With the beginning of a new year comes a tidal wave of hype, speculation and excitement over new music that's on the horizon, whether from rising stars or established acts. This winter, 89.3 The Current polled its staff to find out what our most anticipated albums are for the first half of the year. Check out our picks below, and don't forget to let us know what yours are in the comments!
Sharon Van Etten - Tramp
Label: Jagjaguwar Release Date: February 7 The Buzz: Sharon is one of our most overlooked artists. Many thought the release of her second album Epic would appropriately skyrocket her to widespread indie awareness. She almost got there, and fortunately the first single off of Tramp, "Serpents," is a bombastic affair and a sound we have yet to hear from the songstress which will almost certainly land her in the "to be watched" pool for 2012. She's employed the help of The National, Julianna Barwick, Wye Oak, Beirut, Doveman, and The Walkman on her new record.
— Jon Schober, Digital Media Intern
Dr. Dog - Be the Void
Label: ANTI- Release Date: February 7 The Buzz: Perhaps the most apparent thing about Dr. Dog is how far they have come in just a few years. I think many would relate that they probably saw Dr. Dog open for some big band at the beginning of their career (The Raconteurs for example). However, the name recognition didn't really stick right away. Now we're graced with a new Dr. Dog record nearly every year, and their sound keeps expanding. They've added a new drummer and an electronic-aficionado meaning we are in for a definite treat.
— Jon Schober
Air - Le Voyage Dans La Lune
Label: Astralwerks Release Date: February 6 The Buzz: Like Martin Scorsese's recent 3D film Hugo, the new album from Air takes its inspiration from a legendary slice of film history — Georges Méliès' seminal 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. The French duo had been hired to soundtrack a 2010 Cannes screening of a restoration of the film's last surviving color print, but got so involved with writing the score that they've turned it into a full album. Lead single "Seven Stars" features gorgeous vocals from Beach House's Victoria Legrand and recalls the mellow vibe of the band's classics.
— Peter Valelly, Associate Web Producer
The xx - Title TBA
Label: TBA Release Date: TBA The Buzz: The xx's self-titled 2009 debut came completely out of left field with a fully formed and wholly unique sound — a dark, hushed take on indie rock sourced in the quieter side of post-punk while also drawing inspiration from unlikely places like contemporary R&B. After a whirlwind couple of years during which this young band became indie royalty on both sides of the pond, they've retreated back into the studio, posting cryptic clues on their tumblr as sessions progress. Here's hoping they put something out soon!
— Peter Valelly
Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself
Label: Mom + Pop Release Date: March 6 The Buzz: Andrew Bird has been prolific the past decade, putting out some of our most beloved albums. Fortunately we live in a place where local musicians are frequent collaborators with the whistle-king, so Bird has never missed a chance to come back to the Twin Cities for a performance. This release is his first for Mom + Pop, the home of Sleigh Bells, Neon Indian, Metric, and more. We're thinking the new record is going to be a slight departure in his typical sound based on the musicians he now sits with, but time will only tell.
— Jon Schober
The Magnetic Fields - Love at the Bottom of the Sea
Label: Merge Release Date: March 6 The Buzz: After a trilogy of synthesizer-free albums — 2004's i, 2008's Distortion and 2010's Reality — the Magnetic Fields return to their original favored instrument, restoring the tinny, mechanical sound that defined classic albums like Holiday and 69 Love Songs. First single "Andrew in Drag" is as hilarious, clever and divinely catchy as anything they've ever produced, so if it's any indication, this album will be a delight.
— Peter Valelly
Lower Dens - Nootropics
Label: Ribbon Music Release Date: May 1 The Buzz: When the first single from their upcoming Nootropics went live on the internet a few days back, the entire blogosphere collectively had a musical heart attack. "Brains" is a krautrock, atmospheric masterpiece, building to such levels of ecstasy that it may just beat any indie rock jam a band like Arcade Fire has put out. Lower Dens is fully expected to "break out" in 2012 after the release of their critically acclaimed Twin-Hand Movement in 2010. They're also part of the increasingly high-profile (and new) Ribbon Music roster featuring Minnesota native John Maus, Black Dice and Laura Marling.
— Jon Schober
The Shins - Port of Morrow
Label: Aural Apothecary/Columbia Release Date: March 2012 The Buzz: People were slightly leery of a new Shins single being better than the first songs they released all the way back in the early 2000s. They shot to fame (let's attribute that to that Garden State scene) and then disappeared just as quickly. Five years later, we got "Simple Song," a piece of pop perfection seeing James Mercer and a whole new crew returning to heartbreaking form. Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats has also joined the team this go-around, so we're getting a bang for our buck for sure.
