From the Intercom: The Best EPs of 2024

aimei 媚 – City’s Violent + Bloom

It’s been a while since I’ve heard EDM-touched dark pop bangers that truly make me want to move and sing along, but aimei’s two 2024 EPs, City’s Violent and Bloom, fit the bill entirely. Even more rare is hearing a Mandarin/English chorus (!!!) in one and “Clouds” truly makes me lament what I’ve been missing. Keep your eyes on aimei 媚, cause she’s going places.

FFO: Baobei, Lucy Tun, EDM, driving at night, speaking Chinglish with your friends, raving

Amy Zou – I’ve Been Looking For You

Sirenic and mystifying, Amy Zou’s brand of avant-pop taps into a strange aether that feels futuristic yet familiar. This is one to behold.

FFO: Father Koi, mui zyu, Lucinda Chua, Caroline Polachek, technology, being in nature, vocaloids

Avara – been some time

I was a really big fan of Avara’s Tiny Desk submission this year (Tiny Desk make it happen please) and their debut EP gave me a lot more of the whisper-soft brand of R&B that won me over. Silky smooth beats and Avara’s vocal abilities collide to create some goosebump-inducing sensual foreplay.

FFO: Raveena, Deb Fan, RINI, smooth R&B, the word “luscious”, ASMR, silk sheets

Balming Tiger – Greatest Hits

Can the “Big Butt” be denied? It cannot. Balming Tiger has quickly become one of my favorite groups to watch for, dance to, and laugh with.

Greatest Hits contains Balming Tiger’s signature playfulness and adds extra servings of pop. It’s a candy bowl of jams, flavors, and tempos that will stick to the roof of your mouth. -Justin Ricafort

FFO: BBLs, dancing with your weird friends, getting dessert after dinner, cute hangovers

Chloe Qisha – Chloe Qisha

One of 2024’s biggest success stories, and for good reason! There are bops for days on here to rival anything on the radio right now. Sexy, sassy, and at times sentimental, Qisha’s s/t EP is the arrival of a massive pop star in the making.

FFO: Rachel Chinouriri, Olivia Rodrigo, texting your friends but not calling them, disco, 80s funk, lying about your feelings, “your hands on my body,” inspirational coming-of-age films

Congee – LEARNING TO SWIM

Underrated alt-pop showcase from a production master at the top of his game. 

FFO: Griff, boylife, Monsune, Dominic Fike, bomb off-kilter production, Dolby Atmos, echoed layering that sound epic

Esme Emerson – Big Leap, No Faith, Small Chancer

Head-bopping indie pop with catchy choruses for daysssssss from one of the UK indie scene’s coolest sibling duos. Bonus points for the EP having the most UK-based name ever. I’ve listened to this one an unhealthy amount on repeat this year.

FFO: cozy indie pop love songs, 90s nostalgia, Americana (for some reason), annoying your siblings for fun, watching the last installment of a film trilogy first and working your way back, dancing in slow motion

Kaleah Lee – Birdwatcher

Birdwatcher is trenchant and diaristic and serious and puts you on the verge of tears you’ve been holding back. Singer-songwriter Kaleah Lee’s first EP makes an extraordinarily effective impact despite its brevity. There are years of past life packed in these minutes.

If you long for the frigid concentration of Bon Iver and Phoebe Bridgers, Kaleah Lee is your next muse. DM me which track makes you cry the most. -Justin Ricafort

FFO: Pacific Northwest, Bon Iver, Phoebe Bridgers, woodsy depression, feeling cold

Kenneth Takanami – MOLT

Inspired by pop punk from the early aughts, Kenneth Takanami’s MOLT is diabolically liberating. This is one for wiping out at the skatepark and crashing into hard concrete floors while having too much of a good time. That’s not to discount the tender moments here like “RICE” and “DROWN,” where a bit of straight-up emo peeks through some of the fed-up-fuck-the-world energy. 

FFO: VANS Warped Tour, Jackass, recording over VHS tapes, crashing out, that feeling you get when you are just fucking DONE with everything

Liang Lawrence – What’s Dead and Gone

Self-deprecating indie pop has never sounded as good or as crisp as it does on What’s Dead and Gone, the second EP from singer-songwriter Liang Lawrence. The five songs here (plus one acoustic version!) showcase Lawrence’s tortured headspace when it comes to love and relationships, and even moreso how those feelings can make one feel completely vulnerable. Love in general may be overwhelming, but What’s Dead and Gone offers a kindred voice in that darkness.

