{"id":1955,"date":"2021-01-31T17:03:03","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T01:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/?p=1955"},"modified":"2021-01-31T17:03:04","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T01:03:04","slug":"40-albums-to-be-released-in-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/40-albums-to-be-released-in-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"40 Albums To Be Released in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Good riddance, 2020. Hello, 2021! The new year brings a renewed sense of hope for the music industry and the world at large, as the end of the pandemic draws closer and closer. With a return to some degree of normalcy on the horizon, many artists are gearing up to release long-delayed albums. And maybe, just maybe, we\u2019ll actually get to see these songs performed live in person before the year is out. Here are 41 records to look forward to in the coming months. (As of January 4, all release dates have been confirmed. But as usual, everything is subject to change.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Adele<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been more than five years since Adele issued 25<\/em>, and when she was announced as host for Saturday Night Live<\/em> in October, it seemed like new music was imminent\u2014or at least a lot of folks wanted it to be. Naturally, she quickly nixed that idea: \u201cMy album\u2019s not finished,\u201d she admitted<\/a> in her opening monologue. She hasn\u2019t said how far along the project is, or even what\u2019s left to be done, but her post-SNL<\/em> Instagram caption of \u201cPeace out til next year<\/a>\u201d indicates that an album might finally be on the horizon. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ani DiFranco: Revolutionary Love<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

January 29<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her first LP since writing the 2019 memoir No Walls and the Recurring Dream<\/em>, folk songwriter Ani DiFranco\u2019s 22nd studio album is full of protest music and urgent calls to action. Among her collaborators: producer Brad Cook\u2014who has worked on recent records by Waxahatchee, Bon Iver, and William Tyler\u2014along with Hiss Golden Messenger percussionist Brevan Hampden and Mountain Goats multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas. In a statement about the title track \u201cRevolutionary Love,\u201d DiFranco wrote, \u201cIt\u2019s about carrying the energy of love and compassion into the center of our social movements and making it the driving force.\u201d \u2013Sam Sodomsky<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ani DiFranco: Revolutionary Love<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$27.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arab Strap: As Days Get Dark<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

March 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scotland\u2019s Arab Strap\u2014the duo of Malcolm Middleton and Aidan Moffat\u2014dissolved amicably in 2006, not long after the release of their album The Last Romance<\/em>. Their separation lasted for more than a decade, with the pair reuniting on stage for a handful of festival dates in 2016. But September brought \u201cThe Turning of Our Bones,\u201d Arab Strap\u2019s first new song in 15 years, and they announced the album with the track \u201cCompersion Pt. 1\u201d later in the year. Moffat has said<\/a> As Days Get Dark<\/em> is \u201cabout hopelessness and darkness, but in a fun way.\u201d \u2013Allison Hussey<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arab Strap: As Days Get Dark<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$24.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bleachers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jack Antonoff has stayed busy since his last record as Bleachers, 2017\u2019s Gone Now<\/em>. He formed a new project called Red Hearse<\/a> alongside Sam Dew and Sounwave and produced albums such as Lana Del Rey\u2019s Norman Fucking Rockwell!<\/em> and the Chicks\u2019 Gaslighter<\/em>. His most fruitful creative partnership continues to be with longtime collaborator Taylor Swift\u2014they collaborated on 2019\u2019s Lover<\/em> and 2020\u2019s folklore<\/em> and evermore<\/em>. Recently, Antonoff shared two tracks<\/a> that foreshadow an upcoming third Bleachers album, \u201c45\u201d and \u201cchinatown,\u201d which features none other than New Jersey hero Bruce Springsteen. \u2013Quinn Moreland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Buck Meek: Two Saviors<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

January 15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big Thief guitarist Buck Meek returns with Two Saviors<\/em>, his second solo record. Backed by a band featuring pedal steel, fiddle, and his brother Dylan on piano and organ, Meek takes a look at heartbreak and expands on the loose, easygoing twang of his 2018 self-titled debut. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buck Meek: Two Saviors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$22.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cardi B<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 2019, Cardi B posted a short video of her freestyling on Instagram<\/a>, teasing, \u201cIt\u2019s just a little something till I finish up the album.\u201d Since then, Cardi hasn\u2019t exactly disappeared from the airwaves\u2014she gave us \u201cWAP,\u201d after all\u2014but has yet to reveal more about when to expect the follow-up to 2018\u2019s Invasion of Privacy<\/em>. \u201cWAP\u201d was held back from Grammy consideration<\/a> this year in preparation for a new album campaign, one promising clue of the Cardi bars that are around the corner. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Caroline Shaw: Narrow Sea<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

