The year, 2022 has already been blessed with some incredible albums, and the year is only half done. From Mitski’s introspective Laurel Hell to Harry Styles’ experimental Harry’s House, the bar has been set high. But with some long anticipated comebacks, and some explorations of new territory, we still have so much more to look forward to.
Here are 7 upcoming albums to keep your eye out for in the second half of 2022:
The Other Side of Make-Believe – Interpol
Scheduled for release on July 15, The Other Side of Make-Believe is the rock band’s seventh album. According to the band’s website, the album “explores the more sinister undercurrents of the present day”. It will discuss themes of sadness, darkness, and introspection. So far, they have released three singles from the album – ‘Toni’, ‘Fables’, and ‘Something Changed’. All three tracks offer the groovy and understated, if somewhat melancholic production that is characteristic to Interpol’s music.
Special – Lizzo
Lizzo’s fourth studio album will hopefully be packed with more powerful and empowering anthems. The hit single, ‘About Damn Time’, which became a sensation on Tik-Tok, certainly points us in that direction. Lizzo told Variety in an interview that she has been working on this album since the summer of 2018. “It’s one of the most musically badass, daring and sophisticated bodies of work I’ve done to date. I am not done,” she said. The album comes out on July 15.
Renaissance – Beyoncé
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The musical and cultural legend’s seventh studio album releases on July 29. Last week, she caused a buzz in the BeyHive after she removed her profile pictures from all social media platforms. The album announcement followed shortly after. Her last album, Lemonade, released way back in 2016, and fans have since been eagerly waiting for her next project. ‘Break My Soul’, the first single from Renaissance, is a funky house bop that samples Robin S.’s smash hit anthem ‘Show Me Love’.
Holy Fvck – Demi Lovato
This highly anticipated album will discuss Lovato’s experiences with addiction and rehab. It is deeply personal, and according to them, is “so representative of me.” Holy Fvck will usher in Demi’s new rock era, after they closed the doors on making pop music in January this year. The first single, ‘Skin of my Teeth’, dropped on June 10. Powerful vocals and grungey production drive the track, while the lyrics allude to their struggle with addiction.
Viva Las Vengeance – Panic! At The Disco
The new album, which comes out on August 19, follows an energetic, 70s inspired single of the same name. What once started out as a one of the most culturally important pop rock bands of the 2000s and 2010s, Panic! At The Disco is now frontman Brendon Urie’s solo project. “Viva Las Vengeance is a look back at who I was 17 years ago and who I am now with the fondness I didn’t have before,” Kerrang! quoted Urie.
Hold The Girl – Rina Sawayama
Sawayama’s latest single, ‘This Hell’ is a punchy first look at what we can expect from the artist’s second studio album, which releases on September 2. In the music video, the Japanese-British pop singer is fierce and upbeat, and the track includes the lyrics “Fuck what they did to Britney, to Lady Di and Whitney”. She told Rolling Stone that the album is an exploration of “re-parenting yourself”, i.e., giving yourself what you did not receive as a child.
YUNGBLUD – YUNGBLUD
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The self-titled third studio album comes out on September 2. In an Instagram post about it, the English pop punk sensation revealed, “I went to a part of myself that I didn’t know was there. I studied it, I bathed in the emotion, tried to solve the equation and come up with an answer (at least for now) from love to pain, adoration to abandonment, laughter to betrayal.”
