
Two Door Cinema Club – Keep On Smiling – 2 September
Three-and-a-half years on from their previous album, False Alarm, Two Door Cinema Club return. You’d almost be forgiven for realising it, though. Curiously, the band have chosen to abandon multi-format editions and outstore editions for Keep On Smiling – and have even reportedly gone so far as destroying the masters to the album, seemingly not interested in chasing the charts. Some reverse psychology at play to make people listen? Who knows.
Yungblud – Yungblud – 2 September
The follow-up to 2020’s Weird! is Yungblud’s self-titled album. The Doncaster rocker reportedly chose such a title “because nothing in my life has ever made more sense”. We hope such clarity brings forth yet another compelling album from the striking young star. With a feature from Willow already known on the album, we expect good things.
SOHN – Trust – 2 September
Trust marks SOHN’s first album in five years and is apparently inspired by the surroundings of Catalonia where the London-born singer and producer now resides. “During the last years of immense change and upheaval,” he’s explained, “following that river up to our mountain home has become my way of re-centring myself.” Let’s hope Trust can be as equally grounding on listening – or, failing that, we all get our own mountainside home.
Tom Chaplin – Midpoint – 2 September
This album sees Tom Chaplin, best known as the lead singer of Keane, make further ground as a solo artist. The album is title as such because, at 43, Chaplin finds himself not quite at a midlife crisis, but certainly at the precipice of pondering what it’s all about. The titular track, already released, gives way to a soaring, rather beautiful voice as he gently sings “Baby, you know when you’re getting old / Your passions yield to the will of the world.” With another month passed, it might be time to give something as wistful as that a listen.
Robbie Williams – XXV (Deluxe Edition) – 9 September
Okay, so he’s not everyone’s cup of tea – or coffee, or whatever beverage it is you fancy. But if there’s one thing Robbie Williams knows how to create, it’s catchy tunes. And this compilation album puts all of that into one plus (with the addition of a new original track ‘Lost’). It might be a solid early Christmas present for your Mum, but Mr. Williams has won a record number of BRITs (13 as a solo artist and five with Take That), so we should give him some credit.
Greentea Peng – GREENZONE 108 – 9 September
Greentea Peng has a penchant for releasing free-flowing, spiritual sounds; her 2021 album Man Made, for instance was recorded at 432 Hz, a semitone lower than most records, as that’s believed to be the healing frequency of the sun. If the latest release, ‘Look To Him’, is anything to go by, Greentea’s forthcoming mixtape will keep up and embolden her delectable, soulful spirit.
John Legend – LEGEND – 9 September
The only semi-self-titled album on the list, LEGEND is a double album with features from the likes of Rick Ross, Ty Dolla $ign and Jhene Aiko. John… Legend has spoken about how he believes the album lives up to his surname, saying: “I had to earn that, to live up to it by delivering in the performance and the music. And this is me saying, I’m proud of who I am, I’m confident in the work I’ve done, and I’m just going to declare it.” You do you, Mr. Legend.
Oliver Sim – Hideous Bastard – 9 September
The debut solo album from the vocalist and bassist of The xx, Hideous Bastard has been described as being inspired by Oliver Sim’s love for queer horror films. In the announcement of the album, Sim revealed he was diagnosed as HIV positive at the age of 17 and has lived with it ever since. The record, as its title suggests, deals with feelings of shame and grief; however, as Sim has said, “in recent years I’ve become a firm believer that the best antidote to these feelings can be bringing them to the surface and shedding some light on them.”
FLETCHER – Girl Of My Dreams – 16 September
Fast-becoming a formidable force in the world of pop, and cementing herself as a gay icon, Fletcher’s stories of anxiety when growing up from a Catholic background have resonated with millions among the globe. Girl Of My Dreams, her debut record, sees the young star now at ease with herself and her sexuality, in a position from love and empowerment.
Little Dragon – Opening the Door – 16 September
Opening the Door, as its title suggests, has been described by the band as representing “being brave and moving forward into the unknown. We have so much new music to share,” they added, “and it feels like we are finally opening the door and releasing it out from our bubble and into the universe.” As, indeed, are we – and thankfully we’ll be blessed with some in the middle of the month.
