By Joanie Cox-Henry
Summer is here, and that means those carefree sunny days will stretch into sizzling summer nights. There's just something about summer that brings out the sultrier side of music. The heat makes everything steamier as you dance under the stars or have the perfect playlist cranking while you cruise down A1A or lay daydreaming in the sand. This summer's album releases are delivering a fresh batch of scintillating serenades perfect for soundtracking all your heat-drenched, sun-soaked adventures. So grab your headphones and let the sounds of summer blanket you in sweet, melodic bliss.
Kate Hudson: Glorious [released May 17, 2024]
I think we all fell for Kate Hudson when she crushed it in Almost Famous as the iconic groupie turned "bandaid" Miss Penny Lane. I still quote Hudson's lines from that film and like to let those around me know "It's all happening!" While Hudson has always been musical and she has delivered multiple guest vocal performances over the years, she didn't actually pull the trigger on releasing her own album until now. The album's lead single, "Talk About Love," was released earlier this year. She penned the song alongside her fiancée Danny Fujikawa and powerfully prolific songwriter Linda Perry. The song and its corresponding video are great fun. Check it out here:
The rest of Hudson's album is a pop-fueled, delightful, love-laced letter to her fans with bops like "Romeo," "Gonna Find Out," a flirty tune about spontaneously exploring potential romance, and the more serious title track "Glorious," a ballad about a once epic love story that tragically slipped away. Overall, this album is a playful and Glorious homage to the whimsical, free spirit that embodies Hudson as an artist. Hudson told Vulture.com the tune "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits had been a driving inspiration behind her own musical creation. “It’s what it’s like when you love a song, and then that song becomes the soundtrack to your relationship — that newness,” Hudson said. “It’s just like, Ugh, I love it. I could hear it over and over and over again.”
Although she admits she wanted to write and record an album her entire career, it wasn't until the pandemic that she really decided to focus on pursuing her musical dream. "When it happened, I was like, I’m not waiting any longer,” she told Vulture. “I have to do this.” I am personally thankful Hudson finally did this!
New Kids On The Block: Still Kids [released May 17, 2024]
Few boy bands have stood the test of time quite like The New Kids On The Block. I have been "Hangin' Tough" with the Beantown Boys since I was kid. The very first concert I ever went to was New Kids On The Block at Miami Arena in 1990! I had a huge crush on Joey McIntyre back then, but what 10-year-old girl in 1990 didn't? One thing NKOTB has been able to master over the years is knowing how to still appeal to their fans who have very much grown up now but still feel nostalgic for simpler days when popping a New Kids On The Block cassette in a Casio boombox was the only way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I remember being too embarrassed to admit I liked the New Kids On The Block once I got to high school [I was already being too ostracized over a plethora of other things.] The band pretty much disappeared in 1994 and then returned in 2007 with new music and a 2008 tour. They released some naughtier tracks like "Grown Man," "Dirty Dancing," and "Full Service" and it was evident the New Kids On The Block had entered a new era. Their latest release, Still Kids, is their eighth studio album and their first new album in more than a decade.
“This album, more than any other, is bringing the New Kids and the fans full circle,” Donnie Wahlberg said in a statement. “It’s about hope and possibilities and being ourselves. It’s the most mature album we’ve ever made. Yet it’s the most fun and most comfortable album we’ve ever made.”
The 14-track album features songs such as “A Love Like This,” which arrived in April.
And the kicky single "Kids."
There are also some fun guests on the album like DJ Jazzy Jeff joining the guys on “Get Down” and Taylor Dayne singing on “Old School Love.”
Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard And Soft [released May 17, 2024]
It's a bit difficult to wrap my head around the fact that Billie Eilish is only 22 but she is producing music with the heartbreak and complexities of a soul that has been around these parts far longer. Eilish's music is a dark, moody, genre-blurring take on pop. Her sound features spare, downtempo beats and haunting, atmospheric production built around glitchy electronic elements, subby basslines, and innovative vocal processing. Hit Me Hard and Soft does exactly what its title suggests. With tracks like “L’Amour de Ma Vie,” Eilish unapologetically admits she just wasn't that into her ex and then takes listeners on an unexpected EDM ride, declaring, “You were so mediocre, and we’re so glad it’s over now.”
Eilish unveils her more emotionally vulnerable side with the love song "Birds of A Feather," a poppy, dreamlike song about finding a perfect lover and trying to convince them to stay.
More Albums Soon To Be Released To Keep On Your Summer Radar:
On May 24, Blue Electric Light is dropping from Lenny Kravitz! Heart has a new album, Beautiful Broken, slated to debut July 8th via Concord Records, although there have been rumors it could come out as early as June. Twenty One Pilots, Clancy, is coming out May 24, and we've got Willie Nelson's The Border dropping May 31! It should be a rockin' summer to remember!
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