We’ve had a few weeks to settle into 2022 at this point, and while it’s definitely still a struggle to adapt to The New Normal of pandemic life, little things like a great new album can make a world of difference. Whether it’s to cope with the winter blues or just because your nincompoop of a boss is making life unreasonably hard, we all deserve some good company—and this next month, a bunch of superlative artists are putting out records that could fill that void nicely. Looking for bangers Conway The Machine’s long-awaited Shady Records debut is coming. In the mood for some ethereal beauty Beach House’s Once Twice Melody project is complete in just a few days. Want to yearn Mitski’s ready to drag you to Laurel Hell.
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Animal Collective, Time Skiffs [February 4]
Animal Collective has remained busy throughout the years, but it hadn’t released a proper LP since 2016's Painting With. This time, it’s coming with no gimmicks: There’s no album being premiered at an airport. And there’s thankfully no absence of Noah Lennox—best known as Panda Bear—who was missed by fans in Animal Collective’s 2018 visual album Tangerine Reef. The preview given so far for Time Skiffs hints at a more subdued—yet still very experimental—side of the psychedelic indie band. It’s a promising start that sparks intrigue to see what new grounds the group can explore after nearly two decades. [Tatiana Tenreyro]
Black Country, New Road, Ants From Up There [February 4]
If a nine-minute opus that slowly builds from guitar-based minimalism to Godspeed!-like levels of volcanic orchestral bombast—albeit with simple, drawled vocals and absolutely wild drums—doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, perhaps you’re not quite ready to jump on Black Country, New Road’s wavelength just yet. The London seven-piece has become one of the brightest new stars in the universe of stately, grandiose post-rock, and on the strength of its debut album, last year’s acclaimed For The First Time, the group’s blend of folksy rock and compelling, Chicago-in-the-late-’90s instrumental grooves, it should pull in even more fans this time around. [Alex McLevy]
Cate Le Bon, Pompeii [February 4]
There are a lot of reasons to check out Cate Le Bon’s new album, Pompeii. Maybe you’re a longtime fan of the Welsh musician, ready to join her for the latest round of songs that adopt deceptively simple pop structures and then crack them open with a cool, dreamy aesthetic. Or maybe you came on board after the Mercury-nominated Reward, one of the 10 best albums of 2019. Or maybe you’re just now seeing her name for the first time, hearing the new single that sounds like Jane Birkin scoring a Euro-pop art exhibit, and realized this was someone you needed to know about. Whatever the reason, welcome to Cate Le Bon’s weird, wonderful world. [Alex McLevy]
Jean-Michel Blais, aubades [February 4]
If 2018’s Dans Ma Main was one of that year’s most entrancing records, imbuing Phillip Glass-like solo piano compositions with deft electronic flourishes, then new album aubades should easily become one of 2022’s must-hear releases. It marks Jean-Michel Blais’ complete transition from solo pianist to composer, for the first time penning orchestral arrangements for a full ensemble. Not only that, but the Montreal-based musician once more is going against the grain, refuting the contemporary trend toward minor-key classical moodiness: “Solo piano tends to always sound melancholic. That’s good, but I’ve done that already, I wanted to go beyond that,” he says. We can’t wait to hear the results. [Alex McLevy]
Los Bitchos, Let The Festivities Begin! [February 4]
Los Bitchos stand out amongst the list of buzz-worthy indie acts from the UK by bringing something new that’s simultaneously strongly nostalgic. The quartet makes instrumental music, with the musicians taking influence from their eclectic backgrounds—combining Turkish psychedelia, Argentine cumbia, surf rock, and Peruvian chicha, all with a ’70s groove. Not having a vocalist works to their advantage, highlighting the talent behind the band as a collective. As their name hints, the group is here to have fun, giving their Let The Festivities Begin! tracks titles like “Tripping At A Party,” “Try The Circle!,” and the Lindsay Lohan-inspired “Lindsay Goes To Mykonos.” [Tatiana Tenreyro]
Marissa Nadler, The Wrath Of The Clouds [February 4]
Goth romantics, rejoice: Marissa Nadler is back. But where last year’s The Path Of The Clouds LP found the singer perfecting her swoony, expansive balladry with the edgy appeal of a bleak fever dream, this new EP sees Nadler marrying tracks taken from the Path sessions with a pair of new covers—at least one of which, the Alessi Brothers’ “Seabird,” is downright bubbly in comparison to its fellow tracks. In other words, the artist continues to incorporate some unpredictability into a discography and style that have made her predictably great. [Alex McLevy]
