We’ve Got A Big Year Ahead Of Us - These Are The Albums That Will Define 2021

Adalita
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

Solo artist and Magic Dirt frontperson Adalita is currently hard at work on her third solo album - her first since 2013’s All Day Venus. There’s no formal release date or title announced yet but she has been sharing updates via Instagram with mixing currently underway. 

Adele
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

ADELE, PLEASE JUST GIVE US THE ALBUM. OK, so now that that’s out of our system we can tell you that there’s really not a lot of info floating around about Adele’s new album but we do know that new music is being worked on (her drummer kinda let it slip...).

Alison Wonderland
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

Considering that Alison Wonderland is one of the world’s most in-demand artists and producers - ya know, like how she’s the highest billed female DJ to play Coachella - it makes sense that she’d use the break from her usually very extensive festival circuit appearances to treat us to a new album. While the details are limited, her label has confirmed that it is on the way in 2021. Luckily we’ve got recent single Bad Things to tide us over until then. 

Amy Shark
Album title: Cry Forever
Release date: 30 April 

Nearly three years on from the release of her huge debut album, Amy Shark is set to share her follow-up, dubbed Cry Forever. “I am now a more confident musician and person than the Amy of 2018, and I feel like I am ready to share some moments from my life that I wasn’t previously ok to talk about,” she said when the album was announced. “These are some of the most personal and confronting songs I’ve ever written, and I can’t wait to share them with everyone.” Shark doesn’t mess around when it comes to collabs either with Keith Urban and blink-182’s Travis Barker making appearances, while the likes of Dann Hume (Matt Corby, Client Liaison), M-Phazes (Ruel, Eminem), Joel Little (Lorde, Taylor Swift), Jamie Hartman (Lewis Capaldi, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man), Dan Wilson (Adele, Leon Bridges) and Sammy Witte (Harry Styles, King Princess) all stepping up for production duties. 

Baker Boy
Album title: TBC
Release date: late 2020

Given everything that Baker Boy has achieved over the past few years, it’s honestly a shock to realise he’s yet to release a debut album. Well hopefully 2021 will change that for us all. If his latest single, Better Days feat. Dallas Woods & Sampa The Great is anything to go by, it will be HUGE.

Bakers Eddy
Album title: TBC
Release date: second half of 2020

From the second that Bakers Eddy force-fed our podcast host popcorn at BIGSOUND 2019, we knew they were for us. The Melbourne via Wellington four-piece are just months away from releasing their debut album and if their singles back catalogue is anything to go by (looking at you, Can’t Afford It) it’s going to be massive. 

Bernard Fanning
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

While there’s nothing officially confirmed just yet, Bernard Fanning fans might be in for a treat this year with the much-loved Aussie artist potentially dropping a new album later in the year, his first since 2017’s Brutal Dawn. We have nothing else to report here but what we do have is a WHOLE lotta hope that it comes off. 

Billie Eilish
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

It’s been nearly two years since Billie Eilish dominated the world with her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and it’s looking like we’ll be getting a follow-up in 2021. No title or release date has been shared yet, but according to Eilish the album is very much underway. “I feel good. I'm very, very happy with where I'm at in making music,” she told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe back in November. “I love Therefore I Am, I love My Future. I can't f-king wait for people to hear this album that we're working on. It's like, oh my God." We.Are.Ready!

Black Country, New Road 
Album title: For The First Time  
Release date: 5 Feb

There has been a hum of excitement around BCNR right from their first single Athen’s, France, despite there being next to no information available on the outfit unless you spent a fair bit of time at The Windmill in Brixton. Two years of drip-feeding material through cult London label Speedy Wunderground later and the hum is a din. Pilfering sounds from jazz, punk, klezmer, whatever, their dissonant sound is like one of Shigeo Fukuda’s shadow sculptures - an immaculately arranged shambles that casts a very clear vision.

Cardi B
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

Cardi, we are more than ready for this album to happen. So we’ve been tipping this release - the follow-up to 2018’s huge Invasion Of Privacy - for release since early 2019 but we really feel like this is going to be the year. We’ll just keep listening to WAP on repeat in the meantime. 

Carla Geneve
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

We’ve been a big fan of Carla Geneve for a long time (Greg's Discount Chemist will never not make us feel all our feelings) and we couldn’t be more excited about a debut album from this incredible WA artist. Geneve has already shared a taste of the album with The Right Reasons which premiered on triple j’s Good Nights late last year. 

Celeste
Album title: Not Your Muse
Release date: 26 February

Celeste is going to be a name to watch in 2021. She snagged a stack 'new artist' type accolades in 2019, as well as being the top prediction for breakthrough act in the BBC Sound of 2020 music critic polls. Obviously last year put a kink in a lot of artists careers but if the response to massive neo-soul number Stop This Flame, her debut album’s lead single, was anything to go by Celeste’s star is going to carry through to 2021, no trouble.

