No, I’m not talking about the England cricket team (snort! guffaw!) – I’m talking about the internet-era practice of a new song/album “dropping” from nowhere – no build-up, no teaser videos, advertising or interviews – just Boom! There it is.
I like having these things just happen and am delighted when it’s someone I quite like. The best example I can recall is Bowie’s Where are we Now? followed by The Next Day LP. Reading the recent Blackstar post made me think of it.
My active record buying began in 1980, so I tended to have an idea when a new LP or single was coming thanks to the inkies and Smash Hits. I don’t remember seeing an LP just *appear* on the shelves of Our Price from nowhere in quite the same way.
The other ones I can remember are In Rainbows and the U2 thing that Apple chucked on iTunes. But there must be far more than that. Taylor Swift has definitely done it at least once, for example.
So, dear reader … who would you like to see “drop” an album tomorrow? I’d like to nominate Kate Bush.
Randy Newman please
Laura Cantrell would be nice.
My favourite band/artist who hasn’t released an album in decades, because they are either dead or retired or make more money playing live than releasing new recordings.
A new Tom Waits would be fun
I don’t like it when these things just “drop” – because my relative absence from the socials means there is a good chance that I would miss it completely – unless it was flagged up here, of course.
But, to play the game in the spirit intended: something new by Mr Fripp would be nice, whether KC or solo – increasingly unlikely, I suspect…
He does videos every week!
Not quite the same thing…
That Clayhill compilation from last year.
XTC. With Messrs Partridge, Moulding and Gregory involved. Zero chance.
Last time we had a missing in action thread I speculated on the whereabouts of Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter. Lo and behold, only weeks later a new album appeared, their first for 14 years. So here’s a more ambitious wish. It’s 23 years since Say You Will. A new Fleetwood Mac album dropped out of thin air would be rather nice.
The Blue Nile would be a lovely surprise.
November 2002 Sault dropped five albums at once via wetransfer. Hard to top that.
That looks fairly busy compared to The Blue Nile’s 4 albums over 22 years.
2022 was we transfer even a thing in 2002?
Big Special did this with their last album National Average. It was announced on the Thur night & i went into town to pick up the record on the Friday morning. That was a nice surprise.
An artist I would like to see drop an album, would be New Order. It’s been a while
Their last single, five years ago, was a late period banger:
In 2016, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez suddenly started releasing solo albums after a long-ish gap. There was one every two weeks for a year. Some were comprised of familiar material, but re-done/re-arranged/improved/ruined (up to the listener to decide), some were totally new, others were completely unexpected swerves in direction. Corazones was almost like jangle pop; Birth of a Ghost was chamber music of a kind. I think there’s probably only about 25 people in the world who got on the roller-coaster and actually cared about it. But if I wasn’t a fan already, I came out of that hero-worshipping really. It was a statement from an artist who was unafraid to put himself out there.
Who would I like a surprise ‘drop’ from? The Sundays.
I think, for me, this year’s deep dive into the unknown must be Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and The Mars Volta – inspired by your advocacy, of course. I was going to do this once before, but events got in the way and I never got off the ground.
It’s certainly not for everyone! If you want guidance on navigating the catalog, we can start a thread..?
…although this brave soul has done an incredible job of it. https://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2025/07/omargeddon-project-closure-report
(Not me, in case anyone is curious)
Huzzah! Go for it! And many thanks, of course…
A Blackstar box set! 😉
I think Beyoncé’s Lemonade drop was a great one.
A new album drop from Ry Cooder would be very welcome
Was just about to post he same – I think we might have already had his last album. Joachim is releasing stuff but not really the same.
… and, just then, a new and quite unexpected Morrissey album is announced, heralded by the title track.
Begs the question: are you a secret right-wing propagandist, @black-celebration?
Shush! I’ve had an unexpected plumbing bill and I need the money.
*Considers nominating Gerry Rafferty, stays mum*
It works the other way, too. I came across, almost by accident, the paired “Drink the Sea” albums, 1 and 2, which came out, digitally, in October and November, before later combined double vinyl and CD versions. I don’t think the CD is yet available in the UK. Advertising was low key, as it was for a pre- Xmas tour of smaller UK venues. With the pedigree of the band including Peter Buck and Screaming Trees’ Barrett Martin, along with Mark Lanegan sidemen, Duke Garwood and Alan Johannes, you’d expect them to be catnip to many here, yet I think I was the only person to find them and pop the double album in my AW chart of 25. I have described it as a Mark Lanegan fronted heavier Saving Grace in style, and have been playing it constantly since my December discovery. Timing of the date meant I missed the Birmingham date: it clashed with taking my grand daughter to the Arboretum Lights at Alrewas(which was ironically cancelled at the last minute).
I would have thought they could have made a much mightier splash, with better promotion and timing, rather than, seemingly, sinking like stone.