New Music to Look Forward To: January 2017

With a new year comes an onslaught of new releases. Some of the most important and popular bands in modern college radio and alternative music are working on 2017 releases. Releases from The Shins, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, F***ed Up, Gorillaz, Grizzly Bear, LCD Soundsystem, St. Vincent, The National, Vampire Weekend, and Modest Mouse are expected in the next 12-months. Music fans don’t have to wait for these big names to enjoy new music. Check out some releases to keep an ear out for in the first part of 2017.

January 6

Dale Watson and Ray Benson – Dale and Ray

ZOOEY – The Drifters

Dropkick Murphys – 11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory (Playing Cain’s Ballroom March 1)

These Bostonians have evolved their sound over their 20-year existence. From their oi! punk beginnings, to the latest collection of grandiose pop-rock songs, Dropkick Murphys have had impacts on both popular and underground music. The songs we’ve heard from 11 Short Stories are lower-tempo and packed with sing-alongs.

January 13

Bonobo – Migration

Half Japanese – Hear the Lion’s Roar

Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 3

Sepultura – Machine Messiah

The Band of Heathens – Duende

The Flaming Lips – Oczy Mlody

The xx – I See You

These English dream-poppers have seen some mainstream success with their first single “On Hold”. Incorporating a more electronic pop-oriented sound, following the lead of indie contemporaries like Tegan and Sara or Sleigh Bells, The xx may be working their way toward a very successful album release.

January 20

AFI – AFI (The Blood Album)

Foxygen – Hang

Joan of Arc – He’s Got the Whole This Land is Your Land in His Hands

Kid Koala – Music to Draw to: Satellite

Kid Koala is known for his sampling, but Satellite will take his music in a new direction. This album sees Koala writing lyrics, playing synthesizers, and stringed instruments to add to his already diverse library of releases. The album’s first listen, a song called “the observable universe” creates a spacy atmospheric feel, and features a slow recurring bassline and electronic fanfare that conjure feelings of weightlessness.

Menace Beach – Lemon Memory

Tim Cohen – Luck Man

Tycho – Epoch

January 27

Cloud Nothings – Life Without Sound

These Clevelanders caught ears in 2010 and really came into their own on their 2012 release Attack on Memory. This band seems to be an anomaly in today’s music world: each release matches or improves on the previous one. From their humble beginnings as a fake band created by Dylan Baldi, Cloud Nothings have added their takes on indie-alternative to the most influential college radio albums of the past decade.

Japandroids – Near to the Wild Heart of Life

P.O.S – Chill, dummy

Stef Alexander, aka P.O.S, is the leader of Doomtree, a record label turned rapper collective. P.O.S has gone from introspective backpack rap to electronic-influenced socially conscious music. Chill, dummy is the follow-up to his popular We Don’t Even Live Here, which drew on themes of anger, anarchy, and alienation. The new album’s first single draws from Stef’s punk roots in attitude, and build an electronic musical landscape behind his lyrics.

Ty Segall – Ty Segall

February 3

Elbow – Little Fictions

Surfer Blood – Snowdonia

The Menzingers – After the Party

February 10

Jesca Hoop – Memories Are Now

Tall Ships – Impressions

The Sadies – Northern Passages

Thievery Corporation – The Temple of I & I

February 17

Dutch Uncles – Big Balloon

Jens Lekman – Life Will See You Now

Parallels – Metropolis

Ryan Adams – Prisoner

Sam Patch – Yeah You, and I

Arcade Fire’s Tim Kingsbury has been busy working on his solo debut. Following the Butler brothers, Kingsbury looks to make a solo impact on indie music. Early live recordings suggest a gritty, garage rock influence on Tim’s debut solo sound.

Son Volt – Notes of Blue

February 24

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – The Tourist

Dams of the West – Youngish American

Chris Tomson’s (Vampire Weekend) solo project

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Flying Microtonal Banana

Los Campesinos! – Sick Scenes

Oddisee – The Iceberg

Old 97’s – Graveyard Whistling

Peter Silberman – Impermanence

The solo debut album from The Antlers’ frontman.

Pissed Jeans – Why Love Now

Steel Panther – Lower the Bar

The Feelies – In Between

Xiu Xiu – Forget