Looking Ahead to Some of the Anticipated Albums for Winter and Spring 2023

Digging through the year's first playlist and looking to the releases ahead with Peter Gabriel, Frankie Rose, Young Fathers, The Lemon Twigs, and more!

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I really wanted to have a new review out today, but regular readers know that the first few weeks of January are still the sleepy period for new albums. While I've already listened to a few records from the past week and a half, I am still waiting for something to hit the spot. Instead, I've spent the holidays catching up on stuff not on my 2022 radar while mainly listening to old favorites that have stayed on the dusty shelf (if you missed my look back at Bruce Springsteen's Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., give it a read as it was a fun one to write).

The records may be slowly trickling in, but the new singles are setting up what already looks like a great new year of music. So today's beefy playlist is a rundown of teasers for what is sure to be some can't-miss records in 2023's first quarter.

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A good chunk of what I'm anticipating comes from artists who are in release droughts numbering many years. In the case of Peter Gabriel, it's been two decades since an album of all original material. Sure, Scratch My Back was a fun record in concept, where Gabriel covered songs by artists from his legacy status and (relatively) newer acts. But reimagined at a plodding pace with an orchestra didn't make for a captivating listen. The album didn't work at all, so Gabriel's natural next move was to repeat the same idea with his catalog on New Blood. I know you're all smart enough to guess the result.

Up, Gabriel's last proper album, was so long ago that Martin Scorcese used its song "Signal to Noise" to soundtrack the storied opening scene to Gangs of New York, and if you really want to dig into a discography, that album featured a decade wait since 1991's Us. Fans of Peter Gabriel are rabid for this one after two proper albums in thirty years. I'm cautiously optimistic with myself in that camp, while the lead single "Panopticom (Bright Side Mix)" does a great job of leaving the listener wanting more. There are some interesting electronic textures to the song, and Gabriel's legendary voice sounds pretty damn strong. 

There's no release date set for the announced album i/o, leading to its "believe it when I hear it" status, as Gabriel has talked about a new record for twenty years. In the meantime, UK and European readers will be treated to a lengthy tour early this summer, while North American dates are to be announced for the fall.

There are a few other new announcements that may not be two decades in the making but have me excited to hear artists after a good break between albums. First is the criminally underrated new-wavey indie pop Frankie Rose, back with Love As Projection, her first record in six years. Known for drumming with Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, and Vivian Girls, Rose has a pretty flawless list of solo albums, with Interstellar and 2017's Cage Tropical as favorites of mine. The lead single, "Anything" is classic Frankie Rose, featuring a classic new wave hook while layering in some new electronic elements. Out March 10th, Love As Projection is one that already has me ready for the spring.

This week also sees the release of the fourth and final single for Young Fathers' upcoming record, Heavy Heavy. Five years since Cocoa Sugar, one of my favorite records of 2018, Young Fathers continue to show they refused to be boxed in by a genre. "Rice" is the opening song to the new record and finds the group channeling TV on the Radio, and I'm here for it. The Edinburgh trio drop Heavy Heavy on February 3rd.

Do Hollywood by The Lemon Twigs is one of the best debut records of the past decade, but the brotherly Long Island duo has been hit or big miss since. Continuing to channel all of their favorite bands from the 60s and 70s, the D'Addario brothers followed that record up with a great EP before the wheels fell off on their sophomore album. Forget Hootie and the Blowfish's Fairweather Johnson, Go to School is a test of musical patience, a concept album about a chimpanzee raised by human parents. "If there are three seasons of BJ and the Bear, why not this?" asked the D'Addarios.

When it came time for 2020's Songs for the General Public, it might have been the monkey concept album, or the entire year was a confusing haze, but I didn't find myself returning to the record. With their excellent new single, "Corner of My Eye," out last week, I've found myself returning to Songs for the General Public, and I am glad I gave it a second chance as an excellent rock record. Between "Corner of My Eye" and their work on Weyes Blood's In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow, I'm looking forward to the new album from The Lemon Twigs, which has yet to be announced.

What album are you most looking forward to this year? Let me know in the comments!