25 albums to listen to this winter
by Jade
January 13, 2022
As we continue celebrating 89 Days of Winter, I'm here with some suggestions for 25 new albums out this winter that you might want to put on your playlists.
The Weeknd, Dawn FM (Jan. 7)
An album of experimentation from the Canadian star is already being talked about as a contender for album of the year (a bold statment for an album released the first week of 2022). We'll have to wait and see about staying power, but it's an album that is worth the conversation.
Earl Sweatshirt, Sick! (Jan. 14)
For such a young artist, Earl Sweatshirt has experienced a biopic-worthy amount of drama. He was the mysterious, internet-famous teen in the Odd Future crew who seemed like the obvious star but slowly went internal while Tyler, the Creator became the big name. There was reform school, and a public grappling with the death of his father. Through it all, Earl Sweatshirt has made music, and three years after his last release, Sick! brings a contemplative, clever, and mature voice to the forefront once again.
Elvis Costello and the Imposters, The Boy Named If (Jan. 14)
There's an urgency to "Magnificent Hurt," the first new single from Elvis Costello and The Imposters' album The Boy Named If. According to Costello, the new album is individual moments “That take us from the last days of a bewildered boyhood to that mortifying moment when you are told to stop acting like a child — which for most men (and perhaps a few gals too) can be any time in the next fifty years."
FKA Twigs, Caprisongs (Jan. 14)
Much of the music being teased for 2022 is about finding joy and working through pain, and it sounds like the 17-song mixtape from FKA Twigs will be just that. In an interview late last year with the BBC, she shared that she “spent so much time in darkness … that when I’ve been in lockdown, I’ve been really missing my friends and going out … and dancing. I’ve wanted to make music for the people closest to me that I love.”
The Lumineers, Brightside (Jan. 14)
The fourth album from Colorado band The Lumineers seems to push towards optimism. Brightside is about seeing the dark, but trying to find something light in it. The lead single, "Brightside," leans into that grim hopefulness with frontman Wesley Shultz saying, “It’s like a 15-year-old’s fever dream, an American love story in all its glory and heartbreak. The last couple left, on the run from something and all alone.”
AURORA, The Gods We Can Touch (Jan. 21)
Norwegian musician AURORA took inspiration from Greek mythology for her latest album. She was struck by the humanity — the jealousy, petty gripes, and dramatic love — that the Greek gods possessed.
Yard Act, The Overload (Jan. 21)
The buzzy U.K. group gained a following (and a record deal) during the pandemic and are eager to get out and play some shows for their new fans. Yard Act have a biting, acerbic post-punk sound that is ready to take on wealth and poverty, class structures, drugs, depression, and fame.
Amber Mark, Three Dimensions Deep (Jan. 28)
Four years after her EP landed, Amber Mark is ready to release her debut record, Three Dimensions Deep. The New Yorker has been slowly building a following with her crying-on-the-dance-floor jams.
St. Paul and the Broken Bones, The Alien Coast (Jan. 28)
Here's to a new St. Paul and the Broken Bones album for late January. This is the first album the band made in their hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. There's a joy and exuberance that the group bring to this new sound on "The Last Dance." Its lyrics are a simple narration: "Lose yourself in a song that doesn’t make you want to cry / God knows we need it right now / so feel it, so feel it." Take the advice and lose yourself to a bit of fun.
Black Country, New Road, Ants From Up There (Feb. 4)
Ants From Up There comes on the heels of last year's debut, For The First Time, from Black Country, New Road. The seven-person band from London are back with their drama-club esoteric storytelling. The improvisational feel to the album can be felt on songs like "Chaos Space Machine" and "Concorde."
Hippo Campus, LP3 (Feb. 4)
Hippo Campus are setting off on an overseas tour in February before they travel across the U.S. through the spring. Helping them along will be a handful of new songs from LP3. If "Ride or Die" is any indication, it will be a catchy and fun new set to hear.
Mitski, Laurel Hell (Feb. 4)
A frantic '80s beat flutters with anxiety on Mitski's latest single "The Only Heartbreaker." Released with the announce of her latest album, Laurel Hell, the single debates the qualities of the dumper in the end of the relationship. Mitski brought in songwriter to the stars (and Minnesota native) Dan Wilson — the Semisonic star who has written with Taylor Swift and Adele, just to name a few — to help Mitski reach the depths of sadness in being the relationship "bad guy."
Big Thief, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (Feb. 11)
When we had the Brooklyn band into The Current studio for a session, it was clear that they were on a level of understanding with one other that was rare. That synergy is clear with the new album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. In fact, drummer James Krivchenia spoke of the recording process: “We all just scattered about the room without headphones, focused and in the music — you could feel that something special was happening.”
Shamir, Heterosexuality (Feb. 11)
“I think this album is me finally acknowledging my trauma,” Philadelphia-based artist Shamir said in a statement about his new album, Heterosexuality. It's an album of self-reflection and examining how society views him.
