The Irish band, U2 - U2
2011 is a bumper year for new music, with many new bands releasing material as well as the return of some of the most recognisable and biggest bands and artists in world music. In a year where rock music is debated of as well and truly dead, perhaps new releases from the Strokes, U2, Foo Fighters, R.E.M, Greenday, the Arctic Monkeys and U2 will do something to bring the genre back to life. U2 in particular have a point to prove after the release of their last record, No Line on the Horizon, which achieved poor record sales by U2's standards, is widely seen to have flopped.
The same perhaps can be said for the Strokes' new release. The New Yorkers kings of cool are back after an absence of 6 years with their fourth studio album. The last offering, First Impressions of Earth, was hit and miss, and compared to the previous 2 albums, in particular with Is This It, their debut, it was nowhere near the calibre seen on those records. Sounds from inside the music industry suggest however, that the Strokes have produced a record that will be worth talking about and will be a welcome return to form.
Another hotly anticipated release will the new album from R.E.M. The last release from the American group, Accelerate, was a critical and commercial success, the band´s best work in years. It will be interesting to see how Michael Stipe's group continue on, whether they will move away from its rockier sound or take a more experimental step. 2011 will also see new releases from Amy Winehouse, the original queen of the new soul movement in music, before her album Back to Black spawned countless imitators, albeit not even half as good as the English singer. A new album will from Winehouse is widely anticipated though no date is yet confirmed. Other notable bands to release new material in 2011 include the Shins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Outkast and the prolific Lady Gaga. Gwen Stefani has reformed No Doubt, to release a new album due later in the year.
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