ANOTHER year, another swag of albums to blow our hard-earned pay on (because piracy is bad). Here are five more records to look out for.
The Temper Trap
THE myth of a second album slump is just that - a myth - but there's no doubting the pressure that will be on this Australian act who broke big globally in 2009 with their debut album Conditions. The band was already living in London before the record came out, helping to make them one of the biggest Aussie bands on the international scene in the past couple of years, so there will be quite a bit of attention on the dance-rock quintet as they prepare the follow-up. It's due out in May or June, the band's manager told themusic.com.au, adding that, "there’s been moments where we’ve sat around questioning the direction, and with five members there’s always going to be five opinions... but I think them and Gotye are going to be flying the (Australian) flag around the world.” The album is being recorded in Los Angeles with producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, Phoenix).
Here's their hit Sweet Disposition, which has had 8.7 million YouTube views:
Ben Kweller
THIRTY-YEAR-OLD singer-songwriter Ben Kweller was set to be releasing his fifth album Go Fly A Kite last year but a label change held it off until mid-February this year. The good news for Australian fans is that he will be here in March to do a Sydney-Brisbane-Melbourne run to promote the record. As far back as 2010, Kweller was talking up the album, saying it would be a mix of upbeat music and darker situations with "a lot of electric guitar, pianoes (and) some folky stuff too", according to an interview with Watchoutfor.com.au. Lead track Mean To Me is already getting some Triple J airplay and Kweller uploaded a cool collage onto SoundCloud that features the intro and outro of all 11 songs. As a taster, it sounds amazing.
Here's the collage of Go Fly A Kite intros and outros:
Go Fly A Kite by benkweller
Soundgarden
AFTER reforming in 2010 following a 13-year break, it was natural fans would start asking the question "will there be a new album?". A best-of compilation released later that year whetted appetites with a new track Black Rain, a typically odd-timed slow-riffer which turned out to be an old track that had been predominantly re-written and re-recorded especially for the retrospective. It wasn't until February last year that the grunge innovators announced plans for a new record, which is expected to come out in the first half of this year. With the band in Australia soon for the Big Day Out and some sideshows, fans would be expecting some new material to work its way in amongst the pile of classic singles in their back catalogue but none has appeared in any of their previous reunion shows.
Here's the clip for Black Rain:
Wu Tang Clan
HAILED as one of the most important acts in hip-hop, Wu Tang Clan's influence remains strong 20 years into their career. Five years on from their last record 8 Diagrams, the surviving members - RZA, GZA, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, U-God and Cappadonna - are rumoured to be hard at work on their sixth album, which RZA has described as "never an easy task". A mid-year release has been mentioned by Ghostface, but RZA seemingly contradicted that recently by adding mysteriously "I think it’ll happen again — someday” when asked if a new album was forthcoming. Given the number of members and multitude of side projects and solo records, I wouldn't hold my breath for a 2012 release, but you never know.
Here's the clip for Triumph:
Muse
ALSO set to release their sixth album are Muse, who made a bid for the title of biggest band in the world with their 2009 record The Resistance (alienating some long-time fans in the process). Bassist Christ Wolstenholme has hinted at a "radically diferent" album that will draw "a line under a certain period", according to an interview with Kerrang. Frontman Matt Bellamy jokingly tweeted the new release would be "a Christian gangsta rap jazz odyssey, with some ambient rebellious dubstep and face melting metal flamenco cowboy psychedelia". Whatever it is, the album is being made in London and is expected to be released in October this year.
Here's their most recent song, the post-Resistance track Neutron Star Collision, which was on a Twilight soundtrack:
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