I think we’re all hoping that 2021 is going to turn out better than 2020 has. That improvement is definitely going to be aided by some of the killer albums due to come out next year; our writers give us their most anticipated releases here!
Weezer – Van Weezer (7th May 2021)
I don’t even know where to start with this one. At their best, Weezer are responsible for some of the best earworms in rock; at worst, they become total self-parody and are very difficult to take seriously. You don’t have to spend too much time Googling Raditude to get a feel for the latter. After a truly triumphant return to form in 2014 with Everything Will Be Alright in the End and the subsequent fantastic White Album in 2016, the band (characteristically) deviated to new, more popular sounds. The sugary sweet pop clichés on Pacific Daydream and Black Album, and a covers album in 2019, are just the latest additions to a worryingly large catalogue of Weezer albums mostly disregarded by fans. Considering two delay announcements (initially slated for May 2020, now for May 2021), the awful title and eyesore “graphic design is my passion” cover, the lead-up to Van Weezer has not filled me with hope. But debut single ‘The End of the Game’ and Bill & Ted tie-in ‘Beginning Of The End’ have both been roaring bursts of the band’s strengths, and the idea of Weezer channelling riff-rock or imitating hair metal is weirdly endearing. There are worse promises than a new batch of guitar-led stuff from the group, I suppose.
Harry Geeves
Foo Fighters – Medicine at Midnight (5th February 2021)
Foo Fighters are one of those bands I’ll never get sick of, even if the records they produce don’t quite meet my high expectations every time – they never fail to draw me in. 26 years on and 9 studio albums later, the band is pretty seasoned as to how to make a record that hits all the high notes. From their first self-titled album Foo Fighters in 1995, all the way to their latest record Concrete and Gold (2017), Foos have evolved as a heavy rock band who can straddle the barrier between soft and hard rock and we can expect nothing less from their upcoming album Medicine at Midnight. Having been originally scheduled for release this year, but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Foo Fighters’ upcoming album promises to be a good one – especially after the recent release of the single ‘Shame Shame’ which graced our ears in November. Medicine at Midnight is a short one, only 37 minutes appear to be on the tracklist, however, I think this means we’re in for a fast-paced rock winner and I personally can’t wait til its release in the new year!
Katie Evans
Rihanna – title tbc (2021)
This has not yet been confirmed, nor is this promised to happen in 2021, but it sure is a wish we hope to come true. For nearly 5 years now the Rihanna Navy has been wishing upon a star hoping for the day Rihanna decides to release a new album and Vogue can confirm there are many rumours that RiRi will grant us our wish with R9 (title tbc). Rihanna’s ninth studio album is expected to be heavily influenced by reggae prompting a new era of Rihanna. Each album Rihanna brings blesses us with a new and wonderful side of RiRi, and hopefully with a new musical approach she can be forgiven for five years without producing a new album. When talking to British Vogue, Rihanna stated “I can’t say when I’m going to drop. But I am very aggressively working on music” but we’ll hold our breath until her new album plunges into our lives.
Morgan McMillan
Greta Van Fleet – The Battle at Garden’s Gate (16th April 2021)
Any big fans of 70s rock inspired sounds have to have heard of Greta Van Fleet by now. Often heralded as the new age Led Zeppelin, the band only has 1 album under their belt since their formation in 2012, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, alongside 2 EPs, Black Smoke Rising and From the Fires; as such, you can imagine that a fan such as myself is ravenous for another LP. Of course, COVID permitting, a new album also hopefully means a new tour, meaning there might actually be a chance for us to see these rock legends in the flesh. My hopes for The Battle at Garden’s Gate is that it’ll deliver on the mountains of promise Anthem of the Peaceful Army gave us on just what the band is capable of. They have an awful lot to live up to from their debut album, but from the singles they’ve released in the meantime, ‘My Way, Soon’ and ‘Age of Machine’ (although they really have to drop this ‘Age’ theme they’ve got going on), it’s looking like the new album is going to be a good one.
Alice Fortt
