Tag: Hot Water Music

The Most Anticipated Albums Of 2024 (Part Four)

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.

The Most Anticipated Albums Of 2024 (Part Three)

This is part three of four. If you haven’t read part one yet, check it out here.

Sum 41
Album: Heaven :x: Hell (Rise)
Release Date: 3/29

After 28 years, it all comes down to this. The final album from Canadian pop-punk/metal legends Sum 41. Their eighth album Heaven :x: Hell combines the two genres Sum 41 are best known for: pop-punk and heavy metal, a style they’ve been pulling off since the 2010s. It’s their only release on Rise Records (Alkaline Trio, Harper, You Me At Six,) after spending the later half of the 2010s with Californian independent label Hopeless Records (Hey Violet, PVRIS, The Wonder Years.) Whether you’re a fan who’s nostalgic for their old school pop-punk days, or a fan of their modern heavy hitting metal sound, Heaven :x: Hell will be the best of both worlds.

Jon Snodgrass
Album: Barge At Will (Thousand Islands)
Release Date: 3/29

Jon Snodgrass is getting a little help from his friends. He spent the recording process for his upcoming album Barge At Will at his home in Fort Collins, Colo., and at The Blasting Room, a studio owned by Bill Stevenson (All, Black Flag, Descendents.) Stevenson played the drums, while his other friends Chris Wollard (Hot Water Music), Chris Cresswell (The Flatliners), Peter “JR” Wasilewski (Less Than Jake), and Scott Reynolds (All,) helped in their own ways. Barge At Will began with of all things, writing a new jingle for a Colorado Rockies podcast. “At the end of the podcast I said, ‘you guys need a new jingle. This thing that you have it is fucking terrible.’ So, I wrote a new jingle for them,” Snodgrass told New Noise Magazine in an interview. “Then when that happened and they aired the thing, they made a comment, ‘so this guy’s a cool guy. He says he likes making up these songs on the spot.’ Hit him up, you can get a jingle. I ended up having to tell them a week or so later, ‘you don’t have to say that anymore because I’m kind of backed up with work.’” Thus he had all these songs, and with Bill’s help, and some help from friends, Barge At Will was born. It’s good to have friends.

Dustin Kensrue
Album: Desert Dreaming (Vagrant)
Release Date: 4/5

Let me be honest for a sec. I honestly didn’t know Vagrant Records (Alexisonfire, The Get Up Kids, Reggie And The Full Effect) was still kicking. The only bit of life I saw from the legendary emo label was a 25th anniversary show last year featuring numerous alumni. So color me surprised when I saw that Thrice frontman Dustin Kensrue was dropping his fifth solo album (his first of original music since 2015’s Carry The Fire) ─ Desert Dreaming ─ next month on the label. From what I’ve heard so far, it’s some classic Americana, possibly the only Americana album I’ve ever put on this list. Long live Vagrant and celebrate its history with the charming tunes of Dustin Kensrue.

Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties
Album: In Lieu Of Flowers (Hopeless/Loneliest Places On Earth)
Release Date: 4/12

The sad and miserable tale of everyone’s favorite underdog continues. Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties, the beloved character study from the mind of The Wonder Years’s frontman Dan Campbell, is back in the saddle with his third album In Lieu Of Flowers. According to a press release, ILOF “picks up”picks up where Routine Maintenance left off” and has Mr. West “tend to the wounds he’s ignored for over a decade.” I can’t wait to hear more of Aaron’s story. Possible album of the year contender right here. We love you, Aaron, you poor bastard.

Cloud Nothings
Album: Final Summer (Pure Noise)
Release Date: 4/19

It’s a new era for Cloud Nothings. First, they left longtime label Carpark Records (@, Ducks Ltd., Rui Gabriel.) Second, they joined Pure Noise Records (The Amity Affliction, Galactic Empire, Koyo.) And third, their new album Final Summer drops April 19. “We’re really glad to be working with Pure Noise. It’s exciting to be on a label with so many great punk bands, and it’s going to be inspiring to see our music standing alongside the myriad sick records that Pure Noise has released,” frontman Dylan Baldi said in a press release.

