Quick links:

• Stream the playlist on Apple Music, Spotify and TIDAL

• Listen and buy all music available on Bandcamp on Buy Music Club

• All Patreon supporters get the full 2+ hour mixed and sequenced mixtape

2024 was an incredible year for music in Sydney.

We're super excited to share with you a list of some of the music that we loved from last year, and below you can read about 36 tracks as selected by us, the SydneyMusic.net team - the friendly faces behind our city's most comprehensive gig guide.

The SydneyMusic.net team collectively sees a lot of shows, and we spend a lot of time and energy digging around in the dirt of the grassroots, unearthing (if you will) hidden gems and undeniable highlights - we love local music.

With this website, though, we try to avoid being "tastemakers". The scene's too big, too complex, too interesting to be summed up by 6 people's music tastes.

Instead, we try to present everything on an equal platform, sometimes with a little extra context or a personal recommendation, but always focused on just giving you the information you need to get out there and find something you might like.

The weekly gig guide playlist includes everyone playing that week, not just our picks, because discovering something you love yourself is always more satisfying than having it served up to you on a platter by someone else (or by the dreaded algorithm).

That said, we love a lot of songs, and we want you to hear the ones we think you shouldn't miss. These are some of them: the ones we couldn't shake, couldn't stop listening to, shushed people talking over.

This list, like our gig guide, does what it says on the label. It's not the "best", or the biggest songs; it is neither comprehensive nor exhaustive. It's just some of what we loved.

How to listen

This list is presented in alphabetical order by artist, as is the playlist edition, which you can listen to on Spotify, Apple Music, or TIDAL.

You can also hear it in a special mixed edition including the tracks you can't find on streaming, in an order optimised for an ideal listening journey, if you're one of our paid Patreon supporters. (Top tier subscribers also get a monthly mixtape of our faves!)

Streaming is handy for discovery, but it doesn't pay artists fairly. We challenge you to find your three favourite tracks on the list – or your own local favourites – and find a way to support those acts, whether it's by following the Bandcamp links (also on our handy Buy Music Club page for this list) and paying a few extra bucks for the track or album, picking up some merch, or just getting along to their next show.

One last plug ...

SydneyMusic.net is made possible thanks to the generosity of our community.

If the gig guide has helped you discover or get out to more shows in 2024, we'd greatly appreciate your support as we work to make this project self-sustaining.

To support our work financially, you can do one of the following:

• Join our Patreon for a little as $5 a month

• Buy some sweet merch on our online store

• Make a one-off donation using our online store

And now, let's listen to some music!

SydneyMusic.net's Favourite Sydney Tracks of 2024

This selection was compiled, extremely unscientifically, and contextualised below, by some of our indefatigable team of Gig Researchers as well as SM's cofounders: Joe Hardy, Genvin In, Jess Lord, Caitlin Welsh, and David James Young.

Allerdyce - 'Spoon Song'

Single (self-released, digital)

Australia does indie rock best and Allerdyce is the perfect example of this. Such a fun, cheerful, energy-boosting track, you’d never guess it’s about a friend with depression (until the outro, that is). – JL

Annabelle Scobie - 'Frank'

From EP ratgirlsummer (self-released, digital)

The entire GIRLINEORA cinematic universe was a pleasure to watch materialise in realtime across 2024: an Avengers-like super team made up of LILPIXIE, Cherry Rype (who appears elsewhere in this list), Blair Romance (fka redd dredd) and Annabelle Scobie. Scobie’s become the RZA of the team - a savvy, versatile producer and songwriter with a fantastic grip on sounds that serve the storytelling. Her own prolific solo work tends to favour a guitar-heavy 90s-referencing alt rock sound, and her sharp lyricism and melodies bring it into a modern context. Annabelle packs absolute epics into concise 2-3 minute compositions (see other highlight “cat allergy” for worlds within a minute and 39 seconds) - and “Frank”’s rumination on a failed relationship ensures the subject matter is thoroughly explored, leading the listener through rage, reflection and finally catharsis. – JH

Antenna - 'Antenna State'

From EP Antenna (self-released, digital and cassette)

Shogun has shapeshifted so many times it'd give you a regal migraine trying to keep up. All that to say, it's just nice to hear one of Sydney's most distinctive, emphatic vocalists still delivering absolute gut-wrenchers like "Antenna State". The quasi-title track of his latest project, this garage-dwelling soul-rock lament reflects on growing pains that last well into adulthood – from drug dependency to scene disenfranchisement. It's both a new high and a new 'High'. – DJY

Betty - 'Devote'

From EP Knack (self-released, digital)

About a year ago Betty announced she was switching up her fun, dancey sets for a slower, sadder repertoire, with sitting — or even laying — down at shows encouraged. As someone who has enjoyed numerous boogies to Betty, I was shocked :O But “Devote” proves that Betty is in a lane of her own when it comes to delivering soft, smooth heartbreak tracks, and exactly where she needs to be. – JL

