The Best Songs of July 2024
5 tracks you need to hear *NOW*!
There are two, 100-per-cent certified hot takes I have about music:
- It’s good!
- There’s a lotttttt of it.
So it’s only natural that I’d want to highlight the first one and solve the second by creating this monthly music series, talking about the best songs of the past month.
Now is around the time I would reminisce about the past month. Maybe make a wee comment about some news stories or pop culture phenomenon.
Now is not the time. Every second spent writing this intro is time I’ve had to snatch out of the clutches of my latest fixation: Balatro.
This is a music blog so I will not ramble about this game for the days I easily could. Just know that this simple but addictive spin on poker is pretty much the sole reason I failed to get this piece out on time.
(Not that I need an excuse mind you…)
Oh yeah, the monthly best song piece — the thing you’re reading right now. I’d bluff to dive into some of my favourite tunes of July so let’s get straight to it: poker up and prepair yourself for some amazing music!
05 Bikini
Nick León, Erika de Casier
To be fair to Erika de Casier, if you’ve already managed to master the craft of an enticing electronic love affair — like she did earlier this year with Lucky — why not do it again?
Whereas that track was a raw tale of “I can’t believe my luck”, her collab with Nick León has all the adrenaline and giddiness of a first encounter. That throwback euro-trance production is the perfect pairing, helping to paint that image of a long passionate summer romp.
Best Bit: That pre-chorus gets me so pumped up that I regularly return to Bikini for it alone.
04 Call It Love
Nilüfer Yanya
Contrasting nicely with my previous pick, Call It Love is another romantic effort weaved in a more velvety smooth manner.
Don’t get it twisted though: this track may be softer but it does not hold back. Describing the track herself, Nilüfer Yanya says:
It’s about allowing your calling to lead you, to let it guide you somewhere. Let that consume you and destroy you. — Press Release
That intent is not lost in the final product as Nilüfer debates her desires over an enchanting looping guitar that will entice you in with every subsequent strum.
Best Bit: Could easily be that enveloping bass but that bridge at the three-minute mark with its scuzzy guitars and homey piano just about cinched it for me!
03 Kitsune Maison Freestyle
Porter Robinson
The great thing about doing a monthly track round-up as opposed to a weekly one is letting a track like Kitsune Maison Freestyle grow on you.
Had I gone with my initial reaction, I wouldn’t have thought much of it: Porter Robinson’s top-notch production value is present but nothing really jumped out at me to warrant a longer write-up.
Of course, this isn’t a weekly series — as you can tell from its infrequency — and so Kitsune Maison Freestyle has been able to rightfully dig its indietronica hooks into me.
The aforementioned fantastic production was captivating from the get-go but Robinson’s earnestness and transparency about vanity and fashion as a plaster for deeper issues is equally as compelling.
Best Bit: The decision to sprinkle some acoustic guitar into this digi-core bop — especially in the climax — was a genius one.
02 Love You Got
Kelly Lee Owens
Going into this new Kelly Lee Owens track, I was expecting another dense tapestry of various bleeps and boops: after all, her fittingly odd cover of Radiohead’s Weird Fishes in 2020 had soothed me into her rich and attractive style of electronic.
And while Love You Got is debatably more streamlined, it doesn’t lack any less of a punch as something like Jeanette on her last LP did — if anything, it packs in even more!
If you were to draw any connections, the first taste of Kelly Lee Owens’ fourth LP has more in common with her Jon Hopkins collab from 2022 — both being pulsating, poppy bops whose powerful, bassy production will leave you windswept and very interested.
Best Bit: If you’re going to sing about “pure euphoria” then you owe us an outro like this that puts Kelly’s money where her mouth is.
01 Patterns
Laura Marling
By all accounts — re: what my Mum has told me — being a parent is one of the most fulfilling and beautiful duties life can bestow upon you.
And in equal measure, it can be an existential minefield that puts you face to face with your most consuming fears and worries where you question your actions every step of the way.
Laura Marling is no stranger to discussing parenthood — given her 2020 album Song For Our Daughter was written for a fictional child— but Patterns might be her best exploration of the topic yet.
With her newfound status as a mother in tow, Marling touches on watching your child slowly adhere to the world around them, what they might gain and lose along the way and what that says about your own journey in expectedly majestic fashion.
And with such stunning production behind her — littered with ambient noises of wildlife and nature — Patterns is the kind of heart-to-heart that is nothing short of healing.
Best Bit: The harmonising of Marling’s ever-splendid vocals and the equally stunning woodwind at the 2:16 and 3:27 marks might just be the most gorgeous musical moments of 2024.
You can check out all the songs I chatted about today, as well as some additional picks in my expanded Spotify playlist here:
Thank you for reading all the way through! If you want to stay up to date with my thoughts on music (and beyond) then make sure to follow me on here and Instagram as well as sign up for email alerts — I hope you’re having an amazing August!
Want to get more music recommendations? Check out May and June’s editions!
