#15 Favorite Album of 2024
This Infinite - Vitesse X (Connor's #15) / Orquídeas - Kali Uchis (Hadley's #15)
This Infinite - Vitesse X
Genre: Electronica, dream pop, shoegaze
General Vibe: A solarpunk odyssey, bridging the gap between ‘90s dream pop and electronica to deliver a collection defined by introspection and bliss.
Key Track: “Eternal”
Listen If You Like: Alison Goldfrapp (The Love Invention), School of Seven Bells (SVIIB), M83 (Saturdays = Youth)
Dream pop and electronica make complementary bedfellows, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise when thinking about the arcs of their cultural saturation: originally an off-shoot of goth rock and post punk defined by dark aesthetics and romantic catharsis, dream pop was shot through with euphoric color and ebullient texture on Cocteau Twins’ seminal 1990 record Heaven or Las Vegas, which remains the nexus that much of current strains of dream pop orbit around, reaching for the bright sunflare at the center of that album’s beauty; dance music had started to leave disco largely behind by the mid to late ‘90s, embracing advancements in technology and recording that gave electronica of that time a glossy, crystalline sheen, Aphex Twin and Bjork the forefront of that innovative embrace of the synth as a very human instrument. Acts like M83 and School of Seven Bells tightened the connective thread between the two genres over the course of the 2000s and 2010s, their interpretations cinematic and nostalgic, using the tools of the modern age to imagine a utopic 1980s aesthetic recalling coming-of-age films and science-fantasy epics. So far in the 2020s up-and-coming dream pop-electronica hybrid projects have, interestingly enough, taken inspiration from those acts and turned their gaze full-circle back toward the ‘90s, where the promise of a new millennium was both nihilistic and optimistic, either the end of the world or the start of a new one: Hatchie’s 2022 Giving the World Away and I Break Horse’s 2020 Warnings squarely in the “end” camp, and with Avalon Emerson’s 2023 & the Charm and Vitesse X’s 2024 sophomore record This Infinite, we have the “start” response.
A surprise to me this year, Vitesse X's sophomore full-length This Infinite is a sleek, melancholic, airy blend of dream pop, shoegaze, and electronica this side of William Orbit. While I'm unsure of Vitesse X's influences on this record, Orbit's style does seem to be a guiding force: rhythmic and melodic guitars are draped over synthwork that recalls Madonna's 1998 spiritual manifesto Ray of Light, ecstatic breakbeats and kickdrums grounding and grooving underneath beds of guitar and synth that breath life into these wide-eyed explorations of the self and interpersonal relationships; while he is only credited as a producer and guest artist on “Careless”, Jack Tatum of Wild Nothing also seems to be a touchpoint, his preference for guitars that countermelody the vocal lines of the record creating a push-and-pull, keeping the tracks simultaneously stable and fluid, like a bird soaring along a wind current but remaining in one place. Vitesse X's gossamer vocals, which occasionally serve as another texture, at other times coming to the forefront to deliver baubles of pop hooks, recall the work of Alison Goldfrapp (particularly on Goldfrapp’s last album Silver Eye), multitracked production creating friction between the flock of Vitesse X’s flying across the album’s duration. On tracks like the gorgeous “Bliss Beat” (a driving-with-the-windows-down ode to finding peace amongst chaos), the skyscraper high “This Infinite” (a synth-line exploding out in the middle of the song as euphoric a drop as any seen in electronic music this year), and the mellow “Palisade” (about tearing down the barriers between each other and within ourselves), Vitesse X and the instrumentals coalesce into a meditative, therapeutic balm, dance music that moves the spirit as much as the feet.
As I’m sure is fairly apparent through the selection of images used to describe certain sounds across this review, sky and sunlight are paramount to the vibe of This Infinite, expressed right on its album art, Vitesse X in some fae outfit glinting with sunlight, windmills towering behind her as the wind blows back her hair, an impossibly blue horizon canvassed behind snowcapped mountains. Solarpunk, a genre of speculative fiction that imagines a future where technology is used to augment humanity’s relationship with nature in a symbiotic, eco-forward utility, is known for its optimism, its willingness to embrace change and the natural cycle of life as a means by which to heal the environment (the more science-fictiony work of Studio Ghibli could largely be defined as solarpunk); when Vitesse X began writing This Infinite, she reportedly was more steeped in the dark techno vibes of her 2022 debut record Us Ephemeral, until a string of losses, mental health crises, and global events left her unable to access those feelings and inspirations, encouraging her to return to the guitar-led pop and rock she grew up on in the ‘90s, finding the synthesis discussed in the opening to this review. While many artists turn to nostalgia as a hiding place to retreat to, though, Vitesse X manages to avoid that pitfall by asking how her coveted ‘90s influences had once imagined a better future, rather than a past that can never actually be reached again. On the opening “Eternal”, which begins with gently strum acoustic guitars but explodes into ecstatic cascades of synth and chanted vocals, Vitesse X invites the listener to join her in her journey: “Mellow your rage and / feel the breathing air / [...] Stuck inside a metaphor / turn my aches to open doors so wide.” Looking inward and outward, beyond the windmills and the endless sky, Vitesse X triumphantly finds the interstice between hope and despair and, through her craft, weaves them together into something that feels, well, infinite.
Orquídeas - Kali Uchis
Genre: Pop/R&B/Reggaeton
General Vibe: Sensual, smart, and silly, it’s booty shaking and boots knocking music all in one
Key Track: “Tu Corazón Es Mío”
Listen If You Like: Rosalía (Motomami), FKA Twigs (Caprisongs), Sade (Love Deluxe)
Listeners of The New Sincerest might be familiar with the name Kali Uchis since the Columbian American popstar is the first artist that has been reviewed twice by the podcast. She’s been a rising star for over a decade now, and it’s been long enough that she is due her flowers for her influence in mainstream music and beyond. The release of Red Moon in Venus in 2023 moved her closer into that direction with the songs “Moonlight” and “I Wish You Roses” both becoming hits online. It makes sense then that the followup Orquídeas was released only a year later in order to keep newer fans from losing interest after Red Moon’s breakthrough.
When Orquídeas dropped in January, many critics and fans alike were saying it could be the best pop album of the year. Which it certainly could have been in a more predictable music landscape. Unfortunately, 2024 was anything but typical in that regard. Out of nowhere it seems, it was time for a changing of the guard and a complete upheaval of the recent past. For example, does anyone even remember that Dua Lipa had an album out this year? It’s the year that “ruined the tour” for Justin Timberlake. It’s the year that Katy Perry fumbled her comeback. The year Lady Gaga’s Joker sequel bombed at the box office. Even Taylor Swift had to get sneaky with releases in order to stay on top of the charts. No one could have predicted Brat Summer or “Espresso” or Chappell Roan’s Lallapalooza crowd before 2024, so where does that leave an album like OrquídeasOrquídeas in the rankings?
Well, it turns out that it’s been buried a little. The top songs on Spotify are still from earlier albums. “Te Mata” and “Munekita” didn’t become the giant smash singles they deserved to be, complete with accompanying TikTok dances. That does not mean that the music on the album is bad by any means. It just didn’t have the zeitgeist appeal it was meant to. It’s still one of the best in the Kali Uchis discography if not THE best. It’s worth owning on vinyl and worth celebrating. Throw “Tu Corazon Es Mio…” or “No Hay Ley Parte 2” on a party playlist and it is guaranteed to get hips moving. An artist like Kali Uchis is used to the long haul when it comes to pop stardom. There may yet be Kali Summer™ in her future, so get in now while the waters warm.