The Ghost Inside
Album: Searching For Solace (Epitaph)
Release Date: 4/19

Four years have passed since The Ghost Inside unleashed their comeback album The Ghost Inside to the world. It was worth the wait after their fatal bus crash back in 2015. In the nine years since the accident, they’ve grown closer than ever before, and have sounded tighter than ever. With this momentum, they’re pushing themselves further with Searching For Solace, the band’s sixth album. “People always ask me how I remain positive,” frontman Jonathan Vigil tells Knotfest. “I’m realizing now that there’s never really a time where you reach that point of ‘happiness.’ It’s a constant journey. I know that life is hills and valleys. You must be willing to embrace new things, stand up for yourself, and adapt. Because the goalposts just move further away. The search for solace never ends.” The comeback is over. Now it’s time to continue right where they left off.

Frank Turner
Album: Undefeated (Xtra Mile)
Release Date: 5/3

Frank Turner is truly undefeated. After spending a decade with major label Polydor (Belters Only, Elbow, The Rolling Stones,) Frank’s going back to where it all started: indie labels. His old label Xtra Mile Recordings (Beans On Toast, HalfNoise, Rob Lynch) have snatched him up to release Undefeated in early May. “After the pandemic, back in the independent world, with a new drummer, I feel proud, grateful and pleasantly surprised to be putting out a record that I love with all my heart, that I think might be one of my best,” Frank writes on his blog. “It’s a defiant, energetic record about growing old disgracefully and making peace with that. I’m still standing up, still have something to share with the world, and I’m excited to let you know about it.” Ten albums in, Frank still shows that he has a lot left to prove, and with killer songs to boot. He was influenced heavily by The Hold Steady and Loudon Wainwright III, muses he’s called “people who write about adulthood.”

Knocked Loose
Album: You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To (Pure Noise)
Release Date: 5/10

Is it too soon to say album of the year? Knocked Loose are ready to break bones and created mosh pits again with their long-awaited third record, You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To. Produced by Grammy nominated producer WZRD BLD aka Drew Fulk (Disturbed, For All Those Sleeping, Lil Wayne,) YWGBYST picks up right after their beloved sophomore effort A Different Shade Of Blue and their EP A Tear In The Fabric Of Life. After gracing the stages of Coachella and Bonnaroo, Knocked Loose are bigger than ever, so the album has to be equally bigger than ever. As Blabbermouth.com puts it, “[Knocked Loose] have honed in on a diverse, cohesive and savagely aggressive album that sums up the massive strides they’ve taken during their decade as a band, and asserts their boundless potential going forward.” The album has features from Poppy and Chris Motionless of Motionless In White (KL frontman Bryan Garris appeared on MIW’s song “Slaughterhouse” from their 2022 album Scoring The End Of The World.)

Say Anything
Album: …Is Committed (Dine Alone)
Release Date: 5/24

Only a band like Say Anything could make a meta record. The first track on their comeback record …Is Committed is literally titled “Introduction To The Reunion Record.” “[…Is Committed]’s a satire of everything our band was, and the idea of every emo band coming back after five years, going back to basics and grasping for the fanbase they discarded so callously by diving headfirst into their fans’ wants and needs, instead of gorging on major label cash and then still trying to be the next Animal Collective or Strokes despite what their band actually sounds like, to be thwarted every time by indie gatekeepers,” the group wrote on social media. Produced by Brad Wood (Better Than Ezra, Placebo, Touché Amoré,) who also produced their 2007 double album In Defense Of The Genre, …Is Committed was written by frontman Max Bemis, according to an interview with Alternative Press, “…during a period of such searing trauma and loneliness that not having my parental BFF by my proverbial side felt like an affront even if my mom was just trying to deal with other issues that come with being a child-soul with grown-person decisions to make.”

Mayday Parade
Album: TBA (Self-Released)
Release Date: TBA

Mayday Parade are doing things on their own terms this time with their upcoming album. For the first time since the band’s debut EP, they’ve fully independent. While no word has been officially made, the band have posted photos on social media of them in the studio. So far we have gotten a few singles as well as a collaboration with lo-fi artist Less Gravity called Mayday Parade Lofi featuring lo-fi remixes of classic MP songs.

Part four will come out next week!

The Most Anticipated Albums Of 2024 (Part One)

We’re already into February and I haven’t cracked out this list yet. Let’s fix that, shall we?

