Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Albums to Watch for in February 2020


We’re only a month into 2020 and the music being released is getting more and more epic. February is looking just as good with a lot of highly anticipated albums set for release in the next month from the likes of Justin Bieber, Green Day, Ozzy Osbourne, BTS and more.

Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, loves new music. That’s why we’re taking a look at some of the new albums hitting shelves in February. From the highly anticipated to the highly recommended, here are seven albums (and a few more) we think will be worth keeping an eye out for.


1.       Green Day, ‘Father Of All Motherf******’: A noted departure from the pop-punk/arena rock sound Green Day has cultivated over the last three decades, ‘Father Of All Motherf******’ finds the band experimenting with a new Motown-meets-garage rock sound. While I can take or leave “Fire Ready Aim” content-wise, I find a certain appeal to singles “Father Of All” and “Oh Yeah” in terms of groove and style. These are influences that came to the forefront in Foxboro Hottubs (a completely different band that just happens to share a few members) and it’ll be interesting to hear how they put the Green Day spin on it. (2/7)

2.       Stone Temple Pilots, ‘Perdida’: ‘Perdida’ is supposed to be an album unlike anything Stone Temple Pilots have released before. An acoustic album recorded with “unexpected instruments,” including flute, alto-sax, vintage keyboards, guitarrón and Marxophone, ‘Perdida’ is meant to showcase the emotional place these songs come from. Many of the tracks were written by singer Jeff Gutt about the “difficult moments in his life,” leading to a vulnerability you don’t always get from the full-fledged rock sound.  It will be interesting to hear a different side of this iconic band with this new album. (2/7)

3.       Huey Lewis and the News, ‘Weather’: It’s been 10 years since Huey Lewis and the News released ‘Soulsville’ in 2010. Since then, a lot has happened, including Lewis’ 2018 revelation that he’d been suffering from hearing loss brought on by Ménière’s disease that ended the band’s touring prospects. Even with the diagnosis, he and the band will be releasing a new album, ‘Weather,’ in February. Their first featuring original songs since 2001’s ‘Plan B,’ ‘Weather’ finds the band back to their 80s Americana rock sound. Singles “While We’re Young” and “Her Love Is Killin’ Me” sound as if no time has passed. (2/14)

4.       Justin Bieber, ‘Changes’: It has been nearly five years since Justin Bieber released ‘Purpose,’ which featured his most mature music to date, as well as his biggest hits ever. Since then he’s done even more growing personally, taking a wife and dealing with the harsh realities of life (a.k.a. his struggles with Mono and Lyme Disease). Beiber is ready to face the world of music again with is upcoming album, ‘Changes.’ While I don’t quite understand the appeal of “Yummy,” there are plenty of people who seem to love it, as it debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Because of this and the hype surrounding its release, ‘Changes’ is guaranteed to be one of the biggest album releases of the year. (2/14)

5.       BTS, ‘Map Of The Soul: 7’: K-pop superstars BTS had a big year in 2019 with their EP ‘Map Of The Soul: Persona,’ breaking chart records left and right. The band’s upcoming full-length, ‘Map Of The Soul: 7,’ is poised to be even bigger. In pre-orders alone, the album blew past three million units, breaking the record they set with ‘Persona.’ Listening to the album’s first single, “Black Swan,” there’s a definite pop and hip-hop influence, but also a classical one with a beautiful string arrangement accompanying the beat, together guiding the song’s rather deep lyrics. If you’re into K-pop, I’m sure this will be an album not to miss. (2/21)

6.       Ozzy Osbourne, ‘Ordinary Man’: Osbourne has had one heck of a year, first with all of the side-lining injuries and then with the latest diagnosis of Parkinson’s. The one lifeline, what brought him back from the brink, is the music. In all of the chaos, Osbourne wrote a full album, set for release this month. His first in nearly a decade, the singles released so far prove that while his physical strength may be going, his ability to write great songs has not. “Under The Graveyard” and “Ordinary Man” are personal, thought-provoking tracks that find the Prince of Darkness looking back at his life and career while still managing to rock. (2/21)

7.       Five Finger Death Punch, ‘F8’: According to Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Zoltan Bathory, the band’s upcoming album, ‘F8,’ represents a “rebirth” for the group. It’s their first album since frontman Ivan Moody got sober, which is very much reflected in the album’s songs. You can hear the reflection and a bit of anger in the album’s first single, “Inside Out,” which was written about Moody’s addiction and the people and relationships that suffered because of it. Bathory says that the album sounds like the band, but it’s not the same band. Fans should definitely look forward to finding out what that means next month.(2/28)


Further Listening:
·         Best Coast, ‘Always Tomorrow’: (2/21)
·         Nada Surf, ‘Never Not Together’: (2/7)
·         Oh Wonder, ‘No One Else Can Wear Your Crown’: (2/7)


A lot of highly anticipated albums are set for release this February, as well as some hot LPs you didn’t know you needed to hear. Check out some of our upcoming album picks above and let us know what albums you’re looking forward to in February in the comments below.

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Discover music new and old at Vinyl Bay 777. As one of Long Island’s top independent record shops, we have thousands of titles to choose from in a wide variety of genres. Browse our selection of new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs, memorabilia and more in store at our Plainview location or online at vinylbay777.com. Whether you’re looking for something new to you or to rediscover the classics, we have you covered. And with more titles being added to our selection all the time, you never know what you might find at Vinyl Bay 777.

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