Record numbers

Tony Clayton-Lea runs down the summer's hotly anticipated CD releases

ASH: TWILIGHT OF THE INNOCENTS

Ash's fifth album is the belated follow-up to 2004's Meltdown; singer/guitarist Tim Wheeler reckons that it's been something of a journey of discovery for the group, now back to being a three-piece. He claims (not without justification) that there are at least nine singles on this one. The first, You Can't Have It All, has just been released. Late June

BABYSHAMBLES: UNTITLED

Amazingly, some people are still interested in this shower. Recently signed to a major label, and with a UK arena tour slotted in for November, it would seem that Pete Doherty's drug-fuelled antics have been resigned to the past. July

JAMES BLUNT: UNTITLED

Looking to be one of the biggest releases of the year, Blunt's follow-up to the gazillion-selling Back to Bedlam promises to be slightly rougher around the edges. Not that this most vilified of recently successful songwriters has forgotten to write some tunes; most of this, we are informed, will be in a fairly typical 1970s singer-songwriter vein. July

PADDY CASEY: UNTITLED

There really is no stopping this Irish singer-songwriter. His 2003 Living album has sold in excess of 150,000. The number crunchers will no doubt be kept busy for this, his third studio effort, recorded in Los Angeles with noted producer George Drakoulias. Casey will support it with a nationwide tour next month. May

LEONARD COHEN: UNTITLED

What with the I'm Your Man documentary and a star-studded tribute concert, Cohen's cacheT has never been higher. We hear that he has already recorded this album - his first since 2004's Dear Heather - and will be touring it. Can we wait? Frankly, no. September

THE CORAL: UNTITLED

Following some months of serious will-we/won't-we contemplation, Liverpool's Coral return to the fray hoping that this new album will compensate for 2005's under-performing Invisible Invasion. Expect the band's patented sea-shanty sound to be complemented by rock music surges and mod struts. June

CROWDED HOUSE: TIME ON EARTH

Neil Finn thought Time on Earth would be his third solo album, but had a change of heart when he began to think about his former band which split up in 1996. The result is a winning, effortlessly melodic pop record. No surprises there, then. August

SIOBHAN DONAGHY: GHOSTS

One of the founding members of Sugababes returns after years of recording/writing/being forgotten about. This aside, expectations are high that Donaghy will not go back to the relative obscurity from whence she came. Good songs will always find a way. June 22

HAPPY MONDAYS: UNTITLED

It all went horribly wrong for Shaun Ryder & Co following 1992's Yes Please, an album title indicative of the band's penchant for every illegal substance under the sun. The band's much-delayed new album promises the lyrically and musically distorted mash-ups of old - without the hangover. Hallelujah for that. August

METALLICA: UNTITLED

The daddies of metal return with live dates in support of this, their ninth studio album. Producer Rick Rubin - a man noted for turning the sound levels up past the 10 mark - reckons it'll be a record to best the band's previous efforts. August

PANIC! AT THE DISCO: UNTITLED

Las Vegas band Panic! At The Disco wear the foppish suits and lurid pink eyeliner as if to the manner born. Emo has surely not seen such a theatrical band as this one - think music as scored by Andrew Lloyd Webber and live shows that come complete with showgirls and costume changes. July

SIOUXSIE SIOUX: UNTITLED

The last we heard from Siouxsie was in 2003, on Hai, The Creatures' kabuki-pop album. This, pitched as her first bona fide solo album, looks set to rattle the cages of many of a goth fan with its sense of liberation and musical experimentation. June

SMASHING PUMPKINS: ZEITGEIST

"This age calls for resolve and certitude, and the fire within to burn ever bright. If that fire should be connected to absolutely deafening guitars, thundering drums and the melodies of snakes, then so be it." So says Billy Corgan, once more in charge. You have been duly warned. July

SPIRITUALISED: UNTITLED

Back after a life-threatening illness, Spiritualised's main component, Jason Pierce, explores the influences of Captain Beefheart and free jazz on the follow-up to 2003's Amazing Grace. The result, enthuses Pierce, is "the best thing we've ever recorded". Well, he would say that, wouldn't he? August

KT TUNSTALL: UNTITLED

Many people have decided to sweep KT Tunstall into the female James Blunt corner, yet this follow-up to the woman's 2004 debut, Eye to the Telescope, promises to be rougher and tougher and very much in a vein closer to PJ Harvey than Katie Melua. July

VELVET REVOLVER: LIBERTAD

A change of producer from Rick Rubin to Brendan O'Brien meant that the forthcoming VR album is out sooner. The, er, vibe is loose and unregimented, the music is classy, dirty rock'n'roll. Irish dates beckon. May

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT: RELEASE THE STARS

Mixing a supreme pop sensibility courtesy of executive producer Neil Tennant with the more earthy aspects of renowned singer-songwriter Richard Thompson, we can expect only good things from Wainwright's fifth album. According to the Judy Garland fan, he's aiming for the sound of cash registers. Ker-ching! Late May

WHITE STRIPES: ICKY THUMP

The sixth WS album features more experimentation than previous records: this one includes bagpipes and trumpets while retaining the band's simplistic one-take approaches. The title is derived from a Lancastrian colloquialism that Jack White borrowed from his Manchester wife, Karen Elson. June