Tame Impala, Grimes, and 23 more albums we can’t wait to hear in February
Image: Graphic: Natalie Peeples Music Features Music
Many of the albums we’re most anticipating this month also made our 2020 preview: Tame Impala, Moses Sumney, Soccer Mommy, Grimes, Kvelertak. But as more releases get announced, we’ve got even more to look forward to over the coming weeks, which promise new work from Tennis, Envy, Kamaiyah, Katie Gately, Best Coast, and King Krule, among many others. Here are 25 albums we can’t wait to hear in February.
February 7
Beatrice Dillon, Workaround
Finally, we’re getting a full-length dose of solo Beatrice Dillon, the U.K. DJ and producer who has quietly been making a name for herself with globally inspired, hyper-rhythmic productions over the last six years. Her debut album, Workaround, will host a range of exciting collaborators, from Laurel Halo, to U.K. Bhangra pioneer Kuljit Bhamra on tabla, to Jonny Lam (Sinkane, Pharaoh Sanders) on pedal steel. Lam features brilliantly on first single “Workaround 2,” whose strength alone suggests Workaround will be one of the year’s earliest highlights in experimental dance music. [Kelsey J. Waite]
Envy, The Fallen Crimson
The Fallen Crimson is the sound of a rejuvenated and reunified Envy. After nearly 30 years together, in 2016, the band briefly fell apart when vocalist Tetsuya Fukagawa left, only to be followed by drummer Dairoku Seki and guitarist Masahiro Tobita. But, out of the blue, Fukagawa rejoined and a new lineup of Envy solidified. With The Fallen Crimson, the band proves just how powerful it remains. It’s a testament to Envy’s endless creative spirit and the fact that, nearly three decades in, it’s still better at making this kind of ambitious post-hardcore than almost anyone else. [David Anthony]
February 14
Beach Bunny, Honeymoon
You might mutter a tender “Oh, honey” after listening to Beach Bunny, but only because the Chicago four-piece’s fizzy, heartsick pop-rock is so utterly relatable. Obsessed with the crushes and insecurities of teenhood, the band came of age with bouncy earworms like “Prom Queen” and “Boys,” and Honeymoon is no different. “I’ll be under your window in the moonlight,” Lili Trifilio belts on lead single “Dream Boy,” her rich, penetrating vocals the audial manifestation of the heart eyes emoji. [Randall Colburn]
Ensnared, Inimicus Generis Humani
What made Ensnared’s debut album, Dysangelium, so compelling was the Swedish band’s ability to write punishing, creative death metal while also making regular, equally potent detours away from the genre. Though Inimicus Generis Humani features fewer interludes than its predecessor, they are still just as effective, as Ensnared never rely on spooky Halloween sounds but instead pen fully formed instrumental pieces that strengthen the focus of the songs they surround. [David Anthony]
Katie Gately, Loom
It’s still not a club anyone would join voluntarily, but profound grief can produce equally profound art. Experimental musician Katie Gately joins this reluctant coterie with her new album, Loom, inspired by the sudden death of her mother from cancer in 2018. Out of that sad experience comes a dense, dynamic set of compositions centered around “Bracer,” the lone track to make the transition from an entirely different album Gately scrapped around the time of her mother’s diagnosis. “Bracer” careens from ambient dissonance to vertigo-inducing synths with the ghastly flair of a haunted-house ride, accentuated by Gately’s signature samples—an unexpected variety of sounds that include the screaming of peacocks, a closing coffin, shovels, wolves, pill bottles, and field recordings of an earthquake. [Katie Rife]
Kvelertak, Splid
Kvelertak threw a party in the pit with its self-titled debut, a genuinely fun speedball of punk, metal, and cock rock. Ten years later, these genre mixologists are still bringing goofy ’80s excess to extreme music (or maybe vice versa), and winning over news fans like Dave Grohl in the process. Splid (that’s Norwegian for “discord”) is the band’s first album since parting ways with co-founding member Erlend Hjelvik, who’s passed frontman duties to one-time guest vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen. But the spirit of the enterprise hasn’t changed: It’s all pleasure all the time, just with somehow even bigger riffs and even a few songs in English, including “Crack Of Doom,” featuring Mastodon’s Troy Sanders. [A.A. Dowd]
