The 50 Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2015
Rob O'ConnorWriter
Kanye West — Swish (2015… or maybe 2016?)
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“All Day,” ‘Ye’s collaboration with some guy named Sir Paul McCartney, came out earlier this year, but the new album still hadn’t dropped by Labor Day. It could drop in the next five minutes, or stretch into 2016. That’s how unpredictable the entire concept of “release dates” has become.
Disclosure — Caracal (Sept. 25)
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The English EDM brothers Howard and Guy Lawrence return with their second album. The tracks “Omen” (featuring their old “Latch” collaborator Sam Smith), “Holding On” (featuring Gregory Porter), and “Willing & Able” (featuring Swabs) have all seen release, with the first track issued, “Bang That,” being pushed onto the deluxe edition of the album exclusively.
Duran Duran — Paper Gods (released Sept. 11)
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Producers listed on Duran Duran’s 14th studio album include Duran Duran, Mark Ronson, Mr. Hudson, and none other than Nile Rodgers, who’d worked with the group on the 1984 “The Wild Boys” single and the 1986 album Notorious. Only Lyndsey Parker, author of Careless Memories of Strange Behavior: My Notorious Life as a Duran Duran Fan , knows how this album will rank in their catalog, and Yahoo Music will see to it that Ms. Parker lets you know as soon as she’s fully digested the material.
Demi Lovato — Confident (Oct. 16)
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The Disney girl continues to evolve into a perfectly sleek pop star, working and co-writing with A-list producers like Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh. “Cool for the Summer” has a high-octane energy groove deliberately sculpted for the summer season, while Iggy Azalea and Sirah feature on tracks off this forthcoming fifth studio album.
Janet Jackson — Unbreakable (Oct. 2)
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Janet’s first new album since 2008’s Discipline features the singles “No Sleeep” featuring J. Cole, “The Great Forever,” and a collaboration with Missy Elliott “Burnitup!” It will be interesting to see how the 17-track album fares in a world where Janet is no longer the new kid on the block.
Adele — 25 (November?)
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Surely, the music business hopes Adele’s next album can repeat the success of her last album, 21. If the album features a first single as strong as “Rolling in the Deep,” she should have no problems. Four years between albums cancels out her overexposure and kickstarts the anticipation. (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna — R8 (Fall?)
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Anyone following Rihanna’s Instagram account knows that R8 will appear when it does. It could be tomorrow. It could be months from now. It’s guessed that four of the album’s tracks have already been issued — “Bitch Better Have My Money,” “FourFiveSeconds,” “American Oxygen,” “Higher.” But with Rihanna being a tad unpredictable, we’ll only know for sure when it’s out. (Photo: Getty Images)
Justin Bieber — TITLE TBA (Nov. 13)
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All may be relatively quiet right now, but soon enough the Biebs’ marketing team will be working overtime to ensure that everyone knows that there’s a new Justin Bieber album on the market. Skrillex, Diplo, Prince Jackson (yes, Michael Jackson’s son), Kanye West, and Rick Rubin have all been linked to the album in some way.
Selena Gomez — Revival (Oct. 9)
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Bieber’s ex insists she wants to keep recording “feelgood songs that make people want to dance,” but she’s also interested in “rap sounds.” The official first single, “Good For You” gives fans a taste, but the list of collaborators includes Max Martin, RockMafia, Hit-Boy, Stargate, and German producer Zedd, with whom she has reportedly enjoyed a romantic relationship.
The Dead Weather — Dodge and Burn (Sept. 25)
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Jack White, the Kills’ Alison Mosshart, Dean Fertita, and Jack Lawrence are issuing their third album, and first in five years. Four of the album’s 12 tracks were released as 7-inch singles through Third Man Records’ Vault program. Their most recent track, “I Feel Love (Every Million Miles)” should help spur interest, since it’s quite good.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis — TITLE TBA (2015?)
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The hip-hop duo just returned with “Downtown” which includes veteran hip-hoppers Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee, and Melle Mel, along with Foxy Shazam rocker Eric Nally. “Growing Up (Sloane’s Song)”, featuring Ed Sheeran, appeared in August, leading to more speculation that a new album is close to seeing daylight. (Photo: Facebook)
The Libertines — Anthems for Doomed Youth (released Sept. 11)
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The Libertines’ third album only took 11 years to become a reality. Considering there was once a time when people took bets on when Pete Doherty would shuffle off this mortal coil, the album’s mere existence is cause for celebration.
