Now that we've recapped our favorite albums of 2021, we're moving right along to the music we can't wait to hear in 2022. Here's a list of 80 albums that we're anticipating this year, including a bunch that are definitely coming out and a few that we're crossing our fingers for. There are way more than 80 albums we're looking forward to this year, and we're guaranteed to be surprised by plenty of albums that aren't on this list, but here's a handful that we're collectively on the edges of our seats about. Read on for the list, first in chronological order by release date and then in no particular order for the TBA albums…

The Weeknd – Dawn FM

due 1/7 via XO/Republic

Having gone from alt-R&B pioneer to pop star to new wave devotee, The Weeknd keeps changing it up and keeps putting out genuinely irresistible stuff. His next album arrives this Friday and recent single "Take My Breath" is enough reason to be excited for it.

Earl Sweatshirt – Sick

due 1/14 via Tan Cressida/Warner

The more famous he gets, the more Earl Sweatshirt becomes an ambassador for the underground, using his platform to highlight and collaborate with underrated greats like Armand Hammer, who appear on his excellent new single "Tabula Rasa." He's a rare major label rapper who seems to ignore almost everything happening within major label rap, and after hearing the tons of great guest verses he dropped over the past couple years, we're ready for his next project.

FKA twigs

due 1/14 via Young/Atlantic

FKA twigs recently put out the great new single "Tears in the Club" (featuring The Weeknd and produced by Arca, Cirkut, and El Guincho), and she's been talking about a new mixtape that reportedly arrives on January 14.

Cordae – From A Bird's Eye View

due 1/14 via Atlantic

As good as Cordae's debut was, the singles from From A Bird's Eye View suggest the rapper's only gotten better since then.

Foxtails – fawn

due 1/18 via Skeletal Lightning

Foxtails blur the lines between screamo and art punk, and their new album fawn is shaping up to be a big leap from anything they'd done prior. Read our track review of "space orphan" for more.

Anxious – Little Green House

due 1/21 via Run For Cover

After putting out the very good hardcore-infused-emo EP Never Better on Triple B Records in 2019, Anxious signed to Run For Cover, linked up with producer Chris Teti (of TWIABP) and made some of the most gorgeous, immediate emo in recent memory (as heard on the lead singles).

Pre-order the Anxious album on limited-to-300 "cream inside green" vinyl.

Anaïs Mitchell – Anaïs Mitchell

due 1/28 via BMG

Anaïs Mitchell is probably best known to the world as the brains behind Hadestown, her (Bon Iver-featuring) 2010 album-turned-Tony-Award-winning Broadway musical, but much more recently than that, she had a creative rebirth as one third of the indie folk supergroup Bonny Light Horseman. Riding the high of BLH, she made her first proper solo album in a decade with her BLH bandmate Josh Kaufman, and it also features BLH contributors Michael Lewis, JT Bates, and Aaron Dessner (of The National), alongside Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) and string/flute arrangements by Nico Muhly. Lead singles "Bright Star" and "Brooklyn Bridge" capture that Bonny Light Horseman charm in a more personal-to-Anaïs way.

Alice Glass – PREVY//IV

1/28 via Eating Glass Records

Alice Glass released her debut solo EP in 2017, and over four years later, she's following it with her first full-length solo album. "I like to make songs that you can dance to when you're sad," the former Crystal Castles frontwoman said, and singles like "Baby Teeth" and the intense, haunting "Fair Game" definitely fit the bill.

Saba – Few Good Things

due 2/4 via Pivot Gang

Saba remains at the forefront of the thriving Chicago rap scene, and going by recent singles "Fearmonger" and "Stop That," he hasn't slowed down creatively one bit.

Mitski – Laurel Hell

due 2/4 via Dead Oceans

Thankfully, Mitski wasn't actually done releasing music when she played her "last shows indefinitely" in 2019; she returned in October with new single "Working of the Knife," and announced Laurel Hell a month later. She called it the "longest album process" she's ever been through, saying that she and longtime producer Patrick Hyland had explored country and punk sounds before landing in eighties dance. As good as 2018's Be The Cowboy is, from the promise of the expansive, varied tracks we've heard from Laurel Hell so far, it could wind up being even better.

