The new release calendar always slows down in the winter, pretty much coming to a dead halt during the last few weeks of December before picking up in earnest about a month later. So far, 2016 has seen the release of David Bowie's swan song, Blackstar, between December and early January, but a big batch of freshWe are fast approaching the first selection of fresh tracks from artists releasing albums in the coming months of 2016.
The Thermals, "Hey You"
Portland's favorite pop-catchy indie rock trio The Thermals (Hutch Harris, Kathy Foster, and Westin Glass) confirmed the release date of their seventh Chris Walla-produced full-length, We Disappear — March 25 via Saddle Creek — and it'll be available for pre-order via iTunes tomorrow (January 7). According to the press release, We Disappear examines technology, love, and death throughout, "how separation in humanity can come through any of these avenues; how people try to outrun the demise of lives and relationships; how technology can isolate us and impact our relationships even as we completely - and willingly - assimilate ourselves into it (or go "Into The Code," as the opening track suggests); and how we've begun to forego privacy for a feeling of immortality in order to not be ignored or forgotten."
First single "Hey You" premiered on Pitchfork.com but you can hear it here now below, and get a free copy of the track with your pre-order.
RJD2, "Peace of What"
Tim debuted the track in WTU, but wanted to draw your attention back to the new track from crate-digging, bass-bumping, turntables-working DJ/producer/musician RJD2, who's has also announced the release of a new album also due out March 25: Dame Fortune, which drops on his own label (RJ’s Electrical Connections). "Peace of What" is a soulful hip hop production groove that features Jordan Brown and was inspired by 1991 single "Peace Is Not the Word to Play" by '90s rap legends Main Source. From the release: "When I hear people talk of peace in America, the discrepancy between our words and our actions can get fatiguing," he says on the inspiration behind the song. "I was trying to reflect the experience of people I know, which often feels like ‘We're not ACTUALLY trying to do anything about this problem in our country.’"
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, "Rich Wife Full of Happiness"
The alt folk singer-songwriter otherwise known as Will Oldham presents an album that takes inspiration from the late Peel sessions. Prince recorded six sessions and three were tapped for forthcoming comp release Pond Scum, which also culls material from his own catalog reaching as far back as a decade, some of it previously unreleased (ala "Beezle"), some re-tooled into sparser arrangements ("Death to Everyone"), along with a few covers, too, like Prince's "The Cross." Check out "Rich Wife Full of Happiness" below; Pond Scum drops January 22 via Drag City.
Nevermen, "Mr. Mistake"
Sold as neither side-project nor supergroup, the new collab outfit featuring TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, Mike Patton and Adam Drucker aka Doseone (rapper and founder of Anticon) is described as a "years-in-the-making partnership in which these men shared all duties, discovering their collective sound with the sort of glee and freedom usually reserved for first-timers." An early review from MOJO Magazine gave the new LP — an adventurous mix of rock, pop, rap, soul and experimental sounds — a four-star rating, hailing the trio as the "CSN of avant rap." New single "Mr Mistake" below. Nevermen will be available via Ipecac Recordings on January 29.
M.Ward, "Girl From Conejo Valley."
My favorite roots-turned singer-songwriter with the crushed velvet vocal quality has announced an eighth solo album, More Rain, that comes out March 4 via Merge Records. Originally envisioned as a DIY doo-wop album that had Ward layering his own vocals, but eventually expanded to include collaborations with R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, Neko Case, k.d. lang, The Secret Sisters, and Joey Spampinato of NRBQ. This is the video for the new single "Girl From Conejo Valley" offers a nostalgic look at some people he used to know and a place he used to be.
Eleanor Friedberger, "Sweetest Girl"
No telling when a new Fiery Furnaces album will see the light of day, but the freewheeling sultry-voiced sister half of the indie rock duo has been pretty busy on the solo tip, releasing two albums since her 2011 solo debut and on the verge of releasing a third on January 22: New View, her first release on the Frenchkiss imprint. Check out her new single below.
MORE LPs DUE OUT THIS SPRING OF 2016
JANUARY 15
Panic! At the Disco, Death Of A Bachelor
JANUARY 22
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Pond Scum
John Cale, M:Fans
Eleanor Friedberger, New View
Megadeth, Dystopia
Ty Segall, Emotional Mugger
Santigold, 99¢
Shearwater, Jet Plane And Oxbow
Tortoise, The Catastrophist
JANUARY 29
Basement, Promise Everything
Black Tusk, Pillars Of Ash
Bloc Party, Hymns
FEBRUARY 5
Elton John, Wonderful Crazy Night
Junior Boys, Big Back Coat
Lucinda Williams, The Ghosts Of Highway 20
FEBRUARY 12
School of Seven Bells, SVIIB
FEBRUARY 19
Animal Collective, Painting With
The Cave Singers, Banshee
Lake Street Dive, Side Pony
Matmos, Ultimate Care II
Mavis Staples, Livin' On A High Note
Ra Ra Riot, Need Your Light
Wild Nothing, Life Of Pause
Wolfmother, Victorious
Yoko Ono, Yes, I'm a Witch Too
FEBRUARY 26
Anthrax, For All Kings
Anvil, Anvil Is Anvil
Bonnie Raitt, Dig In Deep
MARCH 4
La Sera, Music For Listening To Music To
Loretta Lynn, Full Circle
Miike Snow, iii
Poliça, United Crushers
Prince, Rama Xtreme Now
Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, A Man Alive
Violent Femmes, We Can Do Anything
MARCH 11
Jeff Buckley, You And I
MARCH 18
Damien Jurado, Visions Of Us On The Land
Primal Scream, Chaosmosis
The Word Alive, Dark Matter
MARCH 25
The Thermals, We Disappear
White Denim, Stiff
APRIL 1
Charles Bradley, Changes
Yeasayer, Amen & Goodbye
APRIL 8
Teleman, Brilliant Sanity