Lana Del Rey — Honeymoon (Sept. 18)
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Miss Lana hasn’t slacked in the “making music” part of her career, putting together her fourth album, Honeymoon, for this year’s consumption. Songs like “High By The Beach” and “Terrence Loves You” prove she’s listening to her muse and not jumping on the many bandwagons available to her.
David Gilmour — Rattle That Lock (Sept. 18)
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If the title track is any indication of what the rest of the album will sound like, then Rattle That Lock will be more of an ‘80s-styled pop-rock album than anything Pink Floyd recorded during the ‘70s. The other available tune, “Today,” sounds a bit closer to the Floyd sound, but with a perceptible bounce in its step.
Keith Richards — Crosseyed Heart (Sept. 18)
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He’s criticized Sgt. Pepper’s, Black Sabbath, rap music, and Metallica in recent interviews, so it’s obvious that there’s a new album to promote. If the advance tracks from Crosseyed Heart — “Trouble,” “Robbed Blind,” “Amnesia” — are any indication, Richards has an album that shouldn’t require any controversy to get Stones fans into the groove.
Carrie Underwood — Storyteller (Oct. 23)
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The first single “Smoke Break” from her upcoming fifth studio album lets everyone know that Underwood is back in action after three and a half year, working with a number of key country songwriters to ensure boundaries get pushed. Underwood herself has six songwriting credits on her new album, giving it a Grammy-winner’s personal touch.
Slayer — Repentless (released Sept. 11)
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Metal veterans Slayer return with their first album since guitarist Jeff Hanneman’s death in 2013. His replacement, Gary Holt, is in a tough spot, but the remaining band members (longtime drummer Paul Bostaph replaces original drummer Dave Lombardo) give him plenty of support and producers Greg Fidelman and Terry Date know how to dial in the classic Slayer sound.
Don Henley — Cass County (Sept. 25)
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The Eagles were originally known as a country-rock band, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that Don Henley’s first solo album in 15 years is a largely country-styled affair featuring enough friends for an A-list party. Guests include Dolly Parton, Miranda Lambert, Merle Haggard, Martina McBride, Lucinda Williams, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill, and a British upstart named Mick Jagger.
New Order — Music Complete (Sept. 25)
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Ten years after the release of Waiting for the Siren’s Call (and two since Lost Sirens), New Order returns with Music Complete, an album said to be a balance of guitars and electronics and one featuring the familiar names of Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert (first time since 2001’s Get Ready), and Stephen Morris, along with newer members Phil Cunningham and Tom Chapman. It is their first without bassist Peter Hook.
Hollywood Vampires — Hollywood Vampires (released Sept. 11)
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The core of the group includes Alice Cooper, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, and actor Johnny Depp. Paul McCartney guested, along with AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, Dave Grohl, Slash, and others. A couple original tunes are included, but the majority of the songs are classic covers — “Whole Lotta Love,” “My Generation,” the Small Faces’ “Itchycoo Park” — that encourage serious head-banging and natural highs, for a group named after Alice Cooper’s old ‘70s drinking buddies.
Frank Ocean — TITLE TBA (Fall?)
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The album was supposed to be here in July. The follow-up to his lone studio album — the supersmash channel ORANGE — remains a mystery. No doubt, however, that anticipation is fever-pitch.(Photo: Tumblr)
Drake — View From the 6 (Fall?)
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Thus far, “Charged Up,” “Back to Back,” “Hotline Bling,” and “Right Hand” have made the rounds and some say Sept. 24 is a date heavy with meaning. But in this era of shock and surprises, leaks and misdirections, believe it when you hear it. Many people thought Drake would surprise-drop this album at Apple’s Sept. 9 event… but OneRepublic showed up and played instead. (Photo: Getty Images)
Joanna Newsom — Divers (Oct. 23)
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Avant-garde folky and harpist Joanna Newsom returns with the Steve Albini- and Noah Georgeson-recorded album, Divers. The song “Sapokanikan” has been issued accompanied by a video from director Paul Thomas Anderson. The 11-track album promises songs like “Leaving the City” and “You Will Not Take My Heart Alive.”
Chris Cornell — Higher Truth (Sept. 18)
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The fourth solo album from the Soundgarden singer is a collaboration with producer Brendan O’Brien. The album is said to be a folk-inspired classic rock set of tunes, as exemplified by its first single, “Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart.”
Battles — La Di Da Di (Sept. 18)
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The experimental rock trio explores the dark heart of techno and the mind-melting, life-altering effects of repetition on its first album in four years. The nearly seven-minute opener “The Yabba” allows former Helmet drummer John Stanier to lift his bandmates into the air.
M.I.A. — Matahdatah (Fall?)
