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The 15 albums we can’t wait to hear in June

Including new records from Angel Olsen, Foals, Wolf Alice and BTS


The battle for the Sound Of Summer 2022 has began. As festival season kicks into second gear and the fields and farms of the UK start ringing with new anthems, June welcomes another crowded slate of records all fighting for a spot on our holiday playlists. 

June 3

Angel Olsen – Big Time

Angel Olsen - Big Time (Official Video)

“The last time Angel Olsen released an album it turned into three. 2019’s All Mirrors got two full companion records before she took time out for a quick covers record and enough collaborations with Sharon Van Etten to change her whole sound. If Big Time follows the same pattern we’ll still have it on repeat in 2025, which is exactly where the first new single has been since it came out last month – all honky-tonk twang and laidback loneliness.” Paul

Hudson Taylor – Searching For The Answers

Hudson Taylor 'Golden' (Lyric Video)

“The third album from the Irish duo, Hudson Taylor are back and already hyping the release of their new full-length with the single ‘You Me Myself’. The pair also teamed up with Gabrielle Aplin – whose producer Hudson Taylor worked with on the album – for the song ‘Honest’. After two years apart during the pandemic, the duo wanted to really focus on themselves and their brotherly relationship on the new album. “We feel this is us now,” they said of the release.” Orlaith

June 10

BTS – Proof

BTS (방탄소년단) 'DNA' Official MV

“Fans won’t need telling twice but K-pop megastars BTS are due to drop their first compilation album this month. The band teased the release during their tour this year with the words “We are bulletproof” and if the charts are to be believed, they’re right. The three-disc album will feature songs from the K-pop legends last nine years and three new songs. ‘DNA’, ‘Dynamite’, and ‘Boy With Luv’ will all feature on the album which is sure to delight their millions of fans across the globe.” Orlaith

Carrie Underwood – Denim & Rhinestones

Carrie Underwood - Ghost Story (Official Music Video)

“The Queen of Country Music is back with her ninth studio album and an appropriately country title, Denim & Rhinestones. It’s easy to forget that Carrie Underwood rose to fame after winning the fourth season of American Idol back in 2005 as she’s rarely been out of the country charts in the 17 years since. Speaking of the album earlier this year, Underwood teased that it would feel like somewhat of a throwback for fans but promised to have them “singing into their hairbrush”… I don’t know about you but that’s all I want from my country music.” Orlaith

George Ezra – Gold Rush Kid

George Ezra - Anyone For You (Tiger Lily) (Official Video)

“If anyone knows their way around a summer anthem it’s George Ezra. In 2015 we were all singing ‘Budapest’, and in 2018 it was ‘Paradise’ and ‘Shotgun’. Since we could probably all do with recapturing a bit of that 2018 magic this year, all ears are on Gold Rush Kid to hear which of the new tracks are going to be soundtracking our BBQs over the next few months. Opening track ‘Anyone For You (Tiger Lily)’ already smells like cider and (perfectly burnt) sausages”. Ali

Nick Mulvey – New Mythology

Nick Mulvey - Mecca

“The spirituality that guide’s Nick Mulvey’s songwriting has increasingly moved outwards to its relationship with earth — back on 2017’s Wake Up Now he looked into the eye of Storm Imogen. On the awaited follow-up, New Mythology, Mulvey’s warming folk looks to demand immediate action.” John

Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler – For All Our Days That Tear The Heart 

Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler - For All Our Days That Tear The Heart

“If you’ve ever seen Wild Rose and heard a Suede album, the prospect of Buckley and Butler seems… a bit weird. Meshing her Irish country acting roots with his glam brit-pop sound, the pair came together to form something completely different – bringing in influences from Appalachian blues, modal jazz and flamenco for a debut album that literally sounds nothing like anything either of them have ever done before. There’s nothing more exciting than that.” Paul

Joyce Manor – 40 Oz. To Fresno

Joyce Manor - "Gotta Let It Go"

