I am sick of winter, and I suspect you are, too. With spring arriving at 7:21 EDT Sunday night — a little earlier than usual thanks to the celestial vagaries of the vernal equinox — we can start looking at not only warm weather but some major album releases. And after a rather dull Q1, things are looking up — especially if you’re a rock fan.
Just look at what we’re getting Tuesday, which is the first truly important release day of 2011. The guess is Green Day will have a studio album for us in the fall (please, God, let it not be another rock opera) and to keep us occupied, they have Awesome As F**K, a live CD/DVD from their 21st Century Breakdown Tour. More live music will come from the reconstituted Soundgarden in the form of Live on I5, which is hopefully an amuse bouche for an album of new material later this year.
Hipsters, meanwhile, are trying not to appear curious about the return of The Strokes with Angles, their first album after a five-year acrimonious walkabout. Other albums to watch include the apparently post-emo version of Panic! At the Disco with Vices & Virtues and All You Need is Now, which is 80 per cent original (and well-aged) Duran Duran.
Momentum builds on March 29 with anticipated albums from Sum 41 (Screaming Bloody Murder), Boxer Rebellion (Cold Still), Generationals (Actor-Caster), and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Belong). And then there’s the matter of Britney Spears, who will inexplicably end up with another number one album with Femme Fatale.
The industry takes a bit of a breather the following week (although I am looking forward to Blood Pressures from The Kills on April 5) before all the planets line up on April 12 with the Foo Fighters (Wasted Light) and the North American release of Build a Rocket, Boys by Elbow.
