Album Releases Of The Summer
These five albums defined my 2024 summer experience.
Skye Goba – Staff Writer

Imaginal Disk, Big Ideas, BRAT, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, Algorithm album covers, 2024, Spotify, 27 September 2024, <https://open.spotify.com>

The album I would rank number five is Algorithm by Lucky Daye. I traveled across the country for the first time this summer with a small group of friends and one of my friends introduced us to Daye right before the release of his newest album. We blasted it through the speakers of our tiny AirBnB, a secluded cabin in the middle of a national forest in Idaho. Needless to say, this R&B album has some great memories attached to it. My favorite tracks include Never Leavin’ U Lonely, Soft and Breakin’ The Bank.
My number four is Billie Eilish’s HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, which I put off listening to for far too long. When I finally got around to listening, I was blown away! It’s definitely my favorite of Eilish’s projects so far, and I think you can really hear her growth as an artist through this record. WILDFLOWER stood out to me because it is so gentle and comfy and then just pulls at your heartstrings. THE GREATEST starts off quiet and melancholy then, an Eilish signature, goes into an insane buildup like a release of every bad emotion, just like in her 2021 track, Happier Than Ever. The most unique on the album in my opinion is THE DINER. Currently on repeat is L’AMOUR DE MA VIE (OVER NOW EXTENDED EDIT).
Although I had never heard of Magdalena Bay before, I’m super grateful that her album Imaginal Disk was recommended to me by a couple of friends. Honestly, I feel like my life is more complete with this album’s existence. I think I’ve listened to the whole thing at least fifteen times now. The whole album is a transcendental journey of growth with incredible music videos that help support the whole story. I think I dug into the meaning of Imaginal Disk more than any album before. There is so much to explore with this album and I had so much fun analyzing it.
In second place, I decided on Big Ideas by Remi Wolf. This album was just on repeat from the moment I first listened to it. It’s so fun and spunky and silly and I just wanted to dance around like no one was watching. I would not be surprised if Toro or Soup ended up in my Spotify Wrapped this year; I have not been able to stop listening.
I’d say all of these albums were soundtracks of my summer, but Charli xcx’s BRAT just had to be number one. This was another record that I was late to the party with. At first, I didn’t understand this bright green “BRAT” craze all over the internet, but once I finally found this album and gave it my time, I literally could not turn it off. There is not a single miss on this record, including all of the separate releases. Currently on repeat is Guess featuring Billie Eilish. With these songs, I cannot hold back; you can catch me blasting these on any speaker in sight. Needless to say, I think I can speak on behalf of many in saying that we really did have a BRAT summer.