SUMMER CDs: MUSIC TO MY EARS

TONY CLAYTON-LEA previews the season's most eagerly awaited CDs

ANGELS & AIRWAVES: We Don't Need to Whisper

Bring together former Blink 182 singer Tom DeLonge with erstwhile members of Boxcar Racer, The Distillers and The Offspring, and you've got yourselves a punk rock supergroup that looks set to take the US and other territories by storm. May 19

SUSANNA BACA: Travevias

Peruvian singer effortlessly delves into the past (Maxime Le Forestier's Ne Quelque Part) and dips into the contemporaneous (a cover of Damien Rice's Volcano). See review, page 11. April 28

THE BRAVERY: title tbc

Everyone's favourite Duran Duran soundalikes turn their collective back on silly haircuts and try to come up with a record that won't get them dropped from their record label. Early September

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS: Waterloo to Anywhere

Former Libertines member, and the sensible one of the pack, Carl Barat and his new band (featuring former members of The Libertines, incidentally) looks set to emulate the fervor and the fame - and hopefully not the filth and the fury. May 8

DIXIE CHICKS: Taking the Long Way

The follow-up to 2002's Home sees one of the best-selling female acts in the world supplant their downhome country style with - gasp! - a rock-tinged sound. Rick Rubin produces; members from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tom Petty's Heartbreakers stretch the musical envelope. June 9

BOB DYLAN: title tbc

He's hardly ever out of the news, what with reissues, compilations and tours; according to Stateside reports, Dylan has been working on his new album - the follow-up to 2001's Love and Theft - for the past several months. The vibe is rootsy, by all accounts. Late September

ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO: The Boxing Mirror

Who would have thought that the main man behind the Americana movement would ever release a record that sounded like Velvet Underground covering alt.country songs? Not us, although the fact that John Cale produced should have caused bells to ring. April 28

FEEDER: Singles

Probably all the Feeder songs you'll ever really need. Ain't that the truth? Still, some fine rockers and heartfelt tunes. Tracks include Buck Rogers, Just the Way I'm Feeling and Forget About Tomorrow. May 12

50 CENT: title tbc

Now concentrating on music instead of "acting", Fiddy returns with his third album, which will feature a collaboration with Eminem. Expect the usual chart-busting rhymes'n'riddims. Mid-July

THE FRAMES: title tbc

Unfairly maligned band hope to consolidate their standing as one of the most popular Irish acts of the past five years. But is this the record that will send them over the top, so to speak, to face the real opposition of a harsh commercial world? September 22

FUTUREHEADS: News and Tributes

Kate Bush-loving UK band fashion something a tad darker than the zippy post-punk we're rather more used to hearing from them. May 26

EMM GRYNER: The Summer of High Hopes

Canadian singer-songwriter trounces the opposition with a record that may well turn out to be one of the essential credible commercial pop/rock soundtracks of the summer. May 12

HANDSOME FAMILY: Last Days of Wonder

Brett and Rennie Sparks continue to deliver some of the best Gothic-tinged country music this side of Gillian Welch, only funnier. One song apparently explains who exactly hangs shoes over telephone wires. Thanks for that. May 26

STEVE HILLAGE: Fish Rising/L

Reissues aplenty from the former Gong vocalist and guitarist; those who love lost psychedelic/pop classics should check out the rather marvelous L. Hillage's signature "glissando" style of guitar playing is a blissful headwreck. June 16

JELLYFISH: Best!

Powerpop makes a welcome return with this about-bloody-time compilation from the US band; tracks such as The King Is Half Undressed and Baby's Coming Back are classy examples of the powerpop art. May 5

KEANE: Under the Iron Sea

UK band of fresh-faced, middle class pop/rockers ask themselves the question: will their new album ("not a nice record", according to band member Tim Rice-Oxley) consolidate the massive success of their debut, Hopes and Fears? June 12

RONAN KEATING: Bring You Home

A huge success on the singles charts he might be (all of his solo singles to date have been Top 10 in the UK), but Keating is surely hoping for a better UK chart placing for this new record than for his 2003 studio album, Turn It On, which reached a distinctly unsatisfactory No 21. June 5

THE KILLERS: title tbc

Currently recording in Las Vegas; the rumour mill has it that the band's sophomore record (the follow-up to debut Hot Fuss) will feature a more folksy/earthy approach than heretofore. Early September

DAVID KITT: title tbc

Kittser's star may have fallen ever so slightly, but his forthcoming album, released on his own label (Dublin Discs) is his first of original material since his Rough Trade days. Promising isn't the word. August 25

LAMBCHOP: Damaged

Recent recipients of the reissue bug, Kurt Wagner's ensemble unit get into the flow of things with a new collection. It's country, folks, but not as we know it. Mid-August

CHRISTINA MILIAN: So Amazin'

All-things-to-all-people r'n'b singer releases her third album; she has the right producers (Cool and Dre), the right guests (Young Jeezy), but does she have the right material? A sideline career in movies beckons if this one should stiff. May 1