Pre-order 'Laurel Hell' on opaque red vinyl.

Black Country, New Road – Ants From Up There

due 2/4 via Ninja Tune

Striking while the iron, and creative juices, are hot, UK group Black Country, New Road will release sophomore album Ants from Up There, almost exactly one year after their debut. "We were just so hyped the whole time. It was such a pleasure to make," says bassist Tyler Hyde. "I've kind of accepted that this might be the best thing that I'm ever part of for the rest of my life. And that's fine." First single "Chaos Space Marine" obliterates genre lines so expect the unexpected on Ants.

Cate Le Bon – Pompeii

due February 4 via Mexican Summer

For her sixth album, Pompeii, Cate Le Bon went at it almost entirely alone, recording in an "uninterrupted vacuum" and "a quagmire of unease," playing every instrument on the album herself apart from drums (Warpaint's Stella Mozgawa) and saxophone (Younghusband's Euan Hinshelwood). She also wrote almost all the songs on bass. "The subtitle is: 'You will be forever connected to everything,'" says Cate. "Which, depending on the time of day, is as comforting as it is terrifying. The sense of finality has always been here. It seems strangely hopeful. Someone is playing with the focus lens. The world is on fire but the bins must go out on a Tuesday night. Political dissonance meets beauty regimes. I put a groove behind it for something to hold on to. The grief is in the saxophones.”

Animal Collective – Time Skiffs

due 2/4 via Domino

After members spent time with their solo projects, they finally reconvened for the first Animal Collective in six years, Time Skiffs. Judging by the singles, the band's unique twist on psychedelic pop is just as addictively mind-bending as ever.

Pre-order it on translucent ruby vinyl.

Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You

due 2/11 via 4AD

Big Thief's next album will be a 20-song double that Adrianne Lenker says can be divided into three different categories: "bombastic and wild, and hi-fi," "raw and no fat, just songs, and acoustic," and "more serene, internal and reflective." Seven songs from the album are already out, and it already feels like this is shaping up to be one of Big Thief's best records yet.

Cult of Luna – The Long Road

due 2/11 via Metal Blade

Swedish post-metal vets Cult of Luna have been at it for over two decades and they continue to make some of their best records yet. Lead single "Cold Burn" is as towering and epic as you'd expect this band to be.

Pre-order the new Cult of Luna album on double opaque white vinyl.

alt-J – The Dream

due 2/11 via Canvasback/Infectious Music

alt-J are always changing it up, and recent single "U&ME" suggests a promising, more chilled-out direction for their fourth album.

Shamir – Heterosexuality

due 2/11

The lead single from Shamir's new self-released album, Heterosexuality, delves into dark, industrial territory, while lit up with his unmistakable, soaring vocals. It's a captivating sound and it has us eager to hear what else he has in store.

Spoon – Lucifer on the Sofa

due 2/11 via Matador

Having been together for nearly 30 years, Spoon are getting back to their roots with their ninth album (and first in five years). Lucifer on the Sofa is the first they've made in their Austin hometown in a decade, and they call it their most rock n' roll record yet. Elaborating, frontman Britt Daniel describes the album as, "the sound of classic rock as written by a guy who never did get Eric Clapton." They've definitely heard fellow Texans ZZ Top, though, judging by first single "The Hardest Cut."

Beach House – Once Twice Melody

due 2/18 via Sub Pop

Baltimore duo Beach House are dreaming big for their eighth studio album, which takes the ethereal, psychedelic textures of '7' even further, working with producer Alan Moulder (My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails), Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, MGMT) and, for the first time, a live string section. We've gotten to hear a lot of it already, as the band have been releasing monthly four-song chapters — which are also the four sides of the double album — and it all sounds great.

Pre-order the Once Twice Melody gold and silver vinyl editions and cassette.

