The 41 Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2020: Cardi B, Sufjan, Phoenix, 2 Chainz, and More

As this strange summer winds down, it may seem as if the music industry remains in an uncomfortable limbo. But look at that number up there: 41. Nearly twice as many albums appear on this list as did on our upcoming release guides for spring and summer 2020. Live events may still be mostly on hold, but new music continues apace, with many postponed albums finally coming out. Here are 41 records to look forward to in the coming months. (As of September 4, all release dates have been confirmed.)

(All releases featured here are independently selected by our editors. When you buy something through our retail links, however, Pitchfork earns a commission.)

2 Chainz: So Help Me God

September 25

Partly thanks to his Verzuz battle against Rick Ross, 2 Chainz nostalgia is in full effect. It’s time to reflect on all of the anthems 2 Chainz has given us, especially since his popularity went into hyperdrive after his 2011 mixtape T.R.U. REALigion. Almost every year since, 2 Chainz has given us something to enjoy, and, with So Help Me God, the follow-up to his 2019 album Rap or Go to the League, 2020 shouldn’t be any different. The first single, “Money Maker,” features Lil Wayne. –Alphonse Pierre

A. G. Cook: Apple

September 18

A. G. Cook had barely released his debut solo project, last month’s 49-track smorgasbord 7G, when the PC Music founder unveiled its successor, Apple. “The notion of pure, classic songwriting is one of the core aspects of the album,” the recent Jónsi collaborator and Christine and the Queens remixer has said. The first bite (sorry) of Apple, “Oh Yeah,” melds ’90s-style acoustic guitar balladry with ethereal Auto-Tune vocals and fuzzed-out electronic beats. “I was really inspired by Shania Twain,” Cook said. –Marc Hogan

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Actress: Karma & Desire

October 23

Originally announced last year, Karma & Desire will mark the seventh proper LP from Actress, aka UK producer Darren Cunningham. Fresh off the release of his surprise prequel mixtape 88—available to keen fans who typed “karma and desire” into his website—Cunningham’s follow-up to 2017’s AZD will feature artists such as Zsela and Aura T-09. To date, he’s shared the single “Walking Flames,” featuring Sampha. –Noah Yoo

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Adrianne Lenker: songs / instrumentals

October 23

The latest solo collections from the Big Thief frontperson Adrianne Lenker were recorded back in April, after her band’s tour was cut short. Following the creative rush of Big Thief’s 2019 studio albums U.F.O.F. and Two Hands, Lenker’s latest is split in two distinct parts. The more traditional songs includes several pieces composed entirely during the recording sessions, while instrumentals features a collage of improvised solo guitar performances. “These songs have helped me heal,” Lenker wrote in a press release. “I hope that at least in some small way this music can be a friend to you.” –Sam Sodomsky

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Alicia Keys: ALICIA

TBD

Since Alicia Keys’ last album, 2016’s HERE, the piano-playing R&B singer has hosted the Grammy Awards (twice!), published a best-selling memoir, and even launched her own skincare brand. ALICIA, postponed from an earlier 2020 release due to the pandemic, features collaborations with Miguel (“Show Me Love”) and Khalid (“So Done”), while Ed Sheeran co-wrote the socially conscious acoustic pick-me-up “Underdog,” which you can safely strum beside an autumn campfire while social distancing. –Marc Hogan

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Autechre: SIGN

October 16

Autechre’s new album SIGN will be the first proper studio LP from the enigmatic electronic group in seven years, but that’s not to say that the IDM veterans have stayed quiet since the 2013 double album Exai. Earlier this year, Autechre shared seven (!) live albums, and, in 2018, they released their landmark NTS Sessions—an eight-hour exploration of generative electronic composition. In classic Autechre fashion, little information has been announced about SIGN beyond the tracklist and minimal album artwork. –Noah Yoo

