2012 Album Watch List

2011 inundated me with new music, and I'm still absorbing it all (thanks for the 11th-hour record, Black Keys...). Although the Radio Station In My Head is still working through last year's rotation, here are some forthcoming records that I expect to be talking about in 2012:

Avett Brothers - Title TBA - Spring (I'm assuming April, because that seems to be the trend here...)

While there's no official release date set, a Rolling Stone interview in January suggested their second Rick Rubin-produced album would be out in early spring. The trademark back-country acoustic sound will be present, but it also looks like some harder edges will get equal time as well. If you have ever seen the Avetts live, this should come as no surprise. They preformed the track "Once and Future Carpenter" on CMT's Unplugged last summer.

Delta Spirit - Delta Spirit - March 13

What a great present for me half-birthday. Delta Spirit recent released a preview of the track "California" through the Wall Street Journal's website (a strange venue choice) this month. This song is a lot more pop than their previous music. Personally, I am hoping this is not an
indication of a completely new direction for the group.

Mumford & Sons - Title TBA - 1st half of 2012

The followup to 2009's Sigh No More has been a long-time coming, mostly because the record only last year made a splash in the U.S. Mumford & Sons spend the end of 2010 and most of 2011 on constant tour to support their rising notoriety in the U.S.

The band has been promising a release in the first half of 2012. They have been performing new songs all year on the road. Based on what I heard at Bonnaroo 2011, the album is promising. There's also "Ghosts That We Knew," which was pushed as a preview late last year.

Justin Townes Earle - Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now  - March 27

Harlem River Blues made a big slash in 2010. The overall sound was a mix of rockabilly, Old time Hank, Sr.-style country and delta blues, capturing Justin Townes Earle's slappy-acoustic live performances very successfully. Nothing's Gonna Change the Way you Feel About Me Now, while also a contender for 2012's longest album name, looks to be more of a bluesier departure, based on the preview video released on JTE's website early this year.

Punch Brothers - Who's Feeling Young Now - February 24

My favorite bluegrass-meets-free jazz-meets-obscure classical band is launching their third record next month. Judging from the recently-released track "Clara," I can see this will probably be a shew-in my Best Of 2012 list.

Eric Hutchinson - Moving Up Moving Down - April 17

Hutchinson went Gold with his 2008 debut Sounds Like This. After 4 years of hectic touring, he's releasing his followup. The video for the first single "Watching You Watching Him" is pretty interesting to watch. Personally, I'm getting a Buddy Holly-meets-Paul Simon vibe...

Jack White - Blunderbuss - April 23


This Paste Magazine article announced that Jack White will be releasing his first solo record in April (I hate it when they get the scoop on me..). A preview stream of the song "Love Interruption" is available for subscribers to the Third Man Records Vault. For the rest of us less-hardcore fans, more previews will be forthcoming.