Blog
Published on June 5th, 2016 |
by Gerry Galipault
Summer Music Roundup: New Releases 2016
Summer begins with the solstice on June 20 at 6:34 a.m. EDT, and the astronomical fall for the Northern Hemisphere starts on Sept. 22. You can get a jump on the hot fun in “them summer days, those summer days” with our new music roundup. Here are some of the highlights … (see the whole list of new releases here).
Artist: |
Title: |
Label: |
Jake Bugg |
“On My One” (producers: Bugg, Jacknife Lee; first single: “Gimme the Love”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Island) |
Will Butler (of Arcade Fire) |
“Friday Night” (recorded live June 2015 at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall, with five songs from his “Policy” LP, two songs he recorded for The Guardian as part of a songwriting project, and five previously unreleased tracks; See here) |
(Merge) |
Neko Case, k.d. lang and Laura Veirs |
“case/lang/veirs” (first single: “Atomic Number”; Hear here; MP3)  |
(ANTI- / Epitaph) |
Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers |
“Rehab Reunion” (producer: Hornsby; guests: Mavis Staples, Justin Vernon; first single: “Over the Rise”; Hear here; MP3) |
(429) |
Sarah Jarosz |
“Undercurrents” (guests: Guster’s Luke Reynolds, Parker Millsap, Sara Watkins, Aoife O’Donovan; first single: “House of Mercy”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Sugar Hill) |
Kris Kristofferson |
“The Cedar Creek Sessions” (double album recorded over three days in the summer of 2014; producers: Tamara Saviano, Shawn Camp; guest: Sheryl Crow; Read here) |
(Legacy) |
Mumford & Sons |
“Johannesburg” (five-song EP, featuring Baaba Maal, The Very Best and Beatenberg; recorded in Studio 2 and the auditorium of the South African Broadcasting Corp.; producers: Mumford & Sons, The Very Best’s Johan Hugo; first single: “There Will Be Time”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Glassnote) |
Laura Mvula |
“The Dreaming Room” (first single: “Overcome,” feat. Nile Rodgers; Hear here; See here; MP3) |
(RCA) |
Jon Pardi |
“California Sunrise” (producer: Bart Butler; first single: “Head Over Boots”; Hear here; Read here) |
(Capitol Nashville) |
Radiohead |
“A Moon Shaped Pool” (released on MP3 on May 8; producer: Nigel Godrich; first single: “Daydreaming”; Hear here; See here; Vinyl, two 180-gram LPs, with download card)  |
(XL Recordings) |
Red Hot Chili Peppers |
“The Getaway” (producer: Danger Mouse; first single: “Dark Necessities”; Hear here; MP3)  |
(Warner) |
Swans |
“The Glowing Man” (engineered by John Congleton; guests: Jennifer Gira, Okkyung Lee; Hear here; MP3) |
(Young God) |
Thousand Foot Krutch |
“Exhale” (new single: “Running with Giants”; Hear here) |
(TFK Music) |
The Tragically Hip |
“Man Machine Poem” (lead singer-lyricist Gord Downie has announced he has terminal brain cancer; producers: Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene, Dave Hamelin of The Stills; first single: “In a World Possessed By the Human Mind”; Hear here; See here; Vinyl; MP3) |
(Universal) |
Various artists |
“Finding Dory (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (sequel to “Finding Nemo” opens June 17; See here) |
(Walt Disney) |
YG |
“Still Brazy” (guests: Drake, Lil Wayne, Kamaiyah, Nipsey Hussle, Slim 400, etc.; new single: “Why You Always Hatin”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Def Jam) |




