Logan Mullen
Entertainment Editor
2014 was a marvelous year for the alternative music scene. United States’ indie rock sensation Foster the People avoided the sophomore slump with their release of Supermodel back in March; British group Bombay Bicycle Club were up for Mercury Prize Album of the Year with their fourth installment So Long, See You Tomorrow in February. West London newcomers Jungle also found themselves in the running for the Mercury Prize Album of the Year with their funky self-titled debut.
But now that 2014 is winding down,the aforementioned artists go on tour, andit is time to let the music story of 2015 be told. Some artists have already hinted that 2015 could be a big year for them, and as a result, here are three artists to look out for next year.
Passion Pit
It is hard to believe that the last studio album of Passion Pit’s was only their second and was released nearly two and a half years ago (July of 2012). Theyreleased hits such as “Take a Walk,” “Carried Away,” and “Constant Conversations” among 9 other keyboard-heavy, falsetto-shrieking tracks. However, it appears that the Gossamer age is nearing its end.
Back in August, the band tweeted that “LP3 (was) close to completion.” On top of that, on October 28, (former) keyboardist Ian Hultquist announced that he had decided to, “Part ways with the band (and) not continue touring with the band,” this could very well mean that Hultquist was going to complete the recording of a third album with the band, however not join them when they tour said album.
The band Twitter page has had a much more active presence lately, and one can expect a potential album release date to be announced by the end of 2014 with a new album almost certainly coming in 2015.
Of Monsters and Men
The lovable five-piece from Iceland known for “Little Talks” and “Mountain Sound” have been exciting yet frustrating their followers for some time by posting pictures of “Life at the rehearsal space,” which are essentially candid pictures of the band recording music. Despite these pictures, the band has yet to give a release date for album number two making it frustrating for fans who know that a new album is imminent, yet do not have knowledge of when that release well actually be.
On a more reassuring note, lead singer Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir tweeted back in late July that “(Of Monsters and Men) are working very hard to make an album (they) can be proud of but it takes time to do it.”
No matter what the case may be, it is plausible to think the same thing about OMAM as Passion Pit, in that a potential Christmas-time present could be the official announcement of an album release date. At the very least, it is known that recording has begun; new material will all but definitely be out next year.
Gorillaz
If it seems like a while since Passion Pit has graced the world with new music, then it will seem like an eternity since animated band Gorillaz has put out new music. The Fall, an album created entirely on an iPad while the band was on tour was released on Christmas of 2010, but any intense Gorillaz fan will say that The Fall was not a real album (and all things considered, they are fairly right) and that the last true Gorillaz album was Plastic Beach, which was released in early March of 2010.
This past October, Gorillaz non-animated frontman Damon Albarn said in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald that he “is in the process of reactivating Gorillaz for a 2016 release.” The disconcerting aspect is that Albarn is not directly quoted as saying that, rather the statement was paraphrased by author of the article Andrew Drever.
Nevertheless, it is still a bright light for Gorillaz fans clinging to the hope that this hiatus that has been ongoing since 2012 is not in fact the end of Gorillaz. Moreover, it has come to be expected that there is always a large gap between releases of Gorillaz albums due to Albarn’s many side projects. The three main studio albums were released in 2001, 2005 and 2010,; therefore, a 2016 release would not be too unlikely.
And though Albarn said his intent would be to release a new album in 2016, they are certainly a band worth following in 2015 to see if his statements actually come to fruition. If they do, a release date and possibly even a single or two could be released by the end of next year.
2014 continued to put indie rock/alternative music at the forefront and under the microscope, and the story of 2015, though still to be told, could very well be the year that sets the bar even higher for the genre.