1. The Strokes - TBA
They're back in the studio in January, so maybe they'll be able to release an LP before the fifth anniversary of their last passes. Given the quality of their members' solo albums and the passage of time since
Is This It, it's a testament to The Strokes' lasting influence that so many are so anxious for something new from the whole band.
2. Hot Chip - One Life Stand (has it really been almost two years since their perfect last album?)
3. LCD Soundsystem - TBA
4. Los Campesinos - Romance Is Boring
It's apparently going to be less frenetic and more mature than their prior output, which is to be expected now that most of the band is out of their adolescent years. I'm biased on this one, as I once had a blast in an intimate indie mosh pit with the band and two hundred other fans.
5. The Hold Steady - TBA (whatever they release, it had better be less overwrought than Stay Positive)
6. Interpol - TBA
Will anyone but hardcore fans care after
Our Love To Admire flopped and Paul Banks' solo debut was mostly solid? I'm afraid Interpol's alt-rock chart-topping days may be over, and they may be headed for a Sonic Youth or Yo La Tengo-type future: solid live following and steady sales, but no meaningful mainstream presence. Basically, NPR reviewers and listeners could be their most loyal demographic. (This is a problem for all of the early '00s "return to rock" bands, except for NY's most polished and Detroit's most prolific.)
7. Liars - Sisterworld
Their last, self-titled LP was disappointing after the solemn, dreamy
Drum's Not Dead. Hopefully they'll get their Thom Yorke-tipped mojo back for their new release.
8. Spoon - Transference
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was over-hyped, never delivering the band the top-of-the-pops push it deserved and that critics expected, so maybe they'll just worry themselves with making an album with more than a few great songs this time.
9. Vampire Weekend -
Cousins (Because mall clothing shops desperately need new, safe indie hits to play in-store and on their TV commercials.)
10. The Rolling Stones - TBA (No one's really clamoring for it, but isn't it time for some plastic to peddle prior to another tour, even if it's mediocre like the last?)
Albums I am not anticipating:
MGMT -
CongratulationsTheir debut swung for the indie crossover hit fences and flied out. The problem was it had only three classic tracks, two of which were actually leftovers from their first EP, plus seven forgettable acoustic guitar ditties given the full Lips treatment by David Friedman. Still, radio and festival audiences ate them up.
U2 - TBA
U2 thought
No Line on the Horizon would spawn several chart-topping hits while their follow-up, made up of longer, ambient outtakes from those same sessions, would be more artsy and "difficult." Now that
No Line flopped due to an inexcusable lack of editing, U2 are left wondering whether to go ahead with their planned release of those guaranteed-to-fail outtakes, or to start from scratch. If history is any guide, starting from scratch means another five-year wait for new material. So maybe they should just dump the old material on a now-suspecting public, if only to provide new tracks to spice up another tour.
