I could open this post with words about what a successful year for music 2014 was, and how much the prospect of a new year excites me. I could make some grandiose statement about the current state of the music industry and the intriguing direction it could be headed in 2015. But as I look forward into the new year there is truly just one question, one thought that consumes my attention.
Will Brand New release new music in 2015?
I have asked myself each year since at least 2012, “Could this be the year?” Finally, though, I fully believe that this will be the one. In 2009, the year I graduated high school, Brand New released Daisy. In early 2010 they announced that they had left Interscope Records, a label that had issued their previous two releases and whose current lineup includes the likes of Eminem, Imagine Dragons, and Lady Gaga. The band then essentially vanished for several years; playing a handful of dates here or there, but nothing substantial. Feeling some semblance of revitalization, the band began playing shows more regularly and with more fervor in late 2013.
Brand New is my favorite band. The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me is my favorite record. I have heard from what I consider to be very reliable sources that the band will release new music this year. This excites me beyond belief, and that is what makes Brand New my most anticipated album of 2015.
The next record I am looking forward to the most also comes with a bit of speculation. I have hopes, although neither confirmed nor shrouded in as much mystery as the record previously mentioned, that we will have a new record from The 1975 at some point in the next 359 days (this being typed on January the 6). The band’s self-titled debut released in 2013 was my record of the year. The indie rock band from the UK wowed fans worldwide with such a stunningly well-crafted first effort. Ever since I first heard the record I have been wondering, and nearly foaming at the mouth, to see what the band does next. This may be the year, it may very well not be, but either way I am sure that we will be well impressed when the album does get released.
Another 2015 release that thrills me, and that I am sure will actually make its way to the public this year, is The Wonder Years fifth full length, which appears to be coming at some point this summer. The band’s most recent album The Greatest Generation put an end to the band’s loosely concept trilogy about growing up. Those three records hit me hard and were released at the exact right times of my life to impact me in massive ways. TGG was a massive success in the scene and even resulted in a tattoo on my arm. To me, though, what was the most excited about that album was the potential you could still sense within the band and their music. They truly love what they do and I absolutely cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next.
This next one, most of you will disagree with. But you are wrong. My fourth most anticipated album of 2015 is Kanye West. Hate him if you want to, but there is no denying that his music is simply the best hip-hop around. He is innovative, original, and just damn good. I am not going to write much on the topic because I’m not going to convince you but as I said earlier you are wrong. Kanye will release a record in 2015 and it will turn the hip-hop community upside down and you all will be none-the-wiser.
The last one, on the other hand, you will all agree with. In 2012 they charmed us all with indie-pop hits that took over the airwaves all year long. That’s right, I am talking about fun. Although I do believe the success of guitar player Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers may have slowed down the release a bit, we will absolutely be getting a new fun. record this year. In 2014 they announced they were working on new music, and played a new song on Fallon. Fun. has always been a band that does whatever the hell they want, and after the huge success they had with 2012’s Some Nights, I think we will see them going in a completely unexpected direction and showing the pop world something they haven’t quite seen before.
Other things I am looking forward to in 2015 include:
Season 2 of Serial
Star Wars: Episode VII
American Sniper
The Hateful Eight
Halo 5: Guardians
And last, but not least, I am excited to announce that I am currently working on Parentheses Live, a podcast discussion between myself and a rotating group of friends about all things music, movies, books, tv, and whatever I damnwell please. So keep an eye out for that in the next few months!
Parentheses 
Damn fine article, m’boy. Love you lots