Bilby - 'Aēsop'

From album Heavy Fines, Loss Of License (Yes Rave Records, digital)

I absolutely rinsed this witty, minty-fresh ode to tuning a Surry Hills bourgeois baddie. A chatty Sydney softboi anthem that name-checks the Presets, Waxahatchee and fancy hand soap, with a hook that begs "Please correct me, I need correcting", is the bait you’d put under a cartoon-style box trap to catch me, specifically, which is kind of the joke – but this is just one story from the Bilbyography, and I promise there’s also one to trap you, specifically. Bilby is like the Charli XCX of DIY emo-flavoured hip hop in Sydney: he was a decade ahead of all the kids doing this sound now, and is confident enough in it that he doesn't feel the need to reinvent it, only to perfect it, now that enough people have caught up. He’s yet to play any shows off the back of this release; when he does, make a point of being there, because it’s guaranteed to be special. – CW

BLOKBSTR - 'Apartment'

Single (moretocome Music, digital)

A relatively-new name to Sydney's indie/alternative scene, BLOKBSTR arrive here in a manner befitting their all-caps bandname. No, 'Apartment' isn't a Custard cover, it's something even better: A bouncy, catchy, bass-driven robo-boogie with a dry humour Dave McCormack could easily get behind. From its spelled-out hook to its skull-rattling vocoder, the trio manage the perfect blend of art, science and Art vs. Science. The best budget-minding Australian dance-punk cut since Northeast Party House's 'Youth Allowance'. – DJY

Cherry Rype & marcella sunshine allen - 'Inner West Princess'

From EP INNER WEST PRINCESSES (self-released, digital)

An itchy beat that bubbles under the skin like a blistering sunburn; deliciously queasy, squelching synths, persistent as the anticipatory gnawing of early evening as you coax cheap highs into an empty stomach. Lyrics borderline unintelligible, like the Cocteau Twins at the kick-on – no consonants, all vibes. Bratty, aching, perfect. – CW

Chonzu - 'Critter'

From album echo reality (self-released, digital)

Setting off on a quest? This track is like your own soundtrack as a video game character, a whimsical little bitcrushed gem of a piece that gets under your skin. It's compact, sweet and precise - and that pendulum-like triplet motif underneath gives it a wonderful sense of motion. – JH

doris - 'i want to grow'

Single (self-released, digital)

Transcendent screamo that foregoes despair in favour of rapturous, cleansing hope. My hands-down favourite live moment of the year. – GI

ealing - 'at night all blood is black'

From LP kisseswhipthevision (self-released, digital)

One of our city’s most striking electronic producers, ealing is a conjurer of alternate worlds - futuristic, gleaming, beguiling terrains that often feel like a subject of exploration. They cover a lot of ground as well - from misty ambience through to clattering space age techno. This track embodies the soul of Burial in a way that intentional imitators try and fail to do - a real grasp of ambience, space, mystery and darkness - but when that bass throb kicks in it takes on a life of its own. – JH

EGOISM - 'Getting Older'

Single (self-released, digital)

For a band that started in high school, EGOISM naming a song 'Getting Older' could be interpreted as an admission of defeat. That is, of course, until you hear the song itself: a pop-rocker that ranks among their brightest, boldest and hookiest productions yet. With a lead guitar break that sticks in your head for days and a Tumblr post's worth of quotable lyrics, it's as refreshing as a drink from the fountain of youth. – DJY

FUKHED - 'No C No A'

Single (self-released, digital)

I love a fourth-wall-breaking song title, and I love songs that make me feel like I could run through an actual wall. This is an absolutely merciless heater, icy and imperious, with a truly ingenious 00s pop sample that would crush as the peak of a Kieran Hebden club set. FUKHED may be a Brissy transplant, but she's ours now. – CW

Good Pash - 'The Reprieve'

Single (self-released, digital)

God, this is pretty. There was a year or three last decade where it felt like every second band was trying to do this mega-lush alt-indie-folk, and as someone who was working in music media and retail and listened to every one of them, it’s not easy to do this well. You can’t just stick a trumpet on a guitar solo on top of some chiming, charmingly draped alto harmonies and call it a day. This has been built with care but still feels as organic and warm as an unplanned group singalong – or more specifically, like the feeling you get from a group singalong happening naturally out of nowhere, like in a movie. A glowing gem from one of the city's most promising pop acts. – CW

Grasps - 'Like Nothing'

From LP when will you be here again? (Field of Dreams, digital)

Appearing towards the back of Grasps’ emotive and evocative ambient hyperpop record, “Like Nothing” emerges from a simple, twinkling melodic motif that trails off into nothing, like a held breath - and exhales into a towering layers of close-to-wordless autotuned vocals and glassy synths. – JH

