As we await Drake’s new album, View From the 6, plenty of other great albums are rearing their heads this spring to hold us over. (See the full schedule below.)

For all the old souls out there, the great Iggy Pop is returning from his four-year hibernation with an album called Post Pop Depression in March, and hopefully he’s gotten over his odd interest in French lyrics (Aprés, 2012). It’s cool, but a little random coming from a guy from Muskegon, MI. As the title of the new album would hint, he’s probably going through something after the loss of a big influence of his, David Bowie. I’m optimistic of this one.

We are also going to see in April a new set of tracks from the ultimate group of townies, the great Cheap Trick. We aren’t going to hear the same band that created “Surrender” in 1978, but we’re getting something not too far from it, and that’s something to appreciate. Their single from the upcoming album “No Direction Home” is a great start for a new record–the perfect mix of the old days and today.

Another record I’m half excited, half wary for is Gwen Stefani’s This is What the Truth Feels Like. Besides No Doubt’s LP Push and Shove from 2012, Stefani hasn’t done anything solo but a few singles between 2006 and today. But after hearing her newest single “Make Me Like You” from a couple weeks ago, I have breathed a sigh of relief for this upcoming release. It’s brilliant. The day Stefani changes her style (beyond being hella versatile, from ska to rock, and even Brit-pop) is the day I give up on female musicians, because they will have no one to look up to.

Fast forwarding to contemporary artists, Cullen Omori, formerly of the psych-pop group Smith Westerns, is coming out with his first solo album New Misery. Based on his two released singles, we are just getting a new Smith Westerns album. Which makes since, because the band announced its last tour together a couple years back, and Omori just isn’t done. Indie hippie delight.

Next, we have finally come to Weezer’s White Album. Whether it’s a take on The Beatles’ White Album, or just simple the next color on their list after blue, green and red, I think we can expect something great from this release. Since these guys have been Average Joe-ing around since 1994, this might be the point in their career where things climax into brilliant garage rock bliss. From this album they could continue to be great, like the Beatles revived after their white album, or they could call it quits on a great career. I hope they stick around for more.

On a sadder note, I fear the long-awaited release from The Lumineers, Cleopatra, is going to be a letdown. Judging by the single “Ophelia” from February, they’ve ditched the raw, bare-bones and woodwork folk sound they beautifully revived from the Revolutionary War West in 2012 with their self-titled debut. It’s not plugged-in, but his vocal effects and piano rhythms sounds super mainstream. Such a shame, but they’re just following in the footsteps of their sound-alikes Mumford and Sons and City & Colour, who just out out plugged-in albums. But if the Lumineers were really listening, they’d know this didn’t really work for those guys to go mainstream, and that we would all appreciate them to stay the same and return us to the folk craze that happened when their first album came out. However, I have some hope for this group yet. Their only showing of this release so far isn’t totally discouraging, but just enough to worry me.

Zayn Malik is also about to grace us with his pompousness in yet another medium, with his own debut album Mind of Mine. Looks like his music with One Direction wasn’t the right type of music he wanted to copy (every boy band ever). He’s coming for you now, Mr. Bieber.

And last but not least, we are of course ever-awaiting Drake’s View from the 6. Unsurprisingly we don’t know exactly when this is going to drop, but we know it’s soon. At least he knows what he wants to title this record (ahem, Yeezy).

March 4

1.      Tonight Alive – Limitless (Pop-Rock)
2.      Granger Smith – Remington (Country)
3.      Miike Snow – III (Dance)

March 11

1.      Into It. Over It. – Standard (Punk)
2.      Slingshot Dakota – Break (Punk)

March 18

1.       Gwen Stefani – This Is What The Truth Feels Like  (Pop)
2.       Iggy Pop – Post Pop Depression (Rock)
   
3.       Cullen Omori – New Misery (Psych-Pop)
   

March 25

1.       Zayn Malik – Mind of Mine (????)
   
2.       The Thermals – We Disappear (Indie Rock)
   
3.       The Joy Formidable – Hitch (Alternative)
   
4.       Turnover – Humblest Pleasures EP (Punk)

April 1

1.       Cheap Trick – Bang Zoom Crazy…Hello (Rock)
   
2.       Explosions in the Sky – The Wilderness (Instrumental)
   
3.       Frankie Cosmos – Next Thing (Synth-Rock)
   
4.       Weezer – The White Album (Punk Rock)
   
5.       Teen Suicide – It’s the Big Joyous Celebration, Let’s Stir the Honeypot (Punk)
   

April 8

1.       Frightened Rabbit – Painting of a Heart Attack (Rock)
   
2.       Parquet Courts – Human Performance (Indie Rock)
   
3.       The Lumineers – Cleopatra (Folk)
   
4.       M83 – Junk (Dance)
   
5.       Deftones – Gore (Rock)
   

April 15

1.       Bear Hands – You’ll Pay for This (Indie Rock)
   
2.       Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – PersonA (Indie Rock)

April 22

1.       Sorority Noise – It Kindly Stopped for Me EP (Punk)

April 29

1.      Pity Sex – White Hot Moon (Punk)
   
2.      Aesop Rock – The Impossible Kid (Rap/Hip-Hop)
   

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