FFO: Lizzy McAlpine, Taylor Swift, the folk-indie pop crossover, rom-coms on a summer’s night, “the feeling of last kiss but first love,” buying flowers just for fun

Mei Semones – Kabutomushi

Not even exaggerating — this EP is my most listened to project of the year, bar-none. I had a brief stint in Brooklyn (where Mei Semones is now based), where I listened to this on the subway every single day. It just made SENSE. Jazz, bossa nova, J-pop, and indie rock all come together to form a majestic second EP from one of the most exciting new voices in the indie space.

FFO: mei ehara, math rock, classic jazz, bossa nova, riding the NY subway (the LA metro isn’t the same I tried), screaming “on a faaaaaarrrmmmmm” at the top of your lungs, being kind of emo but not really, the hustle and bustle of a city

MEMI – M3MI

MEMI’s show stopping debut EP went viral a couple times over (at least in my part of the Internet) over the past year or so, and for good reason. There’s a heart-wrenching backstory to a few of the South Korean musician’s songs, and that channeled grief really turned heads all around the world. But M3MI is something more – the EP’s other songs show off the guitarist’s dynamic guitar skills through and through. M3MI is an indie rock-heavy debut that is snarling and epic… one to turn up to 11 even amongst the tears. 

FFO: classic hard rock, sicckkkkkkk bass riffs, raging in your garage, moshing, eating ice cream after it has melted

Nightjars – OMEN

Bountiful baroque pop from an artist rediscovering his voice. Folk, synthpop, and indie rock provide the perfect mix of influences to tell the singer-songwriter’s personal journey.

FFO: Sufjan Stevens, chamber pop, the violin and horns, lyrics that dig deep, looking up into the sky, summer days

Peach Luffe – Honey

Indie pop whiz Peach Luffe has been a site favorite for a while, and Honey EP does well to reinforce why. Dreamy as always but with a sad(der) twist, the songs on the project finds its narrator losing to the whims of love as a presumed relationship falls apart. It’s another added dimension to the songwriting craft of Peach Luffe, whose honey-sweet melodies glisten no matter the subject.

FFO: deceptively happy-sounding sad songs, dream pop, magic hour lighting, the color yellow, the sheen of nostalgia

Raavi – The Upside

All of the songs on Raavi’s acoustic detour The Upside are wonderfully homegrown and twangy, delightful in a way that might make you feel cozy inside. 

FFO: indie folk, Haley Heynderickx, the word “lush”, climbing trees, heat from a warm body, cold winter air, intimate moments

Reysha Rami – S&M

“All I really care about is / Sex and Money / Triple A, double D’s / Fuck like bunnies.” That’s quite the intro to S&M’s title track… and it only goes harder and gets wilder from there.

LA-based electropop singer Reysha Rami’s sultry and maxxximalist (with three Xs) S&M is one for the clubs. Debaucherous, sleazy, and gleefully fun, this is one project that will swim around your head until the sun comes up. One thing’s for sure, if you’re looking for a fun night out, ring Reysha.

FFO: Charli XCX’s brat era, Tommy Genesis, the Bodies Bodies Bodies soundtrack, getting paid, going outside and looking hot just cause

Saya Gray – QWERTY II

Sonic sketches that make for an enigmatic listen. Gray has long proved that she’s an outlier in every sense of the word when it comes to music (see: QWERTY I and 19 MASTERS), and QWERTY II continues to intrigue. Everything from the wildly on-brand cryptic titles to the strange samples and innovatively sparse song structures will leave you scratching your head but also… they make perfect sense in context? QWERTY II is a strange step into Saya Gray’s dissociative world and you’ll want to continue to make the visit time and time again.

FFO: 19 MASTERS fans, people who long to be trapped in the Criterion Closet, people who have built their own Criterion Closet, people who don’t watch new releases, Internet-heads, cat lovers (no dogs allowed), people who are slightly unhinged but still like a good pop song from time to time

Tanukichan – Circles

Tanukichan revs my engines every time. On Circles, Hannah Junghwa van Loon pounds the concrete with every instrument at her disposal. It’s a great jolt of urban ennui crashing into you that shoegaze was made for. Go listen to van Loon and Wisp’s spinning around each other on “It Gets Easier” and experience peak shoegaze nirvana. -Justin Ricafort

FFO: Taking the city bus, skateboarding, over ear headphones, shoegaze

tinyumbrellas – i know trees are falling

Wistful indie folk/pop that read like lovely diary entries that overflow with intimate feelings.

FFO: Lyn Lapid, early beabadoobee, yeemz, watching the city from a rolling hillside, gardening, poetry, the color green, the color blue, scrapbooking

Wisp – Pandora

Wisp, one of the unspoken leaders of the Gen-Z shoegaze revival, shows the world what she’s capable of on her major label project debut. Honestly, those crazy streaming numbers are well-deserved.

FFO: anything shoegaze, Blush, bubble tea and cigarettes, scrolling TikTok, peering into the aether, angel and devil imagery