This is part two of four. If you haven’t read part one 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.
Silverstein
Album: Misery Made Me (UNFD)
Release Date: 5/6
Post-hardcore legends Silverstein are aiming to shake things up on their eleventh album Misery Made Me. Frontman Shane Told put it, “We went into this with no rules and no preconceived notions of what Silverstein is or what it could be. The results are bold. We somehow wrote the heaviest, saddest, catchiest, and most emotional songs in 22 years of being a band…all on the same album. I wanted to explore the meaning of ‘Misery’ as a main theme throughout the album. Despite the mountains climbed and boulders pushed during recent years, we were confronted by the weight and misery of staying relatively in the same place for a long period of time. Finding peace in the reality of this misery became important. The record is about the acceptance of a new reality and adapting to it.” Check out the misery when it drops May 6 via UNFD (Crossfaith, In Hearts Wake, Short Stack).
Hot Water Music
Album: Feel The Void (Equal Vision)
Release Date: 3/18
Gainesville punk rockers Hot Water Music are planning on an electric return to form on album #9. With The Flatliners’s frontman Chris Cresswell now an official member and the band being on a new label, Equal Vision Records (And So I Watch You From Afar, Hail The Sun, Scary Kids Scaring Kids), HWM are ready to show that they haven’t slowed down for a band that’s nearly 30 years old. The record was produced by longtime producer Brian McTernan (Bane, In Fear And Faith, Strike Anywhere). When it album drops later this month, make sure to get the album New Noise called “a solid album.”
Portugal. The Man
Album: TBA (Atlantic)
Release Date: TBA
2017 was a massive year for Alaskan turned Oregonian psychedelic pop-rock band Portugal. The Man. Their eighth studio album Woodstock would become one of their most successful albums to date, selling over half a million copies, and even won them a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Feel It Still”. Fast forward five years later and no word on a new record. But during the pandemic, they have been working hard on their ninth record, including some new tracks, one, a collaboration with deadmau5, being only available as an NFT. “We’ve been writing a lot of music,” bassist Zachary Carothers told Riff Magazine last April. “We’ve been working on an album for the last couple years and, once again, we just had to overthink it. We strip stuff away; we throw away sessions—kind of like we always do. But we are getting very, very close. We’re getting to the last few weeks. We’re still writing new songs and stuff. We have a real easy time starting songs and incredibly difficult time finishing songs. When it comes to something like this, nobody knows when the song is done. You just have to stop at some point. And we’re getting very close to the stopping stage. But no one can really tell when that is. I know that we do want to get a little bit more on the grid before we release anything, and … kind of figure out the world that we’re coming back to.” Only time will tell when the new record drops.
Drug Church
Album: Hygiene (Pure Noise)
Release Date: 3/11
Back in 2018, I put their third album Cheer as the best album of the year. Will they be able to repeat that feat come years end when Hygiene hits stores this Friday? It’s hard to say right now, especially since we’re only three months in to 2022. Last year, the post-hardcore/grunge act dropped a stupendous EP called Tawny, bridging the gap between Cheer and Hygiene. And it did tie fans over, showing that the band aren’t ready to slow down yet. From what’s been released so far off of Hygiene, it’s gonna be a bonafide hit that no one should sleep on.
Eve 6
Album : TBA (Velocity)
Release Date: TBA
No one expected Eve 6 to make a comeback. Nearly 20 years after their relevancy ended, the 90s alt-rock act known for their “heart in a blender song” meme’d themselves into popularity when frontman/bassist Max Collins started using Eve 6’s Twitter to create hilarious posts and memes. And somehow this shitposting got the band a deal with rebooted label Velocity Records (D.R.U.G.S., If I Die First, Nate Bergman), who released the band’s latest EP Grim Value last June. It was the band’s first batch of new material since 2012’s Speak In Code album which came out on another oddball label for the band, Fearless Records (Archetypes Collide, Grayscale, Oceans Ate Alaska). They’re gonna ride on this rebirth of fame by dropping a brand new album sometime later this year.
Placebo
Album: Never Let Me Go (Rise)
Release Date: 3/25
Placebo are doing a bunch of firsts on their upcoming album Never Let Me Go. For starters, it’s the band’s first album recorded solely as a duo following the departure of drummer Steve Forrest in 2015. Second, it’s their first album under Rise Records (Angels & Airwaves, The Distillers, Merci). Third, it’s their first album in nearly a decade. Heavily inspired by Kanye West’s Yeezus, Rolling Stone called Never Let Me Go “Placebo’s strongest album in years,” packed with songs full of “metallic stoner rock, post-punk and gorgeous piano melodies.” Get this one at the end of the month.
Charli XCX
Album: Crash (Atlantic)
Release Date: 3/18
Meet Charli XCX’s bad side. On her final album under her contract with Atlantic Records (100 gecs, Lizzo, Royal & The Serpent), the pop goddess is going all out, unleashing bangers left and right. The album follows her early pandemic release How I’m Feeling Now and features her “demonically talented” friends, with production Ariel Rechtshaid (Adele, Plain White T’s, Vampire Weekend), Lotus IV (Cash Cash, Ty Dolla $ign, Zedd), Ian Kirkpatrick (Breathe Carolina, Lauv, The Ready Set) and Justin Raisen (Joji, Sharon Van Etten, Yves Tumor), plus appearances by Christine And The Queens, Caroline Polachek, and Rina Sawayama.
Bleachers
Album: TBA (RCA)
Release Date: TBA
Already? But they just released one! Yup. Apparently, Jack Antonoff, the man behind Bleaches, made a promise on Twitter that a new album would be out this year, tweeting, “i am going to put out a bleachers album this year.” That tweet was posted on New Years Day. If this is going to happen, it will be the shortest amount of time between Bleachers albums. Their third studio album Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night coming out last July.
Album: THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND (Little Dipper/Rise)
Release Date: 4/1
Recorded over the span of five summer days last year with Grammy-award-winning producer Peter Katis (The Get Up Kids, Interpol, The National), PUP’s fourth album has the band trying some very experimental things. Due to the pandemic, Katis let the Canadian punks stay in his house during the making of THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND. This let the band experiment with instruments like pianos, synths and horns. They even remotely collabed with several acts like NOBRO, illuminati hotties, Casper Skulls, and Remo Drive. So far from what we’ve heard, it’s gonna be a masterpiece.
State Champs
Album: Kings Of The New Age (Pure Noise)
Release Date: 5/13
With their fourth album, Albany pop-punkers State Champs are here to prove they’re the kings of the new age. The band in a press release, “Kings of The New Age is our fourth album, the one that we spent the most time on, and the one that makes the biggest statement. After writing over 30 songs, we narrowed it down to 11 that best represent our mission as a band, and sonically, match the energy level we wanted to captivate heading into this new chapter.” Continuing they add, “KOTNA is a reflection on the past few years during a very weird time,” they continue. “However, it is also a reminder that we’re only here for so long. Although we will always live and learn by trial and error in areas like friendships, family, careers, relationships, etc., there’s no time for toxicity and negativity when a certain opportunity presents itself. Never waste a moment that can be seized. Times are changing, culture is evolving, and we’re happy to provide the soundtrack and let you know that we’re here to stay. Welcome to The New Age.” It’s gonna be amazing.
Part three will come out next week!
Punk Goes Prenatt 