January 22<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water and ascension are among the central themes of Caroline Shaw\u2019s Narrow Sea<\/em>, her second album since winning a Pulitzer Prize for Partita for 8 Voices<\/em><\/a> in 2013 and working with Kanye West<\/a>. Extracting text from old folk songs, Shaw composed the five-part Narrow Sea<\/em> in 2017 for the quartet S\u014d Percussion, who perform on the album with pianist Gilbert Kalish and soprano Dawn Upshaw. The project also includes a 2012 piece that Shaw composed for S\u014d Percussion titled Taxidermy<\/em>. \u2013Allison HusseyTRENDING NOWWatch Joey Purp Rate Tinder, Snapchat Filters and Drake<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preorder:<\/strong> Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chuck Johnson: The Cinder Grove<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cinder Grove<\/em> is Chuck Johnson\u2019s second pedal steel album, following 2017\u2019s Balsams<\/em>. As on Balsams<\/em>, Johnson melds the pedal steel with synthesizers, this time applying reverb and echo effects culled from archival recordings made in Oakland DIY spaces. Johnson presents The Cinder Grove<\/em> as a reflection on loss and memory, with string contributions from his Saariselka collaborator Marielle Jakobsons, as well as piano by Sarah Davachi. \u2013Allison HusseyADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preorder:<\/strong> Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cloud Nothings: The Shadow I Remember<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 26<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cloud Nothings released The Black Hole Understands<\/em> this summer, a remotely assembled album that followed the free-jazz spirals<\/a> of frontman Dylan Baldi and drummer Jayson Gerycz in the spring. Then, in December, they shared the Bandcamp-exclusive Life Is Only One Event<\/em><\/a>. Soon, they\u2019ll deliver the all-new The Shadow I Remember<\/em>, which was produced by Steve Albini, who helmed 2012\u2019s classic Attack on Memory<\/em>. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cloud Nothings: The Shadow I Remember<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$18.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Darkside: Spiral<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Spring<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than six years since their last show in Brooklyn, Nicol\u00e1s Jaar and Dave Harrington have returned to the Darkside. \u201cLiberty Bell,\u201d the first single from Spiral<\/em>, picks up where they left off on 2013\u2019s Psychic<\/em>, with a woozy dance\/rock fusion featuring flamenco guitar that melds the organic and electronic in similar ways to the Daft Punk record they once reimagined<\/a>. The duo\u2019s heady, atmospheric vibes are well-suited to quarantine, but by the time Spiral<\/em> is released in the spring, with any luck, we\u2019ll get to groove to it in the club, the darkest days behind us. \u2013Matthew Ismael Ruiz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Drake: Certified Lover Boy<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

