Summer has always been a great time for music. Unless you live in California or another glorious climate, it marks the time when outdoor shows and festivals become possible again, and even for those who don't attend outdoor shows, summer usually presents any music fan with a slew of new, interesting releases from a variety of bands. Some of the most accomplished working musical artists wait until the warmer months to release their new material, and this year is no different, with offerings from a smorgasbord of different groups.
Reunion albums are dominating this summer's music scene, with yesteryear's pop rock giants like The Cars releasing their first new material in over a decade. It's always refreshing to see older icons try their hand in today's competitive music culture. When bands haven't released new music in over 10 years, they risk seeming anachronistic or stale, but the singles from The Cars' latest album, "Move Like This" (released May 10) stacks well against any of today's electro-themed dance groups like LCD Soundsystem.
"Move Like This" will certainly be heading the pack of interesting releases this summer. The Cars' previous album, "Door to Door," was released back at the height of synth-pop in 1987. It will be interesting to see how the latest production will fare in today's scene, but new songs like "Blue Tip" have all the delicious synth riffs and dance beats that fans have loved them for since the late '70s.
More contemporary artists like Bon Iver are also releasing new albums. Bon Iver's haunting debut album, "For Emma, Forever Ago" (2007), combined graceful vocal harmonies with affecting, often sparse acoustic guitar work. The group's much anticipated follow up, "Bon Iver," is slated to drop June 21. Lead singer Justin Vernon is trying to expand the group's sound on this latest recording, which features indie-sax giant Colin Stetson (a frequent collaborator with Tom Waits and Arcade Fire) and numerous other studio musicians. Like the group's debut, "Bon Iver" was recorded in an isolated location, prompting many to think that the themes of loneliness and isolation that characterized "For Emma, Forever Ago" will still be felt on the band's latest effort.
Arctic Monkeys, one of the most popular indie rock bands of the past few years, will be releasing its much-anticipated fourth album "Suck It and See" on June 6. The band achieved worldwide notoriety for its debut, "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (2005), which became the most financially successful debut album in England's recent history, breaking records for selling over 360,000 copies in its first week. Arctic Monkeys' latest effort is rumored to boast a more direct pop approach than the group's last effort, "Humbug" of 2009. The album's only released single, "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair," sees the band in its usual rock mode, with Alex Turner's vocals delivering a U2-esque melody over a driving drum beat.
Brian Eno will be releasing another new album, "Drums Between the Bells," on July 5. This collaboration with poet Rick Holland was announced a few months after Eno released "Small Craft on a Milk Sea," a collection of ambient tracks, last November in the United States. Eno's catalogue is filled with collaborations with artists as diverse as Talking Heads and John Cale, making this endeavor with Holland all the more interesting. The only single released so far, "Glitch," features the poet's work read through a vocoder over a shifting background of electronic drones and squeaks.
This release will most likely continue Eno's trend of ambient-focused releases that eschew conventional song structures and production techniques. The inclusion of this album really rounds out this summer's catalogue, keeping everyone from indie-rockers to neo-hippies happy.
Anyone can turn on the radio and hear the latest Top 40 releases this summer, but there's so much more to the summer music scene than just the latest from Lady Gaga or Katy Perry. If you're looking to branch out in your musical tastes or you're just sick of the same old generic pop, be sure to check out these upcoming releases.
