15 Highly-Anticipated Albums to Drop in 2022
Calling all the music fanatics; get ready to embrace some new tunes from your favourite artists this year.
New year, new music. 2022 is off to a great start with many artists planning their album releases in the better half of the year. From hip-hop artists like Saweetie and Earl Sweatshirt to indie queens like Aurora and Mitski, here are 15 albums you can expect to jam to this year.
Saweetie, Icy Season (7 Jan)
For those of you who have been patiently waiting for Saweetie’s release of ‘Pretty B*tch Music’, you might have to wait a little longer; the artist will be dropping a seven-song project titled ‘Icy Season’ before she does so. Considered the “pretty bitch bible” by Saweetie herself, this EP will feature several collaborations to tide fans over the lull.
The Weeknd, The Dawn (7 Jan)
An album that’s sure to impress; ‘The Dawn’ features high-profile collaborations with Quincy Jones, Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne, Oneohtrix Point Never and actor Jim Carrey and will be released on 7 January this year. In a trailer video on the artist’s social media pages, a voice teased fans with what’s to come: “You are now listening to 103.5: Dawn FM. You’ve been in the dark for way too long, it’s time to walk into the light and accept your fate with open arms.”
FKA Twigs, Capri Sun (14 Jan)
Indie songstress FKA Twigs is back with a new mixtape following her 2019 critically-acclaimed album ‘Magdalene’ and public lawsuit against ex-boyfriend, Shia LaBeouf, for abuse. She teased the project on Instagram with the caption: “what u’ve been wanting from me for bare time.”
The lead single ‘Tears In The Club’ features The Weeknd on vocals. Watch it here:
Earl Sweatshirt, Sick! (14 Jan)
Earl Sweatshirt’s fourth studio album ‘Sick!’ will feature 10 songs, all written and recorded during the height of the pandemic.
The rapper took to social media to explain his inspiration behind the album: “Sick! is my humble offering of 10 songs recorded in the wake of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns. Before the virus I had been working on an album I named after a book I used to read with my mother (‘The People Could Fly’). Once the lockdowns hit, people couldn’t fly anymore. A wise man said art imitates life. People were sick. The People were angry and isolated and restless. I leaned into the chaos cause it was apparent that it wasn’t going anywhere. These songs are what happened when I would come up for air.”
Aurora, The Gods We Can Touch (21 Jan)
Norwegian indie princess Aurora is back with a new album – titled ‘The Gods We Can Touch’, a follow-up to her 2019 project ‘A Different Kind of Human (Step 2)’.
“One thing that has always bothered me is the idea that we’re born unworthy having to deem ourselves worthy by suppressing the forces within us that make us human,” said Aurora when teasing the inspiration behind the album. “Not perfect, not flawless, just human. Could we find this Divine power in ourselves, while still being attached and seduced to the wonders of the world. The flesh, the fruit and the wine.”
“I think that is what intrigues me about the Greek gods. The gods of the ancient world. Perfectly imperfect. Almost within our reach. Like Gods we can touch.”
Watch the lead single – ‘Giving In To The Love’ here:
MØ, Motordrome (28 Jan)
As a result of a break she took because of physical and mental exhaustion, the singer resorted to coping by writing and producing new music. With singles – ’Brad Pitt’ and ‘Goosebumps’ already out for fans’ listening pleasure, the artist took to social media to explain the meaning behind both songs. “Both songs are, in each their way, about remembering who you are,” said MØ. “Remember that you can shine? Remember there’s a chance of breaking out of the prison that is your mind? To actively move your body out of the loop and into the world.”
Amber Mark, Three Dimensions Deep (28 Jan)
American R&B, soul, and bossa nova singer Amber Mark is back with a new album titled ‘Three Dimensions Deep’ and a new single – ‘What It Is’. “‘Three Dimensions Deep’ is a musical journey of what questions you begin to ask yourself when you start looking to the universe for answers,” said the singer when NME asked about her album. “I can only go as deep as the third dimension as that’s how we see the world, but what about when you start looking to the universe within for answers.”