— Jon Schober
Brother Ali - Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color
Label: Rhymesayers Release Date: TBA The Buzz: Any release from this local hip-hop hero is going to be widely anticipated. But it may be even moreso because of his collaboration with fellow Rhymesayers comrade Jake One, a Seattle-based producer who has worked with everyone from 50 Cent to MF Doom and De La Soul. With two powerhouses of production and lyricism working together, the buzz factor on this one is already at its boiling point.
— Jon Schober
Bowerbirds - The Clearing
Label: Dead Oceans Release Date: March 6 The Buzz: These Raleigh, N.C. folk-rockers first made a mark with their debut full-length, 2007's Hymns for a Dark Horse, and continued to build a following with 2009's Upper Air. Watch for The Clearing to solidify their status as one of indie folk's most enduring and original voices.
— Peter Valelly
Ulrich Schnauss & Mark Peters - Underrated Silence
Label: Bureau B Release Date: February 14 The Buzz: German producer Ulrich Schnauss made his name by transposing the thickly layered textures of "shoegaze" bands like My Bloody Valentine and the Cocteau Twins into the realm of experimental techno. Mark Peters is a vocalist and guitarist in the Liverpudlian band Engineers, who draw upon the same set of infleunces. Together, they've already collaborated on the last Engineers album, In Praise of More, and have now reunited for this sure-to-be-gorgeous album of atmospheric electronica.
— Peter Valelly
Justin Townes Earle - Nothing's Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now
Label: Bloodshot Records Release Date: March 27 The Buzz: The son of singer-songwriter/actor Steve Earle, Justin arrived onto the Americana scene with a roar, earning accolades from too many publications to count and appearances on A Prairie Home Companion to World Café and The Grand Ole Opry. Considered by many critics as one of our greatest songwriters, Earle says that it is important to indulge in unique musical directions as well, and he notes in a recent Rolling Stone interview that, "The new record is completely different than my last one."
— Jon Schober
Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas
Label: Columbia Release Date: January 31 The Buzz: One of the most esteemed songwriters of all time, Leonard Cohen has already secured a legendary legacy, so we should all feel blessed to have another full-length from him. Old Ideas will be his first studio release in eight years, and a press release promises that it's "arguably the most overtly spiritual" album he's ever put out. Don't miss it.
— Peter Valelly
Grimes - Visions
Label: 4AD Release Date: February 21 The Buzz: The alias of 23-year-old Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist and singer Claire Boucher, Grimes produces hypnotic and dreamlike underground synth-pop, pulling in disparate influences but always maintaining a singular mystique. Grimes' previous album Halfaxa and cassette release Geidi Primes are already impressive achievements, but Visions promises a more polished — and even more ambitiously unique — sound, as evidenced on the album's lovely and amazingly schizophrenic early singles "Genesis" and "Oblivion."
— Peter Valelly
Dirty Projectors - Title TBA
Label: TBA Release Date: TBA The Buzz: On the heels of 2009's Bitte Orca, a remarkably smart and original album that was received euphorically by fans and critics alike, this perpetually shape-shifting Brooklyn outfit has quite the act to follow. However, they certainly seem up to the task. The band's singer/mastermind Dave Longstreth isolated himself in a tiny house in rural New York to write the bulk of the album's songs, and has been dropping tantalizing hints about the forthcoming material in recent interviews since the band starting taking shifts traveling to the house to record. "There's a a 'Thriller'-style song," he tells SPIN. "It's like a monster song, except the monster is the looming specter of meaninglessness and existential nausea [laughs]. It's actually a really funny song." If that doesn't get you excited, or at least intrigued, I don't know what will.
— Peter Valelly
School of Seven Bells - Ghostory
Label: Vagrant Records/Ghostly International Release Date: February 28 The Buzz: There's a curiosity about how SVIIB will fare with the departure of one of the twin Deheza sisters. Something tells us remaining Alejandra Deheza will manage perfectly fine on her own especially with the instrumental prowess of Secret Machines' Benjamin Curtis. But there's also some speculation of how the record will sound in general. Alpinisms was rooted in experimental dream-pop whereas Disconnect From Desire saw them take a total 180 into a rigidly produced (but great) mainstream demeanor.
— Jon Schober
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to tell us what we missed in the comments below!
Sophomore slump? The Avett Brothers have 6 full length albums out! I am looking forward to a second Mumford and Sons though! Any word on when it will be released?
Maddy - a recent Rolling Stone article from December says they've almost finished recording the album, so I would expect it's release will be later half of 2012. Read more about it here.
