Kings and thieves. Jealousy and overkill. Anarchy and overkill. Dragons and lizards. Dreams and urges. Earthlings and conspirators. Lucifer and believers. If next week’s new albums don’t sell, they could be used as the basis for a killer epic miniseries on HBO. Get ready to binge:
Alt-J
The Dream
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Dream is an album where true-crime-inspired stories and tales of Hollywood and the Chateau Marmont rub shoulders with some of the band’s more personal moments to date. Both beauty and darkness lay side-by-side — often seamlessly merging on the same track, a purposeful choice that pays dividends across the record. The band’s dazzling instrumentation has matured; there are still far-out moments, but now they are deployed with artful precision. The Dream is an album of intrigue, beauty, and humanity — a coalescence of everything that has made Alt-J a global band with true staying power. It is a record that is the sound of a band growing as songwriters and storytellers.”
Andy Bell
Flicker
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Flicker is the second album from Ride guitarist and songwriter Andy Bell. Written almost as a conversation with his teenage self, it follows the triumphant solo debut that was 2020’s The View From Halfway Down. This 18-track double album takes in everything from modern psychedelia to fingerpicked folk, whimsical baroque pop, and Byrdsian 12-string beauty. It’s a breathtaking array and makes it even more abundantly clear that Andy has entered a purple patch in his songwriting, hitting a new velocity in contrast to his initial inhibitions about becoming a solo artist. “When I think about Flicker, I see it as closure,” explains Andy. “Most literally, on a half-finished project from over six years ago, but also on a much bigger timescale. Some of these songs date back to the ’90s and the cognitive dissonance of writing brand new lyrics over songs that are 20-plus years old makes it feel like it is, almost literally, me exchanging ideas with my younger self.”
Big Thief
Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You is a sprawling double-LP exploring the deepest elements and possibilities of Big Thief. To truly dig into all that the music of Adrianne Lenker, Max Oleartchik, Buck Meek and James Krivchenia desired in 2020, the band decided to write and record a rambling account of growth as individuals, musicians, and chosen family over four distinct recording sessions. In Upstate New York, Topanga Canyon, The Rocky Mountains, and Tucson, Arizona, Big Thief spent five months in creation and came out with 45 completed songs. The most resonant of this material was edited down into the 20 tracks that make up DNWMIBIY, a fluid and adventurous listen. The album was produced by drummer James Krivchenia, who initially pitched the recording concept for DNWMIBIY back in late 2019 with the goal of encapsulating the many different aspects of Adrianne’s songwriting and the band onto a single record.”
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Made in Timeland
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Made In Timeland is the 19th studio album by Australian rock band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Originally, it was scheduled to be distributed exclusively to members of the Timeland Festival on Dec. 31, 2021 but when the festival was cancelled due to rising COVID-19 cases, its release was halted.”
Slash Ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators
4
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A decade and four albums into their career, Slash Ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators haven’t been deterred by any obstacles in their path – including a global pandemic. A vibrant rock album fueled by memorable guitar hooks and compelling melodies, big choruses, and even bigger riffs, 4 builds on the legacy of the band’s prior work. Slash and the band traveled across the country together to Nashville and recorded the new album at the historic RCA Studio A with producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile), revealing a stunning new sound and style all captured live in the studio. Cobb shared the band’s desire to lay down the tracks live in the studio including guitar solos and vocals — a first for the group.”
Spoon
Lucifer On The Sofa
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Spoon’s 10th album Lucifer on the Sofa is the band’s purest rock ’n’ roll record to date. Texas-made, it is the first set of songs that the quintet has put to tape in its hometown of Austin in more than a decade. Written and recorded over the last two years — both in and out of lockdown — these songs mark a shift toward something louder, wilder, and more full-color. Lucifer on the Sofa bottles the physical thrill of a band tearing up a packed room. It’s an album of intensity and intimacy, where the music’s harshest edges feel as vivid as the directions quietly murmured into the mic on the first-take. According to frontman Britt Daniel, “It’s the sound of classic rock as written by a guy who never did get Eric Clapton.”
Tegan and Sara
Still Jealous
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Tegan and Sara will revisit the indie-pop duo’s 2004 breakout album So Jealous on a new version of the record titled Still Jealous. It features the original’s 14 tracks, all of which have been re-recorded acoustically, with the twin sisters singing each other’s songs. The idea to record the new album came in the spring of 2020 as they were preparing to launch a fundraiser for the Tegan and Sara Foundation, where the grand prize was two guitars used to record So Jealous. To promote the campaign, Sara decided to record an acoustic version of You Wouldn’t Like Me, one of the songs Tegan wrote for the album. “When I was done, it was clear to us both that the project was more than background music for the fundraiser,” Sara explained. “Over the next few months, we let our interpretations of each other’s original songs become more experimental and fluid. It was comforting to live inside of familiar music during such a destabilizing time. Performing each other’s songs became a salve during the longest period that either of us has gone without an audience to sing for.”
Urge Overkill
Oui
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “When the world was asked if it was time for new music from Urge Overkill, it responded with one word — Oui. Oui is the new release from Nash Kato and King Roeser — their first in over a decade. It’s full of their signature mix of rock, hooks, and fancy bling, which is exactly what a post-pandemic planet has needed for far too long. The album has 11 new tracks from Kato and Roeser, plus an Urge-ified cover of Wham!’s Freedom! It’s the logical extension of everything everyone loves about Urge Overkill — killer riffs, memorable hooks, and the style and swagger of Kato and King.”
Eddie Vedder
Earthling
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Earthlings are drummer Chad Smith, keyboardist / guitarist / vocalist Josh Klinghoffer, bassist Chris Chaney, guitarist / vocalist Glen Hansard, and guitarist Andrew Watt. The newly formed group gave their live debut at Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Festival this September. Earthling, which was produced by Grammy-winning producer Andrew Watt, is the first album since Vedder’s 2011 Ukulele Songs.”
Voivod
Synchro Anarchy
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Confined to their quarters for long months of lockdown, Canada’s finest simply did what they do best: create. The result is Synchro Anarchy, Voïvod’s 15th studio album and, as fans have come to expect, yet another unparalleled eruption of wildly imaginative heaviness. Shaped by the weirdest of circumstances, the new songs were born from an intense period of collaboration. Despite the pressures of working amid a global pandemic, Synchro Anarchy sounds like the work of truly liberated artists. Following the career peak of their Juno-winning previous album The Wake was always going to be tricky, but the Canadians have smashed the followup out of the park, delivering one of the most idiosyncratic and adventurous expressions of their unique, genre-bending sound yet. Fans old and new can expect something truly mind-blowing this time around.”