Heartholder - 'Skim'

Single (self-released, digital)

What do we call this? Nu-jazz electro-jungle? I fucking love it. Big Beat Pure Moods. As fun as it is on record, it actually undersells how exhilarating it is live; just producer John Troughton, his sax, and a soaring, exacting vision that could fill an airplane hangar. Someone book him to play one. – CW

Jacob Turl - 'On A Fine Day'

From EP reverse garbage (self-released, digital)

I was so indecisive about choosing a favourite track from Jacob Turl’s recently released debut EP reverse garbage. Each track delivers a new edge to the band’s quirky, cool, brooding. In the end the 5 minute long “blooz3” took the cake for its psychedelic jam sesh. Recommend catching their live show for Jacob’s faraway stares and stomping groove. – JL

Jet City Sports Club - 'Drug Store (Waste My Time)'

From EP Every Single Dream (Access, digital)

With their sunny disposition and glaringly bright take on indie-pop, it's almost scientifically impossible to be unhappy while listening to Jet City Sports Club. Don't believe it? Just try hearing that melt-in-your-mouth melody when the chorus hits on 'Drug Store' without immediately falling in love with the nearest cute thing reading a dog-eared Sally Rooney. Dreamy and enticing, Jet City truly are the soundtrack to all 500 days of summer. Don't waste a minute more. – DJY

Josef - '2003'

Single (self-released, digital)

Smooth, chill bars and layered samples. Just energetic enough to make you sway. When I say I love hip-hop, this is what I mean. – JL

Kat Wyld - 'Light from the Microwave'

Single (self-released, digital)

Kat might be the earliest-career artist on this list, by most reckonings, and they’ve written one of my favourite songs of the year, by any reckoning. As the title suggests, it has a cosy yet uneasy glow; the ticking beat fractures from metronome into a glitchy glimmer as the song unfurls towards the genius little falsetto hook of the chorus. "I hate when I taste the end before they even press the button," Kat sings, resigning themself to the ordinary, inevitable end of a relationship. It's in and out in less than two and a half minutes – barely enough time to heat a dinner for one all the way through, but the perfect length for hitting play again, wrapping yourself in the bittersweet anticipation of heartbreak, pressing down on the bruise. – CW

Mara - 'At Every Corner'

From LP At Every Corner (Pure Space, digital)

A bubbling, insistent pulse launches the listener at high speed into a beatless orbit bedded by a swirling ambience that reminds me of UK producer Andy Stott. Disembodied fragments of field recordings – laughter, conversations, nature and the atmosphere of a city at night – echo while Mara narrates softly, almost inaudibly with manipulated vocals. Eventually the track evaporates, leaving the listener with field recordings as they return to the real world. – JH

maschinenkrieger - 'Uwanna'

From EP Machine Emptiness (self-released, digital)

Riki Wells covered a lot of ground in 2024 as a multi-disciplinary artist: drummer for lo-fi fuzz rockers Demolition Man, producer for projects like SWANNN, and a big year for this moody synth-pop project. Her second EP keeps things murky and just a little menacing, with layers of autotuned and pitch-shifted vocals, liquid synth lines and nervy, teased-out dynamics. If it turned out to be sacramental music for some sort of sexy cult, I wouldn’t be surprised. By the time Riki drops the beat halfway through this understated come on, you’re all in: it’s a banger. Now you know. – JH

Monkey Dot - 'Not What You Know'

From EP Break And Enter (self-released, digital)

This post-hardcore three-piece are hungry and ambitious; on their first EP Break And Enter, the band are keen to assert that they’ve got range and energy for days. 'Not What You Know' features plenty of flourishes that show them mutating and changing in real time: an insistent double-tracked acoustic/electric riff that becomes a recurring motif, synths and an electric piano that creep in and out of the mix in quieter moments. Where other parts of the EP recall Fugazi or Gang Of Four at different times, this one pulls much more towards an emo core, with a huge climax that wears its heart on its sleeve. – JH

ONEFOUR - 'Gang Ties [ft. Headie One]'

Single (ONEFOUR Records/Sony, digital)

Sydney's realest kept putting numbers on the board in 2024 – not least of all finally being able to perform live in their own (police) state in November. 'Gang Ties' – a reunion with UK rapper Headie One following their 2020 'Ain't It Different' remix – felt like a well-deserved victory lap. Its snarling production and visceral delivery felt pointed and charged, with the group's staying power fully asserted. ONEFOUR still on top? Yeah, lad. – DJY

Organs - 'Loose Fitting'

Single (self-released, digital)

