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Which debut albums from the 2020s do you recommend?
We’re almost halfway through the 2020s (hard to believe it, I know!).
I’m interested in knowing which music newcomers we should be tuning into, instead of listening to all the same old stuff we always do from the last decade.
So, what have been your favorite debut albums of the 2020s so far? What makes them great?
Wet Leg - Wet Leg
The first time I heard this album I was in a record store and walked out with their vinyl before their record finished. I wish I could properly express why I like it so much, I just think it’s a fun groovy record. But it’s also one of the few records that makes me feel like I’m experiencing someone else’s perspective. I don’t think that feeling is exclusive to this album, or that everyone will feel that way, but it does it for me.
Such a great album, but I think it's weird that there's been nothing new from them at all since then. Not even a hint of something in the works.
I was just thinking that the other day. If I’m remembering right, back around the time their record came out they were saying that they already had enough material for a second album.
I remember seeing that they've been busy touring to the extent they've not had a chance to write anything new.
Imagine the truth is probably somewhere between the two?
Probably. I would be very surprised if they really had written enough material for two solid albums right out of the gate.
Thank you for this.
I have a few artists to list, in no particular order:
Daniel Rossen - You Belong There Very sad and beautiful. In my opinion, he is one of the best guitar players and song writers out there.
The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention Radiohead's new project, very similar to their old style.
IMANU - Unfold Colourful drum and bass, halftime, and progressive house.
nimino - Rooms on the Ark Generally makes chill, kind of poppy house.
No Mana - Secret Level Electro house, goes hard
John Summit - Comfort in Chaos Poppy prog house. Some of his tracks are too poppy for me, but he definitely has the gift of dropping classic after classic - the boy is touched.
Swardy - Compact Objects Love Swardy - he is (was?) in The M Machine. His solo music is generally beautiful downtempo electronica - would recommend checking out the Here On My Own EP as well.
Joey Valence & Brae - PUNK TACTICS Their more recent release NO HANDS is my current album of the year. Modern day Beastie Boys, but better.
Kx5 - Kx5 deadmau5 and Kaskade, what else is there to say.
i_o, Lights - Warehouse Summer 😢
Silk Static - Mind's Eye Chill, melodic bass / dubstep.
Not in any way a comprehensive list, but here are a few:
fleshwater - We're Not Here To Be Loved - An almost nu-metal/grunge-leaning shoegaze-ish act that just hits the nail on the head for a sound I love. Honestly sounds like it's straight out of the 90's in a timeless way.
KC Rae - Think I'm Gonna Die - Honestly has become one of my favorite records. Solo project debut release from vocalist of Now, Now that feels like a perfect introspective summer record.
Castle Rat - Into The Realm - Awesome trad doom/rock
Moonlight Sorcery - Piercing Through the Frozen Eternity - Symphonic/melodic black metal that just happened to nail the style in a modern form without being overly cheesy.
Sonja - Loud Arriver - Gothic-rock-tinged Traditional Heavy Metal - fronted by Melissa Moore, who was kicked out of metal band Absu by fellow members for coming out as trans. She's kicking ass without those assholes and I love the record.
Schizophrenia - Recollections of the Insane - One of my favorite death/thrash albums of all time and an incredible debut.
Chaotian - Effigies of Obsolescence - Awesome death metal
Definitely going listen to more from Moonlight Sorcery and Chaotian. Great taste and thanks for sharing!
Loving fleshwater. Reminds me a lot of Deftones in the 90's.
My list ignores arguably more important musicians like Pop Smoke, Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo as I'm not invested in popular music though acknowledge their cultural importance. This is also just my subjective list of debuts I really enjoyed or ones that shaped my current tastes. One shame is there are a lot of second albums, like Wednesday's Rat Saw God that came out in the last 4 years but I didn't include
Bartees Strange - Live Forever - big, genre bending indie rock
Chat Pile - God's Country - terrifying, heavy experimental metal
Rachika Nayar - Our Hands Against the Dark - just a reminder to me about how much I can enjoy experimental electronic/ambient music. personally their second album is better
Draag - Clara Luz - I love that shoegaze is back and this is my favorite of the new breed of shoegaze
Home is Where - the Whaler - on the forefront of "fourth wave" emo and I love how just frenetic they are
Boy Genius - the record - kind of cheating given the success of the artists as individuals
Was a huge fan of Chat Pile’s EPs prior to God’s Country and it did not disappoint. Incredible album, and such a fun live show too.
boygenius is so so good
Fred Again.. blew up the past years, his debut album contains highly emotional tracks worth listening to: Sabrina (i am the party) or Kyle (i found you), beside of course Marea (we’ve lost dancing).
