Every day we’re faced with an onslaught of album announcements so we thought we’d start sharing the soon-to-be-released love by putting together a list of the most notable and exciting album announcements on a weekly basis.
Architecture In Helsinki
Now + 4EVA
It’s been a painful wait since the infectious and ever-colourful indie troupe Architecture In Helsinki gave us Moment Bends in 2011 with its fun-loving anthems ‘Contact High’ and ‘Escapee’, but now the beloved five-piece are finally back with a sparkly new record and a tour to go with it.
Now + 4EVA is the Australian band’s fifth entry into their catalogue that now spans over a decade. It was co-produced by the band and Francois Tetaz, then mixed in LA and Montreal by Tetaz and Damien Taylor (Björk, The Killers, Arcade Fire). You’ve probably already heard the catchy lead singles ‘Dream A Little Crazy’ and ‘In The Future’, and if they’re any indication of what the rest of Now + 4EVA sounds like, expect to hear a lot more of Architecture In Helsinki’s earworm vibes in house party playlists across the country from now on.
Now + 4EVA is available on March 28th 28th through Inertia.
Tracklisting:
1. In The Future
2. When You Walk In The Room
3. I Might Survive
4. Dream A Little Crazy
5. (Boom) 4EVA
6. U Tell Me
7. Echo
8. Born To Convince You
9. 2 Time
10. April
11. Before Tomorrow
Beck
Morning Phase
The multifaceted, indescribable enigma that is Beck has unveiled the release date of his twelve studio LP Morning Phase. The record promises to tread the familiar hallowed ground of 2002’s classic Sea Change bursting with an “infectious optimism”.
Morning Phase boasts of contributions from many artists of the Sea Change era, assuring Beck’s upcoming release will undoubtedly charm.
Dig the harmoniously folk meets psychedelic lead single “Blue Moon” for a taste of wondrous things to come. Hope you’re as giddy as we are.
Morning Phase is out February 25th on Capitol Records
Tracklisting:
1. “Cycle”
2. “Morning”
3. “Heart Is a Drum”
4. “Say Goodbye”
5. “Blue Moon”
6. “Unforgiven”
7. “Wave”
8. “Don’t Let It Go”
9. “Blackbird Chain”
10. “Phase”
11. “Turn Away”
12. “Country Down”
13. “Waking Light”
Liam Finn
The Nihilist
The Nihilist is Liam Finn’s first album in three years, and is a collection of 12 tracks that’s shaping up to be the antipodean multi-instrumentalist’s most refined and inventive effort to date.
The album was recorded in a Brooklyn studio overlooking Manhattan’s iconic city skyline. “As soon as I found my own space to bunker down, the songs started taking shape,” says Finn of the recording process. “There was a surreal feeling created through the energy of where I was and looking over at Manhattan and seeing it as a subconscious dimension, an entity in itself where every story under the sun was happening all at once. Any fantasy or fear you have in your own mind is probably playing out in reality in Manhattan at any one time.”
Finn has already unveiled the first single, the brilliantly titled ‘Snug As F*ck’, which features the New Zealand talent’s trademark airy vocals and a lush backdrop of electro-infused instruments.
The Nihilist is out April 4th via Create/Control
Tracklisting:
1. Ocean Emmanuelle
2. The Nihilist
3. Snug As Fuck
4. Helena Bonham Carter
5. Burn Up The Road
6. Drearydroop
7. Miracle Glance
8. 4 Track Stomper
9. Arrow
10. I
11. Wild Animal
12. Wrestle With Dad
Hayden Calnin
Oh, Hunter
Melbourne progressive-folk charmer Hayden Calnin is set to release his sophomore EP entitled Oh, Hunter. Late 2013 saw Calnin unveil Oh, Hunter’s first single “Coward”, a brooding yet stargazing whimsical effort that garnered a vast amount of well-deserved attention.
Seamlessly backing from this initial release adorns “Comatose”, a far more sombre ethereal mix that climatically builds to a gut wrenching proclamation “I was in comatose! I was out of control!” Calnin also lent his pipes to Oliver Tank for his stunning “You Never Know” track, further proving the talented man’s ability.
Oh, Hunter is out February 21st on Create/Control.
Tracklisting:
1. Coward
2. Comatose
3. I Corrupt
4. Not Good For Me
5. Forever A Traveller
Damon Albarn
Everyday Robots
Primarily known as Blur’s frontman, or maybe as vocalist and main songwriter for Gorillaz, the prolific Damon Albarn is now set to release his debut solo album entitled Everyday Robots.
Put together at Albarn’s studio in West London, the record was produced by Richard Russell of XL Recordings (who Albarn worked with when producing Bobby Womack’s The Bravest Man In The Universe) and features cameos from Brian Eno and Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Khan.
The video for lead single from which the album takes its name, ‘Everyday Robots’, was released this week and sees Albarn’s fascination with the digital continue, with the track itself being a beautifully intricate, poignantly bittersweet portrait of one of contemporary music’s most influential names.
Everyday Robots is out April 25th through Warner Music.
Tracklisting:
1. Everyday Robots
2. Hostiles
3. Lonely Press Play
4. Mr Tembo
5. Parakeet
6. The Selfish Giant
7. You And Me
8. Hollow Ponds
9. Seven High
10. Photographs (You Are Taking Now)
11. The History Of A Cheating Heart
12. Heavy Seas Of Love
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
9 Dead Alive
The duelling acoustic guitar maestros of Mexico have announced the arrival of their fifth studio LP, 9 Dead Alive.
The palpitating pace in which these two perform is entirely breathtaking, having consistently sold out arenas grand as The Sydney Opera House and Hollywood Bowl.
9 Dead Alive witnesses the two playing face to face, guitar versus guitar, bursting with melodic energy and rhythmic invention. The record is a celebration and thus dedication to great composers of the previous two centuries yet resonates seamlessly with the audience of today.
9 Dead Alive is out April 25th on Warner Music Australia.
Tracklisting:
1. The Soundmaker (Antonio de Torres Jurado: 1817 – 1892)
2. Torito (animals and nature)
3. Sunday Neurosis (Viktor Frankl: 1905 –1997)
4. Misty Moses (Harriet Tubman: 1820 – 1913)
5. Somnium (Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: 1651 –1695)
6. Fram (Fridtjof Nansen: 1861 – 1930)
7. Megalopolis (Gabriela Mistral: 1889 –1957)
8. The Russian Messenger (Fyodor Dostoyevsky:1821 – 1881)
9. La Salle Des Pas Perdus (Eleanor of Acquitane: 11-22 – 1204)
