From the Dave Matthews Band, Black Eyed Peas, Brad Paisley, Daughtry and the Jonas Brothers, the music industry is set to rock, boot-scoot and hip-hop you through the heat.
June 2
Dave Matthews, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King
Dave Matthews Band will release Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, the highly anticipated album following the death of band member Leroi Moore, on June 2.
The album, a tribute to Moore, will be the band’s first studio album in four years and will include the newly released single Funny the Way It Is.
Rolling Stone’s four star review states that Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King producer Rob Cavallo “has brought some of the classic-rock edge of his hit records with Green Day and My Chemical Romance to Matthews’ arena-size spin on early-Seventies Traffic.”
Those who are awaiting the album’s release on June 2 can now stream the complete album at Pandora.com.
Taking Back Sunday, New Again
One example of why this band is one to watch in 2009, their performance at the 2009 Bamboozle.
Elvis Costello, Secret, Profane and Sugarcane
From the opening track of Down Among The Wine and Spirits, it is clear Elvis Costello is working with someone new.
Produced by music impresario T. Bone Burnett, most recently a multiple Grammy winner for his combining Robert Plant and Alison Kraus, there are several tracks that astound. Complicated Shadows showcases the singer-songwriter’s classic flair for the upbeat toe-tapper and the Loretta Lynn co-written track, Felt the Chill, is intense.
June 9
Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.
Where to start with the Black Eyed Peas? The group that has literally changed the world is back after several years of separate projects. Leader Will.I.Am did his best to get Barack Obama elected president, present Fergie with a hit album and record an anthem for change after the nation elected its first African American president.
Of course, history has shown that Will.I.Am has succeeded on all of the above fronts. The only question was, with Fergie’s solo success, would the band be able to re-group and get back to making music collectively.
The answer is a resounding yes. The Black Eyed Peas are like family and it is so evident simply by watching them perform.
BEP’s first single, Boom Boom Pow, is already the song of the summer and an inescapable catchy hit. The rest of the Peas’ album is shrowded in secrecy. If the first track is any indication, the Black Eyed Peas are far from The E.N.D.
Blast from the past, give them a chance: Sonic Youth, The Eternal
Sonic Youth helped define the alternative music scene and their return to original music is something to celebrate.
June 16
Jonas Brothers, Lines, Vines and Trying Times
If it seems as if the Jonas Brothers recently released a “new” album, it is because they did. The Jonas Brothers must know that either their pop music hot streak is limited to the teenagers that follow them, who are quickly aging, or they are so overwhelmingly creative right now that they have to keep turning out product.
These are trying times, so does the Jonas Brothers’ title, Lines, Vines and Trying Times, hint at a deeper Brothers’ Jonas?
It’s the Jonas Brothers, please! Count on melodic pop that you can’t get out of your head including a stab at a Jonas ex, Taylor Swift.
Don’t miss our interview with the boys here!
June 23
Lil’ Wayne, Rebirth
Lil’ Wayne, after scoring with massive hits such as Lilipop and Got Money, Lil’ Wayne returns with a rock n’ roll-themed record as evidenced by the first single Prom Queen.
His Tha Carter III sold over a million copies in its first week. Will Lil’s rock Rebirth touch it? We shall see.
The Mars Volta, Octahedron
The alternative rockers return with their fantastic fusion of funk, Latin-Salsa and punk with Octahedron. Judging by first single, Cotopaxi, The Mars Volta have hit back hard.
Pete Yorn, Back and Forth
It is so fabulous to see singer-songwriter Pete Yorn back this summer. Yorn’s first album in three years, Back and Fourth, marks a bold new chapter for the performer. Yorn recorded the album in Omaha, Nebraska with producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley). Columbia’s Co-Chairman Rick Rubin also helped guide the project. The result is Yorn’s most personal statement to date.
June 30
Brad Paisley, American Saturday Night
Paisley is back to put his album’s title to work crossing America this summer with the American Saturday Night tour. Country music, summer nights — that is a fabulous combination.
Paisley seeks to capture that spirit on his latest CD. American Saturday Night is Paisley’s eighth studio album. How popular is Paisley? His last album, Play, is still on the charts!
Rob Thomas, Cradle Song
If the Matchbox Twenty singer’s second solo release, Cradle Song, sounds as if it was written for children, it is not. Instead, it is as heartfelt and introspective as the singer has been on record in years.
