I can’t remember ever being more excited about the slate of upcoming releases than I am right now.
The next couple of months hold the promise of new albums from Hot Chip, Shamir, Mbongwana Star, HNNY, Jamie xx, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Major Lazer, De Lux, Kanye West (possibly), Chromatics (hopefully), Tanlines, and Hudson Mohawke.
Even if only half of these releases hit the mark, 2015 is already shaping up to be an incredible year for music.
In addition, a bunch of my favorite local / under the radar acts have been dropping really great work in the past couple of weeks. Here’s a few of them…
Oddience – “Watermelon” (produced by Com Truise)
LA-based trio Oddience put out one of the great, slept-on hip hop albums at the tail end of 2013 called “Um, Yes You Can”.
If you were one of those who went narcoleptic on it, you can still grab it for free on their Soundcloud page.
The group has been quiet since the release of that album until yesterday, when Oddience dropped a new single called “Watermelon“.
Wavy, spacey and soulful as ever, Oddience sounds at home over the Com Truise production. The track has some serious early 2000’s Ninja Tune / Big Dada vibes.
Misun – “After Me”
The thing that I love about Misun is that you never really know what to expect, except that it’s probably going to be good.
Their latest single finds them in classic pop-mode with a track that wouldn’t sound out of place at the Brill Building in the 1960s.
“After Me” is the first track from the group’s forthcoming “Feel Better” EP set for release on May 29th. As Misun’s #1 fanboy in residence, I can’t wait to hear the rest.
The Derevolutions – “Different” EP
Boston electro-indie pop duo The Derevolutions are always reliable for an earworm or two — or five in the case of their new “Different” EP, which picks up right where last year’s self-titled album left off.
Boasting a hilarious feature from President Obama, The Derevolutions have once again provided the soundtrack for your summer hijinks.
**BONUS** Chromatics – “In Films”
The bad news is that we thought Chromatics‘ new album, “Dear Tommy“, was coming out in February, but that didn’t quite happen.
The good news is that the album is on the way (looking more like a summer release at this point) and the latest single from “Dear Tommy” is out now as a free download and is superb.
“In Films” is one of Chromatics’ catchiest tunes to date and one of my 10 favorite tracks of the year so far.
Get it and put it on repeat until the rest of the album comes out.