Danielsen: From Beyonce to Pedro the Lion, these records defined 2024's first half

The second half of 2024 is still unwritten. That reality, true at the midway point of every year, feels especially heavy with an election further down the calendar and sustained violence touching many corners of the world.

On the lighter, musical end of the spectrum, a few known knowns entice: the promise of new records from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Illuminati Hotties and Meshell Ndegeocello. But no doubt, surprise releases and as-yet-unheard material will define the year's second act.

It's good, then, to stop and remember that this has been a strong first half of 2024 for music. Whatever arrives, on any plane, we already have these songs to shore us up.

My favorite records from these first six months have surprised and steadied me — and I look forward to seeing how they work on me over the next six. These 10 albums are listed in alphabetical, not ranked order.

1999 Write the Future, 'Hella'

One of the true, great surprises of the year so far is this sprawling, effervescent hip-hop album from a collective that doesn't advertise its members' identities yet locks hands with prominent guests such as De La Soul, Offset, Ghostface Killah and Busta Rhymes. Weaving R&B, vintage soul, pop, old- and new-school hip-hop together in its production, 1999 Write the Future lives up to its whole name, creating music of great relevance and freshness from a deep, wide history of sound.

Beyonce, 'Cowboy Carter'

The temptation with any Beyonce album is to talk about its capital-letter Importance, rarely mentioning the small glories within these songs. Absolutely, "Cowboy Carter" is a substantial statement, a true masterclass on how all American music is Black music and vice-versa. But don't forget to sing along. "American Requiem" and "Bodyguard," "Daughter," "Spaghetti" and "Ya Ya" — these and more are worthy additions to the canon of one of our generation's greatest.

Bonny Light Horseman, 'Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free'

Everything from this sort of unsung indie-folk supergroup — composed of songwriters Anais Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson and Josh Kaufman — sings, but their third album cements the trio as a 21st-century equivalent to The Band. This double record is somehow elegiac and buoyant, gentle and groovy, shot through with a magnificent musical light.

DIIV, 'Frog in Boiling Water'

At a moment when young listeners are discovering shoegaze through TikTok videos, this Brooklyn band (pronounced "dive") makes an argument for the timeless relevance of dark, dreamy music. DIIV's fourth record wears its inner turmoil on both sleeves with swooning melodies and compelling collisions of guitar.

Frontier Ruckus, 'On the Northline'

Few songwriters capture the past's intrusion on the present — and what it might mean for the future – like Frontier Ruckus bandleader Matthew Milia. (I mean, who else writes lines like this: "But by November 3rd / I learned a brand new word / For 'nothing stays the same' / I rhymed it with her middle name"?)

On the Michigan folk-rock band's first album in seven years, Frontier Ruckus gazes affectionately at the Upper Midwest's people, places and things to see what's decaying, surviving and flourishing.

Good Looks, 'Lived Here for a While'

This Austin band — now frequent True/False Film Fest visitors — keep making records that sound like the idyllic American summer, but grow more complicated the further in you go. "Lived Here for a While" continues an all-killer, no-filler approach and, as you sing and strum an air guitar along, you catch yourself confronted with regret and desire, incisive commentary on our spiritual and political ills and cures — and the ills dressed up and sold like cures.

Marika Hackman, 'Big Sigh'

Spiky and sexy and wonderfully restless, Hackman's newest continues along an arc of deeply immersive experiences masquerading as indie-rock records. The British songwriter makes her own weather and listeners respond with gratitude to being caught in her storm.

King Hannah, 'Big Swimmer'

Something like U2's "The Joshua Tree" by way of Portishead or Slowdive, the Liverpool duo of Hannah Merrick and Craig Whittle recreate the scenes and stories outside their windows — and across the American continent — with mesmeric vocals, full-bodied guitars, and 21st-century Beat lyricism.

Pedro the Lion, 'Santa Cruz'

Since reviving his Pedro the Lion project, songwriter David Bazan has somehow looked back and forward all at once. "Santa Cruz" is his third straight album named for a place (following "Phoenix" and "Havasu"), each of which excavate a period of Bazan's upbringing in order to sift what's worth keeping, what's worth letting go and what's already gone like light matter on the wind. This is a beautiful artistic act of self-awareness and, on "Santa Cruz," it comes with indie-rock textures that no one but Bazan could create.

Bill Ryder-Jones, 'Iechyd Da'

So sublime and bittersweet, the latest from the songwriter behind projects such as The Coral resembles some great undiscovered record from the '70s, taking any number of turns into wordless vocals, pastoral British folk, Pink Floyd-esque kids' choirs and lush chamber-pop. But this is no mere relic: it also captures the spontaneous overflow of Ryder-Jones' beating heart.

Honorable mentions (also alphabetical by artist): Arooj Aftab, "Night Reign"; Sierra Ferrell, "Trail of Flowers"; Guster, "Ooh La La"; La Luz, "News of the Universe"; Julian Lage, "Speak to Me"; John Moreland, "Visitor"; Claire Rousay, "Sentiment"; Waxahatchee, "Tigers Blood"; Adam Wiltzie, "Eleven Fugues for Sodium Pentothal"; Young Jesus, "The Fool"

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at [email protected] or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter/X @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Danielsen: 10 favorite records that dropped in the first half of 2024