By Natalie St. Denis
April 2024 may have been full of its typical showers, but it wasn’t a complete wash out. The month also brought a large blossoming of new tunes for indie music lovers. Here are some newly dropped hits in the indie world worth checking out:
CAGE THE ELEPHANT
Formed in 2006, Cage the Elephant has been a popular choice of indie/alternative music lovers alike, despite the band’s tendency to go a few years between giving fans a taste of something new. Since they last dropped an album in 2019, the band has only vaguely recently been in the limelight after the arrest of lead singer Matt Schultz.
Despite this, the band appears to be back on track and has now released three singles off their upcoming album “Neon Pill.”
Giving Cage the Elephant fans an unexpected, but welcomed surprise right at the start of the year, the band not only announced their upcoming album and tour, but dropped the first song off of it in January 2024. The title track “Neon Pill,” has the classic head-bobbing, catchy and mischievous tone that the rockers usually sport.
“Out Loud” came out in late February 2024. This track boasts a melancholy piano tune and a softer side of Schultz.
“Good Time” was released April 5, 2024 and offers just barely three minutes of the classic Cage the Elephant sound, with Schultz’s grungy tone over psychedelic, alternative rock chords.
The group, known for their popular 2013 hit “Cigarette Daydreams,” is back in the indie music sphere, and fans are excited about their return.
VAMPIRE WEEKEND
April 5, 2024, was a highly anticipated day for indie music lovers, as it also marked the release of Vampire Weekend’s album “Only God Was Above Us.”
I think it’s safe to say that Vampire Weekend fans are rejoicing, as the band has seemingly chosen to go back to their roots and classic Vampire Weekend sound with this 10 track album.
The return to their original sound comes as a relief, after many listeners were disappointed with their previous album, “Father of the Bride,” released in 2019. While Vampire Weekend is known to harvest a variety of genres in their tunes, this album was deemed too off-the-wall and unfocused by many.
“Only God Was Above Us” features songs like “Gen-X Cops” and “Capricorn” that show the band is still with the times, despite the fact that it will turn 20 years old in two years – even if lead singer Ezra Koenig seems to be aging backwards, if anything.
The synth-jam, melodic rock vibes are flowing with this album, in between its questioning of religion and the ways of the world – both common topics weaved into Vampire Weekend’s albums.
LIZZY MCALPINE
Another April 5, 2024, release on the other end of the indie spectrum was Lizzy McAlpine’s 14 track album titled “Older.” The 24-year-old has proved she has more to offer than her TikTok hit “ceilings.” It’s undeniable that McAlpine has a soothing, seamless, angelic-like voice.
“Older” offers a deeply personal, stripped-back series of songs that really emphasize the power the singer-songwriter’s voice and words have. Many of the songs don’t even reach the three-minute mark, demonstrating her ability to tackle the idea that less is more.
We should be so lucky to have received such an intimate record from McAlpine with songs like “You Forced Me To” and “Drunk, Running” bringing listeners in for a quick but close glance into some of the relationships in her life. McAlpine certainly has grown older and “Older” clearly shows that.
MAGGIE ROGERS
Another anticipated release of April was Maggie Rogers’ new record “Don’t Forget Me.” The 30-year-old has had a busy couple of years, most notably getting her master’s in religion and public life at Harvard Divinity School in 2022, while also releasing her second album, “Surrender,” that same year. Rogers is currently involved in a postgraduate fellowship and still somehow found the time to release her third album “Don’t Forget Me.”
“Don’t Forget Me” encompasses the power of female rage in proper catchy, melodic-rock fashion. You can hear and feel the ache behind her words, but it’s also evident how freeing it is for her to express those thoughts.
The fourth track, “The Kill,” is a personal favorite of mine. The song offers a fun and catchy spin on the underlying meaning of longing for someone.
It’s evident Rogers let loose with this album, seen by the playful spoken dialogue in the folk-like jam titled “On & On & On,” in which she chuckles “Yeah, you better run,” at the end, as well as in “So Sick Of Dreaming,” where she speaks as if she is gossiping on the phone, detailing the story of a guy ditching their date for a Knicks game, which she concludes with “And by the way, the Knicks lost.”
The singer-songwriter also shows her innate ability to be so vulnerable in the work she shares with listeners. Rogers shared the vision behind her album “Don’t Forget Me” and how it was written in just five days in an Instagram post, adding that the record “feels like coming home.” I think that says it all.
Indie music fanatics were blessed with an abundance of new tunes to wallow in during the rainy month of April that are worth dusting off your headphones for.
apnmag.com 