Swim Into The Sound's 2024 Song Showdown

(Editor’s Note: for maximum impact, please read this introduction in your best wrestling announcer voice)

Folks, it’s been a long, emotional year, but it’s all been building to this: Swim Into The Sound’s 2024 Song Showdown. This is a knock-down, drag-out, no-holds-barred, bare-knuckle brawl for the title of 2024’s best song. Many a hope and dream will be shattered today as only a single, shining beacon of collective agreement can be awarded the fame, the fortune, and the title of Swim Into The Sound’s 2024 Song Showdown Champion.

36 songs enter, only one leaves. These tracks are ready to hop in the ring to see who comes out on top. It’s a royal rumble of epic proportions, and we’re getting the privilege of watching it unfold live right here, right now. So grab your popcorn, listen along, and enjoy as the greatest artists of the year go head-to-head for your entertainment.


36 | Linkin Park – The Emptiness Machine

Coming back from your lead singer’s death is a challenge that few bands have undertaken without alienating their audience. As such, Linkin Park’s first single with new vocalist Emily Armstrong, “The Emptiness Machine,” had a lot to prove. Cleverly, this one starts with bandleader Mike Shinoda taking vocals, reminding fans that this is still the Linkin Park they know and love before Armstrong comes in half a minute later to make her first impression. It’s an introduction that works for me; impactful as if to say that, although things will be different now, it’s all being done in honor of the legacy that’s been established. Throughout the song, you can feel that it was written eight years ago, intended for the late Chester Bennington, and it lands as a reminder that death need not be the end of all things good.
- Noëlle Midnight


35 | HiTech – SPANK!

I’ve mostly listened to NTS Radio this year and have fallen in love with it. I’ve had a lot of fun learning about house, techno, and all the subtle subgenres. “SPANK!” is the ghettotech hit of 2024 and represents all of what I’ve been listening to most of my days this past year. It is sticky, manic, and, above all, a perfect embodiment of modern electronic music.
- Kirby Kluth


34 | Charli xcx – Girl, so confusing featuring Lorde

Easily one of the most noteworthy collabs of the year, Charli xcx and Lorde linked up to work it out on the remix of this mid-album BRAT cut, and things were never the same again. Perhaps it was hearing Lorde over a synth-pop beat for the first time in years, perhaps it was hearing these two speak honestly about the way society pits women against each other, perhaps it’s just a humanizing look at two of my generation’s greatest popstars, but “Girl, so confusing featuring Lorde” made me weepy, and I think that’s beautiful.
- Taylor Grimes


33 | Katie Gavin – Inconsolable

MUNA’s frontwoman takes a breather from windows-down, upbeat, synthed-out queer anthems to deliver a tender and thoughtful 90’s-ified solo effort. Among the many highlights, “Inconsolable” elevates Gavin’s unshakeable vocals (and violin playing) on a cloud. “We’re from a long line of people we’d describe as inconsolable. We don’t know how to be helped. We’re from a whole huddle of households full of beds where nobody cuddled. We don’t know how to be held” has lived in the front of my brain since the moment I heard it.
- Caleb Doyle


32 | Charli xcx – 360

The conceit of Charli xcx’s “360” is simple: everywhere you turn, there she is. For an entire season of 2024, that was true. BRAT achieved an omnipresence seemingly unachievable in our fractured cultural landscape, and outside of all the post-post-irony and the chartreuse low-bit memes and the wilted coconut trees, its success came from the fact that it’s very first track is just that good. Impeccably produced (by A.G. Cook, Cirkut, and Easyfun) and tonally potent, its synthetic bounce and infectious melodic pattern - so sugary, so sour - destined it to be stuck in the heads of seemingly everyone with a pulse. It makes you wish pop weren’t so damn ephemeral, but I guess that’s also what makes it so Julia.
- Rob Moura


