Words by Jordan Scott. 

We’re now more than halfway through 2017, and we’ve had some amazing albums so far. Stormzy set the bar higher for grime with the incredible ‘Gang Signs & Prayer’, The Amazons released their fierce self-titled debut, Clean Cut Kid dropped some indie pop brilliance, Kasabian returned with the colossal ‘For Crying Out Loud’ and Alexandra Saviour delivered the atmospheric ‘Belladonna Of Sadness’, and the list goes on. 

Following some of the great releases of the year thus far, I’ve had a look at what the rest of 2017 has to offer.

 The National: Sleep Well Beast 

The National are set to release their new album in September, and singer Matt Berninger has teased that it contains “five or six of the best songs we’ve ever written.” The Brooklyn based band have experienced a slow but steady ascension to the forefront of indie rock music and their 2013 record ‘Trouble Will Find Me’ was without doubt one of the best releases that year. Two singles have been put out so far, first ‘The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness’ followed by the gloomy ‘Guilty Party’, both in keeping in style to what the band promised to be a ‘very dark record’. ‘Sleep Well Beast’ will arrive September 8th.

Listen to ‘Guilty Party’ below:

The Killers: Everything Everything 

The Killers have made a triumphant return with their swaggering new single ‘The Man’ which was released last month along with the announcement of their new album ‘Everything Everything’. The record will be their first since 2012’s ‘Battle Born’ and after five years away they cemented their return with a huge secret set at Glastonbury. Singer Brandon Flowers promised a new sound on ‘Everything Everything’ and ‘The Man’ proves they have explored a new direction, but it’s hard to imagine the Killers failing to deliver a brilliant album. ‘Everything Everything’ has been rumoured to be released September 20th.

Listen to ‘The Man’ below:

Liam Gallagher- ‘As You Were’ 

The return of the once snarling now surprisingly laid back Liam Gallagher has stirred up the music industry in the best way possible. Once condemning the notion of a solo album, tweeting “Solo album? are you tripping d*ckhead I’m not a c*nt” he had a change of heart, and fans rejoiced. After months of teasing lyrics and warning the ‘plastic rock n’ rollers’ he finally released his debut solo single ‘Wall Of Glass’ last month. The song is a bright, loud & catchy record that shows Liam’s vocals are the best they’ve been in years. Gallagher released the full track listing for his new album via Twitter, and has played most of his new material at his comeback gigs. His second single ‘Chinatown‘ was released last week, a beautifully melodic track that’s a further indication that ‘As You Were’ will be as glorious as we want it to be. ‘As You Were’ will come out October 6th. 

Listen to ‘Wall Of Glass’ below:

Wolf Alice: Visions Of A Life 

The London four piece announced their new album ‘Visions Of A Life’ the follow-up to their impressive 2015 debut ‘My Love Is Cool’. Wolf Alice released the first track from the upcoming album called ‘Yuk Foo’, an explosive single that showcases a ferocious side of singer Ellie Roswell. Fans are excited for the bands return and ‘Visions Of A Life’ is set to be released September 29th.

Listen to ‘Yuk Foo’ below:

Foo Fighters: Concrete and Gold

The Foo Fighters seemed to have come out of nowhere with ‘Run’, the first release from their ninth studio album ‘Concrete and Gold’. The single is a relentless barrage of heavy guitars intertwined with a great melody and signature Dave Grohl screaming. After their headline set on the Pyramid Stage last week, the band will be eager to continue the momentum. Dave Grohl described the album as some of their best work, detailing it as “Motorhead’s version of Sgt. Pepper”. ‘Concrete and Gold’ is set for release on September 20th.

Listen to ‘Run‘ below:

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds: Title TBA 

Details on Noel Gallagher’s new album have been scarce, with only a speculative release date announced so far. However, Noel has said in interviews that the albums sound will be very eclectic and different to what he’s done previously. Noel’s solo efforts have seen significant deviations from the classic Oasis sound, songs such as the psychedelic ‘The Right Stuff’, the slick ‘The Mexican’ and the ‘na na na’ portion of ‘The Heat Of The Moment’ prove Noel isn’t afraid to venture into new territory. Slated for release in November, we should expect a single or at least some more information very soon. 

Listen to ‘The Mexican’ below:

If the above are anything to go by, we are still in for some great music in the coming months, and let’s hope we get a few more announcements before the years out. 

Written by Jordan Scott, you can follow Jordan on twitter here.