It’s December – not just December, late December – which means one thing (if we ignore St Nick): we’re ready to pack up the year. For obvious reasons, we are very done with 2024. However, we’ve still got one thing left to do: our end of year lists! So, it’s time to – quite literally – face the music.
In the GT office, we’ve had a slew of albums on repeat (all by queer artists, ofc) to soundtrack late evenings, rushed deadlines and a whole year’s worth of fortieth anniversary celebrations. Whether it was club-focussed gems, reflective stories of sapphic disillusionment, or bold experimentations in genre, there has been plenty of great queer music this year – let’s take you down memory lane.
[A reminder: while we, like everyone else, had our very own Brat Summer (and Brat Autumn) this list is all about supporting queer artists.]
NIGHT REIGN by Arooj Aftab
Blending Pakistani folk music and bepop jazz, the bilingual Urdu-English album NIGHT REIGN by vocalist and composer Arooj Aftab features artists like Moor Mother and has been nominated for two Grammys. Dwelling on themes of darkness, it also features two songs which set the poetry of Mah Laqa Bai Chanda – the first female Urdu poet to publish a collection of work – to music.
Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii
One of our heroes of 2024? Doechii, of course. The musician and lyricist’s experimental mixtape (okay, technically not an album) Alligator Bites Never Heal features fluid delivery, energetic skits and plenty of big creative swings. We can’t wait to see what she does next.
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish
I mean…duh. Billie Eilish’s third album was an at times introspective, at other times jubilant exploration of sapphic love and lust which sent plenty of the dykes among us into meltdown.
SOPHIE by SOPHIE
When trailblazing producer SOPHIE passed away in 2021, we never really got over it. In 2024, her posthumous, self-titled album was released and we were offered another opportunity for collective mourning.
Petrichor by 070 Shake
An ambitious genre mix-up, 070 Shake leans into raw songwriting and dalliances with pop, surf rock and ballads via distorted vocals and avant-garde production on third album Petrichor. Celesbian bonus fact: listen to “Blood on Your Hands”, a song featuring spoken word performed by none other than Shake’s girlfriend, Lily-Rose Depp.
Corazón Club Vol. 1 by MJ Nebreda
Okay, another mixtape and not strictly an album but rules are meant to be broken. MJ Nebreda’s Corazón Club Vol. 1 blends syncopated rhythms of Latin genres with the hyper-speed of Gen Z’s TikTok-ified club culture for a confident exploration of genres like guaracha, raptor house and Latincore. Oh, and take it from us, the track ‘Icónica’ is the pick-me-up you didn’t know you needed.
Amour by Babymorocco
We make no secrets about stanning Babymorocco, which is why we mainlined his debut album Amour. It’s cheeky, it’s fun and it’s sexually fluid, what’s not to love?
Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee
Not available on Spotify (try Bandcamp instead), Diamond Jubilee is the much-lauded album by Cindy Lee – the project of Canadian musician Patrick Flegel, who performs in drag. A time capsule of past eras of rock n’ roll, the project spans genres like psychedelia and radio rock with an eerily retro edge.
Gramarye by TAAHLIAH
The first album from Glaswegian DJ-producer TAAHLIAH, Gramarye is a world unto its own: a white-hot meld of genres and instrumentation spanning guitars, orchestral instruments, trance flutters and jagged electronic experimentation. But what makes it stand out most is its vulnerability, through poignant lyricism and the use of the artist’s own vocals for the very first time.
God Said No by Omar Apollo
There are breakup albums and there are breakup albums. Omar Apollo’s God Said No falls firmly in the latter camp, with raw lyrics and an aching level of introspection. Not for the faint of heart but probably for the recently single.
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