In 2015, Australia’s psych rock phenoms Tame Impala made synthpop more organic than ever with Currents, while Kendrick Lamar’s sexy beast To Pimp a Butterfly is a modern-day hip-hop opus. Father John Misty’s folk-rock saga I Love You, Honeybear is full of delicious dark humor, piercing cynicism and self-discovery that works as a well-written memoir.
Here’s hoping next year it’s as exciting to reflect on these records. (Note: Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Spiritualized and Tool also have albums coming, but haven’t announced dates.)
Jan. 8 • David Bowie Blackstar
The superstar releases his 25th album on his 69th birthday, but Bowie fans are the ones getting a gift in Blackstar, his most ambitious and unique record yet. Producer Tony Visconti told Rolling Stone Bowie found inspiration in Lamar’s creative “open-minded” approach to a hip-hop with To Pimp a Butterfly: “[Lamar] threw everything in there, and that’s what we wanted,” Visconti said. “The goal was to avoid rock ‘n’ roll.”
Jan. 22 • Ty Segall Emotional Mugger
Indie rock’s most prolific entity is breaking from his noise-punk-meets-proto-metal outfit Fuzz to tour behind a new record that somehow involves creepy baby masks. Check out the album website and see for yourself.
Feb. 5 • DIIV Is The Is Are
DIIV frontman Zachary Cole Smith released a statement describing the album: “It is a diverse record, it is a happy record, a sad record, a happysad, sadhappy, mad, glad, quiet, mad, dark, glad, poppy, fast, slow, heavy, fast, peaceful, angry, chaotic, beautiful, lost/found, ugly, dry, wet, fuck, fast, dead, heartbroken, in love, loud, quiet, loud, loudquiet, quietloud, happy, mad, quiet, fuck, and loud record.” Translation: An orchestra of guitar distortion equipped with melodic My Bloody Valentine hooks that latch on.
April 1 • Charles Bradley Changes
For those who missed out on Otis Redding, thank heavens for Charles Bradley. The 67-year-old sings soul that induces goosebumps. The titular song is an R&B reworking of Black Sabbath’s otherworldly “Changes.” Can’t wait to see what the “Screaming Eagle of Soul” has in store for the rest of Changes.
April 29 • De La Soul The Anonymous Nobody
It’s been over a decade since De La’s last LP and over 20 since their hip-hop gamechanger 3 Feet High And Rising, but the seminal Long Island crew is set to return with force and a meaningful message. The hip-hop trio broke down the record title as “an everyday individual who one day, when least expected, stands up and faces the challenger.”