2010 - AGCS ALBUM PREVIEW PART TWO

A few days ago we listed the 5 albums we’re most looking forward too in the brave new world that is 2010, but in the second part of our album preview we’ll be delving into the murky world of unconfirmed solo albums and rumoured returns. Here, then, is an examination of the albums we optimistically expect to be released this year, and why we’re looking forward to them.

(WARNING - VERY LONG POST)

of Montreal - False Priest

The next record from the excellent of Montreal has already been tentatively titled “False Priest” but further details remain pretty scarce. It might include a song named Teenage Unicorn Fisting (and how fucking awesome is that?!) which you can see the band perform in an acoustic session here. It’s predictably awesome, but unless of Montreal have really stripped back their sound then I’m guessing the album version will be quite a bit different. The new record should be out this year - whether that means in a couple of months or in December isn’t clear but the sooner we can get our hands on some new of Montreal the better.

Kate Jackson / Madame Ray

Little is known of the former Long Blondes frontwoman’s solo outing, other than the fact that she’s now going under the name Madame Ray and is being assisted by Bernard Butler on production. I was, and still am, a huge fan of the Long Blondes, but it was guitarist Dorian writing all the songs and the majority of the lyrics so it will be interesting to see how Jackson copes on her own. A sampler has apparently already been sent out and receives a pretty lukewarm reaction here. We’ll just have to wait and see whether Madame Ray can make it alone.

The Avalanches -Untitled Second Album

Blind optimism here I know, but is it too much to ask for a new Avalanches record this year? The ever dwindling number who still care about the Australian electronic group have seen so many deadlines and release dates pass that the record’s actual existence has been called into question. Updates are few and far between, with the most recent communique coming in May last year, when the band simply posted a message saying they were “clearing samples”. Given that the excellent “Since I Left You” contained over 3,000 samples, we could still have a long wait.

Architecture in Helsinki - Vision Revision

On the upside, fellow Antipodeans Architecture in Helsinki look much more likely to release an album this year, and have even given it a title - “Vision Revision”. Originally slated for a December 2009 release, an update at the end of last year stated that they were “still chipping away at our record, and it still makes our eyes well up when we mention it”. The band also mentioned that they would embark on a world tour in the second half of the year “with our whole revamped she-bang”. Using our Columbo-esque powers of deduction, AGCS reckons this means the album will be out some time in summer. They haven’t made a bad album yet and it’s gonna be interesting to see which form the band take next.

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

We’re pretty confident this record’s definitely going to be released this year, but so far there’s no definite release date. Wikipedia says March, and if I’ve learnt one thing it’s that everything written on Wikipedia can and must be taken as fact. Despite that sarcasm though, it does look like we’ll be getting some more Gorillaz in the very near future. A music video has already been filmed and the album already has a tracklisting. Demon Days was a pretty amazing pop album, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Damon had it in him to do even better. With Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed and Barry Gibb all lined up to appear it’s certainly going to be interesting.

Kele Okereke - Solo Album

It was reported back in November that Kele was working on a solo project, and although there’s been no further news it wouldn’t be a great surprise if a record was sprung on us unexpectedly, in the style of Bloc Party’s last album Intimacy. We’ve got no evidence that there’ll be any release this year, but it’s hardly a long shot and we can’t wait to hear how Kele sounds without Matt, Gordy and Russell.

Mystery Jets - Third Album

The band have been working on this for a while and from what I can gather Mystery Jets have their third record pretty much wrapped up. A studio report from Fly magazine claimed the album should be out “maybe March or April” and will apparently feature “bigger, bolder sounds and compositions”. Including a bit that sounds like Meatloaf. After the pretty disappointing Twenty One it’s not great to hear phrases like “yacht rock synths” being bandied around again but fingers crossed the record will be a return to form.

Anything Else?

Hopefully there’ll be some other surprises along the way - I for one would love to see a new Modest Mouse record, and Spiral Stairs has said that new material from the reunited Pavement is “inevitable”. Meanwhile Does It Offend You, Yeah? can’t be far from a new album, and how about a good Beck record after the past decade of mediocrity and disappointments? Is it too much to ask?

The third (and final) part of our 2010 Album Preview will be mopping up the stuff we’ve left out so far, and it’s going to include Liars, Good Shoes and Owen Pallett’s first release without the Final Fantasy moniker.

Jed. x