31 | Magdalena Bay – That’s My Floor

We all know it’s been a year for Mag Bay: a TikTok explosion, a Grimes feature, a Jimmy Kimmel spot. They seem to be getting a whiff of the Tame Impala treatment as far as psychedelic rock-meets-hyperpop is concerned. While “Image” is the single getting all the attention, I’d argue the song of the year is tucked away on the Imaginal Disk B-side. Equal parts prog rock grit, psych jam, and pure electronic soundscape, “That’s My Floor” brings together everything wonderful about Magdalena Bay and ties it all up in three and a half iconic minutes. It’s a song that can soundtrack everything from the first day of grad school to the ride home from a tougher-than-usual therapy appointment (confirmed through personal experience). Also, for what it’s worth, Album Cover of the Year.
- Cassidy Sollazzo


30 | Kabin Crew – The Spark

The last quarter of this year has been so abysmal and apocalyptic that some people may have forgotten that a group of Irish schoolchildren composed one of the most joyous and uplifting grime rap songs of 2024. Created as part of the Rhyme Island Initiative, celebrating the National Day of Youth Creativity, “The Spark” is a two-and-a-half minute b a n g e r, with several kids getting a few bars each that could go toe to toe with any underground posse cut this year. Lines like “If you’re proud of who you are and what you do, shout it” and “I create my own way of feeling super slay” feel like evergreen mantras we could all use in our lives these days.
- Logan Archer Mounts


29 | Foxing – Hell 99

Few moments in music this year have been as electrifying as the first ten seconds of “Hell 99” by Foxing. The track is a downright hardcore rager from the St. Louis indie rockers, a bone-jolting pivot that they pull off beautifully as the members excavate all their pain and frustration with the current millennia. Ultimately, nothing captures that cocktail of dread and dismay better than screaming along, “FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!!!”
- Taylor Grimes


28 | Rosali – Rewind

In its best moments, love erases every regret, worry, stressor, and annoyance. It feels like you can time travel through your life and off into the infinite unknown. For five minutes, Rosali captures that very feeling on “Rewind” with high-flying vocals and a beautiful chorus that encases love in amber and traps it in the groove of a vinyl record. 
- Taylor Grimes


27 | Superchunk - Everybody Dies

"Everybody Dies" dropped all the way back in January, and after a year of listening to great new releases, I still haven't found a better-sounding chorus. It's a track that shows Superchunk aren't just relevant for their influence; they're still right in the thick of things, consistently proving themselves to be one of the best guitar bands going. Julio Franco-type longevity. Long live Superchunk.
- Josh Ejnes


26 | Blood Incantation – The Message

If you’ve participated in any online music community in the last five years, or you’re just a big old nerd like me, you’re at least tangentially aware of Blood Incantation. If not in name, then at least by their now iconic unreadable logo, one of the best of the modern death metal era. The Denver progressive death metal band seems to turn more heads with every new release, and their latest Absolute Elsewhere is no different. Anchored by two 20+ minute, album-side-length, multi-movement tracks, Blood Incantation cements their place as master purveyors of their craft. Absolute Elsewhere’s second half, “The Message,” has everything you want, from blistering metal passages to David Gilmour-inspired swells, and it’s all topped off with a collaboration with Tangerine Dream’s current lineup. You can listen to it broken up into three chunks, but I guarantee once Part I begins, you’ll be convinced to finish the whole piece.
- Logan Archer Mounts


25 | Ok Cowgirl – Larry David

Ok Cowgirl start this song with the couplet “Everything is fucked / To the left to the right,” and that’s a phrase I found myself coming back to time and time again throughout the back half of the year. With production from Alex Fararr and a video that sees the band members donning gray-haired bald caps, “Larry David” spins everyday frustration into something more good-natured because if we can’t laugh, what else is there?
- Taylor Grimes


24 | Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us

From the over-the-top costumes to trash talk, hip-hop and wrestling go hand in hand. The great rap war of 2024, Kendrick vs. Drake, ignited an unbridled jolt of electricity to the genre. Sparking one of the most celebrated diss song finishing moves of all time in “Not Like Us.” Kendrick, with sharpshooter-like precision, lyrically assaulted the biggest brand name in hip-hop with a vicious anthem that made his opponent tap out almost instantly from humiliation. The cultural impact, plus the overall entertainment of the song, became sweet chin music to my ears. 
- David Williams 