Artist: |
Title: |
Label: |
The Avett Brothers |
“True Sadness” (first single: “Ain’t No Man”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) |
(American / Republic) |
Björk |
“Vulnicura Live” |
(One Little Indian) |
Broods (New Zealand duo) |
“Conscious” (producers: Broods, Alex Hope, Captain Cuts, Joel Little; guest: Tove Lo; first single: “Free”; Hear here; See here; Vinyl; MP3; Cassette) |
(Capitol) |
Sam Bush (Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist) |
“Storyman” (producer: Bush; guests: Emmylou Harris, Deborah Holland; Hear here) |
(Sugar Hill) |
Bun E. Carlos |
“Greetings From Bunezuela!” (the former Cheap Trick drummer’s first solo album; guests: Robert Pollard, Xeno, Hanson, Alejandro Escovedo, Dave Pirner, John Stirratt, Nicholas Tremulis, Alex Dezen, Rick Rizzo, members of Candy Golde and the Monday Night Band; first single: “Do Something Real”; Hear/read here) |
(eOne Music) |
D.A.R.K. (led by former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke and Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan) |
“Science Agrees” (first single: “Curvy”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) |
(Cooking Vinyl) |
Deerhoof |
“The Magic” (first single: “Plastic Thrills”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Polyvinyl) |
DJ Shadow |
“The Mountain Will Fall” (guests: Run The Jewels, Nils Frahm, Matthew Halsall, Ernie Fresh, etc.; Hear here; Read here; MP3) |
(Mass Appeal) |
Drowners |
“On Desire” (recorded and mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer; first single: “Cruel Ways”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Frenchkiss) |
The Felice Brothers |
“Life in the Dark” (first single: “Aerosol Ball”; Hear here; See here; MP3) |
(Yep Roc) |
Marian Hill (pop duo) |
“ACT ONE” (first single: “I Want You”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Photo Finish / Republic) |
Rae Sremmurd |
“SremmLife 2” (guests: Juicy J, Lil Jon, Kodak Black; new single: “Look Alive”; Hear here; MP3) |
(EarDrummer / Interscope) |
Rich Robinson (The Black Crowes guitarist) |
“Flux” (first single: “Music That Will Lift Me”; See here; Vinyl) |
(Eagle Rock) |
Royal Southern Brotherhood |
“The Royal Gospel” (producer: David Z; Hear here) |
(Ruf) |
Kandace Springs |
“Soul Eyes” (producer: Larry Klein; guests: Terence Blanchard, Jesse Harris, Dean Parks, Vinnie Colaiuta, Pete Kuzma, etc.; first single: “Soul Eyes”; Hear here; See here; MP3) |
(Blue Note) |
Various artists |
“Vans Warped Tour ’16” (two CDs, 49 songs) |
(SideOneDummy) |
Neil Young + Promise of the Real |
“Earth” (double album of live performances from their 2015 tour; Hear here) |
(Reprise) |

Artist: |
Title: |
Label: |
American Authors |
“What We Live For” (first single: “Pride”; Hear here; See here; MP3) |
(Dirty Canvas / Island) |
Bat For Lashes (aka Natasha Khan) |
“The Bride” (producers: Khan, Dan Carey, Head, Simone Felice, Ben Christophers; first single: “I Do”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Parlophone) |
blink-182 |
“California” (their first studio album in five years; Alkaline Trio vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba replaces Tom DeLonge; producer: John Feldmann; first single: “Bored to Death”; Hear here; See here; Vinyl; MP3) |
(BMG Rights Management) |
MAGIC! |
“Primary Colors” (first single: “Lay You Down Easy”; See here; Read here) |
(Latium / RCA) |
Maxwell |
“blackSUMMERS’night” (his first album in seven years; first single: “Lake By the Ocean”; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) |
(Columbia) |
Metronomy |
“Summer 08” (first single: “Old Skool”; Hear here) |
(Because Music) |
Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek) |
“Young In All the Wrong Ways” (producer: Gabe Witcher; guests: Jim James, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, Chris Eldridge, Paul Kowert, Jon Brion, Jay Bellerose; first single: “Move Me”; See here; MP3) |
(New West) |








