2018 may be receding in the rearview, but some of last year’s most anticipated music releases are riding shotgun into this one: My Bloody Valentine, Vampire Weekend, Sky Ferreira, Solange. Because we’ve covered our excitement for these before—sometimes multiple times—we’ve left some of them off the list below to make room for newer entries. Indie and rock make a strong early showing in 2019, with confirmed albums from Deerhunter, American Football, and Sharon Van Etten on the way, plus imminent new records from Lana Del Rey, Tame Impala, and Priests. And as for speculation, we’re looking at Isaiah Rashad, Schoolboy Q, and maybe—just maybe?—Angel Olsen. These and more make up The A.V. Club’s 20 most anticipated albums of 2019.
American Football, American Football (LP3) (March 22)
It’s been a productive five years for the emo legends in American Football. After reuniting in 2014, the band that never played more than a handful of shows before its dissolution in 2000 toured the world and managed to carve out time to write a second album. American Football (LP2), released in 2016, showed the four-piece figuring out what it was like for American Football to be more than a casual college project. But the announcement of its third self-titled effort is proof that the band is stepping outside of emo’s parameters and exploring how far it can go in the present. “Silhouettes” serves as an exciting example of what’s to come, and with a heap of guest vocalists announced, such as Hayley Williams of Paramore, Rachel Goswell of Slowdive, and Elizabeth Powell of Land Of Talk, it’s clear American Football has plenty of ground still left to cover. [David Anthony]
Beirut, Gallipoli (Feb. 1)
The title of Beirut’s fifth album, Gallipoli, comes from the name of the Italian town where frontman Zach Condon recorded its last song. As he tells it, one night he and his collaborators “followed a brass band procession fronted by priests carrying a statue of the town’s saint through the winding narrow streets,” and the next day he wrote the song in its entirety. It’s an especially auspicious, Beirut-y backstory, and indeed the song will sound familiar to fans of the group’s early work, conjuring Old World celebration and mourning with noble trumpets, tinkling Farfisa, and crooning vocals. [Laura Adamczyk]
James Blake, Assume Form (Jan. 25)
Even before an album titled Assume Form quietly showed up on Amazon France last week, it was evident the New Year would bring new material from James Blake. In addition to releasing two new songs last year, the Brit electronic/R&B producer recently announced a big tour with “one CD of an upcoming James Blake project” included in the ticket price. In the last two years, Blake’s been a part of some of hip-hop’s biggest records, by Kendrick Lamar, JAY-Z, and Travis Scott, but Assume Form will be his first solo full-length since 2016’s The Colour In Anything. And the leaked track list is a promising one, featuring collaborations with André 3000, Rosalía, Travis Scott, and more. [Kelsey J. Waite]
Deerhunter, Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? (Jan. 18)
On their eighth LP as Deerhunter, frontman Bradford Cox and company shed old modes of production and instrumentation—experimenting with mic and keyboard approaches, forgoing the warmth of amps by plugging guitars straight into the board—to craft a “sci-fi album about the present.” The songs of Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? resist easy classification or consumption, feeling simultaneously familiar and unsettling. Within the inviting psych-pop vibes of “Element,” for example, lies what Cox calls “an elegy for ecology (a landscape done in toxic watercolors).” [Kelsey J. Waite]
Lana Del Rey, Norman Fucking Rockwell (TBD)
We’ve heard a lot from Norman Fucking Rockwell over the last year: September singles “Venice Bitch” and “Mariners Apartment Complex,” plus live clips and Instagram teasers of “Sylvia Plath,” “How To Disappear,” “I Must Be Stupid For Feeling So Happy,” and “Hey Baby Blue.” And another track is likely to drop any day now. So far the songs are thoroughly, undeniably the work of Lana Del Rey, all romance and melancholia, but this time taking inspiration from Laurel Canyon. The presence of pop producer Jack Antonoff suggests Del Rey’s sixth LP could have the tight editing that 2017’s Lust For Life lacked. Release is vaguely slated for “early 2019,” but now that Del Rey’s finished her poetry collection, Norman could arrive at any moment. [Kelsey J. Waite]
Grimes, TBD
Grimes is one of our grand pop weirdos, turning her indoor-kid J-pop fantasias into itchy glitch pop and sparkling ’90s mall rock. Somehow, she has parlayed that into bona fide celebrity, popping up to tease snippets of new tracks in a high-profile Apple commercial and notably becoming involved with a certain Rick And Morty-quoting techno-utopian auto magnate. But the music remains singular and enigmatic. A pair of new records—one “light,” the other “pure darkness and chaos,” according to Grimes—have been teased for later this year but apparently held up by drama with her label. The pro-authoritarianism rocktronica jingle “We Appreciate Power” will have to tide us over in the meantime. [Clayton Purdom]
