Last month we shared our favorite albums of 2020, and as we’re ramping into 2021 it’s a good time to look at what we’re anticipating throughout the year. What records do we think we’re going to fall in love with over the next few months? What albums can we just not wait to hear? A bunch of contributors have written up blurbs about the albums and artists we’re most excited about, and we’d love to hear what’s on your most anticipated list as well.
Manchester Orchestra – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Mary Varvaris
When Andy Hull tweeted, “in a lot of ways I consider [A] black mile [to the Surface] our first album in our second phase. Working on the sophomore album has been just as exciting and terrifying as (actual sophomore album) [Mean Everything to Nothing],” my excitement for the next Manchester Orchestra album – already high enough, mind you – shot through the roof.
With A Black Mile to the Surface, the Atlanta group crafted a stone-cold classic. Hull, already a renowned songwriter prior to the release, overlapped his personal fears and delights of fatherhood (“The Maze”, “The Silence”), and marriage (“The Parts”), with stories about other people: dire consequences doom the protagonist on “The Alien”; “The Sunshine” is the calm before the storm, while “The Grocery” connects three disparate stories and tests songwriting as we know it. A bit of science fiction, a picturesque family located in an old mining town: it’s clear from just one listen that the fifth Manchester Orchestra album is timeless.It’s not only the storytelling that shines – it’s the gorgeous ballads that we just don’t hear anymore; the overlapping of sonic layers, be it guitars and keyboards or group-chants – musically, Manchester Orchestra seemed to have found their niche. A Black Mile to the Surface is dark, intense, and unforgettable. Now, we don’t know what new music from the band will sound like. We haven’t gotten a single taste. However, my confidence in this band hasn’t wavered in the decade that I’ve been a fan. We know that Andy has worked on the upcoming Foxing album – also TBA – and if any new songs are close to the greatness of Nearer My God, we’re in for another scene classic. That’s how I feel about Manchester Orchestra, too: at this point, anything they touch is golden.
CHVRCHES – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Adam Grundy
The reaction to CHVRCHES third album, Love is Dead, was kind of a mixed bag. While I found the set of songs charming, well-written, and an improvement upon their songwriting styles, many other critics and fans panned the material for various reasons. This certainly didn’t stop CHVRCHES from going on an expansive worldwide tour, that included several key festival appearances, and looking towards the future of their yet to be named fourth record. The band has teased the new material as “the best thing they’ve ever written,” and “the most excited they’ve ever been towards an album since their first one.” Hopefully this optimism towards their music will lead to their strongest showing yet.
Kacey Musgraves – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Craig Manning
Up until now, with every album she’s released, Kacey Musgraves could have fairly been described as an underdog. At first, it was because she was playing against country music norms. Then, it was because she was taking her shot at the big wide world of pop music. No one knows much of anything about Musgraves’ as-yet-untitled fourth album, but at least one thing is clear: she’s not an underdog anymore. 2018’s Golden Hour transcended its country roots to become one of the most beloved albums of that year, winning a slew of end-of-the-year accolades (including the top slot on that year’s Chorus.fm staff list) and even snagging the Grammy for Album of the Year. Whatever Musgraves’ follow-up album turns out to be, it will debut into a world that is fundamentally different from the one where Golden Hour was so lovingly embraced. From the turmoil of the 2020 world to her own divorce – from singer/songwriter Ruston Kelly – Musgraves herself has acknowledged that there’s no shortage of content to parse: “I have a lot to write about,” she’s said. I think we’re all ready to listen.
