Upcoming Releases
This Is Happening
The Montreal (via Calgary) four piece known as BRAIDS will be releasing their debut LP this Tuesday, January 18th, entitled Native Speaker. To coincide with the album’s release the band will be hitting the road this winter, playing alongside the likes of Star Slinger, Baths, Asobi Seksu, Toro Y Moi and Cloud Nothings. If you don’t feel like waiting two more days to hear it, you can stream the album right now in it’s entirety over at Hype Machine.
Smith Westerns burst onto the scene in 2009 with their surprising self-titled, debut LP. It’s two years later and the band has already put the finishing touches on their sophomore release, entitled Dye it Blonde. We’re going out on a limb here, but we are going to say that this will be one of the best albums of the year. Bold statement perhaps, but we’ve heard it, and it is excellent. Dye It Blonde will also hit stores this Tuesday, January 18th.
The Decemberists plan to release their new album, The King is Dead Tuesday as well but if you’d like to get an early jump on that you can listen to the new album in it’s entirety right now, streaming here.
Also on Tuesday, the world’s most adorable husband and wife duo, Tennis, will finally release their debut album, entitled Cape Dory. You can hear the album’s first single right now by clicking here.
Iron & Wine will return to us this year with his first album on his new label. Mr. Beam has parted ways with Sub Pop and joined the ranks of The Flaming Lips, Muse, Regina Spektor and….Linkin Park who are all a part of his new Label; Warner Bros. Records. Will we see a new side to the bearded folkster now that he is with his new label? That remains to be seen. We do know that the album will be called Kiss Each Other Clean and will hit stores on January 25th.
It seems like everyone has been talking about Destroyer these days. Especially since the release of two amazing new tracks from the band’s forthcoming album Kaputt which hits stores on January 25th via Merge. But in case you’ve been living in a cave, here’s a first taste from Kaputt; a track called “Chinatown“.
January 25th will also see the long awaited release of Cloud Nothings’ debut, self-titled LP via Carpark Records. Expect to hear some new tracks when the band rolls through Montreal on Tuesday at Casa Del Popolo. Here’s a sneak peak of two new tracks from the album: “Should Have” and “Understand At All”
Starting off the month of February you will be able to get your hands on a brand new record by The Go! Team. The album is called Rolling Blackouts and will hit stores in North America on the first of the month. Expect to hear some guest appearances on the new 13 track LP, including Satomi Matsuzaki of Deerhoof and Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast.
UK rapper Mike Skinner, or as most know him, The Streets, is putting the finishing touches on his fifth full length, entitled Computers and Blues. The good news is that the album will hit stored on February 7th. The bad news is that this will in all likelihood be the last Streets record. But we don’t expect this will be the last we hear of Skinner.
Many people out there have already heard James Blake‘s self-titled debut album even though it doesn’t officially see it’s release until February 7th. If you’ve already heard the album you’ll know just what a masterpiece it is. If you haven’t all we can say is get ready because this album will put Blake on the map permanently (as if he wasn’t already there).
Super Furry Animals front-man, Gruff Rhys, will be releasing his third solo album, called Hotel Shampoo. Someone who has toured as much as Rhys certainly must know a lot about the subject. The 13 song album will be released on February 14th.
Scottish post-rock band Mogwai is also back this year with their seventh studio album, entitled Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. The album was leaked onto the internet just before the new year, but if you’d like to wait to hear it, you can pick it up on it’s official release date, February 14th via Sub Pop.
La Sera is the solo project of Vivian Girls member Katy Goodman. Her self titled debut solo album will be released on February 15th via Hardly Art. The album’s first single, “Never Come Around” already has it’s own video and you can now hear another song from the album called “Devils Hearts Grow Old” by clicking here. You can also pre-order the album right here.
Epic Montreal indie rock band The Dears are also set to release their full length, entitled Degeneration Street, on February 15th. The band has already released the first video from the album for the catchy falsetto heavy track, “Omega Dog”. You can check that out here.
Another album that will hit stores on February 15th (which just so happens to be Conor Oberst’s birthday) is Bright Eyes‘ latest LP, The People’s Key. Oberst has stated that the album will move away from the folk sound of previous releases and be a lot more rock and contemporary. The first single from the album can be downloaded now on the Saddle Creek website.
South Carolina’s Toro Y Moi returns in 2011 with a brand new album called Underneath the Pines. If you’re expecting something along the lines of Chazwick Bundick’s first album; last year’s Causers of This, think again because he will be taking a completely different musical direction on this one. The album comes out on February 22nd on Carpark Records.
London, England’s Noah & The Whale will be releasing a new album on March 7th entitled Last Night on Earth. The 10 song LP will be the follow up to the band’s sombre The First Days Of Spring. Will the band stay in this vein or go back to the sunny summer pop that catapulted them to the forefront of the indie music scene three years ago remains to be seen. But if the album’s first single is anything to go by, it looks like it might be the latter. You can sample the new track, called “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.”, right here.
The Dodos will also be back in 2011 with their follow up to their last LP, Time To Die. The band’s fourth album will be entitled No Color and will be released on March 15th. It has been stated that Neko Case will make an appearance on the album.
Pretty much every member of The Strokes has gone off on their own to test their hand as a solo musician. The latest was Julian Casablancas and his excellent 2009 release, Phrazes for the Young. Well, it seems that 2011 will again be the year of The Strokes. The band has reunited to record their fourth full length LP, which will hit stores on March 22nd. The album doesn’t have a title yet but more information should be just on the horizon as the release is only a few months away.
