Matt Cowan/Staff/GettyThe end of the year is rapidly approaching, but there is still so much good music on the way.
Whether you’re a clamoring for the first Smashing Pumpkins release from their (nearly) completely original album in nearly 20 years, or pumped for the next concept record from Muse, or looking for something completely new, the last quarter of 2018 has something for everyone (even psych-jazz weirdos like myself).
Smashing Pumpkins
November 16
Now that Billy Corgan has released his solo project Ogilala, and went through a brief, yet bizarre name change to William Patrick Corgan, it seems like he’s finally ready to reunite with Smashing Pumpkins. Original members James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin are officially back in the band, a move that has definitely piqued interest in this new project. One glaring omission, however: still no D’arcy Wretsky, the bands’ bassist from 1988-1999, who says Billy Corgan offered her a contract to rejoin the band and then rescinded it. Rick Rubin will produce the album, marking the first time he has worked with the band since 1997’s Adore sessions. The tracks he produced for Adore were ultimately scrapped from the final version of the album.
Greta Van Fleet – Anthem of the Peaceful Army
October 19
All Led Zeppelin comparisons aside, this Michigan based band can seriously rock. It’s pretty amazing that GVF has been able to build such hype around them with only an EP, 2017’s Black Smoke Rising. This is definitely one of the most anticipated albums of the year. Anthem of the Peaceful Army will be anything but peaceful judging by last year’s release, and the band should enjoy a breakout year.
Grimes
While most of the world was introduced to Grimes at this year’s Met Gala as Elon Musk’s girlfriend, she has been carving out a delightfully experimental career for herself for over a decade. Falling somewhere between dream-pop and electronic, the Canadian artist has been a critical darling over the past several years, garnering especially rave reviews for 2015’s Art Angels. Now armed with more name recognition (and maybe a flamethrower?), Grimes is primed for her moment in the spotlight with her upcoming yet-to-be-named album; a spotlight moment she earned years ago.
Vampire Weekend
Hard to believe it’s been a decade since Vampire Weekend dropped one of the most celebrated albums of the last 20 years. Their latest project has been delayed nearly a year due to various issues including long delays at vinyl pressing plants, which is actually becoming a real issue for the entire music industry. Anticipation is building for the release as the band has been sporadically playing new songs off of the yet-to-be-named album at various festival dates this summer.
21 Pilots – Trench
October 5th
Despite being one of the few bands that can claim three videos on YouTube with over one billion views, the band is maturing and taking the calculated risk of turning to an even edgier and darker sound. Their latest singles “Jumpsuit” and “My Blood” are a far cry from the light-hearted “Ride” that put the band on the map back in 2015.
Tenacious D – Post-Apocalypto
November 2
Following debut album The Rize of the Fenix in 2017, the “Greatest Band in the World” took their time in perfecting their latest offering. Jack Black has been teasing the album for the better part of two years now, stating in interviews that the band worked “very slow.” To make up for the long build up on this album, it was recently announced that the new album, Post-Apocalypto, will be paired with a six-part animated series under the same name, debuting September 28 on YouTube.
Ty Segall – Fudge Sandwich
October 26
Ty Segall has kept a pretty predictable release schedule by releasing an album a year since bursting on to the San Francisco garage rock scene back in 2008. This year, however, fans will be blessed with two albums (not to mention his collaboration with White Fence and the upcoming GOGGS record). The first was the critically acclaimed Freedom’s Goblin released back in January and the second will be the just announced Fudge Sandwich, an all covers album featuring Segall’s versions of “Hit It and Quit It” by Funkadelic, “Lowrider” by War, and John Lennon’s “Isolation” to name a few. Known for his absolutely chaotic live shows, keep an eye out for Segall when he hits the Chapel in San Francisco October 21st in support of Fudge Sandwich.
Muse – Simulation Theory
November 9
They may not be the next Beatles as Rick Rubin predicted, but Muse has managed to remain one of the most popular bands in the world despite some very questionable releases recently. Their 2015 release Drones was a wandering prog-rock protest album that takes nearly 50 minutes to come to the conclusion that war and drones are bad (no shit). This didn’t stop it from winning a Grammy for Best Rock Album, despite most publications giving it less than glowing reviews. This time around members of the band expressed their desire to move away from concept albums, with lead singer Matt Bellamy even going as far as to say that he wanted to experiment with incorporating more hip-hop and acoustic sounds on their eighth studio album Simulation Theory. They then quickly threw that idea out the window when they announced the album would center around the concept of exploring the role of simulation in society, along with their familiar blend of synth,prog, and alt rock. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, I guess.
Conan Mockasin – Jassbusters
October 12
Humor me for a moment, because Conan Mockasin is not for everyone, but if he does appeal to you you have a special place in my heart, ya little weirdo you. Mockasin is all over the map musically: jazz, alt, psych, dream pop , R&B, space rock, you never know what genre you’re going to get from Mockasin. But his musical experiments are the listeners gain as he continues to crank out some of the most interesting music on the independent scene. Jassbusters, his follow up to the overly-sexual, but thoroughly entertaining Caramel seems to be steeped in his signature guitar noodling and bizarre aesthetic if the first single “Con Con Was Impatient” is any guide. And while sharing Mockasin’s music with casual music fans may net you a certified “freak” label, he continues to push boundaries and collect prestigious fans along the way including: Frank Ocean, Thom Yorke, and James Blake who have all cited Mockasin as inspiration at one point or another.