BY Eric Rezsnyak
As 2023 comes to a close, we’re not only looking back at the great pop culture that was released this year (you HAVE listened to our Best of 2023 episodes, haven’t you?), we’re also looking forward to the movies, music, TV series, and more scheduled to come out in 2024.
Below find the 10 albums the crew at the Great Pop Culture Debate are most excited about going into 2024, plus a few honorable mentions. Bear in mind that with especially with music, release dates can shift on a whim, and new projects are announced — or surprise dropped — ALL the time.
Did we miss your most anticipated upcoming album? Drop it in the comments so we can make sure to be on the lookout for it!
10. Paloma Faith The Glorification of Sadness (February 16)
Brit Paloma Faith has been putting some terrific pop songs for years, with only marginal crossover in the American audience. I love her, and invite you to check out “Mouth to Mouth” and “Infinite Things.” Her new album is inspired by the break-up of a long-term relationship, and if the lead single is any indication, she’s ready to set fire to the rain. Let it burn, Paloma!
9. Allie X Girl With No Face (February 23)
Canadian electro-pop artist Allie X is back for her first new album since 2020’s Cape God. We loved the last album, and lead single “Black Eye” is absolute fire. We consider Allie our girl of ANY year. For more Allie X, check out “Hello,” “Catch,” “Super Duper Party People,” and “Learning In Public.”
8. Gossip Real Power (March 22)
It’s wild to think that we haven’t had a new album from Gossip since 2012’s A Joyful Noise. But when you consider that the band split in 2016, and Beth Ditto went on to a solo career, and we had, you know, a pandemic and are on the verge of social collapse…I guess it’s about right. But Gossip is back, and judging on the first single, the band is bringing a softer, more contemplative sound than we were used to compared to their previous work.
7. Bleachers Bleachers (March 8)
Following a split from record label RCA, Bleachers turns to British indie label Dirty Hit for its eponymous fourth album. Lead vocalist Jack Antonoff has continued to rack up impressive industry cred thanks to his songwriter and producing work with Taylor Swift, the 1975, St. Vincent, Lana del Rey, Lorde, and others. While Bleachers has had its own success in the past, could this album break them as big as the bold-faced names with whom Antonoff works? Lead single “Modern Girl” is certainly a bop with an 80s pub-rock throwback vibe.
6. Green Day Saviors (January 19)
The upcoming Saviors is the 14th studio album for Green Day. If, like myself, you are old enough to remember when they were the young punks on the rock scene, that’s a sobering statement. The lead singles capture that signature Green Day sound, driving guitars, bellowing vocals, jaunty licks, and politically potent lyrics. It sounds good, and Green Day deserves respect for still sounding relevant 30 years after Dookie made its debut. Name another grunge or post-grunge band still releasing new music, I’ll wait.
5. Sleater-Kinney Little Rope (January 19)
I didn’t have to wait long, because Sleater-Kinney has ALSO been making music since the mid-90s and is still sounding great. In addition to the excellent “Say It Like You Mean It,” the other released single, “Hell,” is fucking terrific.
4. Jennifer Lopez This Is Me…Now (February 16)
Jennifer Lopez hasn’t released a full album in more than 10 years, which makes This Is Me…Now newsworthy in itself. Even more interesting: this is a spiritual successor to her 2002 album, This Is Me…Then, and will focus on her “emotional, spiritual, and psychological journey” over the intervening 20-plus years, specifically regarding her love life. The REALLY fascinating part of this is that in 2002, she was breaking up with her then-fiancee Ben Affleck, and now she is MARRIED to said Ben Affleck. So there should be some wild shit going down on this one. The album will also be accompanied by a visual album on Amazon Prime Video. The lead single “Can’t Get Enough” is supposed to drop in early January.
3. Sia Reasonable Woman (Q2 2024)
Sia is poised to have a big year in 2024. In addition to this, her 10th studio album, slated for release in the spring, she also produced the new album by Paris Hilton, also scheduled to drop in 2024. And before you laugh at that, I would like to point out that Paris’s original album was an unheralded modern classic with multiple excellent pop tracks, and I mean that totally unironically. It is unsurprising that Sia would collaborate with Hilton, as she has a history of both loving reality TV stars and championing people who are generally dismissed by critics. The first single for the new album is the least screechy Sia has been in years, and we love that for her.
2. Cardi B Untitled Album (Release TBD)
We know precious little about Cardi’s new album, which is — inconceivably, given her pop-culture omnipresence — just her SECOND full album, after 2018’s Invasion of Privacy. Cardi has of course blessed us with many iconic singles since then, including “Bongos,” the Lizzo collab “Rumors,” and the full cultural reset that was “WAP.” Cardi has been clear that she intends to release this album on her terms, as she felt she was unable to take advantage of many of the opportunities that came with her first one given circumstances in her personal life. Speaking of, her social media has indicated that she’s experiencing some pretty major changes in that area, which could further complicate this album release. But we hope not. We need Cardi in 2024! Okcurrrr!
1. Dua Lipa Untitled Album (Release TBD)
Is it messed up that our No. 1 spot is reserved for an album we know almost nothing about? Probably. I don’t care. Dua Lipa’s 2020 album Future Nostalgia is a modern pop masterpiece, and since she’s said we can expect the follow up this year, the anticipation is palpable. In 2023 she’s already fed us with two spectacular singles, “Dance the Night Away” from the Barbie movie (reportedly her farewell to disco), and the moody, carnal “Houdini,” presumably from this new project, which is said to be inspired by 70s-era psychedelia. Given that she’s also starring in the February-debuting film Argylle, there’s a good chance we’ll get new music from her in the next few months.
Don’t miss our other Top 10 Lists, including Most Anticipated Movies, TV Series, and Games of 2024. Click here for more!
Honorable Mentions:
The Last Dinner Party Prelude to Ecstasy (February 2)
Usher Coming Home (February 9)
MGMT Loss of Life (February 23)
Mannequin Pussy I Got Heaven (March 1)
The Veronicas Gothic Summer (Release TBD)
Click here for more Top 10 lists!
