Soulwax – All Systems Are Lying

Another record that went from zero to a hundred on my listening charts in something like a week. I had listened to it once or twice previously but it hadn’t stuck with me, and then last week it just did, a lot. At this point it has a guaranteed Top 3 spot in my year-end list.

The whole album is sprawling with musical references from so many things that I love. And it’s not just a few specific things but entire aspects of music that I’ve been getting hooked on and have been loving in practically my whole life. From the post-nu jazz of the ’00s with its artistic and electronic reinterpretations, through the big beat sounds of the likes of The Chemical Brothers or The Crystal Method, and electro-infused electronic music that I have often a hard time to put in a box other than “electronic music”, all the way to leftfield pop that is just meant to be blasting from the radio.

I rarely pinpoint single tracks because I usually like the coherent experience of a full album best. And this is an a-ma-zing album as a whole, no question about that. Still, Gimme A Reason is just a hymn, I am floored by this song. To me, this is the ultimate pop hit of this year. I don’t even remember when I put a single track on repeat for such a long time as this one. And after a hundred replays I still get goosebumps at the exact same timestamps. I can’t talk highly enough about this one, it’s an essential track.

Martin Stürtzer – Protostar

First off, this is a great ambient record. This has been my go-to focus music for the past week the mindset it creates for me is just awesome.

On the other hand, one feeling I can’t shake off is how much of a generated music this could potentially be. I really don’t know anything about Stürtzer, his past work, and process, I just feel like music like this could exactly be the type that can be generated by AI today. I feel bad to think this, it feels like such an asshole thought to have, but this is just what the ambient genre is plagued with today. And if I look at an artist’s discography and I see several records published yearly that kind of confirms the idea; either that this is generated music or music that’s produced on a conveyor belt.

And after having these ideas at the back of my mind I’m going back to listening to the record and think: I still like it, I find it pleasant to listen to, it helps me focus and work and create stuff. So what does that mean? What if this is generated music really? Am I happy with generated music? No, I shouldn’t be. I want to value a true artist’s human output and genuine creativity. But still… What if this just works? Ahh, I don’t know. I hate the AI generated problems of our lives when it comes to art.

Terminal Serious – Tear You Away

Post-rock goth vibes with that classic deep male voice. My only complaint is the drums, which falls in that uncanny valley of not being played live, but mimic that just too closely while not getting there. Something that sounds more like classic programmed drums would work better, or just playing the whole thing with a live band would as well, of course.

Top of 2024

This one got left behind. I compiled the lists at the beginning of 2025, but never ended up posting it, so here it goes. Like always, not everything was released in 2024 (or most were not, rather); this is a list of things that I consumed and liked most during the year.

My top albums in 2024

My top genres in 2024

My top music event in 2024

My top movies in 2024

My top series in 2024

My top video game in 2024

Duster (2025)

This was such a huge surprise. The trailer got to me, I felt something special about it already, but I was unsure what it will be about, really. Turns out, the story was straightforward enough without any major twists, but it was still a good story with enough to be engaged with. The whole series was just dripping with the styles of the ’70s: fine cars, great music, amazing fashion. I loved many of the characters, like Rachel Hilson being cool and badass, Josh Holloway being charming and easy, or Asivak Koostachin being smart and an underdog. Special shout-out for the title sequence: I didn’t skip it for one episode, just kept smiling all the way through and tried to find a new piece of detail every time. Too bad this gem got an early slashing; so I can keep it as a memory of a fantastic limited series.