Karen O & Danger Mouse, Lux Prima (TBD)
Not much is known about the upcoming collaboration between Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O and eclectic producer Danger Mouse, other than the two artists’ ambiguous statements about creating from “a blurry place… we were excited to go far out.” If lead single “Lux Prima” is any indication, the partnership has resulted in some lush and entrancing music, some of the best either has made in years, Danger Mouse operating in Ennio Morricone mode, and O delivering smooth and sultry melodies over the languid beats. [Alex Mclevy]
Ladytron, Ladytron (Feb. 15)
It’s been nearly eight years since the release of Gravity The Seducer, the last LP from electro-pop avatars Ladytron, but the band sounds eager to revitalize its output. Member Daniel Hunt has said the forthcoming eponymous record will be “a lot heavier” than the more laid-back sounds of Gravity, with a newfound urgency to the group’s signature icy electronic thump. Still, don’t expect too radical a shift—there will be harmonies, hooks, and swirling synths aplenty. [Alex McLevy]
Jenny Lewis, On The Line (Spring)
Jenny Lewis’ first solo LP since 2014’s The Voyager boasts the most impressive guest list of her career: not only returning pals Ryan Adams and Beck, but also legendary producer Don Was and a goddamn Beatle. You’ll have to wait until the spring to hear what Lewis and Ringo Starr came up with in the studio, but there’s a good deal of On The Line floating around thanks to the former Rilo Kiley frontwoman’s recent live dates, many of which kicked off with the sorrowful piano ballad “Heads Gonna Roll.” [Erik Adams]
Angel Olsen, TBD
Angel Olsen’s most recent LP of new music, 2016’s masterful My Woman, saw her come fully into her own, stretching out her songs of heartache and contemplation into synth-y daydreams, long West Coast walks, and ’60s pop-inflected missives. There have been no official acknowledgments of Olsen’s fourth full-length, but given the pace of releases from the Asheville-based singer-songwriter, and the fact that she’s been playing new material out on the road, the chances for a new album are good. We’re eager to listen—with each project, Olsen deepens and complicates her sound, while remaining unmistakably herself. [Laura Adamczyk]
Priests, TBD
Priests’ ferocious full-length debut, Nothing Feels Natural, was one of our favorite records of 2017, a “dazzling document,” as our own Matt Gerardi put it then, of modern anxieties and a graduation of the D.C. quartet’s eclectic post-punk sound. So we’re excited to see Sister Polygon Records and the band hinting via cheeky tweets that news of its follow-up is on the way this week. Expect more smart, cathartic music for tough times, but also leave room for Priests to subvert those expectations. [Kelsey J. Waite]
Isaiah Rashad, TBD
Isaiah Rashad is the sleepy-eyed Southern-rap soul bearer on Kendrick Lamar’s TDE roster, but despite his unassuming presence, he’s a master of quality control. His first record—so unofficial that it has the word “demo” in the title—had more polish than most emcees ever muster across a full-length, and his sprawling second LP is nothing short of a modern classic. TDE’s known for fiddling with release dates, and Rashad’s known to disappear for long stretches at a time, but TDE label head Anthony Tiffith has said a few new records from the label are ready to roll. Here’s hoping for one from Rashad. [Clayton Purdom]
Schoolboy Q, TBD
Schoolboy Q’s been talking about a new record essentially constantly since releasing 2016’s hallucinatory and harder-than-hell Blank Face LP. He first promised a successor in 2017, then claimed an album was “90-95%” complete last year before announcing its delay in the wake of Mac Miller’s death. He’s claimed as many as 50 songs and four albums are in the bank, so whenever he feels ready, expect a flood. [Clayton Purdom]
Solange, TBD
Solange has presided over two tectonic shifts in R&B, first via the smoky, neo-noir funk of 2012’s True, and then, in 2016, with the stately, neo-neo-soul statement of purpose A Seat At The Table. Still, she generally takes four years or more between projects, so the news of a new record, described as “imminent” in an October New York Times profile, feels spurred by some urgency. Details are light beyond this extremely choice quote: “There is a lot of jazz at the core. But with electronic and hip-hop drum and bass because I want it to bang and make your trunk rattle.” It’ll appear magically and unexpectedly, and, if history holds true, it’ll be very good. [Clayton Purdom]
Bruce Springsteen, TBD
