Lana Del Rey is going to be everywhere in 2012.
NEED some help with the year ahead? Musicology is here to keep you informed on some of the key albums that will be coming out in 2012.
How To Destroy Angels
THIS horribly emo-esque band name is in fact the latest not-horrible incarnation of Nine Inch Nails (sort of). NiN was pretty much just Trent Reznor, and his signature sound was all over HTDA's debut EP in 2010. A collaboration between Reznor, his wife Mariqueen Maandig (formerly of West Indian Girl), and Atticus Ross, HTDA is set to release their first full-length album some time this year. Prior to HTDA, Ross and Reznor worked together on the post-The Fragile NiN albums and the soundtrack for David Fincher's The Social Network, winning an Oscar for their efforts. They recently completed the score for Fincher's latest movie, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
Here's their cover of Bryan Ferry's Is Your Love Strong Enough? which appears on the soundtrack to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
Paul McCartney
THE leading candidate for worst album title for 2012 comes from the former Beatle. It's called Kisses On The Bottom (we'll just let that sink in for a moment). It's due out February 7 and it's McCartney's first studio record in five years. A jazz-infused collection, it will be something of a variation for the legendary songwriter as it only features two songs written by himself. Most of the rest of the record is comprised of standards and classics such as I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter, Irving Berlin's Always, and It's Only A Paper Moon. First single, the McCartney-penned My Valentine, features Eric Clapton on guitar, and Stevie Wonder is rumoured to be appearing on the album as well.
Here's lead single My Valentine:
Lana Del Rey
THIS year's soon-to-be-everywhere artist is expected to be Lana Del Rey. Depending on who you ask, New York singer-songwriter Del Rey is either the indie it-girl with hipster cred or a manufactured popstar. Either way, her sombre-but-beautiful piano-driven single Video Games caught the attention of Europe last year, with even UK prime minister David Cameron declaring himself a fan. Her second album Born To Die (her first album came out two years ago and sank without a trace) is due out later this month, and while she's yet to make a major impact in Australia (Video Games failed to reach the ARIA top 50) you can mark her down as one to watch.
Video Games is a very pretty song:
The Cranberries
SO many people are "getting the band back together" these days, with the latest being At The Drive-In and Refused. Also on the list are this Irish four-piece, who re-united in 2009. And now that they've gotten their reunion tour out of the way, they've recorded a new album entitled Roses, which is fittingly due out on Valentine's Day. The record was made last year over a period of a month with Stephen Street, who produced their two biggest albums (Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? and No Need To Argue). Tomorrow - their first single in 11 years - came out late last year but didn't really set the world alight.
Here's Tomorrow:
MGMT
THEIR debut Oracular Spectacular is generally regarded as one of the best albums of the past decade. The follow-up, Congratulations, is generally seen as a comparitive disappointment. This led to member Andrew Van-Wyngarden allegedly telling a Scottish newspaper that their label Columbia was going to "not give us as much freedom" on album number three, probably in an effort to get a hit on their hands comparable to Oracular Spectacular singles Kids, Electric Feel and Time To Pretend. The band later said this was completely made-up by the journalist, which makes sense considering the statement was supposedly made in 2010 before work had even started on their third album. MGMT was believed to have been working on their self-titled third record since April last year, but no release date has been set.
This is the clip for Congratulations... goddamn it's freaky, weird, sad and disturbing, all at the same time: