The Viva Team’s Top Songs Of 2024, From Recession Pop To Post-Punk

What were the moments in music that made an impact for us this year? The Viva team surveys their top tracks of the year, for a playlist that involves dependably dancey tracks, lots of synths and a dash of existentialism.

Baddy On the Floor by Jamie XX feat. Honey Dijon

My end-of-year music data confirmed what I already knew as fact – I am a chronic repeat listener. Once a song grabs me, I listen to it on a near-infinite loop. I only listened to 63 albums last year, but my top billed played for 1745 minutes. I began running this year and hitting rewind while trudging around the streets will either give me an energy boost or aid me in zoning out.

This circular listening pattern means that I associate songs really strongly with the locations I listened to them in and Baddy On the Floor by Jamie XX audibly conjures my most defining moments of 2024. It has the frenetic energy of a breakup that started on a packed dancefloor in Melbourne, but it also jangles with a repetitive beat that I associate with sweating it out – lacing my sneakers and getting through, one step after the other. – Tyson Beckett, multimedia journalist

Bigger by Fazerdaze

I love this synth-laden track from singer-songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Amelia Murray’s 2024 album Soft Power, which is about keeping a relationship going as the singer’s star rises. It’s been eight years since Fazerdaze’s Morningside album and the New Zealand artist has done lots of growing, both personally and musically, and it’s just a treat to listen to. – Johanna Thornton, deputy editor

One of the most exciting international bands right now, these post-punk lads from Dublin are coming to New Zealand in March to play Spark Arena. The opening track from the album of the same name is sludgy, sexy and sums up the vibes of 2024 for me – how we drag ourselves through and out of a really hard year, and the salvation that love gives us. “Into the darkness again, in with the pigs in the pen. God knows I love you, screws in my head, I will be beside you ‘til you’re dead.” And in a year when I’ve been thinking a lot about subjective reality and spaces both physical and abstract, this song proposes “maybe romance is a place”. – Emma Gleason, deputy editor NZ Herald Lifestyle

Image by Magdalena Bay

At first listen, Image sounds like the perfect Eurotrash pop track to be listened to only with a martini in hand shuffling along a yacht sweeping the Amalfi Coast. But its accompanying chaotic music video snaps you out of this base fantasy into something less superficial – a smart pop record about the age-old human pursuit of self-discovery. But the thing that sets it apart from being just another forgettable disco track is its substantial production. Addictive bass, urgent snare drums and eerie vocals from lead singer Mica Tenenbaum make it a standout. Its smoothness perfectly captures my preference of being unbothered at all times. – Dan Ahwa, creative and fashion director

January Blues by Phoebe Rings

This year, the average bpm of my playlists must have permanently altered the speed of my heartbeat. Between brat remixes, Grecco Romank’s electronic existentialism, Tyler The Creator’s Chromakopia and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ sweaty Challengers soundtrack, I’ve really pushed the pace.

In the moments when I’ve been overcome with the longing for something more soothing, I’ve turned to the sweet celestial tunes of local band Phoebe Rings. The dream pop group, which is fronted by singer-songwriter Crystal Choi, released their long-awaited self-titled vinyl in October. All six songs on the record are lush and deeply textural, with layers and layers of precise instrumentation (including organ, electronic piano and slide guitar). January Blues is the track I return to, for brightening tunes and tones that feel restorative. A late-night gig at Neck Of The Woods was a transportive treat amongst mid-November’s monotony – I can’t wait to float away with them again soon. – Madeleine Crutchley, multimedia journalist

As I write this, I’m wearing black – and there’s a good reason. On December 8, Taylor Swift stepped on stage in Vancouver for the final time during her Eras tour, a 149-show, three-hour-long musical anthology that traversed five continents from March 2023 to December 2024. In amongst her hectic touring schedule, Taylor managed to unveil what’s become one of the biggest album releases of 2024: The Tortured Poet’s Department, with the original 16 tracks folded into a double album (titled TTPD: The Anthology) two hours after its release.

The pop singer’s 11th studio album blurs the line between synth, folk and pop, with sing-your-heart-out lyrics documenting the gut-wrenching aftermath of two very public breakups – one with fling Matt Healey of The 1975 (The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived / I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)) and with long-standing boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn (So Long, London / LOML). But before you go pigeon-holing TTPD as a breakup album, think again: there’s plenty of fun to be had with upbeat tracks like Florida!!! which features Florence and the Machine singer Florence Welch, or feel-good love song So High School – an ode to her current lover, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

Taylor channels her IDGAF attitude with power ballads I Can Do It With A Broken Heart and Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me? which are particularly good listens if you’re feeling a little wobbly and need a gee-up. I could write a novel about why this album is sitting at No 1 on my Spotify Wrapped, but I’ll let you be the judge. – Ashleigh Cometti, beauty editor

Mea Uma by Leao feat. Samara Alofa

Incredible local talent Leao and the sublime Samara Alofa join forces on this track from Leao’s upcoming album. The sound is definitive of Tāmaki Makaurau right now and with the steel guitar and evocative vocals of David Feauai-Afaese and Samara it’s just perfect for playing all summer long. – Emma Gleason, deputy editor NZ Herald Lifestyle

Huele a Fraude by Ohyung, Stefa

Another synth-pop standout came courtesy of Ohyung featuring Stefa* (aka Stefa Marin Alarcon) with their track Huele a Fraude from the soundtrack of Julio Torres’ feature film debut Problemista. Possibly my movie of the year? What I do remember from Julio’s signature brand of surrealism is this song when the credits started rolling. It’s quite the epic track and one that makes me want to drive over a cliff. In fact, the song (along with Sympathy Is a Knife by the year’s MVP Charli XCX) both became instigators behind a playlist I started compiling of songs that make me want to put the pedal to the metal and drive into a blazing sunset. – Dan Ahwa, creative and fashion director

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