Summer spins

MAXWELL
Black (Columbia) Release date: July 7
It’s been eight long years since we’ve heard anything new from Maxwell, the Brooklyn singer who practically defined the neosoul movement. Reportedly prey to jittery nerves, Maxwell boosted his self-confidence with a well-received tour last fall. His ambition is apparently on the upswing as well: Black is said to be part of a trilogy putatively titled “BLACKsummers’night,” with the remaining parts due in 2010 and 2011, respectively. If leadoff single “Pretty Wings” (now streaming on MySpace) is any indication, we’ll be waiting impatiently for each and every update.—SS
Watch our Upcoming Shows page for the inevitable announcement of Maxwell live dates: timeoutnewyork.com/upcomingshows

DIRTY PROJECTORS
Bitte Orca (Domino) Release date: June 9
Without doubt, 2009 is the year of David Longstreth’s Dirty Projectors. In a mere half decade, Longstreth has gone from leading an obscuro art-rock outfit to composing a suite of songs for Björk, presented at a superhyped Housing Works show. Bitte Orca, the band’s new album, explains the fuss—musically, it achieves that seemingly unfeasible feat of sounding new. Listening to the opening track, with its syncopated bassline and flurry of strange, beautiful harmonies, the feeling is surprise, confusion and excitement. A little like it must’ve felt the first time people heard acid-house music, or rock & roll, or saw the first Impressionistic painting. Yes, it really is that special.—SH
Dirty Projectors play Central Park SummerStage June 5.

DINOSAUR JR.
Farm (Jagjaguwar) Release date: June 23
Dinosaur Jr. is not a band committed to progress. Simply put, all its music sounds exactly the same, mainly due to the fact that guitarist-vocalist J Mascis sings and plays only one way: with a warm, shaggy twang. Yet somehow, the advance tracks from Farm inspire serious anticipation. Having gotten their comeback album—2007’s Beyond—out of the way, Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph sound strikingly comfortable in their patented fuzz-punk medium this time around. To listeners who think they’ve had their Dino Jr. fill, Farm ought to come as a welcome surprise. (And it sports the most riotously stonerish album art in recent memory.)—HS
Dinosaur Jr. plays Music Hall of Williamsburg June 25.

REGINA SPEKTOR
Far (Sire) Release date: June 23
For the follow-up to her 2006 breakthrough, Begin to Hope, local singer Regina Spektor retained a bevy of high-profile producers, from a Dr. Dre veteran (Mike Elizondo) to a Traveling Wilbury (Jeff Lynne). Fortunately, no one attempts to smooth over Spektor’s idiosyncrasies. Far seems at once grand and intimate—even on larger-scale numbers, you can hear every pucker of lips and inhale of breath. As a lyricist, Spektor writes in increasingly broad strokes, panning across a cast of characters, like the opening credits of The Simpsons. “No one’s laughing at God,” she sings on “Laughing With,” Far’s premiere single. “We’re all laughing with God.”—JR
Regina Spektor plays the Beacon Theatre June 17.

WILCO
Wilco (The Album) (Nonesuch) Release date: June 30
After 2007’s Sky Blue Sky, it seemed as though Wilco might slowly be drifting from its foundational experimental country into AM-friendly, adult-contemporary territory. Many of the ballads on Wilco (The Album) will still appeal to the maturing Wilco audience, but some of these new songs have major bite: The punchy, noisy “Bull Black Nova” harks back to Summerteeth, and the twangy “I’ll Fight” could easily be an Uncle Tupelo hit. All the while, Jeff Tweedy and his mates are being gracefully tongue-in-cheek with the album’s title, opening song—“Wilco (The Song)”—and cover art. And when the album leaked, the vets showed serious Internet Age prowess, offering a free stream on their website and asking freeloaders to donate to charity.—CSJ
Wilco plays KeySpan Park July 13.

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