January<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drake announced Certified Lover Boy<\/em> in August with the release of \u201cLaugh Now Cry Later,\u201d a Lil Durk collaboration notably breezier than the bulk of Scorpion<\/em>, the new album\u2019s official predecessor. There soon followed a typically solemn and high-budget trailer, however, suggesting \u201can album of legacy building and mythmaking,\u201d as Pitchfork\u2019s Alphonse Pierre<\/a> notes. Whichever route Toronto\u2019s certified loverboy takes, a dedicated full-length will be welcome after the scattered Dark Lane Demo Tapes<\/em>. \u2013Jazz Monroe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Femi Kuti & Made Kuti: Legacy+<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fela Kuti\u2019s scions continue the family tradition on their joint album: Femi got his start playing in his dad\u2019s band Egypt 80 in 1979; Femi\u2019s son Made cut his teeth as a child touring with his father, playing bass and saxophone in his band Positive Force. Legacy +<\/em> combines Femi\u2019s album Stop the Hate<\/em> and Made\u2019s album For(e)ward<\/em>. Both records were produced by Sodi Marciszewer, who worked on Fela\u2019s last six albums. It\u2019s also a showcase for Made\u2019s considerable talents as a performer, as he plays bass, alto saxophone, and percussion on Stop the Hate<\/em> and is responsible for all the instrumentation on For(e)ward<\/em>. \u2013Matthew Ismael Ruiz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Femi Kuti & Made Kuti: Legacy+<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$31.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Foo Fighters: Medicine at Midnight<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foo Fighters announced Medicine at Midnight<\/em> and debuted its lead single \u201cShame Shame\u201d on Saturday Night Live<\/em> the weekend after Election Day. The follow-up, \u201cNo Son of Mine,\u201d was released on New Year\u2019s. In the past, Grohl has said<\/a> the album is \u201cfilled with anthemic, huge, sing-along rock songs,\u201d and compared it<\/a> to David Bowie\u2019s Let\u2019s Dance<\/em>. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foo Fighters: Medicine at Midnight<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$22.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Frank Ocean<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After bringing back blonded RADIO<\/em><\/a> and releasing two new tracks in late 2019 (\u201cDHL\u201d and \u201cIn My Room\u201d), Frank Ocean released \u201cCayendo\u201d and \u201cDear April\u201d in 2020. The former reached No. 8 on Billboard\u2019s Hot Latin Songs chart<\/a>, giving Ocean his first Top 10 track. Since then, Ocean has scrapped the planned release<\/a> of a new 7″, which carried the unreleased \u201cLittle Demon\u201d and another new song. Whether those songs will surface on an album or otherwise in 2021 remains to be seen, but it\u2019s been four and a half years since Blonde<\/em> and Endless<\/em>, and it\u2019s possible that Frank Ocean has more material stashed away. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Goat Girl: On All Fours<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

January 29<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly three years after their self-titled debut, Goat Girl return with their sophomore record, On All Fours<\/em>. In the time between albums, the London group have matured in their approach to music making; for On All Fours<\/em>, the band collectively collaborated on songwriting, often switching instruments and exploring new sonic territory. Lead singles \u201cSad Cowboy<\/a>\u201d and \u201cThe Crack<\/a>\u201d are exciting new examples of Goat Girl\u2019s growth. \u2013Quinn Moreland<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goat Girl: On All Fours<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$27.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hand Habits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early December, Hand Habits, aka Meg Duffy, shared a photo<\/a> alongside Sasami Ashworth that revealed an exciting development: \u201cMe and my producer [SASAMI] we are almost done with my LP3 hello internet.\u201d Arriving two years after Duffy\u2019s last solo effort, 2019\u2019s placeholder<\/em>, a new Hand Habits record will be much-needed after the chaos of 2020. To tide yourself over in the meantime, watch Duffy cover<\/a> Tom Petty\u2019s \u201cWalls\u201d alongside Angel Olsen. \u2013Quinn Moreland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Hold Steady: Open Door Policy<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 19<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now eight albums into their career, the Hold Steady are well known for their elaborate storytelling and explosive, communal rock music. According to frontman Craig Finn, their eighth studio album should satisfy everyone\u2019s expectations: \u201cOpen Door Policy<\/em> was very much approached as an album vs. a collection of individual songs,\u201d he said in a press release, \u201cand it feels like our most musically expansive record.\u201d Produced by Josh Kaufman, the album was completed before the pandemic began, and Finn notes that it touches on themes including \u201cpower, wealth, mental health, technology, capitalism, consumerism, and survival.\u201d \u2013Sam Sodomsky<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hold Steady: Open Door Policy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$20.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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J. Cole: The Fall Off<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J. Cole was working<\/a> on an album called The Fall Off<\/em> when he was hit with the rush of inspiration that led him to instead create 2018\u2019s KOD<\/em>. The North Carolina rapper first teased the other album\u2019s existence with KOD<\/em>\u2019s closing track, \u201c1985 (Intro to The Fall Off<\/em>),\u201d and he has since offered periodic updates on its arrival: \u201cMake your voices heard,\u201d he said<\/a> during a 2019 concert. \u201cVote for The Fall Off<\/em> 2020!\u201d He didn\u2019t actually release the album in 2020, but he did share several new songs hinting at its direction: There was \u201cSnow on tha Bluff<\/a>\u201d (which inspired a virtuosic response<\/a> from Noname) and the two-pack<\/a> of \u201cThe Climb Back\u201d and \u201cLion King on Ice,\u201d which he revealed<\/a> to be the first two songs from the highly anticipated album. \u2013Sam Sodomsky<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Japanese Breakfast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April 2021, Japanese Breakfast\u2019s Michelle Zauner will publish her first book, a memoir titled Crying in H Mart<\/em><\/a>. If the titular essay, originally published<\/a> in a 2018 issue of The<\/em> New Yorker<\/em>, is any indication, it will be a moving depiction of Zauner\u2019s relationship with her family, food, and Korean heritage. Fingers crossed, Zauner will also share a new Japanese Breakfast album, a much-anticipated follow-up to 2017\u2019s Soft Sounds From Another Planet<\/em>. In the meantime, check out pop songs 2020<\/em><\/a>, an EP Zauner made with Crying\u2019s Ryan Galloway under the name BUMPER. \u2013Quinn Moreland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jazmine Sullivan: Heaux Tales<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

