Mitski, Spoon, and 25 more albums we can't wait to hear in February

For his first solo album in more than a decade (since 2011’s ), Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has made an album that tackles as many different genres and styles as the singer has explored throughout his career. That means going from tracks that sound almost exactly like contemporary Pearl Jam rockers (“Brother The Cloud”) to Coldplay-like anthems (opener “Invincible”), to ’80s-pop stompers (“The Dark”), punked-up bangers (“Good And Evil”), and a few versions of the agreeably mid-tempo adult-contemporary ballads that have been Vedder’s forte for awhile now. With guests as varied as Stevie Wonder and Ringo Starr, the album may sacrifice consistency for eclecticism, but it contains some hidden gems. [Alex McLevy]

It sometimes feels like Jack Black’s , about someone “sittin’ around complaining about no more Echo albums,” could just as well have been referencing Sea Power (then British Sea Power), whose album offered one of the more refreshing takes on Echo & The Bunnymen’s version of Britpop during its mid-aughts revival. But while Let The Dancers Inherit The Party was a little too stolid for its own good, new album Everything Was Forever’s early single “Two Fingers” suggests the band is once more in touch with its mojo, channeling anthemic, retro post-punk for the Springsteen-ian cheap seats. [Alex McLevy]

There’s always a lot to say about Philadelphia’s indie-rock genre blender Shamir, but given he was list, let’s remind ourselves why: “Shamir has always had different layers to his music, but there seems to be a radical directness coming from the artist with his upcoming record, Heterosexuality. From the titles to the lyrics, Shamir is explicitly grappling with queerness and identity in a much rawer, more potent way than on past releases. Couple that with music that incorporates some industrial flourishes with fragile melodies, and you’ve got a record worth focusing on.” [Alex McLevy]

has the very magical capability of remaining true to their core sound while somehow constantly elevating their songcraft and exploring new areas of rock. With their first album recorded in Austin, Texas in over a decade, the band has returned to a more fast and loose style of rock ’n’ roll which they evaded through and . As they’ve come home, the band has dug their nails into something grittier, yet still refined. Plus, something about the sound of Britt Daniel’s voice and the classic guitar tones they’ve crafted always feels like home to this Austinite. [Gabrielle Sanchez]

As any Beach House fan will tell you, the duo is an album band, not a singles one. Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have readily embraced that quality for , dividing it into chapters that they’ve been gradually releasing before finally sharing the whole LP on February 18. The chapters released so far have a stunning, cinematic quality, with each collection telling a story of love and loss. From what’s been heard so far, this has potential to be the record that shuts down those who’ve criticized Beach House for sticking to the same sound for over a decade: There are new elements at play (including the first-time addition of a string ensemble) that exalt the intensity of the duo’s dreamy synths. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

Hurray For The Riff Raff always has something exciting to offer. Small Town Heroes was a country record; The Navigator played out like a Broadway musical, albeit one infused with Latin genres like salsa. Now, for Life On Earth, Hurray For The Riff Raff is testing the boundaries of folk with its poppiest record yet. Alynda Segarra continues to pay homage to their Caribbean roots (as they did on The Navigator) with single “Jupiter’s Dance,” a tropical synth-pop track that feels unlike anything Segarra’s put out under the Hurray For The Riff Raff moniker. But there are still hints of the folk-punk for which Hurray For The Riff Raff is known in the other single, “Rhododendron.” Segarra’s chameleon-like musicianship makes this record one to look out for. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

In 2019, 46 years after Lavender Country released the first known gay-themed country music album, the group reconvened to record its first LP of new music since that groundbreaking debut. That LP, Blackberry Rose And Other Songs And Sorrows, never quite hit its GoFundMe goal, so now it’s finally getting a proper release on Don Giovanni. Along with new tracks like “Gay Bar Blues” and ‘”Stand On Your Man,” the group also re-recorded a new version of its best-known song, “I Can’t Shake The Stranger Out Of You.” Fans of Orville Peck and the new wave of queer country music would do well to check out the pioneers. [Alex McLevy]

Sarah Shook and their Disarmers are that rarest of beasts: A bar band that actually deserved to make the splash into a bigger pond. That’s due largely to Shook themselves, a born rock ’n’ roller who can swagger and strut with the best of them, while easily pivoting to the more intimate and genteel Americana that the group delivers as effectively as it does barnstorming country-rock stompers. Nearly every song feels like it could be blaring out of an old jukebox in a Southern honky-tonk watering hole, in the best possible way. [Alex McLevy]

Gangster rap pioneer Schoolly D has only put out two albums in the past 20 years: 2010’s International Supersport and 2019’s The Real Hardcore. So the fact that it’s only been three years suggests a burst of creative inspiration from the longtime rapper and Philly native. This is an explicitly old-school venture, recorded in his original studio, and even featuring a remake of early hit “P.S.K.” And while a new generation might know him best from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, we mostly just want to hear the beat drop and Schoolly unleash those boom-bap pipes. Respect must be paid. [Alex McLevy]

