The Biggest Rock Albums Coming Your Way In 2009

Green Day and U2 drop new LPs this year, along with promising young guns like Paramore, Tokio Hotel and more.

By Gil Kaufman, with additional reporting by James Montgomery


2008 was a huge year for rock ... and 2009 looks like it could be even bigger. So all this week, we're taking stock of the things guaranteed to rock this year. From the triumphant returns of some of the biggest bands on the planet to a handful of up-and-coming acts that we're expecting big things from in '09, we've got it all covered. This is Rock Week, on MTVNews.com

It will be pretty difficult to top a year that saw new albums from both Metallica and Guns N' Roses, but 2009's roster of rock includes just as much firepower — including LPs from colossal acts like Green Day, U2 and the Boss, not to mention potential new sounds from young guns like Paramore, My Chemical Romance and Tokio Hotel.

And that's just the headliners. On the undercard, we've got the triumphant return of British songstress Lily Allen, radio-ready rock from the Fray and bludgeoning prog-metal from Mastodon. Plus, there are new albums from critical faves like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Decemberists and Black Lips. And let's not forget sonically adventurous indie hipsters like Animal Collective (who, depending on what you read, may have already released the best rock album of the year), or the gloriously maudlin new album from Antony and the Johnsons. Oh, and Prince is releasing three records this year.

All in all, 2009 looks like it's gonna be a doozy — so to prime your pump, here's our roundup of expected album releases:

January

» Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion: The blogosphere's favorite sonic experimentalists, who've already notched "album of the year" pronouncements from the Chicago Tribune and Stereogum.com, among others, go "pop" on their upcoming ninth full-length effort — for them, anyway. Expect some hippie-friendly rave-ups; fat, speaker-blowing bass lines; and trippy lyrics about leaving your body for just one night.

» Antony and the Johnsons, The Crying Light: Speaking of blogs, eccentric falsetto crooner Antony Hegarty is promising a gospel/ art-rock meditation on nature ... with some guitars! The twee, gender-bending, Mercury Prize-winning singer seems poised to confound and entertain again with songs that include "Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground," "Epilepsy Is Dancing" and "Kiss My Name."

» Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Working on a Dream: The Boss' 16th studio album was recorded during breaks on the E Street Band's 2007-08 Magic tour and reportedly inspired by the energy generated by the band during that outing. A recent Rolling Stone article described it as largely off-the-cuff, but also intricately arranged, with a combination of the band's dense, swirling live sound and the "orchestral and vocal flourishes that recall classic recordings by Roy Orbison and the Byrds."

» Franz Ferdinand, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand: The Scottish band's third album reportedly has some African influences. Singer Alex Kapranos has described it as "music of the night to fling yourself around your room to as you psych yourself for a night of hedonism, for the dance floor." Be prepared.

» Leathermouth, XO: The debut from My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero's 1990s hardcore-inspired band punches up some raw, in-your-face punk rock with 10 tracks blitzing by in just 23 minutes. Think distorted, chaotic guitars and spazzy vocals from Iero on songs like "5th Period Massacre," "This Song Is About Being Attacked by Monsters" and "I Am Going to Kill the President of the United States of America."

February

To read the rest of this great music preview, visit the MTV site at http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1602440/20090109/green_day.jhtml