Technically Springsteen did release an album in 2018 with a straight recording of Springsteen On Broadway, complete with audience applause and all. But he’s been hinting at a different, new solo album for years now, since before he went on the River Tour in 2016. When asked in a Variety interview if that album was still coming, Springsteen answered in the affirmative, saying, “I’ve just been caught up in other projects. It’s kind of waiting for its moment.” Perhaps 2019 is that moment. Then again, perhaps not. Although he told the U.K.’s Sunday Times he’d be releasing an album and embarking on a tour with the E Street Band in 2019, the band members expressed skepticism on Twitter. Steve Van Zandt thinks Springsteen meant 2020. [Caitlin PenzeyMoog]
Swervedriver, Future Ruins (Jan. 25)
After the 2015 release of I Wasn’t Born To Lose You proved that Swervedriver still retained the capacity to deliver thunderous slices of fuzzed-out, road-trip shoegaze rock, the band returned to touring, and is now back with a new set of songs leveled straight at the bleakest of timelines: our present situation. Future Ruins continues to mine the band’s distinctive vein of “space travel rock ’n’ roll,” even as it gets darker, spacier, and more consumed with 21st-century anxiety. [Alex McLevy]
Tame Impala, TBD
When Tame Impala confirmed its headlining set at Coachella last week via Instagram, the Aussie psych outfit also announced the year would bring “new sounds,” and we’re hoping that means the full-length follow-up to 2015’s Currents that frontman Kevin Parker teased on Beats 1 last summer. Parker’s been extremely busy since Currents, working with Rihanna, Kanye West, Kali Uchis, and Travis Scott, so the exact direction or release date of the new sounds is anyone’s guess. But they’re sure to be worth hearing and waiting for. [Kelsey J. Waite]
Toro Y Moi, Outer Peace (Jan. 18)
Chaz Bear is thinking about technology on his sixth full-length as Toro Y Moi—specifically how it dominates and distracts us in our daily lives. So he’s offering up a kind of respite on Outer Peace, a place to find tranquility “in antithetical conditions: being stuck in traffic, hustling for your next check…” These songs have a strong pop bent, calling up Bear’s funk/dance roots and showcasing his ease and vision as a producer by pairing experimental sounds with familiar samples. Singles “Ordinary Pleasure” and “Freelance” suggest Outer Peace could be an early bright spot for music in 2019. [Kelsey J. Waite]
Sharon Van Etten, Remind Me Tomorrow (Jan. 18)
On her fifth official studio album, Sharon Van Etten trades in stripped-down guitar for a visit to what she calls “reverb universe,” favoring scuzzy synths, organ, and drum machines. Van Etten’s dark, pretty harmonies are paired with instrumentation that swells to the point of overflowing, the mark of producer John Congleton. Dance beats and percussive punctuations on “Comeback Kid” recall recent Arcade Fire, while “Seventeen” is unabashed Tunnel Of Love-era Springsteen. Van Etten wrote Remind Me Tomorrow in between stints appearing on The OA and (very briefly) Twin Peaks: The Return, and composing television and film scores, and the album could easily accompany on-screen emotional climaxes. [Laura Adamczyk]
Thom Yorke, TBD
Thom Yorke is bored with computers. What that means for his untitled, upcoming third solo album is unclear—we’re not even sure when it’ll be out at this point—but Yorke says the album, which he’s currently “trying to finish” with longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, is deconstructionist in nature, following the unusual procedure of recording songs in a studio, breaking them down, rebuilding them with a live mix, and then re-recording that. It’s still “very electronic,” he says, adding that although he didn’t originally intend to make an album about Brexit, “Everything I do goes that way anyways.” You can take the man out of Radiohead, but you can’t take the Radiohead out of the man. [Katie Rife]
137 Comments
An album about Australian golf legend Greg Norman’s sexual encounter with 80’s pop singer Rockwell? 2019 is gonna be a hell of a year.
He always feels like….Somebody’s felching him
Not sure how many fans of…how to best describe them…polished, melodic European hard rock, but I’m really looking forward to Starbreaker’s new album coming in a couple of weeks. One of former TNT vocalist Tony Harnell’s side gigs. Great guitars from Magnus Karlsson. I’m a sucker for big vocals and thick harmony choruses.
Is this Christian rock?
Based on their previous albums, I don’t think so. Man, I hope not. It’s just how they do things in Europe, or something.
I love the guitar work. Not in love with the vocals.
Harnell is a take him or leave him kind of singer for a lot of folks. I get that. I’ve been a fan since the 80s and Tell No Tales.
Why did they set Depeche Mode’s Violator cover on fire?
Solidarity?
Violator? Heh, more like FIRElator, AMIRITE?