23 | Combat – Stay Golden

Maybe I just live close to Baltimore. Maybe my keys are on a Text Me When You Get Back keychain. Maybe I am biased because I reviewed the damn album, but for the love of god, how many times do I have to say it? Broken-hearted kids don’t party like their parents did in the 90s!!!!! Combat utterly tore out of the gates with the titular single off their album, Stay Golden. This is a cartoon tornado of a song, a total jangly rush that feels like space and time are ripping apart around me. It’s an immediate anthem for jaded Gen Zers like yours truly and an absolute barnstormer at any live gig (this is me telling you that you have to see Combat live). And if you don’t listen to me, that hurts, but at least I still got my Black Flag t-shirt.
- Caro Alt


22 | Truman Finnell – Palm of Thorns

I love all forms of weird, vaguely unsettling media, from Wes Anderson’s films to Ray Bradbury’s short stories, and “Palm of Thorns” by Portland artist Truman Finnell fits neatly into that niche. The song paints a visceral image of meeting someone in an orchard, highlighting the rotten fruit on the ground “writhing with larvae” as it starts to “move on its own.” The music is a skillfully woven blend of delicate acoustic guitar, field recordings, and elements of genres such as ambient, folk, and skramz. Each listen reveals another layer of the strange, fantastic, and eerie world of Truman Finnell - and I simply can’t get enough.
- Britta Joseph


21 | Merce Lemon – Will You Do Me A Kindness

Suspiciously left off Watch Me Drive Them Dogs Wild, Merce Lemon released “Will You Do Me A Kindness” as a standalone single early on in the year, perhaps because she knew the six-minute track was a meal all its own. This song signaled an immediate level-up from Merce’s previous work, a naturalistic indie rock update, complete with a guitar solo that incinerates me every time I hear it. Point the sun right into my flesh, baby. 
- Taylor Grimes


20 | Merce Lemon – Backyard Lover

To a dude like me, the backyard is a holy place. I spent most of the summer back at my parent’s house in Oregon. I’d get off work, sit in a big, red Adirondack chair, crack a book, stare at the clouds, and enjoy a smoke or a beer while listening to Merce Lemon’s singles. It was a calming way to unplug from work, center myself, and reflect on the day. The slow-simmering build and searing guitarwork of “Backyard Lover” proved to be an utterly transfixing way to score these moments of internal peace. The backyard is abundant, and so is the world.
- Taylor Grimes


19 | Geordie Greep – Holy, Holy

On August 10th of this year, Geordie Greep announced the split of black midi with an unceremonious series of comments on an Instagram livestream: “No more black midi / It’s over / Over.” Ten days later, he released “Holy, Holy.” Recorded in Sao Paulo with an impressive cast of Brazilian musicians, Greep’s narrator puts on the guise of a swaggering womanizer. He’s a confident man! He’s a regular here, but he’s well-traveled and debonair! He fucks more than he breathes, and the whole world knows it, too! And then, over the jazz-rock, salsa-inflected, horn-dense instrumental, he draws back the curtain in a litany of instructions and entreaties to his unnamed partner. Can you kneel down all night so I look taller? Would that be all right? Can you meet me in the bathroom, he pleads, can you put your hand on my knee? “How much will that cost? How much will that cost?” 
- John Dietz


18 | Lily Seabird – Waste

Blessed with an Adrianne Lenker-like timbre and the heft of a shoegaze superstar, Lily Seabird taps into some immortal melody with “Waste,” crafting a colossal and crushing track that never fails to mystify me no matter how many times I listen to it—a lament for the ages.
- Taylor Grimes


17 | Jimmy Montague – Here Today (Without You Tomorrow)

