There’s a full array of new music set for release in 2024, encompassing a wide range of styles and genres. With so many places to listen, including traditional labels and social media, it’s never been easier to hear new music.
We know it can be tricky to discover the top albums at any time with so much new music out there. We put together a list of upcoming 2024 music releases that you’ll definitely want to be in the loop for, whether you like your music loud and raucous or soft and soothing. And if your favorite artist isn’t on the list, well, the year is still young.
Kid Cudi
Kid Cudi’s new album, Insano, includes collabs with names like Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Rocky, and Lil Yachty. It’s the American rapper and producer’s ninth studio album and is set for release on January 12. The lead single “Porsche Topless” dropped in June 2023, followed by “At the Party” in November. The former is a midtempo summer fantasy, with images of pulling up in a topless Porsche, “dippin’ through blue skies” and “celebratin’ to a toast to the life.” On the latter, Cudi is joined by Pharrell Williams and Travis Scott for an understated burner. He also released unofficial singles “Most Ain’t Dennis” and “Ill What I Bleed” as “samples” to tide fans over until the album hits. Cudi has also announced a tour beginning in April to support the album.
Kali Uchis
Colombian-American singer Kali Uchis has set January 12 as the release date for her fourth studio album, Orchídeas. It’ll be a Spanish-language album, her second, and is led by the single “Munekita,” a bouncing, rhythmic jam that also features Dominican rapper El Alfa as well as American rapper JT from the Florida-based hip-hop duo City Girls. Uchis dropped the melodic, aching second single, “Te Mata,” in October, while Colombia’s Karol G joined her on the third single, “Labio Mordidos.”
Green Day
Veteran pop-punkers Green Day release their fourteenth studio album, Saviors, on January 19. It’ll feature fifteen songs, led by single “The American Dream is Killing Me,” a three-minute blast of power chords and singer Bille Joe Armstrong’s socially-conscious lyrics, and second single “Look Ma, No Brains,” a barnburner that recalls their punk rock roots. The third single, “Dilemma,” dropped in December 2023 and, like the first two, features raucous guitar licks and thumping bass and drums. Look for their international stadium tour in the spring and summer alongside The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, and others.
Idles
Tangk is the forthcoming album from Idles. The critically acclaimed British rockers’ fifth is set for a February 16 release. Two singles have already been released — the first, “Dancer,” is an intoxicating mix of Adam Devonshire’s urgent bass, Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan’s back-and-forth rolling guitar riffs, and vocalist Joe Talbot’s winking speak-singing about “dancing hip to hip” though “we can swing if you prefer.” The second, “Grace,” is a slow-burner, starting off with an understated beat and restrained guitars, then building in intensity without losing its sense of intimacy. To support the new release, the band kicked off a world tour at the Clockenflap Music and Arts Festival in Hong Kong on December 1, 2023, which will wrap in Manchester in the UK on December 7, 2024.
Jennifer Lopez
American pop diva Jennifer Lopez drops her ninth studio album, This is Me… Now, on February 16. It’s a sequel to her 2002 album, This is Me… Then, an album she dedicated to Hollywood star Ben Affleck, with whom she was in a romance. After a much-publicized split with Affleck back in 2004, the couple reunited in 2022, inspiring Lopez’s newest creation. It comes nearly ten full years after her eighth album, A.K.A. and will be accompanied by an Amazon Prime documentary.
MGMT
Indie rock stalwarts MGMT‘s fifth studio album, Loss of Life, is set for release on February 23, their label debut for New York-based indie house Mom + Pop. It’ll feature ten new songs, led by the single “Mother Nature,” which was dropped in the fall of 2023. That song is a mid-tempo jam combining acoustic and electronic guitars that starts gently, builds into a rocker, then simmers down again into an acoustic groove. It’s a strong sample of their songwriting craft and — with lines such as “I torched the fields again and killed an honest man / Now I understand Mother Nature” — hints at an ambitious and compelling direction for the full album.
Tyla
The South African singer‘s eponymous debut album comes out on March 1. And if the lead single “Water” is any indication, the full-length album promises to be a warm, rich, and enticing mix of ampiano, R&B, and hip-hop to top your 2024 music list. In November 2023, she also released three additional singles from the album, “Truth or Dare,” “Butterflies,” and “On and On,” each featuring delicate guitar work, supple bass, and Tyla’s soulful singing. She’ll embark on an international tour in March in Sweden.
Ministry
Durable industrial metal rockers Ministry let loose with their newest album, Hopiumforthemasses, on March 1. Lead single, “Goddamn White Trash,” is a thumping, relentless rocker, with a repeating guitar riff providing energy and force, while frontman Al Jourgensen sings about “smash[ing] the ivory tower” in support of the working classes “manipulated into civil war.” The song fits effortlessly into the band’s catalog alongside classics like “Jesus Built My Hotrod” and “N.W.O.,” and indicates Jourgensen is as full of fury as ever.
Bleachers
Bleachers, the self-titled fourth album from the New Jersey-based rock band led by popstar superproducer Jack Antonoff, is set for a March 8 release. The lead single, “Modern Girls,” starts off with a pair of saxophones joining a guitar on a riff before bass and drums kick in, and singer Antonoff chimes in with lyrics about hopping on a train for a night on the town. It’s a lively, joyful tune, and indicates that Antonoff’s hit-making sensibilities are still firing on all cylinders. The second single, “Alma Mater,” is a more understated, atmospheric tune, with certain instruments like the sax set at low volume, simulating ambient music heard in the background while an insistent bass with Antonoff’s lyrics about a tempestuous relationship keeps things interesting. It’s enough to make this album one of the most hotly anticipated albums of the year.
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Alternative rock pioneers The Jesus and Mary Chain will release their latest, Glasgow Eyes, on March 8, 40 years after their debut single, “Upside Down” first hit the airwaves. The lead single, “Jamcod,” features William Reid’s trademark distorted guitars and brother Jim’s distinctive, world-weary vocals, and would feel right at home alongside their classics like “Just Like Honey.” They’ll also be headlining a tour supporting the album, though dates have yet to be announced.
Justice
French duo Justice, one of the leaders of French house music, expects their fourth studio album to be released in the Spring of 2024, over seven years since the release of their last album, Woman. Justice’s distinct combination of mostly instrumental 70’s disco and funk grooves with 21st-century electronica, much like their fellow countrymen Daft Punk, has expanded the radius of electronic music — and their 2022 re-release of Grammy-nominated debut album Cross, featuring six new songs, gave a tasty morsel of where they are going next. We can’t wait to see their next destination.
Dua Lipa
In November 2023, Dua Lipa followed up her epic summer, dominated by her disco smash “Dance the Night” off the Barbie movie soundtrack, with the release of the first single off her upcoming third studio album. The single, “Houdini,” is another gem destined to pack the dance floors. It features three minutes of groovy bass, a shimmering synthesizer, and Lipa’s smooth, powerful voice. While the Albanian-British singer has hinted that the new album will sound different from what people may expect, it seems her innate pop sensibilities will continue to shine through on her new album, which remains untitled so far. No firm release date has been set yet.
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