Well, this is just plain nuts. There are so many great new albums coming out next week that I can barely keep track. Big-name artists and rising stars, collaborations and compilations, live albums and tribute discs, reissues and box sets — you name it, it’s on the way. Here’s the lowdown in alphabetical order. Better start clearing the decks:
Baron Crâne
Les Beaux Jours
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Progressive, jazzy, fusion and heavy rock infused, Baron Crâne’s new albumand its daring associations is highly surprising. Bold, smart, mastered — this record showcases the band’s most relevant skills, and some excellent guests choices. Les Beaux Jours pays tribute to the French jazz scene by inviting saxophonist Guillaume Perret on Mercury and flutist Robby Marshall on Merinos. The heavy rock sounding is provided by Simon Lemmonier — from stoner band Patrón — who plays additional drums on Danjouer, as well as Cyril Bodin whose intense singing sublimates Quarantine.”
The Beatles
Let It Be Super Deluxe Edition
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This fall, The Beatles invite everyone everywhere to get back to the chart-topping 1970 album, Let It Be, with a beautifully presented Super Deluxe Edition. All the new Let It Be releases feature the new stereo mix of the album as guided by the original “reproduced for disc” version by Phil Spector and sourced directly from the original session and rooftop performance eight-track tapes. The physical and digital Super Deluxe collections also feature 27 previously unreleased session recordings, a four-track Let It Be EP, and the never before released 14-track Get Back stereo LP mix compiled by engineer Glyn Johns in May 1969.”
Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes
Sticky
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes’ new album Sticky is set to cement the band’s reputation as the most exciting partnership in British punk. They have always had a reputation for raw, eviscerating energy, but this album takes that power and channels it into the most fiery and immediately addictive record of their career. “This entire record is a celebration of everything that has been taken away from us, the chaos that makes us human,” says Carter. “The emotional scavengers we are, hunting around in all the wrong places for an immediate feeling we can compartmentalise and inject straight into our hearts without fear of consequence.”
Coldplay
Music Of The Spheres
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Coldplay’s much-anticipated new album Music Of The Spheres — their ninth LP — was produced by Max Martin. They announced it with a handwritten note alongside an album trailer which combines an animated cosmic journey through the album’s planetary artwork with short clips of the album’s 12 tracks. The band’s note also seemed to hint at further sci-fi themes with the phrase ‘Everyone is an alien somewhere’.”
David Crosby
If I Could Only Remember My Name 50th Anniversary Edition
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Singer-songwriter David Crosby’s solo debut, If I Could Only Remember My Name, was dismissed by critics when it came out in 1971. Over the years, however, appreciation has grown for the album’s adventurous aesthetic, stacked harmonies and haunting lyrics about loss and confusion. If I Could Only Remember My Name turned 50 earlier this year and Rhino is celebrating with a 2-CD set that includes the album lovingly remastered from the original analog tapes, accompanied by a bonus disc that features a dozen unreleased demos, outtakes, and alternative versions. The new remaster was overseen by original album engineer Stephen Barncard with restoration and speed correction using Plangent Processes.”
Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe
Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees and Joe Cardamone of The Icarus Line have joined forces in the new duo and self-titled album Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe. A project born from mutual respect, DMvSJ mines electronic music and unearths an experimental sound for both of them, a sound coined ‘gothic death disco.’ “The fact that it’s not like anything either one of us have done before is what makes this so interesting for me,” explains Lanegan. “When you have done as much stuff as Joe and I, you have to constantly search for the different and challenging to keep yourself engaged.” “The project is called Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe because we both have assumed these alter egos over the years,” says Cardamone. “The material we wanted to do together seemed to take well to the idea that our personas here are as if we’re now outcasts to our own creative selves.”
The Darkness
Motorheart
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Drop the needle anywhere on Motorheart and be instantly transported from this moaning and weeping vale of tears to Elysian fields of rock where all hands are raised, the drinks — just as in the Club Tropicana of yore — are free, and everyone wears a pleasingly salacious grin. Does it rock? Is the sun hot? Has your partner’s touch grown cold? The Darkness are the Orwellian boot stamping on the flaccid face of limp rock forever! Justin Hawkins comments, “The time has come, the walrus said… to put your fookin pants on your head and rock like Satan is eating your private parts with a pointy fork! Yes, we, The Darkness, are the fuck back on tour, praise Satan’s better half … come and party with us like it’s the last orders at the last chance saloon. Which it may well be, but I wouldn’t like to comment any further on that.”
