As we head into the fall of what has been a very good year for music, we wanted to take a moment to gather together information about some of the upcoming releases we and our readers are looking forward to. This list starts with records coming out a week from today. We'll be back with regular reviews on Tuesday.
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*
Darkside*
*Darkside*
*[Clown & Sunset]
TBA
*
Earlier this year, Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington returned as Darkside-- their last release was their 2011 EP. This time, they took Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories and reworked it until it was nearly unrecognizable-- throwing glitches into the middle of Chilly Gonzalez’ piano on “Within” and turning Pharrell into a sluggish, deep-voiced Eeyore on “Get Lucky”. They called it Daftside’s Random Access Memories Memories. The duo are returning this fall with a proper album, and although they haven’t titled it or given it a release date, they’ve already shared the entire thing with a New York audience. They’ve also released the album’s slow-burning (video-based pun intended) first 11 minutes online. --Evan Minsker
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*
The Weeknd*
*Kiss Land*
*[Republic Records/XO]
Sept. 10
*
Toronto's Abel Tesfaye spent the first leg of his career carefully cultivating a brand centered around anonymity and shadowy, well-constructed R&B songs about depressive late-night debauchery. After three self-released mixtapes, Kiss Land marks his next step. The record, which is out on September 10 through major label Republic, includes a feature from his buddy Drake and a Pharrell remix, along with "Belong to the World", the song with a controversial beat that sounds uncannily similar to Portishead's "Machinegun". --Carrie Battan
The Weeknd: "Live For" [ft. Drake] on SoundCloud.
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*
Arctic Monkeys*
*AM*
*[Domino]
Sept. 9
*
AM is the Arctic Monkeys’ fifth studio album, which if nothing else is a demonstration of unexpected longevity for the former teenage wunderkinds behind 2006’s record-shattering Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. But unlike just about every other UK next big thing from the 2000s, the Arctic Monkeys’ fifth studio album can be honestly considered “highly anticipated.” Humbug and Suck It and See showed a band maturing and broadening their musical scope while maintaining the hyperdetailed narratives of their earliest work, and AM appears to be a further consolidation of the Arctic Monkeys’ past and future. While it features regular Monkeys collaborators James Ford (Simian Mobile Disco), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) and Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello & The Attractions), frontman Alex Turner promises a more electronic, hip-hop based LP-- as he told NME, “it sounds like a Dr. Dre beat, but we’ve given it an Ike Turner bowl cut and sent it galloping across the desert on a Stratocaster.” --Ian Cohen
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*
Janelle Monáe*
*The Electric Lady*
*[Wondaland Arts Society/Bad Boy]
Sept. 10
*
Janelle Monáe’s entire discography has been pinned on a sci-fi narrative. On The Metropolis Suite, she appeared on the cover (and in the songs) as an android, and in The ArchAndroid, she turned that same character into an android messiah. On The Electric Lady, she’s still dealing in science fiction, like on her end-of-days pop song “Dance Apocalyptic”. But at the end of the Paisley Park-hued funk single “Q.U.E.E.N.” (with Erykah Badu), she seems to step away from allegory and rap about real world problems. Album concept aside, it’s guaranteed to be a soulful affair, with guest spots from Badu, Miguel, Prince, Big Boi, Cee-Lo Green, Solange, and Esperanza Spalding. --Evan Minsker
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*
FKA twigs*
*EP 2*
*[Young Turks]
Sept. 10
*
Until recently, there was little information out there about the british R&B songstress known enigmatically as FKA twigs. Previously known simply as “Twigs”, the artist moved from rural England to London when she was 17, keeping a low profile until 2012’s EP 1 landed her on the cover of i-D magazine, who in reference to her illusive persona called FKA twigs “the girl that even Google can’t gander”. The 4-track EP 2, out September 9 via Young Turks, is the next step in FKA Twigs’ shadowy legacy of intimate but roiling trip-hop. EP 2 features production from Yeezus collaborator Arca, and it’s lead single “Water Me” has been endorsed by fellow indie femmes from Grimes to Haim and has incited distant allusions to the xx and Mezzanine-era Massive Attack-- impressive comparisons for an artist whose real name is still unknown. --Molly Beauchemin
