This is part four of four. If you haven’t read part three yet, check it out here.
In 2024, we’re getting several great albums some several great bands and artists, but out of all the albums that are coming out this year, these are the ones you need to keep your eyes on. Here are the most anticipated albums of 2024, in no particular order.
Adeem The Artist
Album: Anniversary (Four Quarters/Thirty Tigers)
Release Date: 5/3
Having a country artist on this list is like a breath of fresh air. I was introduced to Adeem The Artist from Anthony Fontano, and what I heard on Adeem’s last record, 2022’s White Trash Revelry, made me a fan. So when I heard that the non-binary country indie darling was dropping a new record this year, I got stoked. Anniversary was produced by Butch Walker (Bethany Cosentino, Fall Out Boy, Lit) and is a solid radio country album with a twist.
Better Than Ezra
Album: Super Magick (Round Hill)
Release Date: 5/3
No you’re not reading this wrong. Better Than Ezra are on this list. You know, the band known for that 90s classic “Good”? Yup. Them. And why are they on here? Well it’s because their ninth studio album Super Magick — their first album in a decade — sounds amazing! No joke, I was blown away by the snippets that were released already. Is it enough to put them back in the spotlight? Who knows, but it is still a “Good” album. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Hot Water Music
Album: Vows (Equal Vision)
Release Date: 5/10
Marking their second appearance on a PGP most anticipated albums list, Hot Water Music are back with another certified banger. But they’re not alone on this project. Members of Thrice, Turnstile, The Interrupters, and more, join in on the fun. “The theme that kept coming up while working on this record was growth — how writing a song, recording an album, or being in a band is like planting a seed and helping it grow,” the band said about Vows, their tenth studio album. “We think a lot of that had to do with looking back and realizing that over 30 years, we’ve managed to make something special that we all really love.”
Cage The Elephant
Album: Neon Pill (RCA)
Release Date: 5/17
Five years have passed since Kentucky’s Cage The Elephant dropped an album. That all changed in January when they announced Neon Pill, the official follow-up to their Grammy Award-winning album Social Cues. That delay can be thanked to various factors such as the pandemic, touring, and frontman Matt Shultz almost going to jail for having guns in a hotel in NYC. Yes that did indeed go down. Neon Pill was produced by John Hill (Carly Rae Jepsen, Foals, Mondo Cozmo) who worked on their previous record. Could they get their third Grammy with Neon Pill? We’re gonna have to wait and see!
One Step Closer
Album: All You Embrace (Run For Cover)
Release Date: 5/17
Wilkes-Barre straight edge quartet One Step Closer made waves with their debut This Place You Know in 2021. Three years later, they’re back and better than ever. Partnering with Jon Markson (Drug Church, Koyo, Self Defense Family) and Run For Cover Records (Citizen, Horse Jumper Of Love, Narrow Head), One Step Closer put their all into All You Embrace. “I wanted to showcase One Step Closer in its fullest state,” vocalist Ryan Savitski said to Alternative Press about AYE. “Every single part of the band, I wanted it to be there. I wanted us to be 100% ourselves and be as authentic to our band as we could possibly be.” It’s their first album with new guitarist Colman O’Brien.
Super American
Album: Gangster Of Love (Wax Bodega)
Release Date: 5/31
Buffalo’s best kept secret are back! Super American announced Gangster Of Love by pretending that Pitchfork leaked the album for a review…which all led up to the album’s first single appropriately titled “Hopefully Pitchfork Doesn’t Hear This”. Never change, boys. Produced by Sam Guaiana (Bayside, The Devil Wears Prada, Holding Absence), Gangster Of Love is a massive step-up from SUP, according to the band, that is. “[Our last album] was basically a record filled with anxiety as a survival mechanism,” Super American told Rock Sound. “This time around, it was less of a victim mindset. Thematically, I feel like it’s more about yearnings and desires and what you want for yourself. We wanted this album to feel like you were stepping into this little world, and working with Sam helped us accomplish that.” Hopefully Pitchfork does hear this, and I bet they’ll love it.
+/-
Album: Further Afield (Ernest Jenning/7ep)
Release Date: 5/31
Alternative Press introduced me to +/- a decade ago when they reviewed Jumping The Tracks, giving it a 4/5. I became intrigued by the band solely due to their interesting name. If you’ve read my blog, you may know I’m a massive sucker for band names that are either too long (i.e. The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die) or hard to look up (i.e. †††). +/- (or Plus/Minus) fit that criteria. But alas I have not caught up with them since. And then I discovered that they’re dropping an album at the end of the month. +/- writes on their Bandcamp page, “As the band members transitioned into parenthood, they continued to write together. Weekly recording sessions became a cornerstone of their routine, slowly redefining their sound and sonic palette. This work culminates with the release of their sixth full-length LP…” They worked with numerous bits of media, including “AI strings from Sounds.Studio (an AI music platform co-founded by Chris [Deaner, drummer])”, a high school choir, Chris’s own grandfather, and interesting instruments such as the singing saw, pedal steel guitar, Omnichord, clarinet and vibraphone. Let’s hope the decade long wait was worth it.
The Story So Far
Album: I Want To Disappear (Pure Noise)
Release Date: 6/21
While The Story So Far have been inactive studio-wise for a few years, the members of TSSF have been busy. Parker Cannon has the pop-punk supergroup No Pressure who tackled When We Were Young last October, and guitarist Kevin Geyer has Elder Brother, who dropped two albums during TSSF’s break. But now they are truly back, as the band dropped their first song in five years “Big Blind” last summer, and that’ll appear on their upcoming fifth record I Want To Disappear. A new single “Letterman” dropped back in March. From the two songs currently available, I Want To Disappear is totally gonna be album of the year worthy. Maybe album of the year.
The Aquabats!
Album: Finally! (Gloopy)
Release Date: 6/21
Aquabats, let’s go! Last time we saw our heroes, they crowdfunded their last album Kooky Spooky…In Stereo. Fast forward four years later, and the greatest superhero band in the world are celebrating 30(!) years and dropping a new record titled Finally!. It’s also their first album with a new lineup, as The Aquabats! added former members Chainsaw The Prince of Karate and Catboy, plus a brand new member: Gorney (he’s the one not in costume in the photo above). You can bet Finally! will be super rad. No songs are out yet, so enjoy this song from their Coachella set from last month.
Four Year Strong
Album: TBA (Pure Noise)
Release Date: TBA
While no word has officially been unveiled, Worcester’s Four Year Strong have been working on new material. Two new songs dropped, both of them heavy bangers: “Dead End Friend” and “daddy of mine”. Could we get an announcement before this year’s When We Were Young this October? Fingers crossed.
Punk Goes Prenatt 