Benjamin Lazar Davis
Benjamin Lazar Davis
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Listening to New York indie-pop artist Benjamin Lazar Davis is like experiencing the world through technicolor sunglasses, especially on his new self-titled album. Packed with orchestral woodwinds, organic electronics, and endlessly creative hooks, his sophomore full-length sounds like the overlap of Sufjan Stevens’ Age of Adz with The Flaming Lips’ At War with the Mystics. While the creation of these songs came naturally to him — Davis studied music at a conservatory growing up and spends his career playing in bands like Okkervil River and Cuddle Magic — it was the hat trick of getting everything else to fall into place that required a surprising mix of prepwork and wishful thinking.”
Death Party Playground
The Good Years EP
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The title of Death Party Playground’s latest EP The Good Years could be interpreted any number of ways given the current state of the world, but for the band’s leader, singer/songwriter/guitarist Kyle Taylor, it’s actually a fair reflection of his recent creativity. Instead, Taylor took advantage of his isolation time to focus on finishing a new batch of tunes he’d started writing in 2019. By summer 2020, he’d recruited a new rhythm section, bassist/vocalist Jesse Alarcon and drummer Matty Sawyer, and by winter the band was ready to record safely in their practice space. The end product shows Death Party Playground truly evolving as a band, with greater emphasis on guitars, melody, and Taylor’s vocals, which he feels may have got stronger as a result of singing through a mask during rehearsals.”
Endure the Affliction
Evolve
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Endure the Affliction are rounding off 2021 with the EP Evolve. Embodying the hallmarks of melodic metal while embracing their Louisiana roots, Endure the Affliction delivers what can only be described as total Southern darkness as they bridge the divide between modern metalcore and classic power metal and American gothic. The band say: “The human condition is all about experience. What you go through will shape who you are. That’s an undisputed fact. Almost every track in this EP is about hitting a low point and figuring out how you’ll respond to it. If your experiences shape who you are, then how you respond is how you Evolve; this is part of the reason for the title of the EP. The rest of the reason for the title is our own evolution musically; this EP is so drastically different from our last one, yet still true to who we are. As time goes on, we as humans grow and evolve to become something greater than what came before. What is life if not a series of evolutions?”
Finneas
Optimist
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Eight-time Gramy-winning musician, songwriter and producer Finneas is about to release his debut album Optimist. The album features 12 brand new, never-before-heard tracks, plus the previously released, What They’ll Say About Us, a heartbreaking ballad written in lockdown as a moving dedication to human strength and connection when faced with life’s tribulations. The album follows the release of his critically acclaimed debut EP Blood Harmony. Written and produced entirely by the 24-year-old artist, the eight-track collection exemplified his skills as a songwriter, producer and storyteller.”
Lilly Hiatt
Lately
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Lately is the follow up to Lilly Hiatt’s critically acclaimed Walking Proof, which was among the first records released to feel the full wrath of the soon-to-be raging pandemic that would bring the world to its knees. Lilly says, “Last year was tough. That’s an understatement for certain. Tears were shed, lives were lost, and lonely was a way of life. I have always felt lonely, but never gone to the depths of solitude that I had in 2020. The irony of that is, I was not alone at all in that space. Everyone had lost something, and we all were trying to rebuild our lives as we knew them. As a means of keeping sane, I started to write songs. Some of them sucked. I kept doing it though, because I had nothing else to fill my cup.”
High Desert Queen
Secrets of the Black Moon
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Formed in 2019 to an eclectic backdrop of influences, the foursome’s sole aim was to make the kind of music they could file away on their own record shelves, among the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Elder, Lowrider, Alice in Chains, Tom Waits and The Allman Brothers. Providing high-octane shows that never deliver the same experience twice, High Desert Queen were well on their way to establishing themselves as one of the hardest working rock bands on the Austin music scene. Relocating from Houston in 2020 to accommodate the talents of bassist Matt Metzger and drummer Phil Hook, singer Ryan Garney and guitarist Rusty Miller quickly found themselves in the enviable position of having 12 songs ready to commit to tape.”