Cool Sounds    
Album title: Bystander   
Release date: 12 Feb

Bright, light and buoyant, we can’t think of a better way to close out the last weeks of summer than listening to a new Cool Sounds record. That said, we’d take new CS material any time of the year. After listening to lead singles Back To Me and Crimson Mask from their forthcoming fourth album (and listening again, and again, and again), February can’t come fast enough.

Crowded House
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC 

Last year we got the first taste of new music from the legendary Crowded House since 2010’s Intriguer with single Whatever You Want (and its very great video starring Mac DeMarco). It’s looking like frontman Neil Finn is parking his Fleetwood Mac responsibilities for a hot sec and heading back to the studio with Nick Seymour to (as a release said when the single dropped) “begin a new chapter in the Crowded House story”. Interestingly, there are no official details about an album yet but the band’s Wikipedia discography has been updated with the title To The Island for a 2021 release. While it might just be an overzealous entry from a fan (the band’s March New Zealand tour is called To The Island), maybe it’s an early clue. 

Denzel Curry
Album title: Melt My Eyez, See Your Future
Release date: 26 February

Denzel Curry got a pretty firm grip on Australia’s music lovers with that Bulls On Parade Like A Version. Actually, given recent tweets about how he’s starting to hate rapping and that this new album is inspired by "what’s going on in the world right now" maybe we’ll even get some more of that Denzel Against The Machine heat on Melt My Eyez, See Your Future. Probably not, but it would be cool.

Drake
Album title: Certified Lover Boy
Release date: TBC 

Drake’s sixth studio album - his first full-length release since 2018’s Scorpion - is set for release sometime this year. Originally the Canadian rapper shared that Certified Lover Boy was to be dropped this month but he’s since shared that it’s going to be later in the year. “I was planning to release my album this month but between surgery and rehab [on his knee following a fall] my energy has been dedicated to recovery,” he said. “I’m blessed to be back on my feet feeling great and focused on the album, but CLB won’t be dropping in January. I’m looking forward to sharing it with you all in 2021.” 

Dry Cleaning
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

The UK might be deep in the weeds politically right now but musically they’re having an absolute renaissance. Shame, Squid, Porridge Radio, Sorry, black midi, Do Nothing - the number of sharp young artists feeling out the boundaries of punk and rock at the moment is incredible. And, each to their own of course, but for our money Dry Cleaning are top of the pile. The band arrived out of nowhere with their 2019 debut single, Magic Of Meghan, casually dropped two EPs that were both up there with the year’s best releases and then played it very quiet in 2020. That their first album looks ready to drop in 2021 is very good news.

DZ Deathrays
Album title: Positive Rising: Part 2
Release date: 9 July

DZ Deathrays know how to put a damn fine album together and we're expecting nothing less for their forthcoming Positive Rising: Part 2. We’ll chuck Part 1 on repeat to get us through until July.

Foo Fighters
Album title: Medicine At Midnight
Release date: 5 February 

One of rock’s most-loved groups make their return with Medicine At Midnight. The album is the first from Foo Fighters since 2017’s Concrete & Gold and sees the band work with producer Greg Kurstin once again. "All through the pandemic we'd have occasional band meetings to discuss what was going on and plans just kept getting pushed further back and further back," lead guitarist Chris Shiflett told The Green Room with Neil Griffiths back in November. "I think finally at some point Dave was just like, 'Fuck this. We gotta put this record out.'"

Gang Of Youths
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

It’s been nearly four years since the release of Gang Of Youths’ huge Go Farther In Lightness, which saw the group win a slew of ARIA Awards and tour across the globe. While there’s no official info yet, the band are hard at work on their next release from their new London home. Australian F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has given fans a sneak peek at the recording process too via his blog and bass player Max Dunn has said that the band “are working hard on the record”.

Genesis Owusu
Album title: Smiling With No Teeth
Release date: 5 Mar 

Genesis Owusu was in our bands to watch list this time last year and even with the trash fire 2020 turned out to be for artists he didn’t disappoint. There weren’t any more wildly contrasting double singles on the cards but Owusu’s "abrupt duality" still came through in diss bop Don’t Need You and darkly danceable album lead single The Other Black Dog. His debut album was originally due out mid last year and the wait has only made the anticipation keener.

Goat Girl
Album title: On All Fours
Release date: 29 Jan

Not to belabour the point but UK post-punk really is kicking arse right now, and Goat Girl have been wearing those boots for a while. They signed a deal with rough trade the same day Brexit got the thumbs up back in 2016, and their debut album two years later was lauded for drolly channelling the dog-tired fury of constantly trudging through the muck of modern Britain. Given the last couple years, and that the UK/EU transition period has just wrapped, it’s unlikely On All Fours will be any less vital.

