At the Drive In – in•ter a•li•a

El Paso’s hardcore emo-rock kings At the Drive In may have broken up in 2000, but a seventeen year break hasn’t subdued their sound any. Returning with an aggressive comeback album, At the Drive In may not be anywhere near their prime anymore, but it’s still fun to see vintage hardcore try and make a comeback in 2017. Fans be warned, however, that guitarist Jim Ward decided not to join in on the reunion: instead, Keeley Davis, from fellow El Paso band Sparta, has taken his place for the new record.

Blondie – Pollinator

I actually hadn’t realized, but Blondie has been consistently putting out albums: their last full-length was in 2011, thirty-three years after their breakout project Parallel Lines. After a six-year break, Blondie’s returned with a new album, Pollinator, with a string of odd guest features. Joan Jett and Laurie Anderson are both on the album, as well as music-comedy group the Gregory Brothers, and actor John Roberts (known for playing Tina on Bob’s Burger). Pollinator also includes covers of Johnny Marr’s “My Monster” and Charli XCX’s “Gravity”.

Brother Ali – All the Beauty in This Whole Life

Rhymesayers’ rapper Brother Ali has been a staple of underground hip hop for years now, known for an impressively verbose form of aggressive lyricism that he uses to espouse the doctrines and ideals of his adopted Muslim religion. Many aspects of Ali’s troubled life find their way into All the Beauty in this Whole Life, including his life growing up with Albinism, the numerous suicides that have occurred in his close family, and concepts of privilege and prejudice. Sa Roc, deM atlaS, and poet Amir Sulaiman are all featured on Ali’s sixth album.

Lethal Bizzle – You’ll Never Make A Million Off Grime

After the success of his Skepta-assisted single “I Win”, London’s Lethal Bizzle returns with a full EP, titled You’ll Never Make A Million Off Grime with a touch of tongue-in-cheek cynicism. Donae’o, Diztortion, MoStack, and Melissa Steel round out the list of features, bringing in some lesser-known UK talent for the 7-track EP. If you like this, keep an eye out for the Grime veteran’s upcoming fourth studio album, Lennox Rd., due out later this year.

Logic – Everybody

Logic’s spent the last few years quietly becoming one of the biggest rappers on the planet, blending impressive speed-rap with a cinematic approach to album construction that’s brough acclaim from both critics and fans alike. After the release of two underwhelming projects (2015’s The Incredible True Story and 2016’s Bobby Tarantino), Logic’s returned with his most ambitious project yet: Everybody, an album based on the concept of a man who realizes, upon dying, that he must live the life of every person on earth before ascending to heaven. It’s Logic’s most cohesive project since Under Pressure, a mix of styles that finds him overcoming some of the flaws that afflicted his recent releases. Killer Mike, Black Thought, Chuck D, Khalid, Lucy Rose, and J. Cole (with an unexpected, uncredited feature on “AfricAryan”) all appeared on the project, along with Neil deGrasse Tyson, who plays the role of God in the skits.

Lucki – Watch My Back

Formerly known as Lucki Eck$, the king of monotone, subdued Chicago rap returns with a new full-length, clocking in with eighteen tracks as his longest album to date. Following up last year’s critically acclaimed Son of Sam, Watch My Back is a featureless project with production from Plu2o Nash, Clams Casino, Ugly Friend, F1lthy, and more.

 

Mac DeMarco – This Old Dog

Slacker/indie rock’s reigning prince returns with his third full-length album (fifth solo project, altogether), titled This Old Dog. Preceded by singles “My Old Man” and “This Old Dog”, This Old Dog is reportedly the first album that DeMarco actually tried to sit down and take the time to craft carefully. Mac is the only artist on the album, singing, producing, engineering, mixing, and playing every instrument himself.

Mally Mal – Mally’s World Vol. 1

Mally Mal has been out of the spotlight for a while, but evidently he’s looking to make a comeback with his latest project, attracting a ton of collaborators. 2 Chainz, Migos, Post Malone, Jeremih, Rich the Kid, French Montana, Iamsu!, Too $hort, and B-Real are only a handful of the featured artists on the first volume of Mally’s World.

 

Organized Noize – Organized Noize

Organized Noise are one of the most revered production teams of all time, widely regarded as responsible for crafting the sound of the entire Atlanta hip hop scene in the 90s. They were responsible not just for the majority of OutKast Goodie Mob’s music, but for crafting huge hits for Ludacris (“Saturday”), TLC (“Waterfalls”), and many more. Comprised of Ray Murray, Sleepy Brown, and Rico Wade (Future’s cousin), Organized Noize had never put out a personal project until now. Along with a stellar appearance from 2 Chainz, Organized Noize finds a ton of old collaborators reappearing, including Big Boi, CeeLo Green, Sleepy Brown, and Joi.

Russ – There’s Really A Wolf

Over the past few years, Georgia rapper/singer Russ has done something impressive: he’s managed to gain an international following, and achieved Platinum-ranking songs (“What They Want” and “Losin’ Control”), without ever putting out a commercial album (he put out a series of mixtapes from 2011-2014, but these all preceded his recent fame). That all changed today, however, with the release of his first studio album: There’s Really A Wolf, a 20-track project that was recorded and produced entirely by Russ himself.

Slowdive – Slowdive

2017 really is the year of comeback albums. British shoegaze band Slowdive disbanded in 1995 after the release of their third album, Pygmalion. While most of the band carried on as Mojave 3, they never received the kind of international acclaim that Slowdive did. After reuniting for concerts and festivals in 2014, the band has returned with their first album in twenty-two years, a self-titled project that found all four members of the band reuniting for eight brand-new songs. Can shoegaze make a comeback in 2017? Time will tell.

Wrekonize – Into the Further

¡Mayday!, a rap duo comprised of Berner and Wrekonize, is one of the best acts on Tech N9ne’s Strange Music label. After the success of last year’s See You on the Other Side, Berner’s first solo outing, Wrekonize has followed suit with his third album. Into the Further might be the first Strange Music release I’ve ever seen without any features.

 

 

Also released:

Hoodrich Pablo Juan & Danny Wolf, Hoodwolf: Rising Atlanta rapper Hoodrich Pablo Juan teamed up with producer Danny Wolf for his latest mixtapes. 
HWLS, EP02: The electronic DJ’s second EP.
Icewear Vezzo, Price Goin Up: Detroit’s Icewear Vezzo’s new post-incarceration album features AD, Mozzy, Philthy Rich, and more.
Johnny Cinco, John Popi 2: Cinco’s latest mixtape features Trouble, YFN Lucci, and more.
Nas & Quasimoto, Nasimoto: Sometimes, these fanmade mashup albums really work. Nas has always suffered for his poor beat choice, so hearing him spit over Madlib is refreshing.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Lovely Creatures: A greatest hits compilation from one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time.