Music has the uncanny ability to define times. Everyone remembers the first time they heard their favorite song. Well, we hope these eight albums paint vivid memories for your summer months.

8. Nora Jones Little Broken Hearts

Just in time for a summer joy-ride-to-nowhere or for a relaxing picnic in the park, Norah Jones gives us Little Broken Hearts on May 1st. Definitely check out her silky smooth first single “Happy Pills”.

 

 

 

7. Rufus Wainwright Out of the Game

 

Rufus is finally back on the scene with Out of the Game. Initially I was hoping for something akin to the sound from Want One and Want Two, but from an initial listen to the title track, it is apparent that he is giving us an album to have summer dreams to.

 

 

 

6. Sigur Rós Valtari

After falling in love with Jónsi and his solo project Go I have been dying to hear what would be next from Sigur Ros! We will all get to hear on May 28th with Valtari. Their first single is the beautifully serene “Ekki múkk”

 

5. Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel….

Has it really been seven years since we were graced with the beautiful bluezy ramblings of Fiona Apple?! On June 19th we are given yet another long titled album The Idler Wheel is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do. Let’s hope it entrances us as much as the even longer titled album When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King, What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He’ll Win the Whole Thing ‘fore He Enters the Ring, There’s No Body to Batter When Your Mind is Your Might, So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth is the Greatest of Height and if You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where to Land and if You Fall it Won’t Matter, Cause You’ll Know That You’re Right did.

 

4. Regina Spektor What We Saw from the Cheap Seats

Adding a bit of the electronics to her vast musical dialog, Regina Spektor comes back with What We Saw From the Cheap Seats, on May 28th. For those of you that love her quirky vocals, don’t fret - they are still in full effect! If you strip away all the polish and production from her first single about paintings in a museum, entitled “All the Rowboats”, the music is reminiscent of her early gritty writing.

 

 

 

3. Scissor Sisters Magic Hour

I have high hopes for the Scissor Sisters’ new album Magic Hour, even with the release of their overly produced first single “Only the Horses.” Here’s hoping this album will just as magical as their earlier albums.

 

 

 

2. Gossip A Joyful Noise

 

As soon as Beth Ditto opens her mouth, the listener is immediately entranced. From the first listen of their debut album, Music For Men, I was hooked with their raw mix of punk, pop, and dance. With the first single from their follow-up album, “Perfect World”, you can tell that their sound is a little more polished. I just hope they didn’t loose that edge that makes their music so ferocious.

 

 

 

1. Marina & the Diamonds Electra Heart

Get ready to get off your ass and dance to what is destined to be the album of the summer, Electra Heart! For this album, Marina creates the character she calls “Electra Heart” for us to see the worst qualities we all manage to posses. I was excited she maintained her Kate Bush-esque musical writing style wrapped in a blanket of electronic production.