Jimmy Montague’s effortlessly complex and effusive arrangements rarely sound as cool as they do on “Here Today (Without You Tomorrow).” With a propulsive piano pushing it forward, the song feels like running through an endless series of hallways, sure that each new door will lead to some sort of resolution. Like Royal Scam-era Steely Dan, this yacht rocker takes on an ominous tone as Mr. Montague chases – or runs from – a long-distance breakup. This song is so good that I don’t even mind that it has a wah-wah guitar solo – and I fucking hate wah-wah. 
- Joshua Sullivan


16 | The Civil War in France – Maybe Next Time…

Chiptune isn’t nostalgic for me. I have no memories of Pokemon Silver's soundtrack, despite it being my first video game, because the volume on my Gameboy was always off out of fear my dad would tell me to shut it down. Today, when I want to play Halo, I ask my girlfriend if it’s okay because I don’t want to make her put in headphones, deprive her of access to the TV, or make her go to the other room. I have never wanted to be in the way of someone else’s desires, even if it deprived me of what I wanted or needed. It’s why I relate to Evangelion’s Shinji and why “Maybe next time…” from The Civil War in France’s There You Are ! is one of my favorite songs of the year. When Eva Hammersla screams, “So maybe I’ll try harder to be a better person / so maybe then I’ll be, I’ll be happy with me,” I want to turn back time and raise the volume slider for little Lillian. Maybe then she’d advocate for herself.
- Lillian Weber


15 | Jeff’s World – Someday

You ever spend a day scrolling through the digital morass, watching the soulless husks that run the planet bloviate, fuck things up, rinse and repeat? You ever feel that gnawing feeling you’re powerless to stop it all? Appetite waning, thoughts racing, not enough beer in the world to drown the endless flurry of sounds and images fighting for your attention? Sometimes, the only solution is to let it all out, and on “Someday,” Jeff’s World offer up three minutes of primal scream therapy. For what it’s worth, I hope the Kool-Aid served at the end of the world is blue. 
- Jason Sloan


14 | Carpool – Thom Yorke New City

“That’s why I try to keep the bottle half full” is a perfect summation of Carpool’s mixture of sad-sack neuroticism and unabashed sentimentality. “Thom Yorke New City” rounds out their excellent LP My Life In Subtitles, wraps up everything you know about Carpool so far, and hints at the shape of ‘pool to come with its dime-turn structure. Extra points for the blissed-out post-rock bridge, reprising the opening track to give a sense of distance traveled. It also just rocks real hard. 
- Joshua Sullivan 


13 | Florist – Riding Around In The Dark

“Riding Around In The Dark” effortlessly arrives partway through I Saw the TV Glow, rising like the moonglow reflected off neon pink chalk caked on the driveway. Emily Sprague and company summon the brief apocalypse of twilight, faces coming and going, burbling electronics shrouding gentle strums. There’s a glum mundanity to the way they sing of the world’s end, blushing with awe and fear. Without changing up their familiar naturalism, Florist still conjure vibrant, nostalgic sounds.
- aly eleanor


12 | MJ Lenderman – Pianos

“Pianos” might be the saddest song MJ Lenderman has ever written. The track was included as one of the 136 that make up Cardinals At The Window, a benefit compilation whose proceeds go to Hurricane Helene relief in Western NC. Released just a month after Manning Fireworks, it’s unlikely that Lenderman planned to release this song so soon, but truth be told, I’d take “Pianos” over just about any song on that album’s B-side. Sonically, it’s a somber, slow-walking reflection that builds to a searching, meditative guitar solo. Structurally, the song’s 8-minute runtime harkens back to the laid-back ramble of Lenderman’s self-titled album. Essentially, he gives the listener enough time to ponder, wander, freak out, have an epiphany, cry, and then gently return to earth with a newfound direction. 
- Taylor Grimes


