Prognostications. Promises. And plain old wishful thinking. That’s what you get from a lot of lookahead lists. Not this one, hoss. I’m keeping it 100 by only including albums with actual titles and release dates. Because that’s how I roll. Here are some prime contenders to pencil into your calendar. If you want to see 1,000 more titles on the way, head over to the Upcoming Releases page. But first, let’s run this voodoo down:
Black Grape
Orange Head
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Black Grape could only have been made in Manchester. The swagger, fun and cryptic humour seem hewn from a city historian AJP Taylor once described as offering an archetypally different way of English urban life to London. Both Shaun Ryder and Paul Leveridge, known as Kermit, came from edgy-but-cool parts of the city. In Shaun’s case Salford, with Kermit originating from Moss Side. For those unfamiliar, ‘the Moss’ lay in the shadow of Manchester City’s old stadium at Maine Road, and was one of the first multi-ethnic areas in Manchester. Ryder has grown from a wild young tearaway into a British national treasure. Black Grape always were a grimily cosmic musical jigsaw, melding rock, hip-hop, acid house, psychedelic pop and reggae with Ryder’s gutter poetry, delivered in his inimitable shyster’s bark. (January 19)
Bleachers
Bleachers
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “There’s a rich depth to the band’s sound on Bleachers laid out in bright, soulful technicolour. The album is frontman Jack Antonoff’s distinctly New Jersey take on the bizarre sensory contradictions of modern life, on his position in culture, and the things he cares about. Sonically, it’s sad, it’s joyful, it’s music for driving on the highway to, for crying to and for dancing to at weddings. There’s something reassuringly touchable and concrete about its sentiment: exist in crazy times but remember what counts. Releasing their debut album Strange Desire in 2014, the band have built a huge, passionate following across three studio albums, becoming renowned for their impressive live show and infectious camaraderie. The band’s last album, ‘Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night’ took them to new heights, showcasing Antonoff’s immersive songwriting and, as Variety testified, his innate skill at “supersizing personal stories into larger-than-life pop anthems.” (March 8)
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
Dark Rainbow
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Self-evaluation and reflection are very much on the agenda throughout Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes’ new album Dark Rainbow, and they pave the way for a sound that puts southern gothic balladry and crooning alt-rock to the front. A sonic evolution and emotional complexity powers this soul-searching expedition that reaches into the very heart of identity and pulls from it the wisdom that can only come from lived experience. The lyrics to first single Man of the Hour question the idea of rock stardom and where it fits in 2023, recognising a character that we all could, to our own detriment, be or aspire to. Singer Frank Carter elaborates: “We talk about how rock ’n’ roll will never die, but we never really talk about how maybe the idea of the rock star should die. The whole concept and what it means has always been this glamorised moment, but ultimately when I put that suit on, it didn’t go very well for me.” (January 26)
Sheryl Crow
Evolution
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Evolution is the 11th studio album from nine-time Grammy winner and 2023 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Inductee Sheryl Crow. Featuring nine new songs, the album is produced by Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Maroon 5, Keith Urban, Gary Clark Jr.). Crow publicly stated that she would not release another album after Threads (2018), so Evolution comes as a welcome surprise. “Everything has gotten more song-oriented with streaming, and making an album is a huge endeavor.” says Crow. “I started off sending one song to Mike, which turned into four, and it was going to be an EP. But the songs just kept flowing out of me, four songs turned into nine and it was pretty obvious this was an album. Evolution is Sheryl Crow at her most authentically human self. “This music and these lyrics came from sitting in the quiet and writing from a deep soul place. I said I’d never make another record, thought there was no point to it. But this music comes from my soul. And I hope whoever hears this record can feel that.” (March 29)
Future Islands
People Who Aren’t There Anymore
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The seventh album from Future Islands — Samuel T. Herring (vocals, lyrics), William Cashion (bass, guitars), Gerrit Welmers (keyboards, programming), and Michael Lowry (drums) — follows 2020’s As Long As You Are. People Who Aren’t There Anymore heralds a new chapter for Future Islands who, despite having formed nearly two decades ago, continue to challenge themselves and each other. Where they’ve pursued ever-higher energy anthems in the past, they’ve turned inward this time, and unlocked a new level of ferocity, delivering some of their most inspiring and most heartbreaking tracks by doing the opposite: taking their time, making each breath, each syllable, each cymbal crash count. The result is a powerful, defining statement from a group of musicians that have made the best album of their career.” (January 26)
