Only a handful of exams currently stand between us and summer 2016, which is starting to look like a good season for music. After many album postponements and shifty rumors about new music, official release dates are finally cropping up. Here is a list of the five most anticipated albums of this summer.
1) HAIM, TBA
In 2014, this band made up of Alana, Danielle and Este Haim, as well as drummer, Dash Hutton, told Rolling Stone that their new album to follow up 2013’s Days Are Gone would be coming “very soon.” In the time that they toured and wrote for the new album, they also worked on creating their own Beats 1 Radio Show, which launched last November under the name “Haim Time.” Since the girls have notably worked with a lot of hip-hop and electronic dance music collaborators since releasing their debut album, many anticipate a slightly different sound for the coming project. As for whether it will actually drop this summer still remains as unclear as the Chesapeake Bay.
2) Frank Ocean, Boys Don’t Cry
Frank Ocean is the master of the art of anticipation. This New Orleans-repping singer-songwriter is perhaps the most distant member of mainstream R&B to date, having essentially slipped off the face of the earth after dropping Channel Orange all the way back in 2012. Although over three years ago he told Zane Lowe from BBC Radio 1 that he was already “10, 11 songs into this next thing” – the thing, of course, being his next album – not so much as a single has been released from the upcoming project.
He announced on his Tumblr, as he often does, that the album would be coming out in July 2015. After a series of canceled performances last summer, he finally resurfaced at Kanye West’s listening party for The Life of Pablo/Yeezy Season 3 Fashion Show at Madison Square Garden, and his music hungry fans were outraged. As of last month, Ocean’s producer Malay (who helped with a lot of the work on Zayn Malik’s solo album), ensured Ocean’s next album is ready—but we’ve heard that one before. Only time will tell if Ocean ever returns with that allusive sophomore album.
3) Tegan and Sara, Love You to Death
On June 3, Canadian pop duo comprised of sisters Tegan Rain and Sara Keirsten Quin will be releasing their eighth studio album. The identical twins have been active members of the music industry since they were 15, when they were in a band called Plunk. They have since not only completed eight entire albums, but have also done innumerable amounts of collaborative work, both as the duo and as soloists, and have received a long list of awards for all of the amazing tunes they have been putting out since 1999. Earlier this month the pair released “Boyfriend,” their forthcoming album’s lead single, along with the announcement of U.S. tour dates, exciting fans for the full, completed project.
4) The xx, TBA
This indie pop band from London formed a four-piece musical group in 2005 after meeting each other at Elliot School in their hometown. Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim created the group at age 15, the guitarist Baria Qureshi joined it when they began performing in 2005 (though he left the band in 2009) and Jamie xx rounded the gang out the following year.
They released their debut album, xx, in 2009, and then Coexist in 2012, both have which have been very well critically received. Shortly after releasing Coexist, though, the group has practically disappeared from the music scene. In May 2014, Jamie xx finally reappeared in honor of The xx and stated they would shortly begin working on their third studio album. Last summer, it was announced to be coming soon, and after much delay, many believe it will be dropping sometime this summer.
5) Post Malone, Album of the Year
Post Malone is yet another musician to subject his anxious fans to a major delay, this time on his already-hyped-up debut album. Last month, he posted on Instagram he would be releasing his first album that week, but it never came. With only three official singles out to date, he is very slowly fueling his rapidly growing audience. The buildup skyrocketed when a song of his, rumored to be on the forthcoming album, played at Kanye West’s Madison Square Garden listening party/fashion show back in early February.
As for the new official release date, there is not one. All that listeners are going off of is a tweet from a writer in Kansas named Christian S. Hardy, who said, “Post Malone’s camp just told me his debut album will come out on August 26.” Again, only time will tell if the album actually drops this summer.
Provided all of these albums actually drop in the time span they are rumored to release, you have got yourself quite the summer anthem playlist set up already. After long anticipation, the albums are hopefully on their way to lighting up the coming season.