Brittany Howard

Album: What Now (Island)

Release Date: 2/2

Five years after dropping her solo debut, the former Alabama Shakes frontwoman is back. Howard’s sophomore follow-up — her first with major label Island Records (Demi Lovato, The Last Dinner Party, Sparks) — titled What Now has her returning with a “reinvigorated approach to her rich, rootsy, and emotionally perceptive songwriting,” as Pitchfork bluntly puts it. Co-produced by herself with help from six-time Grammy Award winner Shawn Everett (Alvvays, Miley Cyrus, Weezer), What Now will continue to show the world that Howard is a powerhouse. Just listen to that title track to see why.

Dead Years

Album: Night Thoughts (Dirt Cult)

Release Date: 2/2

German post-punk trio Dead Years were introduced to me via a press release last month. I’m not entirely sure what made me want to tap the link provided to me, and I am forever thankful that I did. The Bielefeld trio’s newest record Night Thoughts effortlessly creates a vibe that hypnotically attracts and embraces the listener. But it’s not just about the music: Dead Years’s lyrics reinforce the melancholy of their sound. They deal with self-doubt, social anxieties, and the daily struggle to find one’s way in an alientating world. Sounding like a combination of Hot Water Music, X, and The Wipers, Night Thoughts might be the album that goes under everyone’s radar this year. And for those that do check out this album, you’re welcome.

meth.

Album: SHAME (Prosthetic)

Release Date: 2/2

Chicago experimentalists meth. came across my radar through ads made by Prosthetic Records (ACxDC, gif from god, Wristmeetrazor) on my Facebook feed. And I was bewildered by the sound I heard. Thus I needed to hear more. Enter SHAME, the band’s second album. Tackling topics like bipolar disorder, addiction, and trauma, SHAME presents these themes over captivating melodies in the styles of grindcore, sludge, and noise. It might be too intense for some, but it’s definitely worth a listen.

The Chisel

Album: What A Fucking Nightmare (Pure Noise)

Releas Date: 2/9

2020 was a wild time. While some doors closed, others opened. For example, British hardcore act Arms Race called it a day at the end of 2019. Just a few months later, former Arms Race frontman turned drummer Nicholas Sarnella (who left the band in 2023) and Chisel’s frontman Callum Graham got tighter to discuss forming a band. From that came The Chisel, a punk act more akin to bands like the Ramones, Leatherface, and Angelic Upstarts. Fast forward to now and the band are set to drop album #2 What A Fucking Nightmare next week. Produced by Jonah Falco (Chubby And The Gang, Fucked Up, Lacquer), as a press release puts it, “the album is a high energy blend of Oi! hooks and hardcore stomp that’s sure to please fans of all things loud and catchy.”

Usher

Album: Coming Home (Mega/gamma.)

Release Date: 2/9

2024 is gonna be a big year for Usher. The R&B superstar will be playing the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show, his residency at the Colosseum at Caesars’ Palace is still going on strong, and for the first time ever, he’s going independent. Coming Home, his first album in six years, has him collaborating with artists like 21 Savage, Burna Boy, Summer Walker, Latto, and Jungkook from BTS. ”We’ve put a lot of thought and creativity into this new album to tell a story that is open to interpretation and that will connect with people in different ways,” Usher said in a press release. “I know this has been a long time coming for my fans and what I’ll say is that all good things come to those who wait. I hope you enjoy it once you hear it.”

Laura Jane Grace

Album: Hole In My Head (Polyvinyl)

Release Date: 2/16

Ever since her band Against Me! went on hiatus back in 2020, frontwoman Laura Jane Grace has been working on her solo content. Since then, she’s dropped an EP, an album under her name, and one under the moniker Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers. And now, her second one under her name will come out later this month via Polyvinyl (American Football, The Get Up Kids, STRFKR). While we may not be getting an Against Me! reunion anytime soon, at least we can still get some amazing folk punk from Laura.

I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

Album: GLOOM DIVISION (Concord)

Release Date: 2/23

It’s been a long time since we heard from iDKHOW. Their last album dropped in 2020 with Fearless Records (Boys Like Girls, Flat Black, Movements) and everything pretty much went quiet during the pandemic. But in September 2023, iDKHOW finally broke the silence as to why nothing was coming out. First, iDKHOW cut ties with drummer Ryan Seaman, they left Fearless to sign with Concord Records (Elbow, The Offspring, Thirty Seconds To Mars), and that a new album was coming out in 2024. From what’s been unleashed so far, GLOOM DIVISION is gonna be a hit and worth the four year wait. Bring on the Dallon Weekes show, folks, it’s gonna be a proper good time.

