The Country Albums to Look Forward to in 2024

Ella Langley - hungover

The debut full length studio album from Ella Langley is coming out at the beginning of August and it couldn’t come any sooner. We’ve been completely smitten with the Riley Green duet, ‘you look like you love me’ since it came out and the slow burning old timey classic country duet – which comes complete with spoken verses and a big dollop of countrypolitan romantic tension – promises to be one of many highlights on the follow up to last year’s Excuse The Mess EP.

The 14-track project, which she describes as “raw, fun, and emotional”, will also feature previously released tracks 'hungover,' 'paint the town blue' and 'nicotine.'

The singer-songwriter just wrapped up supporting on Riley Green’s Ain’t My Last Rodeo Tour and she will be on the road throughout the remainder of the year supporting HARDY, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, and Morgan Wallen.

- Jof Owen

Post Malone - F-1 Trillion

Ever since they discovered the grainy, lo-fi videos of a young, unknown artist named Austin Post, covering Bob Dylan’s ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright’ and Hank Williams’ ‘There’s A Tear in My Beer’, fans have been begging a certain hip hop phenom to release a country project.

Now known worldwide as Post Malone, with eight Diamond-certified singles under his belt, the time has finally come for him to drop his debut country album, F-1Trillion. The Ford F-150-inspired name sums it all up - Posty is embracing the genre's numerous traditions and tropes, but he's also putting his own spin on it.

As of yet, Post Malone has only dropped two singles from F-1Trillion - the infectious ’I Had Some Help’ with Morgan Wallen and the raucous ‘Pour Me a Drink’ with Blake Shelton. Nonetheless, Posty has been teasing star-studded link-ups with Luke Combs and, most recently, Chris Stapleton, meaning the tracklist for F-1Trillion - which drops on August 16th - will read like a who's who of the biggest names in country music. Even so, the spotlight will remain firmly fixed on Post Malone, who's made no secret of the fact that this is a long-standing dream of his.

We can expect F-1Trillion to be a carefully considered, nimbly curated and richly textured selection of tracks that touches on every corner of the country music universe, from classic, steel-soaked country (‘Never Love You Again’) and heartfelt, family-inspired balladry (‘She Ain't Yours’) to rugged Southern Rock (‘One More Kiss’) and glossy country-pop (‘I Ain't Got a Guy For That’) - and everything in-between.

- Maxim Mower

Hannah Juanita - Tennessee Songbird

If her latest single, 'Granny's Cutlass Supreme', is anything to go by, Hannah Juanita's forthcoming second album is going to be a humid country-funk stomp from one of Tennessee's supreme songwriters and honky tonk singers.

The first of three singles taken from the record - featuring the one and only Riley Downing of The Deslondes - Juanita racks up the fiddle and turns up the heat for a funtime bop that we'll begging to hear in Dee's in the near future.

Where Hardliner, her debut, was a defiant middle finger after the tears of a souring relationship, Tennessee Songbird on immediate impression feels free and thriving, with Juanita unquestionably having fun with the creative process.

If you've not had Emily Nenni's Drive & Cry off the vinyl player since its release, then this one is definitely going to be for you.

- Ross Jones

Midland - Barely Blue

The idea of Texas Trio Midland collaborating with Country's favourite producer Dave Cobb feels like the dream combination and a match made in honky tonk heaven.

The notion of Midland's witty and gritty romance being channelled into the warmth of Cobb's production is frankly delicious, and we've already been given a flavour of whats to come from that with the band's fourth album, 'Barely Blue'.

'Old Fashioned Feeling' weeps under a forlorn tender melody and their now trademark countrypolitan harmonies, while 'Lucky Sometimes' rides a dirt road at dawn, the Eagles playing out the AM radio all the way back to Tennessee.

Barely Blue has all the makings of being the band's best studio effort yet, we'll be rolling the dice on it.

- RJ

Lana Del Rey - Lasso

While all we know so far is that it’s coming out in September and it’s called Lasso, Lana Del Rey is definitely putting out a country record. She confirmed during a Billboard pre-Grammys event that the Jack Antonoff-produced project will arrive in the fall.

“If you can’t already tell by our award winners and our performers, the music business is going country. I knew it, I said it, it’s happening,” she told the whooping crowd. “That’s why Jack has followed me to Muscle Shoals, Nashville and Mississippi these last four years.”

