Real Goblin

2023 caught me by surprise. As far as new music goes, I was underwhelmed in the first few months of the year. But before long, I wasn’t able to keep up with the plethora of new, engaging, music. About 70% of my favorite music of the year came pouring through beginning in spring and leading right up until the start of December. Real Goblin didn’t even exist this time last year. So I didn’t have the chance to throw together a list in 2023. But this year, let’s kick things off with a “most anticipated” list or two.

Honorable Mention: Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations – The Vaccines

The Vaccines released Combat Sports in 2018, which was a pleasant surprise. It was a true return to form for the band, with 11 tight garage rock songs from the indie veterans. They were a band who, I thought, had changed directions after 2015’s English Graffiti (an album that I did enjoy, to be fair). In 2021, they released Back in Love City, which I really didn’t enjoy. It felt too cheap and clean and inauthentic. And now that lead guitarist Freddie Cowan has left the band, I have a lot of questions about what the future of The Vaccines sounds like. I’m eager to see what they come up with.

Honorable Mention: Bleachers – Bleachers

I anticipate this to be the final Bleachers project. Jack Antonoff’s name now has more weight to it in the industry than Bleachers does. The “band” was originally just Jack and a computer. It’s since grown to be a full, Springsteen-esque ensemble. I’ve generally found that Antonoff’s best work was done in collaboration with other artists. But it can’t be denied that he’s produced some of the greatest albums of the last decade. I haven’t been thrilled by the singles, but Bleachers has some great songs in their repertoire and I’m excited to see what’s next.

10. Charlie XCX

I’m a big fan of Charli XCX’s Charli and how i’m feeling now. I’m a little less of a fan of Crash, but I still enjoyed a handful of tracks off of her most recent project. It seems like Charli is ready to move on from the more hyperpop inspired sounds of her work from the last 5 years or so. With the popularity of the Barbie soundtrack and a semi-recent collab with Sam Smith, I’m hoping Charli is gearing up for a new album in 2024. And if she’s able to find a healthy middle ground between the sounds she’s been working with, I’ll be happy.

9. Saviors – Green Day

I haven’t given up on Green Day yet. After pop punk’s time in the sun came to an end, Green Day went quiet. Then, regrettably, they came back with 2016’s Revolution Radio and 2020’s Father of All Motherfuckers. Both releases were…we’ll say less than stellar. But the singles from the 90s/early 2000s legends are promising. They sound less like 2016 era radio rock and more like you’d expect from modern Green Day. If Paramore can drop This Is Why and, The Killers can drop Pressure Machine, and The Strokes can drop The New Abnormal, then why can’t Green Day have a comeback of their own?

8. If I Could Sing – Kirin J Callinan

Also dropping in early 2024 is Kirin J Callinan’s If I Could Sing. The indie odd ball has not released a full, original studio album in seven years. The singles have been electric. They strike the perfect Callinan balance: just the right amount of left-field. It seems like Kirin J Callinan is prepared to release another album of sweeping, bright, irreverent pop anthems. The album comes out on February 2nd.

7. Songs Of A Lost World – The Cure

The Cure’s Robert Smith has spent the last year or so battling Ticketmaster’s greedy policies and the scalpers who take advantage of them. In case you spent 2023 under a rock, I’ll remind you that Taylor Swift’s absurd ticket prices got the attention of the US government, who apparently need to draw the ire of Swifties to get anything done these days. Swift did not do anything to alleviate the price gouging, which inflated some ticket prices into the several thousand dollar range. Classic Taylor Swift. If you aren’t busy, read about how Taylor Swift has produced 138 tons of CO2 emissions during football season to see her boyfriend drop passes.

Anyway, The Cure. Robert Smith has fought for affordable ticket prices since the start of the band’s latest tour. It was during that tour that they began playing some of their new material from their first new album in fourteen years. I went on a bit of a tangent there. But I love the Cure. I hope this is good.

6. Undressed at the Symphony – Faye Webster

With a handful of new singles under her belt, Faye Webster is officially set to return with a new album this March. Her newest single, “Lego Ring”, features her childhood friend Lil Yachty (who also released a great, unexpected psych rock project last year). Faye Webster’s music is always enchanting and these newer singles are no exception. She is consistently able to do so much with so little, and that restraint is executed to perfection on “Lifetime”. It seems Faye found her sound with Atlanta Millionaires Club and continued to dabble with that twangy style on her last LP, I Know I’m Funny Haha. Here’s to hoping she’s able to push that sound a little further with her new release.

5. Wall of Eyes – The Smile

One day we’ll all admit that The Smile is functionally the same as Radiohead. It’s like getting a new Radiohead album except dropping it under The Smile probably relieves some of the immense pressure Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood might be feeling to follow up the Radiohead discography. That’s neither here nor there. We can be equally excited about Wall of Eyes, which releases on the 26th of this month. I’ve really loved the film scoring work Greenwood has been doing for years now. You Were Never Really Here has a great soundtrack that almost makes you forget that the movie is exactly like Taxi Driver.

4. Dua Lipa

While we only have a small taste of what’s to come from Dua Lipa with the single “Houdini”, I’m excited nonetheless. The track has some great, nostalgic dance pop elements. I was pleasantly surprised at how good Future Nostalgia was. Hopefully her new album pushes the boundaries of her sound a little further. After all, Dua Lipa is one of the best pop artists working right now.

3. Tigers Blood – Waxahatchee

Saint Cloud was a top album for me in 2020. And it’s really continued to grow on me since. Just today, Katie Crutchfield released “Right Back to It”, a collaboration with MJ Lenderman (who’s been on a hot streak of collaborations himself in the last few years). Calling this single “country influenced” might even be underselling it. It is pretty pure country folk from Waxahatchee. I’m here for it either way.

2. Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend loves to wait half a decade before releasing new music between album cycles. Father of the Bride came out in 2019. Nearly an hour long, the band’s 4th album contains some of (what I consider to be) Vampire Weekend’s best songs yet. “Harmony Hall” and “This Life” end up back in the rotation for a few weeks every year. I’ve been missing Ezra and the gang. And unfortunately, Koenig’s collaboration with Tim Robinson for the Sloppy Steak sketch on I Think You Should Leave isn’t enough to satiate me.

1. Loss of Life – MGMT

When MGMT made the ironic indie pop hits that appear on 2007’s Oracular Spectacular, they didn’t intend to blow up. You’ve undoubtedly heard “Kids” or “Time to Pretend” at this point. And now, thanks to Tik Tok, their 2018 album Little Dark Age has also garnered some attention. Even in their hiatuses, MGMT can’t help but maintain their reluctant indie stardom. 2018 may not seem that long ago, but – Jesus Christ. I stopped midway through typing this because I just realized that it’s 2024 and 2018 was 6 years ago. That’s so upsetting.

Anyway MGMT is releasing their new album on February 29th and I couldn’t be more excited.