12 Albums That Are Actually Going To Come Out In May

By JC Villamere. 1 May 2020 2:50 PM

We’re excited to tell you about the albums that are showing up this May. But first, as has become customary, here is a long and varied list of projects that have been delayed: Bon Jovi’s 2020 is pushed back until the fall, as is OneRepublic’s Human. Alanis Morissette says the release for Such Pretty Forks in the Road “will be pushed back just a bit.” Neil Young’s Homegrown should be out next month and the release date for Biffy Clyro’s A Celebration of Endings has been moved to August 14. We’ve tried our darndest to keep this list up to date, but even in the best of times, release dates can change without notice.

Michael Buble, Barenaked Ladies & Sofia Reyes

Via Listen Harder

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Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Kenny Chesney

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Weezer - IBL/Shutterstock

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Virginie Khateeb via Killbeat Music

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Michael Buble, Barenaked Ladies & Sofia Reyes
Via Listen Harder
Out in the world, he’s known as Grammy Award-winning singer Michael Buble. But here at home, he’s known as Grammy Award-winning Canadian singer Michael Bublé from Burnaby, B.C. Likewise, they’re known as the Barenaked Ladies outside our borders, but here, they’re BNL, title holder for the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. (It was self-titled, but we all know it as 'The Yellow Tape'.) And joining this team of Canadian musical superheroes is Latino Mexican artist Sofia Reyes. Their single, “Gotta Be Patient” is out May 1, with proceeds to benefit charity. Buble spearheaded the effort to record the song with hecka other musicians during the lockdown. “I couldn’t get the song out of my head and the more I thought about it and despite the difficulties of putting it together with everyone isolating at home, I went for it,” he said in a statement. “I reached out to Barenaked Ladies and Sofia, who agreed to come on board." BNL lead singer Ed Robertson said in a statement, “It all came together so quickly and just captured what can be a silver lining in these difficult times. Music finds a way!” In related news, BNL are producing SelfieCamJams and Robertson is livestreaming every Friday afternoon — all to benefit charity. Get onboard!
Charli XCX
Doug Peters/EMPICS
‘How I'm Feeling Now’ evolved from the British singer’s quarantine diary into a lockdown-influenced new album. Au courant! She also tied herself to the unknown length of the lockdown, so she’s making this sucker at record speed. “For me, staying positive goes hand in hand with staying creative, and so that’s why I’ve decided I’m going to use this isolation time to make a brand-new album from scratch,” she said in a statement. “I’m going to keep the entire process super open, so that anybody who wants to watch can. I’ll be posting demos, I’ll be posting a cappellas, I’ll be posting text conversations with me and any collaborators, I’ll be filming myself in the studio, I’ll be doing Zoom conferences to ask fans or anyone watching for opinions or ideas, I’m going to set up an email address so that fans or anyone can send me beats or references… the whole thing in that sense will be extremely collaborative because anybody who wants to be involved can explore their creativity alongside mine.” ‘How I'm Feeling Now’ is out May 15.
The Killers
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‘Imploding the Mirage’ is out May 29. It’s the sixth record from these American rockers who dropped the lead single, “Caution”, back in March. Also out on the 29th is ‘Wild World’, the new one from Nashville singer-songwriter Kip Moore. “I know it’s an unsettling time for a lot of people right now,” he told 'Rolling Stone'. “My hope is that this music can bring even just one person some peace.”
City and Colour

This guy is City and Colour and there's a lot to like about him. 1. He spells 'colour' with a 'u', like a good Canadian boy from St. Catharines, Ontario, where they know how to spell 'colour' but they're not sure about 'Catharine's'. 2. His real name is Dallas Green, which is a city and a colour, see? 3. And he just released a remix of “Song of Unrest” for 24 hours only starting May 1 via Bandcamp with profits to benefit Food Banks Canada and Feeding America.
The Dears
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They still seem so fresh that we can’t believe this is their eighth record already. Out May 15, ‘Lovers Rock’
features fellow Montreal rocker Sam Roberts. "We're still playing this dumb rock music,” lead singer Murray Lightburn said in a statement, “But there's always gonna be a little twist of the knife, cutting into something deep to make you feel like you're alive. To say, 'I know what you're going through. And I'm hearing you, and I'm with you.' That's what the music is supposed to do." Amen.
Kenny Chesney
Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Kenny Chesney
Come heck or high-water, the 52-year-old country superstar plans to release his new record, ‘Here and Now’, on May 1. You remember the lead single, “Tip of My Tongue”, which came out last year. “When I looked at these songs, this dozen recorded over the last two or three years, they were Polaroids from the parking lots, back home, the islands, my friends’ lives,” the Tennessee native said in a statement. “Every single one is someone I know, you know or may even be – and right now, our friends are absolutely the most precious thing we have."
The 1975
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Gather ‘round and let us tell you the tale of the album from a band of English rockers with a release date that was delayed — until now. ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’ was originally scheduled for a February 21 release, then it was postponed until April 24 and now, fingers crossed, it will drop on May 22. What will the cover look like? No one knows because the cover art changes about as often as the release date. When it does arrive, this album will be their first since ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’ in 2018.
Weezer
Weezer - IBL/Shutterstock
Remember last September when Weezer shared this message with fans? “New album, ‘Van Weezer’, coming 5/15! Don’t let that date scare you. Life can be pretty unpredictable, so it just might get pushed up.” Weezer could not have anticipated how very unpredictable life can be. Since then … well, stuff happened and although they’re sticking to their May 15 release date for ‘Van Weezer’, out of necessity the “Hella Mega” tour they were ready to roll out on with Fall Out Boy and Green Day has been delayed.
Diplo
Photo: CPImages
‘Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley Chapter 1: Snake Oil’ is out May 29. Guess what? Thomas Wesley Pentz is Diplo's real name. Also? This is a country album. But not, like, a Randy Travis country album. It's more like a superstar DJ/producer country album. Think: "Old Town Road"-inspired and featuring Julia Michaels, Noah Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers. Are the yee-haws ironic? We will never know.
Steve Earle & the Dukes
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The outlaw country star and his band will release ‘Ghosts Of West Virginia’ on May 22. It’s a musical exploration of the 2010 Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion, one of the worst mining disasters in American history. “We need to learn how to communicate with each other. My involvement in this project is my little contribution to that effort. And the way to do that — and to do it impeccably — is simply to honour those guys who died at Upper Big Branch,” Earle said in a statement. The music complements the play “Coal Country”, which debuted at NYC’s Public Theater on March 3. Earle performs seven of the album’s tracks on stage. (Shows are now cancelled until August 31).
Badly Drawn Boy
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Remember Badly Drawn Boy? He had that delicate jam on the “About A Boy” soundtrack, “Silent Sigh”. Actually, he scored the film’s soundtrack. He won the 2000 Mercury Music Prize (it’s like the British Polaris Award). Turns out he hasn’t released a record in a decade and also his IRL name is Damon Gough, which is a pretty cool name to being with. He’s putting out a new record on May 22 and he’s calling it ‘Banana Skin Shoes’, which we’re not sure about name-wise but we’re looking forward to music-wise.
Austra
Virginie Khateeb via Killbeat Music
Toronto electronic artist Austra releases ‘HiRUDiN’ on May 1. The new single is the album’s opening track, “Anywayz”, a song that “explores the fear associated with leaving someone, and the terrifying realization that without them in your life, the rest of the world will continue unscathed as if nothing has changed,” Austra said in a statement. Also on May 1, American alt-rockers Car Seat Headrest drop ‘Making a Door Less Open’.

12 Albums That Are Actually Going To Come Out In May

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