Blink-182 – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Brett Bodner
Blink-182’s last full length, 2019’s Nine, was easily the best release of the post Tom Delonge era of the band. Matt Skiba sounded like he belonged in the band and wasn’t just a guy filling in. The record was strong and made many longtime fans of the band happy they can be excited about new Blink music again. Nine raised the bar for this version of the band and we’ll soon find out if they’re able to carry this momentum or if it’ll come crashing down a la Neighborhoods. Drummer Travis Barker confirmed on Instagram there would be a new Blink-182 record released this year. This comes after the band originally said they planned on dropping an EP in 2020 after they released the song “Quarantine” in July. If this song is a sign of what’s to come on the new album, fans should be slightly nervous. However, Barker’s recent work with Machine Gun Kelly should keep the hope of a solid Blink-182 release high. Barker and MGK were able to make a fun pop-punk record together that stirred up early 2000s nostalgia for many. Nine proved Blink-182 can still make great music all these years later and without one of their original front men. Let’s just hope the next release keeps this quality going.
The Armed – Ultrapop
Release Date: April 16th
Anticipated by Drew Beringer
The somewhat-mysterious experimental band The Armed aim to break down genre expectations and reality all at once with their upcoming ambitious second album ULTRAPOP. While 2018’s Only Love broke away from hardcore conventions, ULTRAPOP deviates even further from that, with lead single “ALL FUTURES” delivering on that promise – a beautiful smattering of simmering harsh pop noise. ULTRAPOP is transcendent heavy music, creating a new path towards how we listen, consume, and experience it.
The Maine – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Anna Acosta
If you’d told me in 2007 that these specific pop-rock dudes with the swoop bangs would be topping my most anticipated list in perpetuity by the time I reached my 30’s, I can’t imagine that I would’ve believed it. Alas, life happens while you’re busy making other plans and I am once again asking The Maine to put out a new record this year. While singer John O’Callaghan just put out his (very enjoyable) three-song singles collection The Patterns under his solo moniker John the Ghost, I am still very interested to hear the follow up to The Maine’s phenomenal 2019 full length, You Are OK. (This is due in no small part to the reality that pretty much nobody is okay these days, but I digress.) The reality is that this Arizona quintet hasn’t missed on a new release in years (and even the albums I personally bonded with less I still wouldn’t call misses). In fact, one of the things that has remained consistently true about The Maine during release years is their ability to sonically pivot while retaining a very specific sonic identity: no matter how different any given album sounds from the one that came before it, it still somehow sounds quintessentially like The Maine. There might not be a new Taylor album this year, y’all. We need this.
Meet Me @ The Altar – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Jason Tate
I think what I’m most excited about is how much this band reminds me of the good old days. The days when I’d hear a single from a up and coming artist that would turn my head. Then they’d put out an EP and a few people would start to get on the bandwagon. And all of that momentum would build and lead to a full-length just bursting with potential. And every time I hear something new from Meet Me @ The Altar it brings me back to those days. And that’s the word that strikes me most when I think about this band: potential. They have that it factor. That spark I’ve heard a few times before that makes me think: “this could really be something.” It’s there, now we just get to sit back and see if they deliver.
Another Michael – New Music and Big Pop
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Trevor Graham
Run For Cover Records is helping to kick off our year with this largely anticipated debut record from Philadelphia’s emo-leaning-folk trio, Another Michael. The group first made waves with a 2018 EP that, while promising, left a little something to be desired in the following couple of years as fans stood by for an update. But with a few new tracks hot off the production line, and with a new twang to their step, Another Michael are positioned to win indie folk hearts everywhere in 2021. Pre-release cut “I Know You’re Wrong” takes sonic cues from indie darlings like Whitney and The Format to breeze right on by like the crisp wind in your hair on a sunny spring afternoon. Semi-title track “Big Pop” finds its way to a feel good chorus through bubbly vocal melodies and unconventional chord progressions that hug you with familiarity, but dare to keep you guessing. Honestly, the only thing more exciting than the sounds we’ve heard so far from New Music and Big Pop is the prospect of what it still has in store for us.
