Release Radar: The Best New Albums Coming In June

Angel Olsen - Big Time (June 3, 2022)
In March 2022, less than two years after the release of her accidental pandemic release Whole New Mess (a counterpart to 2019’s All Mirrors) Chicago / North Carolina based artist Angel Olsen dropped the news that a brand new LP would be landing in June, entitled Big Time. Described as one part diary log, one part therapy session, and an all exalting embrace of life, Big Time is set to be Olsen’s most personal album to date. Written during a period of time when Olsen was coming out as queer, while also grappling with the sudden loss of both of her parents just one month before stepping into the studio, Big Time feels destined to be steeped in pain and delivered in the beautiful, opulent way only Olsen seems to be able to master.

Foals - Life Is Yours (June 17, 2022)
Now operating as a three piece - having parted ways with founding member and keyboardist Edwin Congreave, as well as former bassist Walter Gervers - the release of Foals sixth (seventh depending on how you view 2019’s Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost) studio album is set to be their most divergent to date. Despite having evolved dramatically from album to album, from 2008’s sporadic, DIY debut to the bands matured sophomore release Total Life Forever, 2013’s Holy Fire (which was six years in the making) right up to their two-part magnum opus Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost In 2019, 2022’s Life Is Yours is set to be this biggest shift yet, veering away from moody indie, into danceable indie pop.

Alexisonfire - Otherness (June 24, 2022)
Thirteen years after the release of their last studio album, and the announcement that they were calling it a day, Canadian post-hardcore outfit Alexisonfire are returning with new LP Otherness. Self-produced and recorded in roughly a week, the ten track release is allegedly about performance and embracing a newfound confidence in a state of peculiarity. So far two singles (Sweet Dreams of Otherness and Reverse The Curse) from the forthcoming release have been unveiled, offering proof that despite almost fifteen years between drinks, the Alexisonfire we’ve known from albums like Old Crows / Young Cardinals is still going to taste the same.

Perfume Genius - Ugly Season (June 17, 2022)
It’s been two years since Perfume Genius dropped his moody, brooding chamber-pop release Set My Heart On Fire Immediately, and in the past 24 months Mike Hadreas (AKA Perfume Genius) has clearly been busy; in addition to to the 10 track LP, which drops on May 17 via Matador Records, his latest efforts will also include a short film by visual artist Jacolby Satterwhite which will be scored by music from Ugly Season. While two previously released tracks (2019’s Pop Song and Eye In The Wall) have found their way onto Ugly Season, new songs, comprised of music Hadreas originally wrote for his The Sun Still Burns Her dance performance will also become part of the multimedia album.

Logic - Vinyl Days (June 17, 2022)
On May 07, Robert Bryson Hall II (AKA Logic) released a somewhat mysterious video on reddit, simply reading out a list of names. Morgan Freeman, Action Bronson, JJ Abrams, RZA, Raine Wilson (from The Office), Earl sweatshirt, Nardwuar, The Game and Anthony Fantano, AKA The Internet's Busiest Music Nerd, among countless others were on the list and are all said to appear on Logic’s seventh studio album, due out on June 17. While little has been said about how each of these names will factor into the larger release, Fantano was quick to jump on youtube and explain that his inclusion on the record is little more than a voice memo. The video comes several months after the first taste of Vinyl Days was released, with the Maryland-rapper dropping a one-take track called Breath Control that offers the only hint at what the new album holds.

Hazel English - Summer Nights (June 17, 2022)
After a ton of social media teasing, Hazel English is just weeks away from releasing new music. Originally hailing from Sydney and now based in Oakland, California, Hazel English has been churning out lush, dreamy indie pop since 2016 when she released her debut EP Never Going Home. Since relocating to the US, English has released three EP’s and one LP, with her forthcoming release Summer Nights stepping back into shorter form territory. The EP, which was made in collaboration with and produced by Jackson Phillips (Day Wave) is said to be a series of interlinking narratives that make up one bigger story. If you’re not familiar with Hazel English, now is the time to check out her Spotify.