Monsta X, All About Luv
If there’s ever a time for large-scale declarations, it’s Valentine’s Day. South Korean pop act Monsta X isn’t just taking a walloping romantic swing: The group’s upcoming collection of love songs, All About Luv, will be entirely in English, a first for any K-pop group. As a blend of indulgent R&B harmonies and snappy pop synths, Monsta X’s latest foray into crossover certainty simultaneously takes risks and highlights some of its greatest strengths—specifically, music that is both sentimental and party-ready. Like its 2019 collaboration with rapper French Montana, “Who Do U Luv?,” Monsta X’s next studio album boasts a steadily maturing sound that is sure to push the group forward. [Shannon Miller]
Post Animal, Forward Motion Godyssey
Following the 2018 debut When I Think Of You In A Castle (which followed a few EPs), Chicago outfit Post Animal continues its arduous attempt to drag ’70s prog/psych/pop rock into the 21st century with second album Forward Motion Godyssey. Some of the first tracks released unfortunately indicate the band’s tendency to get bogged down in circuitous noodling and repetitive riffs (“Safe Or Not,” “Fitness”). But “Schedule” is a hopeful sign, an unabashed pop concoction with teen-idol vocals brightly heading toward a synth-fueled crescendo. [Gwen Ihnat]
Tame Impala, The Slow Rush
On the follow-up to 2015’s Currents, Kevin Parker has time on his mind: “It Might Be Time,” “Posthumous Forgiveness,” and “Lost In Yesterday” are three of four singles so far previewing The Slow Rush. Its songs promise to conjure “the feeling of a lifetime in a lightning bolt, of major milestones whizzing by while you’re looking at your phone, it’s a paean to creation and destruction and the unending cycle of life.” It’s easy to imagine how Parker’s immersive production might soundtrack those surreal experiences. [Kelsey J. Waite]
Tennis, Swimmer
A Valentine’s release seems like a no-brainer from a husband-and-wife act, but romance isn’t all that’s running beneath the surface of Tennis’ Swimmer. Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley’s latest set of breezy throwback pop has a somber backstory, one of hospital rooms and ailing parents, difficult phone calls and ashes spread at sea. (So when Moore launches a glittering chorus by calling out “Gonna take a miracle,” you know where she’s coming from.) Swimmer was forged in the type of fires that can only bring two people closer together—emotionally as well as musically, as heard in the locked-in tightness of “Need Your Love.” [Erik Adams]
February 20
Guided By Voices, Surrender Your Poppy Field
Despite a New Year’s Eve 100-song set that pushed even the stalwart Robert Pollard to his limit, the GBV rock ’n’ roll express is only picking up speed as it chugs into 2020. Cheekily billed as the band’s “first album of the decade,” Surrender Your Poppy Field takes its title from a list of fake band names Pollard used in the liner notes for a 2013 EP, and continues the band’s fuzzed-out voyages to the ragged edge of indie-rock aesthetics, particularly on the dynamic, guitar-driven single “Man Called Blunder.” [Katie Rife]
February 21
Best Coast, Always Tomorrow
It’s been five long years since California Nights, Best Coast’s last album, but any fears that the band has undergone some radical reinvention in its sound can be put aside (the title of first single “Everything Has Changed” notwithstanding). It’s immediately clear from the sunny, Weezer-meets-Gos-Gos riffing and melodies that Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno have crafted another record full of catchy pop rock. The guitars may ring with a slightly dirtier fuzz, but the group’s signature effervescence remains crystal clear. [Alex McLevy]
BTS, Map Of The Soul: 7