Preorder: Rough Trade

beabadoobee: Fake It Flowers

October 16

Last year, Bea Kristi (who performs under the name beabadoobee) paid tribute to Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus on the straightforwardly titled “I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus.” The London artist’s full-length debut, Fake It Flowers, her first for the 1975’s label Dirty Hit, asserts that Kristi is a rock star in her own right. Led by fuzzy singles “Care” and “Sorry,” Fake It Flowers is “pretty much my whole life in one album,” Krisi told i-D. –Quinn Moreland

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

BLACKPINK: The Album

October 2

Over the past four years, BLACKPINK have become the most popular K-pop girl group in the United States. The band’s debut, The Album, follows last year’s Kill This Love EP, as well as a collaboration with Lady Gaga. The Album includes the Selena Gomez collaboration “Ice Cream” as well as the single “How You Like That.” –Noah Yoo

Black Thought: Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able

September 18

Since Black Thought’s freestyle on Funk Flex’s radio show in 2017, the longtime lead emcee of the Roots has felt re-energized. In between his time providing the music for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he’s used that newfound energy to contribute standout verses on projects from Benny the Butcher, Roc Marciano, and Freddie Gibbs. He’s also released two EPs, and his upcoming Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able will be the third in the series. It features appearances from PUSHA-T, Killer Mike, Swizz Beatz, Portugal. The Man, ScHoolboy Q, and more. As evidenced by the single “Thought vs. Everybody,” the Philly rapper refuses to let his flame burn out. –Alphonse Pierre

BTS

TBD

BTS have not officially announced a follow-up to February’s MAP OF THE SOUL : 7, but according to an August corporate briefing from their label Big Hit, a new album is in the works for a Q4 release. Coronavirus may have derailed their 2020 world tour plans, but when it comes to new music, BTS have not shown any signs of slowing down. The music video for their latest single “Dynamite”—a possible first look at their next project—racked up over 100 million views in the first 24 hours after its release, smashing YouTube’s records. It also became the first K-pop song to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. –Noah Yoo

Cardi B

TBD

If Cardi B’s Megan Thee Stallion–assisted hit single “WAP” indicates anything, it’s that Cardi’s upcoming second album will be an event. If it’s anything like 2018’s Invasion of Privacy, the records will be big, but Cardi’s personality will shine even bigger. Undoubtedly, she will remain a lightning rod for controversy as she transitions into a higher level of superstardom. –Alphonse Pierre

Conway the Machine: From King to a GOD

September 11

The rappers of the Buffalo-based Griselda Records have stayed busy this year, dropping albums at steady clips. Conway the Machine’s From King to a GOD is one of the most anticipated, as his only 2020 releases up to this point have been brief—his EP with the Alchemist, LULU, was seven tracks, and May’s Big Ghost Ltd. collaboration No One Mourns the Wicked had nine songs. The album features fellow Griselda figureheads Westside Gunn and Benny the Butcher, plus Freddie Gibbs, Method Man, and more. Griselda will soon be more visible than ever. –Alphonse Pierre

Cut Worms: Nobody Lives Here Anymore

October 9

Cut Worms, the alias of Brooklyn designer and musician Max Clarke, draws from the jangling stride of early Americana while keeping his perspective grounded in the present. On the double album Nobody Lives Here Anymore, Clarke reflects on the ephemerality of modern American life, as heard on songs like “Sold My Soul” and “God Bless the Day.” –Will Miller

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Deftones: Ohms

September 25

This summer marked the 20th anniversary of the Deftones’ third album, alt-metal landmark White Pony. Although the global pandemic tabled a planned summer tour, the band has teased plans for a reissue with an accompanying remix LP, Black Stallion, to feature DJ Shadow. In the meantime, Chino Moreno & co. will release Ohms, their first new album since 2016’s Gore. Producer Terry Date, who worked on the band’s first four albums, is behind the new one as well. Moreno has billed the record as an effort to expand on everything Deftones have done so far. The title track points to a balance of past and present. –Marc Hogan

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Drake: Certified Lover Boy

TBD

The Drake machine takes no rests. A busy year of features, “demo tapes,” and attempted dance challenges has all built anticipation for his sixth studio album, apparently titled Certified Lover Boy. The imminent full-length was announced alongside the release of his Lil Durk–assisted single “Laugh Now Cry Later.” Not much is currently known about it, but you can guarantee that it’ll be a moment big enough to keep the machine churning. –Alphonse Pierre

