New Releases: Clock Strikes Midnight For Linkin Park

I always kind of forget that Linkin Park are really, really fuckin' famous until they put out an album. See, they go away for such long periods of time and then tour only briefly, so it's kind of baffling when the albums come out and sell hundreds of thousands of copies in the first weeks they're in stores. Minutes To Midnight, out Tuesday, is the latest release from the group. It has a bit more of an angsty/punky sound (hard to believe, I know) and less rapping, which is unsurprising since — in the long time they've been absent — rap-rock officially died harder than any villain in a Bruce Willis movie.

Speaking of gone for a long time, it's been three years since Wilco had a record out. Of course, in that time Jeff Tweedy had a major nervous breakdown and weaned himself off prescription drugs, but it's been a while nonetheless. The fruits of their recent touring and writing has led to the jammy Sky Blue Sky, which hits store shelves this week.

Remember when Rufus Wainwright was releasing an album a year and they were all called Want, or something? Well, forget the cheesy electronic vibes from those records, because Release The Stars sounds like vintage Rufus. Perhaps all the Judy Garland concerts had him feeling nostalgic. Anyway, you can hear the new Geffen release on Tuesday.

Finally, Wolf Parade are working on the follow-up to Apologies To The Queen Mary. But while they were off, Dan Boeckner and fiancee Alexei Perry recorded their Handsome Furs debut in the new WP home studio. Plague Park is also out this week.

Here are some other May 15 releases:

AU REVOIR SIMONE The Bird Of Music (Yep Roc/Outside)
CAPLETON Rise Them Up (Penitentiary/Navarre)
THE CHOIR PRACTICE S/T (Mint/Outside)
FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND Tales Don't Tell Themselves (Atlantic/Warner)
JENN GRANT Orchestra For The Moon (Paris 1919/Outside)
THE HORRORS Strange House (Stolen Transmission/Universal)
IAN HUNTER Shrunken Heads (Yep Roc/Outside)
THE NARRATOR All That To The Wall (Flameshovel)
DOLORES O'RIORDAN Are You Listening? (Sanctuary/EMI)
OZMA Pasadena (Reincarnate/Sony BMG)
PROPAGANDHI Live From An Occupied Territory (G7 Welcoming Committee)
TANK Sex Love & Pain (Universal Motown)
VARIOUS ARTISTS Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (Legacy/Sony BMG)