Winter 2016 Music Preview

2013 was dubbed the year of the comeback with Daft Punk, Nickel Creek, and Black Sabbath all releasing new albums after a lengthy hiatus, and in the latter case, an album with Ozzie Osbourne that no one thought would ever happen after almost four decades at odds. But reunion albums are now the norm with last year seeing decade long hatchets buried by Jodeci, Veruca Salt, and New Order except non of those really caught fire. Many suggest the uptick in reunions is the proliferation in festivals Stateside that are looking for big names to set themselves apart. Cochella just announced the reunion of the original Guns N' Roses after two decades of vitriol and LCD Soundsystem (which is not much of a reunion because it is just one dude who decided to "disband" just five years ago). Then usually an album comes so they have something to promote than just their catalog. So already this year we are getting comeback albums from Violent Femmes (15 years) and The English Beat (33 years). I have a feeling those will be more like last year's comeback albums and less Get Lucky. But those are really the only albums worth talking about that are coming out in the first quarter as all the big names are in the TBA section. But here are the few new albums to look out for over the next couple months (and though you may not have heard from Primal Scream since the nineties, I did not bring them up in the comeback album talk because they have both been constantly putting out albums this century).


January 1

Wildflower - Rachel Platten

January 8
Blackstar - David Bowie

January 15
Not To Disappear - Daughter
Sweven - Brooke Waggoner

January 22
New View - Eleanor Friedberger
Dystopia - Megadeth
Adore Life - Savages

January 29
This Is Acting - Sia
Have a Nice Day - Reagan James

February 5
Wonderful Crazy Night - Elton John
The Psychedelic Swamp - Dr. Dog
Ghosts of Highway 20 - Lucinda Williams

February 12
Swish - Kanye West
My Wild West - Lissie

February 19
Side Pony - Lake Street Dive
Painting With - Animal Collective
Need Your Light - Ra Ra Riot
Victorious - Wolfmother

February 26
Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin - Willie Nelson
I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it - The 1975
Keep It Together - Lily and Madeleine
For All Kings - Anthrax

March 4
We Can Do Anything - Violent Femmes
Full Circle - Loretta Lynn
iii - Miike Snow

March 11
ArrangingTime - Pete Yorn
Good Grief - Lucius
Painkillers - Brian Fallon

March 18
Chaosmosis - Primal Scream

April 1
Weezer (White Album) - Weezer
Changes - Charles Bradley
The Wilderness - Explosions In the Sky

April 15
This Path Tonight - Graham Nash

TBA
Moonlight - Ariana Grande
Boys Don't Cry - Frank Ocean
Anti - Rihanna
Mascochism - Sky Ferreira
RTJ3 - Run The Jewels
Detore - Cyndi Lauper
Meart + Beat - The Band Perry
Drogas - Lupe Fiasco
Skulls - Lupe Fiasco
Roy - Lupe Fiasco (which he claims to be his final album)
Shine - Wale
Here We Go Love - The English Beat
Anna Nalick
Beck
Bleachers
Blink-182
Bruno Mars
Charli XCX
Christina Aguilera
Ed Sheeran
Gorillaz
Haim
The Killers
Kings of Leon
Lorde
The Lumineers
Metallica
My Morning Jacket
Nine Inch Nails
Pearl Jam
Radiohead
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sleigh Bells
Soundgarden
U2
Vampire Weekend

And this could be the year we finally get Detox from Dr. Dre.

Fall 2015 Music Preview

It is a sad, sad day here on the 9th Green. For years I have been ending my seasonal music preview list by saying, "this may be the quarter that Dr. Dre actually drops Detox." No Dre did not actually let us hear Detox but announced the album was actually dead and released a completely different album Compton. Hurmph. I started out mocking Chinese Democracy and then moved to Detox when Alx rose finally stopped tinkering on his album. For years I planned if Detox actually got released I would move on to D’Angelo's long simmering album, but he had to go and surprise and release his album last Christmas. So I am left with nothing to mock at the end of this column because nothing really sticks out as being long delayed, at least not with a title (wow, has it really been seven years since Chinese Democracy). But then again just because Dr. Dre says Detox is dead does not mean we will never get to hear those songs. Just last year Bob Dylan did release The Basement Tapes almost fifty years later so maybe Detox does get released eventually, it may just take another thirty-five years.

All year I have talked about how bleak the releases are and assumed everyone was holding the biggest releases until fall. Well it is fall, and wow, the albums with release dates are still kind of unimpressive. The only two album that I am actually anticipating to come out before Christmas drop this week. First up is Ryan Adams track for track remake of Taylor Swift's 1989 in the style of The Smiths which I am more excited for than I was Taylor's originals which came out yesterday and it is awesome. Also out this week but on the new traditional Friday is the sophomore album by Chvrches which of the three prereleased tracks sounds as good as their debut.

This is not to say there will not be any big albums out this fall. Kanye West, Adele, and Rihanna have been teasing fans all year while Coldplay and Ariana Grande have names to for their next albums but now release dates yet. I have been theorizing it for the last two years but I think it is official that the Beyonce approach of just airdropping your album instead of a three month launch is now the new normal which is probably better for the consumer because I contend few things live up to the hype so just give it to us as soon as you can, but unfortunately it will make my music previews as about as boring as below. To pre-order the album, click its name to be taken to Amazon; click on the artist's name to go to iTunes.

September 25
1989 - Ryan Adams
Every Open Eye - Chvrches
Dodge and Burn - The Dead Weather
Music Complete - New Order
Cass County - Don Henley
Servant of Love - Patty Griffin
Once Again It's Christmas - Kenny Rogers
Better Nature - Silversun Pickups
b'lieve i'm goin down... - Kurt Vile
Phantasmagoric - Grace and Tony

October 2
Show Me Your Fangs - Matt Nathanson
Unbreakable - Janet Jackson
See What You Started By Continuing - Collective Soul
All Across This Land - Blitzen Trapper
Zipper Down - Eagles of Death Metal
This Is War - Emily Kinney

October 9
Revival - Selena Gomez
Florasongs EP - The Decemberists
If I Should Go Before You - City and Colour
Live In No Particular Order: 2009 - 2014 - Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

October 16
Fading Frontier - Deerhunter
Get Up - Get Up - Bryan Adams
Today Is Christmas - LeAnn Rimes

October 23
Storyteller - Carrie Underwood
Another Country - Rod Stewart
Liberman - Vanessa Carlton
That Would Be Me - Harry Connick, Jr.

October 30
Wiped Out! - The Neighbourhood
It's A Holiday Soul Party - Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings
TBA - SWV
So Familiar - Steve Martin and Edie Brickell
Def Leppard - Def Leppard

November 7
7 - Seal

November 13
Heart Blanche - CeeLo Green
First Comes The Night - Chris Isaak

TBD
The Last Zulu - Q-Tip
Swish - Kanye West
Moonlight - Ariana Grande
A Head Full of Dreams - Coldplay
Return of the Tender Love - Babyface
Better - Brian McKnight
Adele
The Band Perry
Beck
Grimes
Hailee Steinfeld
Haim
Kings of Leon
Meat Loaf
Rihanna

And of course maybe this is the quarter when Dr. Dre finally releases Detox.