There’s no tracklist yet, but in January Lana shared a snippet of an unreleased song, ‘Henry, Come On’, via Instagram that feels like it could fit the brief. The sparse, atmospheric clip finds Lana losing patience with her partner, as she croons, “Do you think I’d really choose it? All of this off and on? Henry, come on”.

Then last month, Lana and Quavo teased a song that fans are describing as a ‘Country-Trap’ collaboration. The duo have now confirmed ‘Tough’ will drop on Independence Day, July 4th.

The snippet that the duo shared across socials seemed to be a mix of rap, country and indie-folk influences, and the lyrics and overall aesthetic that Lana and Quavo have opted for certainly seem to ground the track in country.

In December of last year, Lana Del Rey released a cover of John Denver's iconic sing-a-long anthem, ‘Country Roads, Take Me Home’, which many saw as her first major foray into the genre. Even so, Lana has spoken in the past about how she views some of her back catalogue as having country influences, revealing in a 2021 interview with MOJO, “I went back and listened to ‘Ride’ and ‘Video Games’ and thought, you know, they’re kind of country. I mean, they’re definitely not pop”.

She’s also covered Tammy Wynette’s 1968 pop crossover smash ‘Stand By Your Man,’ and she, Nikki Lane and Sierra Ferrell have performed an unreleased song called ‘Prettiest Girl in Country Music’, inspired by an encounter Lane had with an older man.

“Nikki told me a little story about him”, she told the crowd at Lane’s show at Sam’s Town Point in Austin, Texas, last January. “He had a little meeting with her and he crept a little too close to her, and he said, 'How does it feel to be the prettiest girl in country music?' and I was like, 'bleh!' so immediately I wrote a little chorus and then we expanded".

Jack Antonoff himself has also dipped his toes in country before, working with Taylor Swift and producing the Chicks’ 2020 album Gaslighter, so we can’t wait to see what the pair of them come up with on Lasso.

We wouldn't be surprised if Lana's good friend Lainey Wilson pops up on Lasso somewhere too. She blooming loves a feature!

- JO

The Red Clay Strays - Made by These Moments

Since the viral success of their song ‘Wondering Why’ launched the Red Clay Strays among the stars, the Alabama-bred fivesome have been enjoying the spoils of their unearthly talents, ones that will soon be flexed again on Made by These Moments.

The buzzy follow-up to their 2022 debut Moment of Truth is set to arrive on July 26 and will shed "light on overcoming the battles we face in life like loneliness, depression and hopelessness," according to a statement from the band.

The outfit has already offered some samplings of what we can expect from the new release, including the recently teased ‘Drowning’, as well as the previously dropped 'Wanna Be Loved' and 'Devil In My Ear’. Made by These Moments seems poised to be a poignant collection of emotive songs that map the Strays’ journey to where they are today.

- Alli Patton

Lainey Wilson - Whirlwind

While Lainey Wilson has satiated fans with the insta-hit ‘Country’s Cool Again’ and the irresistibly singable ‘Hang Tight Honey’, that’s just the first breeze of what is expected to be a Whirlwind.

The star has finally confirmed her impending studio album Whirlwind, the highly-anticipated follow-up to her 2022 breakout record Bell Bottom Country. The 14-track release, likely a rumination on the gale-force success she’s experienced over the last few years, will arrive August 23.

"Writing & recording these 14 songs over the past couple of years has helped me stay grounded in ways you’d never believe," the artist has explained of the upcoming collection, adding, "This album brought me back to my roots and made me feel at home during times when I couldn’t have been further away, and my biggest hope is that it gives you that same sense of comfort that it has for me".

Another taste of Whirlwind is expected to arrive during the 4th of July holiday in the form of '4X4XU', an impassioned ballad that veers slightly from her recent string of country bangers.

- AP

George Strait - Cowboys and Dreamers

Mark your calendars for September 6; a new George Strait record is on the way!

Dubbed Cowboys and Dreamers, the 13-track album will feature all-new material from the country legend and will even see him collaborate with fellow hitmaker Chris Stapleton. The star has already released some of the upcoming album’s already-lovable hits, such as the beachy ditty ‘MIA Down In MIA’ and the endearing serenade ‘The Little Things’.

