In the next two months, there are five albums I’m looking forward to. Actually six, if you count the freebie disc cover-mounted on MOJO each month, but some people wouldn’t. 😉
Let’s take it from the top:
New Blood — Peter Gabriel, October 10
Last year Peter Gabriel released a covers album, Scratch My Back. He took songs by Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Elbow, and a number of other bands and recorded them in an orchestral style. SMB was supposed to be followed with I’ll Scratch Yours, in which the covered artists covered Gabriel’s songs, and while some of the bands, like Elbow, recorded Gabriel covers, there weren’t enough completed for a full album.
So, Gabriel decided to do a follow-up of his own, where he rerecorded his own music, in the same orchestral style he used for Scratch My Back.
Will it be any good? I have no idea. It will be interesting, though, which is an entirely different thing. 🙂
Guy Garvey of Elbow likes it; he conducted a conversation with Gabriel where they discussed the album, how it came together, and why it was done.
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds — Noel Gallagher, October 17
I was a gutted by the break-up of Oasis two years ago. And while I enjoy Liam Gallagher’s follow-up to Oasis, Beady Eye’s Different Gear, Still Speeding, the truth is it’s Noel Gallagher’s first post-Oasis work that was always going to intrigue me more.
I’ve liked the singles that have been released, especially “If I Had a Gun…” I can’t wait to see what the album itself is like. Should be brilliant. 🙂
Mylo Xyloto — Coldplay, October 24
Coldplay’s fifth album. I’ve heard a couple of songs from the album. “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” doesn’t do a lot for me, but “Charlie Brown” is pretty catchy, and if something brilliant like “Moving to Mars” can be left off the album as a b-side, I think this could be a pretty snazzy piece of work. I’m not expecting a return to A Rush of Blood to the Head, but a return to X&Y would be decent enough.
A Very She & Him Christmas — She & Him, October 24
Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward reunite for a fourth album and follow the Winnie-the-Pooh soundtrack with a Christmas album.
And I love Christmas albums! I have a lot of them.
I don’t know why M. Ward is trying to look like Jon Hunstman on the cover (see here); maybe there’s some hipster thing there that I just don’t get.
I think this album with just be fun.
Ceremonials — Florence + The Machine, October 31
I enjoyed Lungs, the debut album from Florence Welch, two years ago. I’ve listened to it a lot actually. She has a fantastic set of pipes, and they send her voice places that you don’t think a voice can actually go.
(I should note, by the way, that I cannot stand her videos. Just give me the music straight, thanks.)
The first single I’ve heard from the new album, “What the Water Gave Me,” is kinda haunting.
The sixth album is Harrison Covered, which is cover-mounted to the next issue of MOJO, to coincide with the 10th-anniversary of Harrison’s death at the end of November. It may not be an essential album — MOJO‘s covers albums are hit-and-miss — but it will be fun, and it will be done with a lot of love, and that’s good enough for me.
That’s what I’m looking forward to hearing this autumn. I’m sure there’s something else coming down the pike, but those are the five biggies for me right now. 🙂