Jangle Pop

Music Year-End List || Dennis’ Favorite Singles and EPs of 2024

Next week we will publish our lists of favorite albums, but first here is an overview of short format releases that were—in my humble opinion—the most wantlist worthy. It’s a mix of welcome comebacks and uncompromising discoveries, all energetic and passionate.

Below you can listen to the Top 50 singles and EPs that I enjoyed the most last year (note: individual songs are excluded), in alphabetical order. Links point to Discogs or Bandcamp (the titles), and to previously posted reviews (in the body text). Add to your wantlist (or collection) what you like!

New album: Slouching Sparrows || Slouching Sparrows

Attractive debut charms with jangly guitars and poetic lyrics

Slouching Sparrows is the “glue wave” project of South American-born/England-based singer-songwriter Rohan Fitzpatrick—his Analogue Agaric blog shows he’s multi-talented. On this self-titled debut album you will hear twelve lo-fi tunes, recorded this year in various bedrooms and kitchens, using a 1975 guitar and a mountain of pedals, a smutty microphone and a Tascam 8-Track Digital Portastudio, but above all a good dose of courage and creativity. It is a fascinating search for an own musical identity, working with jangling guitar melodies, a vintage-sounding drum machine, pleasant vocals and relatable lyrics full of imagination. The result is more than appealing.



The self-titled Slouching Sparrows album is out now digitally, on cassette and CD, via Analogue Agaric Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New: Hanemoon || Easy On The Wildlife

Hanemoon’s follow-up EP is as charming as its chipmunk cover photo

If you’re a fan of warm, strummy, and jangly power pop in the style of Teenage Fanclub or Andrew Taylor (The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness, Dropkick), Rain Or Shine, Hanemoon’s 2024 album, probably hit your radar earlier this year. Now, Hanemoon is back with Easy On The Wildlife, an unexpected 5-track EP featuring a chipmunk eyeing a soda can on its quirky cover.

Easy On The Wildlife serves as a great companion piece to Rain Or Shine. The EP opens with its two most upbeat tracks: Is It Far Enough is a warm, semi-acoustic guitar pop gem, while the title track combines jangly riffs with a solid pop heart. The remaining songs are a breezy mix of folk, pop, slacker, and indie rock, further proof that Hans Forster’s songwriting chops are not to be underestimated.

The EP is now available for pre-order on CD via Subjangle. With its comforting sound and playful charm, Easy On The Wildlife is another lovely addition to Hanemoon’s growing catalog.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Horse Chops || Bureaucratic Tone

"Hey Mr. Headphones, whatcha listening to?"

Canadian indie trio Horse Chops made quite an entrance last year with their self-titled debut EP, not least because of their amazing lyrics. Songwriter Adam Beardsworth (guitar, lead vocals), Neil Targett (bass, vocals) and Craig Caines (drums) are back with the Bureaucratic Tone EP, another four tracks that I can’t get out of my head after just one listen. Lead single Mr. Headphones in particular is a hit for the ages—also an eye-opener for people, like me, who are so curious about what other people are listening to, that they bother them—that is irresistible in both chorus and melody. The other tunes are worthy too, though. This is jangly and fuzzy indie rock with hints of garage psych and dream pop, and enough hooks and noise to appeal to fans and critics alike.


The Bureaucratic Tone EP is out digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Ryli || I Think I Need You Around b​/​w When I Fall

The Bay Area's new indie dream team, with members of Yea-Ming and The Rumours, The Goods, Latitude, and Sonny and the Sunsets

When Yea-Ming Chen (Yea-Ming and The Rumours) and Rob Good (The Goods) met up to record a cover for Dandy Boy’s Cleaners From Venus tribute album, they ended up birthing something entirely their own. Add Luke Robbins (ex-Latitude, RE Seraphin) and Ian McBrayer (ex-Sonny and The Sunsets, ex-Healing Potpourri) to the mix, and Ryli emerges as a kind of Bay Area dream team.

Their first release meets and exceeds expectations. This is West Coast indie pop that holds the middle ground between Camera Obscura and (early) Best Coast. Chen’s gentle and gorgeous vocals complement Good’s shimmering and jangly guitar work perfectly, combining for a sound that’s warm and nostalgic, but fresh and timeless rather than dusty or musty. Both I Think I Need You Around and When I Fall fit the double A-side label Dandy Boy Records have given this 7″ release-the former a perfect pop hit, the latter a hazy, contemplative gem.

Here’s to hoping this new musical collaboration gets many sequels!

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Sorry Monks || Recipe

First long-player blends Beatlesque 60s psychedelia with warm and timeless vibes

Last February, Sorry Monks debuted with the Girlfriend EP, which was followed mid-year by the Wasting My Time EP, and after those two collections of six songs, here is the first full-length album, entitled Recipe, with another fourteen tunes. We’re talking about prolific British singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Oliver Flanagan, delivering jangly indie pop that is warm and timeless. At times slightly psychedelic, reminiscent of the Beatlesque 60s, but it’s the memorable wordplay, pleasant vocals and charming melodies that make this release so appealing and captivating.



