Opinion | My underrated albums of the year so far

2024 was a year full of fantastic music. It’s crazy that the year is coming to an end in a few months. Many big artists released albums this year, such as Zach Bryan, Green Day and Khalid, but I think it is good to give some love to underrepresented artists.

To start off, MJ Lenderman released his fourth solo album “Manning Fireworks” on Sept. 6. When I was live DJing the other day for WPTS Radio, my friends and I decided to play “She’s Leaving You” off of this album. Someone walked up to us and asked, “Is it ‘Manning Fireworks’ fall?” My answer to that was yes, it is “Manning Fireworks” fall. This album has no skips — honestly, every MJ Lenderman album has no skips. Once I listen to one of his songs, I listen to him for the rest of the day. MJ Lenderman will be in Pittsburgh on Oct. 29, and I’m really hoping I can make it to this show. I’ve been waiting too long to see him. 

Another great band is Horse Jumper of Love, who released “Disaster Trick” on Aug. 16. I have seen Horse Jumper of Love live twice so far, and I definitely want to see them on this tour. This album might be my favorite other than the band’s self-titled released in 2017. Horse Jumper of Love has a dream-like, slowcore, eerie vibe to them. Every time I listen to a song by them, I feel like I’m floating in the air. 

On Mar. 22, Waxahatchee released “Tigers Blood.” I saw Waxahatchee live for the first time a couple weeks ago in Pittsburgh, and they played the entire album. On this album, MJ Lenderman is featured on “Right Back to It,” the most popular song on the album. This album is perfect for when you just want to relax and unwind.

Foxing is another band that released a fantastic album this year. On Sept. 13, Foxing released their self-titled album. This album is so hard to describe, but that is what makes it so good. Foxing is fantastic live as well. I saw Foxing with The Hotelier, another great band whose last album was released in 2016. One thing to note about this new Foxing album is that it is loud — insanely loud. It is absolutely incredible. It is loud, then dies down for about two songs, then picks right up again. 

To switch up genres again, country-folk musician Sierra Ferrell released “Trail of Flowers” on March 22. Ferrell is a little underrated in the country-folk genre. My favorite songs off this album are “I Could Drive You Crazy” and “American Dreaming.” Ferrell’s vocals are absolutely beautiful, and I enjoy the twang of the instrumentals.

Two bands that deserve a lot more attention include Fosh. and If Kansas Had Trees. I’ve seen both of these bands live multiple times, mainly at house venues. They know how to put on a show, that’s for sure.

On April 5, Fosh. released “Up With The Sun” — their first album. If you’re a fan of Modern Baseball, Basement and Turnover, you would love Fosh. — they remind me of those bands a ton. Their album is so catchy, and they’re even catchier in person — so definitely see them live.

On June 7, If Kansas Had Trees released “Where You Thought You Would Be.” This was also their first album. If you like bands like Neck Deep, Hot Mulligan, The Wonder Years and Title Fight, you would love If Kansas Had Trees. Right when I started listening to them, the vocalist immediately reminded me of the lead singer of Neck Deep, Ben Barlow. 

Overall, 2024 was a great year for music. There are so many other albums from 2024 that were released that I could mention, but this would be an insanely long column. If you want more album suggestions, I have many more on my Spotify.

Have new album recommendations? You can email Irene at inm24@pitt.edu.