Rolling Stone UK’s Ones To Watch 2024

As 2024 kicks off, it’s time to give our rundown of the artists that we think are going to dominate your year. From Gen-Z shoegazers to Afropop icons in waiting, there’s something for everyone on our list. We’re convinced that all these acts are going to make a definitive stamp on the next 12 months and, after listening to them, we’re hoping that you’ll be of the same opinion too. Without further ado, let us present Rolling Stone UK’s Ones To Watch for 2024.

Flowerovlove

At 18, London star Flowerovlove is already proving a dab hand at creating indie-tinged bedroom pop, anchored by hooks that are set to see her become one of 2024’s hottest talents. Recent single ‘a girl like me’ bounds along with an airy groove, and we can expect more of the same. “My upcoming music is going to be unhinged,” she tells us. “I just know I’m really good at writing and unhinged in the sense of bringing fun to my music.” We can’t wait to hear more of it. (NR)

Key track: ‘a girl like me’

Seb Lowe

If you ever find yourself at one of Seb Lowe’s gigs, you’ll notice five names adorning the body of the 20-year-old troubadour’s guitar: Sinead O’Connor, Led Zeppelin, Eminem, Arctic Monkeys and David Bowie. They’re undoubtedly an eclectic bunch, but testament to the variety in the Oldham singer’s work. He can deliver punchy state-of-the-nation polemics, but he’s equally comfortable creating choruses that could slay arenas – as shown on recent offering, ‘Billionaire Extraordinaire’. In 2024, you wouldn’t bet against Seb eventually ending up in similar-sized rooms as his heroes. (NR)

Key track: ‘Billionaire Extraordinaire‘

Say Now

Until July this year, the group now known as Say Now didn’t even have a proper name to call their own. “needanamebro” was the title instead attached to teenagers Yssy, Amelia and Maddie as they developed an online hot streak that saw them secure nearly 250,000 followers and in excess of 11 million likes on TikTok.

The lack of name is testament to two things in this group. For one, it shows the sense of humour and powerful defiance that comes across in the group’s music. “Stress is now gone, life is easier/It’s our last song, now I’m leavin,” they sing on the catchy ‘S.I.N.G.L.E’. (NR)

Key track: ‘S.I.N.G.L.E‘

NewDad

Shoegaze is going through the unlikeliest of revivals. Take one look at TikTok and you’ll see a legion of Gen Z-ers falling in love with the dream-like distortion of the genre. But where genre forebearers like My Bloody Valentine first trod, bands like NewDad are forging a fresh path.

“You’re an angel / I’m just trying to be like you,” comes the ethereal delivery from vocalist and guitarist Julie Dawson on ‘Angel’, a song taken from Madra, their stunning debut which arrives in late January. Don’t bet against them becoming one of 2024’s defining bands. (NR)

Key track: ‘Angel‘

Big Special

This Midlands duo appeared in our last issue, but following their sold-out UK tour last December, we truly believe that they’re going to define 2024. Singer Joe Hicklin and drummer Callum Moloney are raising a scalpel to the tumultuous times we’re living in and dissecting them in forensic detail. Pounding synths combined with more soulful moments help Hicklin’s state-of-the-nation lyrics hit home. In 2024, expect them to resonate even more with the UK’s tired and weary population. (NR)

Key track: ‘Desperate Breakfast‘

Barry Can’t Swim

The success of Fred again.. and Overmono in recent years has set the table for a new wave of British dance producers to hit the mainstream. Next through the door in 2024 is surely Barry Can’t Swim, the Edinburgh-born, London-based producer making inventive and sweet house beats with a pop edge. Debut album When Will We Land? is filled with delectable rhythms and travels from house to jazz, pop and beyond with an inquisitive nature. We predict his star will rise at this summer’s festivals. (WR)

Key track: ‘Sunsleeper‘

Lip Critic

The latest signings to Partisan Records epitomise why we named the company Record Label of the Year at the first Rolling Stone UK Awards, in collaboration with Rémy Martin, in 2023. This experimental New York quartet have fingers in the pies of hardcore, rock, rap and noise music, but feel tied to none of them. Instead, they make an unholy racket unrestricted by any traditional constraints. Debut Partisan single, ‘It’s The Magic’, is a pulverising slab of noise that drinks from the same unhinged well as Death Grips but with a groovy energy that keeps you engaged. Their fervent live show is also soon to be a thing of legend. (WR)

Key track: ‘It’s The Magic’

Cardinals

On their debut single, ‘Roseland’, Cardinals offered the most fascinating of sonic prospects – brooding indie mixed with intense shoegaze and subtle shades of their Irish folk beginnings. The result is a thing of curious brilliance and one that has led them to secure fans in high places: Fontaines D.C.’s Grian Chatten recently described the Cork group as “one of my favourite bands”. High praise indeed.

Key track: ‘Roseland‘

Fat Dog

It’s only taken one song – the exuberant, fantastic ‘King of the Slugs’ – and a series of hype-building live shows to turn London four-piece Fat Dog into bonafide ones to watch for 2024. Vocalist Joe Love has the same sardonic delivery as most of the post-punkers who defined the last five years in British guitar music, but the band behind him takes things in a very different direction. There are hints of klezmer, gabber, dance and more in there, all defined by a sense of unhinged chaos. If this is a sign of what’s coming from the offspring of The Windmill generation, we should all be very excited. (WR)

Key track: ‘King Of The Slugs‘

Omah Lay

The latest arrival on the incredibly exciting conveyor belt of new Nigerian talent is Omah Lay, who has so far collaborated with Justin Bieber, sold out international tours and refined his brand of experimental Afro-pop. His 2022 album, Boy Alone, paved the way for his continued success, and 2024 looks set to be the year he truly breaks through. Lyrics about personal struggles combined with songcraft that pushes his rap background and West African influences into new and exciting realms makes him an exciting prospect. (NR)

Key track: ‘soso‘