The 1975 – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Adam Grundy
The 1975 made brief headlines in the early part of this year when they scrapped all touring plans for 2021 in favor of getting back into the studio to record their fifth album. Lead singer, Matty Healy, teased new music under the moniker of Drive Like I Do, but as we saw during the fourth album’s naming process, the working title of Music for Cars was later ditched in favor of Notes on a Conditional Form. The 1975 have come to be known for inflating some of their track listings with atmospheric/introspective instrumental tracks to give their listeners a chance to reflect on what came before it and what follows. The sequencing on their fourth studio album didn’t seem to gel as well as in the past and made for a challenging listening experience. One can only hope that The 1975 took some of their fans’ feedback to heart and deliver a fifth studio album that will be their most immediate and direct to date.
Julien Baker – Little Oblivions
Release Date: February 26th
Anticipated by Brett Bodner
Who’s ready to get the feels? Nothing stirs up emotions quite like a Julien Baker album and it’s been a long time since we were shaken to our core with the angelic vocals from the singer-songwriter. We last heard from Baker in October 2018 when she joined Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus in boygenius, a supergroup that just might be more powerful than The Avengers. It’s been over two years since that boygenius EP and over three years since she released her last album, Turn Off the Lights. Fans can soon rejoice when Little Oblivions drops on Feb. 26. So far we’ve heard three solid songs off the record (“Faith Healer”, “Hardline” and “Favor”) and all signs are pointing to yet another beautiful Baker release that listeners will feel deep in their souls.
Every Time I Die – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Trevor Graham
Can we all just take a second to think about how long it’s been since Low Teens? September 2016. Some say that’s a little over 4 years, but damnit if it hasn’t felt like… *ahem*… 45. Hands down their most intense and emotionally enduring record to date, Low Teens undeniably continued ETID’s running trend of pushing their boundaries further with each release. So, the question presents itself… can they do it again? Well, between the three songs they’ve gifted to us since December, I’d say all signs point to a resounding yes. Take AWOL for example — a stone cold classic track from the Buffalo quintet that effortlessly brings 2005 into 2021 without even lifting a finger. I mean, to be fair, it’s hard to lift your fingers when they’re riffing that hard. It’s a chaotic two minutes of delicious riff salad that ends with a crushing breakdown as Keith Buckley repeats “We are out of this world / Cause all good drugs go to heaven.” To top it all off, the band claims to have recorded 16 songs while in the studio — no promise they’ll wind up on the record, but let’s all keep a little extra mental real estate cleared out just in case. This record will surely deserve it.
Citizen – Life in Your Glass World
Release Date: March 26th
Anticipated by Drew Beringer
It’s bold to name your first single in 5 years “I Want To Kill You” but it’s par for the course on Citizen’s daring fourth album Life In Your Glass World. The Toledo, Ohio, quartet pushes their boundaries beyond alternative and emo, sprinkling in touchstones like The Faint and The Prodigy into the album’s eleven pulsating tracks.
Maren Morris – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Craig Manning
Few artists have had a busier slate in the past five years than Maren Morris. In that time, she’s released a breakthrough debut album (2016’s Hero), scored number ones at country radio (“I Could Use a Love Song,” “The Bones”) and on the pop charts (“The Middle,” her collab with Zedd), teamed up with numerous country superstars (a duet list that includes Dierks Bentley, Thomas Rhett, Brothers Osborne, and more), gotten married (to fellow country singer Ryan Hurd), followed up her debut (with 2019’s GIRL), helped form a country music supergroup (The Highwomen, along with Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, and Natalie Hemby), gone on multiple tours, and given birth to her first child. Undoubtedly, Morris has earned some time off, and she unintentionally got it in 2020 when what would have been her biggest tour ever got canned due to COVID-19. From what she’s said, though, it sounds like Morris has spent that time working on new music. If that music is anything like “Better Than We Found It,” the wonderful, deeply-felt protest song she released last year, we’re in for something special.
