We polled our intrepid music writers to find out their most anticipated albums of the year.
Cloud Nothings
Life Without Sound (Carpark/Wichita Recordings)
On his band’s early releases, Cloud Nothings main-man Dylan Baldi dabbled in perky pop-punk and discordant alt-rock. On 2014’s Here and Nowhere Else, he got the balance exactly right, with harsh arrangements that culminate in cathartic, euphoric crescendos. Now, Baldi and co. are back with their fourth album (not including a disappointing collaboration with Wavves in 2015). Baldi released a statement describing Life Without Sound as “my version of new age music. It’s supposed to be inspiring.” Lead single “Modern Act” makes good on this promise: It sounds like the crunchy, guitar-driven power-pop that Cloud Nothings do best, but with the usual angst toned down and replaced by mature self-reflection. The chorus’s admission of “I am alive, but all alone” is a perfect blend of salty and sweet, making this album a must-hear for indie-rock lovers. (Out Jan. 27) –Alex Hudson
Fancey
Love Mirage (Stoner Disco)
While bandmates AC Newman, Neko Case and Dan Bejar have drawn worldwide acclaim for their respective solo work, the New Pornographers’ unassuming guitarist, Todd Fancey, seemingly retired his eponymous sideline after the albums Fancey (2004) and Schmancey (2007), and the EP Magical Summer (2005), arrived and departed with little notice. (This was nothing to do with their content; the now-defunct labels that released the records didn’t so much promote them as push them out of the nest without a parachute.) After a decade’s absence, the Fancey project returns this month with an album that, like its predecessors, combines virtually every golden sound of 1960s and ’70s AM-pop radio, with the new addition of disco beats and a Steely Dan-like air of sonic spotlessness. Hear a preview track, “Baby Sunshine,” here. (Note: Due to a last-minute production snag, the vinyl pressing has been delayed until spring. The album is out digitally Jan. 27.) –Michael White
Tommy Genesis
World Vision 2 (Awful)
It’s been a crazy couple of years since Vancouver rapper Tommy Genesis snuck off of Soundcloud to deliver World Vision through Atlanta's Awful Records. She’s moved from Mount Pleasant to Los Angeles, undertaken a number of tours around North America and Europe, been embraced by small blogs and The Guardian alike, and moved into a modelling side-gig that’s included billboards as part of Calvin Klein’s #mycalvins campaign. Genesis has been teasing World Vision 2 for some time now, not to mention a third chapter in her mixtape series. Though there’s no word yet on when the self-described “fetish rapper” will actually drop these things, here’s hoping her coolly delivered mix of sex-positive wordplay and conceptual beats get here sooner than later. A homecoming show would be great, too, but there’s a lot more of the globe that needs to experience Tommy G. (Release date TBD) –Gregory Adams
Japandroids
Near to the Wild Heart of Life (Anti-/Arts & Crafts)
With the possible exception of Destroyer, Japandroids are Vancouver’s most beloved indie-rock export of the decade, which is why their absence over the past few years has been so acutely felt. After 2012’s glorious Celebration Rock, the duo of Brian King and David Prowse more or less disappeared; prior to embarking on a short tour this past fall, they hadn’t so much as posted a social-media update since 2013. The guys have promised that Near to the Wild Heart of Life features an overhauled instrumental palette that includes synths and acoustic guitars. That said, the album’s title track (which is also its lead single) sounds like another of the band’s classic fist-pumping anthems, full of thundering drums, giant-sized guitar distortion and seize-the-day lyrics. Honestly, I’m not too fussed about whether this is a radical reinvention or simply more of the same – I’m excited either way. (Out Jan. 27) –AH
Modest Mouse
Whabever (label TBD)
Isaac Brock seems like the kind of person you wouldn’t want to be alone with. His cock-eyed, manic expression while singing spastically performed songs recalls someone who may have just had his first ayahausca-induced breakthrough – it’s both inspiring and jarring. It’s the same quality that makes Modest Mouse’s music so damn interesting. Just when you think you’re being lulled into a predictable southern ballad punctuated by jangling spurs (“Cowboy Dan” from The Lonesome Crowded West, anyone?), you’re hit with a raucous turn. So it comes as no surprise that the Modest Mouse front man has said his band’s upcoming release – their seventh full-length – will “be as dumb as fucking possible.” Brock is no stranger to keeping people on their toes: Aside from reports that ex-Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic will appear on the album (possibly titled Whabever), Modest Mouse have given us no inkling as to what to expect on this 2017 release – only that it’s on its way. (Release date TBD) –Kristi Alexandra
Pissed Jeans
Why Love Now (Sub Pop)
Four years on from Honeys, their last batch of self-deprecatingly-delivered noise-punk, Pennsylvania quartet Pissed Jeans seem ready to deliver something especially bitter. Just so we’re clear, the tracklisting possesses feel-bad titles including “Love Without Emotion,” “Not Even Married,” and the mundane objectifying of “Have You Ever Been Furniture.” While, in the past, the band have howled like the bastard child of Black Flag and the Jesus Lizard, Why Love Now’s first tease, “The Bar is Low,” is an unsettlingly straightforward hard-rock stomp. Matt Korvette’s sneer has transformed into a cut-rate, quasi-melodic Lemmy Kilmister wheeze, while the guitars fritz out like an AC/DC D-side. Considering the bleak line of humour Pissed Jeans have been pushing since 2004, the mediocrity seems menacingly self-aware, and damned if it’s not hard to cast your attention onto a train wreck – there’s just something that draws us toward the ugly. That said, taking a peek at the full-band promo shot that graces the album cover reveals that Korvette’s got abs for days. You can own them yourself as of Feb. 24. –GA
Sam Phillips
World on Sticks (self-released)
The California singer-songwriter best known for composing Gilmore Girls’ signature “La-la-la” soundtrack is, unbeknownst to many, a veteran artist who has been producing some the most unusual yet consistently engaging music in the pop realm for almost 30 years. Since becoming independent at the beginning of the decade, her music has acquired a freedom of expression that evinces someone in full command of her territory, variously beautiful and strange, hilarious and profound. Following up the career high-water mark of 2013’s Push Any Button, this summer brings World on Sticks, an album Phillips says is her first to deeply address the political and social frictions of her homeland – an inevitable response to the flabbergasting events of the past year. Four tracks were made available late last year as part of the download-only EP, Human Contact is Never Easy; hear them on iTunes or her Bandcamp page. (Release date TBD) –MW
The xx
I See You (Young Turks)
London trio the xx aren’t prolific songwriters – fans have been treated to just two carefully crafted albums since the band’s inception: 2009’s morose, minimalist self-titled debut and 2012’s follow-up, Coexist, with little sonic change between the two. The result is two beautiful, moody electro-pop records with recognizability, the familiar elements being the exchanges between Jamie xx’s narrative verses and Romy Madley Croft’s crooning replies over a simple electronica framework. I See You, however, seems to be driving in an upward direction. The band has teased several songs from the album, including the danceable synth-carried “On Hold.” It holds fast to the sound fans have grown to love: velvety, meek vocals soaked in melancholy, splashed with slow synth lines and minimalist beats, and there’s an evident ’80s influence that recalls the Cure. The verdict? We can’t wait. (Out Jan. 13) –KA
