These are the pop albums of summer 2024

ICYMI, the pop girlies are blessing us.

Q2 has been one of the most productive seasons in pop music in recent memory. Megastars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift dropped highly anticipated projects within a month of each other, and pop’s It Girls Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, and Billie Eilish each rose to the occasion. With so much good pop music to digest this summer, here’s a roundup of the albums you can’t miss — complete with the unique ~vibe~ they bring to the occasion, whatever that occasion may be.

The indie sleaze revival: BRAT by Charli xcx

“When I get to the club, I wanna hear the club classics,” Charli xcx declares in track 2 of the electro-hyper-Brit-pop masterpiece brat. And brat is certainly poised to become a club classic in its own right. Its thumping beats and catchy hooks (I can’t get “Von dutch” out of my head) are perfectly suited to an all-night dance party. It’s the soundtrack to a no-thoughts-head-empty summer — almost. The album avoids a pounding headache by balancing clubby hits with introspection, an order that gives the impression of an existential crisis-slash-dissociation on the dancefloor. Plus, who else can say they revived Melodrama-era Lorde with that iconic feature on “girl, so confusing”?

• b*tchfork’s picks: “Von dutch,” “Apple,” “B2b,” “Talk talk”

The American classic: COWBOY CARTER by Beyoncé

The genre-defying Cowboy Carter is the second installment of an ambitious three-part artistic project, and it is easily my pick for album of the year. We thought we were getting a country album, but instead we got a philosophical monster that asks, “What is the point of a genre, if not to be defied?” Cowboy Carter is the kind of album made both to be studied in a college course and to be trumpeted in a sellout stadium tour. It’s an art-object that can be dissected on a historical and political level, but is also a straight banger to listen to.

• b*tchfork’s picks: “TYRANT,” ft. Dolly Parton, “II MOST WANTED,” ft. Miley Cyrus, “LEVII’S JEANS,” ft. Post Malone

The Healed-Place album with no lore: Radical Optimism by Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa’s third album didn’t make the splash that its smash-hit pandemic predecessor Future Nostalgia did. But it’s hard to follow a magnum opus, and Radical Optimism, while not as strong as that second album, can certainly stand on its own. Anchored by the catchy, 80s-inspired singles Dua’s known for, Radical Optimism is the kind of sun-soaked, good-vibes album meant for a European summer on a beach or a calm sea somewhere. It flows cohesively from start to finish, but aside from the singles, it can be difficult to differentiate the tracks from one another.

• b*tchfork’s picks: “Houdini,” “Training Season,” “End of an Era”

The bildungsroman with a lot of lore: HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish found her footing with HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, her third album, which debuts a more mature, self-assured sound for the 22-year-old artist. A lot’s changed since the release of 2021’s Happier Than Ever: Billie came out as bisexual, dated a rock star 11 years older than her, and won two Oscars for Best Original Song, “No Time to Die” and “What Was I Made For?” HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is about a lot more than liking girls and dealing with fame, though. Sonically, it’s a satisfying blend of the pioneering horror-pop that launched Billie to fame and the bossa nova stylings of her sophomore release.

• b*tchfork’s picks: “CHIHIRO,” “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE,” “BLUE”

The recovery albums: Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves and eternal sunshine by Ariana Grande

Deeper Well and eternal sunshine have very, very different vibes, but the ethos is the same. They’re both about moving on, reflecting on a past chapter, and embracing self-discovery in a new era. They’re both about growing up, in a sense. Kacey Musgraves’ album is a quieter, acoustic, progressive country work that evokes lakeside retreats, rustic cabins and meadows, while Ariana Grande’s is full of high-energy dance pop peppered with synths and orchestral stylings. Both are a breath of fresh air.

• b*tchfork’s picks (Deeper Well): “Anime Eyes,” “Dinner with Friends,” “Moving Out”

• b*tchfork’s picks (eternal sunshine): “the boy is mine,” “we can’t be friends”

The one you can skip: The Tortured Poets’ Department by Taylor Swift

Go girl, give us less. Capitalism’s poster child is proving that she needs a break. Tortured Poets was not ready for its release, full of half-baked songs that feature some of Swift’s most embarrassing lyricism yet (“Kiss me while your boys play Grand Theft Auto”??). Its main sound is one that I’ve grown bored of; many of Tortured Poets’ tracks feel like rough draft versions of more developed songs that made it onto other albums. More is not always better, and it’s clear Tortured Poets would have benefited from some extra attention. Swift, who’s been busy leading a historic world tour for two years, has probably spread herself too thin.

• b*tchfork’s picks: “The Black Dog,” “So Long, London”