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Back in July, M.I.A. announced a new audiovisual project called “Matahdatah Scroll 01 ‘Broader Than a Birder” and included a new track titled “Swords.” Surely, her new album will feature further explorations into world cultures and exotic music forms as they relate to M.I.A. as a rapper.
Eagles of Death Metal — Zipper Down (Oct. 2)
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Seven years after Heart On, Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) and sometime solo artist Jesse Hughes return with the follow-up. The preview single “Complexity” proves manic and synthy, with a touch of Devo’s “Whip It” and Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” caught somewhere in the proceedings. Sounds like fun.
Gwen Stefani — TITLE TBA (Fall?)
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It’s said to include collaborations with Charli XCX, Sia, Pharrell, Calvin Harris, and Coldplay’s Chris Martin. But it was also to have come out last December. One of the potential tracks, “Baby Don’t Lie” was issued back in 2014!
Peaches — Rub (Sept. 25)
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Kim Gordon, Simonne Jones, and Feist join Peaches for her first album since 2009’s I Feel Cream. The 11-track album includes several song titles that shouldn’t be said aloud in polite company.
Chris Brown — Royalty (Fall?)
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Chris Brown’s seventh album doesn’t yet have an official release date, but it has a debut single — “Liquor” — and a title in honor his daughter. Brown has been on tour with Kid Ink, Teyana Taylor, Omarion, and Fetty Wap, and was last seen rubbing up on Rita Ora in her “Body On Me” video. (Photo: Getty Images)
Fetty Wap — Fetty Wap (Sept. 25)
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On tour with Chris Brown, rapper Fetty Wap, from Paterson, New Jersey, is finally releasing his debut album after winning the 2015 MTV Video Music Award for Artist to Watch for his massive hit song “Trap Queen.”
Gary Clark, Jr. — The Story of Sonny Boy Slim (released Sept. 11)
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His 2012 debut Blak and Blu hit the central nervous system, and his follow-up The Story of Sonny Boy Slim features more chilling electric guitarmanship and multi-instrumental talent. Clark wrote, produced, and played most of the instruments on the album, adding his sisters Shawn and Savannah on backing vocals.
Grimes — TITLE TBA (October?)
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Clare Elise Boucher, aka Grimes, won the Juno Award for Electronic Album of the Year for her third album, 2012’s Visions. The album was recorded in three weeks in her apartment on her computer. This follow-up album was announced in May as coming out in October, after she scrapped a previous attempt that she felt sounded too commercial. (Photo: Facebook)
Jewel — Picking Up the Pieces (released Sept. 11)
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More than 20 years after her debut album, Jewel returns to her folk roots, with a country twang, with the Nashville-recorded Picking Up the Pieces. The disc features an A-list studio band, including 2014’s ACM Guitar Player of the Year Rob McNelly and drummer Chad Cromwell, who’s often played with Neil Young.
Keith Urban — TITLE TBA (Fall?)
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Like it or not, fans, but being a judge on American Idol keeps a person busy. It isn’t unusual for a guy like Keith Urban to hold off releasing his new album until his schedule clears. Though “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” certainly has given fans plenty to talk about. The album is said to have an unexpected “country EDM” sound, according to producer Nile Rodgers. (Photo: Getty Images)
Ben Folds — So There (released Sept. 11)
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The latest album from Ben Folds includes eight Ben Folds-like chamber-pop tunes recorded with the yMusic Ensemble and a three-movement piano concerto, co-commissioned by the Nashville Ballet and Minnesota Orchestra, and performed with the Nashville Symphony. Folds expands his approach and wants to take us higher.
CHVRCHES — Every Open Eye (Sept. 25)
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The follow-up to the Scottish synthpoppers’ 2013 debut album The Bones of What You Believe was recorded at the band’s studio in Glasgow and will include the infectious singles “Leave A Trace” and “Never Ending Circles.” A third single, “Get Away,” appears only on the deluxe version of the release.
Coheed and Cambria — The Color Before the Sun (Oct. 16)
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The prog-rock band’s eighth studio album is also their first non-concept album, meaning it has no connection to The Armory Wars storyline. Thus far, the two tracks available for consumption, “Here to Mars” and “You Got Spirit, Kid,” are lighter and more pop than most previous C&C releases. The album is largely credited to changes in leader Claudio Sanchez’s life, including the expectation of another child.
Darlene Love — Introducing Darlene Love (Sept. 18)
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Her new album is like a who’s Who of classic rock. Steven Van Zandt produces. The list of collaborators includes Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Joan Jett, Jimmy Webb, Linda Perry, Desmond Child, Bill Medley, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, and others. Once the singer on the Crystals’ hit “He’s a Rebel” and her own “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” Love hasn’t made an album since 1988.
