BY: JOEY REAMS
There are only three months left in 2021, but plenty of indie and alternative albums are still coming out in the upcoming months. To help you find your next favorite band, we’ve found some of the anticipated albums of the 2021’s last quarter. These are just a few of our choices. Let us know if there’s any that we missed!
Strand of Oaks – In Heaven
This album is coming very soon! Strand of Oaks, otherwise known as the rock project from Timothy Showalter, is releasing his eighth studio album, In Heaven, on Oct. 1. This album follows Showalter’s 2019 Eraserland, which received high praise from many critics. While Eraserland was recorded in Los Angeles, this new album will be the first Strand of Oaks album to record since moving to Texas. Strand of Oaks previously shared the first single from the album, titled “Galacticana,” along with a visualizer for the song.
“In Heaven was created with so much love, and my greatest hope is that it connects with people and provides a momentary space for reflection, joy, catharsis, and whatever else someone might be looking for in their life,” Showalter said in a press release. “Music is magic, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world that I’m allowed to share it.”
Parquet Courts – Sympathy for Life
Parquet Courts, a New York City rock band, is releasing a new studio album, Sympathy for Life, on Oct. 22 via Rough Trade. This album, produced alongside Rodaidh McDonald and John Parish, has come from a series of impromptu jam sessions inspired by New York Clubs, Primal Scream, and Pink Floyd. Along with the announcement, the band previously shared a few singles, including “Walking at a Downtown Pace” and “Black Widow Spier.” Finally, the band announced The Power of Eleven—a series of 11 “global happenings” with unique merch and an upcoming tour.
“I told [producer] Rodaidh McDonald that I wanted to find a sound that was equal parts Can, Canned Heat, and This Heat,” lead singer. Andrew Savage said in a statement. “He was really into that and probably took some glee in having such a bizarre challenge.”
Tori Amos – Ocean to Ocean
Tori Amos, an American singer-songwriter known for her mezzo-soprano vocal range, is releasing her 16th studio album, Ocean to Ocean, on Oct. 29 via Decca. A vinyl copy will arrive next year on Jan. 28. This is the singer’s first album since her 2017 Native Invader. Amos will go on tour supporting this album next year with a UK and Europe tour in February and March. According to a press release, the singer used this album in part as a way to express her reactions to the US Capitol riots at the beginning of this year. You can read the full press release and see the tour dates below.
“This is a record about your losses and how you cope with them,” Amos said in a press release. “Thankfully, when you’ve lived long enough, you can recognize you’re not feeling like the mom you want to be, the wife you want to be, the artist you want to be. I realized that to shift this, you have to write from the place where you are. I was in my own private hell, so I told myself, then that’s where you write from—you’ve done it before. We have all had moments that can knock us down. This record sits with you where you are, especially if you are in a place of loss. I am fascinated when someone has gone through a tragedy, and how they work through their grief. That is where the gold is. When somebody is actually at that place, thinking ‘I’m done,’ how do you reach that person? Sometimes it’s not about a pill, or a double shot of tequila. It’s about sitting in the muck together. I’m going to meet you in the muck.”
The War on Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore
The War on Drugs are releasing their fifth studio album, I Don’t Live Here Anymore, on Oct. 29 via Atlantic Records. This is the band’s first studio album since their 2017 A Deeper Understanding. Earlier this month, the band teased fans with some new music on their Instagram. Now, they share the opening track from the album titled “Living Proof.” Filmmaker Emmett Malloy directed the music video with a 16mm film at the Panoramic studio in Stinson Beach, CA. The band will go on tour next year to support this album.
Courtney Barnett – Things Take Time, Take Time
For the first time since 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel, Courtney Barnett has prepared a new studio album for us: Things Take Time, Take Time. Set to release Nov. 12 of this year via Mom+Pop Music/Marathon Artists, Things Take Time, Take Time is co-produced by Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint. The musician has released a new single, ‘Before You Gotta Go,’ a featured track on the upcoming album.
According to a press release, the Australian singer-songwriter’s new album signals the arrival of ‘Courtney 2.0’ and “an exciting new chapter for a musician who is operating at the very peak of her powers.” The album is Barnett at “her most creative and adventurous,” the press release continues. “It’s an exquisite look at Courtney’s private world, and consequently her most beautiful and intimate record to date, with songs dealing unabashedly with love, renewal, healing, and self-discovery.”