Not gonna lie, last week was a damn good week for album releases. Weezer, Of Montreal, Chromeo, Elemental Groove Theory... it was as if the music gods were after my own heart.
And while this week's releases tend to leave a little more to desire, they are not without points of interest.
Remember when you listened to Maroon 5 in middle school? High school? Last week? (Don't deny it; you totally did). The five-piece has a new album out, Hands All Over, which will likely prove to be... about the same as the rest of their discography, if lead single "Misery" is any indication. So if that's your thing (oh wait, that's right, it totally is), check out what singer Adam Levine calls "just great pop."
Frankly, I don't know much about Shit Robot. But I think the name is absolutely hilarious, and the project's album From the Cradle to the Rave will be out Tuesday on DFA Records.
Indiana's Margot and the Nuclear So and So's will release their third full-length, as well. It is reportedly the first with the band's new lineup, which still includes singer Richard Edwards fronting the group. Check ACRN.com later in the week for a review of the new album, Buzzard!
The Zac Brown Band is known for its country-friendly tunes that have a bit of a Jimmy Buffett swag (given Jimmy Buffett HAS a swag) with them. The band's first album, The Foundation, spawned four chart toppers on the US Country charts and another that hit number two. The band's newest single, "As She's Walking Away," has already climbed to number 16 and features country legend Alan Jackson. Fresh off an opening slot for the Dave Matthews Band this past summer, the band is ready to release album number two, You Get What You Give. The Foundation is one of my favorite country albums of all time. I have a good feeling You Get What You Give will be up there as well.
Remember Serj Tankian? How about System of a Down? If you answered "yes" to only the second question, Serj Tankian was the lead singer for that esteemed rock/metal band that graced the rock charts during the 2000's with singles such as "Chop Suey," "Toxicity" and "B.Y.O.B." The band has been on a hiatus since 2006, and Tankian has since taken to his solo project, which sounds... a lot like System of a Down. After Tankian's less-than-stellar Elect the Dead and Elect the Dead Symphony, Imperfect Harmonies is the singer's second full-length and third album overall. Here's hoping it's a good showing. And that System gets back together soon.
Oh, and Selena Gomez and her band The Scene will be releasing A Year Without Rain. Just in case we have any reader who watches the Disney Channel that isn't I.
Finally, possibly the most intriguing of the releases is a collaboration between soul crooner John Legend and The Roots, of Late Night fame. General praise for the album before its release has been pretty damn good, so if there's any album this week I'd say "HEY, GO BUY THIS. OR DOWNLOAD IT. OR SOMETHING.," it's this. If only to see how such a collaboration between such esteemed company turns out.
That's it for this week. Let me know how that Maroon 5 album turns out.
--Kevin Rutherford, Managing Editor
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