The boys are back in town.
Arguably a year where we see some of the biggest bands in the music industry step back into the light and release a new record or just make a comeback altogether. The biggest announcement of 2010 was probably that of Britpop band Pulp, who announced they were coming back and confirmed shows at Wireless in London, Primavera Festival and sub-headlining for Foo Fighters on the Saturday at Isle of Wight Festival. Is another UK festival on the cards? Will a new record be coming out? Will we be seeing the band playing across the country this year? All of this is yet to be confirmed but you'll be sure to hear hits like this over the coming few months.
However, it's not just all about Cocker and his gang making a comeback this summer as several other bands are returning with brand new records. Mentioned above, Foo Fighters have just announced they've completed recording a new album, in Dave Grohl's garage recording on tapes, and as well as Isle of Wight, they are also headlining Oxegen and T in The Park in Ireland and Scotland respectively. Speaking of Oxegen, Arctic Monkeys have also been confirmed as headliners for the festival, but very little information has been released about a possible new album, but fingers crossed we will receive some in due course.
One band that everyone eagerly awaits to return is The Strokes. Their last record, "First Impressions of the Earth" was released all the way back in 2006, and while solo projects from Julian Casablancas, Albert Hammond Jr. and Nikolai Fraiture, as well as a live return in the summer last year have helped to whet the appetite, a new record, a proper tour and some more festival appearances in summer 2011 would go down a storm.
Will we be seeing a return from Radiohead in the coming year? Work has been on-going on the follow-up album to "In Rainbows" but seems to have stalled over the past few months, but it'll be interesting to see what they can produce, and whether it'll be finished in time to make any live appearances this year. Unlike Radiohead, Elbow are well set to make a grand return this year, their fifth album "build a rocket boys!" is scheduled to be released on the 7th of March, and with an arena tour also taking place later in the month, Guy Garvey and co. say the new album is definitely sounding good for the big arena audiences. A video below is a live recording of one of the tracks off the new album, "Lippy Kids." Other notable mentions go to the likes of White Lies, Portishead, REM and many more.
One band that everyone eagerly awaits to return is The Strokes. Their last record, "First Impressions of the Earth" was released all the way back in 2006, and while solo projects from Julian Casablancas, Albert Hammond Jr. and Nikolai Fraiture, as well as a live return in the summer last year have helped to whet the appetite, a new record, a proper tour and some more festival appearances in summer 2011 would go down a storm.
Will we be seeing a return from Radiohead in the coming year? Work has been on-going on the follow-up album to "In Rainbows" but seems to have stalled over the past few months, but it'll be interesting to see what they can produce, and whether it'll be finished in time to make any live appearances this year. Unlike Radiohead, Elbow are well set to make a grand return this year, their fifth album "build a rocket boys!" is scheduled to be released on the 7th of March, and with an arena tour also taking place later in the month, Guy Garvey and co. say the new album is definitely sounding good for the big arena audiences. A video below is a live recording of one of the tracks off the new album, "Lippy Kids." Other notable mentions go to the likes of White Lies, Portishead, REM and many more.
Little fish enter the big pond.
2011 also looks an exciting year for new, up-and-coming acts, who either are set to release debut albums or make big strides in the music industry with massive tracks take will make a big splash in the music world. One band that has already been written about on here that have their debut album out at the end of January are Chapel Club. The London-based band's "Palace," which features The Shore, All the Eastern Girls and O Maybe I as well as an additional 4-track CD for a few extra quid hits shelves on January 31st, but for the meantime, enjoy their upcoming new single, "Surfacing," which will be out in the next few weeks for download/purchase.
BBC's Sound of 2011, NME and many other music publications have raved about the likes of The Vaccines (their debut album "What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?" will be out in March), Jamie Woon, Brother and MONA, but one artist in particular looks set to have a bright future in James Blake. Despite finishing second in BBC's Sound of 2011, his song "Limit to Your Love" really does send shivers down the spine, a truly beautifully constructed record. With a brilliant soulful voice, Blake's self-titled debut album, which is out on February 7th, should be something every avid music fan should be looking out for.
Perhaps rap, hip-hop and the likes don't get enough attention, but artists like Jay Electronica will surely make a big splash in 2011. Originally spotted as a result of a 9:13 minute piece of music on MySpace called "Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge)" using music from the soundtrack of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and changing the music and mood in each of the 5 segements whilst mixing in dialogue and rapping, it was no surprise he would soon be spotted, and unlike Jay-Z's recent signing of Cher Lloyd onto his record label Roc Nation, the critically acclaimed rapper surely must be onto a winner here. Songs like "Exhibit C," shown below, will have all music fans begging for more from the young star.
A massive year for music lies ahead...