Laura Jane Grace
Hole In My Head
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Recorded at Native Sound in St. Louis, Missouri with David Beeman and mixed & mastered by Matt Allison (engineer for acts such as Lawrence Arms and Rise Against), singer-songwriter Laura Jane Grace’s new album is a sonic curio cabinet containing multitudes. Hole In My Head features warm ’50s-rock-influenced guitar riffs, saved-for-later lyrics, love letters to St. Louis, dysphoria apparel, and thoughtful reflections on a punk life lived. This record captures the nuances of humanity and experience in a strangely optimistic manner. The lightness of its influence and the journalistic recollection of experience set against a battered and warm folk-punk delivery from beginning to end makes Hole In My Head a fun comfort. It is a welcome embrace of life and just the start of a new chapter in Grace’s raucous journey. (February 16)
Grandaddy
Blu Wav
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A prolific storyteller, Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle is inspired by the overwhelming beauty of nature to the mundane moments that spark life’s strongest memories. With the album title Blu Wav meant to be a literal mash-up of bluegrass and new wave, the new collection has a distinct feel, a uniform vibe, and a somewhat unexpected sound. It was conceived as Lytle was driving through the Nevada desert, and Patti Page’s Tennessee Waltz came across the classic country station on the radio. He was immediately intrigued by the possibilities of what it might sound like to keep the slow sway and sweet, simple lyrics of the bluegrass waltz while adding layers of dense synthesizers and the electronics of new wave. It incorporates the lo-fi lushness and sometimes-psychedelic orchestration Grandaddy is known for with Lytle’s first foray into true country. Seven of its 13 songs are waltzes, and as Lytle notes,“there’s an inordinate amount of pedal steel.” (February 16)
Green Day
Saviors
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Right from The American Dream Is Killing Me — the first single and opening track from Saviors — Green Day are sending out a fiery SOS for these troubled times. Amazingly, Saviors represents Green Day’s 14th studio album, yet somehow this enduring power trio — Billie Joe Armstrong, Tré Cool and Mike Dirnt — remain devoted to their defiant craft that has fueled their career-long destruction of every boundary bestowed on the genre, and landed 3 East Bay punks in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. So even as the band acknowledge their illustrious past — such as with the 30th anniversary of their now-classic Dookie album and the 20th anniversary of American Idiot coming in 024 — Green Day remain firmly focused on the here and now. The album was recorded in London and Los Angeles under the audacious ear and rock prowess of longtime friend and collaborator, Grammy-winning producer Rob Cavallo. Need a little inspiration to live on to fight the good fight another day? Fear not. Saviors is coming soon.” (January 19)
Brittany Howard
What Now
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “What Now is the hotly anticipated second solo album from singer-songwriter and Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard. Endlessly unpredictable, the album finds the artist bringing her singular musicality to a shapeshifting sound encompassing everything from psychedelia and dance music to dream-pop and avant-jazz — leaning into an exploration of retro future afroism. What Now is the long-awaited follow-up to Jaime, Brittany’s massively acclaimed solo debut of 2019 (featuring Stay High and History Repeats). The album landed on best-of-the-year lists and earned her seven Grammy nominations in four genres, winning the award for Best Rock Song with Stay High.” (February 2)
Hurray For The Riff Raff
The Past is Still Alive
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Past Is Still Alive sees Hurray For The Riff Raff reunite with Brad Cook, while further expanding their creative cast of collaborators. Anjimile, Conor Oberst, and S.G. Goodman all join Alynda Segarra on vocals at various points throughout the LP, with a band of musicians including Cook, Libby Rodenbough, Matt Douglas, Meg Duffy of Hand Habits, Mike Mogis, Phil Cook and Yan Westerlund. Mike Mogis also mixed the album, and it was mastered by Heba Kadry. The “nature punk” of Life on Earth marked a departure for Hurray for the Riff Raff, as they contemplated surviving and thriving amidst a world in crisis. The Past Is Still Alive brings the focus back inwards, with arrangements that are raw, melodies direct and indelible, and lyrics that are personal yet largely rooted in family and community.” (February 23)
Idles
Tangk
