While 2019 is quickly coming to an end, the last four months of the year have a wealth of new albums and films to offer. Here are some of the most anticipated works to look forward to.
Albums:
“Jaime” by Brittany Howard – Sept. 20
Proud Southerner and Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard will release her debut LP on Sept. 20. “Jaime” is dedicated to her sister, Jaime, who died of cancer when she and Howard were teenagers. Howard’s soulful, billowy voice and intrepid lyricism are evident on captivating Alabama Shakes songs like “Shoegaze,” where she encourages listeners to go make memories “precious and temporary.” While her released singles boast a similar impressive musicality to her work with Alabama Shakes, they portray a far more personal narrative. On her latest single, “He Loves Me,” Howard belts about her relationship with black church and with God. The music video for another single entitled “Stay High” offers an equally warm, complicated image of working-class backwater country and features Terry Crews driving around an Alabama town. “Jaime” and its accompanying autumn tour are sure to please existing fans of Howard’s bluesy rock anthems and earn her new ones.
A Possible New Album by Tame Impala
While Tame Impala have gained a bad rap for being the favorite band of insolent hypebeasts across the world, they’re still impressive and talented. Kevin Parker, the Australian producer behind Travis Scott’s “Astroworld” and the concluding track of Rihanna’s 2016 album “Anti,” has been making neo-psychedelic rock as Tame Impala for over a decade. The band has an international following so expansive that Childish Gambino proudly stated during a performance in Australia that “black people really fuck with Tame Impala.” Popular tracks like “Elephant” have scored sultry BlackBerryand Audi commercials. But their highly anticipated new album, the first since 2015’s “Currents,” has yet to be released. Parker and his bandmates embarked upon a lengthy festival circuit this summer and even debuted two new tracks, “Borderline” and Patience,” on Saturday Night Live, which set Reddit threads abuzz about a possible release. But at this rate, 2019 may finish without a new Tame album. Here’s to hoping.
Movies:
“Honey Boy” – Nov. 8
Within the popular imagination, Shia LaBeouf has become something of a humble meme king with songs in his honor like Rob Cantor’s “Shia Labeouf” and remixes of his “Just do it!” motivational video. His more recent ventures into performance art and community theater with the opening of his Slauson R.C. Theater School in Los Pueblos, Calif., have intrigued admirers and skeptics alike. Perhaps the most highly anticipated work to come from LaBeouf, aside from the South by Southwest hit “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” is “Honey Boy,” a semi-biographical drama written by LaBeouf during a stint in rehab. The film captures LaBeouf’s relationship with his father throughout his film career. Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges portray a young actor named Otis Lort at different points in his career, while LaBeouf is set to play a version of his own father. “Honey Boy” is sure to be a compelling and complex story about the redemptive power of artistic performance and the way that power is complicated by interpersonal co-dependence.
“Queen & Slim” – Nov. 27
Emmy-nominated writer, actor and producer Lena Waithe first made waves as Denise on “Master of None.” She’s since used her role to create Showtime’s one-hour drama “The Chi” and has helped other people of color and queer individuals enter the entertainment industry through her organization named the Hillman Grad Network. “Queen & Slim” will be Waithe’s first feature as a screenwriter. The film follows the cross-country escape of Slim (Daniel Kaluuya) and Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith), two dark-skinned black people whose first date ends with an aggressive police encounter and the death of a cop. The film features an exciting cast with supporting performances from Bokeem Woodbine and Chloe Sevigny. The film’s commentary on police brutality and black love is sure to provide a welcome reprieve from the winter months’ holiday releases and leftover Halloween films.
“Little Women” – Dec. 25
Oscar-nominated writer and director Greta Gerwig’s star-studded adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” has been set for a Christmas Day release. When the trailer dropped in mid-August, fans of Hollywood boy-prince Timothée Chalamet eagerly took to Twitter to jabber about his performance as Laurie. While Chalamet’s portrayal deserves some anticipation, “Little Women” is an exciting venture because of the undeniable girl power of the project. Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep are just a few cast members. The classic novel, set in late-19th-century New England, is about the March sisters: Meg (Emma Watson), Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Amy (Florence Pugh) and Beth (Eliza Scanlen). The sisters lean upon the sage words of their mother and the friendship of Laurie (Timothée Chalamet), the boy next door, to traverse the challenges of growing up. Gerwig’s approach will likely add contemporary resonance to conversations about gender and gender expression.
A&E Editor | adesola.thomas@emory.edu
Adesola Thomas (20C) is from Hampton, Ga., a place she refers to as "the land of cow pastures." She is a double major in political science and English. She enjoys cooking, long scenic walks and looking at pictures of black labs on the internet. The first song Adesola ever learned how to rap all the way through was Kanye West's "Herd Em' Say" which she now feels mildly conflicted about. Adesola brings up Greta Gerwig's "Lady Bird" at least once a day and wrote every one of her college admissions essays about the social impact of "Saturday Night Live." She can hide up to twelve pencils in her afro and enjoys writing about people and art.