Gang of Youths – angel in real time

due 2/25 via Warner

Gang of Youth tackle the life and legacy of Dave Le'aupepe's father, as well as "indigenous identity, death, grief and God" on their new album angel in real time. Based on the four singles we've heard, which expand their sound in new directions while remaining unmistakably them, it's set to be another stunner.

Spiritualized – Everything Was Beautiful

due 2/25 via Fat Possum

Jason Pierce not only spent the pandemic reissuing the first four Spiritualized albums, he also made a new Spiritualized record. There are lots of parallels to 1997's Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space, from the pillbox cover art to the use of many studios all over the world and an army of musicians, to the way opening song "Always Together with You" begins with a woman announcing the album's title in a cool, dry English accent. That song sounds pretty fantastic, swooning and widescreen like the best Spiritualized music, so hopefully the album will measure up to Pierce's finest work.

Pre-order Everything Was Beautiful on pink or black vinyl.

Superchunk – Wild Loneliness

due 2/25 via Merge

North Carolina indie rock icons Superchunk recorded their 12th album at home during lockdown, but they phoned a few friends for long-distance help, including Sharon Van Etten, R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley, Wye Oak’s Andy Stack, Camera Obscura's Tracyanne Campbell, Owen Pallett, Kelly Pratt, and Franklin Bruno. Described as stripped-down and lush, Wild Loneliness captures the band in a contemplative mood during difficult times.

Blood Incantation – Timewave Zero

due 2/25 via Century Media

Death metal fans will have to wait a little bit longer for more metal from the death metal greats, as Blood Incantation have revealed that their next record will be an ambient one. "An astute listening to our previous recordings reveals a gradual and deliberate increase of Experimental, Progressive and Psychedelic components," the band says. "Timewave Zero is the distillation of these elements into a concentrated piece; stripping away the Metal and emphasizing the Dark, Cinematic and exceedingly Cosmic atmosphere our music is known for."

Pre-order Timewave Zero on orange or black vinyl.

King Hannah – I'm Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me

due 2/25 via City Slang

King Hannah, aka Hannah Merrick and Craig Whittle, are skillful builders of mood, crafting layers of smoky atmosphere with a dark and stormy mix of blues, indie rock, post rock and a little trip hop for good measure. Their 2020 mini-LP was a great introduction, and singles "A Well Made Woman" and "All Being Fine" point to their full-length debut as being something special.

Nilüfer Yanya – Painless

due 3/4 via ATO

Nilüfer Yanya is finally ready to follow her highly-acclaimed debut LP Miss Universe, and lead single "stabilise" sounds even better and more immediate than anything on her already-great debut.

Vein.fm – This World Is Going To Ruin You

due 3/4 via Closed Casket Activities/Nuclear Blast

After much teasing and anticipation, Vein.fm finally announced their sophomore album, This World Is Going To Ruin You. They worked once again with producer Will Putney, who also helmed their 2018 debut LP Errorzone, and the album features contributions from Geoff Rickly (Thursday), Jeff Smith, and Bones. Judging by lead single "The Killing Womb," the band's experimental metalcore is as intense as ever.

Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul – Topical Dancer

due 3/4 via DEEWEE

Having released two terrific EPs via Soulwax's DEWEE label, Charlotte Adigéry made her musical and life partner, Bolis Pupul, official and they rebranded as a duo. Musically they haven't changed a thing, making socially conscious dancepop with a wide streak of tongue-in-cheek wit. They describe their debut album, which was co-written and co-produced by Soulwax, as "a snapshot of how we view our world in the 2020s, a glimpse into the conversations we had over tea, whilst toying around with synthesizers, drum computers and what-not at the DEEWEE studio over the past 2 years."

Loop – Sonancy

due 3/11 via Cooking Vinyl

Robert Hamson reactivated his psych band Loop in 2013 but is only just now putting out a new album, which will be their first since 1990's A Gilded Eternity. “My motto has always been ‘Forward’ and I always try to do something new with each record," says Hampson. "With ‘Sonancy’ I also wanted to take a post-punk sound, spin it on its head and mix it with a psych influence. A total gumbo. Which has always been Loop, this mash-up of spicy rhythms.” First single "Halo" is terrific, so this album looks to be worth the wait.