Map Of The Soul: Persona hinted toward an evolution in K-pop juggernaut BTS’ sound: Previously somewhat beholden to a solidly hip-hop tone, the group’s sixth EP bounced from electro-pop to sultry R&B. Follow-up 7, which was announced by surprise last month, will be an opportunity to further explore the band’s known range. While BTS’ work over the past year has radiated waves of color and positivity, recent teases of what’s to come already speak of a group that is ready to delve a little deeper. [Shannon Miller]
Greg Dulli, Random Desire
Following Afghan Whigs’ fine return to form on 2017’s In Spades (and the subsequent tragic death of the band’s guitarist, Dave Rosser), singer Greg Dulli decided it was time to make one of those DIY solo albums, writing and performing nearly every instrument and part on the record. The result, Random Desire, looks to be the best snapshot yet of the musician’s dark, soulful style, filled with minor-key grooves and stirring torch-song anthems driven by his whiskey-on-honey voice. [Alex McLevy]
Grimes, Miss Anthropocene
Yes, Grimes is pregnant with Elon Musk’s child and posting NSFW tweets about it. So what. If Miss Anthropocene’s lead singles are any indication, this LP—labored over for years—is going to rule. Her vocals pulsing beneath avalanches of Inception bass, songs like “My Name Is Dark” and “4ÆM” are immersive and atmospheric, perfectly melding the artist’s blend of mystical pop, club beats, and shadowy ambience. [Randall Colburn]
Kamaiyah, Got It Made
After the release of her acclaimed 2016 mixtape, A Good Night In The Ghetto, Kamaiyah seemed poised to break out in a big way, with a major-label deal and a ton of buzz around her fresh take on West Coast hip-hop. But issues with sample clearance have kept her Interscope debut from ever seeing the light of day. To keep fans satiated, Kamaiyah has been self-releasing singles and mixtapes like 2017’s Before I Wake. Got It Made will be another interim release before her proper debut drops, but don’t mistake it for a half measure: She and Trina trade blistering bars on first single “Set It Up.” [Kelsey J. Waite]
King Krule, Man Alive!
Archy Marshall, the genre-hopping artist behind King Krule (and a half a dozen other monikers), dropped one of 2017’s most acclaimed LPs in The Ooz. Now, he returns with Man Alive!, an album he announced with a 16-minute short film showcasing a handful of spare, skeletal tunes that, in their solitude, exude a wistful melancholy that’s more approachable than some of his jazzier punk anthems. [Randall Colburn]
Sam Sparro, Boombox Eternal
Sam Sparro’s electro-pop hit “Black And Gold” was a disco-esque outlier when it exploded in 2008, though perhaps a foreshadowing of the dance-funk wave to come. Now the Aussie is back with a third album, Boombox Eternal. At once appropriate for the dance floor and a lazy Sunday morning, Sparro’s sound is still retro, but he’s flashed forward a couple of decades with a lead single—“Everything”—that sounds more like a 2020 take on Bobby Brown than Studio 54. [Patrick Gomez]
Sightless Pit, Grave Of A Dog
A collaborative record between members of Lingua Ignota, Full Of Hell, and The Body has been teased for some time, and with Grave Of A Dog, all that chatter has finally become reality. The album uses the noise-indebted parts that fans would expect from each artist, but they twist them in ways that wouldn’t fit so cleanly into their main acts. The result is a record that feels less like some rushed, supergroup-style effort and more like a project with its own vitality and utility. [David Anthony]
February 28
Caribou, Suddenly
Dan Snaith tells us what to expect from his fifth LP as Caribou right there in its title. Suddenly’s emotive, playful songs shift without warning, as Snaith reflects on “family and the changes we go through as those relationships evolve.” Lead single “Home” is characteristically overflowing with ideas: Snaith builds an R&B groove around samples of ’70s horns and Gloria Barnes’ soulful rasp, then warps it with harp, acoustic guitar, and his own tender falsetto. [Kelsey J. Waite]
Ratboys, Printer’s Devil
Anyone who last checked in with Ratboys on GN, their 2017 sophomore full-length, may be surprised by their evolution on follow-up Printer’s Devil: The Chicago group’s rootsy Americana has grown into anthemic rock ’n’ roll—still grounded in its alt-country beginnings, but now fiercely populist in its arena-ready pounding, alternating freely with gentler numbers. Printer’s Devil should document this shift with bracing immediacy. [Alex McLevy]
