This is part three of four. If you haven’t read part two yet, check it out here.
In 2023, we’re getting several great albums some several great bands and artists, but out of all the albums that are coming out this year, these are the ones you need to keep your eyes on. Here are the most anticipated albums of 2023, in no particular order.
Can’t Swim
Album: Thanks But No Thanks (Pure Noise)
Release Date: 3/3
New Jersey’s finest emo-pop quartet is dropping a banger in less than a month. Can’t Swim’s fourth album Thanks But No Thanks features some already killer singles like “Nowhere, Ohio,” and “me vs me vs all of y’all,” but it’ll feature their heavily emotional hit “i heard they found you face down inside your living room.” If you haven’t given this one a listen yet, please do so right now. “[It’s] about the time I received a phone call that one of my friends had committed suicide. The lyrics describe not being able to fathom living without them,” frontman Chris LoPorto said about the track. “The confusion, regret, and resentment have sat heavy in my heart for a long time but writing this song has given me some sort of solace and relief. Obviously, a very dark song but I hope it can provide some sort of comfort to others who have gone through this similar circumstance.” Check it out along with the rest of the record when it drops March 3 via Pure Noise Records (Born Without Bones, Grumpster, Real Friends.)
AJJ
Album: Disposable Everything (Hopeless)
Release Date: 5/26
AJJ being on Hopeless Records (Grabbitz, New Found Glory, With Confidence) still feels bizarre. I mean, Hopeless has diddled with folk in the past, working with Floridian act Damion Suomi And The Minor Prophets over a decade ago. That doesn’t matter right now. Arizonian folk punk icons AJJ are dropping their eighth record this May. Frontman Sean Bonnette said this album deals with a lot of things, such as late capitalism, apocalyptic themes, and the death of Sean’s mother. “A large part of this album is the terrible thing I’ve been imagining finally happened,” Bonnette mentioned in a press release. A big theme is my mom’s death, which is something I think everyone lives in terror of. But once it happens and you’re still alive, you figure out how to move on. It is, in some weird way, our happiest record.”
Meet Me @ The Altar
Album: Past // Present // Future (Fueled By Ramen)
Release Date: 3/10
Well they were only off by a year. Originally positioned to come out sometime in 2022, until it got shelved to a 2023 release date back in June, East Coast pop-punk trio Meet Me @ The Altar will finally give us their debut full-length album Past // Present // Future on March 10. After dropping four EPs, one with their first label Fueled By Ramen (Fall Out Boy, nothing,nowhere., Waterparks) in 2021, fans — including the band themselves — cannot wait for it to drop. “This album pays homage to the music we loved growing up while reflecting our modern-day lives, sounds, and experiences – we can’t wait to share Past // Present // Future with the world.” Get stoked.
Samiam
Album: Stowaway (Pure Noise)
Release Date: 3/31
Glad to have you back, guys. Berkley punk legends Samiam announced all the way back in 2019 that their ninth album was in the works. Fast forward four years later and it’s finally here. Stowaway drops March 31 on their new label Pure Noise Records. This record has been in the works for over a decade, with work taking place in various studios, including Billie Joe Armstrong’s Otis Studio.
The Gaslight Anthem
Album: TBA (TBA)
Release Date: TBA
When The Gaslight Anthem announced their reunion last March, they said that a new record would be out eventually. Frontman Brian Fallon wrote on Instagram, “We’re also beginning to write new songs for what will be our sixth LP. We’re very much looking forward to the future and seeing you all again. We want to thank you for staying with us. Stay tuned!” As of right now, that’s all the info we have to go off of. Let’s see where TGA goes with this one.
Waterparks
Album: Intellectual Property (Fueled By Ramen)
Release Date: 4/14
Well, well, well. It seems the Waterparks boys have hit the jackpot. After spending years on indie labels like Equal Vision Records (Armor For Sleep, Gideon, No Devotion) and Hopeless Records, and a brief stint with 300 Entertainment (Gunna, Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug,) the Texan power pop trio have found a new home with major label Fueled By Ramen. They’re celebrating their success with a new record this April titled Intellectual Property. Welcome to the big leagues.
Microwave
Album: TBA (Pure Noise)
Release Date: TBA
While nothing has been confirmed yet, Atlanta rockers Microwave might be cooking something. Last year, the band dropped the grungy “Circling The Drain,” a sound Microwave haven’t tackled yet. Their most current record, 2019’s Death Is A Warm Blanket, delved into the realms of post-hardcore, taking notes from Fear Before The March Of Flames, Nirvana and Heavy Heavy Low Low. Maybe the grunge or post-hardcore stylings will continue on their next outing.
The Killers
Album: TBA (Island)
Release Date: TBA
At this point in their careers The Killers can do whatever they want to do. From the bustling sounds of alt-rock/post-punk on their debut Hot Fuss to the Bruce Springsteen-esque heartland rock stylings of Imploding The Mirage and Pressure Machine, they’ve nearly done it all. When asked by NME if a new album would drop this year, frontman Brendon Flowers said that a “full record will probably be early next year.” It’ll be produced by Shawn Everett (Broken Social Scene, Phantom Planet, Weezer) and Stuart Price (Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, Take That.)
City And Colour
Album: The Love Still Held Me Near (Dine Alone/Still)
Release Date: 3/31
“The Love Still Held Me Near was born out of unimaginable loss and he subsequent journey through the grief and heartache that followed,” frontman Dallas Green said about City And Colour’s upcoming seventh record The Love Still Held Me Near. “It’s about digging deep down into yourself and attempting to unearth hope and light in the things that can comfort you through those times. For me that has always been written Gand recording music, so that’s exactly what I did.” Hope you’re ready for what is probably the most emotional City And Colour record to date.
Hot Mulligan
Album: TBA (Wax Bodega)
Release Date: TBA
The only new material we’ve received from the former Prenatt’s Picks act was Acoustic Vol. 2 and “Drink Milk And Run”. It’s also been three years since they released you’ll be fine, which I put as one of the best albums of 2020. Now in 2023, the only thing the #1 Hot New Band have announced were them opening for The Wonder Years’s The Hum Goes On Forever tour, a European/UK tour with Arm’s Length, attending Sad Summer Festival with Taking Back Sunday, PVRIS, and Motion City Soundtrack, and an appearance at When We Were Young in Las Vegas this October alongside Blink-182, The Academy Is…, and Lit. Yet there’s been no word on a new album. Maybe before Sad Summer or WWWY we’ll get some info on album #3.
Part four will come out next week!
Punk Goes Prenatt 