Fall is typically the busiest release season of the year, and 2024 promises to be no different. In fact, it feels like it’s already begun, with more than a few outstanding albums by acclaimed artists hitting shelves this month. But in the coming months there’s so much more on the way, including unexpected comebacks from cult indie rock groups, up-and-coming singer/songwriters, artists reshaping jazz, dazzling collaborations, dance music and more. Here are our most anticipated albums of fall 2024.
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MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
(September 6; Anti-)
MJ Lenderman’s been a supporting player in some of the best albums of the past couple years, including Wednesday’s Rat Saw God and this year’s Tigers Blood from Waxahatchee. But the twang-adept singer/songwriter and guitarist steps into the spotlight on his latest full-length, Manning Fireworks. The album includes one of last year’s standout singles, “Rudolph,” as well as “She’s Leaving You,” which is one of the best honest-to-god rock anthems you’ll hear in 2024.
Nala Sinephro – Endlessness
(September 6; Warp)
Nala Sinephro made a spellbinding introduction in 2021 with her debut album, Space 1.8, one of that year’s best jazz records, intertwining more traditional jazz sounds with spacey atmosphere and gauzy layers of keyboard and harp. With her follow-up, Endlessness, Sinephro crafts a piece of music that’s intended to be experienced as a whole, with a recurring series of arpeggios tying together all of its sequential pieces. That being said, first track “Continuum 1” is gorgeous enough a piece of music on its own, showcasing the point at which groove achieves weightlessness.
Floating Points – Cascade
(September 13; Ninja Tune)
In 2021, Sam Shepherd collaborated with jazz legend Pharoah Sanders on what ended up being his final release, the gorgeous and moving Promises, which he performed following Sanders’ death with prolific, shape-shifting jazz artist Shabaka Hutchings. Now, Shepherd is back to making pulsing dance music with Cascade. Each of the singles he’s released leading up to the album, including Essential Track “Key103,” has been an absolute banger. But as with most of his music, even at its most immediate, there are layers to explore on deeper listening
The Jesus Lizard – Rack
(September 13; Ipecac)
After more than two decades, Chicago noise rock legends The Jesus Lizard are finally delivering a follow-up to 1998’s Blue. Unlikely as it might have seemed back in the ‘00s that the group would reconvene with new music, Rack finds the original lineup of the band back to carving out their uniquely abrasive rock through early singles like “Hide & Seek” and “Alexis Feels Sick.” But with time and space, they’ve also incorporated some more surprising elements into their sound, offering a comeback that connects to their past while building a bridge to a new era.
Nilüfer Yanya – My Method Actor
(September 13; Ninja Tune)
Nilüfer Yanya has quickly become one of the best singer/songwriters of the moment, delivering an album’s worth of stunning art-pop on 2022’s PAINLESS. With her follow-up to that record, she embraces transition, moving to new label Ninja Tune while building up a new set of songs crafted exclusively with creative partner Wilma Archer. Of those 11 new songs she’s released four singles thus far, including the alt-rock fuzz of “Like I Say (I runaway)” and the low-simmering pop groove of “Mutations,” the likes of which are some of the best she’s written to date. It’s been exciting to hear her growth over the past half-decade, and she appears to be stepping up to another level entirely.
Jamie xx – In Waves
(September 20; Young)
Jamie xx’s bandmates in The xx, Oliver Sim and Romy, have each released a solo album in the past two years. And now, nine years after debut album In Colour, Jamie xx is preparing the release of his own sophom*ore LP. And based on the early singles, including song of the summer candidate “Life” featuring vocals from Robyn, it’s essentially a lock for being one of this fall’s go-to party records. Considering his group’s more low-key sensibility, it’s always a joy to hear Jamie crank up the beats and set up some bangers.
Nubya Garcia – Odyssey
(September 20; Concord Jazz)
Nubya Garcia proved herself as a standout player in other ensembles before releasing her solo debut Source in 2020. She continues to expand her repertoire as a bandleader with Odyssey, expanding beyond jazz into soul and orchestral terrain while retaining the searching spiritualism and unmistakable groove that defined her debut album. On tracks such as “The Seer” and “Clarity,” she continues to push into new territory, reinforcing why she’s a crucial player in the ever-evolving realm of contemporary jazz.
Alan Sparhawk – White Roses, My God
(September 27; Sub Pop)
Before Low came to an end, following the passing of founding member Mimi Parker, Minnesota’s Low had been taking their music to more experimental terrain on albums such as 2018’s Double Negative and 2021’s HEY WHAT. With his debut solo album, White Roses, My God, vocalist/songwriter Alan Sparhawk continues his pursuit of experimental pop sounds in an album that hangs heavy with grief yet is driven by inspiration and possibility. It promises to be a thrilling and emotional new chapter from one of the most consistently fascinating songwriters in indie music.
Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere
(October 4; Century Media)
Blood Incantation don’t follow the typical death metal path. Following the release of their outstanding 2019 album Hidden History of the Human Race, they delivered an album of spacey ambient synth pieces rather than a proper metal album. Which for any other band might have been controversial, but in this instance seemed perfectly rational. However, their next album comprises two side-long epics, taking their death metal deeper into space and outside our gravitational orbit. They describe it as both a “Herzog-style sci-fi epic” and “a ’70s prog album played by a ‘90s death metal band,” and if you’ve been reading this website in the past decade, you’ll know that we are so ready for that.
The Bug – Machine
(October 4; Relapse)
Kevin Martin has been prolific in bridging the gap between dub, electronic music and industrial/metal, having frequently collaborated with Godflesh’s Justin Broadrick and most recently delivering a supremely heavy album of industrial dancehall on 2021’s Fire. He made the perfectly logical choice of working with Relapse for his next project, Machine, which began as a series of under-the-radar self-released EPs and is now being compiled into a proper LP (or 5xLP in its expanded deluxe version). Technically this project includes previously released material, but it’s not really official until those grimy, thunderous basslines make the needle jump out of the groove.
Drug Church – Prude
(October 4; Pure Noise)
Drug Church have never been a conventional hardcore band, but with each new release they continue to showcase a stronger adherence to pop melodies and richly arranged productions, pushing deeper into something like a much more aggressive take on power pop (with ’90s alt-rock hooks). Following the excellent Hygiene, new album Prude finds them continuing to ride that balance of raw intensity with pop hooks and headphone production as they’ve revealed through early singles such as “Myopic” and “Demolition Man.”
Geordie Greep – The New Sound
(October 4; Rough Trade)
After casually mentioning that Black Midi had broken up after releasing three excellent albums, frontman Geordie Greep revealed the details of his debut solo album, The New Sound. Greep had already been doing solo performances outside the band, and while their wild instrumental chemistry will certainly be missed, there’s reason to believe that Greep’s debut won’t dial back the group’s intensity. Lead single “Holy, Holy” is something like King Crimson performing at the Copacabana, incorporating Latin jazz flourishes into a prog narrative about pathetic sexual exploits that introduces a fascinating new chapter of Greep’s career.
Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn – Quiet in a World Full of Noise
(October 4; Merge)
Shape-shifting singer Dawn Richard and composer Spencer Zahn created something special with their debut collaboration, 2022’s Pigments, a gentle and meditative album that paired gorgeous vocal performances with graceful instrumentation. They’re following that up with Quiet In a World Full of Noise, written after each underwent a heavy period of grieving, and as they explore healing through musical expression, the duo also continue to expand their musical palette, building on an already incredible foundation.
Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn : Quiet in a World Full of Noise
Undeath – More Insane
(October 4; Prosthetic)
Undeath understand something important about death metal: It should be fun. Not that it can’t also be cerebral or intricate or conceptual, but Undeath’s version of death metal leans heavier on hooks and rhythms meant for some mayhem in the pit. Following their 2022 album It’s Time…to Rise from the Grave, the Rochester, New York group prepare More Insane, which they introduced via the first single “Brandish the Blade,” a song that features some of their most ferocious riffs and soloing. And in case you’re wondering, yes, it is fun as hell.
Chat Pile – Cool World
(October 11; Flenser)
Chat Pile delivered an absolutely crushing debut with 2022’s God’s Country before turning around and delivering the soundtrack to Tenkiller shortly thereafter. With Cool World, the Oklahoma City group brings back their ultra-heavy noise rock, exploring what vocalist Raygun Busch, referencing Voltaire, says is about “the price at which we eat sugar in America,” through blistering and awesome songs like first single “I Am Dog Now” and the brutal “Masc.” It’s looking like a gnarly season for noise rock fans.
Chat Pile : Cool World
ELUCID – Revelator
(October 11; Fat Possum)
Elucid and billy woods, two halves of Armand Hammer, have kept up an astonishing pace of releases over the past year, the duo and woods himself each having released a full-length last year, along with guest appearances, a Sun Ra tribute and more. Elucid is now delivering his follow-up to 2022’s I Told Bessie, his first for Fat Possum, with the stated purpose of getting “as freaky as I could.” Early single “Instant Transfer” bears that out, but as with his body of work overall, always expect the unexpected.