Watch the video for ‘What It Is’ here:
Bastille, Give Me the Future (4 Feb)
With a single titled ‘No Bad Days’ already out, Bastille has gotten quite the hype for their upcoming album in February. ‘Give Me the Future’ takes on the premise of a sci-fi world free from restrictions, a meaning inspired by the ongoing pandemic.
When asked for further elaboration, frontman Dan Smith had this to say: “Working on these songs in such an apocalyptic period, with everyone stuck at home, glued to screens, fed into the feeling that what is real and what is not has become pretty difficult to discern sometimes. We’re in the age of deep fake, fake news and lying world leaders. But online, you can be anyone. What that does to our sense of self and to our relationships is huge and it’s fascinating.”
Watch the video for ‘No Bad Days’ here:
Mitski, Laurel Hell (4 Feb)
Indie-rock singer Mitski has just released two singles titled ‘Working for the Knife’ and ‘The Only Heartbreaker’ as a build-up to her much-anticipated album ‘Laurel Hell’.
“I needed love songs about real relationships that are not power struggles to be won or lost,” explained the singer. “I needed songs that could help me forgive both others and myself. I make mistakes all the time. I don’t want to put on a front where I’m a role model, but I’m also not a bad person. I needed to create this space mostly for myself where I sat in that grey area.”
alt-J, The Dream (11 Feb)
An album that dabbles with dark themes. ‘The Dream’ takes the uncertainties of a trying time and turns it into harrowing works of art that’s sure to haunt listeners in a beautiful way. In their latest single titled ‘U&ME’, the band focuses on a body of work that deals with “having a good time, togetherness, and the feeling in life that nothing could be any better than it is right now”. An escape from reality, if you will.
Listen to ‘U&ME’ here:
BROODS, Space Island (18 Feb)
Coming February, Kiwi siblings BROODS are transporting listeners into a world of comfort and escapism with their new album ‘Space Island’. “Space Island, the album, will take you through the wild terrain of love and loss and then tuck you into bed and kiss you on the forehead,” gushed the duo on Twitter. “Come with us along a three-part short film through the world of Space Island. We are not alone in our isolation.”
Guns N' Roses, Hard Skool (25 Feb)
For the first time in 28 years, iconic American hard rock band Guns N' Roses are back and better than ever with a new four-track EP titled ‘Hard Skool’. “The album is real,” said member Duff McKagan. “But the fun part and the cool part about Guns N’ Roses is we don’t really talk about it. What happens next just happens.” Here’s to expecting the unexpected!
Gang of Youths, Angel in Realtime (25 Feb)
‘Angel in Realtime’ deals with themes of Indigenous identity, death, grief, God, and the Angel, Islington. Back with their first full-length project after a nearly 5-year hiatus after their 2017 album ‘Go Farther In Lightness’, this LP will follow a lighter note as compared to their earlier work. The band has already released four preview tracks leading up to the album – ‘Tend The Garden’, ‘The Angel Of 8th Ave.’, ‘Unison’ and ‘The Man Himself’
Listen to 'Tend The Garden' here:
Charli XCX, CRASH (18 March)
By far the most anticipated album for Gen Z and young millennials is Charli XCX’s ‘Crash’. The once mainstream pop-punk now hyperpop singer’s new album will feature collaborations with artists such as Rina Sawayama and Christine and the Queens to give listeners the familiarity of her catchy hooks in 2022. With already more than 8 million views on her newest single ‘Good Ones’, it’s no secret that this is the album most are looking forward to this year.
Watch the video for ‘Good Ones’ here:
Machine Gun Kelly, Two Albums Dropping (TBC)
Machine Gun Kelly has just announced on Twitter that he will be releasing two albums this year. On top of the already planned release of ‘‘Born With Horns’ with Travis Barker, the artist has more songs up his sleeve for a later date. “I’m not scared anymore, there’s nothing holding me back from being my true self – and my true self can’t be silenced, can’t be restrained,” said the singer. “It’s a force, it’s like a hurricane. Can’t stop that, it just goes until it feels like stopping, and I don’t feel like stopping anytime soon.”
