Whilst there isn’t quite the same hype around an album in June as there was last month with Kendrick Lamar’s release, there’s still plenty to be excited about. And plenty to get you in the mood for summer – particularly if that mood is a sad, sombre, heartbroken one.
Angel Olsen – Big Time, June 3rd (via Jagjaguwar)
Three soaring tracks have already been released ahead of Angel Olsen’s forthcoming album, Big Time. The St. Louis, Missouri singer has also announced the release of an accompanying 28-minute video with the album, too, directed by Kimberly Stuckwisch, which will be available on Amazon Music’s Twitch channel.
Post Malone – Twelve Carat Toothache, June 3rd (Mercury Records and Republic Records)
Set to feature Doja Cat, Gunna, The Weeknd and – interestingly – Fleet Foxes, among others, this will be the big album of June. The title is reportedly related to a recent cosmetic procedure Posty had, which involved getting a set of diamond fangs for $1.6 million (£1.25 million). For most people this would seem like an extraordinary waste, but for Post Malone it still works. Let’s hope he’ll still have a million-dollar smile when his album drops.
Nick Mulvey – New Mythology, June 10th (via Fiction Records)
Nick Mulvey’s New Mythology is an album that centres around the concept of “interbeing” – the interconnectedness we share with all life. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s a reminder of what he told us about the album a couple of months back.
BTS – Proof, June 10th (via Big Hit Music)
As if you needed any further proof (God, I’m funny) of the South Korean boy band’s megastar clout, they’re releasing a three-disc collection of tracks that celebrates their past, present and future. (They only formed in 2010). It will contain some previously unreleased material; however, and thus it still qualifies for this list of June album drops.
George Ezra – Gold Rush Kid, June 10th (via Columbia Records)
Written and produced entirely in London with longstanding collaborator Joel Pott, Gold Rush Kid will follow George’s No.1 albums Wanted On Voyage (2014) and Staying At Tamara’s (2018). Here’s to the hattrick, Ezra.
Carrie Underwood – Denim & Rhinestones, June 10th (via Capitol Nashville)
Country fans out there will be looking forward to this one. The eight-time GRAMMY-award-winning country star Carrie Underwood is dropping her highly-anticipated album Denim & Rhinestones near the middle of the month – an album in which she co-wrote 11 of the 12 tracks alongside frequent, trusted collaborators.
Erica Banks – Diary of The Flow Queen, June 17th (via Warner Records)
Texan rapper Erica Banks will be dropping the contents of her diary in the middle of the month. Banks’ ‘Buss It’ was the basis of a viral TikTok trend last year. She’ll be hoping that success on the platform now translates into album sales a year later.
Foals – Life is Yours, June 17th (via Warner Records)
Based on the four tracks out so far, Life is Yours is shaping up to be Foals’ poppiest record yet, with recently released 2001 even being something of a dance affair. I’d put money (if I had any) on some big remixes being made of the tracks from the forthcoming album.
Hercules & Love Affair – In Amber, June 17th (via BMG)
Hercules & Love Affair, the exceptional dance project led by Andy Butler, will be releasing their first album since 2017’s Omnion. Featuring some drumming work from Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Peter Clarke (aka, Budgie), the record also sees Butler reuniting with ANOHNI, who co-wrote and sang on Hercules & Love Affair’s eponymous 2008 debut.
Nova Twins – Supernova, June 17th (via Marshall Records)
Nova Twins are releasing their near-eponymous sophomore album (‘near-eponymous’ as they are indeed super). The duo have already put out four tracks ahead of Supernova, including K.M.B., which of course stands for ‘Kill My Boyfriend’. As ever, the pair don’t hold back and aren’t likely to on this album either.
Joey Bada$$ – 2000, June 17th (via Columbia Records)
Easily confused with Foals’ track ‘2001’, Joey Badda$$’ 2000 is out in the middle of the month. Another confusing date, this one comes exactly a decade since the release of the Brooklyn rapper’s mixtape, 1999. Bada$$ will also be heading out on tour throughout June, alongside New York artist Capella Grey.
Kevin Gates – Khaza, June 17th (via Bread Winners’ Association / Atlantic Records)
Louisiana rapper Kevin Gates is dropping his third studio album, Khaza. Like Joey Bada$$, a major American tour (Big Lyfe Tour) is set to follow. Like Erica Banks, Gates has had some success in recent times due to TikTok; his Juicy J-featuring track ‘Thinking with My Dick’, originally released in 2013, shot back into the limelight, hitting No. 37 on the Billboards.
Perfume Genius – Ugly Season, June 17th (via Matador Records)
Apparently, June is ugly season – at least for Perfume Genius, that is. This album will also be accompanied by another artistic exploit as Mike Hadreas has also enlisted New York based artist Jacolby Satterwhite to create an accompanying short video. This album comprises songs Perfume Genius wrote for his immersive dance piece with the choreographer Kate Wallich, The Sun Still Burns Here.
Conan Gray – Superache, June 24th (via Island Records)
Superache will be Conan Gray’s sophomore album – the follow up to his 2020 debut Kid Krow. If the teaser track ‘Yours’ is anything to go by, the album’s title will be entirely apt; this is likely to be a heart wrencher of an album.
Lupe Fiasco – DRILL MUSIC IN ZION, June 24th (via 1st & 15th)
In one of the more brilliant rap stories of the year, Lupe Fiasco is set to teach rap at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) this year. In a since-deleted tweet to a fan (per Complex), Fiasco outlined his initial ideas for the syllabus, writing: “Syllabus isn’t built yet but I’m thinking its fruit to be had in looking at neuromorphic computation through the lens of Rap as a lossless data compression model with a dash of energy efficiency via refining Landauer’s principle applied to cytoarchitectonics. And some rapping…”. Maybe the syllabus will just be listening and dissection his forthcoming album, DRILL MUSIC IN ZION.
Soccer Mommy – Sometimes, Forever, June 24th (via Loma Vista Recordings)
Soccer Mommy, aka Sophie Allisson, is releasing Sometimes, Forever. Judging by ‘Shotgun’ it will continue her angst-ridden sound and lyricism. Her third full-length album it’s also been produced by Oneohtrix Point Never, aka Daniel Lopatin.
Jack Johnson – Meet the Moonlight, June 24th (via Brushfire Records / Republic Records)
Typical of Jack Johnson’s work, the titular track for his forthcoming album, Meet the Moonlight, is a simple percussion click with melodious guitar. This will be classic Jack Johnson. It’s also being released in part through his Brushfire Records label – a label he set up with friend Emmett Malloy to help put out soundtracks for surf films they’d made, and which has since tried to be an environmentally-conscious label.
James Vincent McMorrow – The Less I Knew, June 24th (via Faction)
This year will mark quite a prolific one for Irish singer-songwriter-producer James Vincent McMorrow, who’s dropping two albums between now and autumn. The Less I Knew will be the first, out in June – the soothing, titular track of which is out already. Heavyweight Champion of Dublin 8 will drop later in the year.
