A new year brings so much excitement and anticipation for the unknown of what’s to come in the next twelve months. Although, at The Pier, we have some of the Most Anticipated Albums of 2013 within the Reggae-Rock genre! Some bands were willing to give us every detail of their new release, while others kept their recording process “Top Secret”.
Following the Holiday season, many bands take time to get back into the studio to record fresh tracks for upcoming releases, but many bands took 2012 to focus on recording and mastering their next album. We at The Pier wanted to give our readers a full look at bands from all corners of the world, recording NEW ALBUMS.
This feature is just spotlighting full length albums and excludes updates on EPs or Singles. But fear not as we will always spotlight new music in our daily news feed, but this article is putting focus on new full length albums!
One of the original reggae-rock-dub pioneers, Long Beach Dub All-Stars or as they are known today as, L.B.D.A., will be releasing new music in 2013 for the first time in 10 years. This comes after a 2012 where L.B.D.A played a number of shows, performing new songs. No confirmation on a new album, but worth a mention that us fans can look forward to NEW music from Long Beach’s finest!
Staying inside the Golden State of California, The Expendables and The Dirty Heads have already been hard at work in the studio following their 2012 albums, Gone Soft and Cabin By The Sea, respectively. However, neither band is expected to release a new full-length album in 2013. We were told by each of their managements that they are both in the studio working on new material.
However, there are many bands within this scene that are relentlessly recording new music for all their fans’ pleasure!
Other notable bands releasing new music in 2013, not mentioned below, are bands such as Matisyahu, Three Legged Fox, Natural Vibrations, Fishbone, Zen Robbi, THRIVE, Alborosie, Tarrus Riley, Morgan Heritage, Freddie McGregor, Collie Buddz, MVMT, (formerly known as The Movement), Katastro, Josh Heinrichs, Tatanka, Ethan Tucker, Common Kings, Kayavibe, Rootdown, Catfish Mustache and many more! Either we did not receive enough information from the names listed above, or they are releasing EPs.
Regardless of who or what you do or don’t see listed in this article below, The Pier will always bring you the up to date information on any new releases as soon as they’re made available to us. For now, absorb all the new info on new music set to be the soundtrack of 2013! Enjoy…
-The Pier Fam!
2013 Most Anticipated Albums…
Pepper
From Kailua-Kona, Hawai’I, Pepper is set to release their first full-length album since 2008’s Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations. With the time gab between releases alone, this album is worthy of the top spot amongst the Most Anticipated Albums of 2013. Pepper has been nearly deafening in terms of their silence regarding this future release. The only details we received regarding Pepper came via Micah Pueschel of Iration back in May of 2012. Micah told The Pier, “Pepper has been recording with Matt Wallace, who has produced a bunch of hit records with Maroon 5, R.E.M., and all of these other giant bands. He is a total proven bad-ass. I know those guys are really trying to hit it with this record. So, that is kind of why they are keeping it all under the wraps.”
Pepper has been recording with one of the best rock-pop producers in Matt Wallace, at The Hatch in Dana Point, CA, Glenwood Place in Burbank, CA and Studio Delux in Van Nuys, CA. Unfortunately, no details regarding an album title, number of tracks or guest appearances were made available to us at this juncture. However, fans can expect a spring 2013 release date for new Pepper music.
Iration
Without a doubt, Iration’s upcoming album release, Automatic, is one of our MOST anticipated albums of 2013. From the moment The Pier broke the news in May regarding Automatic, we have followed this ongoing story endlessly. Iration recorded their “best music yet,” according to Adam Taylor (Bass) at the Fonogenic Studios in Van Nuys, CA with Lincoln Parish and Rami Jaffee, most notably, as well as Jessy Greene, Brian Watanobe of The Green and JP Hesser. Iration also did a lot of their pre-production and early recordings at Castaway 7 Studios in Ventura, CA.