Admittedly, this is the hardest track to search for in the list – do you really want “loose fitting organs” in your Google history? Still, this incessant garage-rocker resonates longer than the sight of any unfortunate image results. Its raw-nerve honesty packs as big a wallop as its pounding snares, as frontman Dom O'Connor spills his guts (or organs, if you will) atop guitars that manage to jangle with absolute menace. Well worth seeking out. – DJY

Party Dozen - 'The Big Man Upstairs'

From album Crime In Australia (Grupo / Temporary Residence, digital, CD and vinyl)

It says a lot that four albums in, with a niche fairly considerably cornered, Party Dozen could make a song that is borderline unrecognisable. A reverberating daydream with vintage shoegaze vocals and the shimmer of indeterminate strings (a harp? a zither?), the two-piece shoot skyward and land amongst the heavens. It's a rare moment of true beauty from a band unafraid of ugliness, and yet another evolutionary step in a catalogue positively brimming with them. – DJY

Sadie - 'Late'

Single (self-released, digital)

“I don’t get this feeling anymore” whisper-sings lead vocalist Matt Hogan atop a bed of reverb-blanketed guitars, in a reflective, numbed-out reflection on a loss of connection. At 92 BPM, it might be a touch too fast to be considered “slowcore”, but it definitely holds some of the magic that early-period Low and other contemporaries had with its exposed emotion and sparse instrumentation. – JH

Secret World - 'The Way It Goes'

From EP Guilt Is Good (Last Ride Records, digital and 7" vinyl)

Transitioning from hardcore kid into alternative rocker may be a common path, but dismiss it at your own peril. There's a certain primal energy in the former that seamlessly translates into the latter – and this standout from Secret World's debut EP is a shining example. Ryan Pond's throat-tearing vocals recall Drug Church and Fucked Up, while the triple-guitar attack reinforces his belligerence with relentless, speedy muscle. Both index fingers and bodies are flying when that chorus hits. – DJY

Skeleten - 'Deep Scene'

From the forthcoming album Mentalized (Astral People Recordings, digital and vinyl)

If Russ Fitzgibbon’s album cover for Mentalized didn’t suggest an LSD trip, the first 10 seconds certainly will. 'Deep Scene' is an ode to an increased dependence on chemical moderation and stimulation, expressing a detached, substance-managed sense of comfort – a stupor that gives way to a gang vocal that dissipates the numbness and replaces it with a sense of joy and community. – JH

Speed - 'The First Test'

From album Only One Mode (Last Ride Records, digital and vinyl)

The gang called Speed are not afraid to toot their own horn – or flute, in this instance. 'The First Test' is a typically mosh-heavy celebration of both the power of self and the intrinsic bond of community. It's a perfect blend of capturing the lightning in a bottle of their breakneck live shows, plus some freewheeling experimentation to push the boundaries just that extra bit. The end result? What else: 100% Sydney shit. Guaranteed. – DJY

SUN RUN - 'Delay'

From EP Crossing (self-released, digital)

Melody-rich post-hardcore played through a summer haze. Roar along in a small room packed with your very best friends. – GI

Sydney Water - 'Miss Connector'

From album Civil (self-released, digital)

As a statement of intent, this track’s a hell of a set-up. This project and record appeared from out of nowhere as a solo project of Mason Turmaine, frontman for Sydney band Pleasure Chest, and it’s become one of my favourites of the year. It oozes a dystopian, darkly wry landscape of Australiana, and the menace and loathing is real. – JH

Tahkoe - 'VELMA [ft. Sollyy & emjaysoul]'

Single (self-released, digital)

“You ain’t gotta act hard if the art’s hard” = favourite line of 2024. Western Sydney is cultivating wholesome hip-hop crews and this song brings together three of the best in the scene: Tahkoe, Sollyy and emjaysoul. – JL

TBX - 'Lucas Device'

From EP (self-released, digital)

They’re not fucking around. At a languid 84 BPM, this track crunches, snarls and lopes. It’s heavy. Serwah Attafuah’s distorted vocals sneer. The whole thing’s a volcano that’s just about to blow. While the rest of the EP moves faster and strongly recalls early The Jesus Lizard and other heavier 90s Albini productions, this one sounds like an apex predator slowly circling its prey. Resistance is futile. – JH

Worlds Only - 'Bingo'

From compilation Worlds Only World (New Weird Australia, digital)

This meeting of minds from across Sydney’s experimental music landscape goes big, and their debut release brought with it a celebration of their scene: instead of drip-feeding singles or dropping an EP, the band debuted their first recording as part a 24-track compilation on the much-revered label New Weird Australia, featuring friends and collaborators. The result is an incredible time capsule and a great jumping-off point to discover a thriving scene full of amazing art. So many tracks on this compilation could have made this roundup, but I’ve gone to the source as it wonderfully sums up Worlds Only: a loosely narrated reflective and shimmering cinematic composition that sticks with you well after it’s trailed off. – JH