Ela Minus: acts of rebellion

October 23

Ela Minus told Pitchfork last month, “With this record, I wanted to take a little bit more responsibility for my place in the world.” The Colombia-born, Brooklyn-based artist’s debut album, acts of rebellion, is an entirely self-performed and self-produced set of electronic pop that lingers uneasily between the club and the bedroom, between the political and the personal. From the LP, Ela has shared the tracks “megapunk” and “they told us it was hard, but they were wrong,” as well as a video for “el cielo no es de nadie.” –Marc Hogan

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

The Flaming Lips: American Head

September 11

After almost four decades as a band, Oklahoma psych-rock explorers the Flaming Lips still release new music at a brisk pace. The follow-up to last year’s Kings Mouth is another co-production with longtime collaborator Dave Fridmann. Early singles “My Religion Is You,” “Dinosaurs on the Mountain,” “Flowers of Neptune 6,” “You n Me Sellin’ Weed,” and “Will You Return / When You Come Down” nod back toward the Lips’ spacey turn-of-the-millennium grandeur. The album also features a collaboration with fellow middle-American mystic Kacey Musgraves. –Marc Hogan

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Future Islands: As Long as You Are

October 9

A trio since their foundation, Future Islands change things up on As Long as You Are with the addition of drummer Mike Lowry. The band also co-produced the record with engineer Steve Wright. A video for “Thrill” shows vocalist Samuel T. Herring in quarantine, singing against a blank white wall; even without a stage to dance and glide across, he still performs with the propulsion and poignancy for which the band is known. –Will Miller

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Gabriel Garzón-Montano: Agüita

October 2

Gabriel Garzón-Montano is nothing if not versatile. The New York-based, French-Colombian artist first drew attention when his grainy croon graced a moody 2015 Drake track; he then glided between hip-hop, soul, and lush retro-pop on his debut album, 2017’s Jardín. “Someone,” the first single from follow-up Agüita, leans toward sweltering jazz-funk, and the title track is a brash and rap-centered foray into Spanish lyrics. The rest of the album, at times, veers toward fluttery experimentation, befitting his new label home, Jagjaguwar. Whatever the style, it’s all his, as the label touts “no outside producers” and “no ghostwriters.” –Marc Hogan

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

IDLES: Ultra Mono

September 25

IDLES’ third album, Ultra Mono, was produced by Nick Launay and Adam “Atom” Greenspan, who mixed the Bristol rockers’ 2018 breakthrough Joy as an Act of Resistance. The new record has additional programming from Kenny Beats. As frontman Joe Talbot told DIY, the band wanted to “find a way to have the record stand up against pop and hip-hop and everything else that’s on the radio.” It features the previously released tracks “Model Village,” “Mr. Motivator,” and “Grounds.” –Will Miller

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Jónsi: Shiver

October 2

The 10 years since Sigur Rós vocalist Jónsi’s debut solo album, Go, have featured soundtrack work, collaborations, multiple album releases from his main band, an augmented-reality experience, and, why not, a line of CBD tinctures. Shiver marks another left turn for the Icelandic artist, with production by A. G. Cook and a guest performance by Robyn. Following “Exhale” and “Swill,” he shared “Cannibal,” which features Sigur Rós’ sonic guiding light, Cocteau Twins’ Liz Fraser. –Marc Hogan

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Juicy J: The Hustle Continues

October 14

Nearly 30 years into his hip-hop career, Juicy J is as relevant as ever. Three 6 Mafia samples are everywhere, and last year, he produced three tracks on Megan Thee Stallion’s breakout mixtape Fever. The Hustle Continues, his new album arriving this fall, has a head-turning feature list: Megan, Lil Baby, A$AP Rocky, Rico Nasty, and more. The first single, “Gah Damn High,” features Wiz Khalifa. –Alphonse Pierre