January 8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jazmine Sullivan says that Heaux Tales<\/em> \u201cis about [her] observation of today\u2019s women standing in their power and owning who they are.\u201d The project is the Philadelphia R&B singer\u2019s first full-length since 2015\u2019s Reality Show<\/em>, but, in the intervening years, she\u2019s made guest appearances on tracks by GoldLink, Anderson .Paak, and Kindness. Heaux Tales<\/em> includes \u201cLost One\u201d and \u201cPick Up Your Feelings,\u201d which she performed at the 2020 Soul Train Awards<\/a> in November. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Julien Baker: Little Oblivions<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 26<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the three years since she released Turn Out the Lights<\/em>, Julien Baker toured the world, formed a supergroup with the homies<\/a>, and ultimately took a step back from it all to take time to heal. Her third studio album, Little Oblivions<\/em>, was recorded in Memphis with Calvin Lauber and Craig Silvey. On the album, she expanded her typically sparse palette with bass, drums, keys, banjo, and mandolin, performing nearly all the parts herself. Early single \u201cFaith Healer\u201d again considers the grip of her vices, examining the dissonance of addiction and its coping mechanisms. \u2013Matthew Ismael Ruiz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julien Baker: Little Oblivions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$24.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kendrick Lamar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kendrick Lamar was set to headline Glastonbury<\/a> and Bilbao BBK<\/a> in 2020 before COVID-19 curtailed those plans. And while he and Dave Free launched their \u201cat service\u201d company pgLang<\/a> in March, Lamar has mostly held back from new music of his own since curating the Black Panthe<\/em>r soundtrack in 2018. This October, though, he appeared on Busta Rhymes\u2019 new \u201cLook Over Your Shoulder.\u201d He\u2019s otherwise kept quiet<\/a> about his next steps in the studio after his Pulitzer-winning<\/a> DAMN.<\/em> \u2013Allison Hussey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lana Del Rey: Chemtrails Over the Country Club<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

March<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lana Del Rey revealed<\/a> news of her Norman Fucking Rockwell!<\/em> successor Chemtrails Over the Country Club<\/em> in May, announcing it along with her first published collections of poetry<\/a>. She teased one unreleased song called \u201cTulsa Jesus Freak,\u201d tagging frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff, before sharing the new track \u201cLet Me Love You Like a Woman\u201d in October. On January 11, she\u2019ll share the music video for the Chemtrails<\/em> title track, and she\u2019s said<\/a> to expect the whole album some time in March. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Logic1000: You\u2019ve Got the Whole Night to Go<\/em> EP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