Remo Drive

Album: Mercy (Epitaph)

Release Date: 2/23

Four years have passed since indie rock trio Remo Drive dropped their third album A Portrait Of An Ugly Man. During this time, frontman Erik Paulson decided to move from Minnesota to New York’s capital, while his brother/bassist Stephen stayed in Bloomington, which forms the basis for Mercy. This sense of finding your footing in a new place, as well as relationships and making art that others will see and critique make up their fourth album. In a press release from Epitaph Records (Architects, late night drive home, Royale Lynn), “the new album introduces a major sonic departure from records of Remo past. Less indebted to the emo and pop punk that foregrounded the duo’s career, instead Mercy is invested in thorny, baroque indie pop by way of Father John Misty and Fleet Foxes.” Produced by Phil Ek (Built To Spill, Pretty Girls Make Graves, The Shins), the ten-track album has the band at their most vulnerable.

Chance The Rapper

Album: Star Line Gallery (Self-Released)

Release Date: TBA

Everyone deserves a second chance, right? Even Chance The Rapper. Since dropping his long-awaited and loathed debut The Big Day in 2019, CTR has pretty much backed away from music to focus on being a dad and a husband. But rumors have popped up over the years that a follow-up was in the works. Last December, he told his fans on Instagram Live that Star Line Gallery was “coming out next spring!” Guess we’ll have to wait and see if he was being legit. Because it would suck if he fell off.

Nails

Album: TBA (Nuclear Blast)

Releas Date: TBA

Eight years have passed since beloved 2010s powerviolence act Nails dropped an album. And it’s been four years since a new album was announced. Nails is down to its frontman Todd Jones, and things have been quiet ever since album #4 was announced in 2020. But that all changed last November when out of nowhere, news broke that LP4 was real and coming out in 2024. “New Nails LP coming Summer 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records engineered by @KurtBallou,” wrote Nails on Instagram. “Thanks for sticking with us. Info forthcoming. Love you all.” So yeah, LP4 is happening, and it will be produced by Converge’s Kurt Ballou (The Armed, Every Time I Die, Old Man Gloom) and that Nuclear Blast Records (Brand Of Sacrifice, Fuming Mouth, Hatebreed) will release it. Guess we’ll see what summer gives us, eh?

Part two will come out next week!

Gatsbys American Dream Are Actually Back!

And it’s for real this time!

Seattle emo-prog act Gatsbys American Dream are reuniting for the first time in over a decade. The band originally existed from 2001 to 2006 before reuniting very briefly in the early 2010s. But now they’re back…again!

The band caused a massive stir on social media when they updated their profile picture and banner with a whole new band photo. People couldn’t believe that GAD were finally returning. They then began teasing big news coming Wednesday, with that being their first show since 2012. The show will take place Friday, April 28, at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10 am PST/1 pm EST at teragramballroom.com.

Gatsbys Amreican Dream formed in 2001 in Seattle, Wash., creating four albums in total, two with Rocketstar Recordings and the last with Fearless Records (As It Is, Movements, Scotty Sire). Throughout their career, GAD have toured and performed with bands like Action Action, Portugal. The Man and Copeland, and played the Vans Warped Tour twice, in 2005 on the Smartpunk.com Stage with Armor For Sleep, Darkest Hour and Scary Kids Scaring Kids, and 2011 for one day only on the Nintendo 3DS Stage with Family Force 5, I Set My Friends On Fire and Relient K.

The band reunited back in 2010 with a secret performance during a show with Forgive Durden. They dropped two new tracks with Equal Vision Records (Anberlin, Hot Water Music, Shallow Pools) called “Modern Man” and “Born Dead” (later retitled as “Untitled” following the 2011 Yunnan earthquake) and that was it. Soon, the troupe vanished come early 2013 after frontman Nic Newsham tweeted that their reunion album was unfinished and would probably remain that way. Various members would go on to make several other projects, such as Kay Kay And His Weathered Underground, Places And Numbers, The Money Pit, Wild Orchid Children, and Marrakesh.

Welcome back, Gatsbys. We’ve missed you.