IDKHow has some great energetic happy indie rock tracks with sometimes serious themes.
daði freyr technically had an debut album in 2019, but his English debut album in 2023. They gained popularity after Eurovision. The funny dances combined with actually good singing voice and just good catchy pop vibes make him very easy to listen to in my opinion.
The new fred again.. album is so insanely good. Fred was never on my radar. A few months ago I heard leavemealone and thought it was good. Then out of nowhere YouTube recommended me his rooftop set.
Ten days has been a daily listen for me. I listen to that song doing anything. Reviewing code? Fo show. Running? Most definitely. Dishes?! Makes them get done faster.
I feel like this is such an interesting question, considering how 2020 basically started with a global pandemic that already kinda feels so long ago.
I'm not super well versed in kpop in general, but I think this current Era of kpop has been really great. It's hard to believe but Blackpink's debut album The Album came out in 2020, so that would be one of my nominations. (This might be cheating though because BP was active earlier than that lol) Honestly in this era in general, since BP and BTS are both on hiatus there's been a cool rise of a lot of groups that debuted in the 2020's, including NewJeans, Le Sserafim, and most recently KATSEYE.
Continuing on this Asian pop trend (and cheating because she was active before 2020 as well) is Niki's debut album Moonchild also came out in 2020, and she's been one of my favorite artists since!
I've been scratching my head thinking of more western pop recently but I feel like everyone's been kinda around for a while who's big right now, though funnily enough Sabrina Carpenter won a Best New Artist award recently even though she's about 6 albums in.
Sofi Tukker's new album is pretty dope. "Bread". International, funky, empowering, touching, genre-crossing... etc.
That reminds me, I forgot to add Kx5 to my list!
This song is so good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNLo-sS8V4E
Sammy Rae and the Friends are my current favorite band and their debut album comes out in 9 days, though they've been putting out singles and covers for several years now. They're hard to describe as they mix quite a few styles but they're kind of a rock band with horns? But also funk and blues? For me, the defining feature is Sammy's absolutely incredible voice. What she does has been described as "vocal fireworks" and I'd say that's pretty accurate. The whole band has simply the best vibes, so positive and inclusive.
Something For Everybody comes out on September 20th.
I'm a metalhead, but I can't think of any debut worth mentioning that @0x29A didn't mention so I'll go with Ianai from Sunir.
I listened to this a lot and keep coming back to it.
It's a one person thing that people don't know much about it.
It sounds like indigenous musical cultures around the world mixed with Sigur Rós. It is really beautiful and calming to hear while not becoming boring in any way.
It's a work of art.
Edit:
Oh, on the metal front there is I AM THE INTIMIDATOR which I discovered here on Tildes.
Don't even know how to explain this one. It's a short and to the point album with enough variety and catchy songs. The theme is odd and it's what makes it fun even for a Brazilian like me who don't know nor cares about NASCAR.
Hellripper - The Affair of the Poisons
Recommended:
Vampires Grave
Savage Blasphemy
Oh I love Hellripper! Good call. Didn't knew they were post 2020s.
I'm wrong, actually.
I thought Affair of the Poisons was his first and he only released an EP prior, but he did have an album in 2017. My mistake.
OH snap! Totally forgot about I AM THE INTIMIDATOR. It seems wild and gimmicky when you first look at it but I agree everyone should check it out. It's actually kind of incredible how a NASCAR-themed metal/rock act is one of the best 2020s debuts, but that is very much true! It perfectly rides the line between humor/gimmick and sincerity (the videos are hilarious) in a way that keeps it from being cheesy or annoying
CVC - Get Real
Spotify recommended me this yacht-rock band one night last year, and I had the luck to find out they had a live concert nearby later that same evening! They're a whimsical band from England, but capture an older era's sound very well.
Their main single, Sophie, is an earworm that I couldn't shake the feeling like I've heard before. At their live showing they gave a nod to Wicked Game, which shares the same chord progression.
Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA: Blends a diverse set of sounds and topics into a stylish, immaculately produced package.
For example, in the first three tracks we get:
...and I could go on and on about the rest of the album.
Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter: A self-produced album expressing religious trauma using emotional hymn motifs. Somehow splits into a horror storyline half-way through with Ptolmaea.
Chappell Roan - The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess: A "queer coming-of-age" pop album which had a meteoric rise in the recent months. Just pure fun, and I highly recommend her Tiny Desk Performance.
Do EPs count? Spiritbox's self-titled EP came out in 2017 but their first LP, Eternal Blue was released in 2021....There were also a bunch of singles in between.