Kevin Morby: Sundowner

October 16

When the pandemic hit, Kevin Morby was forced to cancel his planned tour for his fifth solo album, last year’s Oh My God. In the secluded months that followed, Morby and producer Brad Cook finished Sundowner, an album that Morby had written during a similar state of isolation in his Kansas City hometown, and recorded in January 2019 near the Texas-Mexico border. The first video, for the twangy, ruminative “Campfire,” features Morby’s partner, Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield. The lyrics refer to the deaths of Richard Swift, Those Darlins’ Jessi Zazu, and Anthony Bourdain. –Marc Hogan

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Kylie Minogue: DISCO

November 6

Kylie Minogue is back, ready to douse the world in glitter. Two years after the country-tinged Golden, the aptly named DISCO is a return to the dancefloor in a year when most clubs are empty. Little is known about Minogue’s 15th album, but its lead single “Say Something” is definitely club-ready for whenever the rest of us get there. –Quinn Moreland

Preorder: Apple Music

Marie Davidson & L’Œil Nu: Renegade Breakdown

September 25

Montreal-based producers Pierre Guerineau and Asaël R. Robitaille comprise L’Œil Nu. The two have collaborated with Marie Davidson for years, and Renegade Breakdown, a joint project with the producer, explores new genre experiments as a result of Davidson’s “disenchantment” with club culture. The trio drew on their wide creative circle to complete these tracks, including Berlin-based composer Yair Elazar Glotman and the multi-disciplinary artist Jesse Osborne-Lanthier. –Noah Yoo

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Mary Lattimore: Silver Ladders

October 9

Silver Ladders—Mary Lattimore’s follow-up to her beloved 2018 album Hundreds of Days—was recorded in collaboration with Slowdive’s Neil Halstead. Lattimore, who typically self-records her material, flew to Halstead’s studio in South West England, where they recorded the seven-song album over the span of nine days. The title track was inspired by a trip to Croatia, during which Lattimore swam off the coast of Hvar. “I spent some days there just swimming in the bay,” Lattimore recounted. “Silver ladders right into the sea.” –Noah Yoo

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Matt Berninger: Serpentine Prison

October 2

With Aaron Dessner’s prominent role on Taylor Swift’s folklore and Bryan Devendorf’s Royal Green, the members of the National found ways to keep themselves busy, even in this socially distanced year. Continuing their streak, Serpentine Prison, the debut solo album from frontperson Matt Berninger, arrives this fall. Produced by Booker T. Jones, the album was inspired by Berninger’s recent one-off contributions to film soundtracks and art projects. “I liked doing that,” he explained in a statement, “but I was ready to dig back into my own garbage and this was the first thing that came out.” –Sam Sodomsky

The Mountain Goats: Getting Into Knives

October 23

John Darnielle’s long-running band completed their latest album at Memphis’ legendary Sam Phillips Recording earlier this year, just before lockdown sent everyone home. The 13-track record highlights their full-band energy and features a guest appearance from Al Green organist Charles Hodges on the lead single “As Many Candles as Possible.” It follows the home-recorded Songs for Pierre Chuvin, a solo collection that Darnielle released to raise money for his bandmates and crew back in April. –Sam Sodomsky

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Open Mike Eagle: Anime, Trauma and Divorce

October 16

Open Mike Eagle is never one to hold back, and the new album from the rapper-turned-Comedy Central-star promises to be even more unguarded. Eagle has cited personal crises as inspiring Anime, Trauma and Divorce, which was executive produced by Jacknife Lee. The album features “Bucciarati” with Kari Faux, plus the “I’m a Joestar (Black Power Fantasy)” and “The Edge of New Clothes.” It follows 2018’s What Happens When I Try to Relax EP and 2017’s Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, a riveting tour of a now-demolished Chicago housing project. –Marc Hogan

