Here are the best albums to look forward to this spring.
Zayn: “Mind of Mine”
March 25
The ex-One Directioner tries to prove there’s life after the British boy band. Lead single “Pillowtalk” tries — maybe a little too hard — to shed the squeaky-clean image of 1D.
Charles Bradley: “Changes”
April 1
The soul revivalist has become a festival favorite since being “discovered” in his 60s. The title track is a cover of the Black Sabbath song of the same name.
Gareth Emery: “100 Reasons to Live”
April 1
The trance and house DJ returns with a full-length of originals, including guest appearances from Wayward Daughters and Ashley Wallbridge.
Weezer: “Weezer”
April 1
The so-called “White Album,” the band’s fourth self-titled effort, comes 22 years after the “Blue Album” and 20 years after it was cool to replace the “s” at the end of a word with a “z” (looking at you, lead single “L.A. Girlz”).
M83: “Junk”
April 8
Lead single “Do It, Try It” is classic M83, all synths, a four-to-the-floor beat and an uplifting hook. Considering the overwhelming success of “Midnight City,” there looks to be little reason to change the formula.
PJ Harvey: “The Hope Six Demolition Project”
April 15
Her newest album, coming five years after her Mercury Prize-winning “Let England Shake,” was inspired by her travels to Washington, D.C., Afghanistan and Kosovo. She created it at Somerset House in London while being observed by the public, in an exhibit called “Recording in Progress.”
Sturgill Simpson: “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth”
April 15
Simpson’s previous effort garnered a Grammy nomination and praise from normally country-adverse outlets like Pitchfork and Los Angeles tastemaker radio station KCRW.
Ariana Grande: “Dangerous Woman”
May 20
The ex-Nickelodeon star/chart-topping pop singer/renegade doughnut-licker returns for her third full-length in three years.
Tegan and Sara: “Love You to Death”
June 3
The Canadian duo’s last album, “Heartthrob,” led to three Juno Awards (it’s Canadian for “Grammy”) and walked the fine line between expanding its sound (more dance-pop oriented than folk, at times) and keeping its fans happy.
case/lang/veirs: “Atomic Number”
June 17
The supergroup trio formed, according to legend (and a news release), when k.d. lang reached out to Neko Case and Laura Veirs out of nowhere, with a simple “I think we should make a record together.” It’s that easy?
Drake: “Views From the 6”
TBA
Your guess is as good as ours.
