Every month, Uproxx cultural critic Steven Hyden makes an unranked list of his favorite music-related items released during this period — songs, albums, books, films, you name it.
1. Vampire Weekend, “Capricorn” and “Gen-X Cops”
A signature band of 21st century indie announced their return this month with two new songs from a forthcoming album, Only God Was Above Us, due in April. They are decidedly different from one another — “Capricorn” is a lurching shuffle undergirded by an acoustic guitar strum that sounds borrowed from a late-’60s Kinks record, while “Gen-X Cops” is a surf-rock rave-up with a screechingly overheated slide-guitar riff. But taken together, they offer a clear indication that the California crunchiness of Father Of The Bride has been set aside for now. This will no doubt please fans of VW’s NYC-centric pre-FOTB output, though as a FOTB fan I’m also pleased to hear that this band’s careful songcraft and exquisite production taste remains as unerring as ever.
2. DIIV, “Brown Paper Bag”
On my weekly indie-rock podcast and elsewhere, I have been bullish on the future of this somewhat star-crossed shoegaze band. In the 2010s, they weathered personal issues and changing musical tides while amassing a quietly excellent discography of three albums, including their most recent effort, 2019’s Deceiver. They have a devoted following, but they still seem a little unsung. And this was all before I heard their upcoming album, Frog In Boiling Water, due in May. I’m going to keep my specific thoughts on the record to myself for now, but I’ll just say that ranks among the very best albums I have heard so far in 2024. The single “Brown Paper Bag” is the lead-off track, and it’s a good indicator of the record’s quality.
3. Liquid Mike, Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot
I knew I was going to love this album when I got to the sixth track and noticed that it quoted my favorite scene from the 1999 documentary American Movie. For those that haven’t seen it: American Movie is about an aspiring filmmaker from Milwaukee who is trying to overcome forces external (his unsupportive family, his lower-middle-class circumstances) and internal (alcoholism, a tendency to self-sabotage) to make his cinematic masterpiece, Northwestern. It makes sense that Liquid Mike — a band that hails from Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula — would relate to this movie. Principal songwriter Mike Maple is another talented Midwestern striver who is simultaneously fascinated by the mundane particulars of small-town life and scared-to-death that it might swallow him whole. Oh, and I have mentioned the music yet? I doubt you will find a sharper power-pop record this year, particularly if you wish Guided By Voices sounded more like Everclear.
4. Jessica Pratt, “Life Is”
So many album announcements this month from acts who haven’t put out new music since the Trump administration! This is the first single from Here In The Pitch, which will be out in May, and it’s exactly what you would expect from this enigmatic, out-of-time master — it sounds like she’s singing in a lonely room situated inside of an ancient hotel populated by poets, junkies, and immaculately debauched rock stars from 1967. In other words: Perfect.
5. Amen Dunes, “Purple Land”
Who wants another new album from a respected indie act that was last heard from several years ago? Back in 2018, Amen Dunes put out one of the great indie-rock albums of the last 10 years, Freedom. On that record, Damon McMahon seemed like he was transitioning to a more mainstream sound, displaying a penchant for anthemic guitar jams that soared to exhilarating pay-offs. But on his upcoming LP due in May, Death Jokes, McMahon pivots back to a more experimental and introverted style that’s as unsettling as the title suggests. I’m still wrapping my head around it, frankly, but it’s been a fascinating journey.
6. MGMT, Loss Of Life
These brilliant pranksters always wait four or five years between albums, which is just long enough for people to think, “Oh, these guys are pretty good” and then immediately forget about it until the next album. To me they are the Steely Dan of blog rock — a very smart duo who met at an elite East Coast college and then stumbled into unlikely pop success, after which they grew even more perverse. Loss Of Life actually kind of sounds like Steely Dan at times — there are a lot of soft rock moves and tons of fretless bass. It is another Congratulations-style curveball after 2018’s Little Dark Age, which was their straightest album since Oracular Spectacular. MGMT once again is acting like a band who had two huge hits right out of the gate, and now gets to play with house money.
7. Real Estate, Daniel
As is the case with MGMT, acknowledging that Real Estate is now a legacy act that has put out albums in three different decades creates a shock of mortality akin to the “Matt Damon ages into an old man at the end of Saving Private Ryan” meme. Wasn’t it only yesterday that these New Jersey dream-poppers were writing nostalgic tunes about the suburbs during the Obama administration? With Daniel, Real Estate once again clarify that their M.O. is refining rather than revolutionizing their sound. Martin Courtney writes very pretty guitar pop songs, and his band plays those songs like The Feelies after downing a pleasant edible. Daniel evinces all of the good things about growing older, and none of the bad ones. If you like Real Estate, the album delivers.
8. Hovvdy, “Forever”
This Texas duo makes strummy folk-rock songs that feel like cozy back-porch hangs. It’s the kind of music that you can easily waste an afternoon listening to over and over. So it’s good that their forthcoming record is a self-titled double album, which drops on April 26. The single is called “Forever,” and it’s lovely.
9. Memorytown, It Takes Forever
Speaking of cozy jams, this Philadelphia band is a side project for Matt Schimelfenig, who also plays in the band Gladie along with producing scores of other groups. With Memorytown, he makes chunky heartland rock music that’s perfect for an unseasonably warm winter. Their latest It Takes Forever is a winner.