The late summer release will mark the icon’s 31st studio effort and will act as the follow-up to his 2019 released Honky Tonk Time Machine.

- AP

Kelsea Ballerini - TBC

With the arrival of the sleek, drawn-in ‘Cowboys Cry Too’ with folk-pop phenom, Noah Kahan, Kelsea Ballerini has signalled her fifth studio album is on the horizon. The ‘Blindsided’ hitmaker has been teasing new music across her socials, and confirmed in June she'd finished recording her Rolling Up The Welcome Mat follow-up.

The sparse, introspective and reverb-soaked ambience of ‘Cowboys Cry Too’ suggests Kelsea Ballerini will be continuing in the vein of Rolling Up The Welcome Mat, compared to the sunny, outward-facing atmosphere of 2022's SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

As she has made abundantly clear through the ‘Healed Version’ of ‘Penthouse’, the wounds from her very public 2022 divorce are all closed up, which suggests this new chapter of music will pivot around the happiness she finds in her current season of life.

The only other track we've heard from the new album, ‘To The Men Who Love Women After Heartbreak’, finds the Tennessee singer-songwriter underlining her gratitude to her current partner, Chase Stokes, who we imagine will be a key muse for the project.

- Maxim Mower

Thomas Rhett - About A Woman

2024 has seen some artists - such as Luke Combs, MGK and Post Malone - keeping us on our toes by experimenting with new sounds and themes. Thankfully, though, with his new album, Thomas Rhett is offering us a dose of familiarly amidst all this dazzling surprises and subsequent vertigo-inducing uncertainty.

TR is doubling down on what he's always done best - sing love songs written about his wife, Lauren. That's how he won us all over back in 2015 with the sweet, rose-tinted ‘Die A Happy Man’, with proceeding projects all pivoting endearingly around his marriage. Now, he's returning with the aptly titled About A Woman on August 23rd.

The lead singles, ‘Beautiful As You’ and ‘Gone Country’, are vintage Thomas Rhett, as he croons affectionately across toe-tapping, pop-infused instrumentals.

Each track is underpinned by the amiable warmth and joyful optimism TR has become associated with over the years, and - regardless of what critics might say about him not offering anything new - he's singing about what he knows best and what strikes him most viscerally. Who can blame him for that?

- MM

Josh Turner - This Country Music Thing

The tenth studio album from the iconic country crooner, This Country Music Thing feels like both a welcome return and a passion project long in the making, four years after Turner's last true country effort.

'Down in Georgia', the album's opener, buzzes in the summer heat, sipping on a sweet iced acoustic lick and a head-turning whistle as Turner layers his signature vocal over a lingering hook co-written by Holler favourite Tyler Booth.

'Heatin' Things Up' is a little more sultry. Co-written by Luke Laird, Turner's only got one thing on his mind - the quicker he can get out of this party and drive his love home, the better. It's catchy and traditional, a fun modern mix on Turner's finer cuts that show just why he's as loved as he was 20 years ago.

This one's for everyone; don't be surprised if you find cuts of the record filling up your TikTok feed while your ma blasts it on the stereo.

- RJ

Maggie Antone - Rhinestoned

The Country Queen of Sad, Maggie Antone releases her full-length debut, Rhinestoned, on her own Love Big imprint through Thirty Tigers on August 23rd.

Co-produced by Antone alongside Carrie K. (Noah Kahan, Jessie Murph, Suki Waterhouse), with writing contributions from Trent Dabbs, Aaron Raitiere, Jillian Jacqueline and Antone’s longtime hero Natalie Hemby, Rhinestoned strikes the perfect balance of raucous wit and disarming vulnerability, with her distinctly raspy drawl front and centre.

The result is an album that’s a ton of fun and utterly human, an honest affirmation of life’s ups and downs, particularly with the inclusion of singles ‘Johnny Moonshine’, ‘Everyone But You’ and ‘Suburban Outlaw'.

“Sometimes you don’t have that full love story where you meet someone, you fall in love, you date for a long time, you break up, and then you’re upset; sometimes we just have these short-lived little things,” she says.

“This album is about a million of those teeny tiny little things, all wrapped up into one story. No matter how big or small it is, when you’ve gone through something and you hurt, it matters.”