Charli XCX – Crash

due 3/18 via Atlantic Records

Charli XCX made the ultimate lockdown album with 2020's how i'm feeling now, and to follow it she switched gears, saying that she's "very into making ultimate pop music" and "exploring what it means to be a pop star on a major label in a not very current way." She assembled an incredible group of collaborators to help, including Caroline Polachek, Christine and the Queens, A. G. Cook, Rina Sawayama, Ariel Rechtshaid, and Oneohtrix Point Never, and what we've heard of the results so far are exuberant pop bliss.

Phife Dawg – Forever

due 3/22 via Smokin' Needles/AWAL

Phife Dawg was in fine form on A Tribe Called Quest's 2016 comeback album We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service, which was recorded before he sadly passed away that same year. Now, on the sixth anniversary of his death, the solo album he recorded before his passing will finally see the light of day.

Wet Leg – S/T

due 4/8 via Domino

It's been a while since a UK band rode a wave of hype off a single song the way Isle of Wight duo Wet Leg did with "Chaise Longue," one of those instantly catchy, highly quotable earworms that also came with a great video. Six months later, "Chaise Longue," still sounds great but thankfully we've got a few more to listen to now, with more on the way when their debut drops in April. Having heard most of the album live when Wet Leg played NYC in December, there are still a few single-worthy songs still to come.

Pre-order Wet Leg on yellow vinyl.

Father John Misty – Chloë and the Next 20th Century

due 4/8 via Sub Pop

Josh Tillman is finally back with a new Father John Misty album, his first in four years. He made Chloë and the Next 20th Century with longtime collaborator Jonathan Wilson and it looks to be another grand, orchestral epic. Having been made over the pandemic, it will be interesting to hear how much of the last four years will play into the album.

Preorder the loser edition vinyl and box set versions of Chloë and the Next 20th Century.

Let's Eat Grandma – Two Ribbons

due 4/8 via Transgressive

Let's Eat Grandma explored their maximalist pop side with their last album, 2018's excellent I'm All Ears, and while songs like "Happy New Year" prove they haven't abandoned that sound, they're also branching out in different directions, like on Two Ribbons' title track, a somber, bare bones song. It'll be exciting to see how else they evolve their sound this time, too.

Porcupine Tree – CLOSURE/CONTINUATION

due 6/24 via Music For Nations/Megaforce

Prog veterans Porcupine Tree haven't released an album in 13 years, but that finally changes this June, and judging by the shapeshifting, eight-minute lead single "Harridan," it already seems like they've made an album truly worth coming back for.

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick has been in the midst of a comeback following a period of silence, and with a Super Bowl Halftime Show performance coming up, we're really hoping 2022 is the year he decides to drop the album.

Arctic Monkeys

"I just wanted to be one of The Strokes/Now look at the mess you made me make," Alex Turner sang at the start of Arctic Monkeys' last album, and it sums up their career as well as anything. Since hopping on the garage rock revival bandwagon as teenagers, Arctic Monkeys have become one of the best and most unique rock bands around, and every album they've done has been different from the last. Who knows what direction they'll take on LP7?

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend made one of their best albums yet with 2019's Father of the Bride, and Ezra Koenig recently told Mark Hoppus that the band has been recording its followup. "Sometimes I oversell how close we are with the record because who really knows? But we almost have an album’s worth of songs," he says.

100 gecs – 10000 gecs

TBA via Dog Show/Atlantic

We've now gotten the first taste of the follow-up to 1000 gecs, which Laura Les says is "10 times as good as the last one," and it's definitely fulfilled expectations. "Mememe" brings together ska, emo-pop, and EDM like only the duo can, and we can't wait to see what else they have up their sleeves this time.

Cardi B

Can you believe it's been almost four years since Cardi B released her instant-classic debut album Invasion of Privacy? It doesn't feel as long because she's been near or at the top of the charts every year since, and she says 2022 will finally be the year she puts out a new album. Assuming it includes "WAP" and "Up," it's already got two of the best, most larger-than-life songs of the past two years.

