This is the last update of 2024! I can’t believe this year is already coming to an end. It seems like just yesterday I was adding the first few songs to part one of the playlist. I hope my posts helped y’all find your new favorite song(s).
Here is a list of EPs released during the second half of 2024. (Be sure to check out the January to June compilation here.)
Please remember that my focus is on the indie community! And, as stated in the first post, I have likely missed a few, so if there’s anything y’all don’t see, let me know. I will be doing a separate blog for full-length albums that have dropped in the same time frame.
I will probably do an extra update next week, just so the end-of-year releases don’t get overlooked. Also, keep an eye out for my Top 50 of 2024, which will be posted on the 31st. Feel free to check out the entire playlist and find your own favorite songs from this year!
Christmas is rapidly approaching, and with it, the Top 50 of 2024! I have started short-listing tracks for that honor, but it’s gonna be tough choosing just fifty. Thank goodness I don’t actually attempt to rank them in any particular order!
Make sure you check out all six installments of this year’s playlist.
Can y’all believe it’s almost Thanksgiving already?! Time needs to slow down. I’ve gotta compile the Top 50 of 2024, and there are only (roughly) five weeks of new music left!
With that in mind, be sure to visit the other installments of this year’s playlist.
Welcome to the last installment of The Mostly Music 2024 Playlist! Make sure you visit parts 1-5, and get ready for my Top 50 of 2024, which will drop December 31st.
Here are the songs that have been added since October 31st. (A few were actually released on Halloween. I included them to ensure they received recognition and were not skipped over.)
Alt-metal band Carbonstone is back with new music. The Maryland-based outfit is set to release their latest single, “Echoes,” on October 26th, and after my first few listens, I have to say this one hits hard.
Carbonstone has never been a band to shy away from the darker side of self-reflection, especially the negative views we as humans often have of ourselves. “Echoes” puts words to that moment we peer into the mirror with complete honesty. It dives unflinchingly into the feeling of being trapped in your own head, succumbing to the belief that you are not enough and have failed in some immeasurable way because things didn’t work out as planned.
According to front man Corey James, the song is about heavy reflection and looking back at “fucked-up tragic events, or ‘echoes,’ that ultimately shape us into who we are.” For better or worse, life happens, and we are molded by external factors beyond our control. “Failed dreams, failed goals and aspirations, failed relationships,” James lists. “Substance abuse, and so on.”
The track is penned as a note to oneself. “You take the time to watch me bleed/Over and over/It’s like you love my suffering/This pain is contagious…” It is only too easy to spiral into the abyss once the narrator begins listening to those internal voices. “I see my ghost, it’s echoing/Repeating my failures/When I’m alone, it’s so haunting/The shadows consume me…”
“Bury me underground, I’ll lie with you/’Cause alone I’m nothing/Searching for anything to get me through/I’m so self-destructive.”
“The hook/chorus is basically about just giving in and submitting to everything, as it’s the only alternative to facing yourself alone,” James explains.
“Echoes” is a juxtaposition of hauntingly melodic singing and heavy, gritty music: an audio presentation of the emotions poured into the song. The choice of clean vocals for the majority of the track works on multiple levels. James was able to masterfully color his lyrics with the pain and resignation expressed in the words. Raging screams threaded throughout are the cries of hopelessness. Meanwhile, the other band members – guitarists Josh Provencio and Steve Junkins, bassist Eric Dee, and drummer Ted Hile – intricately weave together a sonic manifestation of anger and frustration. One final scream and the closing chorus are the last ounce of fight poured forth before our narrator ultimately accepts his/her fate and throws in the towel.
“Echoes” hooked me in from the first note and is a song that is well-crafted, relatable, and holds its listeners in thrall from start to finish. Carbonstone nailed it on all fronts. The song will hit streaming platforms at midnight. Meanwhile, the official music video drops tonight, October 25th, at 8 p.m. EST! Make sure to tune in to the band’s Facebook live at 7 p.m. EST for some drinks and other shenanigans.
If you haven’t already, visit Carbonstone’s socials and follow them on your favorite streaming service so you never miss a release – starting with “Echoes.”
There have been several albums released so far in 2024, and I decided to compile them in a post separate from the EPs. Much as with the other list, I am sure I’ve missed a few, so if there are any you know of that are not shared here, feel free to tell me in the comments!
Be sure to check out my list of EPs that have dropped over the past 6 months, as well!
There have been quite a few EPs released so far this year, and I decided to put a list together at the halfway point (June). I’m sure I’ve missed several, but these are the ones I have found. Please keep in mind that my focus is the lesser known indie community. If you have an EP to add to this list, feel free to drop a comment!
Note: I will be doing a separate post for the full-length albums released within the same time frame.
Mostly Music 