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*
MGMT*
*MGMT*
*[Columbia]
Sept. 17
*
In 2010, Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden teamed with Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom to make Congratulations, a weirdo opus that backed away from their more immediately catchy material from 2008. They’re not backing away from their weirder inclinations on their new album, which was recorded as a duo at Dave Fridmann's Tarbox Road Studios in upstate New York. “Alien Days” opens with otherworldly synths, and “Your Life Is a Lie” pairs a jovial melody with dismal and paranoid lyrics. When they performed on Letterman, they wore psychedelic outfits and played an enormous cowbell emblazoned with the words “BE AWARE”. As they told Rolling Stone, “We’re not trying to make music that everyone understands the first time they hear it.” --Evan Minsker
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*
Bill Callahan*
*Dream River*
*[Drag City]
Sept. 17
*
Earlier this year, Bill Callahan spent some time recording in a place called Cacophony, Texas-- which sounds like a poetic, drolly funny detail straight out of one of his songs. The result is Dream River, which follows his excellent 2011 album Apocalypse and has been described as “easily the most sensual and soulful of Callahan’s career.” Fans know roughly what to expect from Dream River since Callahan’s terse, stentorian sound is well-established at this point, but with the release of the album’s lead single “Javelin Unlanding” he threw a curveball, releasing a “dub version” called “Expanding Dub”. A film about Callahan’s last tour, Apocalypse: A Tour Documentary, was also recently released. --Lindsay Zoladaz
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*
Carcass*
*Surgical Steel*
*[Nuclear Blast]
Sept. 17
*
Carcass, the pioneering grindcore and death metal band from Liverpool, haven’t put out an album since 1996’s Swansong, released just around the time they called it quits. (Co-founder Bill Steer also played on Napalm Death’s 1987 debut Scum.) Although Carcass initially resurfaced in 2007, Surgical Steel is the first new material they’ve shared. “I’ve jokingly christened some parts ‘Trad Blast’ and some ‘Death Sleaze,’” Jeff Walker, the bassist and vocalist, told Decibel last year. “Don’t think for a minute this is just some nostalgic throwback album.” Steel, recorded with no label backing, will see release through Nuclear Blast Records, and features a new drummer, 24-year-old Dan Wilding, of British death metal band Trigger the Bloodshed. Wilding replaced Ken Owen, who was unable to return due to health issues, but contributed vocals to the LP. --Jenn Pelly
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*
Holy Ghost!*
*Dynamics*
*[DFA]
Sept. 17
*
“For most of my adult life, I’ve identified with the person I was when I was a teenager,” Holy Ghost!’s Nick Milhiser told Pitchfork earlier this summer. "Now, I have very little in common with that person… for the first time I felt closer to old age than to my 15-year-old self.” That sort of tension-- getting older, growing suspicious of evolving new scenes-- fills DFA disco vets Holy Ghost!’s new one, Dynamics, a record they teased with the fun-loving “Dumb Disco Ideas”. Though they’re still having fun-- Michael McDonald will reprise his Holy Ghost! guest appearance on Dynamics-- Dynamics is also darker, more thoughtful and more personal. If it proves to be headier release, they'll surely save room for some cowbell. --Corban Goble
*
Drake *
*Nothing Was the Same*
*[OVO Sound/Young Money/Cash Money/Republic]
Sept. 24
*
Since the February release of his Billboard-epic hit single “Started From the Bottom”, it feels like Drake’s spent the entire calendar year teasing his upcoming third LP, Nothing Was the Same. After 2011’s phenomenal Take Care, Drake’s put out no shortage of excellent material-- "Hold On We're Going Home", "Jodeci Freestyle", "5AM in Toronto", "Girls Love Beyoncé", and "Started From the Bottom" to name a few-- but it’s still unclear which (if any) of those will appear on Nothing Was the Same. What we do know for sure: the album will feature Jay Z, Lil Wayne, TNGHT’s Hudson Mohawke (who recently worked with Kanye West on Yeezus), and Drake’s dad, Dennis Nelson. The artwork-- a Kadir Nelson oil painting of baby Drake staring at his adult self-- might provide some thematic clues, though as Drizzy claimed in a recent interview, the cover’s placid blue sky is misleading: “That’s not to say that [the album] is ‘light’ by any means.” --Lindsay Zoladz
Drake: "Hold On, We're Going Home" [ft. Majid Jordan] on SoundCloud.