Mitski, Laurel Hell [February 4]
After a three-year hiatus, Mitski has returned to music (and to her Twitter account) with some new yearning, forlorn bangers. She has a way with words like few others, creating lyrics that land like a punch in the aural gut. This is counterbalanced by an advancement of the pop elements found on Be The Cowboy, where the musician has embraced the sounds of ’80s synth and industrial percussion. In all four of the singles shared thus far, the singer-songwriter grapples with things she can’t change in life, love, and the nature of work—all while reaching for something different, and more fulfilling. [Gabrielle Sanchez]
Saba, Few Good Things [February 4]
Saba’s third LP, Few Good Things, arrives almost four years after its critically acclaimed predecessor, Care For Me. Thankfully, the Chicago MC’s command of intimate, vulnerable lyricism hasn’t changed, as evident to the handful of singles he’s released over the past few months. What has changed is his sound: Tracks like the funky mid-tempo bop “Fearmonger” and the stripped down “Stop That” sound unlike anything Saba has attempted before. [Baraka Kaseko]
Big Thief, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You [February 11]
Big Thief has cultivated a following through the group’s gentle, soothing melodies and intricately written lyrics. And their fans haven’t had to wait long for new music since its 2016 debut, Masterpiece, with the band consistently working on new music. But after a short drought of Big Thief records in the past few years, the Brooklyn-based folk band is making up for it with Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, a double LP. Big Thief already gave a glimpse of what’s to come, sharing a handful of singles, with lead singer Adrianne Lenker’s voice having the effect of a comforting cup of cocoa in the harsh winter. [Tatiana Tenreyro]
Eddie Vedder, Earthling [February 11]
For his first solo album in more than a decade (since 2011’s Ukulele Songs), Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has made an album that tackles as many different genres and styles as the singer has explored throughout his career. That means going from tracks that sound almost exactly like contemporary Pearl Jam rockers (“Brother The Cloud”) to Coldplay-like anthems (opener “Invincible”), to ’80s-pop stompers (“The Dark”), punked-up bangers (“Good And Evil”), and a few versions of the agreeably mid-tempo adult-contemporary ballads that have been Vedder’s forte for awhile now. With guests as varied as Stevie Wonder and Ringo Starr, the album may sacrifice consistency for eclecticism, but it contains some hidden gems. [Alex McLevy]
Sea Power, Everything Was Forever [February 11]
It sometimes feels like Jack Black’s rant to a customer in High Fidelity, about someone “sittin’ around complaining about no more Echo albums,” could just as well have been referencing Sea Power (then British Sea Power), whose album Open Season offered one of the more refreshing takes on Echo & The Bunnymen’s version of Britpop during its mid-aughts revival. But while Let The Dancers Inherit The Party was a little too stolid for its own good, new album Everything Was Forever’s early single “Two Fingers” suggests the band is once more in touch with its mojo, channeling anthemic, retro post-punk for the Springsteen-ian cheap seats. [Alex McLevy]
Shamir, Heterosexuality [February 11]
There’s always a lot to say about Philadelphia’s indie-rock genre blender Shamir, but given he was featured in our most anticipated albums of 2022 list, let’s remind ourselves why: “Shamir has always had different layers to his music, but there seems to be a radical directness coming from the artist with his upcoming record, Heterosexuality. From the titles to the lyrics, Shamir is explicitly grappling with queerness and identity in a much rawer, more potent way than on past releases. Couple that with music that incorporates some industrial flourishes with fragile melodies, and you’ve got a record worth focusing on.” [Alex McLevy]
Spoon, Lucifer On The Sofa [February 11]
Spoon has the very magical capability of remaining true to their core sound while somehow constantly elevating their songcraft and exploring new areas of rock. With their first album recorded in Austin, Texas in over a decade, the band has returned to a more fast and loose style of rock ’n’ roll which they evaded through Hot Thoughts and They Want My Soul. As they’ve come home, the band has dug their nails into something grittier, yet still refined. Plus, something about the sound of Britt Daniel’s voice and the classic guitar tones they’ve crafted always feels like home to this Austinite. [Gabrielle Sanchez]
Beach House, Once Twice Melody [February 18]