Twenty One Pilots – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Adam Grundy
Twenty One Pilots have kept their new material very close to the chest as they began writing for their fourth record. They did release one new song in 2020 called “Level Of Concern” that ended up being one of their most successful singles to date, and earned them a Guiness World Record of the longest running music video. One can only expect for their yet to be named fourth record’s material will be some sort of reinvention towards their sound much like Trench was from the stylistic choices found on their most successful record to date, Blurryface. I fully trust that Twenty One Pilots are cooking up something special for their rabid fanbase that will carry them through this lonely period of isolation.
Tigers Jaw – I Won’t Care How You Remember Me
Release Date: March 5th
Anticipated by Brett Bodner
The dynamic duo of Brianna Collins and Ben Walsh consistently put out solid records as Tigers Jaw. From the self-titled album with a hot slice of pizza dripping with cheese on the cover all the way to the gorgeous, catchy Spin in 2017. After nearly four long years, we’re finally getting a new full length from the band on March 5. I Won’t Care How You Remember Me will be the band’s first release on Hopeless Records and they’ve teamed up yet again with producer Will Yip, who produced 2017’s Spin as well. Spin was one of the band’s strongest albums to date and many are excited to hear where the band decides to go next. The three promising singles released in “Cat’s Cradle”, “Lemon Mouth”, and “Hesitation,” show a band that’s confident in their sound, yet shows growth at the same time. It appears the group will once again not disappoint and they’ll once again highlight how they’re a band you can count on for excellent music.
Underoath – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Garett Lemons
For as much as a musical act not named Taylor Swift can “win” a year without touring, Underoath found a way to not call 2020 a loss. On top of riding 2018’s Erase Me to new commercial heights—anyone else hear them in the background of NFL stadiums all year long?—they found brilliant ways to monetize Twitch streams, vinyl repressing, and broke records while setting the standard for what a live-streamed concert performance can and should be. But what does that mean for the actual music itself? We’re still not sure. Erase Me started out as a minor disappointment, but it now stands alongside all of their records as a piece of art that I love. Underoath loves to partake in reinventions of themselves. Whether that’s an album that flows in the industrial vein of “No Frame,” soars to the screamo-pop heights of “In Motion,” or continues the trajectory of the radio-ready “Wake Me,” Underoath won’t let me down. They haven’t yet.
Saba – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Trevor Graham
Within the last few months, we’ve been treated to the first new tunes from Chicagoan rapper Saba since his understated, rather profound 2018 offering, CARE FOR ME. Have any of them come with an album announcement? Well… not quite. But what’s the point of a most anticipated list if we can’t throw in some blind hope? Besides, if there’s one thing we’ve come to know about Saba over the years, it’s that he is not a person to release music without certain intent. Following the release of a critically acclaimed album predominantly about the passing of his cousin, he’s made it abundantly clear that he’s got words about both the spotlight he found on the other side, and the dimly lit corners of hip hop he still desires to illuminate. So sit back, and keep those fingers crossed — if we’re lucky enough, there will be more where that came from.
Andrew McMahon – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Craig Manning
Andrew McMahon gave his fans a true gift on January 1, dropping a track fittingly called “New Year Song” that looked forward to 2021 with cautious optimism. “It’s dark, but the light’s coming soon,” McMahon sang. I hope he’s right, but even if he isn’t, the arrival of a fourth Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness album would help ease the blow of another year full of bad news. The fourth Wilderness album is an occasion to celebrate for two big reasons: first, it’s following up 2018’s Upside Down Flowers, a collaboration with producer Butch Walker that netted some of McMahon’s best and most thematically resonant work ever; second, it will be the first time McMahon ever gets to album number four on a moniker, having made two albums with Something Corporate and three under the Jack’s Mannequin name. It’s a weirdly symbolic milestone for McMahon to hit, and one I can’t wait to see him cross.