MISSY ELLIOTT: Respect Me

No such fear that Missy Elliott's bump'n'grind hip-hop will eat dirt; she remains the best female exponent of the genre and, judging by the title of this record, you had better believe it. June 19

MUSE: title tbc

No soft option or prissy concepts for this epic sounding lot. High-pitched lead singer Matt Bellamy wraps his voice around important songs, one of which concerns Chinese nuclear weapon enthusiast Major General Zhu Chenghu. May 26

ORSON: Bright Idea

Long-in-the-tooth LA band relocate to England and find themselves on the receiving end of major chart success. The missing link, some say, between The Rolling Stones and Scissor Sisters. May 19

LUAN PARLE: Free

There are bets already being taken that this record, the debut effort from the hotly tipped Irish singer-songwriter, will break her into the big, wide world. Insidious, pernicious? Time will tell. May 19

Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam

Seattle grunge merchants follow-up their disappointing Riot Act (2003) with granite hard rock album. We can see stadiums worldwide rejoicing. April 28

PET SHOP BOYS: Fundamental

Reunited with producer Trevor Horn, PSB's Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant create a sparkling collection of very polite dance tunes and highly intelligent, reflective, enunciated music. Perfect pop, in other words. May 12

PRIMAL SCREAM: Riot City Blues

In which lead singer and main songwriter Bobbie Gillespie leaves his party hard rock persona behind and takes up the gauntlet the Stones threw down when they made Exile on Main Street. A zinger of a record. June 2

THE RACONTEURS: Broken Boy Soldiers

White Stripes main man Jack White and his best mate, perfect-pop practitioner Brendan Benson, pool resources in what has to be the best rock album of the summer/autumn period - hard as the surface of a coconut, sweet as the juice of a peach. May 19

RADIOHEAD: title tbc

It's all to play for with this one, which is apparently a move back towards real songs. No, really. Late September

RAZORLIGHT: title tbc

Recording in Mark Knopfler's studios doesn't mean that Johnny Borrell and friends are going to come over all soft and fluid. Rather, according to Borrell, this is the record that will break them into the stadium rock mainstream. Mid-July

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: Stadium Arcadium

Humungous, narcissistic US rockers deliver a double album that shows all the signs of being the surefire hit of the summer. A funk-riddled rocker by any other description. May 5

BIC RUNGA: Birds

Already a smash hit in her native New Zealand, Runga's follow-up to 2004's Beautiful Collision is quite a gorgeous gathering of sombre, sultry songs. Leave your smiles at the door - this time Runga is serious. May 12

SCHNEIDER TM: Skoda Mluvit

Chilled electronica from Germany's Dirk Dresselhaus, and quite possibly 2006's best fusion of pop and electronic music until the new Ulrich Schnauss album comes along. April 28

SCISSOR SISTERS: title tbc

Everyone's favourite gay disco group come up with more of the same glitter stompers - except, we are informed, only bigger and better. And glossier. Late July

RON SEXSMITH: Time Being

One of the all time great unheralded singer-songwriters; Canadian Sexsmith releases his eighth album, which reunites him with acclaimed producer Mitchell Froom. Melodies to die for and lyrics to ponder. May 12

SHACK: The Corner of Miles and Gil

One of the most underrated UK bands deliver yet another record of crafted psychedelic pop. They're from Liverpool, you know. Mid-June

SNOW PATROL: Eyes Open

New band members, writing songs in a remote Irish cottage, and fine tuning the quiet/loud pop/rock anthems that made The Final Straw such a crossover success . . . with Eyes Open, the Irish/Scottish bunch clearly intend to do more of the same, except on a far bigger scale. April 28

SONIC YOUTH: Do You Believe in Rapture?

NYC indie rock veterans follow-up 2004's Sonic Nurse with a swiftly made album that sees the band without multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke for the first time in five years. According to SY's Kim Gordon, the record has a "naturalist, juicy sound to it." Mid-June

KT TUNSTALL: KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza

A download and mail order only release (from her website, www.kttunstall.com), this hugely successful Scottish singer gives her Eye to the Telescope album an acoustic makeover, as well as throwing in extra tracks and some new songs. May 5

VELVET REVOLVER: Libertad

Slash and company reconsider their position as rock's premier sleaze band with this follow-up to their mega-successful debut. As for the album title, it's the Spanish word for "freedom", seeing as you're asking. Mid-July

SCOTT WALKER: The Drift

Another avant-garde song cycle from the reclusive, elusive Scott Engel? Or a collection of pop tunes that could charm the proverbial birds out of the proverbial trees? Most definitely the former, from what we've heard. May 12

WHIPPING BOY: Submarine

The Dublin band's first album - lost to all but the most die-hard enthusiasts who first bought it in 1992 - is reissued in a re-mastered format. May 12

THE WHO: title tbc

It's been 23 years since the last Who album (It's Hard), so anticipation is high for the return of the UK rock giants. We might even hear some new tracks when the band (Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, essentially) play Oxegen in July (see best of the summer gigs on next page). Late September

ZERO 7: The Garden

Chill-out pop/electronica act that comprises production duo Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker, and a couple of svelte female session singers. May 19