There”s a bumper crop of albums coming this summer and fall, based on several new releases announced over the past 24 hours. Here”s a round-up of what”s coming soon listed chronologically:
Jason Mraz, “Yes,” July 15
The singer/songwriter has a knack for releasing songs that take up residency at radio and do not move, such as “I”m Yours” and “I Won”t Give Up.” The new album, his first since 2012, features Mraz teaming with Raining Jane for an acoustic, intimate set covering such topics as love, faith, healing, environmental stewardship. A tour kicks off in August. First single, “Love Someone,” is out now.
“Yes” track listing:
1. Rise
2. Love Someone
3. Hello, You Beautiful Thing
4. Long Drive
5. Everywhere
6. Best Friend
7. Quiet
8. Out Of My Hands
9. It”s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday
10. 3 Things
11. You Can Rely On Me
12. Back To The Earth
13. A World With You
14. Shine
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Hypnotic Eye,” July 29
TP&H return with their first album in four years and it will be a rocker, or so Petty told us when we interviewed him last month. All the cuts are upbeat rockers, Petty says. Furthermore, Rolling Stone described it as a “decisive return to the concise Sixties-rock classicism of his first great New Wave era albums. Look for the band to delve into the new material on a U.S. arena tour that starts Aug. 3 and features Steve Winwood as opening act.
Jenny Lewis, “The Voyager,” July 29
The beloved former Rilo Kiley and Watson Twin member”s third solo album, and first in six years, will be extremely personal. The set deals with the death of her estranged stepfather and the death of Rilo Kiley. Among the producers on the set, are Ryan Adams, Beck, Johnathan Rice , and Mike Viola. “Making The Voyager got me through one of the most difficult periods of my life,” said Riley, who took off 2013 from writing to tour with the Postal Service. “After Rilo Kiley broke up and a few really intense personal things happened, I completely melted down. It nearly destroyed me. I had such severe insomnia that, at one point, I didn't sleep for five straight nights. Many of the songs on The Voyager came out of the need to occupy my mind in the moments when I just couldn't shut down.”
The Voyager track listing:
Head Underwater
She's Not Me
Just One Of The Guys
Slippery Slopes
Late Bloomer
You Can't Outrun 'Em
The New You
Aloha & The Three Johns
Love U Forever
The Voyager
Maroon 5, “V,” Sept. 2
Adam Levine-led group”s fifth album promises to be a strong hooky pop/rock outing with producers Max Martin, Benny Blanco, Ryan Tedder, Shellback and Sam Martin onboard. Following Levine”s joining “The Voice” as a judge, the band has a bit of a resurgence with 2012″s “Overexposed,” which included hits “One More Night,” “Payphone,” “Love Somebody” and “Daylight.” Jesse Carmichael, who took a hiatus for a few years, rejoins the band. First single coming this summer.
The Madden Brothers, “Greetings From California…,” Oct. 7
So Good Charlotte is apparently no more for real. Joel and Benji Madden, the only members of Good Charlotte we bet you can name, have formed a new a band, the cleverly titled Madden Brothers, and moved to Capitol Records. First single, “We Are Done,” comes out June 2. The album features two sides: The first side is sunny, upbeat pop rock, produced by Eric Valentine, while side two is more acoustic, Southern, retro '70s rock, produced by Joe Chiccarelli.
Counting Crows, “Somewhere Under Wonderland,” Fall 2014
The Adam Duritz-led band, which has been somewhat M.I.A. since 2008″s “Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings,” comes back with a new album and a new label home this fall Until then, the band will be on tour June through August.