January 22<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berlin-via-Sydney producer Samantha Poulter\u2019s self-titled debut EP as Logic1000<\/a>, from 2018, has led her to more recent remixes for Caribou and Christine and the Queens. So she returns to heightened expectations with her follow-up EP, You\u2019ve Got the Whole Night to Go<\/em>. Lead single \u201cI Won\u2019t Forget\u201d is a textbook exercise in euphoric house, with a patient build and diva vocals, and the rest of the record seems likely to follow suit: \u201cThe first one felt like a different producer could have been on each track,\u201d Poulter has said<\/a>, \u201cbut You\u2019ve Got the Whole Night to Go<\/em> seems to have more consistency.\u201d \u2013Marc HoganADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preorder:<\/strong> Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lorde<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About six months after she told fans that the death of her dog Pearl had disrupted the timeline<\/a> for a new album, Lorde returned with brighter news in May, sharing that she\u2019d been working on new material<\/a> with Jack Antonoff. Although the COVID-19 pandemic further scuppered their plans to collaborate, she promised fans, \u201cThe work is so fucking good, my friend,\u201d in her newsletter, adding, \u201cI am truly jazzed for you to hear it.\u201d The singer-songwriter instead released a photo book<\/a> documenting her 2019 trip to Antarctica to tide fans over in the meantime. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Madlib: Sound Ancestors<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

January<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Old friends Otis Jackson Jr. and Kieran Hebden decided to rejoin forces over dinner one night. Hebden, aka Four Tet, had floated the idea of a Madlib solo album of \u201ctracks that could all flow together,\u201d rather than beats for rappers. Whether or not he was volunteering himself, Hebden was deemed perfect for the job, and Jackson proceeded to send him hundreds of unfinished tracks to \u201carrange, edit, manipulate, and combine\u201d into a full-length. The result, preceded by the fiendishly addictive \u201cRoad of the Lonely Ones<\/a>,\u201d will be the first extensive collaboration between the pair, and follows Four Tet\u2019s 2005 EP of Madvillainy<\/em> remixes. \u2013Jazz Monroe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mogwai: As the Love Continues<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 19<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mogwai have been a band for 25 years, but the process of making their tenth studio album, As the Love Continues<\/em>, presented the Scottish group with a new set of challenges. Separated from producer Dave Fridmann by the COVID-19 pandemic, the band holed up in Worcestershire, England to record the followup to 2017\u2019s Every Country\u2019s Sun<\/em>. Guests on the album include saxophonist Colin Stetson and Nine Inch Nails\u2019 Atticus Ross. With live shows on hold for the foreseeable future, the band\u2019s Stuart Braithwaite hopes the album can be transforming, \u201cunless you are somewhere really amazing and then why are you listening to some weird music like this?,\u201d as he says in a press release. \u2013Quinn MorelandADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preorder:<\/strong> Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Noname<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The follow-up to Room 25<\/em> feels long-awaited, even if its predecessor came out just over two years ago. This might be because its fate has hung in the balance: Over the past two years, the beloved rapper has shied from the spotlight after amassing a giant following as both an artist and public figure, launching her own book club<\/a> and using her Twitter feed to patiently highlight the ills of modern capitalism. Her latest transmission lasts just 70 seconds, but \u201cSong 33<\/a>\u201d swells with the sort of understated wisdom and world-weariness that most legacy rappers would gape (or balk<\/a>) at. \u2013Jazz Monroe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Palberta: Palberta5000<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

January 22<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art-punk trio Palberta recorded their fifth album Palberta5000<\/em> in Peekskill, New York. The follow-up to 2018\u2019s Roach Goin\u2019 Down<\/em> is, at least partly, pop-inspired, with Lily Konigsberg telling Stereogum<\/a>, \u201cI kind of only listen to pop music.\u201d Ani Ivry-Block added, \u201cThe way we play and our production will always be weirder than mainstream pop allows.\u201d \u2013Allison Hussey<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palberta: Palberta5000<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$19.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Phoenix<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It had seemed as though the Frenchmen of Phoenix were stirring again with the August release of \u201cIdentical<\/a>,\u201d a new song recorded for Sofia Coppola\u2019s comedy On the Rocks<\/em>. The track even came with a video<\/a> directed by Roman Coppola. But despite scoring the film, Phoenix have otherwise kept quiet on their plans for more music. The band\u2019s most recent record was 2017\u2019s Ti Amo<\/em>, and, in 2019, they released a book about their development titled Phoenix: Libert\u00e9, \u00c9galit\u00e9, Phoenix!<\/em><\/a>. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rihanna<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rihanna gave us a crumb of fresh material in March, joining PARTYNEXTDOOR on his PARTYMOBILE<\/em> track \u201cBELIEVE IT.\u201d Otherwise, it\u2019s been a long few years without any new music from the singer, who issued ANTI<\/em> in 2016 and has focused her attention on her lingerie<\/a> and makeup enterprises of late. In 2018, she insisted that she was working on a reggae album that would arrive the following year<\/a>; she has yet to update the public on her progress. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Shame: Drunk Tank Pink<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