There’s a new Miley Cyrus record coming this year too!
Chromatics and Tool … those are both definitely gonna come out this year for sure.
Was gonna say Dear Tommy (for the fourth year in a row) but I’ve kinda given up.
Words can’t describe how ready I am for the new James Blake album. Don’t Miss It was in my top 10 of last year, and if it keeps that CMYK-ish vibe going… mm, I’ll be quite the happy soul. Got tickets to his show within like 3 minutes of the release, too!
Only one on this list I’m excited about is Tame Impala.Also, I think you missed Marco Benevento, he’s working on a new album that’s supposed to come out this summer.Hoping to be able to catch Antibalas in Philly or NYC at some point this year myself, been listening to them for like 5+ years now and still haven’t gotten to see them live.
One of life’s simple pleasures is playing “Who Is this America” for people who have never heard it.
“One of life’s simple pleasures is playing “Who Is this America” for people who have never heard it.”You can add another body to that pile. Thanks for the tip!
I saw Antibalas at TLA in Philly in 01? 02? They were AMAZING! I hope you get to catch them!
That’s awesome! Thanks!
Catching Antibalas live is definitely a new years resolution I can get behind. Great live show! Somehow I missed that they released an album in 2017. Thanks for the reminder. I’ll need to pick that one up.
Goldrush>Hook & Crook is gold!
People really shouldn’t sleep on Jenny Lewis. Th Voyager was one of the best indie rock albums that year and “Rabbit Fur Coat” was basically everything I wanted from a Alt Country album.I was never really a Rilo Kiley fan but I Jenny has been so consistent as a solo artist while also making 3 totally different sounding albums.
Jenny Lewis releases albums so sporadically, I have a hard time staying engaged with her career. I feel like I end up forgetting about her for three years and then find myself actively waiting for another two years after that. It’s a weird feeling after being a really dedicated Rilo Kiley fan.
Weyes Blood.
I’m asking, not telling. As in, please let there be a new Weyes Blood record this year.
Yes please. We need that new album pronto.
I’m a Tame Head. There, I said it.
Only thing that stands out here for me is the number of this artists I’ve never heard of. The zeitgeist has definitely passed me by.Of the ones that I have heard of, the Karen O/Danger Mouse collaboration sounds the most intriguing.
But think of all the great acts you can now explore! I only know some of these by name, not their music, but Spotify helps me check ‘em out. Jeff Tweedy is putting out a second solo album in the Spring, so I’m excited for that, and the new Tame Impala, and Vampire Weekend ones myself (and I suppose Springsteen, but only because that likely means a full tour and I’d like to see him live at least once.) St. Vincent producing Sleater Kinney sounds intriguing for sure too.
A lot of these acts have been popular for 10ish years my dude
I’m a late 30s white nerdy dad, music stopped sometime around 2001.
Same. I also feel this list is hugely pretentious hipster s…tuff but what do I know.
Check out Priests. Basically sounds like new wave plus punk.
Woohoo, I know at least half these artists! I don’t feel nearly as old as I normally do when I read album lists on AVMusic. This is a great way to start my day before I go take my mid-morning nap.
Id throw Vampire Weekend on this list as well.
Though with Rostam only producing some of the songs and not being a full-time band member anymore, it’s going to be… different. Probably still good, but I’m tempering expectations.
Same. And given all the delays, my expectations are heavily tempered.
They were mentioned at the top of the article.
I’m guessing Ghostchannels probably meant a longer write-up. I was kind of hoping for something like that too, considering Solange was mentioned at the top and still got a little blurb.
Yeah, it’s a weird approach to the list for sure.
I’d throw Vampire Weekend in a volcano.
Deerhunter and Toro Y Moi make the 18th special coming up. Also excited for:Blood Red Shoes on 25thSpecials on 1 FebHealth – Slaves of Fear on the 8th— super excited for thisNew Gang of Four on 1 MarchAlso Grimes, even though she’s gotten a bit musky after a long waitWonder if that Tool record will ever come out…Meanwhile, Hip Hop has moved on to just dropping albums on random days without any advance notice… so not much to anticipate in that regard.
“Also Grimes, even though she’s gotten a bit musky after a long wait”I see what ya did there.
Oh man, a new HEALTH? Death Magic was top 5 that year for sure!
Their singles since then have been excellent too! It’s my early runner for 2019 AOTY… They keep growing by leaps and bounds.