Artist: |
Title: |
Label: |
Jeff Beck |
“Loud Hailer” (Hear here; Read here; see related book below) |
(Rhino) |
Bright Light Bright Light |
“Choreography” (guests: Elton John, Jake Shears, Ana Matronic, Alan Cumming, Mykal Kilgore; Hear here; Vinyl) |
(Self Raising / MRI) |
Dirty Heads |
“Dirty Heads” (producers: Justin Gray, Da Internz, Drew Pearson, David Kahne, Jimmy Harry; first single: “That’s All I Need”; Hear here; See here; MP3) |
(Five Seven Music) |
The Earls of Leicester (bluegrass supergroup led by Jerry Douglas) |
“Rattle & Roar” (producer: Douglas; first single: “The Train That Carried My Girl From Town”; Hear/read here; Vinyl) |
(Rounder) |
Good Charlotte |
“Youth Authority” (guests: Simon Neil, Kellin Quinn; first single: “40 oz. Dream”; Hear here; See here; Vinyl; MP3) |
(MDDN / Kobalt Label Services) |
Hillsong United |
“Empires Acoustic” (CD/DVD combo; acoustic version of their 2015 album “Empires”) |
(Hillsong / Capitol CMG) |
Kidz Bop Kids |
“Kidz Bop 32” (MP3) |
(Razor & Tie) |
Michael Kiwanuka |
“Love & Hate” (producers: Danger Mouse, Inflo; first single: “Black Man in a White World”; Hear here; See here; Read here; MP3) |
(Interscope) |
David Nail |
“Fighter” (Hear here; Read here) |
(MCA Nashville) |
NEEDTOBREATHE |
“H A R D L O V E” (first single: “Happiness”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) |
(Atlantic) |
Various artists |
“Ghostbusters (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (2016 reboot opens July 15, starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones; Fall Out Boy collaborates with Missy Elliott on a new version of Ray Parker Jr.’s theme song; other acts on the soundtrack: 5 Seconds of Summer, G-Eazy feat. Jeremih, Pentatonix, WALK THE MOON, Wolf Alice; Hear here; See here; first single: Elle King’s “Good Girls”) |
(RCA) |




Artist: |
Title: |
Label: |
The Amazing (Swedish rock group) |
“Ambulance” (first single: “Ambulance”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Partisan) |
Cait Brennan |
“Introducing the Breakdown According to Cait Brennan” (Hear here) |
(Black Market Glamour) |
Capsize |
“A Reintroduction: The Essence of All That Surrounds Me” (first single: “XX (Sew My Eyes)”; Hear here; Deluxe Edition; MP3) |
(Equal Vision) |
Crown the Empire |
“Retrograde” (Hear here; MP3) |
(Rise) |
Honne (U.K. production and DJ duo) |
“Warm on a Cold Night” (guest: Izzy Bizu; first single: “Someone That Loves You”; See here; MP3) |
(Atlantic) |
Charlie Hunter |
“Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth” (Hear here) |
(GroundUP Music) |
Stephen Ragga Marley |
“Revelation Pt. II: The Fruit of Life” (guests: Rick Ross, Pitbull, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Iggy Azalea, Waka Flocka Flame, Dead Prez, Rakim, DJ Khaled, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, Shaggy, Black Thought, etc.; Hear here; MP3) |
(Ghetto Youths International) |
Lou Rhodes |
“theyesandeye” (first single: “All the Birds”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Nude Music) |








