First up we have the Leamington Spa Indie/Electro quartet, known as 'Post War Years'. They released their debut album in 2009 entitled 'The Greats and The Happenings'. Since then they've pretty much been a supporting act for fellow Indie/Electro bands like Does It Offend You Yeah? and Everything Everything. They released a single in November called 'All Eyes' which showcases the deeper, electronic sound reminiscent of The Naked & Famous, among others. That single can be heard here. The release date for this upcoming album has not been confirmed as of yet.
Next up is 'The Big Pink'. Many of you will already know, or should know who The Big Pink are. They released an astonishing debut in 2009 called 'A Brief History of Love', which combines sweet, heartfelt lyrics with hard hitting beats and Shoegaze-esque sounds. The pre-release singles are both melodic and feature a more refined sound. You can hear 'Hit The Ground (Superman)' here. Another track entitled 'Stay Gold' is located here... Apparently Lady Gaga added this song to her 'list', but I don't know what that means. The album is due out in January, so prepare for a brighter, smooth album. Although it wont be as strong, I think it will be well received.
This could go either way in my opinion. The new 'Sleigh Bells' album. It will no doubt cause a stir within the hipster neighbourhoods on the Internet that's for sure. They've released one track called 'Born To Lose', which you can listen to here. They have the same gritty sound, but I think they're adding a serious touch to the music this time around. I reviewed the debut album 'Treats' poorly because it was a poor album. I'm just hoping they've taken the time they need to create something other than pointless noise. Something loud and melodic but at the same time lyrical, could make for quite a decent 2012 album.
'School of Seven Bells' return this year with their third studio album. I've seen the duo live, I have both albums and rate them highly. The album is duo out in late February, so I have plenty of time to catch up on those two Electronic friendly albums. They're heading for a bigger, brighter future with this album. Lot's of guitar layers and a ton of reverb. Check out this tune.
Earlier this year, I saw 'Spiritualized' perform a number of tracks from their upcoming album entitled 'Sweet Heart Sweet Light', which will be out in March. These songs were much more melodic than 2008's 'Songs In A&E', and featured several references to Christianity, a recurring theme in Jason Pierces lyrics. Check this out... It's an album which will make my 'Top love making albums'. They also have a lovely song called 'Mary', which will please my Mary.
'The Magnetic Fields' return once again with their 11th studio album. It will be released on Merge Records. The band return after a 13 year gap from Merge, since 69 love Songs was released in 1999. Expect exciting new material and fun, Indie Pop songs with more synthesizers. I for one cannot wait for this release, it's due out in March. I couldn't find an upcoming song, so have this badger instead.
Another band I saw live this year, 'The Twilight Sad', release their third album. I'm very excited for this release actually, the songs I've heard have all been very good so far. The album is called 'No One Can Ever Know' and it will be released in early February. In the meantime check out this Amnesiac/HTTT period Radiohead influenced track called 'Sick'.. or the final song on the album 'Kill It In The Morning'.
2012 looks to be a good year at this view point. We have 'Cloud Nothings' releasing their new album, 'The Shins' are back, so are 'The XX', 'Yeasayer', 'The Walkmen' and 'Dirty Projectors'. It remains to be seen if we will hear any new Avalanches material, that's the same view with Animal Collective. I'm still waiting for Sigur Ros to announce their new album, I'm sure that will drop late in 2012. So we have a decent list of upcoming albums here, all of which I'll be checking out over those first three months, you should too.