11 | Fontaines DC – Favourite

Did you know I could claim the dreamer from the dream? Hot off the panting, Korn-inspired, anxiety attack that is “Starburster,” Fontaines DC released “Favourite,” another experimental single off their new album, Romance. This time, instead of capturing a new sound, Ireland’s hottest rock band tried to capture a new feeling. Originally 12 verses but cut back to 4, “Favourite” is an attempt at a truly endless love song. It’s trancey, it’s circular, and it’s as desperate as it is sentimental. They swear up and down that they didn’t want to create the next “Champagne Supernova,” but would it be so bad if they did? I’ve listened to it like 200 times, according to last.fm. 
- Caro Alt


10 | Ther – a wish

I have a sincere hope that godzilla isn’t the final album from Philadalephia’s Heather Jones. Their faith-damaged introspections and gorgeous wordplay find a noisier yet no less ornate home on “a wish,” the first track and lead single. It’s a pristine encapsulation of a wandering mind, hopeful and determined to field whatever the dawn may throw at us.
- aly eleanor


9 | This Is Lorelei – Dancing In The Club

I love songs about dancing. I love songs with inventive instrumentation. I love Nate Amos, better known as This Is Lorelei. “Dancing In The Club” was the first single released for the first genuine This Is Lorelei album, and I can’t think of a better introduction to the project. A song about fucking up, being a loser, and giving all your diamonds away. Infinitely relatable.
- Taylor Grimes


8 | SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE – 1/500

I was hooked on SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE’s “1/500” immediately upon hearing the opening notes – a looping intro that segues into hypnotic layers of guitar and pulsing drums. Compared to the rest of their catalog, “1/500” is a fairly straightforward indie pop song, but many of the band’s signature touches are present and help the track stand out. The often-anxious delivery of vocalist Zack Schwartz and abrupt starts and stops from the rhythm section are contrasted with loud, catchy melodies. There’s an almost sinister tension underlying the music, and at times it pierces through the traditional elements with dissonance or the sudden absence of noise. I believe one of the marks of a great band is the ability to write accessible pop songs while staying true to their sound, and SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE does that and more here.
- Nick Miller


7 | bonus – Lose

I checked out “Lose” back in February because of a tweet claiming that Bonus sounded like an emo version of Liquid Mike. I was initially dubious of the claim (despite the poster’s clarification that he wasn’t on some bullshit), but it was very accurate. I’ve had “Cuz I’ve been waiting for so long for you to let go” playing repeatedly in my head ever since. I think the term “rips” has been a bit overused lately, and propose that this song be put in the dictionary as the prime example of what rippage really means. Going to make a supercut of skate clips and Pavel Datsyuk highlights set to it, which I assume will make my phone explode. Just thinking about the guitar sound gets me so hyped. Great song. 
- Josh Ejnes


6 | Cheem – Charm Bracelet

The monarchs of Nu-Pop Cheem came out swinging with their second single of the year, “Charm Bracelet.” Equal parts bubbly fun and heavy-hitting hooks, I can't think of another song from this year that pulls me in quite like this one. Every time I hear the buttery production and seemingly endless sonic layers, I find myself smashing the replay button before the song is even finished playing. Cheem has this natural ability to meld together the warm feelings of nostalgia with the effortlessly cool swagger of the cutting edge, and “Charm Bracelet” is the shiniest example of that marriage. Running short of even two minutes, “Charm Bracelet” proves you don't need a lengthy song to make a lasting impact.
- Ciara Rhiannon


5 | MJ Lenderman – She’s Leaving You

“It falls apart. We all got work to do.” Brother, ain’t that the truth. The lead single to MJ Lenderman’s breakthrough record isn’t just great because of the humanity that hides at its center; it’s great because it delivers that revelation in one of the best choruses I’ve heard all year and then tags it with a rockin’ guitar solo for good measure. Its story is a universal cautionary tale of selfishness and love gone wrong, the exact type of thing that goes down easier when it’s delivered in a Trojan Horse of 90s-influenced slacker rock. 
- Taylor Grimes


