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Next Week in Music | July 29 – Aug. 4 • 160 New (& Old) Releases Headed Your Way

All the music you'll be adding to your playlist in the next seven days — and more.

2019-07-28

There are more than 160 albums, EPs and singles being released next week — and judging by the list below, a big chunk of them are live albums, reissues, box sets and tribute albums. Welcome to summer. Here’s the best (and the rest) of the week’s options. Mark your calendars and pre-order your favourites — but don’t blame me if things go south at the last minute:

THE SHORT LIST

Ty Segall
First Taste

THE PRESS RELEASE: “Our salivating makes it all taste worse,” croons Ty Segall in Taste, the lead single / video from his forthcoming album, First Taste, due Aug. 2 via Drag City. He’s talking about us: how we’re the masters of our own destiny, tellers of our own prophecy, makers of our own sickened choices. It’s a warning, but this time, the finger is pointing back at him too. He’s one with us. First Taste is an introspective set for Segall after the extroversions of 2018’s Freedom’s Goblin. Lines of struggle wind through the songs as Segall reflects on family, re-encountering pasts, anticipating futures. He skates through oneness, self-esteem, the parents – all the joys of a rain-filled childhood – while reaching outward in the here and now, feeling for a shared pulse. Meanwhile, the production is far out! Segall’s creative juices suggested some radical (in the older sense of the word) new instrumental territories: koto, recorder, bouzouki, harmonizer, mandolin, saxophones and brass, voices, and a sprinkling of keys. Segall occupies the drumset whenever it’s heard on the left speaker, while Charles Moothart plays the kit on the right side. Segall’s vocal prowess sits in fresh relief against his mutant orchestra, spooling tension through some of his most patient songs, his feral scream in complete control. Whatever the mood is, the pedal is pushed cleanly to the metal — and that means to the max of the lightest ballads ever, OR through the most raging rocks yet. Segall’s song designs are all over the place, but unlike the freewheeling feast style of Freedom’s Goblin, these twelve numbers form a tightly revolving cycle of song and sound that focuses thoughts.”

Volbeat
Rewind, Replay, Rebound

THE PRESS RELEASE: “The saying goes that while we may be through with the past, the past is never really through with us. For their seventh album, Rewind, Replay, Rebound, the multi-platinum selling Danish rock band Volbeat — Michael Poulsen (guitars/vocals), Rob Caggiano (guitars), Kaspar Boye Larsen (bass), and Jon Larsen (drums) — have built upon the DNA-distinct, psychobilly punk ‘n’ roll sound they are known for. They have made their sound fresh for themselves and for their diehard legion of fans by distilling from and paying homage to rock ‘n’ roll’s rich, storied past. The end result finds the band reaching a creative summit. “The whole point for us, and a lot of other bands, going into the studio, is because you still have something to prove — not just for the fans, but mostly for yourself,” says Poulsen. “You are still eager and have that desire when it comes to music and lyrics. As long as you are inspired and you are satisfied with what you come up with… I will say this is our best work because it has to be our best work until the next records comes. But we would not be able to do this record if it wasn’t for the work we have done in the past. No matter how old the band gets or how many records we do, there is always going to be that signature sound.”

The Bird & The Bee
Interpreting the Masters Vol. 2: A Tribute to Van Halen

THE PRESS RELEASE: “On their latest album, L.A.-based duo the bird and the bee cover of some of the most massive and magnificently wild songs from David Lee Roth-era Van Halen. The fifth full-length from singer Inara George and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin, Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 2: A Tribute to Van Halen both sheds new light on the glory of classic VH and further proves the playful brilliance of the bird and the bee. This time around, George and Kurstin find common ground with their source material in a shared affinity for fantastically intricate rhythms, unforgettable melodies, and — most essentially — a certain ecstatic spirit imbued into every song.”