Peter Bjorn and John will also be releasing a new album this spring called Gimme Some. The album will feature 10 new songs and will hit stores in North America on March 29th via StarTime International. The band will also hit the road this spring to coincide with the album’s release. No North American dates have been announced as of yet but stay tuned.
Bibio has just released the details of his forthcoming LP. If you think you don’t know who Bibio is, you may know him better than you think. Perhaps you’ve seen that little commercial on TV for Amazon’s Kindle. Well the song that makes the commercial so appealing is Bibio’s “Lover’s Carvings” from his last LP, Ambivalence Avenue. The new album will be called Mind Bokeh and it will hit stores on March 29th via Warp Records.
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart have been hard at work on their sophomore LP, entitled Belong, which will be released this March. You can hear the first single from the album, “Heart In Your Heartbreak”, right now on the band’s myspace page.
Lykke Li‘s sophomore album, Wounded Rhymes, is set to be released sometime in March as well Although the Swedish indie songstress had said a few months ago that her next release would take longer to complete, it seems to be going otherwise. You can even take a listen to her new single “I Follow River” right here.
Okkervil River return to us in 2011 with their first new album in three years. I Am Very Far is the name and it will hit stores on May 10th via Jagjaguwar. The band actually debuted the first new track from the album not too long ago on Jimmy Fallon; a performance you can watch by clicking here.
Reading, England’s Pete & The Pirates, who released that excellent album called Little Death back in 2008 will return this year with their sophomore release. On November 20th, 2010 the band announced on their website that the new album was finished and released a first taste of it the day after Christmas called “Winter 1″. The song is available for free download here and you can expect to see the as of yet untitled new album to be out sometime in May.
There hasn’t been very much news out of the Bodies of Water camp since the release of A Certain Feeling back in 2008. But according to their official website, their new album is finished and is called Twist Again. Expect to hear some song samples over the winter and an official release this spring.
Animal Collective’s Panda Bear will be releasing his fourth solo LP this year, called Tomboy. An official release date has yet to be announced but the album should be in it’s final stages of completion. The album is said to take a different musical directions than his previous release Person Pitch and his previous work with Animal Collective.
Flash Back
As we said, the 90s are making a comeback this year in a big way. TV On The Radio bassist Dave Sitek will be joining Jane’s Addiction for their new album and forthcoming tour, with high expectations following Flea and Duff McKagan. Pitchfork has got that whole story for you.
Travis Barker, everyone’s favorite tattooed drummer is releasing his first solo album Give The Drummer Some on Feb 22. The album also has a whole list of 90s guest stars including Tom Morello, Snoop Dogg, Chester Bennington and Lil Wayne.
The Foo Fighters will also return in 2011 with the long awaited follow up to Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. The album, which is all wrapped up and ready to go was produced by Butch Vig, making it the first time that him and Dave Grohl work together since 90′s classic Nevermind. Expect to see that one in stores shortly.
Perhaps the most anticipated studio time of the year for 90s lovers will be No Doubt who are going to be recording their first new material since 2001. NME has got that scoop for you. Now for the fun part…
The Rumor Mill
Now for the fun part. Speculation, rumor and hopeful longing. Let’s start this section off with a band that blew up out of nowhere in 2008 with the release of their self-titled debut LP. We are speaking of course about the mighty Fleet Foxes. There is definitely a new Fleet Foxes LP on it’s way, the only question really is when it will hit the shelves. Lead singer Robin Pecknold has stated that the album was slated for an early spring release, which means that we might be in for a nice treat once the winter blows it’s last frigid breath. The album is tentatively titled Deepwater Horizon or Slaughternalia.
It is very likely that Radiohead will make a return to us in 2011. They have definitely been working on new things in the studio and in a recent interview with BBC 6, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien suggested that the band was in the heart of recording some new material. Colin Greenwood further mentioned in an interview that the band had just completed a brand new set of songs and were in the process of deciding how to release them. Unfortunately, that’s all the news we’ve got on the Radiohead front, but keep your eyes and ears peeled for more.
There is a good chance that there will be a new M83 album released this year. We know that Anthony Gonzales is currently working on a new batch of songs which he has described as “darker” and “very, very, very epic”. Sounds good to us!
There have been rumors swirling about about a new Shins album in the works, but there’s really not enough information out there at this point to make any speculations.
There’s not much information out there about this one, but it is almost 100% certain that Death Cab For Cutie will be releasing a new album in the spring of this year. It even has a title. The new album will be called Codes and Keys and it has been said to be less “guitar-centric” than previous works.
We’ve heard rumblings of a new Santigold album being slated for a 2011 release. But there’s really not enough conclusive evidence to make any official claims. Diplo and Q-Tip have been linked to the album as well.
Just how big are The Lonely Island? Well, their debut album, Incredibad, opened at #13 on Billboard’s Top Album Chart and was #1 on Itunes album chart. Their hilarious videos have received millions of views on Youtube and since it’s December 18th release, the video for “I Just Had Sex” featuring Akon has received over 35 million views on it’s own. There’s no official release date for a new album, but we can definitely expect to see a 2011 release.
There has been a lot of talk surrounded a long awaited second release from Melbourne, Australia’s The Avalanches. While the talk hasn’t led to much up until this point, it appears that (fingers crossed) there is a new Avalanches record actually on the horizon for 2011. A message on the band’s official website says ‘Stay tuned in the coming months for special announcements” and the band has officially joined twitter. We can only hope that these are signs that will ultimately lead to the band’s second album being released this year.
What did we miss? Do you have any new information for us? If so, let us know by commenting below.
