Long shots
Burial
By now, we should have long given up on the idea that Burial will ever release another album. The 12″ and EP seem to be his preferred media in the last decade plus, and yet we can’t let go of the hope that he might give us a ‘proper’ follow up to 2007’s Untrue. With the recent release of new collaborations with Four Tet and Thom Yorke, his own track “Chemz” and the promise of another called “Dolphinz” arriving in April, it seems he’s building up a head of steam. Will it see him push through into releasing a new album/EP, or will it be a blip of productivity before he recedes back into the shadows again? We can only wait and see. – Rob Hakimian
MF DOOM
With the legendary rapper’s untimely passing still fresh in all of our minds, it might be a little too soon to speculate, but DOOM’s rhymes were so good throughout his career that we can’t help but be fiending for more. Surely the rapper must have had some unheard material stashed away somewhere? Especially since he hadn’t released a ‘solo’ album since 2009, might he have had something cooking? Even sketches and demos would be extremely welcome. Let’s hope that one good thing that comes from his loss is that a secret vault of material is revealed. – Rob Hakimian
My Bloody Valentine
In 2018, Kevin Shields said he was going to do a couple of EPs before he did another album. He almost seemed believable too – My Bloody Valentine actually played some new songs at their festival performances that summer. But, have any studio recordings actually materialised? Of course not. If Shields is indeed still hoping to put out some EPs before another album, then, conservatively, we might get an EP this year, one in 2027 and MBV’s LP4 in 2035? But, there’s also the distinct possibility that we’ll never hear anything from Kevin Shields and MBV again. – Rob Hakimian
Radiohead
According to guitarist Ed O’Brien, Radiohead were planning a tour for 2021, which would have been their first shows together since wrapping up their A Moon Shaped Pool tour in 2018. If there’s anything we can surmise from Radiohead’s tour history, it’s that they don’t just randomly tour anymore, not without material on the way or already out. We won’t know till it’s here obviously, but, just as every year, we live in hope. – Tim Sentz