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Tangk is the righteous and vibrant fifth album from madcap truth-seekers Idles. Pronounced “tank” with a whiff of the “g” — an onomatopoeic reference to the lashing way the band imagined their guitars sounding that has since grown into a sigil for living in love — the record is the band’s most ambitious and striking work yet. Where Idles were once set on taking the world’s piss, squaring off with strong jaws against the perennially entitled, and exercising personal trauma in real time, they have arrived in this new act to offer the fruits of such perseverance: love, joy, and indeed gratitude for the mere opportunity of existence. A radical sense of defiant empowerment radiates from Tangk, co-produced by Nigel Godrich, Kenny Beats and guitarist Mark Bowen. Despite his reputation as an incendiary post-punk sparkplug, frontman Joe Talbot sings almost all the feelings inside these 10 songs with hard-earned soul, offering each lusty vow or solidarity plea as a bona fide pop song — that is, a thing for everyone to pass around and share, communal anthems intended for overcoming our grievance.” (February 16)
The Jesus And Mary Chain
Glasgow Eyes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Marking 40 years of The Jesus And Mary Chain, Glasgow Eyes was recorded at Mogwai’s Castle of Doom studio in Glasgow, where Jim and William Reid continued the creative process that resulted in their previous album, 2017’s Damage and Joy, becoming their highest charting album in over 20 years. What emerged is a record that finds one of the UK’s most influential groups embracing a productive second chapter, their maelstrom of melody, feedback and controlled chaos now informed more audibly by their love for Suicide and Kraftwerk and a fresh appreciation of the less disciplined attitudes found in jazz. Jim says, “But don’t expect ‘the Mary Chain goes jazz.’ People should expect a Jesus and Mary Chain record, and that’s certainly what Glasgow Eyes is. Our creative approach is remarkably the same as it was in 1984: Just hit the studio and see what happens. We went in with a bunch of songs and let it take its course. There are no rules, you just do whatever it takes. And there’s a telepathy there. We are those weird not-quite twins that finish each other’s sentences.” (February 9)
Judas Priest
Invincible Shield
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Panic Attack is a classic slice of Judas Priest at their very best; soaring guitars and vocals that will whet the appetites of fans around the globe. Over the past 50 plus years Judas Priest have sold over 50 million albums worldwide and headlined the world’s biggest stadiums. With their evolving music and live performances also came a powerful unique identity — a look which has both defined the group and influenced future generations of metal bands the world over. With each year the Judas Priest legend continues to grow — 2022 saw them inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and complete a sold-out world tour in support of their 50th anniversary. As we roll into 2024, Judas Priest continue to retain their crown as one of the biggest and best British bands in the world.” (March 8)
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Album
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Almost two decades in the game, and armed with an extensive back-catalogue of stadium belters, and record-breaking success, Kaiser Chiefs return with their brand new studio album, the aptly titled Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Album. Produced by Amir Amor (Rudimental), the album sees Kaiser Chiefs return with a fresh and bold new sound. From the Nile Rodgers co-write of new single Feeling Alright, to the frantic Beautiful Girl, horn-laden throwback Job Centre Shuffle and joyous punch in the gut that is ‘Jealousy’, these ten tracks are a true statement of intent from a band that continues to deliver the goods again and again. (March 8)
Kid Kapichi
There Goes The Neighbourhood
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Emerging power punk sensations Kid Kapichi don’t do things by halves. Their essential third album There Goes The Neighbourhood is their third album in as many years, a statement of intent from one of the U.K.’s hardest-working bands — a band who preach a message of urgency. It’s a record that does what Kid Kapichi do best — make a real connection in the here and now, running the gamut of love, loss and what it means to be alive in Britain today. “I know it’s a cliche, but this really is our best work ever. We put everything into this record, but actively decided not to stray too far from the path of Here’s What You Could Have Won, as we felt there was still more ground to be covered and honed on that vibe,” says Jack Wilson. “Lyrically and musically, it’s more concise, meaningful and deliberate, which ties everything together really well; it feels like a collection of songs from the same family.” (March 15)
Lenny Kravitz
Blue Electric Light