Thrice – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Garett Lemons
Lead singer Dustin Kensrue has put his podcast on hold so that Thrice can begin recording their new record. The last thing I did before the pandemic swept the globe was attend the Vheissu fifteen-year anniversary tour. In a mid-pandemic, post-Trump world, artists have the impetus to capture the moment and immortalize it in time. I believe that Thrice have this in them. They’ve done it for years, sliding through sonic landscapes as varied as their influences. As someone who continuously underrates 2018’s Palms, I know that what they bring to the table will require time to sit with, unpack, and think through. But when you look at 2020, that’s exactly what we need.
Super American – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Zac Djamoos
Last year was relatively busy for Super American. They dropped a three-song sampler for their upcoming LP, a stray single called “How Big Is Your Brain?,” and a one-off collaboration with Young Culture, “Why We’re in the Streets.” All five of these saw the band stretching the limits of their infectious powerpop, and this all bodes extremely well for their sophomore album.
Arctic Monkeys – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Adam Grundy
The last taste of music from The Arctic Monkeys came in the form of a sprawling indie/experimental rock record called Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino. The material found on that album certainly polarized their fanbase into two categories: ones who found it brilliant versus ones who found it to be too much of a departure from their trademark sound. Put myself in the first batch of fans who grew to love that record that sounds almost ahead of its time. Arctic Monkeys toured extensively off that album, and ended up releasing a live album in the latter stages of 2020 called Live at the Royal Albert Hall with all proceeds going to charity. The band is set to release their seventh studio album this year, but little details of the direction, producer, or teasers have come to fruition for fans to get a hint of what is to come.
Adult Mom – Driver
Release Date: March 5th
Anticipated by Drew Beringer
Adult Mom returns with their third album and a new home (Epitaph), broadening their horizons beyond a genre the band has always unfairly been pigeonholed in. Stevie Knipe has never been shy to bare their vulnerability, but Driver features the singer-songwriter at their most confident and assured self, resulting in career highlight tracks like the 808s-paced “Sober,” the peppy “Adam,” and Julien Baker-esque “Regret It.”
Foxing – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Zac Djamoos
Every Foxing album has been more ambitious than the last. Dealer built off the most patient moments from their debut, and 2018’s Nearer My God took the most experimental aspects of Dealer and blew them up into a full record, resulting in a genuine masterpiece, a genre-defying journey that sounds like nothing else. There’s no reason to believe Foxing won’t do it again – they’ve more than earned that trust.
Weezer – Van Weezer
Release Date: May 7th
Anticipated by Brett Bodner
After nearly a year-long delay, Weezer’s 70’s and 80’s rock inspired Van Weezer, will finally drop on May 7. The album will come just a few months after their latest release, OK Human, a lighter record that feels very 2021 with its focus on modern day technology, is heavy on strings and piano. Unlike OK Human, Van Weezer promises to leave listeners with a feeling of nostalgia, especially those who are fans of bands like Van Halen and Kiss. This record will be loud and loaded with guitar riffs and fans of Maladroit should be excited for this one. For those that like their Weezer served with plenty of guitar solos and catchy riffs, all signs point to this being a release you’ll like. Another interesting wrinkle in the late release of Van Weezer is that it will now arrive following the loss of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen, who died this past October. The tribute to bands of this period will hit that much harder, opening the door for Van Weezer to be both more meaningful and timely in May 2021 than it would’ve in May 2020.
Matt Nathanson – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Craig Manning
Matt Nathanson has spent the past 15 years drifting from his singer/songwriter roots in an increasingly pop-centric direction. While that shift has delivered some terrific results – 2018’s Sings His Sad Heart was Nathanson’s best pairing yet of his confessional lyrics and increasingly deft pop songcraft – I sometimes still can’t help but long for the more no-frills songwriter who bared his heart and soul on the breathtaking 2007 breakthrough Some Mad Hope. Lucky for me, Nathanson has said his next album is more of a straightforward singer/songwriter affair than anything he’s recorded in quite some time, and the new songs he’s played on livestreams sound fantastic. Sign me up.
Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
Release Date: March 5th
Anticipated by Adam Grundy
Kings of Leon have steadily released albums in the beginning part of this decade, but even I was surprised to learn that When You See Yourself will be their eight studio album to date. This record will be their first taste of new music from the four Followill family members in five years. I found the material on their 2016 album, Walls, to be the most immediate and gripping to date, so it’s safe to say I’ve already pre-ordered this new album with eager anticipation of hearing the rest of the material. The band returned with the singles “The Bandit” and “100,000 People,” and if these tracks are indicative of the direction Kings of Leon went for, I’m not going to regret my purchase one bit.
Kali Masi – [laughs]
Release Date: March 26th
Anticipated by Garett Lemons
In the span of three months, I have gone from never hearing a single artist on Take This To Heart Records outright shill. Both 2020 releases from ManDancing and Barely Civil made my end of the year list, The Sonder Bombs just put out a record (I’m writing prior to release day) that had me immediately interested with the release of “k.”, and Pony is forthcoming with some 80s influenced female-fronted power-pop-rock (check out “Couch”) made for summer drives. But the first two released tracks from Kali Masi’s sophomore effort feel like something ready to explode. “Trophy Deer” lives in the same sonic family as early career Yellowcard, Fall Out Boy, The Starting Line, and the like. But while the feel of nostalgia recalls me back to my youth, the lyrics hit me with the full force of experiencing post-collegiate life. However, other lead single “The Stray” scratches the itch I didn’t know I had, all these years later, for something similar to The Receiving End of Sirens or Anberlin’s heavier moments from Cities. I think this album can be huge. As we’ve already seen with Camp Trash this year, it’s possible to wear your influences on your sleeve and still create something great. Kali Masi has all the ingredients to continue this trend.
DOMi & JD Beck – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Trevor Graham
These two young prodigies have been taking the jazz community by storm for the last few years. If it’s not through their YouTube channel, or their regularly outstanding social media clips, the duo have made a name for themselves by collaborating with titans like Anderson Paak, Thundercat, and Skrillex. But while the collaborative activity has quickly escalated in their camp, the two have yet to release an album of their own — until this year. While fans everywhere remain waiting for an official announcement, DOMi & JD Beck have both made it known that their debut is just around the corner, having recorded it throughout 2020. And what can we expect? Flames, of course. Uptempo and off kilter jazz drumming paired with electric keys that run through you like a freight train. If these two aren’t on your radar yet, it’s surely but a matter of time before they’ll make a home right on top of it.
Adele – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Anna Acosta
A decade ago (next month), I was attending a contemporary music college, and you couldn’t throw a stick without hitting an Adele performance of some kind. Whether I was learning to play “Someone Like You” in keyboard class, or watching my classmate’s “Rumor Has It” performance critique in rock vocals class, or prepping to take on “Rolling in the Deep” in a live performance workshop, 21 was a game changer. Just like 19 was. And then 25 after that. The point is, every time the world gets a new Adele album, it tends to stop and take notice. As a result, putting a new Adele record on my “most anticipated” list feels a little bit like a cop-out – but then again, not including it at all would be even worse. Ever since her first record, 19, Adele has been doing the impossible: being 100% relatable without feeling like she’s pandering to her incredibly vast audience. (I don’t care who you are: creating music that is popular in both high schools and retirement homes should probably be considered one of the human-made wonders of the world.) Unlike other pop powerhouses who also, as the kids say, do numbers, Adele’s music is as close as any (today, at least) to being universally beloved as music can get. What Adele does best is deliver heartbreakingly honest lyrics with a voice that could make a heart of stone feel something, and after the year humanity has had? We could use that right about now.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Adam Grundy
Welcome back, John Frusciante (again)! Every time the Red Hot Chili Peppers decide to part ways with their dynamic guitarist/songwriter, it seems as if they can’t rally enough around their other key cogs in the band to make everything click the way their fans are expecting. The first time Frusciante left was after the success of the Blood Sugar Sex Magik record, only to return in time for another landmark album in Californication. If their history is any indication, the pairing of a returning John Frusciante and their longtime collaborator/producer Rick Rubin means we’re in for quite the treat once their new album hits the streets.
