The albums covered in UCR's review section include new releases by legacy bands, reissues of classic albums by some of the genre's biggest names and, occasionally, records by more recent artists we think are worth hearing.
Below are highlights from more than two dozen albums reviewed by UCR during 2024, listed chronologically – from January's Green Day release through the latest by U2 from late November.
All of the albums are recommended by UCR's writers, whose brief thoughts on the records are excerpted below. To get more insight into what makes these albums among the year's biggest and best, links to the full reviews are provided. Check them out; they're well worth exploring.
Green Day, Saviors
Green Day's 14th album was produced by Rob Cavallo, who worked on it Dookie swear American Idiot. “Despite the occasional looking-back-at-life subject matter, Saviors is an old-school pop-punk record that's not quite grown up but not exactly springing with fresh life either.”
mick mars, The Other Side of Mars
The debut solo album from former Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars was years in the making. “The 10 songs mostly exist within the same scorched world as Motley Crue's riff-heavy music.”
Ace Frehley, 10,000 Volts
The latest solo album by former kiss guitarist Ace Frehley checks in between his various Origins projects. “Despite its missteps, 10,000 Volts is a victory for Frehley, if not an absolute knockout.”
Bruce Dickinson, The Mandrake Project
The seventh solo album by Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson marks his first in almost 20 years. “[Dickinson] proves that after nearly a half-century, he's still hell-bent on pushing himself to new heights, regardless of who's backing him.”
Judas Priest, Invincible Shield
The 19th album by metal heavyweights Judas Priest is their first since being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. “This is Judas Priest operating at near hall-of-fame levels.”
The Black Crowes, Happiness Bastards
The reunited Robinson brothers put aside their differences for the first time The Black Crowes album of original material since 2009. “There's reassurance in their passion, which hasn't softened much over three and a half decades. It's good to have them back.”
The Black Keys, Ohio Players
The Akron duo gets help from Beck swear Noel Gallagher on their 12th album. “Ohio Players has a great start but loses some of its enthusiasm along the way.”
Blue Oyster Cult, Ghost Stories
Blue Oyster Cult headed to their vault for a new album of songs that began life between 1978 and 1983. “By dusting off these lost tracks, Ghost Stories serves as a reminder that there are still pieces of history to be mined from rock's forgotten past.”
Mark Knopfler, One Deep River
Former Dire Straits front man Mark Knopfler's 10th solo album is his first since 2018's Down the Road Wherever. “Knopfler makes it clear that he still finds solace in song. One Deep River simply confirms that those songs will arrive on their own more slow-moving currents.”
Pearl Jam, Dark Matter
Pearl Jam's 12th album was produced by Andrew Wattwho also worked on Eddie Vedder's 2022 solo record. “Like Gigaton four years earlier, [Dark Matter] finds Pearl Jam wrestling shared doubts about the future. More often than not, they claim a tentative victory.”
Melvins, Tarantula Heart
The Melvins' 27th album was recorded over two sessions in 2022 and 2023. “These many years on, Melvins are still finding new ways to display their venerable sludge.”
Sebastian Bach, Child Within the Man
Onetime Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach returned with his first album in a decade. “This is music with roots in the late-'80s Sunset Strip scene, caterwauling guitars linked hand-in-hand with larynx-shredding vocals and an air of forced doom hanging over almost every note.”
kings of leon, Can We Please Have Fun
The ninth album by Kings of Leon was produced by Kid Harpoon, who worked on Harry Styles' Grammy-winning Harry's House. “This is the most unrestricted they've sounded since 2010's Come Around Sundown.”
Little Feat, Sam's Place
Sam's Place was billed as Little Feat's first blues album. “The result is an inviting opportunity to more deeply explore one of the small, good things that always girded Little Feat. They're very much at home in Sam's Place.”
John Oates, Reunion
The latest solo album by John Oates arrived amid turmoil Hall & Oates'partnership. “Reunion feels authentically Oates' own, a statement of Americana purpose and individual vision that consolidates everything from the last decade and a half of solo explorations.”
Bon Jovi, Forever
The 16th album by New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi features two new official members, including longtime producer John Shanks. “Despite your best efforts, these songs will lodge themselves in your brain, because that's what this band does best.”
John Lennon, Mind Games: The Ultimate Collection
A new box set dedicated to John Lennon's 1973 album Mind Games includes multiple discs featuring alternate mixes of the LP. “We hear Lennon, so often a closed-off fighter, falling back on his heels. Mind Games is the sound of someone reaching out.”
Deep Purple, =1
Deep Purple's 23rd album is their first with guitarist Simon McBride, who replaced Steve Morse in 2022. “Though =1 sags a bit in the back half and could be trimmed by a few songs, the album furthers a career renaissance for Deep Purple that shows few signs of waning.”
Jack White, No Name
Jack White's latest album was a surprise release initially given to visitors at his Third Man Records' retail shops. “This is White firing full-throttle and giving us the kind of album that's made him arguably rock's greatest 21st-century hero.”
David Gilmour, Luck and Strange
Pink Floyd's David Gilmour made his fifth solo album with contributions from his wife, his children and the late Richard Wright. “If Luck and Strange suggests Gilmour's future, it will be a bright one, even in the darkness.”
neil young Archives Vol. III (1976-1987)
The third box set in Neil Young's “Archives Series” contains 198 tracks on 17 CDs, documenting a period of change for the restless singer-songwriter. “They're a welcome addition to one of music's most fascinating and often complicated discographies.”
Nick Lowe, Indoor Safari
Nick Lowe's first album since a 2013 holiday set was made with Nashville surf/garage rockers Los Straitjackets. “Like Lowe's best work over the decades, Indoor Safari pulls from various stops, including new wave, pop, power pop, pub rock, Americana and traditional singer-songwriter music.”
The Smile, Cutouts
The second album in 2024 from Radiohead offshoot band The Smile was recorded at the same sessions as the previous one Wall of Eyes. “They still suggest a sharply tuned jazz combo working its way around formative melodies and provisional foundations until they arrive at a point of shared musical nirvana.”
MC5, Heavy Lifting
The first MC5 album in 53 years arrived between the deaths of the last two surviving members and the band's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. “That five-decade gap is an enormous amount of time between albums to overcome. Heavy Lifting does an honorable job of bridging it even if it's not quite the MC5 of yesteryear.”
Andrew Bird, Madison Cunningham, Cunningham Bird
Singer-songwriters Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham remake, song by song, Lindsey Buckingham swear Stevie Nicks' pre-Fleetwood Mac LP from 1973. “There's a delicate loveliness to Bird and Cunningham's tribute lacking on the original LP, even when their reverence for the music often means the connect-the-dots approach doesn't leave much room for spontaneity or personality.”
Tears for Fears, Songs for a Nervous Planet
The first live album by Tears for Fears includes four new tracks and concert versions of their '80s favorites and songs from their 2022 comeback record The Tipping Point. “It's confirmation that Tears for Fears' art-minded synth-pop hasn't aged much in that time. These are great songs played by guys relishing their latest chapter.”
The Cure, Songs of a Lost World
Recorded over the past several years, the 14th album by the Cure is their first since 2008's 4:13 Dream. “It may be a stretch to call this a new beginning, but the Cure hasn't been this compelling on record in more than three decades.”
U2, How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of 2004's How to Dismantle an Atomic BombU2 went into their archives for 10 previously unreleased tracks from the sessions. “Often more disordered than the tracks on the released album, the newly recovered songs – all previously unreleased – prove the band wasn't quite ready to abandon their '90s risk-taking.”
Top 30 Rock Albums of 2023
Big returns, genre moves and records reliable legends mark the year's best.
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
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