New month, new music! March is bringing with it a TON of new music, and we couldn’t be more excited. From the classic indie rock raconteurs Modest Mouse to pop star Kelly Clarkson, the range of talented artists releasing albums this month is sure to make your ears happy. Check out more information below!
Modest Mouse
Genre: Indie rock
Album title: Strangers to Ourselves
Release date: March 3
Strangers to Ourselves is the long-awaited new album from Modest Mouse. After canceling a tour in 2013 to work on the album, the band is finally ready to release it. Last December, they put out “Lampshades on Fire,” a single from the album that’s actually been on the band’s setlists since 2011. They’ve also released “Coyotes” and “The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box.” There are unconfirmed rumors that Outkast’s Big Boi and Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic make guest appearances on the new album. Regardless, we CANNOT wait to hear new Modest Mouse music.
Kelly Clarkson
Genre: Pop rock
Album title: Piece by Piece
Release date: March 3
Piece by Piece is Kelly Clarkson’s first album since her Wrapped in Red Christmas album in 2013, and her first album with completely original material since Stronger in 2011. Needless to say, we eagerly await new music from this girl power guru. Last month, Clarkson released her single from the album, “Heartbeat Song,” which reached #16 on the Top 40 charts. We expect greatness from Piece by Piece, especially in the song “Run Run Run” that features John Legend.
Madonna
Genre: Pop, electronic, rock
Album title: Rebel Heart
Release date: March 10
Get ready to hear Madonna like you’ve never heard before. In Rebel Heart, she reveals the feelings of hurt and yearning that she’s experienced during her career as the queen of pop. Rebel Heart alludes to the two opposing sides of her character: the defiant warrior and the aching lover. The album has been described as more mature than her previous energetic pop ballads. Yet another pronounced supporter of girl power, Madonna uses loss of love as a reason to celebrate future love, particularly in the album’s song “Living for Love.” We can’t wait to hear what’s to come from our favorite Material Girl.
AWOLNATION
Genre: Industrial indie rock
Album title: Run
Release date: March 17
Run is AWOLNATION’s follow-up album to their 2012 debut album Megalithic Symphony, which included their smash hit “Sail.” Partnering with Red Bull Records, AWOLNATION has paid a lot of attention to every detail of the new album. “There is not one second on the record that hasn’t been thoughtfully placed. Every single element serves a purpose,” explained frontman Aaron Bruno. And that’s the way music should be. We have a feeling Run is going to be one for the books.
Sleeping with Sirens
Genre: Post-hardcore rock
Album title: Madness
Release date: March 17
Madness will be Sleeping with Sirens’ first album release since their departure from Rise Records last year, and the first album featuring new guitarist Nick Martin. Although fans admit that the single from Madness, “Kick Me,” deviates a bit from the band’s usual sound, reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Sleeping with Sirens is the epitome of post-hardcore rock and we can’t wait to see where they take the growing genre.
Van Morrison
Genre: Rock, blues
Album title: Duets: Reworking the Catalogue
Release date: March 24
Van Morrison may be 69 years old, but he is in no way irrelevant to the music scene. In his upcoming album Duets: Reworking the Catalogue, he takes some of his lesser-known songs and recreates them with guest turns. With his new studio album being his 35th, Mr. Morrison has several options to choose from. Invited collaborators include Michael Bublé with “Real Real Gone” and Mr. Morrison’s daughter with “Rough God Goes Riding.”
Death Cab for Cutie
Genre: Alternative indie rock
Album title: Kintsugi
Release date: March 31
Like Sleeping with Sirens, Death Cab for Cutie has lost a leading man. Kintsugi is the band’s first album release without founding member Chris Walla. However, Walla contributed to the album before his departure and even influenced the album name, which refers to an intriguing style of Japanese art in which broken ceramics are fixed with a resin of mixed precious metals. The title fits, lead vocalist Ben Gibbard explains, because it highlights the “opportunity for the band to become something it could only become by losing a founding member.” Our only criticism of this album is that we wish it had more than 11 tracks!
Sufjan Stevens
Genre: Indie folk, indietronica
Album title: Carrie & Lowell
Release date: March 31
Named after Sufjan Stevens’ mother and stepfather, Carrie & Lowell is the artist’s first new album since The Age of Adz nearly five years ago. The tracks allude back to Stevens’ folk roots and are about abstract binaries like “life and death, love and loss, and the artist’s struggle to make sense of the beauty and ugliness of love.”