Yes, yes, we know: Drake’s album is dropping this summer. Excited as we are, we’d also like to open your eyes to some other releases worth listening to. Though vastly different from one another, each one will no doubt find its place in your summer routines, be it rock or Roots.
Menomena ,Mines
Three years after the incredible, critically acclaimed Friend and Foe, Portland threesome Menomena have finally announced a release date for their fourth LP, Mines. If new tracks like the minimalistic, leaked “Queen Black Acid” and “Pilgrim’s Progress” (from their split 7"with the Helio Sequence) are any indications, we’ll be getting our fix on July 27th.
—Lucy McGuigan
LCD Soundsystem, This is Happening
You might have heard This is Happening already — it leaked last week and has subsequently been streamed on the LCD Soundsystem website — but it is nonetheless one of the most fascinating releases of the coming months. Due on May 18th in the US, LCD’s latest has a lot to live up to; both of the band’s previous albums, their eponymous 2005 debut and 2007’s Sound of Silver, were met with near-universal praise. Several early tracks look very hopeful, particularly the explosive synths of “Dance Yrself Clean,” the dance-punk screams of “Drunk Girls” and the pitch-perfect arrangement of “Home.” While LCD Soundsystem albums tend to get better with time, it is clear from early listens that fans definitely have a lot to look forward to.
—Daniel Felsenthal
The National, High Violet
No one had really heard of The National before 2007’s Boxer, which proved to be a breakaway hit among all indie blogs. And now, The National will add to their catalog in the way that any self-respecting band does: they’re gonna keep what’s working, and try some new things too. High Violet’s leading cut, “Terrible Love,” simply soars in the most darkly epic way possible, which was the precedent set by Boxer. High Violet’s early track indicates that The National is gunning now for gaudy darkness. Keep your ears peeled for this release, currently set for May 11.
—Joe Pinsker
OutKast Solo Projects: Big Boi, Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, Andre 3000, untitled release
One of the hip-hop world’s most innovative duos, Outkast has never really done things like everyone else. So it figures that their only album together in the past 10 years has been a movie soundtrack (Idlewild), and that their next releases are solo projects. Big Boi’s album — with its wonderfully eccentric title — is set for a July 6 release, and six full tracks have already been leaked, the most recent being “Shutterbugg.” Less has been confirmed about Andre 3000’s LP, but it will be released after Sir Luscious and sold separately, unlike Outkast’s last set of solo albums, Speakerboxx/The Love Below. The new solo projects have been in the works since 2007, when both Big Boi and Andre 3000 announced plans to follow up with another collaborative album somewhere down the road.
—Elena Gooray
The Roots, How I Got Over
If any group can get away with so many release date delays, it’s The Roots. The South Philly-based legends originally pushed back the release of their ninth studio album, How I Got Over, from May to June of 2009. That month eventually became October, and now the date is June 8. Apparently the long hold-up has been for the sake of art: drummer ?uestlove told Billboard.com that the band developed 723 jams as potential album material just between March and October of last year. And that is a good enough excuse coming from hip hop’s most celebrated band. At this point, The Roots have nothing to prove — we can only hope that they keep doing what they’ve done for years.
—Elena Gooray
Wolf Parade, Expo 86
You may be more familiar with Wolf Parade’s side projects than you are with Wolf Parade themselves, but the anticipation for the Montreal-based band’s third full-length has been mounting in recent weeks. In early April, the album was tentatively given a name, Expo 86, with a release date set for either June or July. While no tracks have been officially released yet, a video surfaced of Wolf Parade performing a track from the album live in Toronto. The song, “Fast Ballad,” is more straightforward than anything they’ve ever done, but fans will still have to wait until the summer to see how much the group’s sound has changed from the sugarcoated experimentalism of their earlier records.
—Daniel Felsenthal