January 15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drunk Tank Pink<\/em> is the second record from the English rock band Shame, who made their debut in 2018 with Songs of Praise<\/em>. The James Ford\u2013produced album includes \u201cAlphabet\u201d and \u201cWater in the Well.\u201d Frontman Charlie Steen wrote much of Drunk Tank Pink<\/em> in a small pink room that he called \u201cthe womb.\u201d \u2013Allison Hussey<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shame: Drunk Tank Pink<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$20.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

slowthai: TYRON<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UK rapper slowthai\u2019s 2019 album Nothing Great About Britain<\/em> was nominated for a Mercury Prize, resulting in a spectacle where the grime rapper hoisted an effigy of Boris Johnson\u2019s severed head at the awards ceremony. In February, he\u2019s back with more rabble-rousing on TYRON<\/em>, which includes \u201cnhs\u201d and \u201cfeel away,\u201d featuring James Blake and Mount Kimbie. Skepta, A$AP Rocky, Denzel Curry, Deb Never, and Dominic Fike all make guest appearances elsewhere on the double-disc record. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

slowthai: TYRON<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$39.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

St. Vincent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last time we heard new music from St. Vincent, she delivered a pair of radically different albums. There was 2017\u2019s MASSEDUCTION<\/em>, which found Annie Clark teaming with Jack Antonoff for the most immediate and danceable music of her career. And then there was the companion album, 2018\u2019s MassEducation<\/em>, which reimagined those songs in stark, solo piano arrangements. Her as-yet-untitled follow-up appears to be another reinvention, with Clark citing Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, and Martin Scorsese\u2019s 1976 classic Taxi Driver<\/em> as influences. \u201cCan\u2019t wait for you to hear it,\u201d she teased<\/a>. The feeling is mutual. \u2013Sam Sodomsky<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

SZA<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since releasing her breakout Ctrl<\/em> in 2017, SZA has kept to collaboration, working with a roster that\u2019s included Kendrick Lamar<\/a>, Justin Timberlake<\/a>, the Weeknd<\/a>, Post Malone<\/a>, DJ Khaled<\/a>, and more. But, in September, she returned with \u201cHit Different<\/a>,\u201d a Neptunes-produced track featuring Ty Dolla $ign, along with a video she directed herself<\/a>. The video teased another new song, which turned out to be \u201cGood Days<\/a>,\u201d released on Christmas. Although the singer had tweeted and deleted posts about having a tense relationship<\/a> with her label Top Dawg Entertainment, it seems like more music will get released, one way or the other. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Teenage Fanclub: Endless Arcade<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

April 30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first album in five years from Teenage Fanclub is also their first without<\/a> bassist and vocalist Gerard Love. In his place, the group recruited Euros Childs of the Welsh band Gorky\u2019s Zygotic Mynci. \u201cThe whole process of making this album was very invigorating,\u201d guitarist and vocalist Norman Blake said in a press release. After a 2018 vinyl reissue series<\/a> put many of their iconic albums back in print, Endless Arcade<\/em> looks to be another welcome reintroduction to Scotland\u2019s power-pop giants. \u2013Sam Sodomsky<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teenage Fanclub: Endless Arcade<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$20.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Travis Scott: Utopia<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having completed 2019 with his JACKBOYS<\/em> label compilation, Travis Scott spent 2020 collaborating with just about everybody: Kanye West<\/a>, Big Sean<\/a>, Kid Cudi<\/a>, Rosal\u00eda<\/a>, Christopher Nolan<\/a>, LeBron James<\/a>, PlayStation<\/a>, McDonald\u2019s<\/a>. By fall, Scott had teased<\/a> that his fourth studio album was on the way. Likely titled Utopia<\/em>, with a to-be-determined release date, it could include his singles \u201cHIGHEST IN THE ROOM\u201d and \u201cFRANCHISE,\u201d which features M.I.A. and Young Thug. \u2013Allison Hussey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Viagra Boys: Welfare Jazz<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