As any Beach House fan will tell you, the duo is an album band, not a singles one. Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have readily embraced that quality for Once Twice Melody, dividing it into chapters that they’ve been gradually releasing before finally sharing the whole LP on February 18. The chapters released so far have a stunning, cinematic quality, with each collection telling a story of love and loss. From what’s been heard so far, this has potential to be the record that shuts down those who’ve criticized Beach House for sticking to the same sound for over a decade: There are new elements at play (including the first-time addition of a string ensemble) that exalt the intensity of the duo’s dreamy synths. [Tatiana Tenreyro]
Hurray for the Riff Raff, Life On Earth [February 18]
Hurray For The Riff Raff always has something exciting to offer. Small Town Heroes was a country record; The Navigator played out like a Broadway musical, albeit one infused with Latin genres like salsa. Now, for Life On Earth, Hurray For The Riff Raff is testing the boundaries of folk with its poppiest record yet. Alynda Segarra continues to pay homage to their Caribbean roots (as they did on The Navigator) with single “Jupiter’s Dance,” a tropical synth-pop track that feels unlike anything Segarra’s put out under the Hurray For The Riff Raff moniker. But there are still hints of the folk-punk for which Hurray For The Riff Raff is known in the other single, “Rhododendron.” Segarra’s chameleon-like musicianship makes this record one to look out for. [Tatiana Tenreyro]
Lavender Country, Blackberry Rose [February 18]
In 2019, 46 years after Lavender Country released the first known gay-themed country music album, the group reconvened to record its first LP of new music since that groundbreaking debut. That LP, Blackberry Rose And Other Songs And Sorrows, never quite hit its GoFundMe goal, so now it’s finally getting a proper release on Don Giovanni. Along with new tracks like “Gay Bar Blues” and ‘”Stand On Your Man,” the group also re-recorded a new version of its best-known song, “I Can’t Shake The Stranger Out Of You.” Fans of Orville Peck and the new wave of queer country music would do well to check out the pioneers. [Alex McLevy]
Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Nightroamer [February 18]
Sarah Shook and their Disarmers are that rarest of beasts: A bar band that actually deserved to make the splash into a bigger pond. That’s due largely to Shook themselves, a born rock ’n’ roller who can swagger and strut with the best of them, while easily pivoting to the more intimate and genteel Americana that the group delivers as effectively as it does barnstorming country-rock stompers. Nearly every song feels like it could be blaring out of an old jukebox in a Southern honky-tonk watering hole, in the best possible way. [Alex McLevy]
Schoolly D, Cuz Schoolly D Is Crazy [February 18]
Gangster rap pioneer Schoolly D has only put out two albums in the past 20 years: 2010’s International Supersport and 2019’s The Real Hardcore. So the fact that it’s only been three years suggests a burst of creative inspiration from the longtime rapper and Philly native. This is an explicitly old-school venture, recorded in his original studio, and even featuring a remake of early hit “P.S.K.” And while a new generation might know him best from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, we mostly just want to hear the beat drop and Schoolly unleash those boom-bap pipes. Respect must be paid. [Alex McLevy]
Dreamer Isioma, Goodnight Dreamer [February 23]
The debut album from Dreamer Isioma arrives this month—and it brings with it a raucous party’s worth of throwback grooves and infectious melodies. The Chicago-based musician cooks up an eclectic gumbo of influences for their first full-length, including hip-hop, soul, indie pop, and more, but the overall vibe that dominates here is that of an old-school celebration, songs that would feel just as much at home in a smoky ’70s club as a contemporary R&B Spotify playlist. “I will not stop with this gay shit!” Dreamer proclaims halfway through “HUH”; let’s hope they never do. [Alex Mclevy]
Adult., Becoming Undone [February 25]
Nine albums into their career, Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller—a.k.a. Detroit’s art-synth post-punk outfit Adult.—are firmly established in the basics of their sound, and yet it continues to shift into different registers with each passing release. As the skittering EBM of new single “Fools (We Are)…” makes clear, this is undeniably the work of the same people who made early-’00s thumpers like “Hand To Phone” and “The Cold Call,” yet somehow distilled even further down to the essence of the icy digital intensity that has always defined their work. Get ready for a deeply stand-offish dance party. [Alex McLevy]