Julia Stone
Album title: Sixty Summers
Release date: 19 February 

Julia Stone has taken a brief moment away from her Angus & Julia Stone work to share her first solo album in eight years this February, dubbed Sixty Summers. The album is the first from Stone since signing with BMG in mid-2020 and is produced by Annie Clark (aka St Vincent) and Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman). There are features from The National’s Matt Berninger and Bryce Dessner and a video featuring Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover - honestly, what’s not to love!

Julien Baker
Album title: Little Oblivions 
Release date: 26 February 

Julien Baker’s third studio solo album, Little Oblivions, is out next month. It’s the first release from the US artist since her time spent in boygenius alongside bandmates Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers and sees Baker coming into the release with a whole lot of buzz. Check out first single Faith Healer for an early taste of what’s to come. 

June Jones
Album title: Leafcutter
Release date: 19 February 

June Jones is just under a month away from releasing her new album and we could not be more ready for it. Leafcutter comes just two years on from Jones’ stellar debut album, Diana, after four years of fronting much-loved group Two Steps On The Water. Leafcutter also represents Jones’ first time self-producing and if first single Therapy is anything to go by this album should expect a whole lot of accolades.

Kendrick Lamar 
Album title: TBC 
Release date: TBC

It’s Kendrick. Academy Award-nominated, Pulitzer Prize-winning, key to the city of Compton-holding, 18x Platinum Kendrick. Dude changes the game every time he opens his mouth.

Lil Nas X 
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

Old Town Road would have been treat enough for a lifetime, but now Lil Nas X is saying that his debut album is almost finished. Cowboy hat at the ready.

Lorde
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC  

2020 didn't deliver a Lorde album like we had hoped for but the New Zealand artist has promised it’s on the way. Back in November, Lorde shared that she’d be releasing a book about her trip to Antarctica in February 2021 saying, “The book is a sort of perfect precursor to this album in an abstract way”. Writing for the album is underway and Jack Antonoff, who was the executive producer for 2017’s Melodrama, has been recruited to work on the release.

Luca Brasi
Album title: Everything Is Tenuous 
Release date: 12 February 

One of Tassie’s favourite exports are back with their fifth studio album, set for release next month. Titled Everything Is Tenuous, the album follows on from the style and pace of 2018’s Stay. “A lot of the record is about the fragility of life, I’ve been thinking about how a lot of things stay, a lot change, and a lot just completely disappear,” said frontman Tyler Richardson. “I don’t necessarily think any of the above is bad, there’s zero you can do to change it, but all the same, it’s on my brain a lot. Everything really is tenuous and sometimes a lifetime feels like a lifetime, sometimes a lifetime feels like a second.” We’ve had a sneaky early listen to this and we think it might just be the group’s best work. Get excited, it’s going to be a big year for Luca Brasi. 

Mallrat
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC  

Album title: Today We Are The Greatest 
Release date: 19 March 

Two years on from their debut release Lost Friends, Middle Kids are back with their new album Today We Are The Greatest, set for release in March. The album was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Lars Stalfors, who has previously worked with the likes of St Vincent, Soccer Mommy, Purity Ring and more. “I want to make music that loves its listener. Music that makes people feel seen, seen in the tiny little places that hide away in their hearts,” said frontperson Hannah Joy of the album. “I want people to hear our music, and feel a sense of love. And when I say love, it can be challenging, intense and tough. But it’s in the guts.”

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Album title: Carnage
Release date: TBC

Nick Cave has certainly kept himself busy throughout 2020. Cave has confirmed via his Red Right Hand Files that a new album is in the works with long-time collaborator Warren Ellis. "Anyway, as promised in my last issue, I did go into the studio — with Warren — to make a record," Cave wrote. "It’s called CARNAGE." It's assumed the album, which has no release date as yet, will be Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' follow-up to 2019's ARIA Award-nominated Ghosteen.

Odette
Album title: Herald
Release date: 5 February 

Odette could do an album of yodelling and we’d be excited to hear it, so just imagine how we’re feeling about the release of her forthcoming work, Herald. The album chronicles the past years for Odette with the artist saying, “Transitioning from adolescence into adulthood is really hard. No one gives you the tools, you know?” Prepare for this to be one of the big local releases of 2021. 

Parquet Courts 
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

Speaking to Justin Frye for Pioneer Works last year Andrew Savage dropped the bomb that Parquet Courts are releasing their seventh album this year - the first since Wide Awake! , which topped many, many 2018 end of year lists. He even hazarded that it might be their "best and most exciting yet" (knock on wood). If you’re not a fan this deep in the game chances are we won’t convince you here, but for everyone else this is going to be one of the big ones for ’21.

