2011’s 35 Most Anticipated Albums

Destroyer / photo by David Greenwald

Though we’re just a few days into January, 2011 already has a full slate of exciting newcomers, returning favorites and yet-to-be-announced possibilities. (Radiohead!) 35 of my most anticipated albums after the jump.

January:
* Minks – By The Hedge
Charming boy-girl C86 revivalism.
MINKS – Cemetary Rain by forcefieldpr
* Tennis – Cape Dory
Charming boy-girl garage-pop revivalism.
Tennis – Take Me Somewhere by forcefieldpr
* Destroyer – Kaputt
Dan Bejar makes his Some Girls. Probably the 2011 album of the year.
>> “Chinatown”: mp3
* Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean
Everything this man does is phenomenal — even, I hope, jumping to a major label.
* Hannah Peel – The Broken Wave
U.K. chamber-pop from a fresh new singer.
* Apex Manor – The Year of Magical Drinking
Former Broken West frontman returns with another strong collection of rugged power-pop.
>> “Under the Gun”: mp3
* Lia Ices – Grown Unknown
Dark, deep singer-songwriter stuff.

February:
* Cut/Copy – Zonoscope
The Aussie New Order presents its follow-up to 2008 album of the year In Ghost Colours.
* KORT – Invariable Heartache
Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner and — well, that’s all I really needed to hear to get excited.
* Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972
Ambient’s finest guitar processor returns.
* Brave Irene – Brave Irene
Rose Melberg’s new band!
* Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine
>> “Still Sound“: mp3
Chillwave MVP returns with sophomore jams.
* Shugo Tokumaru – Port Entropy
Kaleidoscopic folk from one of Japan’s finest exports.
>> “Lahaha”: mp3
* Puro Instinct – Headbangers In Ecstasy
Soft-focus psych-rockers release their debut full-length.

March
* R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now
Their best years may be behind them, but it bears mentioning that the band’s last record was incendiary.
* Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo
The idiosyncratic rocker follows up last year’s Square Shells EP.
* The Mountain Goats – All Eternals Deck
Indie rock’s maybe-finest lyricist embraces his inner metal god.
* Jill Andrews – The Mirror
Alt-country songstress drops her solo debut.

Release Dates TBA:
* ARMS – Summer Skills
Frontman Todd Goldstein promises a “hi-fi” follow-up to the band’s tremendous EP.
* Ravens & Chimes – Holiday Life
The New York band takes wing on a set of both sad-eyed and celebratory chamber-folk.
* Rooftop Vigilantes – Real Pony Glue
A bracing punk record just waiting for a label.
* Pepper Rabbit – LP2
The psych-folk band’s follow-up to the winning Beauregard.
* Fleet Foxes – LP2
The Sub Pop group’s much-anticipated follow-up to 2008’s instant-classic debut.
* Sondre Lerche
Further earworms from the Norwegian pop classicist.
* MillionYoung
Electro jams from Florida.

Rumor mill/probables:
* Radiohead
Radiohead!
* Jens Lekman
Jens Lekman!
* Wilco
The band has begun recording the follow-up to Wilco (The Album).
* Fiona Apple – LP3
Five years after 2005’s uneven Extraordinary Machine, Apple (supposedly) has a new one coming shortly.
* The Long Winters
John Roderick is probably the only working songwriter as good as John Darnielle.
* Maritime
The band’s We, The Vehicles remains a classic, with 2007’s Heresy and the Hotel Choir nearly so.
* Memoryhouse
Potentially the year’s most blissed-out debut, should it arrive this year.
* Ryan Adams – Black Hole/new material
The Rawkblog hero is prepping an archival release and multiple sets of new stuff. Here’s hoping we get to hear it sooner than later.
* The Avalanches
Can this possibly come out after all this time?
* The Wrens
Ditto.

For a full list of this year’s release dates and rumors, click over to the 2011 Album Release Calendar.