Best Albums of August 2020: hmv.com previews the top 10...
Taylor Swift, Biffy Clyro and Everything Everything are among the artists with new albums hitting shelves in August...
Taylor Swift - Folklore
Out August 7th
She should have been on a whole tour in support of her seventh Lover, a tour that included headline slots at Glastonbury and British Summer Time, but instead Swift has focused on writing a new album.
The album is a move away from Lover's bright pop and embraces dark folk and stripped back country.
Conceived in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the record features production from The National's Aaron Dessner, her long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff and Swift herself.
The album features a guest appearance from Justin Vernon and orchestration from Dessner's brother and fellow National member Bryce Dessner.
Biffy Clyro - A Celebration Of Endings
Out August 14th
The Scottish stadium-filling trio return with the ninth studio album of their career.
Produced by Rich Costey, who worked with the band on 2016's Ellipsis, the album features hit singles 'Instant History' and 'Tiny Indoor Fireworks'.
A Celebration Of Endings finds the band in a diverse mood, with electronics and jagged alt-rock featuring alongside their classic arena-fillers choruses.
Disclosure - Energy
Out August 28th
The long-awaited follow-up to 2015's Caracal finally arrives at the end of next month.
The dance duo, who've stepped away from the touring circuit over the past year, have lined up a battery of high-profile singers for their third studio LP.
Among them are Kelis, Channel Tres, Aminé, Slowthai, Mick Jenkins, Fatoumata Diawara, Blick Bassy, Kehlani, Syd, and Common.
Everything Everything - Re-Animator
Out August 21st
The Mancunian alt-pop foursome release their fifth studio album next month, their first since 2017's A Fever Dream and their first since leaving major label Sony.
Produced by St Vincent and Blondie knob-twiddler John Congleton, the album marks a tactical change for the band, recorded in just two weeks in London with most songs done in only two or three takes.
But, as you can hear on new single 'Arch Enemy', their taste for wonky pop and searing experimentation has not gone anywhere...
James Dean Bradfield - Even In Exile
Out August 14th
The Manic Street Preachers frontman releases his second solo album, a cool 14 years after his first.
The record is inspired by the life and death of Chilean musician, teacher and political activist Victor Jara.
It features lyrics from Patrick Jones, poet, playwright and brother of Manic Street Preachers' bassist and lyricist Nicky Wire.
Katy Perry - Smile
Out August 14th
The hugely successful singer returns with album number six in the middle of next month.
A 12-track record, the album includes hit singles 'Never Really Over', 'Harleys In Hawaii' and 'Daisies'.
Among the production talent on the record are Charlie Puth, Zedd and The Monsters & Strangerz.
The album is billed by Perry as a "journey towards the light, with stories of resilience, hope, and love".
PVRIS - Use Me
Out August 28th
The dark-pop trio reveal their third full-length effort at the end of August, their first for new label Warner Brothers.
Use Me finds singer Lynn Gunn taking control, working as sole songwriter and producer on the LP, crafting an album of bombastic, but somehow intimate electropop.
Sea Girls - Open Up Your Head
Out August 21st
The indie foursome unveil their long-awaited debut album next month.
Made with longtime producer Larry Hibbitt, the album is an ambitious fusion of classic angular indie and bouncy pop, as you can hear on single 'Do You Really Wanna Know?'
Glass Animals - Dreamland
Out August 7th
The Oxford experimentalists release their third album, their first since 2016's How to Be a Human Being.
The LP features singles ‘Your Love (Déjà Vu)’ and ‘Tokyo Drifting’, a collaboration with rapper Denzel Curry.
The album was created in the months after drummer Joe Seaward was severely injured after being hit by a truck while riding his bike in Dublin.
The accident proved a catalyst for the album, with frontman Dave Bayley saying "The idea for this album came at a time of confusion and uncertainty. My best friend was in the hospital. I didn’t know if he’d make it. The future was damn scary and completely unknown. During those weeks in the hospital, it was so difficult to look forwards that I found myself looking backwards. Digging around in my mind, pulling up old memories, finding comfort in them even if they were uncomfortable in themselves."
Gregory Porter - All Rise
Out August 28th
The jazz-fusion singer returns with his first album of new material since 2016's Take Me to the Alley.
Produced by Troy Miller, who has worked with Laura Mvula and Jamie Cullum, the album finds Porter working with a handpicked horn section, a 10-member choir, and the London Symphony Orchestra.
The result is Porter's classic mixture of good-time soul, gospel and jazz.
