As much as we love celebrating milestone anniversaries and examining the past, it’s just as important to look forward. Like last year, we spent time compiling the most exciting rising artists that are bound to have a killer year or grow even bigger — whether or not they have a new album confirmed. It was a struggle to narrow down the list, but these artists make the joy of discovery even greater. Their styles and influences may be radically different, spanning brooding dream pop to cauterizing hardcore to post-emo magnificence, but they’re all paving a new path forward and will undoubtedly define the year in some way.
Read more: Militarie Gun are doing it faster
Whether they have a hotly anticipated release or are on the verge of a breakout, these are 24 artists worth watching in 2024.
bar italia
Until this year, the perfectly unpolished post-punk project bar italia had been quite the mystery. Their minimalist sound and elusive social media presence left us wondering about the London-born trio, but last spring’s release of their debut album, Tracey Denim, kept fans engaged and new audience members wanting more. Though their time evading the spotlight has helped us to understand their stripped-down sound and unravel the real art behind this band, the narrative made a major shift in the fall, with their second album of the year, The Twits. The young, rising band are showing up now, and touring through the spring, though we’re confident there’s always more to be revealed. —Anna Zanes
Black Ends
Black Ends are one of the greatest bands to come out of Seattle in recent memory. Dubbing their music “gunk pop” — a descriptor they invented because there’s “an edge to it, some anger, and some not giving a fuck at all” — the trio use their experimental, ’90s alt-rock-indebted approach to navigate queer love, mental health, racial trauma, and beyond. Nicolle Swims has an unmissable voice, landing somewhere between apathy and aloofness, and boasts a guitar tone that sounds perpetually out of tune, which makes their songs feel like they’re just shy of falling off the rails. In the end, though, hundreds of words could be written about their scuzzy, hypnotic sound, but it’s best if you just hear it for yourself. —Neville Hardman
Buggin
Flatspot Records continues to be a gold mine of inclusive, forward-thinking hardcore, and last summer Chicago four-piece Buggin came to the surface with their debut full-length, Concrete Cowboys. The band have a history of sharing stages with Turnstile, Zulu, and Soul Glo, which says enough if you run in the right circles, and the LP offers bite, groove, and dimension. Like on the anthem “Youth,” where the band break away from their full-throttled rippers in favor of a more buoyant, surf-punk-sounding number to cap off the record and demonstrate their depth. Bassist Dewey Hendrik’s melodic vocals juxtapose Bryanna Bennett’s throat-sheering snarl about how the next generation will lead the way, which we’re already seeing in real time. —Neville Hardman
Chy Cartier
When Tottenham’s 19-year-old Chy Cartier dropped a snippet of “Bossed Up” last fall, just that sliver of the song immediately went viral. In November, it was released in full, and with no pause, it was deemed one of the best songs of the year in the U.K., with co-signs in hot pursuit from Little Simz, Central Cee, K-Trap, and more. Energetic, and with apparent ease unbelievably innovative, her style is ever-evolving and consistently fresh. Flipping traditional flows on their head, her iteration of drill is well deserving of the accolades it’s received in the last year. Whether it’s reached many of us in the U.S. yet or not, it’s about time we dive into the young U.K. rap scene and explore drill’s new wave. Let Chy Cartier be your guide. —Anna Zanes
crushed
crushed are a dynamic duo if there ever were one. The brainchild of Shaun Durkan of Bay Area shoegaze outfit Weekend and Bre Morell of woozy, gothic group Temple of Angels, the band have been destined to give dream pop a fresh new face. Shrugging off the genre’s muddiest, and most common cliches, the two have thoughtfully crafted a sound inspired by trip-hop and ’90s pop that refreshingly remains their own. For all who seek lush, shimmery ’90s sound a la Cocteau Twins, crushed have got you covered. They’ll be doing a set at Homesick Festival, Outbreak, and a string of West Coast headline shows. —Anna Zanes
Cruza