Mercury Rev — The Light in You (Sept. 18)
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Their first album since 2008’s Snowflake Midnight will first be promoted in Europe, where the band are, sadly, better known and respected.
Rod Stewart — Another Country (Oct. 23)
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The success of his 28th studio album, Life, encouraged Stewart to co-write all 12 of the songs on his 29th studio album, Another Country. Recorded at Stewart’s home on Pro-Tools, the album features the first single “Love Is.” Fans encouraged by his reunion with his old band the Faces will have to wait and see.
Squeeze — Cradle to the Grave (Oct. 2)
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Fans of the U.K. pop-rock group Squeeze may now have children finishing high school since the band’s last official studio album of new songs (2010’s Spot the Difference was old songs re-recorded). But songwriters Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook ensure that the first Squeeze studio album in 17 years is worth the wait. The songs were recorded for the BBC comedy series Cradle to the Grave, which is based on the Danny Baker autobiography Going to Sea in a Sieve.
Richard Hawley — Hollow Meadows (released Sept. 11)
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Quite popular in the U.K. (meaning U.S. anglophiles are very familiar with his work), Richard Hawley’s eighth solo album returns to the somber balladry that’s dominated the Sheffield singer’s career. A broken leg and slipped disc forced Hawley to write from an immobile position that certainly inspired the pace of this new album.
Sevendust — Kill the Flaw (Oct. 2)
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After recording their acoustic album Time Travelers & Bonfires, the hard rockers return anxious to let their heavy side loose. Their singer Lajon Witherspoonis too melodic a singer to settle for mere heaviness, so the album is certain to include some soulful melodies as well.
Deafheaven — New Bermuda (Oct. 2)
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This “black metal”/“shoegaze” band from San Francisco continues to confound expectations with its third album, a five-track collection that includes no song under eight minutes in length. The album was recorded live in April 2015 with producer Jack Shirley at studios in Oakland and Palo Alto, Calif.
Silversun Pickups — Better Nature (Sept. 25)
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Starting up their own label, New Machine Recordings, Silversun Pickups again enlisted high-powered producer Jacknife Lee to record them in Topanga Canyon. “Nightlight,” the album’s first single, was released in early August, with nine tracks to follow.
The Neighbourhood — Wiped Out! (Oct. 30)
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They may be from Los Angeles, but that hasn’t stopped them from spelling their band name the way the Brits originally taught us. Their fall tour began before the album’s release, with gigs listed from Sept. 14 through this LP’s release date. The 11-track album features the single “R.I.P. 2 My Youth.”
Phases — For Life (Sept. 18)
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The indie supergroup, featuring members of Phantom Planet and the Like and formerly known as JJAMZ (pronounced Juh-Jamz) is now known as Phases and has a debut album ready for release. Best known for the summer hit “I’m In Love With My Life,” Phases have two other singles, “Cooler” and “Betty Blue,” included on the album.
Charlie Puth — Nine Track Mind (Nov. 6)
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Perhaps you remember the song “Marvin Gaye,” which was released back in February and featured Meghan Trainor, or maybe you’re familiar with the gentle “One Call Away” that saw release in early August. But surely you heard Puth on Wiz Khalifa’s #1 hit “See You Again.” And by November, you’ll be able to hear his 12-track debut album, Nine Track Mind. A 2013 Berklee College of Music graduate who was signed for a time to Ellen DeGeneres’s eleveneleven label, Puth also self-released several albums that have since been removed from the market.
CeeLo Green — Heart Blanche (Fall?)
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Twitter rants derailed his career, but Green is counting on time to forgive and heal all wounds. Collaborating with Mark Ronson, Wiz Khalifa’s co-star Charlie Puth, Eg White (Adele, Sam Smith), Wallpaper (Jason Derulo), and John Hill (Eminem), among others, CeeLo has thus far issued the tracks, “Robin Williams” and “Sign of the Times” as singles.(Photo: Facebook)
Many artist with new records in the pipeline, like Kanye West, Disclosure, Demi Lovato, and Duran Duran, will be performing at the iHeartRadio Music Festival, held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Sept. 18-19 and streaming on Yahoo Live. Click HERE to watch!
Fall 2015 is overloaded with new releases from artists from all genres. Following the trend of “surprise albums,” Kanye West should have new material ready for the holiday rush, and a shocking number of artists have official releases on the books. Surely this means something, but we’re too busy listening to early leaks and advance singles to care. Seize the moment!
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