This is part three of four. If you haven’t read part two yet, check it out here.
2021 was the year many musicians showed us the works they created during the 2020 pandemic. And since the pandemic is still (somewhat) raging around the world, it’s giving musicians even more time to perfect their craft.
In 2022, 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 2022, in no particular order.
Kendrick Lamar
Album: Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (Aftermath/Interscope/PGLang/Top Dawg)
Release Date: 5/13
Holy shit it’s out! Quickly, stop reading and listen to Kendrick Lamar’s fist album since 2017’s DAMN. Last year I put this album on my most anticipated records of 2021 since there was some hope of a new Kendrick album that year. We were wrong. But this year, he did officially confirm that his long-awaited fifth album would be out by 2022. Get stoked and bump this one loud.
Album: Jackpot Juicer (Rise)
Release Date: 7/29
Dance Gavin Dance’s upcoming tenth album Jackpot Juicer has a lot of hype surrounding it, but it now holds a special place in fans’ hearts. It is the last studio album to feature longtime bassist Tim Feerick who mysteriously passed away last month. So while you’re rocking out and jamming to these groovy post-hardcore tunes, keep Tim’s memory in your mind while you’re doing so. Rest easy, Count Bassy. We love you.
Album: TBA (Rise)
Release Date: TBA
Celtic Punk legends Flogging Molly are scheduled to drop a new album sometime this year. No one knows when it’ll drop, but from what we heard on their latest track “These Times Have Got Me Drinking”, which reminiscences their early sound (think Swagger era), it’s gonna be a blast. Check it out when it drops this year through Rise Records (Dance Gavin Dance, Polyphia, Tiger Army).
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Album: We Do Our Own Stunts (Self-Released)
Release Date: TBA
English dance-punks Does It Offend You, Yeah? haven’t been fully active since 2012, minus a one-off gig in 2015. But to everyone’s surprise, they’re back with a new album coming out sometime this year. It’s not sure yet if this is a short reunion like in 2015 or if they’re fully back permanently, but I’m hoping for the latter.
Joyce Manor
Album: 40 oz. To Fresno (Epitaph)
Release Date: 6/10
In early April, Californian indie punk trio Joyce Manor announced their sixth album called 40 oz. To Fresno. If you love their short, punky songs, you won’t be disappointed with this record. These nine songs are sure to get you through this summer, and the rest of the year. Frontman Barry Johnson said in a press release, “This album makes me think of our early tours, drinking a 40 in the van on a night drive blasting Guided By Voices and smoking cigarettes the whole way to Fresno.” Get it when it drops June 10.
Alexisonfire
Album: Otherness (Dine Alone)
Release Date: 6/24
Finally. After 13 years, we are getting a new Alexisonfire album. The Canadian post-hardcore gods are back. Alexisonfire have been back since 2015 doing shows, but 2019 had the band drop a new song. Fast forward three years and now we’re getting that fifth album. Otherness was self-produced by the band in the span of a week, writing it at the Dine Alone Records clubhouse. “The biggest difference is the space we are all in. We were all really thrilled to make a record, and it was such a respite from what was going on in the world. It felt like life could be beautiful,” guitarist Wade MacNeil told NME. Welcome back, Alexisonfire. We missed you greatly.
Counterparts
Album: TBA (Pure Noise)
Release Date: TBA
While no word yet has come out on Canadian hardcore troupe Counterparts’s next record, we do know that it is done. Theprp.com reported back in January that their seventh album is “done”, with the band saying so on Twitter with “our record is done eat shit u fucking losers.” So far the only thing we’ve heard off this record is a song called “Bound To The Burn” which the band premiered during Four Year Strong’s Christmas show last December. Check the live version (which is the only version as of publishing) below.
Senses Fail
Album: Hell Is In Your Head (Pure Noise)
Release Date: 7/15
So…what happened to those two albums we were promised back in 2021, Senses Fail? Eh, that’s water under the bridge, because Hell Is In Your Head, the post-hardcore group’s eighth album is coming out mid July on Pure Noise Records (The Bouncing Souls, Koyo, Prince Daddy & The Hyena). It will be the band’s first album with new drummer Steve Carey, who replaced Chris Hornbrook in 2018. And so far from what we’ve heard, it’s gonna be a banger.
Pierce The Veil
Album: TBA (Fearless)
Release Date: TBA
Pierce The Veil have been inactive for a long time. The once beloved post-hardcore quartet were riding high, until accusations were made against drummer Mike Fuentes in 2017. It was then in 2020 that the band confirmed that Mike left the group in 2017 and would not be drumming on their next album, whenever that comes out. Better question is, is there a fifth album coming? The answer is yes. Back in October 2021, the band were hitting the studio with Mutemath frontman Paul Meany as producer to work on LP5, which is coming out on PTV’s longtime label Fearless Records (Chase Atlantic, The Pretty Reckless, Windwaker).
Watashi Wa
Album: People Like People (Tooth & Nail)
Release Date: 5/20
Call it a comeback. Underrated Christian pop/rock band Watashi Wa have returned with a brand new record, their first album in 16 years titled People Like You. It will be coming out next week through Tooth & Nail Records (Emery, Off Road Minivan, Slick Shoes). “It was the right time,” frontman/producer Seth Roberts affirmed in a press release. “I felt called to do Watashi Wa again — as if this was what I was supposed to be doing. In the past, it was often difficult. Now, the songs came out easily. When I was writing, it just was Watashi Wa. These days, my perspective on music is similar to the freedom I had when I was younger and first started the band. Things in the world pushed me towards it even more. I thought, ‘Why not just do Watashi Wa again?'” He then stated, “When we broke up, we were in our early twenties, but we’d been together for almost ten years. I was young, immature, and jaded. My ideas were naïve, because I thought I couldn’t do this if I was the only original member. I never thought the first Eager Seas album was a Watashi Wa album even though we put it out under that name. Fast forward, I’m at a different place. My kids are older. I have more life experience. Once I began writing, I asked myself, ‘Why wouldn’t this be a Watashi Wa album?’ All of those old roadblocks in my mind aren’t there anymore. I tried to focus the vision on what Watashi Wa to me. It was always a bigger vision of how we’re all connected. It was based on positivity. This body of work is rooted in faith and optimism.” The album is packed full of collaborations, featuring acts like Relient K, Noise Ratchet, Anberlin, Gasoline Heart, and Dogwood. Get ready for the return of Watashi Wa.
Look out for part four which will come out soon!
Punk Goes Prenatt 