Cruza occupy an otherworldly realm where everything feels sedative, sensual, and immersive, but, if you look to the left, you notice that the walls are starting to look like liquid. That sentiment is best reflected on their latest EP, 2023’s Paranoia Pack, which is filled with bleary, nocturnal stunners that all seem to bleed into one another. Though their music is inherently vibey, it also mirrors the darkness of the modern age, existing somewhere between neo-soul, psychedelia, and trip-hop and reveling in the murkiness of it all. —Neville Hardman
Death Lens
Death Lens are proof that life gets better. Hailing from East LA, the punk outfit grew up threatened by constant police harassment and gang violence but instead turned toward positivity, striving to set a new standard within their community. Their signing to Epitaph last year was a joyous and deserved moment, making their label debut with pummeling, DIY-minded punk like on the sober anthem “Vacant” and the simmering “Limousine,” As they prepare to open for Militarie Gun on tour at the end of the month, a stacked bill in its own right, Death Lens are certain to claim this year as their own. —Neville Hardman
FLO
U.K. pop-R&B trio FLO are part of a flourishing girl group resurgence that has been empowering women to be more confident and supportive of one another. They share a kinship with other forward-thinkers like Amaarae, Rina Sawayama, and their British predecessors Spice Girls but have built their own lane, a double helix of the digital age and ’90s nostalgia. Following the intensity of last year — they received the BRIT Rising Star award, collaborated with Missy Elliott, and grew a steadfast fanbase without an album to their name — the band are taking a step back as they reflect upon their identity and the mark they want to leave on the world. It can only mean greater things to come. —Neville Hardman
glass beach
This month, glass beach made a spectacular return with their second album, and first in five years, plastic death. The LP, one of the first greats of the year, is just as bold and imaginative as you’d expect from an outfit who are dubbed “post-emo,” pulling in strains of hardcore, prog, and jazz, among others, but somehow making it all sound splendid. Their creative ambition is best heard on songs like “the CIA,” “cul-de-sac,” and “slip under the door,” where it’s impossible to predict how the rest of the song, or even the next one, will sound. It’s immensely adventurous, abstract, and thoughtful, all at once. —Neville Hardman
Glass Beams
Glass Beams are a mysterious instrumental trio creating mesmerizing songs that sink deep into a groove. The Melbourne psych band, who don intricate pearl masks whenever they play live, pull from krautrock, jazz, and electronic music in a way that sounds profoundly smooth, hypnotic, and joyous. Yes, there’s a Khruangbin similarity here, but where Glass Beams differ is their ability to tie in their Indian roots in tribute to founder Rajan Silva’s father. He even calls their 2021 debut EP, Mirage, “a love letter to my Indian heritage.” Having recently signed to Ninja Tune and with another EP on the way, it’s about to be a tremendous year for the trio as they start to make their mark upon the Western globe. —Neville Hardman
Heriot
Heriot are a crushing quartet who come from the U.K.’s booming metal scene. That community — one where everyone knows each other and offers support whenever they can — is vital to their sound, as it’s given the band a lot of permission to express themselves and follow their weirdest impulses. “Our culture right now is very celebratory of people who don’t fit a particular mold. People try to look after each other in music — especially women,” vocalist/guitarist Debbie Gough told us in 2022. You can hear that in their music, and as they prepare to unleash their debut album later this year, it’s only bound to get more wild. —Neville Hardman
Izzy Spears
Izzy Spears creates dizzying, dauntless music that takes joy in challenging the listener. In fact, chaos is where he thrives. His music shares DNA with greats like George Clinton, André 3000, and Yves Tumor, who he opened for on their U.S. tour last spring, but in attitude more than sound. Spears has had a prolific past couple of years, rattling off two EPs and a handful of singles, as well as creating music videos that feel like art films. Entering 2024, it’s clear that his music will continue to feel more elevated, provocative, and sinister as he embraces another relentless year. —Neville Hardman
Jhariah
