With Staff Picks, our writers and editors highlight some of our favorite new music this month. Check out the picks for the best albums of August 2024 below.
The final quarter of 2024 is imminent, but August gave us some terrific albums to savor. Some artists really showed up with their best works this month: Sabrina Carpenter proved that the hype extends beyond just two great singles, Fontaines D.C. took a massive left turn towards an intriguing, nostalgic sound, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds came back with another late-career powerhouse, and our August CoSigns Wishy offered 10 tracks of fuzzy, hook-heavy alternative rock.
Here are our staff picks for favorite albums of August 2024, listed out in alphabetical order.
David Rawlings and Gillian Welch — Woodland
Few things in this life are as reliable as the output of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Should those two names grace some dusty, well-worn-looking cover art, folk fans everywhere start salivating like Pavlov’s pups — and Woodland is no exception. Following 2020’s cover project All the Good Times, Woodland is a welcome return to masterfully composed, exceptionally written, beautifully performed originals. The lyrics house revelations (something Welch is known for), the guitar work is intricate and mesmerizing, and the production is as lush as the pair have ever allowed it to be. Ultimately, Woodland is a warm, timeless trip into classic folk stylings, and it more than clears the already high bar Welch and Rawlings have set for themselves. — J. Krueger