Oranssi Pazuzu – Muuntautuja
(October 11; Nuclear Blast)
The latest album from Finnish psych-metal iconoclasts Oranssi Pazuzu translates to “shape-shifter,” which doubles as a description of the group’s own strange and warped approach to music. Their follow up to 2020’s Mestarin Kynsi is similarly strange and disorienting, full of spiraling riffs and driving rhythms, with layers of sonic treatments that make the experience all the more harrowing and eerie. Which seems fitting, as it arrives only a few weeks before Halloween.
High Vis – Guided Tour
(October 18; Dais)
High Vis released one of the best rock records in 2022 with Blending, a set of post-punk that found the London group evolving from their hardcore past toward something more melodic with a bit of a Stone Roses twist. With Guided Tour, the group appear to be pushing forward into more eclectic territory while retaining some of the punk rock urgency that sets them apart from other contemporary post-punk groups. While early single “Mob DLA” carries a bit more heaviness, “Mind’s a Lie” sees the group embracing more club-ready sounds as well.
Japandroids – Fate & Alcohol
(October 18; Anti-)
The arrival of the fourth album by Vancouver indie rock duo Japandroids is bittersweet, as they’ve announced it will be their final record. That said, their long-awaited follow-up to 2017’s Near to the Wild Heart of Life is already shaping up to be a hell of a way to go out, thanks to outstanding pre-release singles such as “Chicago.” While we’ll certainly miss their roaring indie rock anthems when they finally call it a day, we’re at least thankful that they’re giving us one more set of songs to savor.
Kelly Lee Owens – Dreamstate
(October 18; dh2)
Kelly Lee Owens’ music has undergone some dramatic swings over the past five years, her progressive tech-house sound on 2020’s Inner Song eventually detouring into more abstract sonics on LP.8. But with Dreamstate, the Welsh producer once again embraces dance music, led by the high-energy single “Love You Got.” Whatever shape her music takes, it’s always interesting and frequently outstanding, but I’ll confess to being eager to hear a record loaded with hits like “Love You Got.”
Pharmakon – Maggot Mass
(October 18; Sacred Bones)
Five years after 2019’s Devour, Margaret Chardiet breaks her Morbid Angel-like alphabetical naming convention as she enters a new era of noise. Pharmakon spent the 2010s creating some of the decade’s most eerie industrial terror-scapes, and the project is “reborn” with her latest, a record that examines humanity’s dysfunctional relationship with nature, as demonstrated through the wonderfully ugly and unsettling lead single, “Wither and Warp.”
Fievel is Glauque – Rong Wiecknes
(October 25; Fat Possum)
Fievel Is Glauque are a unique band in the sphere of indie pop, blending elements of progressive rock and jazz fusion in with their mellifluous art-pop compositions. Their songs are wonderfully unpredictable and comprise many dazzling climactic pieces as part of one stunning whole. Rong Wieckenes, their first for Fat Possum, has the potential to bring their idiosyncratic sound to an even wider audience, but their approach remains every bit as strange and thrilling as ever. First single “As Above So Below” is unlike much else you’ll hear in indie rock right now, and it’s for that reason that we’re excited about what comes next.
Karate – Make It Fit
(October 25; Numero Group)
Boston jazz-influenced indie group Karate broke up in the early ‘00s after releasing six albums of increasingly unconventional songwriting and textural arrangements. Their catalog has since been reissued via Numero Group, and the band’s reunited for a series of shows, which they’re following with a Make It Fit, their first new album in 20 years. They released three early songs as a preview for the album—“Around the Dial,” “Defendants” and “Silence, Sound”—which home in on the band’s melodic sensibility and hooks that recall some of their earliest records while maintaining the spacious, jazz-oriented approach that they evolved into.
Elias Rønnenfelt – Heavy Glory
(October 25; Escho)
Iceage has been moving away from their intense punk rock origins toward an approach to songwriting that incorporates more elements of blues, gospel and psychedelia, their last album Seek Shelter drawing comparisons to the likes of The Rolling Stones and Spiritualized. But in that time, frontman Elias Rønnenfelt has grown even stronger as a songwriter and lyricist. So it was probably inevitable that he’d end up putting together his solo debut at some point. Heavy Glory features some performances from his Iceage bandmates, but the album itself takes inspiration from troubadours such as Townes Van Zandt and Mickey Newbury, shining an entirely new spotlight on Rønnenfelt’s music.
Tribulation – Sub Rosa in Æternum
(November 1; Century Media)
Swedish gothic metal outfit Tribulation haven’t revealed that many details from their upcoming album Sub Rosa in Æternum, which arrives nearly five years after 2020’s Where the Gloom Becomes Sound. But they have released two singles, “Tainted Skies” and “Saturn Coming Down,” which find that their knack for atmospheric grandeur and melodic, riff-driven heavy metal remain firmly intact. We wouldn’t have expected anything less.
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