There's a lot happening in music this year. From Taylor Swift, to Peter Gabriel here's the albums and tours our staff can't wait for.
ALBUMS WE'RE ANTICIPATING:
CORAL MOONS - TBA
Coral Moons are one of our favorite local groups. They co-headlined 617 Day last year, and they're leveling up to the Boston Calling Bill this year. These days their songwriters Carly Kraft and Justin Bartlett live part time near the Finger Lakes, tending a small farm and motoring back to New England for shows. Who knows what new sounds the quiet of Western New York will conjure up?
Phil Jones, WERS Afternoon Host
SAMIA - HONEY
With her upcoming, sophomore album “Honey,” singer-songwriter Samia has said her goal is to “prioritize honesty” in her music. And as we’ve seen on her last album, Samia isn’t afraid to discuss anxiety and life’s uncertainties so I’m excited to see how she weaves these two themes together! And interestingly enough, she’s mentioned she’ll be discussing her status as a “nepotism baby” on some of the tracks, so I’m most intrigued to see how she tackles this lyrically.
Breanna Nesbeth,WERS Music Coordinator
GORILLAZ - CRACKER ISLAND
"Gorillaz’s latest album, Cracker Island comes out February 24. The four singles that have already been released, my favorite of which are “Skinny Ape,” and “Baby Queen, are awesome, and my hopes are high. They’ll be at Coachella in April, but haven’t announced any tour dates yet, so fingers crossed that they’ll play Boston soon!”
Eden A. Unger, Staff Writer
CAROLINE POLACHEK - DESIRE, I WANT TO TURN INTO YOU
Caroline Polachek announced her new album “Desire, I Want To Turn Into You” with the release of her single “Welcome To My Island,” in late December of 2022. This will be her first solo album since her 2019 release “Pang”. Since then, Polachek has been busy working with Hyd, Flume, Murkage Dave, Christine and the Queens, and many others. So with her new album, arriving on Valentine’s Day, I’m interested to see how Polachek will define her individual voice and create a project that is uniquely her.
Breanna Nesbeth, WERS Music Coordinator
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS - ATUM
“The Smashing Pumpkins are back after releasing the first portion of their three part album ATUM. Starting with the release of the first act, each part will be released within 11 weeks of each other. Coming up real soon is ATUM - Act 2, set to be out January 31st, with the final part, ATUM - Act 3, arriving on April 21st. In addition to that final release, they will also be putting out a special edition box set, which will include 10 bonus track—what’s not to love about more songs from The Smashing Pumpkins?!
Erin Norton, Staff Writer
PETER GABRIEL - I/O
Peter Gabriel welcomes the new year with a unique approach to his album “i/o.” The artist plans to release new music each full moon, how cool is that? His latest single, “Panopticom,” was released during the first full moon of 2023 with cover art featuring the artist David Spriggs. Different artworks from varying artists will accompany the tracks adding to the meaning, excitement and mystery surrounding Gabriel’s year-long project!
Isabella Kohn, Staff Writer
GRIMES - BOOK 1
Teasing ‘Book 1’ since 2021, Grime’s finished the album this past october and is set to release the new work sometime this year. Book 1 comes as the follow up to her last project ‘Miss Anthropocene’ from 2020, and will be followed by ‘Book 2’. With these announcements though, Grimes has stated that she plans to be making music her “side-quest”, not enjoying the accolades that come with her job anymore. Fans anticipatedly wait for this double album three years in the making with only two singles dropped(‘Player of Games’ and ‘Shinigami Eyes’).
Kira Weaver, Staff Writer
MAC DEMARCO - FIVE EASY HOT DOGS
“Mac DeMarco plans to release his album Five Easy Hot Dogs this month. The album will be his first full length album release since the Here Comes the Cowboy Demos. Mac has always been a trailblazer for the indie genre and I’m incredibly excited to see what he has up his sleeve. As a Chicago native myself I’m especially excited for the tracks titled ‘Chicago’ and ‘Chicago 2’.
Cate Cianci, Staff Writer
TOURS WE'RE SEEING
ARCTIC MONKEYS
"I’m most looking forward to Arctic Monkeys U.S. tour. With any concert of theirs, it’s just Alex Turner’s show and we just happen to be there. Nonetheless, I think it’s going to be loads of fun. We’ll get a mix of the band’s old hits and some new tracks from ‘The Car,’ it’s going to be a guaranteed great time. I bet Alex Turner will perform all of the shows with his sunglasses on."
Breanna Nesbeth, WERS Music Coordinator
TAYLOR SWIFT
Taylor has never disappointed on her tours. From bringing out amazing guests to surprising the audience with amazing sets and special effects, Swift constantly leaves fans on their toes. I’m most excited to see how Taylor pulls off her different eras. After the release of three new albums and the recording of two previous ones, there are a lot of possibilities for what Blondie is going to perform.
Elle Dickson, Staff Writer
BEACH HOUSE
A few months ago, Beach House replied to a TikTok comment which stated plans of a 2023 tour playing “smaller songs from over the years”. After gaining immense popularity among Gen Z, and even being featured on the soundtrack of the raved Netflix Original, Wednesday, Victoria Legrand & Alex Scally will hopefully be able to wind down by performing sultry melodies from their essential dream-pop records such as “Teen Dream” & “Devotion”. In recent years, being in the crowd of a Beach House concert meant burying yourself under the layers of reverb, and becoming enveloped by intense walls of sound. Though I adore this shoegaze approach Beach House is taking, hearing Legrand’s rich voice and Scally’s impressive guitar chops in their most organic form would be my one true wish as a long-time fan of this magnetic duo.
Ash Jones, Staff Writer
MAGGIE ROGERS
Maggie Rogers is no stranger to Boston. In 2022, she graduated with a Master’s Degree from Harvard Divinity School. While completing her studies, Rogers simultaneously worked on her highly-anticipated sophomore album, Surrender. In February, she will return to Boston to kick off The Feral Joy Tour with three sold-out shows at Roadrunner. I was ecstatic when the tour was announced. Surrender is an album that bursts with power, energy, and intensity. New upbeat songs like, “Want Want” and “Shatter” are perfect for dancing. Likewise, crowd-favorite songs like “Alaska,” from Rogers’ debut album, are sure to bring the house down at every show.
Claire Dunham, Staff Writer