Jhariah lives by the motto “No Genre, All Drama.” Though they’re not the only one to reject conforming to the concept, when Jhariah says it, they mean it. Having dabbled in electronic music, while referencing Gerard Way as their key influence, the rising artist recognized the reality of music today — charting pop songs can co-exist with punk tracks. In their world, the possibilities are endless, and have set Jhariah off on a journey — leading to their unpredictable style, a combination of dance-punk, emo, prog rock, and hardcore with pop, hip-hop, Latin dance, and more, which they’re made work seamlessly. All this to set the stage for epic narratives in singles and across discographies that are arguably more captivating and unexpected than the eccentric backing tracks. Based on his last release, a heavy, addictive track featuring Pinkshift, Jhariah will continue to push past boundaries, on both his forthcoming headlining tour and beyond. —Anna Zanes
Jivebomb
The Jivebomb style is built on a solid foundation of hardcore punk. Their songs are short, fast, and ferocious. They’ve removed the fluff easily accumulated across heavier genres, pared punk down to its elemental form, put their spin on it, and left it alone. It’s fun, it’s loud, and it’s arguably medicinal for those of us who have worn that genre like a pyramid-studded safety blanket throughout our lives. Surrounded by a host of succeeding Baltimore HC bands like Turnstile and Angel Du$t, and alongside Flatspot labelmates like Scowl, Zulu, and Speed, the passionate, timeless take on hardcore punk that is Jivebomb are carving out their own space. —Anna Zanes
Khana Bierbood
Though Khana Bierbood — translated as “Strange Brew” in Thai — formed in 2012, they only have a single album to their name. That record, Strangers from the Far East, which culls together their love of jamming, influenced by ’60s surf and ’70s garage rock with Thai traditional music mixed in, is heady, transportive, and has been praised by Henry Rollins, who said it “knocks [him] out” whenever he plays it. This year promises to be tremendous for the Thai outfit, as they finished recording their second album last May, with Guruguru Brain founder Go Kurosawa at the helm. —Neville Hardman
late night drive home
El Paso indie outfit late night drive home have a lot to celebrate. Their bilingual, Strokes-esque track “Stress Relief” racked up over 60 million streams, building a viral buzz around the band that started as a lo-fi project between two friends, and became the beloved foursome that were recently signed to Epitaph Records. While the swiftly rising quartet cite Car Seat Headrest and twenty one pilots, among other 2000s garage-rock greats, as inspiration, their sound, and goals, are all their own — reinventing indie music for a modern age while increasing representation for Latin artists in the genre. In just a few weeks, they’ll drop a dreamy EP, i’ll remember you for the same feeling you gave me as I slept, followed by a string of esteemed festival slots, including Coachella. —Anna Zanes
Liquid Mike
Liquid Mike, a five-piece outfit from Marquette, Michigan named after vocalist/guitarist Mike Maple, offer a lot of comedic relief in a time that feels dismal. Their press photos mostly comprise shots of the band eating hotdogs by a fire, and their self-titled debut, quite literally called S/T, is the length of a hardcore record. For a time, it felt impossible to scroll on X without seeing their name last year, in large part due to the might of their familiar, easygoing power pop. Now, the band are following it up with Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot (out Feb. 2), where they’ll up the absurdity and continue to poke fun at Midwestern living. One of the standouts, “K2,” references the choking game and smoking synthetic weed but serves as a greater reflection of how unavoidable those things can be in a small town. —Neville Hardman
nascar aloe
I’d like to imagine nascar aloe was kicking, spitting, and head-banging as he made his way out of the underground venues of North Carolina, and still yet as he entered the Los Angeles scene. Roused by the ethos and attitude of Sid Vicious, and drawing from hip-hop’s 16-bar verses and lo-fi trap beats, aloe represents a new wave of punk that’s put him on the map. Following last year’s HEY ASSHOLE! EP, this March, with wild yet unsurprising ferocity, comes his next EP, SPEED. With a feature from N8NOFACE, we’re expecting his brash bars over a synth-heavy punk sound — think, and prepare for, Depeche Mode meets Death Grips. —Anna Zanes
Sam Austins
Sam Austins’ world is rife with possibility. Growing up in Detroit, he had a lot of musical phases, from finding Paramore on Guitar Hero to digging through blogs and illegal websites to hear Odd Future and old Kanye leaks. It’s logical, then, that his music embodies all of the discovery that he experienced when he was younger — and still does now. Brilliantly reflected on his latest project, the BOY TOY EP, Austins unfurls dozens of ideas into a sound that references psych, R&B, indie, and beyond but never feels tired. No doubt he’ll up the stakes on his debut LP, which he’s hard at work on. —Neville Hardman
