Incoming: 6 Must-Hear August 2017 Releases

With the end of the festival season in sight, August, for the most part, is a quiet month for new releases. However, that hasn’t stopped the Already Heard from picking out a selection of significant new releases that you can’t afford to ignore in the coming weeks.

Undoubtedly, there are some of 2017’s most anticipated releases seeing the light of day this month. While there are also some hidden gems that we think you should be checking out. Here’s six must-hear releases for August.

Pvris – All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell

With their debut album ’White Noise’, Pvris emphatically announced themselves as one of the single most exciting bands on the planet. The two years that have passed since then have done nothing to dull the sense of hysteria or never ceasing demand that surrounds the trio, with forthcoming sophomore full-length ’All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell’ seeming to be even more hotly anticipated as their debut, if that’s even possible.

So far the band have teased us with just a taste of what’s to come, with both ’Heaven’ and ’What’s Wrong’ suggesting they’ve taken the enigmatic blueprint established last time out and stretched it even further, the atmospheric song writing receiving impressive levels of melodic depth and nuance, the former track shows Lynn Gunn’s vocal performances have only grown in their spinetingling nature in parallel with her superstar status. All the signs point to ’All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell’ making Pvris the arena-bothering band they have the potential to be. (DW)

’All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell’ by Pvris is released on 25th August on Rise Records.

Pvris links: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Instagram

Queens of the Stone Age – Villains

Some people would like to call Queens of the Stone Age the last true bastions of rock n’ roll. While there’s plenty going on in the underground to prove those people otherwise, there’s no denying that Josh Homme and co. are one of the biggest groups to bring adrenaline, hedonism and white knuckled songwriting to a widespread audience.

Four years after QOTSA challenged themselves and their listeners with the expansive and frequently twisted ‘…Like Clockwork’, the band return later this month with seventh full-length ‘Villains,’ which promises to be more ‘up-tempo’ than it’s predecessor. From the neon-coloured swing of lead single ‘The Way You Used to Do’ and the announcement that the record’s production would be handled by ‘Uptown Funk’ mastermind Mark Ronson, it’s easier to see how ‘Villains’ could be their most consciously buoyant effort to date.

But then Josh Homme has never been one for predictability, and that’s why QOTSA continues to excite and entice their fans to this day, and we expect nothing less than that when ‘Villains’ drops. (AD)

‘Villains’ by Queens of the Stone Age is released on 25th August on Matador Records.

Queens of the Stone Age links: Website|Facebook|Twitter

Neck Deep – The Peace and the Panic

On 2015’s ‘Life’s Not Out to Get You’, Wrexham’s Neck Deep didn’t redefine what it meant to make a mainstream pop punk album, but easily set a standard for how good an album like that could be since Fall Out Boy and All Time Low set the latter half of the 2000s alight. Since it’s release, they’ve toured relentlessly and collaborated with members of Blink-182 and Dashboard Confessional.

Third LP ‘The Peace and the Panic’ comes with a wave of expectation for Neck Deep from a global audience, and the singles released so far are smashing those expectations out of the park. This includes the doomsday reckoning ‘Happy Judgement Day’, the emo-tinged rush of ‘Motion Sickness’ and the monumental ‘Where Do We Go When We Go’, which is guaranteed to become a staple in all future live shows.

On the strength of these tracks, ‘The Peace and the Panic’ is set to be another hit from a band who have quickly grown to become the most iconic in today’s alternative scene. (AD)

‘The Peace and the Panic’ by Neck Deep is released on 17th August on Hopeless Records.

Neck Deep links: Website|Facebook|Twitter

Turnover – Good Nature

Having transitioned successfully to an irresistible indie dream pop sound with 2015’s ‘Peripheral Vision’, Virginia’s Turnover’s third full-length effort, ‘Good Nature’, arrives with a wave of expectation. Stylistically, it appears it will follow the same laid back tone of its predecessor. However, both singles so far, ‘Super Natural’ and ‘Sunshine Type’, suggest a more lyrically optimistic approach. Together they pleasantly capture a summery and idealistic mood.

Following the departure of guitarist Eric Soucy, Turnover, now playing as a trio, have hinted at a more groove-laden set of songs, with influences ranging from blues to jazz to psychedelic. While frontman Austin Getz has spoken about the detailed sequencing and the lengthy pre-production spent on fine-tuning ‘Good Nature’.

With the summer winding down, ‘Good Nature’ has all the ingredients to become its soundtrack; breezy and assured. (SR)

‘Good Nature’ by Turnover is released on 25th August on Run For Cover Records.

Turnover links: Facebook|Twitter

Cursed Earth – Cycles of Grief Volume 1: Growth

Since their 2014 formation, Perth’s Cursed Earth have left an indent on Australia’s hardcore and metal scene for their aggressive and confrontational performance which exists in their live shows and on last years’ blistering LP ‘Enslaved by the Insignificant.’ Now with a handful of UK shows supporting fellow Aussie metalheads Make Them Suffer and new EP ‘Cycles of Grief Volume 1: Growth’ set for release next month, it’s time they make themselves known over here too.

Cursed Earth are here for a good time, not a long time, and that becomes immediately clear from the minute and a half song lengths across this EP. However these songs have more double kick pedal assaults and beatdowns condensed into these tight song lengths than some bands would care to put into entire albums. Previously released tracks ‘Broken’ and ‘War March’ are guaranteed to make listeners transform into a human hurricane and break everything in their living room, and reduce live venues to dust.

As ‘Cycles of Grief Volume 1: Growth’ promises to be a brooding and bleak record as well as highly volatile, this is sure to be a record that will make Cursed Earth new favourites on the hardcore circuit. (AD)

‘Cycles of Grief Volume 1: Growth’ by Cursed Earth is released on 4th August on UNFD.

Cursed Earth links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp

Dead Leaves – Vultures

It’s been a banner year for Massachusetts’ Take This To Heart Records, with releases by Swordfish, Western Daughter and McCafferty all receiving acclaim in emo/indie-rock circles.

Next under the spotlight is Ohio’s Dead Leaves, with their third second full-length, ‘Vultures’. And, if it’s anything like 2015’s self-titled effort, it could be another classic for the label.

Taking cues from Brand New, The Hotelier and fellow Ohioan’s Annabel, there’s a poppy undercurrent to Dead Leaves sound that makes for a lighter listen compared to these touchstones, even though the lyrical content may be downbeat. Certainly, early cuts from ‘Vultures’, including the excellent ‘Bloodshot’, point to significant growth in this direction compared to the more sombre indie-rock of their self-titled effort.

Could it be another success story for Take This To Heart? You wouldn’t bet against it… (RM)

‘Vultures’ by Dead Leaves is out on 25th August on Take This To Heart Records.

Dead Leaves links: Facebook|Twitter

Words by Sêan Reid (SR), Dane Wright (DW), Rob Mair (RM), and Andy Davidson (AD).

Pvris photo credit: Eliot Lee Hazel. Turnover photo credit: Aaron Siow