Now the dust has settled on the most wonderful time of the year – end-of-year list season – it’s time to stop looking back and fix our gazes on the future. A new year is upon us and, with it, it’ll bring a plethora of brilliant new albums for us to argue about come December. From confirmed mega releases from massive stars to attention-grabbing debuts in the next 12 months, here are some of the albums you should be looking forward to in 2024.
READ MORE: The best albums of 2023
Green Day – ‘Saviors’ (January 19)
Green Day CREDIT: Emmie America
“I think that this record is sort of the best of everything that Green Day has,” Billie Joe Armstrong shared in a radio interview last year. That record is, of course, the band’s upcoming 14th album ‘Saviors’, which the trio have said “bridges the gap” between ‘Dookie’ and ‘American Idiot’. That’s a big statement, but the record’s early singles don’t undermine their point.
The Last Dinner Party – ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ (February 2)
The Last Dinner Party. Credit: Phoebe Fox for NME
In the nine months since they introduced themselves to the public, The Last Dinner Party have excelled at building a theatrical, fantastical world around the band. In February, they’ll invite us into their realm properly with their debut album – easily the most anticipated first full-length record of 2024. Read the band’s recent Cover story with NME.
Read more – The Last Dinner Party: the newly-coronated monarchs of baroque-pop
IDLES – ‘TANGK’ (February 16)
IDLES CREDIT: Daniel Topete
On ‘TANGK’, IDLES are doing things differently. The album’s first single featured an unexpected collaboration between LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and Nancy Whang, while its follow-up ‘Grace’ found the band taking a more soulful approach. As frontman Joe Talbot told NME last year, the album began with a mission statement: to make people dance, feel love and for the music to be infectious.
Tyla – ‘Tyła’ (March 1)
Tyla CREDIT: Jeremy Soma
In 2023, Tyla scored a huge international breakthrough with ‘Water’, her viral single that’s entered the upper echelons of charts around the world and broken records while honouring the sounds of her native South Africa. There’s plenty more where that intoxicating track came from, as the handful of other songs she’s shared from her self-titled debut album show. The rest of the tracklist promises to be just as infectious.
Yard Act – ‘Where’s My Utopia?’ (March 1)
Yard Act CREDIT Phoebe Fox
After the whirlwind success of their debut album, on their second go around, Yard Act are dissecting what it means to get everything you ever wanted – and how achieving your dreams doesn’t instantly get rid of all your problems. Despite that subject matter, at its heart, the record is a party album, taking the complexities of the human existence to the heart of the dancefloor.
The Libertines – ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’ (March 8)
The Libertines CREDIT Ed Cooke
It’s been nine years since The Libertines last released an album in 2015’s ‘Anthems For Doomed Youth’. Come March, they’ll finally make their on-record return with ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’, an album started in Jamaica and finished in the band’s own Margate hotel, The Albion Rooms. As they told NME last year, the inspirations behind the record include war, the refugee crisis, dead birds, and Queen Elizabeth – an interesting cocktail in anyone’s hands, but especially theirs.
Bleachers – ‘Bleachers’ (March 8)
Bleachers CREDIT Alex Lockett
Jack Antonoff might still be better known as producer to pop icons, but his work with Bleachers is as unmissable as those other, starrier projects. Each Bleachers record thus far – three prior to this one – has rattled with euphoria, even as the songs navigate difficult emotional territory. Expect that balance to continue as Antonoff’s own star gets ever brighter.
Bob Vylan – ‘Humble As The Sun’ (April 5)
Bob Vylan CREDIT: Roberto Ricciuti/Redferns
London duo Bob Vylan will continue to keep the true spirit of punk alive in April as they share their latest album, ‘Humble As The Sun’. According to the pair, the record is “for the underdogs, the ones who come out swinging and those who refuse to be defeated in the face of injustice” and will cover everything from the G-spot to masculinity.
(G)I-DLE – ‘TBC’ (January)
(G)I-DLE CREDIT: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
K-pop girl group (G)I-DLE have been keeping busy lately, touring the world and sharing not one but two mini-albums along the way. They’ll kick off 2024 with their second full-length LP, which will hopefully see them hold on to the fun-but-empowering energy of 2023 banger ‘Queencard’ as they tackle new ground.
Chance The Rapper – ‘Star Line Gallery’ (TBC)
Chance The Rapper CREDIT: Julia Reinhart/WireImage
It’s been a long time since Chance The Rapper has given us more than a single, with five years passing since his debut studio album, 2019’s ‘The Big Day’. While he hasn’t officially announced his return with ‘Star Line Gallery’, he spent his 2023 interviews teasing the upcoming record and called it “one of my proudest projects in terms of writing and artistic vision”.
The Cure – ‘Songs Of A Lost World’ (TBC)
The Cure CREDIT: Barry Brecheisen/WireImage
Two years ago, The Cure’s Robert Smith announced the title of the band’s next album at the NME Awards. Since then, we’ve been waiting for ‘Songs Of A Lost World’ to emerge, devouring YouTube videos of new songs premiered on the band’s tour to tide us over. Smith has reportedly been tweaking the tracks over the last two years, but hopefully, in 2024, he’s satisfied enough with the record to give us all a listen.
Dua Lipa – ‘TBC’ (TBC)
Dua Lipa CREDIT Tyrone Lebon
Dua Lipa has already dominated this decade with the disco-pop of her second album ‘Future Nostalgia’ and, four years after that record’s release, she’s getting ready to reclaim her crown. Details about her third LP are currently scarce, but if lead single ‘Houdini’ is anything to go by, she’ll be taking us back to the dancefloor for another era of revelry.
Billie Eilish – ‘TBC’ (TBC)
Billie Eilish CREDIT: Jack Bridgland
With festival headline slots, a mammoth tour and her contribution to the Barbie soundtrack, it feels like Billie Eilish hasn’t been away long enough since the release of her second album to work on another record. But the star has confirmed in several interviews that she’s not only been doing just that – she’s also very close to being finished with BE3. A release date has yet to be confirmed, but we doubt she’ll sit on this album for too long.
aespa – ‘TBC’ (early 2024)
aespa CREDIT SM Entertainment
Since they debuted in 2020, SM Entertainment girl group aespa have been pushing boundaries with their AI-entwined concept. Four EPs have followed, each building on the last and levelling up, and the quartet are finally expected to release a full-length album in the first quarter of this year. According to a release schedule shared by SM, the record will be all in English, but whatever language it’s in, expect it to be explosively good.
Megan Thee Stallion – ‘TBC’ (TBC)
Megan Thee Stallion CREDIT: JC Olivera/WireImage
Megan Thee Stallion is doing things independently for now and, as her latest single ‘Cobra’ shows, that’s no bad thing. Prepare for the Houston Hottie to turn the heat up even higher in 2024 as she moves away from the drama that’s surrounded her recently to focus on what put her in the spotlight in the first place – her ferocious flow and charismatic energy.
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