In the resolution economy, there's a lot of pressure to dive into the new year headfirst at hyper-speed; shed your old skin, be better today. If that works for you, great — but some of us prefer to ease our way in, continuing to process what we've gleaned by reflecting on the highs and lows of that which came before. For us, many of 2024's highs can be found in the new music Canadian artists bestowed upon us, so we're reminiscing on some of our absolute favourites as we wade into whatever the waters of 2025 bring.
Obviously, 2024 was the year of Bibi Club, with Feu de garde landing on not only our year-end albums list, but our ranking of the Best Canadian Albums of the 2020s So Far. There were actually two other albums that managed to nab a spot on both of those aforementioned lists: Ducks Ltd.'s jangle-perfect Harm's Way, and Caribou's deliciously gooey Honey.
Corridor's Mimi was also a staff fave and had one of the year's most iconic album covers. (Very Brat!) Fellow Montrealer Ouri likewise made a splash — both with her solo singles as well as Hildegard, her collaborative project with Helena Deland — while Toronto scene staple Dorothea Paas impressed with Think of Mist.
We'd be remiss not to mention OMBIIGIZI and Nap Eyes, two indie rock institutions that have continually pushed the genre to evolve by weaving philosophical treatises into their surefire hooks and beautifully balanced layers of instrumentation. Both bands reached new heights in 2024 with SHAME and The Neon Gate, respectively.
Dig into cuts from these artists and so many more who were among the year's highlights, like most recent Exclaim! Magazine cover stars the Weather Station and Mustafa, with The Eh! List below, presented by Mary Brown's Chicken — all Canadian and proud of it!