From Earl Sweatshirt to… Urge Overkill?! 20 albums we can’t wait to hear in January

Plus, new releases from Elvis Costello, Cat Power, and a rarities comp from indie powerhouse Broken Social Scene, among other records coming in January 2021

Music News We
From Earl Sweatshirt to… Urge Overkill?! 20 albums we can’t wait to hear in January
Clockwise from top left: Pinegrove lead singer Evan Stephens Hall (Photo: Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images), Elvis Costello (Photo: JC Olivera/Getty Images), Natassja Shiner of Fickle Friends (Photo: Steve Jennings/WireImage/Getty Images) Graphic: Jimmy Hasse

“New year, new you.” What a load of horseshit, right? The turning of a page on a calendar is about as relevant to our personal growth as a new Oreo flavor appearing at the supermarket. (We rely on our friends at The Takeout to stay abreast of such developments.) But what this month does bring is a host of appealing new releases from some great artists. We wore out a lot of albums in 2021; the first month of the new year already has a few promising replacements.

Note to desktop users: If you’d like to read this in a scrolling format, simply narrow your browser window.

previous arrowYears & Years, Night Call [January 7] next arrow

For the third album from the British electro-pop moniker, Years & Years has transformed into a solo project. Only singer and songwriter Olly Alexander remains after the departure of founding members Mikey Goldworthy and Emre Türkmen following 2018’s concept album Palo Santo. Alexander has stressed that becoming a solo act hasn’t diminished the glammed-up intensity of the music, and lead single “Craze” certainly suggests that his muse hasn’t lost its penchant for—as he puts it—”deranged sexual energy.” [Alex McLevy]

11 Comments

  • teageegeepea-av says:

    Boris’ “Drowning by Numbers” doesn’t sound at all like Michael Nyman.

  • mordecaiclevername-av says:

    Over a decade ago, Cat Power recorded covers of Space Oddity and Hanging on the Telephone for TV commercials. The full versions have never been release, which is a shame because the snippets in the ads sound fantastic. What a wasted opportunity to not include them on this covers record that includes other tracks she recorded long ago.

  • merve2-av says:

    Definitely looking forward to Billy Talent. “Forgiveness I + II” was a really nice departure for the band, and I hope they do more experimental stuff like that on the album. Also looking forward to Cloakroom and Scandal.

  • kinjacaffeinespider-av says:

    From Earl Sweatshirt to . . . Malcolm Gym Sock.

  • heartbeets-av says:

    Cat Power? Urge Overkill? Elvis Costello?
    I feel like I’m reliving my young twenties! (and there’s nothing wrong with that!)

    • heartbeets-av says:

      Urge sounds like it’s returning to the sharp riffing and Cheap Trick-style rock it perfected long before Pulp Fiction turned them into “those guys who covered ‘You’ll Be A Woman Soon’.” And honestly? Thank goodness for that. This!

  • ericfate-av says:

    The downside to copy/pasting press releases rather than writing about things you actively follow because they interest you — is that you miss stuff like the Scruffpuppie release date being scuttled by the fact that they turned out to be inappropriate and creepy to the point of liability. They were dropped by the label nearly a month ago.

    • heartbeets-av says:

      What was the inappropriate behavior? I’ve been looking around and can’t find anything that really explains it. 

  • mavar-av says:

    Rarely is a mashup almost better than the real song but wow this is good!

  • mavar-av says:

    It’s hard for me to get into most modern music, but Fickle Friends gets it! That’s how you do good music. I love it!

  • mavar-av says:

    That Logan Lynn track is channeling the early 80’s 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share Tweet Submit Pin