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Georgia Blue
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Georgia Blue is a labor of love. On election day 2020, when I saw that there was a good chance the state of Georgia might go blue, I came up with an idea: to record an album of Georgia-related songs as a thank you to the state and donate the money to a Georgia based non-profit organization. I will admit my motivations were a bit selfish. For years, I’ve been looking for an excuse to record these songs with my band and some friends. The songs on this album are some of my favorite Georgia-related songs, but the tracklist is not meant to be comprehensive. I would love to cover Outkast and 2 Chainz, but I don’t think the finished product would be very good. We’re a rock band, so we covered rock songs. We have roots in blues and R&B, so we enlisted some brilliant artists to help us pull off songs by Precious Bryant, James Brown and Gladys Knight.”
Pokey LaFarge
In The Blossom of Their Shade
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Pokey LaFarge is an artist who refuses to rest on his laurels and compromise. He’s always motivated and ready to create — and when he’s at peace in isolation like he was here, the results can be magical. Looking in, inspired by the deep soul not just from these shores, but from distant geographical places like Africa or South America, LaFarge set out to create a body of work that paired emotional lyrics with a killer groove and grabby melodies. Written by LaFarge and co-produced with Chris Seefried, In the Blossom of Their Shade is one of LaFarge’s strongest and most mature lyrical efforts to date. The album’s title is taken from a lyric in the stunning, yet dusty Mi Ideal. That song sonically draws influences from the Southwest, South America and Caribbean. The distant warmth of the music, especially rhythmically, adeptly coincides with the longing that’s expressed in the lyrics.”
Johnny Marr
Fever Dreams, Pt. 1
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Johnny Marr introduced his upcoming double solo album with a single entitled Spirit, Power And Soul. Informed by the kind of powerful, anthemic and direct approach to words instantly present in Spirit, Power & Soul, the songs on the Fever Dreams Pt 1 EP arrive with an emotional potency. Fusing the language of soul music with his roots as a “Mancunian glam rocker”, lyrics that could be simultaneously personal, universal, and subtly political, with a fantastically expansive sound. The new EP reflects Johnny’s multifaceted past, but takes his music somewhere startlingly new. “Spirit, Power And Soul is a kind of mission statement,” Johnny Marr has decared. “I had an idea about an electro sound with gospel feeling, in my own word: an electro soul anthem.”
Melvins
Five-Legged Dog
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Melvins’ first acoustic collection feature 36 songs including classics like Night Goat, Honey Bucket and Billy Fish, as well as covers of Brainiac, The Rolling Stones and Alice Cooper tracks. This newly recorded collection features a career-spanning collection of songs, from 1987’s Gluey Porch Treatments to 2017’s A Walk With Love & Death — the entire gamut of the legendary band’s catalogue is represented. “I knew I wanted to do something ridiculously big,” explains Buzz Osborne. “36 songs reimagined by us acoustically is certainly ridiculous but it works. The magic of the songs is still there regardless of it being acoustic. Since we weren’t touring we had the time to do something of this size. I’m very excited about this record. Dale and Steven did a fantastic job on this. I think it’s a very special record. I can’t think of anyone else who’s done something like this.”
Tom Morello
The Atlas Underground Fire
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Following the 2018 release of his most ambitious album yet, The Atlas Underground, legendary musician and two-time Grammy winner Tom Morello has announced his latest project — a follow-up album entitled The Atlas Underground Fire. Morello’s remarkable guitar playing will be on full display on the record fusing rock, alternative and electronic music together with collaborations from a mix of music icons and cutting-edge artists. The acclaimed list of collaborators includes Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Bring Me the Horizon, phem, Damian Marley, Sama’ Abdulhadi, Mike Posner and more.”
OneTwoThree
Untitled
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Q: What happens when you combine three women bassist singers from ’70s/’80s Swiss bands? A: a trio-full of sinuous music which reclaims the minimalist sound of the post-punk that they first created themselves. In September 2018, after decades of friendship, three women decided to finally combine forces for a show of strength. The equation seems straightforward, yet it’s very powerful: Klaudia Schifferle (Kleenex/Liliput) + Madlaina Peer (Noknows) + Sara Schaer (TNT, Souldawn) = OneTwoThree. They sport an impressive heritage but they’re also creating something that’s unique and proudly their own — spooky, danceable, subtle, compelling music for a post-pandemic world.”
