I scanned a list of upcoming 2023 albums and didn’t see a lot to get excited about other than the Lana Del Rey release covered earlier this week.
New titles have been announced by Sam Smith, Pink, Shania Twain, Gorillaz, and Margo Price, to name a few, but I won’t go out of my way to hear any of those.
It’s still very early, though, so I’m sure some more exciting titles will pop up on the horizon. How about a new Ben Folds album, if the universe is taking suggestions?
One announced release that does have me excited is This is Why by Paramore, due Feb. 10. The Tennessee rockers haven’t dropped a new album since 2017’s wonderful After Laughter, though lead singer/songwriter Hayley Williams has released two solo albums in the interim.
The title single, which dropped last year, is a funky ode to life in the early 2020s. Touching on the pandemic and societal polarization, the track reminds me of early Talking Heads. I look forward to hearing what else Williams and the gang have cooked up on this album.
If you have an opinion
Maybe you should shove it
Or maybe you could scream it
Might be best to keep it
[Pre-Chorus]
To yourself (To yourself)
To yourself (To yourself)
[Chorus]
This is why I don’t leave the house
You say the coast is clear
But you won’t catch me out
Oh, why?
This is why
[Verse 2]
Better have conviction
‘Cause we want crimes of passion
Survival of the fittest
You’re either with us or you can keep it
[Pre-Chorus]
To yourself (To yourself)
To yourself (To yourself)
To yourself, yourself, yourself
To yourself (To yourself)
[Chorus]
This is why I don’t leave the house
You say the coast is clear
But you won’t catch me out
Oh, why?
This is why
This is why I don’t leave the house
You say the coast is clear
But you won’t catch me out
Oh, why?
This is why
[Bridge]
One step beyond your door
It might as well have been a free fall
One step beyond your door
Falling down an endless hall
One step beyond your door
Might as well have been a free fall
One step beyond your door
And I’m floating like a cannonball
[Chorus]
This is why I don’t leave the house
You say the coast is clear
But you won’t catch me out
Oh, why?
This is why
This is why I don’t leave the house
You say the coast is clear
But, oh no, you won’t catch me out
Oh, why?
This is why
Meet Me In Montauk 
This song really captures the sentiment of so many people living through the COVID and Trump years!
I’m very excited to hear the new Paramore album too 🙂
And seconding the Ben Folds release manifestation! Would be nice to finally get Hozier’s next album released too.