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*
Mazzy Star*
*Seasons Of Your Day*
*[Rhymes of An Hour Records]
Sept. 24
*
After 15 years of silence, it seemed probable that 90s dream pop luminaries Mazzy Star would never return. Like their early contemporaries, Galaxie 500, the members of Mazzy Star had moved to other projects-- singer Hope Sandoval released a 2009 LP with her band, the Warm Inventions-- while the group’s legacy took its own mythical course. Sandoval’s voice was immortalized on their classic single “Fade Into You”, and its influence has recently been crystal clear (Widowspeak’s Molly Hamilton is a fine example). So news of Mazzy Star’s return, in 2011, was surprising. It began with a single, “Common Burn”, which captured their quiet, familiar grace as if no time had passed at all. The new album, which features the late Bert Jansch and My Bloody Valentine’s Colm Ó Cíosóig, follows 1996’s Among My Swan, and will be released by the band’s own label, Rhymes of an Hour. -- Jenn Pelly
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Chvrches*
*The Bones of What You Believe*
*[Glassnote]
Sept. 24
*
Luaren Mayberry, Iain Cook, and Martin Doherty, the Glasgow trio who call themselves Chvrches, made a splash this year with a handful of skittering electro-pop singles that recalled the Knife and Purity Ring. They'll try to translate the success of singles like "The Mother We Share" to a full-length debut called The Bones of What You Believe, out on September 23 in the UK via Virgin/Goodby Records and September 24 in North America via Glassnote. --Carrie Battan
Chvrches: "Gun" on SoundCloud.
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Nirvana*
*In Utero **[20th Anniversary Reissue]*
*[Universal]
Sept. 24
*
Much like 2011's Nevermind reissue, Nirvana's camp is going all in with the 20th anniversary reissue of In Utero this year-- the "super deluxe edition" collects 70 tracks over the course of three CDs and a DVD, not to mention reproductions of Cobain's handwritten lyrics, Albini's four-page note to the band before the session, and liner notes by a recurring Nirvana opener, comedian Bob Goldthwait. The DVD, featuring 1993's "Live & Loud" concert at Seattle's Pier 84, will also include footage from their European tour and an extended version of the "Heart-Shaped Box" video. Along with B-sides and demos comes a "2013 album mix" of In Utero in full-- whatever that means-- and an unearthed instrumental called "Forgotten Tune". --Jenn Pelly
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Justin Timberlake*
*The 20/20 Experience, Part 2*
*[RCA]
Sept. 30
*
So what if Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience series was the result of a mad dash to fulfill contractual obligations? It’s produced a lot of memorable music so far, from the love song suite “Mirrors” to the new wedding reception staple “Suit & Tie” to the gurgling pop soundscape “Tunnel Vision”. Though JT might be, err, a little overexposed at the moment, 20/20 Experience, Part 2 teaser “Take Back the Night” showed us that there’s more fun, bouncy music in store from one of our generation’s most reliable arbiters. (The “Take Back the Night” rollout in total might have done more damage than good, but, here’s hoping the new music will make us want to forcefully turn the page on that saga). Timberlake allegedly recorded Part 2 in just 20 days, a brisk pace that he suggested led to “hyper-focus.” So, here's to hoping for some fire-born pop magic before the entire Experience is in hindsight. --Corban Goble
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Haim*
*Days Are Gone*
*[Polydor Records]
Sept. 30
*
The L.A. sister-trio known as Haim (pronounced Hi-um) became darlings of the summer festival circuit through softly-rollicking, hook-heavy guitar pop with a peppy R&B sensibility. The first female group to win BBC’s influential “Sound Of” award for 2013, last year’s Forever EP garnered several Fleetwood Mac comparisons for Danielle, Este, and Alana Haim as they headlined sold-out shows across Europe and the U.S.-- including a triumphant performance on Glastonbury’s Main Stage, which added momentum to the feverish hype behind the Cali sisters’ upcoming debut. For Days Are Gone, Haim teams with heavy-hitting producers Ariel Rechtshaid (Vampire Weekend, Solange) and James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Florence + Machine). --Molly Beauchemin
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The Field*
*Cupid's Head*
*[Kompakt]
Sept. 30
*
Axel Wilner, the man behind the Field, has a distinct M.O. and a sensibility-- he makes liquid, tactile minimalism, uncannily physical and groove-centered even while remaining, technically “ambient.” From Here We Go Sublime, Looping State of Mind-- his album titles spell out his intentions for each album with the exactitude of someone with a masterly grasp of their aesthetic. Wilner has indicated the album will be “hardware only, no computers.” --Jayson Greene
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Danny Brown*
*OLD*
*[Fool's Gold]
Sept. 30
*
Danny Brown’s XXX might have had the sturdiest legs of any rap independently released rap album of the past three years; it came out in 2011, and since then, he’s been on a relentless, never-ending meet-and-greet, playing every festival imaginable, popping up for scenery-obliterating guest verses on records from A$AP Rocky’s “1 Train” to Ab-Soul’s “Terrorist Threat”, and sharing his crude, surprising, hilarious thoughts with anyone who sticks a microphone in his face. His upcoming OLD is riding a massive crest of Danny Brown hype, and the advance music, including “Kush Coma” with A$AP and “ODB,” finds him at the same frenzied peak he’s somehow been maintaining for years now. The guest list reflects the many friendships Danny’s made over the past few years: Rustie, Schoolboy Q, Kitty, Ab-Soul, Purity Ring, Charli XCX, Mr. MFN Exquire, and Oh No have all been confirmed. As for content, Danny told Pitchfork last winter “If people are just looking for dick-sucking jokes, there isn't too many of them." --Jayson Greene
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Oneohtrix Point Never*
*R Plus Seven*
*[Warp]
Oct. 1
*
Daniel Lopatin’s progress as a producer, under the guise of Oneohtrix Point Never, has been particularly brisk as of late, moving from his earliest synth-based drones to the liquid psychedelia of Returnal grainy, sampled-based work on last year’s Replica. His upcoming R Plus Seven, if the cool Windows-Vista blue of “Problem Areas” is an indication, might be revisiting some of the faded-edges analog poignancy of his earliest work. Anyone with even a cursory interest in Lopatin should head over to his benevolent mothership of a website, which is just an excellent place to spend time. --Jayson Greene
*
Pusha-T*
*My Name Is My Name*
*[G.O.O.D.]
