Release Radar: The Best New Albums Coming In May

**Sharon Van Etten - We've Been Going About This All Wrong (May 6, 2022)**

The past few years for Sharon Van Etten - in her own words - have been a bit messy; she fell in love with her drummer and had a kid, and moved cross-country to California just in time for the pandemic to take over the state. She got Covid, planned live shows that didn’t happen and planned a wedding that didn’t happen either. While Van Etten’s music has always been intensely emotional, her sixth studio release digs deeper than before; written in her own account, as a scared mother in the middle of a pandemic, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong explores chaos, both emotional and cultural. Van Etten has also explained that on her latest release - which she encourages people to listen to in order - she wanted to present the album as a whole body of work with a story of hope, loss, longing and resilience flowing throughout.

**Jack Harlow - Come Home The Kids Miss You (May 6, 2022)**

Back in March, Jack Harlow graced the cover of Rolling Stone to announce that his long-awaited sophomore album, Come Home The Kids Miss You, would officially be dropping on May 6. Having spent the past few months teasing elements of the release on TikTok, including samples from Fergie’s 2007 pop hit Glamorous, which appears on lead single First Class, Harlow has already amassed a huge amount of traction, weeks out from the album release.

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**Hermitude - Mirror Mountain (May 6, 2022)**

Inspired by the unmatched beauty of the Blue Mountains - where Gus, one half of Hermitude, grew up and currently lives - and written loosely about Covid and bushfires that destroyed their hometown, Mirror Mountain marks the duo’s seventh studio release since their debut Alleys To Valleys back in 2003. Featuring guest spots from The Jungle Giants and Andie, the new eight-track LP is a simpler, more stripped back version of Hermitude than ever before; fewer instruments, less clutter and more fun.

**Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (May 13, 2022)**

After five agonising years of radio silence from the Compton-based rapper, Kendrick Lamar - seemingly working under the moniker ‘Oklama’ now - is finally returning with the highly anticipated follow up to 2017’s critically acclaimed DAMN. Despite next to no information being revealed about how the record will sound, who will feature on it or what themes Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers will explore, first week projections have already placed the release as #1 on the Billboard 200, with 350,000 units sold already. While its contents, collaborators, and concept may remain under lock and key, Billboard’s former editorial director Bill Werde noted that Kendrick was "pulling in more rock sounds this time" and theorists have been quick to point out that Kendrick’s Nu Thoughts letter has hinted at themes of love, loss, grief and meditation.

**Mallrat - Butterfly Blue (May 13, 2022)**

Seven years after the release of her first single Sunglasses and four years on from her breakout hit Groceries, Australia’s Grace Kathleen Elizabeth Shaw AKA Mallrat is finally gifting the world her debut record, Butterfly Blue. Taking influence from pop, rock and folk, Butterfly Blue solidifies Mallrat’s reputation as a master of clever, timeless pop with a signature twist. Said to include everything from chopped-up Gangsta Pat bars, a flipped recording of a children’s choir performing Lisztomania and distorted effects recorded from discarded children’s toys, Butterfly Blue is primed to kickstart the next assured, confident and original section of Mallrat's career.

**Florence + The Machine - Dance Fever (May 13, 2022)**

For the past several weeks, Florence + The Machine have been slowly drip-feeding hints at the new record, with song titles randomly appearing as customised playing cards on the band's website and live performances of unreleased tracks occasionally finding their way into setlists across the UK during the band's intimate series of shows. With just a couple of weeks until the release of their fifth studio album, it’s officially been revealed that Dance Fever was written with the anticipated return of clubs, live music and dancing at festivals. It’s also been confirmed that alongside Welch, Dance Fever was produced by Jack Antonoff and Glass Animals‘ Dave Bayley.

**Harry Styles - Harry’s House (May 20, 2022)**

Three years on from the release of Fine Line, Harry Styles returns with his new and most intimate record to date, Harry’s House. During a recent conversation with Billboard, Styles revealed that his latest solo record delves deep into his own personal struggles with One Direction, his sexuality and finding a sense of home. Having teased fans for weeks via a cryptic website, unveiling a different image every day – from obscure snapshots of Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle to the Cavallini & Co. 1,000 piece mushroom puzzle and the neatly inverted Harry’s House album artwork and an equally mysterious Twitter account filled with poetic messages, it’s clear Harry’s House is going to be one to sit with for more than a few listens.

**Flume - Palaces (May 20, 2022)**

The rollout of Flume's third studio album Palaces continues to slowly unravel. Written over a two-year period, in the middle of a pandemic, between two continents, Palaces is shaping up to be Flume's biggest, and most collaborative album to date. Despite already releasing five of the thirteen tracks from the record, including ESCAPE (which sees Flume teaming up with Kučka for the fifth time), title track Palaces with Gorillaz’ Damon Albarn, The Difference with Toyo Y Moi, Say Nothing with another familiar face MAY-A and Sirens with Caroline Polachek, a long list of collabs are yet to be revealed, with Emma Louise, LAUREL, Oklou and Virgen Maria all set to appear on Flume’s first fully-formed release since 2016’s Skin.

**Body Type - Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s Surprising (May 20, 2022)**

Back in February, Sydney’s Body Type returned with their first new music in three years, alongside the announcement that they would finally be dropping their debut album Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s Surprising, which is being released by Melbourne label Poison City Records (Camp Cope, Cable Ties, Georgia Maq). In a recent statement, vocalist Sophie McComish hinted that their latest single was a “reflection on finding passion amidst feverish banality.” Adding that, “When you are uninspired, when you feel sad that the general public would rather look at their phone screens than what’s hanging on the walls of the Louvre – remember the feelings that set you aflame, and the things that make those feelings happen.” Safe to say the record will unpack these ideas even further.

**Tate McRae - I Used To Think I Could Fly (May 27, 2022)**

In early April the Canadian pop star, who originally gained prominence as the first Canadian finalist on the American reality TV show So You Think You Can Dance, announced her eagerly anticipated release of her debut record. Set for release on May 27, I Used To Think I Could Fly will feature previously released singles She’s All I Wanna Be, Chaotic, and Feel Like Shit as well as ten additional tracks that are said to take influence from Frank Ocean‘s Blonde, Billie Eilish‘s debut When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go and After Hours by The Weeknd.