Our 2024 round-up lists continue with the new artists we discovered this year.
Dog Race – It began with a simple WhatsApp message along the lines of “listen to this, it’s so good and weird” – they were bang on. There’s not much out there from Dog Race to listen to yet, but it’s all great so far. Of the four songs available on Spotify, ‘It’s The Squeeze’ and ‘The Leader’ are highlights. Plus they seem to have built up a bit of a live reputation already, honed by endlessly touring as a support act and a handful of festival appearances over the summer. I’m primed and ready to book their headline tour as soon as it’s announced, hopefully at some point in 2025. James Spearing
Rachel Chinouriri – The fact that What a Devastating Turn of Events is the debut album from Rachel Chinouriri feels like it can’t be true when you hear how self assured and confident in its own sound this record is. I am so glad that I listened to the many people telling me to listen to Rachel’s music as it scratches that very specific itch of 00s indie mixed with a Lily Allen-esque wit and lyrical style and I never regretted a single time I hit play on this fantastic record. Special shout out to ‘Never Need Me’, one of 2024’s biggest indie pop hits. Sam Atkins
James Massiah – Strictly speaking, James Massiah wasn’t a new discovery. I already knew, and liked, his 2019 ‘Natural Born Killers (Ride For Me)’ single, but I hadn’t given him too much thought in the intervening years. Benji B’s Radio 1 show is still a great source of music discovery for me, and it was there that I heard ‘Soon Touch’, the lead single from Massiah’s True Romance EP. After swiftly turning to Spotify, I was soon hooked. Massiah seems to primarily be a spoken word artist and DJ, and marrying poetry and words is not easy. But this EP in particular was a marvellous display of rapping, in delivery, wordplay and storytelling. Vaguely a concept piece about a drug-fuelled romance turned sour, it’s gripping and endlessly replayable. It was easily my favourite EP released this year, with the dub-flavoured instrumentals pulsing with the buzz of London nightlife. Massiah’s music is very much in the sweet spot of what I like with its storytelling entwined with catchy tunes. I don’t know when or if we’ll get one but I’d love to hear an album of this stuff. Tom Burrows
Big Special – As a regular customer of our friends at Record Culture, I often listen to the things they recommend. Lee, if you’re reading, you don’t always get it right mate. But when you do…
I could easily have let this band pass me by in 2024, but 2 minutes into my first listen of Post Industrial Hometown Blues and they were already nailed on to feature in this article for me. A captivating mix of anger, wit, and poetry in the lyrics combines with powerful, energetic, and creative music to create an album I couldn’t stop listening to all year. Add their amazing set and Manchester’s Deaf Institute into the mix, and there is no way I could pick anyone else as my favourite discovery of 2024. Cheers, Lee. Fran Slater
Kneecap – I had never heard of Kneecap when we covered them on the podcast. But they were my favorite discovery from the pod this year, and got three thumbs up as they got a rare consensus from the PBs. Whether it’s soaring epics like ‘3CAG’, fiery and brash ‘I’m flush’ or grimey ‘I bhFiacha Linne’, their album is irresistible. Though Fine Art is a concept album it is incredibly well-grounded allowing each song to work on its own or to hang together in the “epic night out” throughline. And if you didn’t know, they also released a movie this year. Find it! It is hilarious, poignant and heartfelt. Just like their music. Matt Paul
Kaeto – I can’t remember where I first heard Kaeto, but I do remember that ‘No Body’ made an immediate impression on me. Since then it’s been tune after tune. She describes herself as “not the new anyone” which, while totally fair, makes my task, as someone recommending her to you reading this, all the more challenging. Going down the genre route doesn’t really help either. Sure, it’s pop – maybe you’d say indie-pop? Lyrics wise she’s tapping into the current experience of being a young woman (‘This is how we’re silenced / Through our veins with violence / We can’t be defiant / We don’t need reminding’) which reveals an edge to her music that the term pop doesn’t adequately cover. She’s had some high profile support slots including on The Last Dinner Party’s tour and with her early output already neatly catalogued away on mini-album INTRO, one of if not the best under the radar releases of 2024, I’ll be super interested in seeing what she does next. Big things await Kaeto in 2025. James Spearing
Mustafa – Oh yes, it’s another poet who has switched to music – I’m nothing if not predictable. I’d heard Mustafa’s ‘Hand of God’ on a couple of year-end playlists last year, but not listened to him beyond that. So it was a joy to discover Dunya, his second album released in September, which was a lovely listen. The Sudanese-Canadian artist has such a warm and soulful voice which makes the subject matter more affecting and intimate. This extends across the whole record, not just on the pointedly titled ‘Gaza is Calling’, but also on highlights ‘Imaan’ and ‘Old Life’. It’s a pretty lowkey record, and not all of it is as consistently good as the aforementioned songs. But though it’s not the album of the year, he’s a worthy discovery, and one I’ll certainly look out for in years to come. Tom Burrows
Daudi Matsiko – I can’t even really remember why I put The King of Misery on first time around, but I’m very glad I did. On this album, and during his gig at Gullivers in Manchester, Daudi Matsiko turned complex mental health challenges into songs full of beauty, humour, self-awareness, and hope.
The album’s title comes from something he has often been told about himself, but listening to his songs you are struck by the strength and openness of the artist. These are largely soft-sounding, gentle tracks, but they have so much weight to them that they’ll stick with you for as long as you let them.
This is an exciting debut from a very talented artist, and I’ll be looking forward to whatever he does next. Fran Slater
Four Year Strong – The album analysis paralysis is my hardcore-punk pick for the year. As befits this category I had not heard of Four Year Strong despite a pretty consistent stream of releases for the past 15+ years. But that just means I can catch up now. analysis paralysis is a wonderfully balanced Punk album with smash-you-in-the-face heavy moments like ‘aftermath/afterthought’, but also some heartfelt songs like ‘dead end friend’. Something that is always a good sign is that my favorite track keeps bouncing around. But at the moment the honors go to ‘maybe it’s me’, which has a little indie riff that has wormed its way into my brain and will not get out. Whether you will like the whole album, I am not sure, but it feels like there’s a moment on here for everyone who is a fan of the super genre that is Rock. Matt Paul
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