Post Malone - twelve carat toothache (June 03, 2022)
In a semi-recent interview with Billboard, several years after his dominant third record Hollywood's Bleeding was released, LA rapper Post Malone revealed that his new record was officially on the way. Several months after the article was sent live, Malone released an instagram story explaining that ‘twelve carat toothache’ would be landing on June 03 and that it was easily the most personal record for him to date. With a track list that includes titles like Cooped Up, A Love Hate Letter To Alcohol and Wasting Angels, there’s prominent hints at far darker themes than on any prior album. Additionally, while previous releases have clocked in at anywhere from an hour to 75+ minutes, the forthcoming release is allegedly a tight 45mins.

Spacey Jane - Here Comes Everybody (June 10, 2022)
Freo four-piece Spacey Jane have been on a constant upward trajectory since their debut album Sunlight landed in 2020 and helped them win over the hearts of Aussie from Perth to Cairns. Now they’ve revealed their highly anticipated sophomore album Here Comes Everybody and if you’re wondering why the title sounds eerily familiar, it’s because the band lifted it from what was once the working title of Wilco’s seminal album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - with permission. Chatting with the triple j Breakfast team back in February, frontman Caleb Harper explained that the band sought permission from Jeff Tweedy before pushing forward with using the title, adding that the new album shifts from the more deeply personal outlook of the first release, towards capturing a collective experience of anxiety and uncertainty.

Soccer Mommy - Sometimes, Forever (June 24, 2022)
For anyone reading into the press behind Sophie Allison’s (stage name, Soccer Mommy) forthcoming album, it could be only too easy to assume that bringing on Daniel Lopatin of experimental act Oneohtrix Point Never as the producer of Sometimes, Forever would lead to a far more spatial, obscure and potentially esoteric release for the Nashville indie-rock auteur. But if lead single Shotgun and recent follow-up track Bones are anything to go by, it’s more likely to be the opposite. With both artists feigning over bratty, melancholic indie-rock from the 80’s, combined with the fact that the 25-year old is on a personal comeback after hitting a crushing low during her previous release (2020’s Color Theory), it’s painfully obvious that Soccer Mommy’s new release will littered with tightly produced retro sounds, personal tumult and a theme that questions the relatable disorder of modern life. 

Lupe Fiasco - ‘Drill Music in Zion’ (June 24, 2022)
Given that we’re only two years into the decade, it’s (potentially) a big call for Kanye West’s Grammy Award Winning engineer and the man behind Lupe Fiasco’s first record since 2018’s Drogas Wave - Craig Bauer - to claim that Drill Music In Zion will be the best rap album of the decade. The Chi-Town native also compared Drill Music In Zion to Nas’ iconic 1994 masterpiece Illmatic, as well as stating that the record is ready for an "'Album of the lifetime’ Grammy.” It’s a high bar for the Chicago rapper, who was recently announced as a new teacher at the prestigious MIT college in Massachusetts, but if anyone is up for the task, maybe Lupe is?

Example - 'We May Grow Old But We Never Grow Up' (June 17, 2022)

Dance music icon Example announced his highly anticipated eighth studio album We May Grow Old But We Never Grow last month via exciting collaborative single DEEP, featuring Bou and Nonô. The album has unique foundations, with the majority of it written in Australia alongside Brook Toia (Pennny Ivy) and highly sought after producer James Angus. It's an ode to Example's beginnings, showcasing a multitude of dance music genres as he has complete control over his artistry. Example has stated: “It’s the best album I’ve ever made. Hands down. Garage. Grime. DnB. House. Techno. Drill. Yes, DRILL !! Even a mad stadium rock song on there. It all flows nicely. The best singing I’ve ever done. The best rapping I’ve ever done. I’m excited for everyone to hear it.”

Honorable Mentions
BTS - PROOF (June 10, 2022)
Regina Spektor - Home, Before and After (June 24, 2022)
Horsegirl - Versions of Modern Performance (June 03, 2022)
Vance Joy - In Our Own Sweet Time (June 10, 2022)
Conan Gray - Superache (June 24, 2022)
Purity Ring - Graves (June 03, 2022)
Of Monsters and Men - Tiu (June 10, 2022)
Joey Bada$$ - 2000 (June 17, 2022)
FKJ - V I N C E N T (June 10, 2022)