Primal Scream
Demodelica
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Across two LPs, Demodelica will take fans on the journey of the creation Primal Scream’s 1991 classic Screamadelica, through demos and work in progress mixes, allowing them an insight into the creative process that went into the finished album. Demodelica will also be released on CD and digitally and will feature liner notes from acclaimed British music journalist and cultural historian Jon Savage.”
Redscale
The Old Colossus
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Old Colossus is the brand-new album from rising German rockers Redscale. Teaming up to record the album with Jan Oberg and Roland “Role” Wiegner at his Die Tonmeisterei studio in Oldenburg, Redscale were relentless in their pursuit of that next-level sound. Bigger hooks, more memorable melodies, colosseum-sized choruses, and supercharged vocals. While this new record undoubtedly finds the Berliners unabashed and playing around with elements of light and shade, over nine tracks showcasing a cache of new grooves, the band put riffs front and centre. In short, it’s stacked, and if 2019’s Feed Them to the Lions moved your world then The Old Colossus is going to rock you to your core.”
Santana
Blessings And Miracles
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Blessings and Miracles is one of the most ambitious, inspired and magical albums of Santana’s storied career, on which the legendary guitarist aims higher than ever. “The title of this album comes from my belief that we’re born with heavenly powers that allows us to create blessings and miracles,” Santana says. “The world programs you to be unworthy of those gifts, but we have to utilize light, spirit and soul — they’re indestructible and immutable. Those are the three main elements on this album.”
Billy Joe Shaver & Kinky Friedman
Live Down Under
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Depending on how you look at it or who’s talking, the Live Down Under tour probably shouldn’t have happened or it was the best thing that could’ve happened. Either way, it was a minor miracle most would say and now a thing of myth and legend. It started when Billy Joe Shaver, still recovering from the loss of his mother, wife and son was lured out of mourning in 2001 by the Kinkster to do their Two For Texas tour that ended with Billy Joe unexpectedly suffering a heart attack at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas. Angioplasty was performed but Shaver, fearing the risks, was resisting medical advice to have quadruple heart by-pass surgery taking karmic instruction from Willie (Nelson) to get out and stay active. Soon commitments to bring the tour to Australia were made … Billy Joe performed every night like his life depended on it. And it did.”
Eddie Spaghetti & Frank Meyer
Motherfuckin’ Rock ’n’ Roll
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Little did the world know that when The Supersuckers took The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs out on tour for the first time back in 1999, the leaders of these two infamous punk rock ’n’ roll acts would remain pals and collaborators for over two decades! The evidence of this wild and rowdy union is all over their debut album Motherfuckin’ Rock ’n’ Roll, a 10-song splatter-platter of dirty hard rock, chainsaw punk, outlaw country, and catchy hook-laden power-pop earworms by Eddie Spaghetti and Frank Meyer.”
The Stone Eye
South Of The Sun
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “South of the Sun by The Stone Eye is one of those rare musical gems that is somehow familiar, yet takes the listener on a journey mapped out in new pathways. Heavy with a layer of glorious weirdness, this album combines a raucous, dirty guitar sound with clever musicianship…vocals that are as hypnotic in harmony as they are diverse in range … a rhythm section as daring as it is ornate and, at times, funk-a-licious. The album as a whole is mesmerizing, with hooks that stay in your mind for hours on end. Catatonia and the groove-oriented Witches and Raptures are both soulful and in their own way erotic, both perfect for rock, alternative, and pure metal radio playlists as fuzzy alternative stoner sludge wrapped up in a progressive-rock take on the pop genre.”
Tunic
Quitter
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Formed in 2012, Tunic can trace its musical roots to the caustic, angular stylings of Big Black and The Jesus Lizard and their colleagues from across the AmRep and Touch and Go rosters. As displayed on Quitter‘s title track, pummeling drums, distorted bass, discordant guitar, and wild-eyed vocals combine and lurch forward like an Army tank of sound. Yet, Tunic are more transparent than its noise-rock heroes ever were. There is an earnestness that links the Winnipeg outfit to a line of more heartfelt ancestors — post-hardcore gods like Drive Like Jehu and Fugazi. “The whole record is about quitting,” singer-guitarist David Schellenberg explains. “I quit smoking, drinking, and a job I had grown to hate. I quit being stubborn about my mental illness and finally started taking medication for it.” From the ashes comes greatness; Quitter is the story of tearing things down so as to rebuild.”
