The 40 Best New Bands Of 2020
In a year when it’s largely been impossible to see live music, a major source of discovering new artists has been eliminated. But music finds a way and plenty of acts have emerged over the last 12 months. Every autumn here at Stereogum, we look at the artists that make us most excited about the future of music and organize them into our annual Best New Bands list, in order to celebrate what they’ve already accomplished and highlight them as someone to keep an eye on moving forward.
There are, as always, some caveats: “New” is a subjective term. Some of these artists have been around for a while; others only have a handful of songs to their name. But all of them are doing something worth hearing right now. We also stubbornly continue to call this the Best New Bands list, even though there are many not-bands on the list. Deal with it!
We purposefully run this list removed from year-end list season to give these up-and-comers the spotlight they deserve. And we also keep in mind that an artist’s trajectory can’t be tied to a single year the way an album release date can. Many of these names will be familiar to regular Stereogum readers who keep up with our daily new music posts and Band To Watch column. If you revisit our lists from years past, you’ll see that we have a good track record with this stuff. So get familiar with Stereogum’s 40 Best New Bands Of 2020, presented below in alphabetical order. You can also listen to a playlist of our picks on Spotify. Enjoy! –James Rettig
2nd Grade
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA
Peter Gill may be to earnest East Coast indie-pop what Robert Pollard is to art-damaged Midwest barroom rock. On their album Hit To Hit — a facetious title, but a spiritually correct one — Gill’s band 2nd Grade cycle through styles and fidelities with a casual command of them all. Over 24 short, sweet tracks, he tackles quotidian concerns like tax forms and small pleasures like riding a bike, ending up with a charming patchwork vision of poppy underground rock. Whether he can keep up with Guided By Voices’ insane pace remains to be seen, but he’s off to a good start. –Chris DeVille
42 Dugg
LOCATION: Detroit, MI
This summer, 42 Dugg had a top-10 single while on the run from the law. The situation wasn’t that serious; Dugg eventually turned himself in after speeding away from a traffic stop. But it says something about the speed and immediacy of the man’s rise. 42 Dugg raps in a throaty crackle, combining the raw adrenaline of the Detroit underground with the melodic drift of his friend and collaborator Lil Baby. “We Paid,” 42 Dugg and Lil Baby’s big summer hit, is also one of 2020’s most hypnotic anthems. –Tom Breihan
645AR
LOCATION: The Bronx, NY
645AR’s helium mumble is a gimmick, but it’s a gimmick that might have legs. If Future and Young Thug’s distinctively digital voices can become chart staples, it’s possible with just the right collaboration that 645AR could find himself there as well. On his own, he’s plenty compelling, his Adult Swim-adjacent cartoonish vape haze giving way to an odd vulnerability that transcends language. His team-up with FKA Twigs is the best example so far of his potential as a foil to a more traditional pop star. –James
Anjimile