With many deeply personal relationship songs and a few rockers for good measure, Thomas is truly putting his heart out there on Cradle Song. Is his marriage to his Smooth inspiration, Marisol, in trouble? That is hardly the case given her presence on the last Matchbox Twenty tour. Cradle Song is merely an artist exploring the intricacies of life.
Wilco,Wilco (the album)
The legendary band is back and judging by the song titles from their track-listing, their patented sharp tone has not faded in the least with time.
Wilco (the album) begins with Wilco (the song) and progresses through a track called Country Disappeared that has us thrilled with anticipation, and closes with Everlasting Everything. The wizardry of Wilco will shine bright in the summer of 2009.
Moby, Wait for Me
The electro-artist has been trying to capture the lightning of his Play album ever since.
His success rate, commercially at least, is minimal. Professionally, his work has never lost its resonance.
He tells Entertainment Weekly that he enjoyed the success of 1999’s Play, but that in the end making commercial music that subsequently made him miserable.
Wait for Me is a product of that newfound personal realization that honed Play’s sound a decade ago. Will he produce lightning again? Moby does not expect to, but at least he’s making music he loves along the way.
July 7
Maxwell, Black Summers’ Night
It has been eight years since Maxwell’s soulful voice delighted audiences’ ears. The R&B crooner returns with his Black Summers’ Night that is sure to send temperatures rising further than they are already in the middle of July.
Queen Latifah, Persona
Speaking of heat, Queen Latifah — the singer — is a don’t miss. She has made her singing prowess felt on film and on stage in front of tens of millions at various award shows.
That gift of a voice is putting out a CD that rewards audiences for those hours of watching her on television and film from afar. Welcoming Latifah’s smooth sound into living rooms and iPods across the world should be one of the summer’s sonic highlights.
Remember her performance of her first single, Cue the Rain, on the American Idol finale?
Queen Latifah, Cue the Rain
Just a sample of the sound that Queen Latifah brings this summer:
July 14
Daughtry, Leave This Town
How do you top an album that sold four million copies? Also, throw in the fact that Daughtry has the American Idol sophomore curse to contend with — his second CD could be the summer’s biggest hit or biggest bust.
We’re betting that Daughtry will dazzle his way to the top of the charts with Leave This Town.
The Dead Weather, Horehound
Jack White’s other, other side project gets their rock on with a uniquely monikered album — Horehound. Besides the visual conjuring that results after hearing the title, one can only imagine the rock force of nature that is Jack White and how it will incarnate itself this time out.
July 21
Demi Lovato, Title not yet released
Parents…prepare! The next Miley Cyrus, or whatever the press is calling her today, will release a full album late in the summer that is sure to guarantee her a spot on the top of the playlists come school dances in the fall.
July 28
Ashley Tisdale, Guilty Pleasure
There is no more of an apt title for a CD out all summer. Ashley Tisdale came to fame through the guilty pleasure that is High School Musical.
The singer-actress tells SheKnows that she is all-too excited for Guilty Pleasure to hit shelves and can hardly wait until June 16.
“I’m really excited about it — July 28,” Tisdale says of her upcoming CD. “It’s got some pop and rock. It’s all about my experiences — so it’s very personal. My favorite song has to be What if? and Masculate,” Tisdale adds.
SheKnows has her latest video here!
August 18
Sean Paul, Imperial Blaze
The Temperature singer returns to set the summer sun on fire with his Imperial Blaze. The dance hall legend can craft beats as no one else can within his genre of booty-shaking brilliance. The lead single, So Fine, has already debuted on Paul’s website. So far, So Fine with Sean Paul.
Colbie Caillat, Breakthrough
In 2007, Caillat burst out of California with her mellow debut, CoCo and its hit single, Bubbly. Caillat returns hoping to Breakthrough to mainstream success on her second album.
“I can’t wait to share all my new songs with everyone,” Caillat says. “I’ve taken this time to look back at where I was and realized I’ve broken through a personal barricade, which is why I’ve named the album Breakthrough.”
August 25
Sean Kingston, Tomorrow
Will he be Beautiful again with pop music listeners? It will be mighty difficult to replicate the success of Sean Kingston’s last effort, but this kid from Jamaica is talented and no one should be against him.
His first single, Fire Burning, is a dance floor piece of Ear Candy. If Tomorrow is anything like Fire Burning, Tomorrow can not come fast enough to the world’s dance floors.
Coming soon: Creed, Flaming Lips and Jordin Sparks have all promised CDs, but have not settled on a specific release date.
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