awakebutstillinbed – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Zac Djamoos
When awakebutstillinbed burst into life in 2018 with their long-titled debut, they took the emo scene by storm. Splitting the difference between cathartic screamo and meandering indie rock, the San Jose, CA, project took the best aspects of both genres and blended them in a way that felt both fresh and natural. Their surprise EP stay who you are was released this past Christmas, and it leans heavily into the latter style; while the debut was much more aggressive, stay who you are showed that awakebutstillinbed could be just as comfortable dealing exclusively in more toned-down modes. Still, the band has said that the three tracks on the EP are songs that don’t fit on their forthcoming releases, suggesting that perhaps the new material is more aggressive than stay who you are. In either case, though, it’s almost certain to be excellent.
AJR – OK Orchestra
Release Date: March 26th
Anticipated by Adam Grundy
AJR have been no stranger to making quirky hit singles much like their latest one, “Bang!” that appeared (and stayed) on the Hot 100 list. Their fourth studio album called OK Orchestra likely alludes to the wide-eyed arrangements of sounds, samples, and unique instrument blends in their trademark blend of pop rock. The band is no longer a quiet force, as they have made several TV appearances, and were most recently invited to perform “We The People” virtually at the inauguration of President Joe Biden. With so much newfound pressure for this release, will the three brothers that make up AJR be able to deliver?
Carla Geneve – Learn to Like It
Release Date: April 23rd
Anticipated by Mary Varvaris
When I saw Perth-based singer-songwriter Carla Geneve in concert for the first time, she stole the show from Holy Holy, one of the strongest live and recorded bands in Australia – who I was there to see. I had never heard her name or her music. That didn’t matter – the best experiences with live music are the nights filled with surprises. Performing songs from her debut self-titled EP, released in 2019, Geneve summoned the anguished wails of “Empty Stomach” straight from the ether. On “Things Change”, she channeled the emotions that arise from seeing an old flame or old friend again, where the conversation quickly turns from mundane to open (“Are you vegetarian now? Did you try MDMA for the first time? Did you fall in love, or have you given up on that?”). Her guitar playing, simple yet gloriously glowering, is all-consuming. Put simply: once you catch Carla Geneve on stage, everything changes.Now, Geneve has announced that her debut album, Learn to Like It, will be released on April 23 via Dot Dash Recordings / Remote Control Records with the accompanying single, “Dog Eared,” another irresistible number inspired by her enthusiastic music students: “I was driving home one night and I felt so excited and full of energy for music, and I guess life in general. I didn’t really know why but I realized it was because I had been in a room of teenagers playing music with the pure, raw emotion that most people grow out of as you enter adulthood. I had taken some of that recklessness and it felt incredibly nostalgic.” “Don’t Wanna Be Your Lover” and “The Right Reasons,” two epic songs Geneve unveiled last year, also appear on the record. If the already-released songs are anything to go by, Learn to Like It will feel just as biographical, cathartic, LOUD, and momentous as we’ve come to know and love from Carla Geneve.
Billie Eilish – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Garett Lemons
When you sweep the Grammy Big Four (and Best Pop Vocal Album) with your debut full-length album, where do you go? That’s the question Billie Eilish, still just 19 and the second most popular artist in the world right now, has to answer. With the wonderfully jazzy “My Future” and cocksure “Therefore I Am” beginning to emerge out of the latter half of 2020, we can ascertain that we still don’t quite know what every song that Eilish will bring us in her next album. Whatever it is, we can be sure that one of the most exciting and unique artists to breakthrough into the pop sphere since Lady Gaga will keep growing, expanding her sound, and will continue her world dominance.