Is gang of four still any good? I love entertainment and solid gold but I’ve honestly listened to nothing else
I just realized they no longer have King as the singer, so that’s a huge knock. Losing Burnham on drums was already paralyzing. That said their later material usually had a couple good tracks, at least. “She said you made a thing of me” is a great record off their 2011 album ‘Content’. I think I liked one song off their last album, but I’d have to go back to jar my memory.But who knows… I had low expectations for the new Damned record last year but it turned out to be pretty excellent.
I kinda wonder that as well.
I’m personally looking forward to Of Monsters and Men’s next album which should be this year…
“his sprawling second LP is nothing short of a modern classic.”yeah, idk. Sun’s Tirade is pretty damn short of a modern classic. maybe if every song was like Wat’s Wrong, but regrettably they are not
Ummmmmm………… where in the hell is Queen of Bops Carly Rae Jepsen? “Party for One” was the new single released late 2018 from her untitled and unscheduled new album, but it should be happening sometime this year.
That… is actually a pretty good song. I don’t care for top-40 pop at all, but this one’s not bad.
If all you know CRJ from is “Call Me Maybe” (which is still a perfect pop song despite how overplayed it was), then there’s a whole album (plus B-sides) for you to discover that’s full of pure pop wonderment. I’m excited for you today 🙂 (also Tom Hanks stars in her music video for “I Really Like You”, and how can you deny an American treasure like him?):
Goddammit. Now you’re gonna mess up my Spotfiy recommendations. It was all fart-sniffing indie rock and pop. 🙂
To add to this—”I Really Like You” is perhaps my least favorite song on that album (or the “b-sides” follow-up EP). Not to diss it, it’s a fun song, but just to give you an idea of how fucking awesome of a pop album that is. Seriously, I still pull it out when I need a boost, and it never fails.
You have “LA Hallucinations” over that? That one is my least favorite on the album, but I’m also less into songs about how great cities are (except Chicago because of obvious bias).
Uh, LA Hallucinations is one of my absolute faves.
Run Away With Me / Boy Problems FTW.
Biecause I can resist anything with Bieber
SHE’S HEADED TO AVCLUB HQ WITH A GD SWORD.
And brought to you by Calvin Klein and Absolut Vodka. Great song, distracting product placement killed the video for me
I think Cherry Glazerr is releasing an album this year, and I’m excited about that.
El-P has stated that Run The Jewels 4 is coming in the summer. I am excited.
Adding The 1975 planning to drop *Notes on a Conditional Form*.And Billie Eillish should be dropping something like a full length sooner than later to capture any of that “You should see me in a crown” momentum.
My wife is mildly obsessed with Eillish but has been disappointed to hear how emo and moody her recent releases have been. I had to explain 16 yr old angst to her :p I think I’m looking forward more to her next next album rather than this next one, I’m expecting a sophomore slump…
Astronoid, Astronoid (Feb 1)
Just saw on Instagram that Sleater-Kinney is working on something (album? track?) produced by Annie Clark for 2019.
Did anyone see that picture of St. Vincent producing Sleater-Kinney?wow.Also the new Neon Indian song was great, really hoping for a new album
Just saw the Sleater-Kinney news on Stereogum. Yes, this jumps to the top of the list.https://www.stereogum.com/2027755/sleater-kinney-new-album-2019-st-vincent/news/
St. Vincent producing S-K is like cookies with frosting on it — someone just reached into my subconscious and gave me something me not even realized me needed until just now.
I agree that it’s like cookies with frosting, except I’ve always thought cookies with frosting was overkill. Just worried it’ll all be too much. Plus I’m always wary when someone has their romantic partner futzing around with band chemistry.
Makes me wish S-K would just pull a Sonic Youth/Jim O’Rourke and have her join the band for an album or two.
I don’t think St. Vincent would want to do that to her own career at this point. I think she’s still building a considerable following on her own, so it’d be best for her to stay solo. I do like her doing this sort of collaboration and producing though, it adds to her already large repertoire of music and friends to draw from.
1000 words.
Hum, TBD.
Tool
How are there 36 comments on this article and yet none of them are about Kelsey’s use of the phrase “compelling Laurel Canyon vibe.” You guys are slipping.
Deerhunter, FIDLAR, Pedro the Lion, Mono, Le Butcherettes, and the inevitable two or three releases from Ty Segall and thee Oh sees are what I’m most excited for this year.
Didn’t Mono just release two albums last year?Not that that means they can’t do another one this year, of course, but I thought they generally took two or three years between albums.
They just reissued You Are There, but no new music, not that I’ve seen anyway.
I checked their bandcamp site (monoofjapan.bandcamp.com) and it turns out the pair of albums I was thinking of were from 2014. There was an album in 2016 but nothing last year. I must have only heard about the pair last year— they’d fallen off my radar for a while.
