New albums from Years & Years, Elvis Costello, Band Of Horses and the return of The Wombats, these are January's biggest albums...
New albums from Years & Years, Elvis Costello, Band Of Horses and the return of The Wombats, these are January's biggest albums...
Years & Years - Night Call
Out January 21st
After recording their first two albums as a trio, Years & Years is now a solo project for Olly Alexander and this new LP is the first full-length output with that setup.
Night Call sees Alexander collaborating with a range of top producers, including AlunaGeorge, Galantis, Lorde keyman Joel Little and The Monsters & Strangerz.
Alexander has billed the album as an upbeat, triumphant record, saying: "I was writing from a fantastical space, stuck in the same four walls. I wanted to have as much pleasure as possible in the music..."
The Wombats - Fix The World, Not Yourself
Out January 14th
The Scouse trio reunite for their first new album in four years and their first since their departure from Warner Brothers.
The LP was recorded remotely during several COVID-19 lockdowns beginning in 2020, with each band member in a different location: Matthew Murphy in Los Angeles, bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen in Oslo and drummer Dan Haggis in London.
The album was made with a series of different producers, including Bastille man Mark Crew, The 1975 key man Mike Crossey and REM/Snow Patrol knob-twiddler Jacknife Lee.
Miles Kane - Change The Show
Out January 21st
The former Rascals man and one-half of the Last Shadow Puppets drops his fourth solo LP.
Written during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, Kane has billed the album as uplifting, saying: "“I wrote songs about big highs, big lows, daydreams, true friends and deep feelings. I learnt to let the future unfold of its own accord, while staying true to myself and that has led to what feels to me like a really uplifting album!”
The album features a duet with soulful singer Corinne Bailey Rae and production from psych-rock collective Sunglasses For Jaws.
Twin Atlantic - Transparency
Out January 7th
The Scottish rockers, now a duo, follow-up 2020's Power with a raw new collection.
Written and recorded remotely by frontman Sam McTrusty and producer Jacknife Lee, the album sees McTrusty taking on a variety of topics, including marriage, male friendship, the absurdity of social media, parenthood and medication.
A direct and powerful LP, it marks a new direction for the band after their departure from Virgin EMI.
Fickle Friends - Are We Gonna Be Alright?
Out January 14th
The pop collective release their second full-length LP and their first since leaving Universal imprint Polydor.
Trailed by an array of singles, the album continues the band's fine tradition of vibrant, day-glo, quirky pop.
Elvis Costello and the Imposters - The Boy Named If
Out January 14th
The beloved singer-songwriter releases his 32nd studio album and his first with his band The Imposters since 2018.
Produced by Costello and Vega/Ricky Martin overseer Sebastian Krys, the LP is a nostalgic collection, with Costello describing it as an album that will "...take us from the last days of a bewildered boyhood to that mortifying moment when you are told to stop acting like a child – which for most men (and perhaps a few gals too) can be any time in the next fifty years!"
Billy Talent - Crisis Of Faith
Out January 21st
It's been six years since we had a new album from Canadian alt-punks Billy Talent, but a new one arrives at the end of this month.
The album was produced by Billy Talent's own Ian D'Sa in the group's Toronto studio, with mixing handled by rock veteran Chris Lord-Alge.
Weezer's Rivers Cuomo features on the album, while Alexisonfire drummer Jordan Hastings continues behind the kit in the absence of founder member Aaron Solowoniuk.
Aurora - The Gods We Can Touch
Out January 21st
The Norwegian unveils the follow-up to 2019’s ‘A Different Kind of Human (Step 2)’ and she has looked towards the stars.
The 15-track album is presented through the narrative prism of greek mythology and on each of the album’s songs we meet a different god.
Speaking about the album, the singer described its feels as "“Quite sensual actually, and very much about the dark, the light and the absurd combination of the two.”
Bad Boy Chiller Crew - Disrespectful
Out January 21st
The rising and much-discussed Bradford rap trio unveil their latest offering, a mixtape featuring previous singles ‘Bikes N Scoobys’, ‘Don’t You Worry About Me’ and the Jordan McCann featuring ‘Footsteps To My Shoes‘.
The Lumineers - BRIGHTSIDE
Out January 14th
The heartswelling indie types drop album number four in the midst of this month, their first new LP since the appropriately named III.
Simone Felice, the producer of the band's second album Cleopatra and III, returned to produce the album alongside David Baron, who also served as mixer and engineer.
The LP was created at Baron's Sun Mountain Studios in Boiceville, New York and has been billed by the band as "...a 15-year-old’s fever dream, an American love story in all its glory and heartbreak."
Singer-guitarist Wesley Schultz and drummer Jeremiah Fraites performed most of the instrumentation themselves, with Baron providing keyboards and backing vocals.
Other contributions came from the Felice Brothers' James Felice, singer-songwriter Diana DeMuth, touring members Byron Isaacs and Lauren Jacobson, and backing singer Cindy Mizelle
