The way things have gone so far in 2011, one week stuffed with new releases is generally followed by a week where tumbleweeds fly through your local record store. However, following the Lady Gaga/Brad Paisley/Glee bonanza last week, there’s a solid slate of releases headed your way. We’ll start with Death Cab for Cutie. While associating Ben Gibbard’s voice with anything “hard” is laughable, Death Cab’s last album, Narrow Stairs, was an attempt to toughen up their sound a little […]
New Release Report 5/17/11: The Calm Before Storm GaGa
In the event that you’ve been living underneath a very big rock for the past several months, Lady GaGa’s Born This Way is scheduled to drop on May 23rd. Now that you know what NEXT week’s column is gonna be all about, let’s take a look at some of the albums that are coming out this week. We’ll start with Moby . Destroyed has gotten some pretty savage reviews already, but I like the bit I’ve heard thus far, so I’ll […]
New Release Report 5/10/11: Turtleneck, Chain & CDs
Spring is in full flower, y’all…and there’s another wide-ranging set of new music coming to you this week. A little bit of everything-from comedy to classic R&B to indie rock to Eighties icons-occasionally all on the same set. Here are the highlights from the May 10th release schedule. Raphael Saadiq–Stone Rollin‘: Following the critically acclaimed The Way I See It, former Tony Toni Tone/Lucy Pearl frontman Raphael Saadiq continues to mine the depths of classic R&B on this, his fourth […]
New Release Report 5/3/11: Beastietude
The week’s biggest news is certainly the release of Hot Sauce Committee, Part II , the Beastie Boys’ first non-instrumental album in six years. The longest-running hit making rap act in history, this album has gotten universally solid reviews, proving that Mike D., Ad-Rock and MCA have not lost their mojo even in their mid-forties. However, it’s far from the only thing going on in a crowded new release week. The Beasties will likely be vying for the #1 spot on the album charts with […]
New Release Report 4/26/11: Explosions in the Aisles!
Welcome to the potpourri edition of the New Release Report, where we have new music coming out from artists in pretty much every genre conceivable! If you like your rock and roll grandiose and epic, you might want to give the new one from Explosions in the Sky a shot. Take Care, Take Care, Take Care just might be the Texas band’s American breakthrough. They’ve received some great press (and some notice in the UK), but they haven’t quite caught […]
New Release Report 4/19/11: Another Quiet Week, Another Not-Snappy Headline
A busy week followed by a quiet week. That seems to be the way things go in the music industry go these days. After a plethora of notable new albums hit the stores last week, things have chilled out majorly this week-as only a few moderately anticipated albums are going to show up on shelves. First and foremost (AKA the only album that will probably make chart noise in a week’s time) is yet another new Glee album. Glee: The […]
New Release Report 4/12/11: A “So Beautiful” List of Releases
After a bit of a hiccup, the surprisingly robust release schedule that’s been par for the course these past few weeks is back. If you’re a rock fan, you obviously know that the Foo Fighters’ Wasting Light hits stores today (reminder: we’ve reviewed it). This album reunites Butch Vig with Dave Grohl for the first time in nearly twenty years, reunites Dave Grohl with Krist Novocelic for the first time on record since Kurt Cobain’s suicide, and also reunites Pat […]
New Release Report 4/5/11: Yawning Again
March was a pretty good month for new releases…or at least new releases that I was interested in. Considering how much money I spent at record stores on a recent trip to Cleveland (more on that some other time), maybe it’s good that there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot coming this April. I won’t be able to afford music for another month. There aren’t any big name releases on the level of a Britney Spears or Strokes or […]
New Release Report 3/29/11: 2011? Or 2001?
Two of the last decade’s biggest and most prolific acts release new music today, although I don’t see too many people purchasing both albums. Many of you own Radiohead’s The King of Limbs already. After all, the Grammy-winning British band made the album available for purchase on their site a month or so ago. However, lots of folks owned Radiohead’s last album, In Rainbows, as well before it made it’s official physical debut at the top of 2008. And that […]
New Release Report 3/15/11: What the Hell?
See, this is what I don’t get. Last week, we had major new releases from the likes of Lupe Fiasco, R.E.M. and Avril Lavigne. Next week, we have major new releases from Chris Brown, The Strokes and Jennifer Hudson. No one saw fit to move one or two of those releases into this release cycle? How does that make sense? Do you get the feeling that the people who decide these things might be a little clueless (or hellbent on […]
New Release Report: The Floodgates Open
Welcome to the first big release week of 2011. It’s kinda like the lights all of a sudden got turned on in the room, and there will be multiple albums vying for the #1 spot next week-of course, the sensible part of me wonders why these albums couldn’t have been spread out (especially since they’ve obviously all been done for quite some time), but this is the music industry…there’s no room for sense. Anyhow, here’s a look at this week’s […]
New Release Report 3/1/11: Waking Up Slowly
The weather’s supposed to be getting warm soon, right? As spring approaches, the level of music releases arriving in stores and online seems to be picking up as well. No home-runs this week, but a healthy smattering of releases are arriving that should appeal to music fans of all shapes and sizes. Let’s take a look at some of them. Marsha Ambrosius: Late Nights & Early Mornings: The singing half of R&B/rap duo Floetry got caught up in the Dr.Dre/Aftermath […]