Spiritual Cramp
San Francisco’s Spiritual Cramp — made up of vocalist Michael Bingham, guitarists Stewart Kuhlo and Jacob Breeze, bassist Mike Fenton, Max Wickham on tambourine, and Blaine Patrick on drums — often gets described as “cool,” among many other praising adjectives, a specific word not usually peppering every review of a punk or hardcore band. And in regards to their coolness, we would have to agree. This band have found the secret ingredient to creating “organized chaos” through sound, a unique and tailored, methodical mayhem — though it should be mentioned their lawless live sets are exclusively the latter. It’s catchy and instinctively energizing, enough to be consumed by those outside of the heavy music world, while still wafting an air of anarchy, that keeps carnage and havoc at heart. Their self-titled album, released in 2023, showcased this, with a Ramones-referenced flavor — high-speed, rugged rock ’n’ roll. They will start their tour with Militarie Gun and Pool Kids in North America at the end of the month. —Anna Zanes
Sunami
The hardcore scene tends to be a close-knit one. And in San Jose, this is certainly true. By attending shows and playing in bands, you become a part of it. In this heavy music ecosystem, a group of musicians who had all been in a slew of bands from Gulch to Drain came together and created something different — Sunami. Though the band began as a short-lived joke, a parody of hardcore itself, their first show, a bloody brawl that lasted eight minutes and the same day as their first-ever rehearsal, made them rethink the temporality of their craft. Jokes aside, they were offered FYA and Sound and Fury the following week. One demo, three EPs, and one full-length later, they’re not trolling as much anymore. Today, their blend of beatdown hardcore meets death metal has drawn a host of accolades and a worldwide, bloodthirsty audience. —Anna Zanes
Sweet Pill
Drawing inspiration from alternative royalty like Paramore, as much as from local figureheads Hop Along and Algernon Cadwallader, Philadelphia’s Sweet Pill have fostered their own, unique space in the world of emo music. While satisfying to emo traditionalists, and citing their affinity toward math rock and pop punk, it’s prevalent that their fourth-wave interpretation of the genre has been peppered with the Philly DIY and hardcore scenes that raised them. And those throughlines are inherent to Sweet Pill’s success across each album and EP — we’d be hard-pressed to mention that few things compare to experiencing their live set. Sweet Pill will be going on their first headline tour this spring and release their Starchild EP in March. —Anna Zanes
THE BLSSM
Two years since her last project, the bright, emotive PURE ENERGY EP, THE BLSSM is back — and this time, things have changed. Since leaving “the majors,” the pop artist has been leaning into newfound independence, finding both strength and community. Her forthcoming project, PUPPY BREATH, was made alongside Kevin Abstract and Romil Hemnani, Joy Again’s Sachi, Sophie Gray, and her father, Mark Lizotte. It’s a group that has given way to her most untethered, authentic work. Perfectly chaotic, and inherently human, the diaristic tracklist tumbles from angry, alt-country-inspired heartbreak anthems to softened, upbeat indie songs, dreamy and romantic. However, while PUPPY BREATH packs a punch, don’t get comfortable. It’s bound to be a loud and lively year from THE BLSSM. —Anna Zanes
VIAL
We have Tinder to thank for Minneapolis-based trio VIAL — what began as two musicians on a desperate search for a third band member has now grown into something that exists far beyond an app. Over a debut EP, an album, and the forthcoming sophomore album they’ve been drip-feeding us since last year, VIAL have introduced an iteration of indie-punk that is a reminder of what punk really means: speaking out, regardless of what you think. Buoyant and boldly confrontational, joyously queer, and adamantly self-assured, they drift from catchy, edge-infused indie-pop anthems to raucous tracks that assertively challenge the misogyny of punk music, and the greater industry. A cross between Bikini Kill and Baltimore’s Pinkshift, though forever treading their own path, VIAL are best suited for those who yearn to be riled up, in the best of ways. burnout will arrive March 29 via Get Better Records. —Anna Zanes
