My 10 Must-Hear Albums of the First Half of 2024

Normally I save my “Must-Hear” list for the end of the year, but there have been so many great albums released in the first six months of 2024 that I couldn’t possibly wait that long to talk about them. So it’s time for my first ever mid-year must-hear list!

A few quick notes on how I do things here …

* I focus on indie artists/bands, so this list is typically filled with fantastic albums that I feel deserve to be heard by a wider audience. 

* I don’t use number rankings, because this isn’t about saying one album is “better” than another, it’s about putting the focus on great albums everyone should hear.

* Each album title links directly to where you can hear the album in full, and whenever possible I’ve also included links to any interviews I’ve done with these artists/bands over the past six months.

So without further adieu, here are my ten must-hear albums of the first half of 2024.

 

Gamblers
Pulverizer 

Genre: Pop-rock with ’80s influences

Gamblers’ sophomore LP, Pulverizer, is an album you immediately fall in love with. The beauty in it is the juxtaposition of deeply emotional lyrics about loss, and mortality, with music that makes you feel good. This turns what could be a downer into something that is sonically an anti-depressant.

In fact, Pulverizer is so good I’ve actually offered to drive friends places just so I could play them songs from it.

Interview: Gamblers – An Indie Band You Shouldn’t Bet Against

 

 

Kitty Coen
☆HELLCAT☆ 

Genre: Alt-pop

When I first listened to Kitty Coen’s ☆HELLCAT☆ I thought – finally, an artist that can fill the Halsey-sized hole in my heart! Upon repeat listens, however, I’ve come to realize Coen, and ☆HELLCAT☆, are so much more. Yes, she has plenty of fantastic, emotion driven, alt-pop, but she also has a slight country influence, and a strong desire to break whatever molds exist.

Interview: Kitty Coen – The Hellcat is Ready to Roar

 

 

SNUB
All Day Glow 

Genre: Heavy grunge

With influences that range from L7 to Alice in Chains, Melbourne-based grunge rock band SNUB, and their full-length debut, All Day Glow, have all the classic earmarkings of the genre, while also taking it in a heavier direction. Their music is intense, and when frontwoman Lisa Bell sings, you can legitimately feel every emotion she’s going through.

Interview: 8 Things You Should Know About SNUB

 

 

Blushing
Sugarcoat 

Genre: Shoegaze, dreampop, alternative

I’ve been a fan of shoegaze / dreampop band Blushing for a little over five years, and with Sugarcoat the foursome have really taken everything to the next level. It’s an album that’s so good it makes you stop everything else you’re doing, and turn your full attention to the music. That’s pretty damned special.

 

foamboy
Eating Me Alive 

Genre: Electro-lounge, post-disco pop

I’m sure some of you are looking at the genre description I wrote for this album, and are thinking, “What on earth is electro-lounge?” Well, imagine a really chill late night venue – foamboy’s Eating Me Alive is the music that would set the mood. Everything about it is cool, and the good news is you don’t actually have to wait until it’s late at night to enjoy it.

 

 

PACKS
Melt The Honey 

Genre: Indie rock with grunge, and alternative influences

PACKS is like a ‘90s alt-rock band transported into 2024. Frontwoman Madeline Link, who uses PACKS as her performance moniker, has the remarkable ability to have vocals that are equal parts disaffected, and emotion driven. It’s such a great throwback to a bygone era that I feel like MTV should relaunch 120 Minutes just for her.

 

 

Danielle Durack
Escape Artist 

Genre: Singer-songwriter

The brilliance of singer-songwriter Danielle Durack is that while what she writes is personal, she finds a way to make it universal, so if you’ve ever felt the same way she does – and most of us share those magical things called human emotions – you’re going to connect with her songs.

Additionally, there’s an authentic sweetness to her voice that makes Escape Artist irresistible.

 

 

Acid Tongue
Acid on the Dancefloor 

Genre: Garage rock with psych rock, punk, and classic rock influences

I can honestly say I haven’t heard anything quite like Acid Tongue’s Acid on the Dancefloor, but with their unique combination of musical, and hallucinogenic, influences, it’s definitely my kinda weird. It’s like they threw every kind of musical ingredient they love into a blender – Bowie, Talking Heads, Zappa, The Doors, and a whole lot more – mixed it all up, and it somehow came out way better, and stranger, than anyone could’ve possibly imagined.

 

Salt Cathedral
Before It’s Gone 

Genre: Worldly indie electro pop

With inspirations that range from East Asian sounds, to Latin music, to electro-pop, to French house music, Salt Cathedral’s Before It’s Gone is guaranteed to make you move. With lyrical content about the complexities of living in the modern world, it will move your mind, as well. That’s quite the impressive combo!

 

 

Daniel Davies
Ghost of the Heart 

Genre: Synth heavy rock

Daniel Davies is best known for his work composing music for films, and TV shows, but you shouldn’t sleep on his fantastic work as a rock artist. His latest album, Ghost of the Heart, is a dark, synth heavy, gem, that at times may remind you of Depeche Mode, while at other times leans heavier into industrial rock. All of it sounds great.

 

There you have it! Those are 10 of my favorite albums from the first half of 2024. I hope you’ve found something, or maybe even multiple somethings, that you’ll check out in full (that’s what the links are for!). Happy listening!