Depending on where you live it may be hard to tell, but summer is fast-approaching, and with the rising temperatures comes an avalanche of new music competing for your attention and blog coverage. We cannot and should not tell you how to run your blog, but if you’re the kind of writer looking for the best of the best to share with your audiences then we know of a few upcoming releases you should definitely keep your eye on. These records criss-cross genres, but each one adds something special to the global music community that we believe is worthy of coverage.
Also, just so you don’t start believing we claim to have final say over everything that is good or bad, please know we are always in the market for new discoveries ourselves. It’s rare that more than a day or two passes without someone pitching us new music, and we do our best to hear everything that arrives in our inbox. If you know of a great record on the horizon that is not mentioned in the list below, please comment and add your suggestion. We will definitely make time to listen, and who knows? Maybe you will be responsible for kickstarting the development of future blog content down the line.
Anyways, here are our picks for the must hear albums of April 2016:
The Summer Set – Stories For Monday (April 1)
What can we say about Stories For Monday that we haven’t already written or recorded? The fourth full-length record in a career littered with hits, Stories For Monday is without question the greatest collection of material The Summer Set has ever unleashed upon the world. The album deals a lot moving on, or at least the need to move on, all while staying true to the pop-friendly sound that made the band a household name in the alternative community. We think “All My Friends” may be one of the year’s best tracks, but you can feel free to choose your own favorite when you hear the record.
Explosions In The Sky – The Wilderness (April 1)
Listening to Explosions In The Sky with your eyes closed is like taking flight in a dream, only your feet are still firmly rooted to the ground. The Austin post-rock icons have delivered yet another beautifully complex offering with The Wilderness, and somehow they manage to keep their elaborate compositions relatively short. Only one of the album’s nine tracks surpasses the seven-minute mark, and only two others crack six-minutes. Of all the records EITS have released, this may be the most accessible, but that doesn’t mean the band is dumbing themselves down to appeal to younger audiences. The bar for quality has never been higher, and EITS more than rise to the challenge.
Dreamer & Son – Written Off, Moving On (April 2)
The ambient rock band Dreamer & Son is out to change the world. Forming in Boston from across the U.S., the young quartet puts heart and passion at the forefront of their music. Patrons of Tides of Man, Gates, and Kings of Leon will hear their inspiration in Dreamer & Son’s unique and memorable songs. On the stage or in the studio, they capture the full spectrum of human emotion with soft ambient verses, aggressive choruses, and an explosive live performance. Dreamer & Son aims to break down genre barriers and build a diverse family; a community based on love and acceptance.
Deftones – Gore (April 8)
There are only a handful of modern rock bands whose every move could be considered an ‘event’ in the world of music, but Deftones certainly fit the bill. Fans of all ages from all corners of the planet have been aching for new material from the California based band since Koi No Yokan dropped in 2012, and from what we’ve heard the band will not disappoint with this release. Of all the albums hitting stores in the month of April, Gore feels like the one most likely to end up on ‘Best Of 2016’ lists, and with the band’s penchant for extensive touring we’re sure it’s a record we will be discussing for many months to come.
Sleeping With Sirens – Live & Unplugged (April 8)
Who doesn’t love a good live album? Sleeping With Sirens have been perfecting the art of the alternative-to-mainstream rock crossover for the better part of three years at this point, and with the right amount of excitement behind them heading into summer this year could finally find the band becoming the radio darlings they were meant to be. Live & Unplugged will showcase a side of the group only previously heard on their widely popular acoustic EP, and it also provides the first covers the band has officially released. We never knew we could be excited for another cover of Sublime’s hit single “Santeria,” but here we are chomping at the bit for exactly that.
Me Like Bees – There Will Be Time (April 8)
Indie rock quartet Me Like Bees are poised to catch the alternative scene’s eyes and ears with the release of their head-bobbing, imaginative new EP There will be Time. The band won the opportunity to work with award-winning producer John Feldmann (5 Seconds of Summer, Panic! at the Disco, and of course Goldfinger) on the EP after competing against over 20,000 other artists in the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands competition, and you can hear Feldmann’s helping hand guiding every note played. If this album isn’t good enough to make Me Like Bees a household name we don’t know what could – it’s that good.
Otep – Generation Doom (April 15)
Otep does not promote themselves as band, but rather as an art project or musical revolution aimed at waking the masses from their consumerism-induced comas to reveal the rampant problems impacting our world today. When you heard Generation Doom you hear the sound of creative people yearning to show the truth of our existence on this planet to the uninformed, and they do so through infectious hard rock anthems that will have you singing along in no time at all. We’re not sure if this is the greatest album in Otep’s catalog, but it’s definitely a competitor, and there are more than enough potential singles to help introduce the band to throngs of young rock fans.
Drake – Views From The 6 (TBD)
The self-proclaimed 6 God has been telling fans for months that his long-awaited new album would arrive in April, but as of this posting no hard date has been set. It’s possible that Drizzy will follow the release plan of last year’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late with an unannounced drop on some random night, but we’re not claiming to know anything more than you at this point in time. In fact, aside from “Summer Sixteen” it’s kind of hard to know what to expect from this release, but knowing Drake it will no doubt be something worth talking about.
Sorority Noise – It Kindly Stopped For Me (April 22)
Having been awarded breakout emo band of 2015 by every major music publication you’re likely to know, Sorority Noise are offering fans a bit of their softer side with this four-track EP. It Kindly Stopped For Me tells a story of loss, depression, and recovery in under twenty minutes, and it just might be one of the greatest narratives we’ve heard so far in music this year. If Bright Eyes were to release Fevers And Mirrors today it would sound like this record, and we honestly cannot think of a better compliment to give a band that is already loved by the entire alternative community.
The Other Stars – We Were Kids (April 29)
If The Get Up Kids or Piebald had gotten their start in the new millennium they would probably sound a lot like the new album from Massachusetts natives The Other Stars. We Were Kids is filled with anthemic songs of love, life, growing up, and moving on from front to back. It’s the kind of album that could and should propel the band behind it into the stratosphere, but that only happens if music blogs like the one you contribute to or run gives the band a few digital pages of press. This is the sound of the future, and it’s rooted in the best elements of alternative music history. Don’t miss out.