SZA

SZA's highly anticipated CTRL followup seems to be faced with some delays (and she spoke of label troubles in the past), but she has put some new singles out and they've all been great, so here's to hoping the R&B trailblazer finally releases her new LP this year.

Syd

SZA's not the only great indie-R&B singer with a three-letter name that begins with S who's been releasing great singles lately. Syd has too, and we hope that means a new album is coming this year.

Saweetie – Pretty Bitch Music

Following her hugely addictive 2020 single, "Tap In," we named Saweetie's Pretty Bitch Music one of the albums we were most anticipating in 2021. She then released another hugely addictive single ("Best Friend" ft. Doja Cat), and an EP, but still no album. Another EP is expected this month as she gears up to finally release the album, which we hope comes out this year.

The 1975

"Making another ‘classic record’ smh," Matty Healy posted in August. Given the band's track record thus far, he's probably not exaggerating.

Maxwell – NIGHT

spring via Musze/BMG

Over a decade after releasing 2009's BLACKsummers'night and over five years since 2016's blackSUMMERS’night, R&B/neo-soul great wraps up his trilogy with NIGHT this spring. New single "OFF" fits right in with the strong catalog that Maxwell has been building since the mid '90s, and it sounds fresh within the context of current R&B too.

PUP

TBA via Rise

PUP's Morbid Stuff remains one of the best punk albums of the last decade or so, and following a great stop-gap EP in 2020, it looks like 2022 will bring a full-length followup. We don't know much about it, but the band did recently put out two new songs produced by Interpol/National collaborator Peter Katis, and they prove the band is still pushing forward.

Rosalía – MOTOMAMI

TBA via Columbia

After releasing one of our favorite albums of 2018 with El Mal Querer, flamenco-meets-electronic-pop great Rosalía is set to return this year with MOTOMAMI. It'll include her great new song with The Weeknd, and Frank Ocean (among others) is rumored to be on it too.

Freddie Gibbs

TBA via Warner

After an ill-fated deal with Interscope in the 2000s, Freddie Gibbs spent the past decade cementing himself as one of the best underground rappers around, and now the major labels are paying attention again. He recently signed to Warner and released a string of promising singles on the label as he gears up for his major label debut.

Conway the Machine – God Don’t Make Mistakes

TBA via Shady Records

After many delays (and other releases), Conway appears ready to release his Shady Records debut, God Don't Make Mistakes. It'll include the Alchemist-produced single "Piano Love," which finds Conway in typically great form.

Code Orange

TBA via Roadrunner

Code Orange recently put out the Rob Cavallo-produced, very-nu-metal single "Out For Blood" and they're touring like crazy this year, and while vocalist Jami Morgan said "Out For Blood" is a one-off single, he also mentioned he hopes to work with Rob Cavallo again in the future, and said that the band have about 25 songs in the work and have been demoing some tracks with Billy Corgan.

Higher Power

TBA via Roadrunner

Higher Power perfected a hardcore/alt-rock fusion on 2020's great 27 Miles Underwater, and they've confirmed that they'll follow it with a new album this year. Read our track review of "Fall From Grace" for more.

Slipknot

TBA via Roadrunner

Slipknot are not a nostalgia act. They continue to innovate, and recent single "The Chapeltown Rag" rivals much of their classic work. The band is expected to put out a new album this year, and frontman Corey Taylor said "we were able to really kind of pull off something crazy" and called it "an expansion of where we were at on We Are Not Your Kind."

Jenny Hval

TBA via 4AD

Jenny Hval signed to 4AD in November and released her first single for the label, the ethereal "Jupiter." While her great new album with Håvard Volden as Lost Girls, Menneskekollektivet, just came out in 2021, hopefully it won't be much longer before there's a follow-up to her last solo album, 2019's The Practice of Love, too.

The Smile

Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner debuted their new project The Smile in May on the Glastonbury livestream festival, and Nigel Godrich, who produced, revealed that they've already recorded an album, saying, "it’s an interesting juxtaposition of things, but it does make sense. It will make sense." The first single sounds like a taut, stripped back Radiohead, and is very promising indeed; hopefully we'll hear the rest this year too.