Shell Of A Shell, Away Team
While Shell Of A Shell was initially brought to life as a solo project for Chappy Hull of Pile and Gnarwhal, slowly, it became a fully realized band. On its debut full-length, Shell Of A Shell works its way through 10 tracks that sound like if ’90s Dischord Records bands all had a subtle country influence undercutting them. “Knock” perfectly encapsulates the band’s charms, proving that classic influences can still be twisted in exciting new ways. [David Anthony]
Soccer Mommy, Color Theory
Sophie Allison, a.k.a. Soccer Mommy, may not have cornered the market on downbeat rock that moves from languid to explosive with ethereal grace, but she makes a good case for being the primary shareholder. Color Theory finds her delving even deeper into the possibilities of understated and funereal rhythms and melodies, while exploring more cathartic moments of noise and release in the admixture, always delivering those cutting lyrics with her lovely, plainspoken drawl. [Alex McLevy]
Wajatta, Don’t Let Get You Down
Reggie Watts is best known for blending comedy and music, but even his purely musical pursuits will put a smile on your face. Wajatta—a portmanteau of its members’ names—sees Watts teaming up with L.A. dance music legend John Tejada, for an uplifting blend of electronic beats and jazzy vocal improvisation that lives by one simple edict: “We make music so you can dance to it.” Wajatta’s second LP, Don’t Let Get You Down, reportedly draws from techno, house, funk, and hip-hop, so make sure your dancing shoes are laced up tight before putting it on. [Katie Rife]
TBD
Moses Sumney, grae (part one)
Moses Sumney follows up 2017’s Aromanticism and 2018 EP Black In Deep Red, 2014, with the sprawling double LP grae. The album will expand on those earlier efforts’ themes while strongly resisting easy categorization, both emotionally and sonically. In an inspired, high-drama pairing, standout third single “Me In 20 Years” features Daniel Lopatin, a.k.a. Oneohtrix Point Never, as co-producer. Grae’s first half will be released sometime this month, with the second to follow May 15. [Kelsey J. Waite]
72 Comments
I’m pumped for the new Tennis Guided By Voices, Tame Impala, and Soccer Mommy albums. Lots of good music out this month
I saw Soccer Mommy open for Liz Phair of all people and was only mildly intrigued, but the new single is great. I’ll definitely give the new album a listen.
I saw them open for Vampire Weekend, and I felt they had great presence. I’m excited to see where they go
Guided By Voices tend to release ten double-albums per day.
They have actually slowed down quite a bit compared to solo era or the reunion lineup.
What’s fun is that I can’t distinguish one song from another. But I now live in the Midwest, and we’re supposed to like love them.
I’m only turning 30 this year and these lists make me feel so out of touch. I know maybe five of these artists, are these bands’ popularity regional or something?
It’s kind of like a dog whistle. Once you hit 30 you can no longer hear most of these groups.
What’s that, sunny?
Oh boy, 30. Time to get your coffin picked out and resign yourself to early nights of crochet!
Am I old? I thought I should still be a “hip” youngster that is still “in the know”.
Well I’m older than you so I’d like to think not, gosh. But I’ve also heard of double the bands almost despite that. A lot of the bands presented aren’t exactly ‘mainstream’ so it’s not an indictment of anything (such as age) other than your personal tastes, really. Great opportunity for you to listen to them and expand those horizons if you choose, though.
For sure! My original comment wasn’t an indictment on the tastes of the writers, I appreciate recommendations that challenge me to flex my taste in music. Some people seemed to have taken my comment AS IF it was an indictment though, when I was just figuratively scratching my head over how I’m late to the party on 90% of the anticipated new releases. Nothing against anybody who thought that way, but sometimes I have to remember that most of the internet nowadays is either people being pissy or reacting to others’ pissiness.