Spoon, Lucifer on the Sofa (Feb. 11)
In early 2020, Spoon were in Austin, Texas, with an album nearly 80 percent complete … but then the pandemic hit, and the studio sessions came to an abrupt end. Now nearly two years later, the band are ready to release their new album, Lucifer on the Couch. It’s been a long time coming, but if lead single "The Hardest Cut" is any indication, this is a rocker for old-school fans.
The Cactus Blossoms, One Day (Feb. 11)
The old-school country crooners from Minnesota are back. The Cactus Blossoms are releasing a pandemic album that the group produced themselves with some help from engineer Alex Hall, who brought them a mobile rig from Chicago that they set up in their basement. The inspiration was current events: “It felt like the whole world was falling apart,” the Blossoms’ Page Burkum says. “We had to put things on hold just so we could try to wrap our heads around everything that was happening in Minneapolis and beyond.”
Broods, Space Island (Feb. 18)
Sibling duo Broods have created a storybook theme to their new album, Space Island. Every song is a new chapter of the highs and lows of life for the New Zealand band. Singer Georgia Nott said of "Heartbreak," “We wrote this from a place of determination. Determined to learn from the loss of my marriage and keep my heart open in its most tender state.”
Beach House, Once Twice Melody (Feb. 18)
Beach House decided to produce their latest album, Once Twice Melody, entirely by themselves for the first time (and they recorded it in part at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota). They have always been a band who live in their own creative world, in a soundscape that is distinctively their own. They brought in a string ensemble, and that live movement gives even more fluidity to the floating daydream of sound on "Once Twice Melody."
Hurray For The Riff Raff, Life on Earth (Feb. 18)
New Orleans-based artist Alynda Segarra has returned with her project Hurray For The Riff Raff. The album, Life on Earth — announced with a new song, "Rhododendron" — highlights the laconic and almost amused vocal delivery of Segarra; several places have likened it to a Lou Reed style. The song is about being in nature and having a "mind expansion. A psychedelic trip. A spiritual breakthrough."
Khruangbin and Leon Bridges, Texas Moon (Feb. 18)
The earlier collaborative project from the Austin, Texas, musicians was called Texas Sun; this time around, it’s Texas Moon (out February 18). Khruangbin’s Laura Lee said, “It’s like a short story. And it leaves room to continue having these stories together. It’s not Khruangbin, it’s not Leon, it’s this world we created together.”
Gang of Youths, angel in real time (Feb. 25)
The Australian band took the pandemic as a time to rethink their sound and to overhaul themselves artistically. They were able to leave expectations aside and make music that came from creative exploration in the studio. The album seems to be mostly a look at lead singer David Le'aupepe's loved ones: the night he met his wife, his grandfather's secret past, funerals, and family gatherings.
SASAMI, Squeeze (Feb. 25)
Inspired by a Japanese folk spirit that has the head of a woman and the body of a snake, this song was written and recorded during the pandemic to combat “toxic positivity,” allowing Los Angeles songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sasami Ashworth (aka SASAMI) to create an outlet for others to get out their “anger, frustration, desperation, and more violent, aggressive emotions." The new album pulls in some metal elements (inspired musically by Korn and System of a Down) as well as some songs co-produced by Ty Segall, so prepare for a more dark and industrial sound from SASAMI.
Superchunk, Wild Loneliness (Feb. 25)
A song about climate change with lyrics like, “We used to like this song with snow piled up outside / We used to wonder when the mornings would turn mild” kicks off the intro to the 12th album from Superchunk. The new album, Wild Loneliness, was recorded in North Carolina during the lockdown, and it features some guest vocalists, including Teenage Fanclub bandmates Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley.
Swamp Dogg, I Need a Job … So I Can Buy More Autotune (Feb. 25)
The 79-year-old soul and blues master continues to make music that is funky and fun. The new album, I Need a Job...So I Can Buy More Autotune, seems like it will continue the path laid out with his partnership with Minnesota native Ryan Olson (Poliça).
Band of Horses, Things Are Great (March 4)
A new album from Band of Horses will give you something to look forward to in 2022 with the band releasing, Things Are Great on March 4. As frontman Ben Bridwell said, “I think like a lot of my songs, ‘Crutch’ starts with something from my real life. Obviously ‘Crutch’ means some of the things that I was dependent on. My relationship for one. I think I wanted to say, ‘I’ve got a crush on you,’ and I thought it was funny how relationships also feel like crutches. I feel like everybody has had a time when nothing goes right and you still have to carry on. I think that feeling hits you in this song even if you don’t know what the specifics are.”
Playlist
This feature is part of The Current’s 89 Days of Winter series, helping you enjoy the best of the season with weekly guides to events, entertainment, and recreation in the Twin Cities.