Avril Lavigne, Love Sux [February 25]
It was about time for a proper Avril Lavigne comeback. The self-described “rock chick” has been around for over two decades, but she gradually shied away from her angsty alt-rock and pop-punk roots, attempting to reinvent herself as a more typical pop star. But with the MySpace emo revival emerging over the past couple of years, and artists like Willow Smith emulating the “Sk8er Boi” singer, Lavigne is ready to shine again. The singles she’s released off Love Sux somehow feel even more pop-punk than the music she released during her prime, serving as a re-introduction to herself, exciting old fans and inviting new ones. [Tatiana Tenreyro]
Basia Bulat, The Garden [February 25]
Many of us used the isolation of pandemic times as a chance to look back and reflect; in the case of Montreal musician Basia Bulat, she used the time to look across the entirety of her catalog, and found inspiration in reworking material from all five of her studio albums into arrangements for a string quartet. Along with her bandmates, guitarist Andrew Woods and bassist Ben Whiteley, the quartet of players performing orchestral reimaginings of Bulat’s music create a different tenor and take on her normally folk-oriented sound, while giving the musician’s voice a chance to evolve and shine in a new light. [Alex McLevy]
Conway The Machine, God Don’t Make Mistakes [February 25]
Three years may not exactly be a Chinese Democracy-like level of delay, but for an artist as prolific as Conway The Machine, it’s the closest thing to it. The rapper’s Shady Records debut has been teased since 2019, and yet somehow—despite multiple albums and mixtapes released since then—we have yet to hear a note of it. Conway is an undeniable talent with a consistency of quality that most rappers would envy even without his attendant success; here’s hoping God Don’t Make Mistakes is worth the very long wait. Given his track record, we’re not too worried. [Alex McLevy]
Robert Glasper, Black Radio III [February 25]
It’s been 10 years since Robert Glasper’s era-defining Black Radio won the Best R&B Album Grammy and stormed the Billboard charts: It’s the only album in history to debut simultaneously in the top 10 of four charts—Hip Hop R&B, Urban Contemporary, Jazz, and Contemporary Jazz (a feat not repeated until… Black Radio II). The jazz pianist and songwriter returns with the third installment of his series, and brings along a massive guest roster with him (single “Black Superhero” along features Killer Mike, B.J. The Chicago Kid, and Big K.R.I.T.). There’s almost no way this album doesn’t contain at least one or two absolute gems. [Alex McLevy]
Sasami, Squeeze [February 25]
Sasami Ashworth is a star in the making. Those who were lucky enough to catch her during her days playing synths for Cherry Glazerr could see Ashworth had a magnetic stage presence all her own. Her self-titled debut solo album from 2019 gained the attention of critics and new fans, but Squeeze might be the one to catapult her to mainstream spaces. She doesn’t confine herself to one genre, instead experimenting with nu-metal, folk, and pop throughout the record, showing different facets of herself from the serene indie pop of her debut. Ashworth also brings in a stellar group of collaborators, including the unconventional and delightful inclusion of comedian Patti Harrison, who contributed vocals to lead single, “Skin A Rat.” [Tatiana Tenreyro]
Spiritualized, Everything Was Beautiful [February 25]
Thank goodness 2018’s superlative And Nothing Hurt didn’t end up being the Spiritualized swan song J. Spaceman occasionally threatened it might be. Everything Was Beautiful looks to continue Jason Pierce’s musical winning streak, with initial single “Always Together With You” even explicitly calling back to Spiritualized’s landmark Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space. New single “Crazy” incorporates some ambling Americana into the mix, but never loses hold of the spacey, dreamier-than-a-dream bombast of his music. Pomp and circumstance never sounds as heartfelt as it does in his hands. [Alex McLevy]
Superchunk, Wild Loneliness [February 25]
The angry, pummeling musical left turn of 2018’s What A Time To Be Alive—easily Superchunk’s most ferocious collection of songs since its No Pocky For Kitty days—must have startled longtime fans. But if that record occasionally sacrificed melody for intensity, Wild Loneliness sounds like the band returning to the thoughtful, expansive indie rock that it came to embrace during the recording of Here’s To Shutting Up. And with the quartet bringing some guests into the studio, including Sharon Van Etten and Owen Pallett, it also looks to be one of their most musically far-ranging. The title may sound sad, but there’s no bout of loneliness Superchunk’s music can’t make better. [Alex McLevy]