January 8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stockholm six-piece Viagra Boys look to cement their reputation as the raucous post-punks du jour with January\u2019s Welfare Jazz<\/em>. After the slightly calmer Common Sense<\/em> EP, recent single \u201cAin\u2019t Nice\u201d (about \u201ca long-term relationship, taking drugs every day, and being an asshole,\u201d according to lead grunter Sebastian Murphy) doubles down on the snark and rascalry of their debut, Street Worms<\/em>, using gags to conceal a reputed social consciousness. In the single\u2019s video\u2014a send-up of the bewigged bourgeoisie and Swedish polite society\u2014a scootering Murphy is engulfed in flames, and a shopping cart mysteriously sinks into a giant swimming pool. What does it all mean? Stay tuned for answers, maybe. \u2013Jazz Monroe<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viagra Boys: Welfare Jazz<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$20.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The Weather Station: Ignorance<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After she finished touring in support of 2017\u2019s The Weather Station<\/em>, singer-songwriter Tamara Lindeman engaged in local climate-change activism, which led to a new set of songs that address the turmoil of reckoning with environmental devastation. The result, Ignorance<\/em>, is her fifth full-length as the Weather Station and her first on Fat Possum. Lindeman composed most of the songs on piano rather than her usual guitar, once again writing string arrangements, too. She also self-directed the videos for the first two singles, \u201cRobber\u201d and \u201cTried to Tell You.\u201d \u2013Allison Hussey<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Weather Station: Ignorance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$23 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a>$20 AT AMAZON<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Weyes Blood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TBD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only thing we know for sure about Weyes Blood LP5 is that it\u2019s on the way. Natalie Mering recently revealed that she\u2019s been \u201clocked away the past few months<\/a>\u201d in a new studio, taking psychedelics and working on the follow-up to Titanic Rising<\/em>. Last year\u2019s Fear of Death<\/em>, her collaborative album with comedian Tim Heidecker, tapped into the \u201970s singer-songwriter vibe for which Mering has become known. And given that she\u2019s been listening to everything from King Crimson to Lionel Richie while in isolation, we should expect some surprises on her next solo record. \u2013Noah Yoo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Wild Pink: A Billion Little Lights<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 19<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wild Pink\u2019s sophomore album, 2018\u2019s Yolk in the Fur<\/em>, cemented their reputation for contemplative lyrics in the style of early Death Cab for Cutie melded with the surrealistic highway anthems of the War on Drugs. The New York band\u2019s follow-up, A Billion Little Lights<\/em>, enlists producer David Greenbaum\u2014who\u2019s won Grammys for his work on two Beck albums\u2014as well as a host of guest musicians. Julia Steiner of Chicago\u2019s Ratboys lends a lilting vocal harmony to breakup strummer \u201cYou Can Have It Back,\u201d while \u201cThe Shining But Tropical\u201d has a trippy majesty, like if Tame Impala remixed a vintage E Street Band outtake. Fittingly, frontman John Ross has said<\/a>, \u201cI wanted to have something very lush and just bigger than anything that I\u2019d done before.\u201d \u2013Marc Hogan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wild Pink: A Billion Little Lights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$20.99 AT ROUGH TRADE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Good riddance, 2020. Hello, 2021! The new year brings a renewed sense of hope for the music industry and the world at large, as the end of the pandemic draws closer and closer. With a return to some degree of normalcy on the horizon, many artists are gearing up to release long-delayed albums. And 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Banerjee","author_link":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/author\/nitin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Good riddance, 2020. Hello, 2021! The new year brings a renewed sense of hope for the music industry and the world at large, as the end of the pandemic draws closer and closer. With a return to some degree of normalcy on the horizon, many artists are gearing up to release long-delayed albums. And maybe,…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/authoritydaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}