Last year brought a diverse range of music from a variety of artists, from break-out rapper Logic to the long-standing rock outfit Queens of the Stone Age. Indie rookie Declan Mckenna proved he’s much more than a one-hit wonder with his politically and socially charged album, What Do You Think About the Car? Lorde embodied the emotions of hedonism and sorrow in the sleek, gleaming release of her album Melodrama.
Although there is plenty of reflection on the music of 2017, 2018 carries plenty of promise. A new year means a clean slate, and artists are hard at work in the studio, mixing and crafting the perfect material for you to check out in 2018.
Here’s some of the upcoming music we can expect this year:
Arctic Monkeys: Over the course of their career, Arctic Monkeys have changed their sound numerous times from defiant outbursts that raged throughout Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not to the classy, slicked-back pulse of AM. Fans have had five years to speculate on the direction of their next release, and finally, the boys from Sheffield are back in the studio. In September 2017, bassist Nick O’ Malley revealed that they began working on their sixth album in a “secret location.”
Chance the Rapper: Lil Chano is currently under no label. He gives his music away online for free, yet he still managed to win three Grammy awards in 2017. He told Complex magazine, “Whatever my next thing is, it’ll be a bit bigger. Like, maybe there’ll be some type of visual component to it. Like it’ll be a movie, or it’ll be a play, or some type of tour.”
Interpol: Melancholy rockers Interpol are preparing to follow up El Pintor and take us through another dark, atmospheric journey. The band spent 2017 touring through the UK and Europe to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their first album Turn on the Bright Lights. On tour, they debuted the new song “Real Life”, which will be on their upcoming album released with Matador Records.
MGMT: Little Dark Age is the next album to be released by electro-pop group MGMT in February this year. They have already given listeners a taste of the trippy direction this album will take in the surreal darkwave-esque title track, as well as the psychedelic singles, “When You Die” and “Hand it Over.”
Tool: A new Tool album is long overdue — fans have been waiting since 2006’s 10,000 Days album for a new one.
Drummer Danny Carey told Loudwire, “We’ll probably have it done in the first half of the year if things go as planned.”
Prophets of Rage guitarist Tom Morello was invited to listen in, and had nothing but praise in his Instagram post where he reported it “sounded epic, majestic, symphonic, brutal, beautiful, tribal, mysterious, deep, sexy and VERY Tool.”
Bastille: In October 2017, Bastille drummer Chris Wood confirmed they had finished writing their third album and were beginning to record it. Frontman Dan Smith discussed the direction of the album with NME magazine, admitting it would be an “apocalyptic dance record.”
Smith said, “We wanted to do something that feels a bit different, wanted to take it a step on from our last record and acknowledge that since we released that album the world seems an even more bizarre and tempestuous place.”