William Ryan Key – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Jason Tate
Besides an album of re-worked Yellowcard songs, I’m excited to see what Ryan can do with a full album’s worth of solo material. I’ve enjoyed what he’s been doing with the EPs and I feel having even more space to explore this sonic territory could amount to something very special. I’ve always been drawn to Ryan’s ability to capture the feeling of growing up, and as someone close to my age the way he’s been able to soundtrack most of my life since I was a teenager gives me a unique connection to his music. It’s been weird not having new Yellowcard music to look forward to on a regular basis, but I’ve got all the confidence in the world that the stage is set for a solo album that could reach the heights of our missed violin friendly band.
And, of course, I’m all the way here for the reworked Yellowcard song album as well. 🎻
The Band Camino – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Anna Acosta
The Band Camino is one of those bands I took way longer to get into than I should have, and it was entirely because the internet sometimes does this thing where it builds bands up too high, and when I finally get around to listening to the music it can’t possibly live up to the hype. Who could? But then I listened to 2019’s tryhard, and… it did somehow. I don’t know if the four-song run starting with “Hush Hush” and ending with “See Through” is truly the most addictive 4-song run of all time, or if I’ve just been locked in my apartment for too long without social interaction – but either way, I’m hoping with everything I’ve got that 2020’s (admittedly much less addictive) one-off single “Roses” is a sign that there’s a new album on the way. Perhaps even a full length? Anything to make me forget the way I decided not to see them shortly before lockdown started last spring because I thought to myself, “These dudes are on the way up, I’ll have plenty of other chances!” It’s only slightly hyperbolic for me to say a new album from this could really help to replace all these sad clown horns I’ve been hearing ever since.
Lizzo – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Garett Lemons
Before shutdowns and quarantines, Lizzo was set to conquer 2020 in ways that we’ve never seen female artists do. In particular, headlining Bonnaroo felt like a triumphant end to an album cycle where a critically acclaimed album was bizarrely buoyed by two singles not even on the album, but from a release years before. But I don’t think Lizzo is complaining. 2019’s Cuz I Love You is a masterpiece of genre blending, from class pop vocal performances to rap flows to flute solos and everything in between. Lizzo is a powerhouse and she’s just getting started. One thing we all need more of after 2020 is self-love—and Lizzo champions that in spades. In a world of musical clones, she’s a true original shining at the forefront and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
Spiritbox – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Drew Beringer
One of the most thrilling heavy bands to emerge in recent memory, Spiritbox unleashes a sound that dabbles in almost every facet of metal as no genre or style is left unturned. Courtney LaPlante brings one of the most distinct and powerful voices to the genre, showing off her range from throat shredders like “Holy Roller” to soaring ballads like “Constance” and “Blessed Be.” No official word yet on when their Rise debut will drop in 2021 but if those singles are any indication we are in for something memorable.
The Killers – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Craig Manning
For a lot of people, The Killers came back from the dead in 2020. Imploding the Mirage reinvigorated the enthusiasm for this iconic Vegas band that had waned in the years since their consensus classic albums. With sprawling floor-to-ceiling anthems and a true go-for-broke attitude from the band, Mirage provided something akin to a stadium rock show in year where most of us didn’t get to see a single concert. Supposedly, the band is set to do it all over again, teaming up once more with collaborators like Shawn Everett (a producer for The War on Drugs) and Jonathan Rado (the frontman for indie band Foxygen) for what could be 2 Imploring 2 Mirage. Even better news? Based on recent videos from the studio, it looks like guitarist Dave Keuning – mostly absent from every Killers album since 2012’s Battle Born – is back in the fold. Since the only thing Mirage was really missing was Keuning’s roaring guitar, I’ll be intrigued to hear how this version of The Killers functions with that key ingredient back in the mix.
My Chemical Romance – TBA
Release Date: TBA
Anticipated by Jason Tate
Look, I have no secret knowledge about if the band has plans to record an album and is going to release it. I’m just saying if the band were going to release an album in 2021, I’d be anticipating the shit out of said album.