As of right now, Automatic will feature roughly 14 tracks, but as Micah Pueschel told The Pier: “This album is at the moment the best music we have ever made. We know everyone expected it last year and we did too. However, we decided to put it out there and see how it did with major labels and other large indie labels. I can guarantee it will be out this year and it will be worth the wait. Plus we will be adding/recording more new music in the next month so that when you purchase the album, you get more than your money’s worth. Plus we wanted to give our fans something extra for being so patient and supportive. Automatic is an album dedicated to our fans so we won’t let it go until it is perfect.”
Tribal Seeds
The San Diego, CA based roots-reggae band has been recording at Imperial Sound studios in Imperial Beach, CA with E. N Young. This is the same location where Tribal Seeds’ most recent release Soundwaves EP was recorded. The album is said to contain 10-15 songs, all self-produced by the band members and musicians of Tribal Seeds. Two of the songs, “Representing” and “Blood Clot” will feature guest artist collaborations, but the band would not release those names for us. However, the band did say fans can expect, “Our best album yet! We’re spending lots of time on the details of our new songs and we believe it will produce the best quality songs we’ve ever made!” Fans can expect the new album to be released this summer, with their newest member, E.N Young.
Passafire
The Savannah, Georgia reggae-rock quartet, Passafire, is gearing up for a Summer 2013 release date. Over the past year, Passafire has toured the country and found a safe haven to record at the Sonic Ranch, in Texas. However, this upcoming album will be completely self-produced by Passafire. Much of the fine tuning of this album occurred in Ted Bowne’s in-house studio in Savannah, GA.
Passafire’s Ted Bowne, told The Pier: “We are excited to be working on our 5th full length studio album this year which will hopefully be ready by early summer time. I’m personally stoked about the fact that we will be doing a lot of the recording at home with my new HD Pro Tools rig that I bought with the money from my studio fundraiser. The fans have actually invested in this album! It’s a beautiful thing!”
The Green
Hawaii’s hottest island reggae band, The Green, will be releasing new material in 2013! There is no set in stone details regarding their upcoming release, but we did find out that The Green are recording for three weeks in January at a studio in Southern California. Normally, The Green and their management are willing to give The Pier any and all information available, which leads us to believe this release will be The Green’s most anticipated album yet. After releasing two previous studio albums, and being honored at the top of the Billboard and iTunes Reggae charts, keep your eyes peeled for the third album from The Green to follow a similar suit.
J-Boog
J Boog is expected to release his new full-length studio album in 2013. No dates or time period has been confirmed, but during a November Interview w/J-Boog he told The Pier: “We recorded the album already. We’re on tour now, but when we get back we will just finish some things up to get everything together. You know, record a couple more songs to add in. Right now we have a few guys from Europe on the album, like Silly Walks and Addis. There will definitely be a new album coming out pretty soon for everyone to hear.”
Ballyhoo!
Currently, Ballyhoo! is recording in Florida at the Sound Lounge Studios. The production help on the other side of the glass consists of Mike Stebe and Greg Shilled. As of right now, there are no concrete details for Ballyhoo!’s upcoming release, such as album title, number of tracks or guest appearances, but the band did say they were hopeful for a summer 2013 release date.
Howi Spangler (Vocals/Guitar) told The Pier: “We are stoked to be back in the studio. At this point, we have no idea what direction or sound the album will have and that’s really exciting. I think that whatever we end up with, it’ll sound like Ballyhoo!.”
Fortunate Youth
The South Bay outside of Los Angeles, CA has been a hotbed for some of the highest quality roots-rock-reggae music, and the flagship band is none other than Fortunate Youth. With a nonstop national touring schedule in 2012, Fortunate Youth managed to squeeze in valuable time with the legendary SoCal producer, Lewis Richards at the infamous 17th Street Recording Studios. The upcoming album titled, It’s All a Jam, will contain 12 songs with guest appearances from Steffano Lasso from Red Bredren and a few others that couldn’t be announced just yet. However, fans will not have to wait much longer, as the album is set for a March 19, 2013 release date.