Oct. 8
*
Pusha-T’s long-gestating solo album under Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint has shown some mild strains of “development hell” syndrome; My Name Is My Name was slated for July 16 before Yeezus and Magna Carta laid waste to the summer rap schedule. (Not even Drake survived.)
Now it’s due out this fall, and although the album hasn’t registered a radio single yet, Pusha has the benefit of Kanye’s continued co-sign, his production, and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of hungry-rapper intensity. “I now write with impact in mind. Impact always wins. It's the difference between [Jay-Z's] Reasonable Doubt raps and Hard Knock Life raps,” he told Pitchfork last October. On songs like “Numbers on the Board” and “Who I Am,” he raps like he’s ready to bite off heads.
Oh, and did we mention this is the album with a Joaquin Phoenix beat on it? This album has a beat by Joaquin Phoenix, actor. “I want it to be the intro on my album,” he told VIBE. He also added “There is no production in the world better than this album.” --Jayson Greene
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Glasser*
*Interiors*
*[True Panther]
Oct. 8
*
Electro-pop artist Glasser (real name Cameron Mesirow) first turned heads with her 2010 debut Ring, which tethered humming, new-agey soundscapes to skyward-bound pop choruses. When it came time to record her follow up, Interiors, she relocated from California to New York and, naturally, started thinking more about confined spaces. Citing her new city’s towering architecture as an inspiration, Mesirow teamed up with producer Van Rivers (who’s worked with Fever Ray and Blonde Redhead) to make a record that she’s described as being “much more sharply personal than its predecessor.” And true to its architectural inclinations, she’s put a lot of thought into the album’s visuals. The cover, artwork and videos—including the warped, metallic clip for first single “Shape”— are all a collaboration between Glasser and artist Jonathan Turner. --Lindsay Zoladz
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Tim Hecker*
*Virgins*
*[Kranky]
Oct. 14
*
Tim Hecker is often considered a “drone” or “ambient” artist, two styles rarely known for kicking ass. But the cover of 2011’s Ravedeath, 1972 was helpful in illustrating that this stuff isn’t for wimps-- at his best, Hecker’s music hits with the impact of a damn piano being dropped off a five-story building. Hecker does it big and Virgins is his attempt to achieve sonic domination in the manner of Ravedeath and its equally powerful predecessor Harmony in Ultraviolet while removing the distortion and static that defined those albums. “Lead single” “Virginal II” corroborates Hecker’s promise of this live-recorded LP being more percussive and acoustic than his previous work and the Virgins birth took place in three cities that are perhaps the foremost producers of musical catharsis-- Seattle, Montreal and Reykjavik. --Evan Minsker
Tim Hecker: "Virginal II" on SoundCloud.
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The Dismemberment Plan*
*Uncanney Valley*
*[TBA]
Oct. 15
*
The Dismemberment Plan were ahead of their time - musically omnivorous, overeducated, underemployed and prone to oversharing in the spirit of establishing an intimate connection with their audience. Their unimpeachable 1999 classic Emergency & I (as well as the “B.O.B.”-influenced “Dismemberment Plan Get Rich” single) sped up the conversation between indie rock, pop, hip-hop and R&B and gave a lot of 20-something somethings close to an instruction manual for living or at least a shoulder to cry on. Meanwhile, frontman Travis Morrison was a poptimist blogger before we knew what that word meant and his lyrics were meant for Twitter, prone to express knee-buckling and heartbreaking truths and silly jokes about high and lowbrow culture within seconds. Their last official release was also prescient-- 2004’s A People’s History of the Dismemberment Plan let their fans remix their songs. But D-Plan hasn’t released an album since 2001’s grown-up and smoothed-out Change and after a rapturously received reunion tour in 2011, they return with Uncanney Valley-- Morrison told us earlier this year that the ingratiating, uptight demeanor and vice-tight musicianship have given way to “an openness...that’s a real achievement for us.” -- Ian Cohen
The Dismemberment Plan: "Invisible" on SoundCloud.
