Although I’ve been conscientiously and regularly updating the Upcoming Releases page, it’s been a few weeks since I posted any new album announcements. There are two reasons for this: 1) There actually haven’t been many big newsworthy additions to report; 2) So many artists have bumped their release dates that sharing new ones sometimes feels pointless at best and misleading at worst. But today, there’s some good news I really feel like sharing: Dublin post-punks Fontaines D.C. have a new album on the way. It’s called A Hero’s Death. It’s the followup to their outstanding 2019 debut Dogrel, which was one of the best albums of the year. And it’s due on July 31 (though obviously, who the hell knows when it will actually arrive). The press release for the album calls it “an intensely confident, patient, and complex sophomore album. A Hero’s Death arrives battered and bruised, albeit beautiful — a heady and philosophical take on the modern world, where things are not always what they seem.” To get you suitably warmed up, they also shared the video for the excellent title track. The clip stars the magnificently skeevy Aidan Gillen of Game of Thrones, The Wire, Project Blue Book and countless other great shows you don’t need me to tell you about. Says singer Grian Chatten of the song, which is built around the double-edged refrain ‘Life ain’t always empty’: “It’s ostensibly a positive message, but with repetition comes different meanings, that’s what happens to mantras when you test them over and over. There’s this balance between sincerity and insincerity as the song goes on and you see that in the music video as well. The idea was influenced by a lot of the advertising I was seeing – the repetitive nature of these uplifting messages that take on a surreal and scary feel the more you see them.” Check it out above and scroll down to see the rest of today’s announcements — which include new releases from Big Sugar, Lianne La Havas, Dirty Projectors and more. For the moment, anyway.
May 8
Big Sugar | Eternity Now
Corresponding Handpieces | Jewels
May 15
Dining With Dogs | Problems With Friends
Polo G | The GOAT
May 22
Chouk Bwa & The Ångströmers | Vodou Alé
June 5
Discovery Zone | Remote Control
Matt Lang | More
Juan Wauters | Más Canciones de la Onda
June 12
Bibio | Sleep On The Wing
June 19
Darkstar | Civic Jams
The Moon And The Nightspirit | Aether
June 26
Dirty Projectors | Flight Tower EP
Jasmine Dreame Wagner | Switchblade Moon EP
July 3
Aleah | Aleah
July 17
Lianne La Havas | Lianne La Havas
July 24
Immaterial Possession | Immaterial Possession
Morse / Portnoy / George | Cove3r To Cov3r
Morse / Portnoy / George | Cover To Cover Anthology
July 31
Fontaines D.C. | A Hero’s Death
August 7
Gwar | Scumdogs of The Universe 30th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set
October 2
Jonathan Bree | After the Curtains Close
