The 15 Albums We’re Most Excited About for August

A quick poll of Paste’s staff and interns regarding our most anticipated albums for this month initially yielded responses as tepid as the humid August air after a thunderstorm. But after clearing our senses, we actually remembered a slew of bands whose newest efforts are making us giddy. From surf rock to Norwegian pop, from Kesha’s grand return to our Paste Quarterly cover boys Grizzly Bear, here are 15 albums Paste is most excited to hear in August 2017.

August 4
Guantanamo Baywatch, Desert Center
Guantanamo Baywatch’s forthcoming album, Desert Center, promises to be an homage to a classic rock ‘n’ roll sound. The band’s first single, “Area 69” is energetic and fun, taking cues from new-wave rockers like The B-52’s who take pride in having a good time onstage. — Darby McNally

August 11
Downtown Boys, Cost of Living
This Providence-based punk band signed with the venerable Sub Pop for their third album, Cost of Living. Frontwoman Victoria Ruiz and the rest of the band aren’t shy calling out the absurdity of today’s politics, so maybe this will be the album of protest songs we need and deserve.

Kesha, Rainbow
After years of legal battles against Dr. Luke, Kesha is—as the rallying cry went—free. Since Sony has allowed her to work without her alleged assaulter’s influence, the pop singer/songwriter unleashed the tragi-ballad “Praying” and its emotional flipside, “Woman.” We’re excited to hear what other melodic nuggets of defiance she planted within Rainbow. —Hilary Saunders

Milo, Who Told You to Think??!!?!?!?!
This has been one of the most anticipated rap albums of the whole year. Having worked with electronic artists like Flying Lotus to indie rock bands like Future Islands, Rory “Milo” Ferreira’s follow up to 2015’s So the Flies Don’t Come is sure to showcase his engaging style of progressive hip-hop.

August 18
Everything Everything, A Fever Dream
Funky falsetto-heavy electro-pop band Everything Everything returns with their fourth LP. Based on lead single “Can’t Do,” the Manchester band might have made a soundtrack for a fever dream after all.

Grizzly Bear, Painted Ruins
Grizzly Bear is now based in Los Angeles. They’re also a major-label band, having signed with Sony-owned RCA. They’re a group of husbands, fathers and divorcees; of film and TV scorers, travel columnists, published chefs and political activists; of bee-keeping recluses and Taylor Swift nemeses. None of these things was true when they released their last album, the dark and knotty Shields. But that was way back in 2012 and everything—the music business, the geopolitical climate, Williamsburg—is different now. —Chris Martens

Read the rest of Paste’s cover story on Grizzly Bear’s return here.

Gold Class, Drum
This post-punk band is kind of a big deal in their native Australia. Although their 2015 single “Life As A Gun” made waves internationally, Drum might help them level up in the States.

August 25
A$AP Mob, Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy
Although members (A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg, A$AP Twelvyy) of this hip-hop collective have released solo singles, EPs and albums recently, the band gets back together for their second joint release, Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy, just a year after their debut.

Filthy Friends, Invitation
Filthy Friends is the new band featuring Corin Tucker from Sleater Kinney and Peter Buck from R.E.M. The supergroup has been likened to T. Rex and The Replacements, so we’re excited to see what kind of rock they conjure on their debut.

Iron & Wine, Beast Epic
After collaborations with Band of Horses’s Ben Bridwell and Jesca Hoop, as well as a string of more experimental Iron & Wine LPs, Sam Beam returns to his warm acoustic roots on Beast Epic and we can’t wait.

Liars, TFCF (Themes From Crying Fountain)
Liars is not the same band it was. In 2014, Julian Gross left the band and in earlier this year, co-founder and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Hemphill announced he was leaving. As a result, we’re not entirely sure what to expect from TFCF, but that doesn’t mean we’re not curious.

Oh Sees, Orc
Thee Oh Sees have changed their name to just Oh Sees, and with this change, have announced a new album, titled Orc. The album comes out on August 25 via Castle Face Records and will be the band’s 19th (!) LP. — Grant Sharples

Queens of the Stone Age, Villains
Big bold rock band Queens of the Stone Age worked producer Mark Ronson on their forthcoming Villains_. Although seemingly relevant for the times, frontman and vocalist Josh Homme has noted that the album’s title is apolitical and has nothing to do with President Donald Trump.—Grant Sharples

Susanne Sundfør, Music for People in Trouble
The Norwegian singer, songwriter and producer Susanne Sundfør returns with his sixth album. She describes her new album as follows, “We are living in a time of great changes. Everything is moving so rapidly, sometimes violently, sometimes dauntingly. I think a lot of people experience anxiety these days. I wanted to address these emotions on the album.”

The War on Drugs, A Deeper Understanding
Paste staffers in both Atlanta and New York were thrilled when The War on Drugs finally dropped their new song, “Thinking of a Place,” around Record Store Day. The sprawling, 11-plus-minute odyssey is the band’s first new music since 2014 and hopefully gives a taste of what we can expect at the end of the month. —Peter Amato