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Cults*
*Static*
*[Columbia]
Oct. 15
*
New York twee-pop duo Cults’ first record was celebrated for it’s catchy sing-along vibes and integrated, textured sampling. The followup to Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin’s 2011 debut purports to be a slightly grittier affair called Static, a self-proclaimed “breakup album” out 10/15 via Columbia. The teaser features album tracks “We’ve Got It” and “So Far” interspersed with moments of static fuzz; other than that, Static’s sole pre-release has been “I Can Hardly Make You Mine”. Working with longtime producer Shane Stoneback and Ben Allen (who’s worked with Animal Collective, Washed Out, and Youth Lagoon,) the band speaks eloquently of the inspiration behind their forthcoming sophomore release: “There’s a feeling our generation has. The feeling there’s always something better around the corner, that everyone is born to be a star. The feeling that life is waiting for you, and yet it’s not happening. All of that is static.” --Molly Beauchemin
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DJ Rashad*
*Double Cup*
*[Hyperdub]
Oct. 22
*
Given that Chicago’s footwork scene has started to rise to national prominence, Chi scene vet DJ Rashad has watched the stakes raise a little thanks to the expanded audience. However, if everything’s as good as Rashad’s new “I Don’t Give a Fuck”-- the first single from his new Double Cup-- Rashad’s got nothing to worry about, as the song exists as a temple of the frenetic pulses and ominous musical textures that Rashad has mastered. Double Cup is heavy and dark, indebted to techno, trap and drum and bass, the end result coming out as something in its own universe. --Corban Goble
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Arcade Fire*
*TBA*
*[Merge]
Oct. 29
*
When it came time to announce the follow-up to The Suburbs, the surprise winner of the 2011 Album of the Year Grammy, Arcade Fire kept things awesomely low-key: When a fan tweeted at them "you're my favorite", they replied, "Thanks. Our new album will be out October 29." After selling the Quebec church/studio where they recorded their two previous albums, the Montreal art-rock superstars (who also scored the upcoming Spike Jonze film Her) holed up in James Murphy's DFA Studios in New York City to record their fourth LP. The album's still shrouded in mystery-- there's a rumor it will be titled Reflektor, and they've hinted that something about it will be revealed on September 9-- but so far the most concrete (and promising) statement has come from Murphy: "It's really fucking epic." --Lindsay Zoladz
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**Yamantaka // Sonic Titan*
*UZU*
*[Suicide Squeeze]
Oct. 29
*
Led by vocalist Ruby Kato Attwood and drummer Alaska B, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan are five face-painted musicians who have dubbed their sound Noh-wave-- a nod to no wave and the Japanese musical theater tradition. Their songs blur lines between prog, metal, sludge, and opera. More importantly, on both their 2011 album YT//ST and on UZU, they pack their songs with an elaborate mythology that draws from many sources. In their recent “Update” interview, the band talked about how while the songs are inspired by their lives, they also reference the goddess Mazu, the 16th century Chinese text Journey to the West, and the Buddhist concept of waves of consciousness. In “One”, they weave together Mohawk voices, hard rock guitars, and aggressive allegorical lyrics: “Ever wonder what it's like to die in America?/ Hungry dog holds the master's hand.” UZU is a concept album, and it’s sure to be one with several layers. --Evan Minsker
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan: "One" on SoundCloud.
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*
M.I.A.*
*Mantangi*
*[N.E.E.T. /Interscope/Virgin]
Nov. 5
*
The days of Trufflegate and 2010's ill-received album /\/\/\Y/\ seem like a lifetime ago for M.I.A., who's been coasting along on the success of her smash "Bad Girls" for a couple of years now. She'll have a chance to start fresh with her new album Mantangi, which she claimed was delayed by Interscope because it was "too positive." The record will arrive on November 5-- if she doesn't leak it first-- and will include previously heard songs like "Bring the Noize", "Come Walk With Me", and more. --Carrie Battan
Reported by Pitchfork 41 minutes ago.