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Timeless. Explosive. Romantic. Inspiring. How else to characterize Blue Electric Light, Lenny Kravitz’s 12th studio album? Kravitz’s mastery of deep-soul rock ’n’ roll is a long-established fact. As a relentless creative force — musician, writer, producer, actor, author, designer — he continues to be a global dynamic presence throughout music, art and culture. Blue Electric Light is an impassioned suite of songs, that broadens this distinction and is the latest contribution of a man whose music — not to mention his singular style — continues to inspire millions the world over. On the album, Kravitz’s talents as a writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist resonate as he wrote and played most of the instruments himself, with longtime guitarist Craig Ross. Kravitz has won four Grammy Awards and sold 40 million albums worldwide. He was a 2023 Hollywood Walk of Fame inductee.” (March 15)
Kula Shaker
Natural Magick
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Kula Shaker’s new album Natural Magick finds the band harnessing the power to cast their most potent spell yet, incorporating blazing psychedelic sermons, raga rave-ups, stardust-coated pop pearls and mood-enhancing mantras. “This chapter in the band’s life is very much driven by live energy and that spiritual connection with the audiences which comes with it. We all agreed that the songs should be no longer than three minutes. There are no epics,” says Crispian Mills. Reformed permanently in 2021 due to the return of keyboard wizard Jay Darlington, reuniting all four members of the band’s classic lineup for the first time since 1999, the band became U.K. chart-toppers with 1996’s debut album K. Their ’99s followup Peasants Pigs and Astronauts saw them push the creative envelope prior to their premature dissolution. Having made a welcome return in 2007 with the self-funded Strangefolk, Kula Shaker have built towards the sonic summit.” (February 2)
The Libertines
All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Libertines are excited to announce the release of their fourth studio album All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade. The release marks the band’s first new album in nine years and opens with the infectious new single Run Run Run. On All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade, the quartet of unlikely lads have gathered from their new-found homes in France, Denmark, Margate and London to solder a strongest-ever internal bond, and scale new creative heights resulting in the best music of their extraordinary career so far.” (March 8)
Mick Mars
The Other Side Of Mars
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “When Mick Mars stepped back from touring with Mötley Crüe — the band he co-founded more than 40 years ago – following their massive summer 2022 Stadium Tour, it seemed like the end of an era. Really, it was the beginning of a new one. The legendary guitarist, whose riffs, solos and overall devastatingly heavy sound powered the L.A. icons through four decades of world-conquering, multi-platinum sonic mayhem is, as he demonstrates on his debut solo effort, still a serious force to be reckoned with. Only now, listeners are reckoning with more Mars than ever before. “When it comes to my playing, there’s the Mötley side and the Mars side,” the guitarist says. “Either way, I always have a very clear vision of what I want to do.” On the aptly titled The Other Side of Mars, fans get that vision in its full, multifarious glory.” (February 23)
J Mascis
What Do We Do Now
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “What Do We Do Now is the fifth solo studio LP recorded by J Mascis since 1996. This is obviously not a very aggressive release schedule, but when you figure in the live albums, guest spots, and records done with his various other bands (Dinosaur Jr., The Fog, Heavy Blanket, Witch, Sweet Apple and so on), well, to paraphrase Lou Reed, “J’s week beats your year.” What Do We Do Now began to come together during the waning days of the Pandemic. Utilizing his own Bisquiteen Studio, J started working on writing a series of tunes on acoustic with a different dynamic than the stuff he creates for Dino. “When I’m writing for the band,” he says, “I’m always trying to think of doing things Lou and Murph would fit into. For myself, I’m thinking more about what I can do with just an acoustic guitar, even for the leads. Of course, this time, I added full drums and electric leads, although the rhythm parts are still all acoustic. Usually, I try to do the solo stuff more simply so I can play it by myself, but I really wanted to add the drums. Once that started, everything else just fell into place. So it ended up sounding a lot more like a band record. I dunno why I did that exactly, but it’s just what happened.” (February 2)
Ministry
Hopiumforthemasses
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “As the world continues hanging on by a thread through pandemics, wildfires, climate change, social-political chaos and social media-fueled conspiracy theories, at least there’s Ministry to get us through. Industrial provocateur Al Jourgensen is ready to unleash his latest missives with Ministry’s 16th LP Hopiumforthemasses. Over the course of nine tracks, Jourgensen is righteously cantankerous as ever about a f***ed up world ripe for a boot up its ass. Like always, he’s merely looking around at the same dumpster fire we all are, but he’s got a microphone and uses it well to rage on about the state of the world. “Just like you or anybody else, I’m simply a passenger in this lifetime,” says Jourgensen. “I’m watching social changes, political changes, and economic changes, and I comment on them because I do have a First Amendment right.” (March 1)