Yeah tone and intent are things that don’t always carry through and people can be on quite a hair-trigger
I can’t judge too much myself, I am constantly trying to resist the urge to be a shitbag on the internet. I think we all should spend more time not acting like everyone’s garbage just because we’re online.
I stopped listening to contemporary music after Scott Joplin sold out the Ragtime Movement with his composition “Maple Leaf Rag”.
Okay, flapper.
Well it’s pretty across the board in terms of genres from K-pop, the contemporary soul to japanese post hardcore to straight ahead LA indie, so don’t feel too bad. It’s never been easier to release music and maybe like 8 of these artists are actually on big labels. Plus each entry is a different writer’s contribution, so again, all over the place. I just turned 30, it’s wonderful. As long as you’re hygienic and polite everyone’s way more into your vibe than when you were 20.
this is the worst comment
No, it’s not, because I’m older that this person so I definitely feel the same. I know only about five of these musicians. And I especially don’t get the DJ thing, especially as a spectacle. I used to go see the Skratch Piklz and local DJ battles, and even then I was thinking, “it’s interesting, but when is this over?”
this comment has been posted on this type of article every time the AvClub has written one since the beginning of time. it’s the worst. it’s the “sportsball” joke of comments.
Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I take it back.
Thanks, glad to leave an impression!But seriously though, it’s not. Nothing in what I said was a criticism of anything but my personal exposure to the music the site profiles. If that offends you, that’s a you problem.
im irritable but you’re annoying and unoriginal.
in your defense this list includes a lot of garbage that wasn’t worth covering in the first place … so in this case ignorance IS bliss!
Is annoying and unoriginal a big insult in your world? I don’t find it particularly insulting; aside from the fact you base that off of two comments and that’s absurd, I’ll never really worry about annoying those easily annoyed, and I am not really interested in being original in your eyes.
very good
I’m older than you but pretty in the loop.I’ve also never heard of most of these artists. ‘Sokay. That’s why we’re here!
If you don’t follow indie music I wouldn’t blame you for not knowing most of these. That said, GbV and Envy are older than you are, and Tame Impala/Grimes/King Krule/Caribou/Best Coast have been notable names for a while now, and Soccer Mommy, Moses Sumney, and Ratboys are sorta up-and-comers (or they were a few years ago).
I wouldn’t worry about it. I listen to a ton of new music (66% of which is metal, but 34% spread around genres elsewhere), and I also have only heard of a handful of these artists. There’s so much music being produced today that’s it literally just not possible to keep up with all of it.
That’s my problem I think! I’m super niche, particularly for the genres I grew up with (anything that sounds like 90s-00s punk, rap, or CanCon rock).
I’m 42 and I’ve heard of three, so the decline is relatively gradual once you hit a
“certain age.”
Damn, that gives me flashbacks to countless TCM marathons!
I’m turning 27 this year and I’ve heard of all but maybe two of these groups. I think you just need to pay more attention.
I mean, you’re not wrong on any point, but you did totally miss anything I was saying.1- I was pretty explicitly excluding my age from why I don’t know these bands, so why it would be important that you’re 27 is beyond me. Congrats?2-I do need to pay more attention, that’s the gamut of what I was asking. I get that you saw someone asking a genuine question on the internet, but that isn’t an immediate license to be patronizing.
I’m sure I’ll check out the album once it’s out, but the last 3-5 years of Grimes has really dampened my desire for more Grimes content.
I feel that, but I’ve admittedly dug the tracks she’s released leading up to the album a lot more than anything on Art Angels.
The thing with Grimes is even if she’s kinda nutty and insufferable (see also, the Grimesboat: https://pitchfork.com/news/45488-the-tale-of-grimes-insane-2009-houseboat-adventure-the-best-thing-youll-read-all-day/) she can make a bop.
