The artists who grace Antidote each week are united by a commitment to push their sound—and the alternative landscape—forwards. And when Fontaines D.C. unveiled the first taste of their fourth album, Romance, in April 2024, that’s exactly what they did. “Starburster” was brash, menacing and instantly addictive, driven by hip-hop-inspired drums, gasping breaths and an explosive energy that could barely be contained within its three and a half minutes. It sounded unlike anything the band had released before—and came accompanied by an equally surprising new aesthetic (nu-metal, neon and very ’90s). “You start making music, you get a name for yourself as a certain type of music that you’re making, and you get clubbed in with other bands,” bassist Conor Deegan told Apple Music this year. “And we realised there was so much more we wanted to express. We said, ‘You know what? Let’s do it. Let’s not be afraid of this and push ourselves.’” In a year that also saw the Dubliners deliver livewire sets at Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds Festival, many had begun to suspect something Elton John neatly surmised on his Apple Music 1 show Rocket Hour: Fontaines were “the best band out there at the moment”. And they weren’t the only ones who brought invention and evolution to Antidote as they returned in 2024. Alongside them were Sam Fender, Billie Eilish, Jungle, beabadoobee and Hozier, who reigned over the year with his inescapable, “Take Me to Church”-rivalling “Too Sweet”. Then there were the emerging talents who rose up with moment-meeting alternative sounds, from the nostalgic (Good Neighbours’ cheerful viral hit “Home”) to the bedroom-pop-advancing (think Artemas or Mk.gee) and the rawly honest, in singer-songwriter Lola Young’s “Messy”.