“Over the years, Torrance, CA’s Joyce Manor have sanded down their hardcore edges, revealing pure pop hearts in all their shining glory. Barry Johnson still sings about alienation, despair and stupid mistakes like he’s at war with his vocal chords, tapping into emo-adjacent pop punk in a way that either mirrors your angst or, at the very least, makes you recall it fondly. 40 Oz. To Fresno doesn’t abandon the band’s edge so much as compliment it with some of their best shout-along choruses to date.” Mark

June 17

Foals – Life Is Yours

FOALS - 2001 [Official Music Video]

“Foals know that what everyone wants this summer is a big party. Joyful shouts and groovy basslines signal a shift into funk-rock on lead single ‘Wake Me Up’, with further outings following a similar pattern. As the group gear up for a run of festivals this summer, this feels like perfect material to pave the way for some major outdoor celebrations.” Caitlin

Perfume Genius – Ugly Season

Perfume Genius - "On The Floor" (Official Music Video)

“Mike Hadreas’ fifth Perfume Genius record, Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, was a tonic to many during 2020, and was widely considered his best work. Two years on, Hadreas promises a new direction, inspired by an immersive dance, though we’re still yet to get a glimpse of it.” John

June 24

Wolf Alice – Blue Lullaby

Wolf Alice - The Last Man On Earth (Official Audio)

“Sure, this isn’t an album so much as an EP, but you should be looking forward to it all the same. Wolf Alice will be reworking a handful of tracks from their 2021 album Blue Weekend into gentle, stripped-back ‘lullaby’ versions, with Ellie Rowsell’s voice doing even more of the legwork than usual. In the first and so far only single, ‘The Last Man On Earth’, the band relies on Rowsell’s soft and dreamy vocal in place of instrumentation to build the track. The exciting part is that they could do the same with virtually any track on Blue Weekend to magnificent effect.” Caitlin

Soccer Mommy – Sometimes, Forever

Soccer Mommy - Shotgun (Official Music Video)

“Sophie Allison’s debut, Clean, seems like it only came out a few months ago, when actually it’s now been four years (thanks Covid…). Getting darker on color theory since, Soccer Mommy is re-emerging again in 2022 with something that sounds like the lessons learned from both albums – hiding a razor-blade in the candy to give us sweet and sour 90s alt rock with roughed up edges. This is the one to take the glare off summer.” Paul

Martin Courtney – Magic Sign

Martin Courtney - Corncob (Official Video)

“It’s been nearly seven years since Martin Courtney’s last solo album. There might have been more grumbling about that wait if he hadn’t spent the time releasing two and a half albums of the absolute best indie pop with his main band Real Estate. ‘Corncob’, the first single off Magic Sign, is everything that Courtney does best: gentle melodies, yearning vocals and a wistfulness that hints at nostalgia but stirs in something darker and more restless.” Mark

MUNA – Muna

MUNA - Anything But Me (Official Video)

“If ‘Silk Chiffon’ doesn’t pave the way for a fantastic record, then we’ve all been duped. This will be the synth-pop trio’s third album, but their first with Pheobe Bridger’s Saddest Factory Records imprint, and each of the four singles we’ve heard so far has been a vibrant and incredibly confident offering. Safe to say that if they continue at this pace then Muna will be my album of the summer.” Caitlin

Young Guv – GUV IV

Young Guv - "Nowhere At All" (Official Music Video)

“Young Guv have already delivered one album of the year contender in March’s stunner Guv III. As with 2020’s Guv I and Guv II, it was pre-planned as just one side of the coin, meaning we’re now being treated to his fourth album while his third is still spinning. Guv IV has been preceded the wistful ‘Change Your Mind’ and the new wave jangler ‘Nowhere At All’ suggesting this isn’t an exact retread of its predecessor but yet another expansion of Ben Cook’s supreme melodicism.” Mark

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 for the coming year.