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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