Pumpkins lead summer CD releases
Two things we can’t get enough of in summer: Good weather and good music.
We can’t do much about the former but we can help with the latter.
Here are 20 CDs to add to your playlist between now and Labour Day. For those who want to check them out now, we’ve included links to online tracks.
Enjoy. But bear in mind, all of this info can change faster than the weather.
Kelly Rowland – Ms. Kelly
The Destiny’s Child alum is supposedly so obsessed with her shoes she talks to them. Sadly, that’s not the kind of soul we’re looking for in her second album. July 3
Three 6 Mafia – Last 2 Walk
Is it hard out there for an Oscar-winning pimp-rap posse? We’ll find out when the Mafia put out their first disc since their Hustle & Flow victory. (July 3)
Velvet Revolver – Libertad
Guns ‘N Pilots fire off round No. 2. We hope the rest of it is better than the so-so leadoff single She Builds Quick Machines. (July 3)
Bad Religion – New Maps of Hell
Singer Greg Graffin says album No. 14 finds the SoCal punks “exploring new material — musically and topically.” And rockin’ like a mutha, if the 85-second cut Heroes & Martyrs is a sign. (July 10)
Crowded House – Time on Earth
Neil Finn and Nick Seymour enlist help from Johnny Marr, Steve Lillywhite and more for their first disc in more than a decade. (July 10)
Interpol – Our Love to Admire
The New York hipsters move to a major label with this third CD but keep their spiky, dark-hearted post-punk sound intact on new single The Heinrich Maneuver. (July 10)
Smashing Pumpkins – Zeitgeist
Okay, it’s really only a reunion of cueball bandleader Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. But if the rest of the disc is as energized as Tarantula, we’re good with that. (July 10)
Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
A confession: We always thought these artsy Austin pop-rockers were over-rated — until we heard tunes from this sixth album. (July 10)
The Chemical Brothers – We Are the Night
Supposedly, this disc was delayed a month by production problems with the cover. That better be some freaking awesome art. (July 17)
Peter Criss – One For All
It has been 25 years since KISS’s Cat Man put out a solo album. Nope, we didn’t miss him either. (July 24)
Sum 41 – Underclass Hero
“We’re doin’ fine,” sings Deryck on the title track to Sum’s fourth set of Green Day-ish pop-punk. We’ll be the judge of that, Mr. Lavigne. (July 24)
Korn – Untitled
Singer Jonathan Davis claims the rockers’ eighth studio disc has no title because it “has no boundaries (and) no limits.” And the cheque is in the mail. (July 31)
Deborah Harry – Necessary Evil
It’s the Blondie singer’s first solo disc in 14 years. If that’s not enough, she’s written a song about Lil’ Kim called Dirty and Deep. (Aug. 7)
Kula Shaker – Strangefolk
Remember these guys? They’re back. And based on their new tune Great Dictator, they’ve added some garage-rock grit and wry wit to their psychedelic rock. (Aug. 14)
M.I.A. – Kala
Can the Sri Lankan-born, London-based hip-hop phenom possibly top her first album? We don’t know — but if the real Bird Flu were as exotically catchy as her single, we’d already be dead. (Aug. 21)
The New Pornographers – Challengers
They say the third time’s the charm. But really, how much more charming can Carl Newman and his Vancouver indie-popsters get? (Aug. 21)
Sixx A.M. – The Heroin Diaries
Motley Crue’s ringleader Nikki Sixx has turned his wasted years into a book — and a soundtrack. That’s one way to recoup all that money you blew on drugs. (Aug. 21)
Ben Harper – Lifeline
The blues-rocker got back to basics for this disc, recording it in one week on analog equipment. Okay, it was done in Paris — let the guy have a little fun. (Aug. 21)
Leann Rimes – Family
Rimes does Dusty — with a dash of Skynyrd — on the southern-rockin’ single Nothin’ Better to Do. Can’t wait to hear the rest of it. (Aug. 28)
Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy
Ha! In your dreams, pal.
Categories