Marcus Mumford – Self-Titled – 16 September
Another release on this list with a rather vulnerable, personal message that has accompanied its announcement. This time, in the run-up to Marcus Mumford’s upcoming debut album Self-Titled, the former Mumford & Sons frontman revealed to GQ that he was sexually abused as a child, and that he hadn’t spoken to anyone about it for three decades. The album’s opener and lead single, ‘Cannibal’, is a direct reference to this – and whilst we don’t wish to exploit suffering for the sake of art, it’s nonetheless intriguing how open the singer is willing to be on his first solo record.
Mura Masa – demon time – 16 September
Believe it or not, this demonic-sounding album was initially titled Fun. Penned during lockdown, however, the record focuses on a period of reflection for the Guernsey-born electronic music producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. (You know the one, we all went through it). Masa, real name Alexander Crossan, has already released the Pa Salieu and Skillibeng-featuring ‘blessing me’, which has been given a remix with the addition of Kali Uchis.
Rina Sawayama – Hold the Girl – 16 September
An equally introspective album, Hold the Girl sees British-Japanese singer Sawayama channelling the experience of a “more intense and specialized therapy” she undertook when she was younger. The singer has already teased the album with four tracks, including lead single ‘This Hell’ (evidently taking a leaf out of Mura Masa’s devilish ways). Her third album, this one will be dropped just before the singer heads out onto a headline US tour.
Alex G – God Save the Animals – 23 September
Despite being just 29, Alex G’s God Save the Animals will remarkably be the singer’s ninth studio album. If the first three tracks released in advance of the full record are anything to go by – especially ‘Blessing’ and ‘Runner’ – this’ll be a real treat, with a mix of grunge, husky acoustic and straight-up indie-rock. One of those records with a happy-sad ebb and flow. God Save the Animals, and God Save New Music From Alex G.
Christine and the Queens – Redcar les adorables étoiles – 23 September
Under a new alias of Redcar, Christine and the Queens are releasing their follow-up to 2018’s Chris. The record is expected to be primarily written in French – even though their previous record was released in both French and English – and will lean into lyric-heavy, avant-garde territory. Not long now to find out just what that will entail. Christine and the Queen have also announced a gig at Royal Festival Hall to present the project at the end of the month. Génial.
WILLOW – Coping Mechanism – 23 September
At her recent, well-received set at Reading Festival, WILLOW declared her ambitions for one day putting together a “rock opera”. Whilst we might have to wait a little longer for such a spectacle, until then we can enjoy her fifth album and second full-length punk record, Coping Mechanism. “Keep your third eyes peeled,” the singer said upon the announcement of the album – you can bet your spiritual dollar we’ve been doing that ever since.
Kid Cudi – Entergalactic – 30 September
Dropping alongside an adult animated series of the same name on Netflix, Entergalactic is the Ohio rapper’s eighth studio album. Originally announced in 2019, fans have been told to expect the likes of Dot da Genius, Ty Dolla Sign, and Gucci Mane as features on the soundtrack album, and to prepare for “a suite of songs on the beauty of being freed by love”, according to an interview Cudi gave to Esquire. Amen to that.
Melody’s Echo Chamber – Unfold – 30 September
Being released alongside a tenth anniversary reissue of Melody’s Echo Chamber’s seminal self-titled debut, Unfold will consist of seven unreleased tracks. Hopefully, they’ll capture the same spirit of what made the French musician such a cornerstone of the new wave of psychedelia upon her debut album’s release in 2012.
Pixey – Dreams, Pains & Paper Planes – 30 September
Pixey’s biggest project to date, Dreams, Pains & Paper Planes continues to build on the Liverpudlian singer-songwriter’s collection of dream pop tunes. For the football fans out there, you might recognise Pixey’s voice as being behind the official soundtrack for BT Sport’s coverage of the Premier League, in which she covers The Charlatan’s ‘One To Another’.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool It Down – 30 September
The fifth studio album from American indie rocker Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cool It Down marks the group’s first album since 2013’s Mosquito and is their first release through Secretly Canadian (an independent record in the US, for those wondering). We only have one word to repeat three times for that – and you know exactly what it is…