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
Album title: SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound
Release date: 5 February 

The prolific Psychedelic Porn Crumpets return with a new album this month, SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound. It’s the fourth album for the WA group since 2016 and follows on from the success of 2019’s And Now For The Whatchamacallit. They’ve already released lead single Pukebox, which frontperson Jack McEwan has said “was the first song I used as a reference while creating the flavour for the record”. 

Rihanna
Album title: R9 (rumoured)
Release date: TBC

Ok, so it feels like we’ve been writing about a new Rihanna album for years, and that kinda, sorta, definitely is because we have been. 2021 marks five years since the release of RiRi’s last album, Anti, so we’re really, really hoping that this is our year.

St Vincent 
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

Annie Clark certainly has been busy. In addition to producing Julia Stone’s forthcoming album, she’s also found the time for a new St Vincent release. While it hasn’t officially been named yet, Clark has confirmed that the album will be out this year saying in a tweet in December that “The rumors are true. New record ‘locked and loaded’ for 2021. Can’t wait for you to hear it”. Stand by!

SZA
Album title: TBC
Release date: TBC

It’s been nearly four years since we were gifted SZA’s incredible debut album, Ctrl, and now it’s looking like we’ll finally be getting a follow-up. The US artist has told Cosmopolitan that “This album is going to be the shit that made me feel something in my… here and in here,” while placing her hand on her heart and stomach. “That’s what’s going to go on the album. I’m making all different types of shit every day from different places in my spirit.”

Tash Sultana
Album title: Terra Firma
Release date: 19 February 

Just like that, it’s time for a new Tash Sultana album! The Australian artist, who blew up off the back of debut album Flow State in 2018, is set to release Terra Firma next month. Sultana has already dropped singles Willow Tree with Melbourne artist Jerome Farah and Greed, saying of the album “I didn’t realise that I needed to create a space and home for myself to feel like a person again. I just went inward and found a really peaceful place and wrote an album, and I feel really happy with it.”

The Goon Sax 
Album title: TBC 
Release date: Mid year

The Goon Sax inking a label deal with legendary US indie label Matador Records was one of the best bits of news to come through late last year - first, because they deserve it, and, second, because it came with word that their third album is coming in hot. They called it "the culmination of what we’ve been working on since 2017 when we recorded [We’re Not Talking], and I think it’s the most proud we’ve been of anything we’ve made together thus far." Say no more.

Tkay Maidza
Album title: Last Year Was Weird, Vol 3 (speculated)
Release date: TBC 

Following on from the success of her first two Last Year Was Weird... releases (ARIA nominated, no less), Tkay Maidza is getting ready for the release of the final instalment of the trilogy in 2021. We don’t have dates or details yet but we do have a lot of excitement about the release.

Travis Scott
Album title: Utopia
Release date: TBC

Three years on from the massive Astroworld, Travis Scott is gearing up for the release of Utopia. The album was announced by the US rapper in late 2020 and there’s already been some reports of leaked tracks so hopefully that means we’ll be getting a whole album soon! 

Want more? 
These artists are all slated for releases throughout 2021 too

Alien Weaponry
Amber Mark
Angels & Airwaves
Arcade Fire
Architects
Arlo Parks
Becky Hill
Big Scary
Bob Evans
Briggs
Cat & Calmell
Chubby & The Gang
Clare Bowditch
Client Liaison
Coal Chamber
Delta Goodrem
DevilDriver
Easy Life
Ed Sheeran
ERRA
Eves Karydas
FKA twigs
FRITZ
Greta Van Fleet
Gretta Ray
H.E.R.
Holy Holy
Homeschool
Jake Bugg
Japanese Breakfast
Jarryd James
Jess Locke
Kimbra
Kings Of Leon
Lana Del Rey
Leon Vynehall
Lola Young
London Grammar
LOSER
Lump
Maggie Rogers
Mane
Meg Mac
Melvins
Mere Women
Mogwai
Myles Kennedy
NF
Nicole Millar
NOFX
Party Dozen
Pierce Brothers
Polish Club
Poté
Richard Clapton
Royal Blood
Running Touch
Ryan Downey
Sam Fender
San Holo
Sarah Mary Chadwick
Serpentwithfeet
Shane Nicholson
Shihad
Sia
Sly Withers
Squid
The Black Seeds
The Jungle Giants
The Rubens
Tigers Jaw
Tiny Little Houses
Tori Forsyth
Tyne-James Organ
Vika & Linda
Void Of Vision
Weezer
West Thebarton
Zac Henderson