It’s been awhile since we’ve discussed music ’round here (especially with Nikki being gone for the past 2 years (okay 25 days. we’re not counting or anything) and so we thought it was time. Here are the top 5 most exciting upcoming albums, according to Courtney!
1. John Mayer – Paradise Valley, August 20
Of all the singles on this list, “Wildfire,” the second released off of Mayer’s sixth studio album Paradise Valley, shows the most mainstream potential.
By smoothly integrating complex arrangements of campfire hand clapping and foot stomping with whimsical piano and electric guitar, the song dances off almost effortlessly as a collaboration of Philadelphia, Texas and California sound. If the entire album flows half as easily, it will be an enjoyable listen for people who even slightly enjoy his music.
The first single “Paper Doll” has already attracted a little bit of drama – some speculate “Paper Doll” is a little taste of her own medicine for Taylor Swift, with the lyrics:
Tay isn’t the only one – he dedicated a song to ex Katy Perry at the kickoff show for his “Born and Raised” Tour according to Rolling Stone, dedicating “A Face to Call Home” to “Katy, who is my face to call home.”
2. Franz Ferdinand – Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, August 27
Their first album since 2009s Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, the anticipation is basically of the “what took them so long?” variety. Will it be worth the wait?
“Love Illumination” has catchy potential, and is definitely bursting with the band’s infectious and surreal dance-rock sound.
But listening to it, or their other released single “Right Action,” doesn’t give off the relieved feeling of finding something you’ve been missing for four years. It isn’t bursting with the thrill that their big hits like “Take Me Out” and “Jacqueline” did.
With the time between albums, Franz Ferdinand could have totally revolutionized their sound, and it doesn’t seem like they have. But even if it is the same thing we were hearing four years ago, the world still hasn’t caught up to their futuristic sound, so don’t count them out for a great comeback.
3. J Roddy Walston and the Business – Essential Tremors, September 10
A blender band with blues, rock, grunge and folk ingredients, J Roddy Walston and the Business has gone largely under-appreciated. However, their first single from the album “Marigold” is excellent and could change all of that.
“Marigold” is a romping tale of “the classic ‘girl meets boy who is pretending to be a girl, who is poor and an artist and dabbling in drug usage because it’s all art and his trust fund says so,'” according to Walston. Classic indeed — it has an awesome ne-ne-na-na-na beat that makes you want to start furiously pounding the piano, like music will magically come out even if you have no idea how to play.
J Roddy, the Business and their unique brand of blues rock have been making the rounds this festival season, and are embarking on a tour surrounding this album August 10.
4. The Weeknd – Kiss Land, September 10
Kiss Land, follow-up to The Weeknd’s premiere album Trilogy, which was certified gold in the United States. Featuring the mysterious Abel Tesfaye himself on the cover is appropriate, as the songs released so far seem to delve deeper and more confessional than Trilogy.
The signature dark tone mixed with Tesfaye’s falsetto is strong in both of the releases, title track “Kiss Land,” which is a whopping 7:41 minutes long, and “Belong to the World” which is almost eight.
It’s an intense listening journey, which begs the question: will the album be too heavy and the songs be too long, even for fans?
5. The Wanted – Word of Mouth, September 23
“Walks Like Rhianna” is the latest single from this soon to be released album – hopefully, that is. It has been pushed back a few times, and the band announced last week via Facebook it was being pushed back another week.
All I can say is, it’s catchy and makes me want to dance around my room. I’ll wait a little longer if that’s the sacrifice needed for a great Brit pop album.
Speaking of great Brit pop albums, One Direction is also hard at work with no specific release date, but promising a new album by the end of 2013. They told GQ Magazine it will be “cooler” and “rockier” – totally on board.
Also upcoming: Arctic Monkeys – AM, September 9, The Avett Brothers – Magpie and the Dandelion (check out their recently released single “Another is Waiting” on NPR), Blitzen Trapper – VII, October 1.
What upcoming albums are you looking forward to? Since we last talked music The Civil Wars album released & I (Bekah) can’t stop listening to it, icky duo-drama or not