Yeah I hear you with that, a lot of their stuff kind of runs into each other. That said I’m in the mood for some good new post rock and they’re usually a pretty safe bet.
I would’ve thought Tool would make this list, but then again, I’m fifty.
Have a self-awareness star.
How’s it going, fellow kids?I think I’m officially too old for this list. Karen /Danger sounds interesting, but I have infintesimal fucks to give for the rest.
RTJ4?
I really enjoyed Lana Del Rey’s last album, and can’t wait for the new one. I’m most excited about new Tool, however, but with such a long delay, and constant speculation, I can only imagine it will be a disappointment (the fate that befell APC’s “Eat the Elephant”).
Oh, and we’re going to get a new Mastodon song sometime this week, so yay.
I’m still confused at what APC was going for on Eat the Elephant. It’s like 60% piano rock. I don’t get it.
Maynard has gotten to that old man rock/blues phase? I’m sure the next record will be made up entirely of acoustic ballads.
I’m confused. We were supposed to hate Lana Del Rey and now apparently we don’t? But the memo wasn’t really circulated. I need someone to tell me what to think.
I did dislike her for a long time, but gave her last album a chance and came around.
People didnt like her because she’s the front for a corporate creation. Doesn’t write the music, and, to a hilarious extent can’t sing.
And that’s with live auto tube at work!
But the corporate creation is listenable pop, if you can past the embarrassingly stupid lyrics .
Wow, across her five albums she is credited as first author on *three* songs. And there are tons of composers on each album (which means she’s doing none of the actual songwriting).
hmm. Did my post show up? Some day, mayhaps, I shall be granted the great honor of one of my glorious internet posts getting allowed up by Kinja, Lovcraftian in its inscrutability.
Yeah, but it’s gray. Stupid Kinja.To your original point, though, yeah, it’s very disingenuous to use auto-tune, etc. And she universally “collaborates” on her songs with other writers, so I have no idea how much of her is fake or real. In the end, though, she reminds me of Twin Peaks and Mazzy Star, and I enjoy the atmosphere.
Well, I think we’re in the same boat, where we enjoy the atmosphere, but perhaps would prefer that a talent-less person not be the face of the brand supplying it.
I mean this is just unreal:
The song writers behind LDR are good, but Liz Grant doesn’t contribute to the composing even though she gets partial songwriting credit, like Beyonce. I do wish there was more meritocracy effecting who does the singing and who gets songwriting credits.
I think if singers & writers were able to have some bargaining power, you might have meaningful lyrics about important issues we live with. When people’s rich parents, or record companies, can decide to mint “performers” whose performance is a computer generated audio effect, that takes all the power away from labor, and you end up with propaganda at worst, and stupidity at best.
At the very least, in my opinion, auto tune, especially to the degree this woman employs it, is cheating and a form of fraud.
Anyway, I’m angry on the internet…
Her biggest problem, from what I see isn’t as much a lack of talent (she can sing), she’s just so affected, it’s kinda like a car crash.
Auto tune & similar tech should be illegal. And it should be illegal to get songwriting credits on songs one did not compose. Maybe there should be a separate credit & acknowledge system 4 lyric contributions, ‘cause that seems to be the wedge by which ciphers who don’t contribute to the musical composition receive writing credit and sales percentages
These clips show the problem of auto tune as fraud in the music industry. The second was made 10 years ago, and, of course, since technology has progressed, its only gotten worse.LDR, whenever there is a less than perfect auto tune set up, sorta burps off key through a song . I see her as the end game of the removal of ability & merit from popular music, especially from the vocal arts, and the replacement of it with industrialized brands, where you have computer effects “singing,” ultra-privileged heiresses as brand logos, semi invisible songwriters, producers & vocal “sculptors,” and money guys running the show.
The issue I see is that virtually every artist “produces” their album to be what they want to convey. It’s not really them in a lot of ways. In some cases it’s actually to their detriment, because they lose some of the rawness.Someone should do a case study in Boston’s “Third Stage”. Are their good songs? Sure. Can those guys sing and play? Sure. Is it horrendously overproduced? Very much so. I mention being excited to hear Mastodon’s new song at the beginning of the thread; they aren’t brilliant musicians at all, but in some cases I like what they put out.I’m much more critical of bands who fake live performances than what’s released on an album. I liked how Depeche Mode used to have a reel-to-reel on stage with them to let people know that some of the rhythm and backing vocals were prerecorded. I hate shows like The Voice because they’re Simon Cowell type popularity generators, though the people singing can really do so.In all, and I don’t claim to have any answers, is that I like what speaks to me. Often times it’s pretentious and lame, but I’m sure there are people out there that would say the same about me 🙂
BTW, Kinja’s broke. We’re talking, so clearly you’re seeing my comments, but they don’t appear on my screen. I have to find them by clicking your profile’s “discussions,” then going to my profile, etc.