Lead Singer for Fortunate Youth, Dan Kelly, told The Pier, “Expect another fun album. We had a lot of fun making it, hopefully you guys have fun listening to it!”
Fat Freddy’s Drop
One of the biggest bands from the tropical paradise of New Zealand, Fat Freddy’s Drop, will be releasing new music in 2013. The new album, Blackbird, was recorded at Bays Recording Studio with Chris Faiumu producing the album.
Here’s what the group divulged in an interview with Time Out Magazine, “To me it feels like a dance record. I keep thinking about Grace Jones records with Sly & Robbie in the rhythm section [such as 1981’s Nightclubbing], they are songs but they could really be dance tracks too. There is a crossed line there and ‘Blackbird’ is a bit like that. So we’ve done these live versions of the songs, but then they’ve been approached almost like harking back to the early DJ sets when Fat Freddy’s came together when it was really just [founder and producer] Mu playing instrumental versions of dance tracks, and then we got into truer songs over time, and now we’re trying to combine those a little bit.”
Authority Zero
Authority Zero will be releasing a new album titled, The Tipping Point. The upcoming album was recorded at Maple Studios in California and produced and mixed by Cameron Webb (Motorhead). The album will feature guest collaborations with fellow Hardline Entertainment recording artist AllurA, as well as Hoist The Colors and trumpet work from Mark Bush of Voodoo Glow Skulls. The Tipping Point will contain 12 tracks and will be released on April 2nd, 2013 via Hardline Entertainment.
Jason DeVore of Authority Zero told The Pier: “The excitement and anticipation for the new album “The Tipping Point” that I have is unparalleled. The closest thing I can think of is how I felt when we first released “A Passage In Time” so many years ago. You feel your really doing something right when you and the members of your band are rocking out to it like it’s their new favorite album that just came out. That’s how it should feel. The energy, the intensity, and collaborative sounds along with a new realm of production working with Cameron Webb has made it extremely intense. It’s a taste of the old school and slingshots into new areas and veins of music we have yet to tap into as well as some surprises. It’s an album based on the idea of tipping the scales, unity, causing ruckus while forging on, and the history and future of all who have been involved and will for years to come. We’re fired up.”
John Brown’s Body
John Brown’s Body has commanded the attention from both coasts in the past, and with a new album set for late spring/early summer, that sentiment has not changed. JBB’s upcoming album was recorded in Ithaca, New York and was produced by lead singer Elliot Martin and respected producer Matt Morano. The upcoming full-length album was also mixed by veteran engineer Matt Saccuccimorano, who was at the helm of JBB’s classic album, Spirits All Around Us. To date, the album will contain 12 songs, but they have not been finalized into a sequence yet.
For more details, Tommy Benedetti, drummer of John Brown’s Body, told The Pier: “While we have included some of the fan favorites that we have been playing live-“Plantation,” “Shine Bright,” “Empty Hands” – in reality most of the album is filled with brand new, never before heard cuts.”
Cas Haley
The debut artist for The Pier’s Live Acoustic Series, Cas Haley, has been recording with Grammy-winning producer, Rob Fraboni at January Studios in Dallas, Texas. The album will contain 13 songs, which have not been sequenced yet, but include the studio recording of “Crazy Good Woman”, as well as “Slow Down”, “Wait For Me” and many more. Although, the track listing is set, an album title has not been finalized yet. Fans can expect a late winter/early spring release via Easy Star Records.
Cas Haley did give The Pier further insight into the new release: “The vision going in was to go back to basics, moving away from the artificiality of pro tools and overdubbing and building perfect tracks. Every song on here is pretty much done in one take, in one room, with limited vocal overdubs, to capture spontaneity, musical interplay, the sounds of the room and the magic of the moment. The music on the record ranges from straight up reggae to blues and R&B to pop and world instrumentals.”
Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad
After releasing 2 albums in 2012, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad is set to release a new album this Spring or Summer. The currently untitled release was recorded at Rear Window Studio in Brookline, MA with producer Craig “Dub Fader” Welsch (10ft Ganja Plant). The tracks were recorded using vintage instruments. “We had a blast recording this and genuinely feel we captured some of our best work on this collection of songs” says guitarist-vocalist Dylan Savage
New Kingston
Best known as the music behind Collie Buddz live set, New Kingston will be releasing their album Kingston University on February 5th. The album will contain 14 tracks featuring guest appearances by J-Boog on the song “Everlasting” and J Classiq on the song “Six 30”. They recorded out of Kingston Studios, Anchor Records, Nuttin But Hot Prod & A Team Studios working with producers K-Melz, Dean Fraser & Special Deliver Music out of France. A direct quote from the band on what to expect with this new release was simply put with them replying “It’s a Kingston style with a New York attitude”
The Supervillains
The Supervillains are gearing up for the release of their seventh full-length album titled “Volume 8” which is scheduled to come out this winter. “Volume 8” is the band’s third release on their own Rah Rah Rah Records label. On this unique record, the band has transitioned to handling all the production in-house, recording and producing the entire album themselves. Engineered and mixed by the band’s bassist Dan Grundorf, the album is a collection of covers and re-mixes, with some brand new material thrown in as well. Live staples from their set-list such as “Resin” (off of 2006’s Grow Yer Own) and the Slickers classic’ “Johnny Too Bad” will finally get the official studio treatment. Along with their own original material, The Supervillains have thrown in a couple classic covers for your musical pleasure, as well. The Supervillains start releasing a track a week on February 5th, 2013 anywhere digital music is sold.
Rome Ramirez
The lead singer of Sublime with Rome has gone back to his roots, picking up a guitar and writing new music. A writer during the day, a band’s frontman by night, Rome is prepared to release his first full-length studio album in 2013, following his 2012 summer Dedication EP release. The EP release received a lot of excitement and buzz early on from major media outlets like Rolling Stone, the full-length debut might just follow suit. The album title has not been finalized, but fans can expect a new studio album from Rome by summer of 2013
Fayuca
On May 7th, one of Arizona’s leading reggae-rock-punk bands, Fayuca, is set to release a 10-track album, featuring both English and Spanish lyrics. The album is titled, Barrio Sideshow and was recorded at the Fervor Records’ Bomb ShelterDrawing heavy influences from their Latin roots and culture, this decision only seemed fitting for the Phoenix locals. On the other side of the glass, Fayuca utilized producer Ralph Patlan (Megadeth) for their Fervor Records’ debut album. One special feature within Barrio Sideshow is the remake of Fayuca’s most famous song, “Shoot It Up” featuring Jason DeVore ofAuthority Zero.
Gaberiel Solorzano of Fayuca told The Pier: “We beat up every song and poured our hearts into every note, lyric and melody! Jeff and Dave at Fervor Records pushed us to our musical limit and later helped us surpass talents we never thought possible; working with Ralph was just the cherry to your Coke! We blended the elements we love most, Latin grooves, psychedelic tangents, Skate Punk and trippy Dub horns all complimented with soulful melodies and heart felt lyrics in English and Spanish!”
Mike Pinto
One of the reggae-rock genre’s leading solo-acoustic artist of the last five years has been Mike Pinto. There is a lot of mutual respect when Pinto’s name is mentioned within music circles, and his upcoming album displays that fact. With guest appearances including, Jesse Wagner (The Aggrolites), Josh Swain (MVMT), fellow solo-acoustic artists, Micah Brown and KAT, as well as Todd Elrod and Chuck Treece. Pinto’s upcoming album, tentatively titled Side Effects, was recorded at 17th Street Recording Studios in Costa Mesa, CA with esteemed producer, Lewis Richards as well as The Compound in San Diego, CA with production help from Chuck Treece and Stick Figure. Mike Pinto’s album is currently in the final stages, leaning towards releasing 14-18 songs. The album is slated for a May 2013 release date.