Camp Cope

TBA via Run For Cover

It's been a long four years since Camp Cope released How to Socialise & Make Friends (our #1 album of 2018), but the gap finally ends this year. Most details are still under wraps, though they recently released lead single "Blue," which found Camp Cope leaning into their softer, slower indie rock side.

Drain

TBA via Epitaph

After releasing one of 2020's best punk albums with California Cursed (Revelation), Santa Cruz hardcore band Drain signed to Epitaph and put out the great new single "Watch You Burn" last year. Now they're set to tour soon, and concrete news on the band's Epitaph debut seems imminent.

Soul Glo

TBA via Epitaph

Another great hardcore band that newly signed to Epitaph is Soul Glo, who put out two of 2021's best punk EPs as they geared up for their next full-length. The EPs alone cover so much ground, so we expect the album to be even more ambitious.

The Linda Lindas

TBA via Epitaph

Young punk band The Linda Lindas had already been in talks with Epitaph, and played shows Bikini Kill, Alice Bag, Best Coast, Bleached, and others, when they captured the heart of the internet with their viral performance of "Racist, Sexist Boy." They released their debut EP in 2020, and have been at work on new music — hopefully including their debut full-length for their new label home this year.

Pedro The Lion

TBA via Polyvinyl

Pedro the Lion's 2019 album Phoenix — their first in 15 years — was an album that was genuinely worth coming back for, a reunion LP that truly rivaled the band's classic work. A followup is expected this year, and our hopes remain high.

Cave In

TBA via Relapse

Cave In's 2019 album Final Transmission was the band's final album with late bassist/vocalist Caleb Scofield, but not their final album ever. They've signed to Relapse, and they're set to release a new album this year. With shapeshifting lifers like Cave In and with Nate Newton (Converge, Old Man Gloom, Doomriders) now in the band, there's no telling what exciting new direction they'll take next.

Greet Death

TBA via Deathwish

Having started out as a punk-goes-shoegaze band, Michigan's Greet Death went in a softer, more acoustic guitar-oriented direction on their two excellent 2021 singles. If that's a taste of what's to come on their next album, consider us very excited to hear more.

Aaliyah

TBA via Blackground Records 2.0/EMPIRE

It's been over two decades since Aaliyah tragically died in a plane crash at age 22, but the R&B legend left some material behind in her vault and now her first posthumous album is set to arrive this year. Lead single "Poison" (ft. The Weeknd) was recently released, and it sounds genuinely great. The album also reportedly features Drake, Future, Snoop Dogg, and more.

Danny Brown – Quaranta

Experimental rap lifer Danny Brown has been finishing up work on a followup to 2019's great uknowhatimsayin¿, and he recently told The Needle Drop that it's called Quaranta and is currently being mixed by TDE's Derek Ali, who also mixed Danny's excellent 2016 album Atrocity Exhibition. Every Danny Brown album has gone in a different direction than the previous one, so here's to hoping Quaranta continues the trend.

Pusha T

Pusha T's 2018 album Daytona was his best solo release yet, and, speaking about its followup, he recently told Billboard, "I think I’ve topped Daytona for sure. One-thousand percent."

Paramore

Paramore released quite possibly their best album yet with 2017's new wavey After Laughter, and after Hayley Williams released two solo albums, she hinted that Paramore would return in 2022.

The Wonder Years

TBA via Hopeless

The Wonder Years have been busy celebrating the anniversaries of The Upsides and Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing and they'll keep doing that this year on tour. But they've also got new music on the way, and judging by their last album (2018's Sister Cities), it's probably going to be a lot different than the pop punk classics they've been celebrating.

Bartees Strange

Bartees Strange has been everywhere since releasing his great 2020 album Live Forever (which got a deluxe edition last year), and it's looking like 2022 will bring the highly anticipated followup. Bartees has a grip on countless styles of music, and he seems unstoppable as an artist. We can't wait to see how he'll surprise us next.

