BY CEVAT BARIŞ YILMAZ (CS/III)
baris.yilmaz@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
As the summer ends and winter approaches, many bands are announcing the coming release of new albums; in fact, some have already issued new releases, as Queens of the Stone Age did during August. Their seventh studio album, “Villains,” was released on August 25 and includes nine brand-new songs. Although all nine tracks have the general features of the band’s previous songs, they kind of fall short and don’t have enough special qualities to become QotSA classics like “No One Knows” or “Go With The Flow.”
Elsewhere, QotSA founder Josh Homme’s bandmate from the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, Dave Grohl, is about to release his ninth studio album with Foo Fighters, “Concrete and Gold,” on September 15. Most of the songs are already available for listening online (and by the time you read these lines, the album will have already been released). Unlike “Villains,” “Concrete and Gold” comes with some alterations in the band’s style. However, although it seems to have some decent tracks, “Concrete and Gold” also lacks songs that will find a place among the band’s classics.
Since neither album really satisfied my expectations, I’m now even more eager to see a new Them Crooked Vultures album, as the band members are still saying that they’re thinking about a reunion. Assuming both Josh and Dave will be busy for some time with touring for their new albums, we may finally get the chance to listen to the previously shelved second Them Crooked Vultures album in either 2019 or 2020.
Another release that I’m excited about is British band Wolf Alice’s second alternative rock album, “Visions of a Life.” Since their debut album “My Love Is Cool,” Wolf Alice has played at the Glastonbury Festival three consecutive times and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance in 2016 (which was eventually won by Alabama Shakes). After three years of sold-out shows, nominations and awards, their first single from the upcoming album “Yuk Foo” shows they don’t have any intention of slowing down in the coming years.
After a hiatus of four years, The National is another band that has chosen a release date in September for their latest album: “Sleep Well Beast.” The National is one of the few bands where I’ll buy anything they do even if they keep doing the same thing over and over, because of the addictive voice of Matt Berninger. “Sleep Well Beast” is no different. After I listened to it the whole way through, I thought, “Well, what did I expect? It’s still the good old The National style – just with different lyrics.” So if you like The National, definitely take a look at “Sleep Well Beast;” just don’t expect anything unexpected. Or alternatively, wait for a colder, winter month to fully take in all the emotions of the album.
Other artists who have announced that they will be releasing new albums by the end of 2017 include Ringo Starr, The Killers, Beck, The Band Perry and Evanescence.