Artist: |
Title: |
Label: |
Haley Bonar (Twin Cities-based singer-songwriter) |
“Impossible Dream” (first single: “I Can Change”; Hear here; MP3) |
(GNDwire / Thirty Tigers) |
Jekalyn Carr |
“The Life Project” (guests: Stephen Brown, Gmbscm Youth Choir, Nariah Smith; Hear here; MP3) |
(Lunjeal Music Group / eOne Music) |
The Dead Daisies (rock supergroup featuring former members of Mötley Crüe, Whitesnake, etc.) |
“Make Some Noise” (10 originals and covers of The Who’s “Join Together” and CCR’s “Fortunate Son”; Hear here; Vinyl) |
(SPV) |
Dinosaur Jr. |
“Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not” (Hear here; Read here; Vinyl; MP3) |
(Jagjaguwar) |
Jackyl |
“ROWYCO” (new single: “Rally”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Mighty Loud) |
Jeremy & The Harlequins |
“Into the Night” (first single: “Into the Night”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Yep Roc) |
Cody Johnson |
“Gotta Be Me” (producer: Trent Willmon; guests: Carl and Sheila Johnson; first single: “With You I Am”; Hear here) |
(COJO Music) |
Moke (Dutch indie-rock band) |
“The Time Has Come” (producer: Joeri Saal; See here; MP3) |
(PIAS America) |
Moose Blood (Canterbury, U.K., quartet) |
“Blush” (producer: Beau Burchell of Saosin; first single: “Honey”; See here; MP3) |
(Hopeless) |
O.A.R. |
“XX” (career-spanning collection of their biggest hits and live shows plus new studio material; Hear here; See here; MP3) |
(Vanguard) |
O’Connor Band with Mark O’Connor |
“Coming Home” (producer: Gregg Field; Hear here; MP3) |
(Rounder) |
Skillet |
“Unleashed” (producers: Brian Howes, Kevin Churko, Neal Avron, Seth Mosley; first single: “Feel Invincible”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Atlantic) |
Angie Stone |
“Covered in Soul” (covers of “These Eyes,” “Smiling Faces Sometimes,” “In the Air Tonight,” “It’s Too Late,” etc., plus new versions of her hits “Wish I Didn’t Miss You,” “Baby” and “Brotha!”) |
(Goldenlane) |
Jonah Tolchin |
“Thousand Mile Night” (recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio; See here; MP3) |
(Yep Roc) |












Artist: |
Title: |
Label: |
The Album Leaf |
“Between Waves” (first single: “Back to the Start”; Hear here; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition, with five bonus remixes) |
(Relapse) |
De La Soul |
“and the Anonymous Nobody” (producers: De La Soul, Dave West; guests: Usher, David Byrne, Damon Albarn, Jill Scott, Snoop Dogg, Estelle, Pete Rock, Little Dragon, 2Chainz, etc.; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) |
(AOI) |
Dinosaur Pile-Up (British alt-rock trio) |
“Eleven Eleven” (producer: Tom Dalgety; first single: “11:11”; See here; MP3) |
(SO Recordings / Caroline) |
Jack Ingram |
“Midnight Motel” (his first album since 2009; producer: Jon Randall; first single: “I’m Drinking Through It”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Rounder) |
Joseph (sister trio) |
“I’m Alone, No You’re Not” (producer: Mike Mogis; first single: “White Flag”; Hear here; Read here; Vinyl; MP3) |
(ATO) |
Cass McCombs |
“Mangy Love” (producers: Rob Schnapf, Dan Horne; first single: “Opposite House”; Hear here; MP3) |
(ANTI- / Epitaph) |




Artist: |
Title: |
Label: |
Till Brönner (Germany’s top-selling jazz artist) |
“The Good Life” (producer: Ruud Jacobs; Hear here; MP3) |
(Sony Masterworks) |
Chatham County Line |
“Autumn” (Hear here; Vinyl) |
(Yep Roc) |
The Divine Comedy |
“Foreverland” (their first album since 2010; producer: frontman Neil Hannon; Hear here; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition, with 19 bonus tracks) |
(Divine Comedy) |

Artist: |
Title: |
Label: |
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds |
“Skeleton Tree” (their first studio album since 2013; Hear here; Read here; Vinyl) |
(Bad Seed Ltd.) |
Billy Ray Cyrus |
“Thin Line” (guests: Miley Cyrus, Bryan Adams, Joe Perry, Shelby Lynne, Shooter Jennings, Lee Roy Parnell, Glenn Hughes, Braison Cyrus, Kenley Shea Holm; first single: “Hey Elvis”; Hear here; MP3) |
(Blue Cadillac Music) |
The Head and the Heart |
“Signs of Light” (first single: “All We Ever Knew”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) |
(Warner) |
Okkervil River |
“Away” (guests: Marissa Nadler, Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg, yMusic, etc.; first single: “Okkervil River R.I.P.”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) |
(ATO) |




Tags: albums, Dinosaur Jr., Heart, Maxwell, Neil Young, new music, new releases, Nick Cave
About the Author
Gerry Galipault Gerry Galipault debuted Pause & Play online in October 1997. Since then, it has become the definitive place for CD-release dates — with a worldwide audience.