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).
June 17
| 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) |
June 24
| 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) |
July 1
| 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) |
July 8
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| The Avalanches | “Wildflower” (the Australian electronic group’s first album since 2000; first single: “Frankie Sinatra”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) | (Astralwerks) |
| Biffy Clyro | “Ellipsis” (producer: Rich Coste; first single: “Wolves of Winter”; Hear here; See here; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition) | (Warner / 14th Floor Recordings) |
| Chevelle | “The North Corridor” (producer: Joe Barresi; first single: “Joyride [Omen]”; Hear here; MP3) | (Epic) |
| Kree Harrison (runner-up on season 12 of “American Idol”) | “This Old Thing” (first single: “This Old Thing”; Hear here; MP3) | (Plaid Flag) |
| Heart | “Beautiful Broken” (Vinyl) | (Concord) |
| Switchfoot | “Where the Light Shines Through” (producers: Switchfoot, John Fields; Hear here; Deluxe Edition; Vinyl) | (Vanguard) |
July 15
| 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) |
July 22
| 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) |
July 29
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| Billy Talent | “Afraid of Heights” (first single: “Afraid of Heights”; Hear here; Deluxe Edition; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition, with eight extra tracks) | (The End) |
| Cotton Mather | “Death of the Cool” (Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) | (Star Apple Kingdom) |
| Death Grips (experimental hip-hop group) | “Bottomless Pit” (first single: “Hot Head”; Hear here; Vinyl) | (Harvest) |
| D Generation (including frontman Jesse Malin) | “Nothing Is Anywhere” (their first album in 17 years; producer: guitarist Danny Sage; first single: “Apocalypse Kids”; Hear here) | (Bastard Basement) |
| Fantasia | “The Definition Of…” (first single: “Ugly”; Hear here; MP3) | (Rock Soul / 19 Recordings / RCA) |
| Future Generations | “Future Generations” (first single: “Stars”; Hear here; MP3) | (Frenchkiss) |
| Gary Hoey | “Dust & Bones” (his 20th album; Hear here) | (Provogue / Mascot Label Group) |
| Lori McKenna (“Girl Crush” writer) | “The Bird & The Rifle” (producer: Dave Cobb; first single: “Wreck You”; Hear here) | (CN) |
| Owen (aka Chicago musician Mike Kinsella) | “The King of Whys” (producer: S. Carey; first single: “Lost”; Hear here; MP3) | (Polyvinyl) |
| Jake Owen | “American Love” (guests: Chris Stapleton, Hillary Lindsey; Hear here; Read here) | (Sony Music Nashville) |
| Chris Robinson Brotherhood | “Anyway You Love, We Know How You Feel” (first single: “Narcissus Soaking Wet”; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) | (Silver Arrow) |
| 3 Pill Morning (Minneapolis rockers) | “Never Look Back” (first single: “Electric Chair”; Hear here; MP3) | (The Fuel Music / Countdown Entertainment) |
| Vertical Church Band | “Frontiers” (first single: “1000 Tongues”; See here; MP3) | (Essential Worship) |
Aug. 5
| 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) |
Aug. 12
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| The Amity Affliction | “This Could Be Heartbreak” (producer: Will Putney; first single: “I Bring the Weather With Me”; Hear here; See here; MP3) | (Roadrunner) |
| Black Tape for a Blue Girl | “These Fleeting Moments” (their first album since 2009; Hear here) | (Metropolis) |
| Blind Pilot (Portland folk-pop band) | “And Then Like Lions” (first single: “Umpqua Rushing”; Hear here; MP3) | (ATO) |
| of Montreal | “Innocence Reaches” (first single: “it’s different for girls”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) | (Polyvinyl) |
| The Pineapple Thief (U.K. rock trio) | “Your Wilderness” (Hear here; Read here; MP3) | (Kscope) |
| Young the Giant | “Home of the Strange” (producer: Alex Salibian; executive producer: Jeff Bhasker; first single: “Amerika”; Hear here; MP3) | (Fueled By Ramen / Atlantic) |
Aug. 19
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| Bayside | “Vacancy” (producer: Tim O’Heir; Hear here; Read here; Vinyl; MP3) | (Hopeless) |
| Black Foxxes (U.K. rock trio) | “I’m Not Well” (Hear here; MP3) | (Spinefarm) |
| A Day to Remember | “Bad Vibrations” (first single: “Bad Vibrations”; Hear here; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition) | (ADTR / Epitaph) |
| French Montana | “MC4” (first single: “Figure It Out,” feat. Kanye West and Nas; See here; MP3) | (Bad Boy Entertainment / Epic) |
| Lydia Loveless | “Real” (first single: “Longer”; Hear here; MP3) | (Bloodshot) |
| One Less Reason | “The Memories Uninvited” (first single: “Where Were You?”; Hear here; MP3) | (Tattooed Millionaire) |
| Roosevelt (aka Marius Lauber) | “Roosevelt” (Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) | (Greco-Roman / City Slang) |
| Soilwork | “Death Resonance” (Hear here) | (Nuclear Blast) |
| TOBACCO (Pennsylvania-based electronic musician) | “Sweatbox Dynasty” (first single: “Gods in Heat”; Hear here; MP3) | (Ghostly International) |
| Ryley Walker | “Golden Sings That Have Been Sung” (producer: LeRoy Bach; first single: “The Halfwit in Me”; Hear here; MP3) | (Dead Oceans) |
Aug. 26
| 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) |
Sept. 2
| 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) |
Sept. 9
| 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) |
Sept. 16
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| Cymbals Eat Guitars | “Pretty Years” (producer: John Congleton; first single: “Wish”; Hear here; MP3) | (Sinderlyn) |
| Various artists | “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (2016 Off-Broadway Cast Recording)” (York Theatre Company’s revival officially opened May 31 featuring a cast of young actors; See/read here) | (Broadway) |