4 | Ethel Cain – For Sure

If you were to look at me, round glasses, black jeans, and corduroy button-up, you’d probably guess (correctly) that American Football’s self-titled record really did a number on me in high school. It’s clear the same can be said for Hayden Anhedönia, better known as Ethel Cain, who transforms “For Sure” into a transcendental 10-minute slowcore sprawl that allows even more beauty to seep through the cracks. While that sounds like a far walk for a simple Midwest Emo song, it recontextualizes the work of both artists, exalting a tale of uncertain love into a territory that’s more holy than it has any right to be.
- Taylor Grimes


3 | One Step Closer - Leap Years

One does not simply drop a song on February 29th just to let it drift away in the winds of time, especially when “Leap Years” is about just that. One Step Closer brings a whirlwind of throttling instrumentation fit for a mosh pit and passionate lyrics with a special co-writing credit from the legendary Mat Kerekes, complete with a fantastic tempo shift during the outro to take the song home. There’s really nobody crushing the melodic hardcore game like One Step Closer.
- Samuel Leon


2 | Braino – Unkind

Who doesn’t love an underdog story? “Unkind” is one of six total songs this LA group has ever made in their short, sporadic life, and it’s one of the best things I’ve heard in 2024. It is a beautifully gentle composition of uncomplicated piano and guitar, coupled with soft percussion and layered vocals—A.K.A., indie as all hell. The song is a constant internal monologue, with unhelpful thoughts taking up space and the feeling of losing ground after a positive change. I think we want to believe that we can wake up one day and be different, but the reality is it takes months or years to train ourselves to be more like our ideal selves. This song is a gorgeous lullaby to rock yourself to sleep to, placed somewhere on your journey after a backslide into nasty habits and just before a brave step forward.
- Braden Allmond


1 | Waxahatchee – Right Back To It

“Right Back To It” is timeless. Featuring a spellbinding banjo, classically confessional Crutchfield lyrics, and complete with an MJ Lenderman feature that frames the song as a loving (possibly treacherous) duet, it already feels like this melody has been in my life for decades. The music video is just as serene as we watch the two alt-country superstars float down the river in a pontoon boat, serenading the world as it passes by. This is the type of song that makes me happy to be alive, the type of chorus I’ll be singing for as long as I’m kicking around, the kind of art other musicians spend their entire lives working towards. “Right Back To It” is four and a half minutes that will live for eternity. 
- Taylor Grimes

Cut Apart, Pieced Together Again: The Handcrafted Music of Truman Finnell

Ask anyone, and they’ll probably agree that being online constantly isn’t good for you: it’s all too easy to waste hours scrolling and switching from app to app. However, there are a few things that make the internet worth it, especially if you’re a music nerd like me. One of those things is exposure to artists and musicians so underground it’s by pure luck that you ever come across them. That’s how I discovered Truman Finnell, a creative based in Portland, Oregon. My bandmate sent me Truman’s profile on Instagram to show me his brilliant collage art. I was immediately drawn to his work, but as I scrolled his page, I noticed he also made music. ‘Cool, I thought and made a mental note to check him out later. Later came around, and I put on his most recent album, Fischer + Agnes, to discover that it was incredible. I was enchanted. Truman’s music is much like his artwork: a collage of magical riffs, toy-instrument synths, and fuzzed-out guitars that create a rich landscape full of depth and secrets.

And it begins to tear, by Truman Finnell

Prior to releasing his two albums, Truman started to compose his dream world with a series of delicately evocative singles. His earliest song, “Carpet Patterns,” was released in 2020, and this track proves from the very beginning that Truman’s art and music are inexorably linked. A variety of samples, instruments, and textures pull the listener in like Alice through Truman’s looking glass – we are in Wonderland, and every song is a delightfully eerie creation. Haunting imagery adorns the dioramas of his songs: in “The Black of the Geese,” Truman quavers through layers of his own voice, “Go out ye fisherman, I’ve strung five hearts to a fractured ring tied twice to trees appendages.” We, as the listener, are hesitant – scared, even – to step into the scene, but cannot stop ourselves from looking.