M83

TBA via Mute

Anthony Gonzalez released instrumental album DSVII in 2019 and celebrated the 10th anniversary of Hurry Up, We're Dreaming last year, but it's been since 2016's Junk that we've gotten a proper M83 album. That looks to change this year. At the end of the press release for the Hurry reissue, Mute Records wrote, "Gonzalez is hard at work in the studio and looks forward to seeing his fans very soon." As to how soon is "soon," we'll just have to wait.

Loathe

Liverpool metalcore-meets-shoegaze band Loathe put out one of the most buzzed-about breakthrough albums in recent heavy music memory with 2020's I Let It in and It Took Everything, and the album's highly anticipated follow-up is expected this year (after the band tours with Code Orange).

Drowningman

Vermont post-hardcore/metalcore vets Drowningman are finally back and set to release their first album in over 16 years, recorded with longtime producer Steve Evetts. They recently shared a demo from the album's sessions, and it sounds killer already.

Domo Genesis – Things Happen To Us

Domo Genesis is riding high off a standout verse on his former Odd Future groupmate Tyler, the Creator's Call Me If You Get Lost, and new single "IDFK" suggests his own new album could be pretty great too.

Weyes Blood

TBA via Sub Pop

We were hoping Weyes Blood was going to release her follow-up to Titanic Rising (our #1 of 2019) last year — there was talk — but we sorta figured we wouldn't get it till 2022. After being off social media for most of last year, Natalie finally got back on Instagram to… post some pics with a very cute dog. We'll take it and hope for real news and new music soon.

Fontaines DC

TBA via Partisan

While there's been no official announcement for Fontaines DC's follow-up to 2020's terrific A Hero's Death, frontman Grian Chatten told Apple Music's Matt Wilkinson back in September that their third album was "wrapped up" and were hoping to have something out before the end of the year. That didn't happen but it sounds like we'll be getting something sooner than later.

Aldous Harding

TBA via 4AD

It's been three years since Aldous Harding released the weird, wonderful Designer and here's hoping 2022 will bring its follow-up. Signs pointing to yes: she released excellent new single "Old Peel" last summer, and will be touring North America starting in June. Plus, it's just time for a new album. Surely something new will be out by the time she hits the road.

Horsegirl

TBA via Matador

We may be putting the cart before the Horsegirl, as the Chicago trio are only releasing their first single for Matador in March. They are also busy beyond music, with two members in the first year of college at NYU and the other finishing up senior year of high school, but we certainly hope there's more where "Billy" is coming from and that we won't have to wait till 2023 to hear it.

Built to Spill

TBA via Sub Pop

In many ways it's kind of amazing that Pacific Northwest indie rock greats Built to Spill weren't on Sub Pop from the start. Better late than never, though, as the band signed with the Seattle indie label last year and will release new music this year, just in time for their 30th anniversary.

The Cure

TBA via Geffen

Robert Smith has been promising a new Cure album — or multiple new albums — for years now and though we've learned not to get too hopeful, there are signs that maybe, just maybe, we'll actually get one in 2022. In the press materials of their upcoming European tour, there is mention of a "67-minute" new album still to be announced.

My Bloody Valentine

TBA via Domino

We've been waiting for new music from My Bloody Valentine, with frontman Kevin Shields saying we'd hear new music "this year" for a few years now, never with any actual fruit to bear. (Quite often, though, he's said it in foreign interviews we've had to use Google Translate to read.) Most recently he did this in May, 2021. We have even less hope of hearing something this year than The Cure, but one thing that keeps this in the "maybe" column is that MBV signed to Domino Records worldwide last year. With some infrastructure in place, and label people to apply some gentle pressure, maybe we'll get some good news. Or, like last time, the album will just appear on the band's website with no warning. Either way is ok by us.

blink-182

Last year, Travis Barker said that Grimes, Lil Uzi Vert, and Pharrell were all expected to appear on blink-182's next album. Could Tom DeLonge be involved too? Time will tell.

Sky Ferreira

She says it's "actually coming out this time"!

Rihanna – R9

We're not holding our breath, but maybe this is the year?

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