Mike Pinto gave us some insight as to what to expect from the album: “This album is going to have all different genres, including reggae, folk, rock n’ roll, early funk, and much more. Looking forward to collaborating with several artists on this disc as well. There’s definitely going to be a mix of the old style and a transition to other new genres as well.”
HB Surround Sound
Huntington Beach, California locals, HB Surround Sound will be releasing new music in 2013. It has not been determined whether the album will be an EP or possibly an LP late in 2013. As of right now, the album title is Keep on Moving, but could change in before the release. HB Surround Sound is prepared to record in January, featuring heavy sounds from ska and rock, continuing a further departure from reggae. The album will lean closer to indie rock and new wave ska, while still maintaining that recognizable HB Surround Sound style.
Through The Roots
Through The Roots has been one of the reggae-rock scene’s rising acts for the last few years and was voted by YOU the fans as Break-Out Artist of the Year in 2011. The band has yet to release a full length album to date, but have been recording in Hollywood, California over the last year. When we reached out to retain insight into the recording sessions, Through The Roots kept their mouths closed. Both the physical studio and the album’s producer is “Top Secret”, but fans should expect a full-length studio release this coming summer.
Seedless
One of Southern California’s top up-and-coming reggae-rock bands, Seedless, is set to release their follow up full-length album to 2010’s Twisted Roots. The album is tentatively titled, Orange Album and was recorded at 17th Street Recording Studios under the watchful eye of Lewis Richards. The Orange Album will feature guest appearances from Micah Brown and “a secret list of ideas”, as well as the previously recorded “Eyes” featuring Bobby Lee of SOJA. Currently, the album is slated to contain 15 tracks, mixing reggae, rock, dub and indie rock.
Matt Liufao of Seedless told The Pier: “This is going to be our 2nd full length album and it has been over 2 years in the making. We have progressed so much over the past couple of years as people and artists. The vibe has changed a little with a more rock kind of edge to it, but it always Seedlless’ style to mix up all different styles of music into it.”
Katchafire
Katchafire has been living the dream for the past year. Playing to sell-out crowds in the US, Brazil and Australia, seeing their fourth album, On The Road Again, reach platinum status. Although The Pier was unlucky in retrieving information regarding the upcoming album, we did find a quote from the band’s front man, Logan Bell, stating: “Our fifth studio album is underway. We’ve started about six tunes and only had one or two sessions on each song so we still don’t know what it’s going to sound like. We don’t really sit around and conceptualize what it’s going to sound like before we go into the studio, we kind of just go in and get creative. The boys did talk about bringing the uniqueness of who we are as people and where we’re from to our next album and I think that’s the one thought that’s going to be in the back of our minds when we start writing.”
Less Than Jake
The 20-year veteran band, Less Than Jake will be releasing a new album in 2013. After all these years of touring and playing music live, the band still has the determination write, record and release brand new material. The upcoming album, which remains untitled, will contain between 10 and 14 songs. The album is slated for a late summer release in 2013.
Jelly of the Month Club
One band that is deserving of attention prior to their debut release is the Jelly of the Month Club. The lineup consists of Bert Susanka (The Ziggens) on vocals, Mic Dangerously (Zen Robbi) on Guitar/Bass/Vocals, Bud Gaugh (Sublime) on Drums, Todd Foreman (Sublime) on Saxophone and Clarinet and Mr. Crum on Vocals, Keys, Accordian and Ukulele. The debut album, Smells Like Dean’s Parrot was recorded at Hollywoodstock Studios in Los Angeles, CA and produced by Mic Dangerously. The album will be a 10-song full-length release and the band responded to The Pier in more detail: “This record sounds exactly like what this band is compiled of, a mix of the surf rock/ska of Ziggens and Sublime, the blues and swing of Zen Robbi, and the gypsy jazz rock of Mr. Crumb. It is a fantastic blend of everyone’s styles and we have had way too much fun making this record.”
