Music
Preview
14 albums not to miss in November
Including new records from Springsteen, Stormzy, Smashing Pumpkins and First Aid Kit
The cold weird bit between Halloween and Christmas gets interesting this year as some of the year’s biggest guns get their albums out in time for firework season. Springsteen goes soul, The Smashing Pumpkins release a three part rock opera and Stormzy returns with an album he made in music camp – all jostling for chart space in another busy month of major releases.
Here we pick our favourites from the best new albums coming out in November.
4 November
First Aid Kit – Palomino
“Change is in the air for the Söderberg sisters, promising us a fifth album that feels warmer and poppier. Being First Aid Kit of course, that shift will likely still have deep roots in the kind of soulful country that makes everyone want to cry, but everything we’ve heard from Palomino so far has been flawless (and heavy on the Fleetwood Mac). And is there a better title for the earworm of the year than ‘Out Of My Head’?” Paul
Cavetown – worm food
“Oxford bedroom indie popper Cavetown is back with some emo-tinged sweetness in the form of worm food, the follow up to 2020’s Sleepyhead. If collab with beabadoobee ‘fall in love with a girl’ is anything to go by, expect cathartic choruses and icy cool harmonies.” John
MorMor – Semblance
“Seth Nyquist gained quick traction with his MorMor project when he first appeared in 2018 with the delightfully soulful dream pop EP Heaven’s Only Wishful, but seemed to drop off with just a small string of singles in the years since. Thankfully, the Toronto musician is back in earnest with his long-awaited debut album, Semblance. For fans of Steve Lacy and Blood Orange, expect chorus-y guitars, locked-in grooves and an 80s airiness.” John
Gold Dust – The Late Great Gold Dust
“Here are two musical truths. One: If you put a house on your album cover, it automatically becomes 10 per cent better. Two: If you’re still alive and call your album The Late Great… that’s another 10 per cent bump. The presence of both factors accounts for how wonderful The Late Great Gold Dust is. This is sepia-toned alt-country with lo-fi raggedness and regular detours off into unexpected territories, like how ‘Proof Of Life’ takes a sojourn in 80s Manchester or the way ‘Larks Swarm A Hawk’ suddenly takes flight into a searing, melodic guitar solo… and then does it again.” Mark
Hans Pucket – No Drama
“New Zealand has long been the spiritual home of slightly askew pop nuggets, and Hans Pucket prove that the tradition is alive and well. Their latest, No Drama, is surely the moment where the rest of the world catches on. It’s full of unexpectedly huge choruses, oddly funky rhythms and bright, shiny melodies. Produced by The Beths’ Jonathan Pearce, this is a glorious ray of sunshine that will puncture even the coldest, darkest November night. ‘My Brain Is A Vacant Space’ is a contender for song of the year.” Mark
11 November
Christine and the Queens – Redcar Les Adorables Étoiles (Prologue)
“2020’s La vita nuova saw Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier take his artistry to the next level with arresting accompanying visuals and an intensely emotional core that garnered universal acclaim. Now the art pop powerhouse returns as alter ego ‘Redcar’, a suave, slightly mysterious figure who, in debut single ‘Je te vois enfin’, weaves images of pursuits through sun-dappled forests and young women waiting for their lovers beside trickling streams. I’m excited to see where else he leads us.” Caitlin
Bruce Springsteen – Only The Strong Survive
“Isn’t it wonderful when an artist can still surprise and delight 50 years into their career? Following his best album since Tunnel Of Love, Bruce has changed tack again and this month lines up a collection of soul covers that leans into the raw power of his live performances. Only The Strong Survive makes total sense for Springsteen, shining a light on his swaggering band leader persona and packing more oomph than Tyson Fury. The pure fun pouring out of the speakers is utterly contagious.” Mark
The Smashing Pumpkins – ATUM, Act 1
“Who doesn’t love a rock opera? Most of us, probably, but as soon as Billy Corgan walked into ‘Beguiled’ wearing a white dress, bleeding mascara, the idea of The Smashing Pumpkins making a three-part goth epic just felt right. By the time the kids in the dinosaur onesies joined him, Act 1 couldn’t come soon enough – and that single isn’t even out until January. Billed as a sequel to Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness and Machina: The Machines Of God, ATUM has a hell of a lot to live up to, and three separate chances to do it over the next six months.” Paul
18 November
Dermot Kennedy – Sonder
“I remember seeing Dermot Kennedy perform his first headline show in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin in 2019, months before his debut album Without Fear had been released, and I remember the real feeling of pride in the room. There was a palpable sense of a crowd willing him to do well – and not just so we’d have a good experience, but so he would too. Kennedy’s music has always felt incredibly personal to Irish fans, who have rallied behind the artist since his days busking on Dublin’s Grafton Street. Now ahead of the release of his sophomore album, Sonder, with a new legion of international fans behind him, it feels like we were all there from the beginning. He’s not let us down yet.” Orlaith
Weyes Blood – And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow
“The first two singles from the forthcoming fifth Weyes Blood LP And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow both point to the likelihood that Natalie Mering has crafted something exceptional. A vivid Western scene entangles in ‘Grapevine’, while the melodic gem at the heart of lilting 70s piano ballad ‘It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody’ is shrouded in pearlescent swirls.” John
25 November
Stormzy – This Is What I Mean
“Three years on from his last solo effort, Big Mike returned in typically showstopping fashion in September with the off-kilter yet so addictive ‘Mel Made Me Do it’ (with a video featuring the likes of Louis Theroux and José Mourinho). Recorded in the Blackwater’s remote Osea Island, Stormz’s third album is surely one of the most anticipated of the year.” John
Model Shop – Love Interest
“Model Shop’s bio describes the Seattle trio as the sound of a lost John Hughes film and, really, there’s no other description necessary. Hell, they’ve got a song called ‘Compilation Tape’! How much more 80s romance can you stand? It’s the precise sound of when power pop became new wave, still lovelorn as ever but swapping out the fuzzy guitars for tonnes of chorus and reverb. If you’re not playing ‘Letters To Melissa’ on your true love’s front lawn, then you don’t deserve to be together. (Yes, I know that’s Cameron Crowe, not John Hughes, but the sentiment is equally valid.)” Mark
David Bowie – Divine Symmetry
“You can argue all day about the best Bowie album but it’s going to be hard for anything to ever compete with Hunky Dory again once it’s been given this lavish box set treatment. Billed as “an alternative journey” through the album, the new compendium comes with four discs, one blu-ray, a 100-page hardback book, replica notebook and photos and, the real treasure, 48 previously unreleased demos, radio sessions and live studio recordings. Now we just need to wait for them to do the same for the Labyrinth soundtrack…” Paul
Cliff Richard – Christmas With Cliff
“I’m not ashamed to admit my favourite Christmas album of all time is Cliff Richard’s 2003 release, Cliff At Christmas. There I said it. My mother purchased the album in HMV in Cork one winter in a three-for-two offer and we listened to it the whole way home. Now, more than 15 Christmases later, it’s still the first album we put on every festive season despite a sometimes-bumpy listening experience, thanks to wear-and-tear. Now, Cliff is back with Christmas With Cliff and 13 new holiday bangers for me and mine to enjoy for the foreseeable festive future. Think of it as my gift to you this Christmas.” Orlaith
Tickets are on sale now or soon for many of the names on this month’s list at ticketmaster.co.uk, with a lot of major tours and dates still to be announced this year.