Finnell’s first full-length album from 2021, The Mountains and the Lake, is a haunting ode to sadness - wistful vocals reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens grace tracks with heartfelt acoustic guitar and warm layers of synth. Truman has created a melancholic yet cozy record that feels like staying home on a snow day with a mug of tea that somehow never gets cold. “Milktooth,” my favorite track on the album, is a bizarre experience that reminds me of how it feels to wake up at 2 am, half-dreaming and fully disoriented. The track begins with eerily distorted vocals, and as it progresses, things feel more and more like a dream as pitch-bending lends instability and a sense of dread: “Little train / slithering snake / shed your scales / in the union station / and I will try mine / in the hollering woods / of Abruzzi Italy” screams Truman, over rhythm so thunderous and eager that it trips over itself in a surge of emotion. Later in the album, he examines grief and remorse in “Bill.” On the song, Bill, Finnell’s uncle, asks him, “Nephew, don’t you think of me so often? Or / was my impression but as deep dug as my coffin? / Aren’t the roots below / just a reflection of the branches above? / Don’t the nightingale / sound a bit like the mourning dove?” 

Pressed Between Pages Unread, by Truman Finnell

Truman continues to tenderly construct a delicate collage on his next album, 2022’s Fischer + Agnes, soaking his soundscape with darker hues and gentle riffs that skip across the ear. If his first album felt like staying in, this one feels like having the courage to step out the front door and take a walk in the woods. “Shaved Head” is an aching and painful breath as Truman murmurs softly to himself, 

The mirror that held the self begins to melt
beneath the cleaners constellation
that I spread in hopes to disinfect
the oils from my fingers gathered
thick enough to linger through the
mornings measured nothing
once they’re preened
of all their smudges.

I’m reminded of the seminal scene from The Royal Tenenbaums where Luke Wilson faces himself in a mirror and, stricken with heartbreak, shaves his head while Elliott Smith plays in the background. While much of this album is calm and dark, the final track, “Pliers,” is reminiscent of the indie scene of the 2000s. The song is instrumentally exuberant like Regina Spektor and full of heavy pain like Bon Iver. “I know there’s a night like a key / on a ring you rely on to guide your thumb / to the right one to get you inside the house / And the pull that you felt for a life overrun by the songs that you hum never left / It sits chirping on your office desk.” We are left wondering, ‘Is this song about me? What night is my own key on a ring?’ while lush strings shimmer around us and fade into darkness.

To bring his discography current, Truman ushers in springtime with his latest song, “Palm of Thorns,” a gorgeous single in anticipation of an EP to be released later in 2024. Compared to his previous work, “Palm of Thorns” feels more experimental and avant-garde. Truman paints a picture of a lonely orchard, misty and damp, backed by the ambiance of crashing waves and murmuring frogs. “In the garden the apple is starting to move on its own / fallen, writhing with larvae / now clusters of mammals approach but don’t dare to push snout to the fruit, / bring a flame to its candle.” We are not alone here, for in the next breath, another joins us in the orchard: “But you / with drool on your face / and a bushel of apples pressed into your waist / just laughed […].” As I listen, it feels as though I’m watching cloudy memories through a View-Master, moving from snapshot to snapshot with erratic fingers. While the song begins with sparse instrumentation, it quickly builds through layers of synth and guitar, and Truman’s signature skramz vocals lend searing beauty to this melancholy landscape. I am loath to abandon the orchard, but dusk is upon us, and we must leave the figures here in silence. 

While I can’t always travel to the forest or the rocky coasts of the Pacific Northwest, Truman Finnell’s music is the next best escape. It will transport you to a quiet meadow, spotted with mossy groves of redwoods and deep, damp shadows. Wander through his elaborate collages of sound and part the branches to spot spirits of the forest, dancing in groves strung with bleeding hearts and haunted by the call of the mourning dove. Magic is real, and it lives forever here.


Britta Joseph is a musician and artist who, when she isn’t listening to records or deep-diving emo archives on the internet, enjoys writing poetry, reading existential literature, and a good iced matcha. You can find her on Instagram @brittajoes.