These are the albums I’m most looking forward to this year:
Eisfabrik
Title: Kryothermalmusik aus der Eisfabrik
Release date: January 24
An Eisfabrik album in the dead of winter seems very appropriate. The German futurepop band have confirmed their fifth album, with a German title that translates to “cryothermal music from the ice factory.” It’s coming in just a few weeks. We’ve already heard first single “And Nothing Turns.”
Grimes
Title: Miss Anthropocene
Release date: February 21
I’ll be honest, I’m not really feeling the last couple of Grimes songs. They feel really muddy and dirgey. But I loved “We Appreciate Power,” which will be a bonus track on Miss Anthropocene, and I’m hoping the rest of it sounds like that.
Rotersand
Title: How Do You Feel Today
Release date: March 13
Rotersand promises to get political on their next album, which is due out in March. It will include the previously released tracks “You Know Nothing” and “I Feel You Don’t.”
Assemblage 23
Title: Mourn
Release date: TBD
Assemblage 23’s output has been consistently outstanding, so I expect nothing less from the next album. Tom Shear used crowdfunding to cover some costs, and he’s already given us the album title, Mourn.
mind.in.a.box
Title: TBD
Release date: TBD
Black is coming back. Late last year, the official mind.in.a.box Facebook page teased us with new music from the Dreamweb. It will be miab’s 8th album.
Gary Numan
Title: Intruder
Release date: TBD
Gary Numan is on fire right now. His last two albums, Splinter (Songs From a Broken Mind) and Savage (Songs From a Broken World), are fantastic concept works, so there’s no reason to doubt his next release. He has revealed some info, including the album title and some lyrics, on his Making Music campaign. It’s called Intruder and should be out this year.
Liquid Divine
Title: TBD
Release date: TBD
Last summer, Liquid Divine put out a call for “voices” to provide recordings for their next album. In December, they announced that the album will be out in 2020. This sounds really promising.
Kite
Title: VII
Release date: TBD
It’s been 5 years since Kite’s last EP. (Kite only releases EPs with roman numeral titles, so presumably the next one will be called VII.) They returned in 2019 with a couple of concerts at the Royal Opera and a new song called “Tranås/Stenslanda.” They’re in the studio now working on new music, but it’s too early to say when it will be out.
Edge of Dawn
Title: TBD
Release date: TBD
Frank Spinath is in a lot of projects: Seabound, Edge of Dawn, Ghost & Writer, Radioaktivists, and Lionhearts. So it’s understandable that there are long waits between albums for each project. It’s been the longest since the last Edge of Dawn album — 10 years! They’re due. In December, his Edge of Dawn bandmate Mario Schumacher confirmed it on Facebook: “Frank and I are working on new Edge Of Dawn material.”
ACTORS
Title: TBD
Release date: TBD
It Will Come to You was my favorite album of 2018. I’m excited to hear what’s next from the Vancouver post-punk band. Their label, Artoffact, has confirmed on Twitter that new music is coming this year, but that’s all we know so far.
Mesh
Title: TBD
Release date: TBD
Mesh is playing Amphi Festival in July. They’re also vying for a spot at Glastonbury. It’s been nearly 4 years since their excellent album, Looking Skyward. There’s nothing official yet, but I’d bet good money they release something new by the summer.
Priest
Title: TBD
Release date: TBD
In November, the lead singer of Priest removed his bondage-theme mask for the first time and said they were calling it quits. In reality, they’re returning this year in another “incarnation.” This sounds very similar to the theatrics of the metal band Ghost that members of Priest once belonged to. My interest is peaked.
T.O.Y.
Title: TBD
Release date: TBD
T.O.Y. released an excellent single in 2019 called “Silent Soldiers.” I reached out to them to see if they’re working on a full-length, and this is what they told me: “We are currently working on new material and hope to finish a new album this summer. Don‘t expect a release before Autumn/Winter. “
Architect
Title: TBD
Release date: TBD
Daniel Myer suffered a setback in 2018. He was nearly finished with his next Architect album when some of his gear was stolen in Texas. On Bandcamp, he released a collection of music called Find Fund Finish to “get my instruments back and finish the Architect Album.” Here’s hoping he accomplished that. (BTW, I follow Daniel on Instagram, and he seems incredibly happy these days, which is so nice to see.)
Legend
Title: TBD
Release date: TBD
This one is mostly speculative. I have no idea if the Icelandic band Legend will release something this year. They promised new music last year, but it never materialized. I think they are one of the most exciting bands in the world right now, so I remain hopeful we get album number three this year.