Excellent. Another thing for me to be internet angry about. Ooh so many comments a-brewing.
Basically, imo, this auto tune discussion is about the continuing decimation of the skilled labor class, and how that dis empowers workers.
The specific problem of automation is coming to all industries. In music, it takes control from people who could use it as a medium of social change, or, at least, self preservation, and puts it entirely in the domain of the capitalist class, the 1%.
I’m way behind too, I had to go back put the new cover sheets on my f***ing TPS reports – I hope you at least read _that_ memo.
ROYAL TRUX
Ctrl F “Tool” – 0/0?? 🙁
A list that’s 60% TBD and no mention of Tool’s new album? Zero credibility…
Gotta go with new Xiu Xiu beau. The new line-up, especially Thor Harris, and the return with working with Greg Saunier (Nothing against Congleton who helped make Forget so Unforgettable) has me nothing but pumped!Also, The Cure are finally, FINALLY ready to release an album.Hopefully the best comeback album by a band of their stature because of how long and measured the approach was and how Smith surely must have abandoned the 3:20 Dream series nonsense.
With a new Cure album, I expect one excellent, all time classic song (ala Underneath The Stars, Lost, Out Of This World – typically the first song on the album), a couple of very good Cure songs (Want, Jupiter Crash, The Last Day Of Summer, The End Of The World – the pop Cure song), and the rest will likely be forgettable tracks, if the last four albums are anything to judge by.That being said, the tour will be as excellent as any of The Cure’s recent tours (except maybe Curiosa).
New Tool album isn’t on this list?Oh right, not twee enough.
I’m surprised there’s no mention of Royal Trux, who are set to release their first album since 2000’s most excellent, Pound for Pound. Link: https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/01/daily-dose-royal-trux-white-stuff.html
Pretty sure Solange will release before her Coachella gig in April and definitely before Bonaroo in June. Can’t wait!!!
I’m over Grimes for dating Musk, but the attempt to bring her into the lawsuit about $420/share is interesting (aside from that the article refers to her as his ex, but I think it’s wrong). Ya see, Azealia Banks said something about Musk being on a lot of drugs around then. Grimes was supposed to produce a song for her in the studio in Elon’s cavernous mansion, but they were too busy doing drugs and going insane and wrecking TSLA’s share price so they left her wandering its halls…she claimed she saw Elon freaking out after he did the tweet in a drugged up fit or something. That tweet already cost him like $20M…too bad he can’t pay someone to scrub the “jackass” out of his face.
New Tool album after 10+ years.http://www.alternativenation.net/maynard-james-keenan-frustrated-with-new-tool-album/This is all that matters.
Saw Priests for the first time this year, was impressed but then sort of forgot about them, then rediscovered their record as I was trying to make a year-end playlist… and goddam is that a great record. Definitely on the outer edges of my musical tastes, and it’s one of those records where I’m not sure why i like it, but I really, really like it. Can’t wait for the new record.
RTJ4, motherfuckers
Bandana, the followup to one of the best albums of all time – Pinata, by Freddie Gibbs & Madlib. It is finally getting released after years of unfortunate circumstances delaying it and many, myself included, believing it has been permanently scrapped.
Definitely curious to see what Tame Impala has in store after Currents. That album blew me away and became a permanent fixture in my rotation.
Speaking of Danger Mouse, not a day goes by that I don’t mourn the fact that his rumored Dangerous Thoughts album with Black Thought still hasn’t come to fruition.
this is a poo poo list. if this is the music young uns are listening to these days, i can understand the whiny sjw loser crowd.bring on the new fuckin tool, already
Foals is supposed to release a new album this year, too.
When did the A.V Club stop doing music reviews? I miss when they did music reviews. ‘Permanent Records’ was a terrific feature in its early days. I genuinely looked forward to ‘Least Essential Albums of the Year’ each December, too.Nowadays AVC seems to be mostly ads plus an interminable march or rumors and casting news for big-budget movies. It’s really saddening.
Hey ShartWeek, we do album reviews nearly every single Friday. It stopped over the holidays, but will resume shortly.
