The 10 Most Anticipated Albums of 2016
1. Frank Ocean - Boys Don’t Cry (TBD)
Best Guess for Release: Summer 2016
What we know: Frank Ocean has been hinting at work on a new album since as far back as 2013. In the spring of 2015, the R&B wunderkind announced that his new album would drop sometime in July, 2015. That news spread like wildfire across social media, exciting fans for what was ultimately nothing more than musical blue balls. July came and went along with the rest of 2015, leaving us with no new Frank Ocean album and no real explanation from Ocean himself.
What we don’t know: Anything else.
Our guess of summer 2016 for a release date is seriously just that: a guess. Frank’s new album has been almost completely shrouded by misdirection, mystery and a lot of waiting. We’re really not sure if he’ll put out this new album in 2016, but the time feels right, and four years after 2012′s nearly perfect Channel Orange we’d absolutely love some new Frank Ocean this year.
Best Guest for Release: Summer 2016
This is another one we thought we might get to hear in 2015. Here we are in January 2016 still awaiting a new release from Ye. The good news: It seems almost certain that Kanye’s full length follow-up to the critically acclaimed but polarizing Yeezus will be released at some point this year. As for an official date, details still remain hazy at best. West has released a slew of singles over the past year, and honestly, they’ve been sort of a mixed bag. “All Day” is a banger, but “Only One” and the very bitter “FACTS,” released only a week ago, leave something to be desired in our opinion.
However, if there’s one artist we can virtually always count on to release a great (if not classic) album nearly every time out, it’s Kanye. With 6 solo albums under his belt, he’s still batting 1.000, so we have no reason to doubt him this time around. Summer 2016 is just a wild guess. A safer assumption is that Kanye will do some kind of surprise release with very little notice. It could be tomorrow, or it could be 12 months from now.
3. Drake - Views From the 6
Best Guess for Release: Summer 2016
Drake’s highly anticipated Views From the 6 was rumored to be dropping in 2015, but after a massively successful “mix-tape” release, a rap battle beat down of Meek Mill, one of the biggest singles of the year in Hotline Bling, and a joint album with Future, he had enough going on to keep himself (and the rest of the internet) occupied. With Views, Drake will be primed to expand upon the sounds from Nothing Was the Same and the aforementioned mix-tape, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, for a release that will hopefully be his best yet. At 29 years old, Drake is reaching what could be his creative apex and we will all be waiting with bated breath to see if the 6 God can come through with a career defining masterpiece.
4. Japandroids - Title TBD
Best Guess for Release: Fall 2016
The boys from Japandroids have been tight lipped about details surrounding a new album, but lately there have been some rumblings that the duo is working on their follow up to 2012′s excellent Celebration Rock. This is great news for anyone who loves their energetic, cathartic, and hook-laden music and it will be interesting to see if the band sticks to their bread and butter formula, or forges ahead into a new direction. Whatever it may be, can we get a joint tour with Beach Slang when the album finally gets released? No two bands were made to tour together more than Beach Slang and Japandroids. As for the release date, nothing has been announced yet, but due to the lack of details, a second half of 2016 release feels most likely.
Release Date: February 5th
The first album on our list that has an actual release date is DIIV’s sophomore effort, Is The Is Are. I know what you are thinking, and yes, that is a confusing title. No, it is not a typo. Also, yes, this album was rumored to come out in 2014, then 2015, and then didn’t come out in either. If the four lead singles (including standouts Dopamine and Under the Sun) are any indication, the three plus years it took for Zachary Cole Smith to complete this album will be worth it. Expect this to be one of the first truly great releases of the year.
6. Animal Collective - Painting With
Release Date: February 19
Animal Collective’s last album, Centipede HZ, was released in 2012 and let’s be honest, it wasn’t their best. Even the fanboys at Pitchfork could only muster up a 7.4/10 for it. Sure, there were some good songs, and it was actually decent overall. However, if we are comparing it to their past classics like Merriweather Post Pavilion, Strawberry Jam, and Feels, it just doesn’t stack up. On Painting With, it will be interesting to see which direction Animal Collective go with their unique experimental pop sound. Lead single FloriDada sounds like it would have been the best song on Centipede, so we may be in store for something similar, but better. Time will only tell, but with a band as innovative and sonically interesting as Animal Collective, they will always be one of the most anticipated releases of the year.
7. Frightened Rabbit - Title TBD
Best Guess for Release: Spring 2016
Frightened Rabbit lead singer and songwriter Scott Hutchinson has promised a more purposeful, and slightly happier record with the release of the bands follow up to 2013′s Pedestrian Verse. With production help from The National’s Aaron Dessner, the band is poised for more complex arrangements that even include a step into electronica. Stay tuned for more details and a lead single from the Scottish band, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this album get an April release.
Best Guess for Release: Fall 2016
Yet another entry on this list for which we have almost no concrete details, the new Radiohead album is a near mortal lock to remain a mystery right up until its release date, which could be literally anytime this year. It’s been five years since Radiohead released The King of Limbs with only a few days notice. Although TKOL was hardly Radiohead’s finest release, the album contained some truly classic Radiohead tunes (See “Lotus Flower” and “Codex”) and showed the band moving in yet another new interesting musical direction. With no singles released from the album thus far, it’s hard to say exactly what is in store from Thom Yorke and Co. this time around. We’re ready for anything.
9. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 3
Best Guess for Release: Fall 2016
In May of 2015, Run the Jewels member El-P shared this Instagram video, simply captioned #RTJ3. El-P’s post hinted at what many fans were hoping: that he and partner Killer Mike were back in the studio working on the follow up to 2014′s amazing Run the Jewels 2, the album that launched the duo to much critical acclaim and fanfare. As of yet, there’s no official release date for the RTJ3, but in October, El-P told DIY that the duo would be hard at work on the album in the coming year.
10. Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost
Best Guess for Release: Summer 2016
In a recent interview with Spin, Modern Baseball’s Brendan Lukens hinted that the band’s new full length album would be released “around when we plan on finishing school.” With members still wrapping up their studies at Drexel University, Modern Baseball already has two full-lengths and a few EPs under their belt. Released near the end of 2015, MOBO Presents: The Perfect Cast EP featuring Modern Baseball was one of our favorite releases of last year, and we have a feeling MOBO is just getting started. Keep your ears peeled for this album. It might just be one of 2016′s best rock releases.
For more talk about the most anticipated albums of the year, check out the Listen In Podcast where we discuss the artists above, and more!
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