The debut album from Dreamer Isioma arrives this month—and it brings with it a raucous party’s worth of throwback grooves and infectious melodies. The Chicago-based musician cooks up an eclectic gumbo of influences for their first full-length, including hip-hop, soul, indie pop, and more, but the overall vibe that dominates here is that of an old-school celebration, songs that would feel just as much at home in a smoky ’70s club as a contemporary R&B Spotify playlist. “I will not stop with this gay shit!” Dreamer proclaims halfway through “HUH?”; let’s hope they never do. [Alex Mclevy]

Nine albums into their career, Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller—a.k.a. Detroit’s art-synth post-punk outfit Adult.—are firmly established in the basics of their sound, and yet it continues to shift into different registers with each passing release. As the skittering EBM of new single “Fools (We Are)…” makes clear, this is undeniably the work of the same people who made early-’00s thumpers like “Hand To Phone” and “The Cold Call,” yet somehow distilled even further down to the essence of the icy digital intensity that has always defined their work. Get ready for a deeply stand-offish dance party. [Alex McLevy]

It was about time for . The self-described “rock chick” has been around for over two decades, but she gradually shied away from her angsty alt-rock and pop-punk roots, attempting to reinvent herself as a more typical pop star. But with the MySpace emo revival emerging over the past couple of years, and artists like Willow Smith emulating the “Sk8er Boi” singer, Lavigne is ready to shine again. The singles she’s released off Love Sux somehow feel even more pop-punk than the music she released during her prime, serving as a re-introduction to herself, exciting old fans and inviting new ones. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

Many of us used the isolation of pandemic times as a chance to look back and reflect; in the case of Montreal musician Basia Bulat, she used the time to look across the entirety of her catalog, and found inspiration in reworking material from all five of her studio albums into arrangements for a string quartet. Along with her bandmates, guitarist Andrew Woods and bassist Ben Whiteley, the quartet of players performing orchestral reimaginings of Bulat’s music create a different tenor and take on her normally folk-oriented sound, while giving the musician’s voice a chance to evolve and shine in a new light. [Alex McLevy]

Three years may not exactly be a Chinese Democracy-like level of delay, but for an artist as prolific as Conway The Machine, it’s the closest thing to it. The rapper’s Shady Records debut has been teased since 2019, and yet somehow—despite multiple albums and mixtapes released since then—we have yet to hear a note of it. Conway is an undeniable talent with a consistency of quality that most rappers would envy even without his attendant success; here’s hoping God Don’t Make Mistakes is worth the very long wait. Given his track record, we’re not too worried. [Alex McLevy]

It’s been 10 years since Robert Glasper’s era-defining Black Radio won the Best R&B Album Grammy and stormed the Billboard charts: It’s the only album in history to debut simultaneously in the top 10 of four charts—Hip Hop R&B, Urban Contemporary, Jazz, and Contemporary Jazz (a feat not repeated until… Black Radio II). The jazz pianist and songwriter returns with the third installment of his series, and brings along a massive guest roster with him (single “Black Superhero” along features Killer Mike, B.J. The Chicago Kid, and Big K.R.I.T.). There’s almost no way this album doesn’t contain at least one or two absolute gems. [Alex McLevy]

Sasami Ashworth is a star in the making. Those who were lucky enough to catch her during her days playing synths for Cherry Glazerr could see Ashworth had a magnetic stage presence all her own. Her self-titled debut solo album from 2019 gained the attention of critics and new fans, but Squeeze might be the one to catapult her to mainstream spaces. She doesn’t confine herself to one genre, instead experimenting with nu-metal, folk, and pop throughout the record, showing different facets of herself from the serene indie pop of her debut. Ashworth also brings in a stellar group of collaborators, including the unconventional and delightful inclusion of comedian Patti Harrison, who contributed vocals to lead single, “Skin A Rat.” [Tatiana Tenreyro]

Thank goodness 2018’s superlative didn’t end up being the Spiritualized swan song J. Spaceman occasionally threatened it might be. Everything Was Beautiful looks to continue Jason Pierce’s musical winning streak, with initial single “” even explicitly calling back to Spiritualized’s landmark Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space. New single “Crazy” incorporates some ambling Americana into the mix, but never loses hold of the spacey, dreamier-than-a-dream bombast of his music. Pomp and circumstance never sounds as heartfelt as it does in his hands. [Alex McLevy]

The angry, pummeling musical left turn of 2018’s —easily Superchunk’s most ferocious collection of songs since its No Pocky For Kitty days—must have startled longtime fans. But if that record occasionally sacrificed melody for intensity, Wild Loneliness sounds like the band returning to the thoughtful, expansive indie rock that it came to embrace during the recording of Here’s To Shutting Up. And with the quartet bringing some guests into the studio, including Sharon Van Etten and Owen Pallett, it also looks to be one of their most musically far-ranging. The title may sound sad, but there’s no bout of loneliness Superchunk’s music can’t make better. [Alex McLevy]