As summer approaches, time can finally be spent outside in the nice weather to either take a drive or sit in a park. And what better to add to these activities then all the newest music that's due to arrive in the next couple months. These albums will be the music heard round the world and a breath of fresh air for those tired with what's been playing for the past year.
Rock brings the most new music to the table, with many founded bands rising from obscurity to reaffirm their position as musical powerhouses. May 15 will see releases from Tool, R.E.M. and Weezer. Tool will release Lateralus, its third LP and latest in over four years. The industrial rock group's previous album was the multi-platinum Aenima.
R.E.M. will yield its 12th album, Reveal. The CD finds the bands on similar territory as its last album, Up, with a mixture of a pop flavor and an electronic style and a focus on melody somewhere in the middle.
College rock hero Weezer has finally finished its follow-up to the almost forgotten Pinkerton. The Green Album will arrive in stores over a year and a half after a new Weezer CD was first talked about. The first single, "Hash Pipe," will begin playing on the radio shortly, with its video appearing closer to the release date of the album.
After finishing a tour with Godsmack, Staind will release Break the Cycle on May 22. The CD will feature a studio version of "Outside," the recent hit duet with Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst.
Avant-garde rockers Radiohead are preparing its fifth CD, Amnesiac, for release on June 5. This LP is composed of songs recorded during the sessions for its most recent album, the critically acclaimed Kid A. Amnesiac ventures even further into the realm of electronic obscurity with occasional gasps of more traditional rock.
Hip-Hip will also stand proud with new CDs from Missy Elliot and Redman. Missy Elliot will release Miss E . . . So Addictive on May 15. The album will be laden with special guests, such as Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes and Da Brat.
Redman will file for Malpractice on May 22. Even though this album comes more than three years after his previous solo work, Redman has been collaborating with other artists such as Limp Bizkit and De La Soul during the off time.
Fans of nostalgia can reminisce this summer when some of the most famous bands of the '80s return to the mix. Depeche Mode, famed electronic-popsters, will release their 11th CD, Exciter, on May 15. Fans of its older work will most likely enjoy this new album, which finds the band combining techno beats with lush instrumentation.
The Go-Go's will also make a return to give people something to listen to while on "vacation" with God Bless the Go-Go's on May 15. After 17 years of failed reunion attempts, the Go-Go's have reemerged with a rejuvenated attitude. Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day helped co-write the first single, "Unforgiven."
All those extra hours at the summer job are going to be a necessity to purchase all new music coming out in the next few months. Just be sure to save some money for ice cream as well.
