Another year, another slew of album releases to try and keep up with. 2014 was a special time for the Pharrells, Sam Smiths, Taylor Swifts and Beyonces of the world, but what does 2015 have in store for us?
We’ve rounded up some of the most-anticipated releases of the next quarter, and what the artists behind the records have to say so far.
1. Artist: Meghan Trainor
Album: Title
Planned release: January
With All About That Bass, Meghan Trainor unwittingly created one of the best-selling singles ever, topping the charts in 58 countries without even releasing an album. Her debut, dubbed Title, is set to come out at top of 2015, and is partially inspired by her Trinidadian uncle.
Speaking to Idolator, she said: “I think we’ve got a good combination of mostly retro, but I’ll throw in some Caribbean drums randomly in a song, and you’ll be like, ‘Huh? That’s cool.’”
2. Artist: Fall Out Boy
Album: American Beauty /American Psycho
Planned release: January
Less than two years since their fifth album, Save Rock ‘n Roll, Fall Out Boy are gearing up to release their sixth. The boys seem eager to create music together since their 2009 hiatus. In an interview with Alt Press, bassist Pete Wentz said their goal is to make rock that works both in big venues and on the radio.
“It is a bit of a challenge to do it, because I feel like… we feel like a little bit more on an island. I feel like when we started this out, there was a movement of bands, and now it feels like we’re alone,” he added.
3. Artist: Ne-Yo
Album: Nonfiction
Planned release: January
According to a Billboard interview, Ne-Yo is saying goodbye to his dance music phase with his upcoming album, Nonfiction.
“I had to go home on this one. Had to take it back to my roots, and not to say that there won’t be one, maybe two songs on there that the dance crowd can get into, but the majority, the girth of the album, will be R&B,” he said.
4. Artist: Muse
Album: TBA
Planned release: TBA
We’re accustomed to wailing guitars, chilling falsetto and futuristic synthesisers from Muse, but it seems that the band have ventured towards a harder rock sound with their seventh studio album. The English trio worked with AC/DC producer Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange on the upcoming record.
Front man Matthew Bellamy told NME: “I have this strong feeling that the next album should be something that really does strip away the additional things that we’ve experimented with on the last two albums, which is electronics, symphonics and orchestral work and all that kind of stuff.”
5. Artist: Rita Ora
Album: TBA Planned release: TBA
It’s not every day that you break up with your producer boyfriend and he asks you not to release the music you worked on together. Unfortunately for Rita Ora, that’s what happened with her ex beau, Calvin Harris. She was forced to re-work her sophomore album and delay its release, but the pop star seems to be in good spirits about it.
“I’m very excited about this new album. There are people on it who I would never even have dreamed of: Jay-Z and Prince for example,” she told German magazine, Bravo.
6. Artist: Ellie Goulding
Album: TBA; rumoured to be called Ellie Planned release: TBA
Ellie Goulding has been a busy bee, releasing two studio albums since 2010, but the fast pace has finally caught up to her. Talking to Vibe magazine, she said that touring non-stop through Europe, the UK, America and Australia has left her eager to take her time with the upcoming album.
“I reckon that by the end of next year I’ll have a record that I’m happy with, because I’ve got a lot more free time to just get in the studio. Where as before, if you think about it, I was touring from January on, pretty much. ... I can say that I’m just tired. I’m looking forward to slugging out in my comfy clothes in the studio every day,” she said.
7. Artist: Bob Dylan Album: Shadows in the Night Planned release: February
We’ve hit the age of internet sensations and all-too-frequent one hit wonders. Very few solo artists can say they’ve enjoyed a longevity like the one that Bob Dylan has. The 73-year-old is on his 36th studio album with no signs of stopping.
Speaking of Shadows in the Night, he said: “I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time but was never brave enough to approach 30-piece complicated arrangements and refine them down for a 5-piece band … It was all done live. Maybe one or two takes. No overdubbing. No vocal booths. No headphones. No separate tracking, and, for the most part, mixed as it was recorded.”
8. Artist: Imagine Dragons Album: Smoke + Mirrors Planned release: February
The probability that the opening track of your debut album gets singled out by Rolling Stone magazine as “the biggest rock hit of the year” is not high, but Imagine Dragons struck gold with Radioactive. Let’s hope the quartet don’t let the pressure push them into a sophomore slump, especially as front man Dan Reynolds has called the new record “much different”.
“I want to strip it back quite a bit. We embraced a lot of hip-hop influences with Night Visions, but I think the next record will be more rock-driven. It’s too early to say, but there is some weird stuff going on in these songs,” he told Rolling Stone.
9. Artist: Madonna Album: Rebel Heart Planned release: March
Madonna had initially been planning to release her thirteenth studio album, Rebel Heart, in two batches to signify the duality of her character and to account for the large number of tracks she had on hand. Due to a leak of six songs on December 20, however, she had to change course — but the underlying sentiment stands.
“I have an overabundance of songs, and actually, the reason I wanted to call the record Rebel Heart was because I felt like it explored two very distinct sides of my personality. The rebellious, renegade side of me, and the romantic side of me,” she told Billboard.
