AP's top under-the-radar albums of 2024: Mabe Fratti, Arooj Aftab, Blood Incantation and more

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This combination of album cover images shows, top row from left, Across the Tracks by Boldy James & Conductor Williams, Psykos by Yung Lean and Bladee, "Sentir Que No Sabes" by Mabe Fratti, Night Reign by Arooj Aftab, Great Doubt by Astrid Sonne, bottom row from left, Absolute Elsewhere by Blood Incantation, "Diamond Jubliee" by Cindy Lee, Dunya by Mustafa, "Being Dead" by EELS and Still" by Erika de Casier. (Near Mint/World Affairs/Unheard of Hope/Verve/Escho/Century Media/Realistik Studios/Jagjaguwar/Bayonet/4AD via AP)

NEW YORK ā€“ At the end of every year, when critics rush to compile their best of the year lists, great art inevitably gets overlooked. A top 10 list doesn't leave a lot of room for discovery and, in music, that sometimes means the most innovative records lose out to make room for other titles. In this list, The Associated Press attempts to rectify that.

Here are 10 of the top under-the-radar albums of the year, in no particular order, as chosen by AP Music Writer Maria Sherman.

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ā€œStill,ā€ Erika de Casier

In a just world, Portuguese-born Danish singer Erika de Casier would be one of the biggest names in pop, for her retro-futuristic R&B deeply informed by the Y2K greats of the not-so-distant past. Itā€™s hard not to hear Aaliyah or Jennifer Lopez or Janet Jackson in her breathy vocal storytelling, but her songs are not simply nostalgic. They shapeshift in the inclusion of '90s U.K. garage production (ā€œEx-Girlfriendā€ with Charli XCX collaborator Shygirl) or her creative collaborations, like on ā€œiceā€ with Florida rap duo They Hate Change.

ā€œPsykos,ā€ Yung Lean and Bladee

One-fourth of the rap collective Drain Gang ā€” thatā€™s Bladee (pronounced ā€œBladeā€) ā€” and emo rap prodigy Yung Lean teamed up for the surprise release ā€œPsykosā€ earlier this year, a genre-allergic, rock-infused hip-hop collection of depressive pop. It's a fatalistic record for a lost, moony generation, and it may take a few listens for these Swedes to connect. But once their music does, it sounds like a surrealist document on the current moment.

ā€œDunya,ā€ Mustafa

Sudanese Canadian singer Mustafaā€™s ā€œDunyaā€ (which translates from Arabic to ā€œthe worldā€) hits like ancient folkloric tradition and sounds like poetry. (Itā€™s Mustafa The Poet, after all, though heā€™s also scored writing credits for the likes of The Weeknd,Shawn Mendes,Camila Cabello and the Jonas Brothers.) Heā€™s said the album works to ā€œpreserve and celebrate the ordinary life in the hood,ā€ what is delicately and purposefully articulated across vignettes of love, loss and his native Toronto. ā€œLeaving Toronto,ā€ specifically, is a tearjerker ā€” a touching tribute to his city and his late brother, who was shot and killed last year.

ā€œNight Reign,ā€ Arooj Aftab

Pakistani American astral folk-jazz artist Arooj Aftab is celebrated in certain circles and lacks visibility in others: Sheā€™s a Grammy winner who has been nominated the past three years in a row and is up for two more in 2025. Sheā€™s performed at the White House. Earlier this month, she delivered an evocative set on ā€œThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert,ā€ a welcomed disruption from the kinds of artists who normally grace American late-night television. But she's far from a household name, more likely to be your favorite artist's favorite artist. Whatever the case, her fourth album is a testament to her greatness. ā€œNight Reignā€ combines cultures and genres for a gorgeous matrimony.

ā€œEels,ā€ Being Dead

Those who declare there are no rock ā€™nā€™ roll bands anymore arenā€™t listening closely enough. Enter Austin weirdos Being Dead, whose sophomore album ā€œEelsā€ is an asymmetrical collection of egg punk, Devo-worship, a recording of a bus driver who has had enough, psychedelic harmonies and various other oddball sensibilities that make them the best college radio rock band in recent history. And if that isnā€™t enough to convince a nonbeliever, the proof is in the pudding ā€” or in this case, the producer: Grammy winner John Congleton (St. Vincent, Tegan and Sara) took the reins on the 16-track collection. And his co-sign means something.

ā€œAcros

s the Tracks,ā€ Boldy James & Conductor Williams

Detroit rapper Boldy James often works by finding a single ā€” and singular ā€” producer with whom he works closely for an album of distinction. This year, heā€™s found a partner in Kansas City producer Conductor Williams for ā€œAcross the Tracks,ā€ a dreamy, loop-heavy record of rap excellence. Itā€™s right there from the jump. Intro ā€œTerms and Conditionsā€ is stuffed with vintage, soulful sensibilities and undeniable bars. ā€œWas taught to always be the message I bring / Pulled the sword from the stone,ā€ he delivers in his cool monotone. ā€œCould never compete / They know the flow is rather unique (blocks) / I kept the receipts.ā€

ā€œSentir Que No Sabes,ā€ Mabe Fratti

In a time where celebrity musicians strive to appear like they avoid categorization, Guatemala-born, Mexico City-based cellist Mabe Fratti lives it. Her album, ā€œSentir Que No Sabesā€ (ā€œFeel Like You Donā€™t Knowā€), thrives in the uncertainty of its title. Her inventive compositions contort her chosen instrument, as well as horns and drums and pianos, into something resembling free-form jazz. Or is it post-punk pop? Experimental electro-folk? These are never quite dissonant compositions, but they are unusual, askew. Language loses out here, and itā€™s a wonderful thing.

ā€œAbsolute Elsewhere,ā€ Blood Incantation

It is a failure of imagination that ā€œbest ofā€ music lists often fail to account for metal and its subgenres, despite consistently being one of the most popular musical forms the world over. But sometimes a metal album is too grand to ignore. That is the case with American death metal band Blood Incantation, whose fourth studio album ā€œAbsolute Elsewhereā€ stunned even the genre's most transitory listeners for its prog rock spirit, synth detouring, playful kraut teases, hardened blast beats and throat-ripping vocals. Itā€™s cinematic.

ā€œGreat Doubt,ā€ Astrid Sonne

There's something in the water in Denmark. In 2024, some of the most exciting singer-songwriters hailed from the Scandinavian country: ML Buch and Clarissa Connelly, as well as de Casier. But itā€™s the folk and classical songs of Astrid Sonneā€™s ā€œGreat Doubtā€ that truly struck a chord with us. It answers the question: What would a classically trained composer making experimental, haunted pop music with detuned pianos and woodwinds and flutes and brass actually sound like? Great, it turns out.

ā€œDiamond Jubilee,ā€ Cindy Lee

The emergence of Cindy Lee has been described as the result of ā€œanti-hype,ā€ an Internet neologism that doesn't mean much more than ā€œlimited publicity inspired intrigue.ā€ Lee ā€” the drag alter ego of Womenā€™s Patrick Flegel, a fixture of Canadian indie rock since the early 2010s ā€” originally released this lo-fi gem as an unmarked YouTube link. ā€œDiamond Jubileeā€ resonated with avid, curious listeners ā€” the kind undeterred by the fact that listening to this album, at one point in time, meant sitting down with all two hours and 32 minutes of it. But itā€™s Leeā€™s ambitious and expansive psych and garage rock that kept them coming back.


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