Ty Segall
Three Bells
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A 15-song cycle that takes a journey to the center of the self. Ty’s been on this kind of trip before, so he’s souped up a vehicle that’s all his own — a sophisticated machine — to take us there this time. The conception of Three Bells arcs, rainbow-like, into a land nearly beyond songs — but inside of them, Ty relentlessly pushes the walls further and further in his writing and playing to cast light into the most opaque depths.” (January 26)
Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Revelations
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sarah Shook & the Disarmers’ new album Revelations is a collection of 10 lived-in songs and salt-of-the-earth stories, self-produced by bandleader River Shook (they/them) for the very first time. Across the record, they channel the commanding energy and dogged spirit of their ferocious live shows into pointed reflections on class consciousness, navigating mental health under the confines of capitalism, celebrating gay love and complicated feelings, and working through lifelong struggles of substance abuse and unhealthy relationships. With Shook at the helm, Revelations captures the band’s collision of punk rock truth-telling and outlaw country twang like no one else can, and the result feels fully themselves: raw and unfiltered, raucous and resilient, blunt and biting, but also tender and empathetic, never letting go of their immense, unwavering integrity.” (March 29)
Sleater-Kinney
Little Rope
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “There is about grief the necessary aftertaste of dreaming. In the wake of sudden loss — a moment, a person, a way of being brought violently to an end — the thing lost is gone but not its outline, a strange unstable place in which festers all manner of strange unstable thinking. The rules of reality temporarily subside, and mourning makes of the world a negative space. Plunged without warning into that space, Sleater-Kinney returns with Little Rope, one of the finest, most delicately layered records in the band’s nearly 30-year career. To call the album flawless feels like an insult to its intent — it careens headfirst into flaw, into brokenness, a meditation on what living in a world of perpetual crisis has done to us, and what we do to the world in return. On the surface, the album’s 10 songs veer from spare to anthemic, catchy to deliberately hard-turning. But beneath that are perhaps the most complex and subtle arrangements of any Sleater-Kinney record, and a lyrical and emotional compass pointed firmly in the direction of something both liberating and terrifying: the sense that only way to gain control is to let it go.” (January 19)
The Smile
Wall Of Eyes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Smile’s new album Wall Of Eyes was recorded between Oxford and Abbey Road Studios and was produced and mixed by Sam Petts-Davies. It features string arrangements by the London Contemporary Orchestra. Wall Of Eyes is the follow up to their 2022 debut LP A Light For Attracting Attention.” (January 26)
Sum 41
Heaven :x: Hell
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Heaven :x: Hell is the last and most ambitious album from Sum 41. Heaven is 10 tracks of snarling high-energy pop-punk, while Hell consists of 10 heavy metal anthems spiked with fret-burning solos, thrashing riffs and fist-pumping hooks. The band has been straddling the line of pop-punk and metal for their entire career, and Heaven :x: Hell is a testament to their innovative sound and unmatched skill, proving them as pioneers 27 years after the bands inception. On the new album, Deryck Whibley says, “Once I heard the music, I was confident enough to say, ‘This is the record I’d like to go out on.’ We’ve made a double album of pop punk and metal, and it makes sense. It took a long time for us to pave this lane for ourselves, but we did, and it’s unique to us.” (March 29)
Yard Act
Where’s My Utopia
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Co-produced by Yard Act and Gorillaz member Remi Kabaka Jr., Where’s My Utopia? follows the Leeds band’s debut, 2022’s The Overload. Since The Overload, frontman and vocalist James Smith, bassist Ryan Needham, guitarist Sam Shjipstone and drummer Jay Russell have become one of the most exciting indie success stories of this decade. While the band’s trajectory continued to shoot upwards, and the brotherly bond between the four band members strengthened, Smith and his wife welcomed their first child. This dueling sense of responsibility and ambition, guilt, love, drive and everything in between forms the narrative backbone of the brilliantly exploratory second album.” (March 1)
