minute
EPOTY: State Power - The Year of the Harvest
I discovered the Netherland’s State Power in December thanks to Anti-Matter’s Best Songs of 2024 and I haven’t turned this EP off since. In fact, a large part of why I chose to separate singles, albums, performances, and so on for this year in review is because The Year of the Harvest has rapidly become my favorite piece of music of 2024, full stop. I was already struggling to pick a number one album before this EP upset all of my top contenders—pretty ridiculous for just one week of listening, not to mention unfair to all of the great releases with which I spent the first eleven months of the year. Clocking in at only fourteen minutes, these five songs are catchy, brutal, and extremely political. To me, it’s a perfect hardcore project for our time. And with another EP due in March, this group is one to watch.
Honorable mentions: Gel - Persona; Sweet Pill - Starchild
AOTY: Drug Church - Prude
Drug Church play straight to the point, no bullshit, tight-as-hell melodic hardcore. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if it’s yours, no one is doing it better than this band. Prude was my most anticipated release of 2024 and it initially felt like too obvious of a pick for album of the year. Then again, what better choice than music from a band on the rise that lives up to the hype? Prude offers no major musical reinvention from 2022’s Hygiene, but it doesn’t need to. Cynical, witty, and uncompromising in its delivery, the album is exactly what I expected it to be. Drug Church are nothing if not clear about who they are and what they do—and they always do it well. This latest installment proves the band as one of our most reliable. Sardonic and dependable were exactly what I needed from music in 2024, and Prude executes perfectly.
Honorable mentions: Gouge Away - Deep Sage; Touché Amoré - Spiral in a Straight Line; High Vis - Guided Tour
POTY: Knocked Loose feat. Poppy - Suffocate (Live on Jimmy Kimmel)
It’s hard to put words to how crazy it was to watch Knocked Loose make their late night debut this year. And be introduced by Jimmy Kimmel as a Grammy-nominated band. And do a pig squeal live on national television. And react to the inevitable backlash. Whether you’re a fan or not, heavy music’s well-documented “moment” in the mainstream undeniably carries on, and in 2024 Knocked Loose were the face of it.
MOTY: Thursday release their first new song in thirteen years
I’ve seen Thursday play more early 2000s album anniversary tours than any other band. And rightfully so, Full Collapse and War All The Time were two of the most important hardcore records of that era and remain among my and many others’ (as all the sold-out rooms prove) all-time favorites. Despite this constant touring, however, the band hasn’t put out any new music since 2011’s No Devolución. Those familiar with their storied history will not be surprised by this—between near-death experiences, clashes with record labels big and small, “legal disputes and public blowouts,” and two breakups and reformations (most currently with Norman Brannon of Texas is the Reason on guitar and Stu Richardson of No Devotion on bass)—it’s no surprise we haven’t seen new material in over a decade. So when “Application for Release From the Dream” was announced in April on the Friday of its release with no promotion, no pre-save link, and pretty much no warning, it was a moment many of us thought might never come. The single marked Thursday’s first new song in thirteen years and their first release without a record label in twenty-five. Now fully independent, their commitment to hardcore’s community-driven ethos and DIY roots is evident as ever. The kids are still screaming!
MVP: Anti-Matter
The most recent iteration of Norman Brannon’s Anti-Matter, adapted from the iconic 90s printed fanzine of the same name, just shared its final post before going on an indefinite hiatus. The Substack-delivered version has produced an overwhelming amount of content all things hardcore over the past eighteen months, including interviews with members of the majority of bands mentioned throughout this article. Sustainability aside, AM demonstrated that the demand for community-driven DIY publications still exists. How to reconcile the feasibility of this endeavor with its worthwhileness still remains a question, but hardcore kids everywhere are certainly better off for having seen Anti-Matter try to answer it in 2024.