Recipe is out now digitally, and on CD early next year, through Subjangle.

Add to want list: Bandcamp

New compilation: Various Artists || Come To My World (A Brief History Of Indie Pop 1985​-​2023)

A great introduction to 40 years of jangly hits from the underground

In just a few years, new British label Two-Piers has built up a must-have catalogue of attractive compilations, always put together with love and provided with distinctive, colorful cover art. After psych, garage rock and shoegaze, they now focus on indie pop with Come To My World, a strong overview of highlights from the past 40 years. The 34 tracks, full of jangly guitars, dreamy synths and melodic vocals, offer a wonderful journey down memory lane. From early pioneers like The Springfields, Talulah Gosh, The Flatmates and Primal Scream, via The Primitives, The Soup Dragons, Heavenly, BMX Bandits, The Vaselines and Velocity Girl, to more recent bands such as Dum Dum Girls, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Joanna Gruesome, Allo Darlin’, The Spook School, Veronica Falls and The Goon Sax, they—and more—are all present. No unknown names here for serious collectors and followers of the genre, for everyone else these should-have-been-hits are a good starting point for further exploration of the underground. It may not be a cheap release, but it is very valuable.



Come To My World (A Brief History Of Indie Pop 1985​-​2023) is out on CD and vinyl 2LP through Two-Piers Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Autocamper || Summertime

Two tasty teasers that'll further hook you on Autocamper

With each new Autocamper release, our enthusiasm grows – this is a band destined for a breakout moment, and it just might come with their debut full-length due out next year. For now, we have this tantalizing cassingle teaser, and it’s sure to crank up the buzz.

The two tracks showcase Autocamper’s gift for blending the best of ’80s UK underground pop and classic Kiwi indie. Summertime is a punchy, synth-laced guitar-pop gem, while Ken Hom takes a playful approach, powered by (again!) irresistible keyboard work.

If you haven’t yet hopped aboard the Autocamper hype train, what are you waiting for? This co-release from Safe Suburban Home and Slumberland Records is yet another stamp of approval – further proof that this band is poised to make waves.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Librarians With Hickeys || How To Make Friends By Telephone

A melodic tribute to connection in a digital world

“Hello operator can you talk to me again // It looks like the world has lost its mind.” Akron, Ohio’s power pop duo Librarians With Hickeys offer a comforting counterpoint on their third full-length, How To Make Friends By Telephone. Singer-songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Mike Crooker and Ray Carmen are back with twelve original guitar-driven songs that sound warm, charming and timeless, with jangly hooks, pleasant harmonies and soulful lyrics about today’s questions on love, loss, and connection. From Hello Operator (the opening track is based on a true story by Ray calling the operator every day when he was four years old, just because he liked talking to her) to closing track Everything Will Be All Right (an encouragement to put your phone down at night, because it shuts out the lies), but also in the cover art and music videos, this album bridges the gap between vintage imagery and the modern world. Melodies that ring true across eras, expertly done.



How To Make Friends By Telephone, produced & engineered by Mike Crooker & Ray Carmen, is out now digitally and on CD trough Big Stir Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Big Stir 

New album: Boyracer || Seaside Riot

Boyracer returns with pop brilliance on Seaside Riot

Boyracer feels like the kind of band we were destined to write about here at Add to Wantlist. They’re indie pop royalty in the underground scene, yet somehow this is the first time we’re spotlighting one of their releases. If Discogs is factual, with Seaside Riot, Boyracer has officially hit their 15th album—yes, their 74th release overall! That sheer volume of music makes them hard to ignore, though it’s tempting to pass up the veterans to give newer bands some writing time. But then you press play on Seaside Riot, and it’s clear: this is Boyracer at their absolute best, and we’d be remiss not to tell you all about it.

Perhaps the album’s magic lies in the synergy of this five-member lineup. Stewart and Riley (also of Artsick) take the reins on vocals and songwriting, joined by original Boyracer guitarist Simon, with Mario (Kids On A Crime Spree) and Chuk (Bright Lights) filling out the ranks. At 15 songs, Seaside Riot isn’t exactly brief, but each track arrives with urgency, as though Boyracer is well aware of the fleeting nature of things and wants to make every note count.

Who would’ve guessed that one of 2024’s best indie pop albums would come from a band that’s been going strong for 30 years? If you’ve got a few minutes, hit play on opener Salt On My Tongue—it’s almost guaranteed to lift your spirits and change the course of your day. Just try to stop after that first song; this record is incredibly hard to turn off. Available now on CD through Jigsaw and LP via Emotional Response.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp (Emotional Response) || Jigsaw

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