I went to music.avclub.com* and scrolled until I found some album reviews. There are many year-end features (good!), but I have to go to early December to find a single review of an actual album (Earl Sweatshirt), and then much more scrolling to get to yet another review (early November, for Black Velvet). That’s two reviews in the past 10 weeks.Yes, there is the ‘A-sides’ column (fine!), but it still seems as though the actual reviewing of new releases on AVC is a shadow of its former shell. (*Please let me know if I’m being daft and not looking in the proper place!)
they have it set up in a really dumb way, try clicking on “reviews” from the main page…for some reason there isn’t a “music reviews” link on the music page or a “film reviews” link on the film page…apparently making us click around blindly and get annoyed is $$$
It’s a shell of what it once was. It’s been consumed into the Univision Journalistic Universe of outrage culture and clicks. It’s super sad. I think about how much ass this place to used to kick and it gets me every damn time.
Well, if you want your music song-house written and predictable go with these choices. If you want to explore great music, then look at these coming out in 2019:
Known Releases1. The Great Adventure by The Neal Morse BandNeal Morse of Spock’s Beard, Transatlantic, and Flying Colors fame put together a full time band a couple of years ago and they have released great albums (The Grand Experiment & The Similitude Of A Dream). Saw them Live in October 2018 and they were outstanding! I am looking forward to their new album that will be released on January 25th.2. Distance Over Time by Dream Theater
14th studio album by the progressive metal band. There was somewhat of a backlash over their previous concept double album 2016’s The Astonishing probably because some felt it wasn’t metal enough. I however loved the work. It looks like they scaled back their ambitions for this single album to be released on February 22nd.
3. Atheists And Believers by The Mute Gods
Followup to 2017’s Tardigrades Will Inherit The Earth which received somewhat mixed reviews. Hopefully, they will build on this with the new album. The Mute Gods is the side project of Nick Beggs, Roger King, and Marco Minneman. It’ll include several guest artists including Rush’s Alex Lifeson! To be released on March 22nd (Did they plan this with Dream Theater?)
4. The Face Of Life by Kinetic Element
Follow-up to their excellent Travelog from 2015. If these Neo-Prog artists keep it up, the album will be on my Best Of 2019 list! This album will be released on January 15th.
5. Mythopoetry by Mythopoetic MindA new band formed by musicians from other Norwegian bands such as Panzerpappa, Pymlico, and Gentle Knife that will take their RIO and Canterbury influences in a more Symphonic Prog direction. Album to be released on February 1st.6. Clocks That Tick (But Never Talk) by Grand TourTheir first album, 2015’s Heavy On The Beach, was a retelling of the movie ‘On The Beach’. It was a great album and I was wondering what happened to them since? Well they are back with a new album and I look forward to listening to it. Album will be released on February 4th.
Other known releases7. Acceleration Theory by In Continuum (January 1st)
8. At The Edge Of Light by Steve Hackett (January 25th)
9. Focus 11 by Focus (January 25th)
10. The Verdict by Queensrÿche (March 1st)Rumored Releases11. IQ will be releasing a new album this year sometime. I met the band personally and they assured me it will happen!
12. Devin Townsend will be releasing the album Empath sometime in March.
13. It is rumoured that Opeth will be releasing a new album sometime this year.
14. Will Yes be putting out an album this year?
That’s all I got so far!
Karen O and Danger Mouse are going to be an awesome collab. DM is arguably one of the best MC/Producers in the world, nearly everything he does is gold though he does have a certain formula he tends not to stray from for the most part. It’s all very enjoyable, his partners tend to be the driving force and that really helps.The rest I could care less about. I’m excited for Brody Dalle to do another Distillers album but it won’t be Sing Sing Death House or Coral Fang, she already did a good solo album that’s influenced by her husband and this newest one will be good but not first-to-last great like those were.PS: What is Angel Olsen playing? It looks like an M2 Gibson but the headstock suggests a V.
ScHoolboy Q, Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, & Lana Del Rey should all drop dope projects
RTJ4, no? Massive oversight.
It’s upsetting that a complete incompetent & fake can have a team of songwriters and computer effects prop them up. Why not invest in someone who can actually sing, and can contribute meaningful lyrics, instead of in a rich kid whose dad covers costs & salaries? Well, I guess I answered my own question. (sad face)
If you guys can stand world music, the new Океан Ельзи should be out this year
#1-20NEW TOOL
WHERE IS TOOL?!?
Ladytron. Score. Karen-O and Danger Mouse was something I didn’t even know I wanted until now.
Solange, Angel Olsen, Grimes. That’s OK, nothing truly big here.
Just here to make sure Sharon Van Etten is present. Carry on.
Lana Del Rey? Did The Onion hijack this article?
new PANDA BEAR in FEBRUARY, new LCD shortly also wheeeeeeee