I did a post in a similar vein to this last year; however I did it much earlier in the year, and I stupidly spread it across several posts, before ultimately rushing the final piece of the blog-shaped puzzle because I frankly couldn’t be fucked to waffle any more. It’s always good when you swear within the first couple of sentences of a new post. Nice going, Jenkins. So this time around I’m going to be doing things differently and hopefully better. I’ll squeeze everything into just the one post if I can, so the quality of analysis with each album is going to be about as deep as Katie Price and her despicable shitfest of a life. It’s more likely going to come in two posts though, if I was in the business of making predictions. It’s taken me such a long time to do this because in actual fact, up until now I didn’t think there were enough albums on the horizon that would interest me enough to warrant me taking some time out of my busy (non-existent) schedule to write this here block of drivel. But here it is: a lovely intangible block of drivel. So without further ado, let’s get on with it…there’s 13 potential albums for me to mention. I’ll do it in alphabetical order, just so I can claim to be organised in some way.
Biffy Clyro are set to be releasing the follow up to 2009’s hugely popular Only Revolutions this year. Many dedicated Biffy fans felt that the record was too mainstream-orientated and a little bland, but I beg to differ. I thought it was excellent from start to finish. This next album, which is as yet untitled, is going to be a double album. I just hope they can offer up a good level of variety to prevent it from becoming boring – a pitfall that many over-inflated records fall into. One disc is supposed to represent the wrong decisions in life, with the other disc (you guessed it!) representing the right decisions in life. An interesting concept for sure, it’s also one that screams of pretentiousness. Not like that bothers me of course, I’m a Muse fan for goodness’ sake… Lead vocalist and guitarist Simon Neil has claimed that the band will be going “as far over the top” as they “possibly can'”. What’s that you say? They’ve also been working on styles of song ranging from country-prog to goth-rock? Yup, there’s definitely a strong element of Muse-y ambition coming out right now.
It’s time to come a lot closer to home now – moving from bonny Scotland all the way down to Lowestoft. The Darkness celebrated their long-awaited reunion last year with a couple of excellent gigs, but now it’s time for them to put out a record and show us that they’re not as irrelevant and stale as I fear they may now be… I bloody LOVE The Darkness, and so I just don’t want to see their reputation tarnished. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, there can be little denying that Justin Hawkins and co. carry an infectious energy that’s so dearly lacking in the music industry right now. Whenever the album arrives, and whatever it sounds like, I can’t see it being much of a mainstream success…but that doesn’t matter to me. I’m just so glad they’re going to be back. Recently they released a free single which can still be downloaded from their official website, titled “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us”. It’s certainly a generic rock song title, and I’d expect no less from the real life equivalent of Spinal Tap. They have no shame in what they do; no issues with making their influences obvious…it’s parody yet at the same time an appreciation of the allegedly dying genre. Any band that ties together the sounds of Queen and AC/DC and makes genuinely good music, no matter how cheesy, is a good thing in my eyes.
The Enemy have got something to prove. Their first album, We’'ll Live And Die In These Towns, was an absolute smash hit. Their second album, Music For The People, was an absolute…mash shit…? I didn’t really think that joke through. They’ve been working on their third album (titled Streets In The Sky) for a long time now, and so you’d hope it’d be decent at least. To be honest I’d expect it. This album will make or break their career…and judging by the new single (another one that’s available for free download from their official website), it’s really difficult to judge where it’s headed. The song is fine, but it definitely did leave me feeling a little bit underwhelmed. Perhaps one album was enough for the Coventry-based boys. We should be set to find out before the season’s end…
Franz Ferdinand next! The sooner these guys release whatever the hell their next album’s going to be, the better. I’m starting to think that everyone’s forgotten about them, and it’s a genuine shame. Their eponymous effort was one of the greatest debuts I can think of, and the following two albums have both had some great moments. I’ll admit, I’m not mad keen on many parts of You Could Have It So Much Better, but Tonight really impressed me and showed me that Alex Kapranos’ Scot lot were able to move away from their comfort zone when required. It was a little bit electro/disco/techno (especially alongside the remix album, Blood) and I enjoyed it greatly. It seems that this opinion of mine isn’t shared by many though, and so the band have decided to keep tight lipped about their 4th album in an attempt to avoid the risk of disappointing people. Watch this space.
I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of this next band, but even so I’ll definitely at least consider purchasing their next album. Keane are releasing Strangeland on May 7th. It’s said to be a slight return to the sound of their incredibly popular debut, Hopes & Fears. I get bored of Keane easily, I’m not going to lie to you – so now is a naff time for me to try and explain why their upcoming album is something to look forward to. So much so in fact that I didn’t even bother with their 2010 EP Night Train. I read somewhere that the first single from the album was now available to listen to online, but I’m so God damn dedicated that I’m not even going to bother doing any further research. For whatever reason I’m hating on this band a little bit right now. I guess I’ve just come to terms with the fact that they’re hideously average, yet I still inexplicably do kind of like them…
Ah yes, The Killers. Brandon Flowers is a silly twat with a silly twat’s name, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the band have produced some pretty great tunes over the years. Day And Age was…well…erm…okay…I guess, but it’s Hot Fuss and Sam’s Town that really hit the spot. Oh, and the less said about Flowers’ solo effort, the better…the same goes for The Killers’ Christmas singles… Urgh. It’s been said that their 4th album will be both a return to form and a return to their earlier style of material (IT’S GOING TO HAVE GUITARS IN IT), though there’s very little auditory evidence of this as yet. Expect to hear more before the summer.
As expected I let writing fatigue get the better of me. Stay tuned for part 2 in the near future.
Ciao for now!
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