Maroon 5
By: Patrice Kubik
For being "Overexposed," Maroon 5 have not revealed much about their new album, which is slated to release June 26. The band's first single from the album, "Payphone" featuring Wiz Khalifa, hit the radio last month, and if it is any indication of what is to come, fans can look forward to a slightly different sound than they're used to. Over the past year, with popular releases like "Moves Like Jagger" featuring Christina Aguilera and "Stereo Hearts" with Gym Class Heroes, Maroon 5 has been moving away from the alternative genre to a younger, pop (and occasionally hip-hop) sound. With a fun and fresh sound, "Overexposed" is sure to be a summer hit.
The Gaslight Anthem
By: Nicholas Parco
This past December at the Asbury Park Convention Hall, punk rockers The Gaslight Anthem played their final show before hitting the studio to record their fourth album. The wait is almost over for Gaslight fans to get their hands on new material from the band. The Gaslight Anthem will be releasing their next album, "Handwritten," on July 24. The first single from the album, "45," premiered on BBC Radio 1 on Monday and is streaming on Rolling Stone Magazine's website. Lead singer Brian Fallon has said the songs on "Handwritten" are "pretty personal and pretty aggressive." The New Jersey natives do not have a full list of tour dates set yet, but will be playing in the area on May 16 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn and on May 18 at The Bamboozle Festival in Asbury Park.
Usher
By: Melissa Murray
Usher's seventh album "Looking for Myself" is set to release on June 12 by RCA Records. The lead single "Climax," a ballad depicting the rise and fall of a relationship, has already reached No. 20 on the Billboard Top 100. His more recent single, "Scream," is a fast-paced dance tune produced by Max Martin. According to the Huffington Post, Usher describes his new sound as "revolutionary pop," which is a mix of different genres, including Pop, R&B and Electronic. If his first two songs are any indication of what is to come, Usher's new album should be full of sensual lyrics and strong dance beats.
Linkin Park
By: Frank Raso
Mike Shinoda-vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and co-producer for the band's fifth studio album due out on June 26-says the band chose the title "Living Things" for their latest LP because the album is more of a record about people and personal interactions, marking a turn inward from the band's recent material dealing with worldwide societal issues. Chester Bennington's signature angst-ridden screams accompanied with club-like synthesizers and dance able drum machines in the band's latest single from the upcoming album (entitled "Burn it Down") suggests that the new material, stylistically, will be more consistent with Linkin Park's "Waiting for the End" and "Transformers" soundtrack phase than the heavy metal qualities that characterized the band's first three studio albums.
