The Underrateds/Honorable Mentions
A few weeks ago, amid the mass migration of well-intentioned lefties from Twitter to Bluesky, I promised that I'd let my thousandth follower on the latter platform select the topic of an upcoming newsletter. To one Andy Steiner's credit, they picked a very easy prompt that I was already semi-planning on writing myself: "hit me with an edition about 10 of your fav albums of the year that you think are unlikely to make The Big Publication Lists."
I did something similar halfway through 2024, so in the spirit of diversity and freshness, I'm selecting 10 completely different albums and EPs here. I found many, but not all, of them in the very inbox from which this newsletter takes its name. In lieu of additional inbox selections this week, I'm just gonna throw all 10 featured songs in the playlist, because they all slap.
Stay tuned for at least one bigger year-end, wrap-up type newsletter before 2025 hits.
abriction - Banshee
March's Banshee is 80 minutes long and it does a little bit of everything. from black metal to screamo to ambient to pop-punk to dream pop to whatever you'd call this absolute banger. abriction is the solo project of 21-year-old Meredith Salvatori, and it's all I've been listening to in the past week. I should have more to say about her latest EP, So Far Away In Time..., very soon.
AyooLii, FearDorian & POLO PERKS <3 <3 <3 - A Dog's Chance
This album opens with a raucous track called "Rainbow" that samples Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's recognizable "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World," and it only gets more unabashedly silly from there. A Milwaukee/NYC/Atlanta summit taking place over one-or-two bar flips of the most unexpected samples, this is the most fun 30 minutes of the year.
Being Dead - EELS
Okay, EELS actually wound up on Pitchfork's year-end list, but I'd never heard of these Austin weirdos until they appeared in my inbox earlier this year! Spindly, acid-fried rock with deadpan boy-girl harmonies—whether this came out in 1986 or 2086, it would slap.
Ben Seretan - Allora
If the previous album is psychedelic in a frantic, overwhelming way, Allora is on the opposite end of the trippy spectrum: grounded-yet-transcendent.
Bibi Club - Feu de garde
A French Canadian duo who sound like Stereolab with a more jagged post-punk edge. Assez dit—that's "enough said" in French.
Careen - Cycle 3 EP
Lil bit of nepotism here, but Washington's finest post-hardcore band of the 2020s just keep getting heavier, wilder, and ultimately, better.
Lutalo - The Academy
Wooly indie rock from Vermont that nails the comforting but also depressing vibe of grey rainy days.
Mariposa - INFRAMUNDO EP
The first time I heard Bad Bunny he reminded me of Future. This Colombian-Italian singer is the Spanish-language Young Thug.
Molina - When You Wake Up
ML Buch's Suntub received a smattering of acclaim when it came out in late 2023, but its impact has had a longer tail throughout the following year. Danish contemporaries/collaborators Astrid Sonne and Molina both released their own albums in 2024, and while I prefer the latter's slightly more upbeat vibe, the country's "uncanny valley" ambient-pop scene is fascinating however you slice it.
ZAYALLCAPS - iMessage Platinum: Hosted by autotuneKaraoke
LA's ZAYALLCAPS has a wavy, bubblegummy sound that's as catchy as it is disorienting. The title iMessage Platinum: Hosted by autotuneKaraoke says it all, as does "Accordian"'s flip of a song by another beloved rapper who stylized his name without lowercase letters.
All Inbox Infinity picks are available in playlist form via Apple Music and Spotify.