Various Artists
Sacred Soul of North Carolina
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Produced by Bruce Watson (Fat Possum/Big Legal Mess/Bible & Tire), this collection of sacred soul recordings of Eastern North Carolinian gospel groups is a one of a kind exploration. With a rich heritage of family gospel music, the artists in this area have been honing their craft over generations and have their own way of making the material original and unique. This is Sacred Soul of North Carolina. Rarely have the musicians of this region, whose family and musical roots date back to the 17th century, been recorded or filmed. The album and film include detailed liner notes by folklorist Will Boone as well as bios on each group.”
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground: A Documentary Film By Todd Haynes – Music From the Motion Picture Soundtrack
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Curated by director Todd Haynes and music supervisor Randall Poster, the album is the official soundtrack for the critically acclaimed documentary The Velvet Underground, which will be released in theaters and premiere globally on Oct. 15 on Apple TV+. Featuring some of The Velvet Underground’s most well-known tracks, rarities and songs that influenced them, the album serves as the perfect introduction to the band and companion piece to the film. The soundtrack features such Velvet Underground favorites as Sunday Morning, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Pale Blue Eyes, I’m Waiting for The Man and Sweet Jane, as well as the mono version of Heroin and the rare cut Foggy Notion. Also featured are live versions of After Hours and Sister Ray, Nico’s Chelsea Girls, and the tongue-in-cheek novelty song The Ostrich by The Primitives, an early band formed by Lou Reed and John Cale.”
Dean Wareham
I Have Nothing To Say To The Mayor Of L.A.
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500, Luna) returns with his first new songs in seven years, a politically minded collection of indie guitar beauty. Since the release of his last solo album, 2014’s Dean Wareham, Dean scored the film Mistress America with his wife, Britta Phillips, released an album and toured with his recently reunited group Luna. With Phillips, he has also been doing regular livestreams from their home in Los Angeles (a collection largely culled from those sets, Quarantine Tapes, was released in 2020). Considering a possible reason for the delay in original material, Wareham jokes “maybe it’s just too sunny in L.A.”
Weak Signal
Bianca
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Weak Signal represent a constant on the N.Y.C. underground. The trio’s dark cinematic pop evokes late summer nights, apathy and urgency, buzz guitars over garbage trucks. The range of Mike Bones’ guitar suggests he’s been lured by the sweet tone of Peter Green, as well as the metallic attack of Paul Reynolds. The rhythm section of Sasha and Tran — bass and drums — is the sound of summer thunder. On their sophomore LP Bianca, Weak Signal have amplified every aspect of their magnetism. The pop is lusher, the drums more bludgeoning and the guitar tone is nastier than ever. They’ve created a thick sonic morass that’s simultaneously tranquil and exhilarating. Weak Signal have truly found their stride with Bianca, and it’s a full-blown gallop.”
Remi Wolf
Juno
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Remi Wolf will cement her status as one of pop music’s brightest young stars when her debut Juno lands. “Creating my debut album Juno was like a fever dream. So many changes were happening in my life while I was creating these songs and I think my album really reflects the feelings of tension and release that these changes provoked in me. Every song on this record is a vivid snapshot into what was going on in my life and mindset the day I wrote each one. I hope my Remjobs can hear my honesty and passion come through and, if not, I just hope they think each song is a banger! The album is named Juno after my beautiful dog I adopted during lockdown. He ended up being in every single writing session for this album and I consider him my partner, witness, and support in the making of this record.”
Tommy Womack
I Thought I Was Fine
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “I wanted to rock this time,” says the multi-talented musical and literary artist and local Nashville hero Tommy Womack, sitting making love to an early morning cup of coffee at Bongo Java in East Nashville. “They’ve called me an Americana artist for over 20 years now, and it’s a great important genre; I’ve got nothing against it. I’ve had a great time being part of the movement. But one day a while back, I had an epiphany. I thought, hey, I hate dobros anymore! And if I hear another song about a train in the key of G, somebody’s gonna get hurt … I Thought I Was Fine has more in common with The Replacements than Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. It’s up-tempo, and sometimes totally in your face. Look, I’m 58 years old, I nearly died in a car accident on the way to a gig in 2015, I’ve beaten back cancer three times since 2017. I’ve seen musician friends of mind die before they hit my age, so I want to go back to my first love, rock ’n’ roll, while I still have time.”
