Fall is not only synonymous with hot apple cider and mountainous hikes; it’s also the time when many of the best albums of the year are released. Music is a constant presence inside the office, so we rounded up a list of recent and anticipated album releases that will be cranking through our speakers well into the winter.
J. Roddy Walston and the Business – Essential Tremors
(September 10)
We
profiled J. Roddy Walston and the Business’ latest release,
Essential Tremors, when it was first released several of weeks ago and we haven’t stopped listening since. The band includes a couple of Richmond locals who happen to be good friends of ours. J. Roddy Walston and the Business is currently
on tour, but we will be catching up with them later this month.
Elvis Costello and The Roots – Wise Up Ghost
(September 17)
This is what happens when two legendary music acts team up – the greatest, if not unlikeliest, collaboration of the year. Their undeniable chemistry was discovered after a series of Costello’s guest performances on
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with The Roots performing backing band duties. Listen to
this great interview from NPR Music of Elvis Costello and Amir “Questlove” Thompson (bandleader and drummer of The Roots) to hear more back story of how the album came into being.
Deer Tick – Negativity
(September 30)
Although Deer Tick hales from Providence, Rhode Island, the band sounds as if they were formed somewhere far below the Mason-Dixon Line. Their music is a soulful combination of rock, folk, blues, and alternative country that is accompanied by front man John McCauley’s, signature snarly vocals. This is Americana at its finest.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – The Speed of Things
(October 8)
The Detroit band’s phenomenal debut 2011 album,
It's A Corporate World, may have slipped under radar for some, but this time around, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. is setting out to be placed on many year-end lists. A duo that loves light vocals, catchy drum beats . . . and
dancing, as much as they love NASCAR and slick guitar play, this is sure to be a great album.
The Head and the Heart – Let’s Be Still
(October 15)
We caught a performance by The Head and the Heart a few months ago at an outdoors summer concert series not too far from our office. The music of their set was perfect for the summer, but the tracks we’ve heard from their upcoming release sounds as if the album will fit in nicely for fall. In addition to the folk inspired arrangements in the same vein of their debut, the band promises to expect more rock and synth inspired tracks on this album.
Matthew E. White – Big Inner: Outer Face Edition
(October 21)
Matthew E. White recorded last year’s critically acclaimed debut album,
Big Inner, inside the attic of his Richmond home. After an incredible year of touring the U.S. and Europe, signing to Domino Records, and receiving positive press from nearly every music publication, White returns with a special edition of Big Inner. The special edition includes a 5-song EP that is more stripped down than his previous effort -- purposefully leaving out the horns, guitar, and piano that he typically uses to arrange songs. We caught up with Matthew last year on our blog, read the interview
here.
Arcade Fire – Reflektor
(October 29)
Arcade Fire is arguably one of the best bands to emerge in the past decade, not to mention that their previous album,
The Suburbs, won the Grammy for the Best Album of the Year a couple of years ago. We’re definitely looking forward to this one. With James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem producing several tracks off the album,
Reflector should be both interesting and epic to say the least.
Other albums on our radar:
Arctic Monkeys – Am (9/9)
Willis Earl Beal – Nobody Knows (9/9)
Holy Ghost! – Dynamics (9/10)
Mazzy Star – Seasons of Your Day (9/27)
Pearl Jam – Lightning Bolt (10/14)
Paul McCartney – New (10/14)
The Avett Brothers – The Magpie and the Dandelion (10/15)
White Denim – Corsicana Lemonade (10/28)
