As always, not a 'best of;' but just stuff I’ve loved listening to in 2024. It’s meant to be in a vague order, with the real favourites in the final 10.
To be honest, I could have extended the list to 75 with the the likes of Das Body, The Janitors, Holy Ship, Oranssi Pazuzu, Onsloow, The Raveonettes, Jonsi, Trentemoller, Holy Ship. SUNDAYS, Savoy, Per Wiberg, A Treehouse Wait, Emiliana Torrini and many many more all well worth a listen. Even Nightwish possibly, but I have to draw a line somewhere.
Also sorry for any typos. The originally published version of this earlier today suggested that Astrid Sonne’s album was called ‘Great Donut’ rather than ‘Great Doubt’, which quite evidently would have been a better name for an album, but I thought I should correct it with my apologies. If you spot anything please let me know.
50. Jaako Aukusti (Finland) - 'Vanishing Act'
49. Supersport! (Iceland) - 'allt seem hefur gerst'
48. Emilia Sisco, Cold Diamond & Mink (Finland) - ‘Introducing Emilia Sisco’
47. Drug Store Raid (Finland) - ‘Background Music for Family Arguments’
46. Slowshift (Norway / Iceland) - ‘World Going One Way’
45. Mikko Joensuu (Finland) - ‘Long Ark’
44. Needlepoint (Norway) - ‘Remnants of Light’
43. Maria W Horn (Sweden) - ‘PANOPTIKON’
42. Fine (Denmark) - ‘Rocky Top Ballads’
41. NAKE (Denmark) - NAKE’
40. Feber (Norway) - ‘Can I Get Some Adult Supervision’
39. Penniless (Finland) - ‘Ego Catastrophe’
38. Astrid Sonne (Denmark) - ‘Great Doubt’
37. Nightbird (Finland) - ‘Out of These Days’
36. Antti Autio (Finland) - ‘Täällä sinua kaivataan’
35. Frøkedal (Norway) - ‘STAY’
34. Armadillo King (Sweden) - ‘Revivals’
33. The Entrepreneurs (Denmark) - ‘Sky Forever’
32. Hafdis Huld (Iceland) - ‘Darkest Night’
31. NEØV (Finland) - ‘Soft Atlas’
30. Loney Dear (Sweden) - ALL THINGS GO’
29. The Holy (Finland) - ‘Ländmark’
28. Girl in Red (Norway) - ‘I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY’
27. Baula (Sweden / Iceland) - ‘heavy heart, no tears’
26. Veps (Norway) - ‘Dedicated To’
25. Sunna Margrét (Iceland) - ‘Finger on Tongue’
24. Kiasmos (Iceland / Faroe Islands) - ‘II’
23. A Swarm of the Sun (Sweden) - ‘An Empire’
22. Superserious (Iceland) - ‘Seriously’
21. Sólstafir (Iceland) - ‘Hin helga kvöl’
20. Les Big Bird (Sweden) - ‘Diaminds, Rhinestones and Hard Rain’
19. Isbjörg (Denmark) - 'Falter, Endure'.
18. Flight Mode (Norway) - 'The Three Times’
17. AURORA (Norway) - 'Whatever Happened To The Heart'
16 Elias Rønnenfelt (Denmark) - 'Heavy Glory'
15 The Hallway (Norway) - 'Pitfalls of Modern Intimacy'
Múr (Iceland) - 'Múr'
13. Club 8 (Sweden) - 'A Year with Club 8'
12. Agent blå (Sweden) - 'STAB!'
11. Goat (Sweden) - 'Goat'
10. Oyama (Iceland) - ‘Everyone Left’
9. Oliver Hohlbrugger (Norway) - ‘Nothing’s Changed, Everything is New’
8. Hilma Nikolaisen (Norway’ - ‘Social Works’
7. Brimheim (Denmark / Faroe Islands) - ‘RATKING’
6. Pom Poko (Norway) - ‘Champion’
And our favourite albums of the year are:
5. The School Book Depository (Sweden) - ‘Analog Warmth’
4. Kindsight (Denmark) - 'No Shame No Fame'
3. Kalandra (Norway) - ‘A Frame of Mind’
2. Army of Moths (UK / Norway) - 'The Chaos Emporium'
Oh Hiroshima (Sweden) - All Things Shining.
Thank you. We wish everyone the best for 2025. Please take care of yourselves and those around you. .