Yes it’s like she spent all this time alienating her audience as much as possible.Dating Musk, defending him, giving incredibly out-of-touch soundbites in interviews, feuding with Azelia Banks…all of that gave a unflattering picture of someone who i thought was an articulate and original, self-made female creator. It soured me.
Weren’t her parents absolutely loaded?
That’s what i learned eventually, later
Fill disclosure : I’ve never smoked weed. That being said Tame Impala is one of the worst bands I’ve ever listened to.
Have you listened to his first 2 albums or just Currents? Innerspeaker and Lonerism are much better than Currents, imho.
Better yet, check out their first EP. I’ve slowly fallen off TI because what I enjoyed about them was their guitar sound. I have nothing against them growing as musicians but I miss the guitars.
Exactly, songs like The Bold Arrow of Time type of stuff.
The first album is great.
Is there meant to be a connection between the two things? Cause I don’t smoke either and I loved the last album (New Person, Same Old Mistakes was such a great track Rihanna straight up covered it wholesale).
My assumption is that yacht rock gets better when you smoke weed. I’mnot willing to try it though (yacht rock, that is).
Nah, you have to wear boat shoes too and it don’t matter how much weed you smoke nobody wants to be that guy.
Nothing about Tame Impala is yacht rock?
Well, okay./fills disclosure
Main guy wishes he could be as good as Dungen.
My February Oh Wonder 2-7Beach Bunny 2-14Royce da 5’9” 2-21Best Coast 2-21
Can’t wait for new King Krule. His other albums are fantastic and are constantly in my shuffle.
New Antibalas album drops on Friday too.I can’t believe Pollard is still alive. I saw him drink an entire bottle of Jack during the first set of a show in Trenton back in like ‘04, by the middle of the second set he was getting carried out the front door.
I was surprised when I saw GBV a couple years ago that he’s still doing that. Show was great but he was totally shitfaced by the end. Now that he’s pushing up against elderly it’s pretty troubling to watch.
Seriously? How the hell does he have a liver left?
I don’t know, but he does. And at his age, might as well use it up. Can’t take it with you.
That seems to account for a good portion of people’s interest in going to their shows. How is he alive, still doing high-kicks, and how is EVERYONE in the band emptying out that cooler right before our eyes?
I saw my first GBV shown a few months ago and all this is true but also goddamn were they fun. Didn’t matter than I only knew 20 of the 50 songs they played they all sounded great.
I haven’t followed GBV in a while but man it is ever going to be the end of an era when Pollard finally stops making music. I remember buying Bee Thousand like 25 years ago and he’s probably released like 30 albums and played something like 2,000 three-hour long concerts in that time. Dude is an absolute legend.
Guided By Voices (full disclosure: my favorite band of ever) have become remarkably consistent after the reunion lineup albums. I think having Doug Gillard back on board gives Bob a level of quality control he hasn’t previously had. Not to mention that this lineup are probably the best musicians the band has ever had.
Chicago is overstuffed with better bands than Post Animal. the only reason they are on the radar is former member Joe Keery.
I just got into Ratboys. There’s quite a disconnect between the name and their sound. Looking forward to their new album.
It’s also confusing since there’s English punk rapper Rat Boy.
Really looking forward to the new Kvelertak. Other than the new stuff in English, I can’t understand a word they say. So while I don’t understand the content, there is something so unabashedly joyful and exuberant in their songs.
Seriously? You can’t wait to hear the new album by Monsta X?
New Stallion album out on 2/28. I’m pretty pumped!
It’s hard to make an argument for an “album of the year” this early into 2020 but man, if you haven’t listened to Andy Shauf’s The Neon Skyline yet, I strongly suggest you do. The narrative he tells throughout is beautiful and I don’t think I’ve heard anyone blend whimsical music and self-degrading lyrics this well since Elliott Smith.
I’m glad to be reminded of Caribou. I used to listen to them all the time and then, at some point I just forgot about them. This is gonna be my month of remembering Caribou!
Looking forward to Best Coast. California Nights is one of my favorite songs of all time.