Preorder: Apple Music

Pallbearer: Forgotten Days

October 23

While making fourth album Forgotten Days, Arkansas doom metal titans Pallbearer did some looking back. “This record has a lot of thematic ties to our first record,” songwriter and bassist Joseph Rowland said in a statement. “It’s taken me all of this time to take a really good look at myself.” The eight-track record was produced by Randall Dunn and features songs with titles such as “Vengeance & Ruination” and “The Quicksand of Existence.” Heavy stuff for heavy times. –Sam Sodomsky

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Phoenix

TBD

It’s been a quiet few years for France’s enduringly fashionable indie rock band. In 2019, Phoenix documented their career with a lovingly curated oral history and photo book. They also saw a resurgence in interest for their 2009 song “Lisztomania“ thanks to a resurfaced dance video featuring Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Phoenix returned this summer with the release of “Identical,” a song dedicated to their late collaborator Philippe Zdar and released for the upcoming Sofia Coppola movie On the Rocks. The track marked the band’s first new music since 2017’s Ti Amo. Hopefully there’s more where that came from. –Sam Sodomsky

Public Enemy: What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?

September 25

When Public Enemy announced What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?, their first album on Def Jam in more than 20 years, Chuck D said in a press release, “It’s time—it’s necessary—to bring the noise again from a place called home.” The first product of Public Enemy’s label homecoming is “Fight the Power: Remix 2020,” which debuted at the BET Awards and features Nas, Rapsody, Black Thought, YG, Jahi, and Questlove. That updated take on a hip-hop classic follows the DJ Premier-produced, Trump-trolling “State of the Union (STFU).” Other guests on the album include the Beastie Boys’ Mike D and Ad-Rock, George Clinton, Cypress Hill, and Run-D.M.C. Public Enemy’s previous album was 2017’s Nothing Is Quick in the Desert. –Marc Hogan

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Róisín Murphy: Róisín Machine

September 25

Irish dance music legend Róisín Murphy has been delivering soulful, sultry jams for a quarter-century now, first in the trip-hop duo Moloko, and then as a solo artist and a collaborator with producers like Maurice Fulton and DJ Koze. Her first solo record in four years, Róisín Machine, is a joint album with legendary Sheffield producer DJ Parrot. The LP features “Simulation,” “Murphy’s Law,” and “Something More.” –Noah Yoo

Preorder: Apple Music

Sad13: Haunted Painting

September 25

Four years after her solo debut, Slugger, Speedy Ortiz frontperson Sadie Dupuis returns with a follow-up, Haunted Painting. Inspired by a ghostly German Expressionist painting and recorded across the country, the record tackles topics including sexism, mental illness, and loss. On Haunted Painting, Dupuis worked exclusively with female engineers, and the LP also features guests like Helado Negro’s Roberto Lange, Tune-Yards’ Merrill Garbus, Deerhoof’s Satomi Matsuzaki, and Pile’s Rick Maguire. –Quinn Moreland

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Sen Morimoto: Sen Morimoto

October 23

Last month, Chicago artist Sen Morimoto made headlines for criticizing Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, which resulted in his removal from a livestreamed event in the city. Morimoto’s music reflects his righteousness: He examines himself and society at large over a colorful backdrop of hip-hop, bedroom pop, and jazz. Following his 2018 debut Cannonball!, Morimoto looks to continue that interrogation on the upcoming Sen Morimoto: “The album highlights the way our learned habits, such as shameful desires and righteous ideals, are inherited by everyday notions of American life,” Morimoto said in a statement. –Will Miller

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Shamir: Shamir

October 2

Over the past few years, Shamir has been extremely productive, self-releasing several albums of introspective indie rock. As foreshadowed by the single “On My Own,” October’s Shamir is a return to the off-beat pop of his 2015 debut, Ratchet. (As for the album’s title, the Philadelphia musician said in a press release, “I felt like it didn’t need a name, cuz it’s the record that’s most me.”) It’s Shamir’s second full-length of 2020, following Cataclysm. –Quinn Moreland

Sufjan Stevens: The Ascension

September 25

What will a Sufjan Stevens record in the year 2020 resemble? Will it take the shape of a heart-shattering folk memoir like 2015’s Carrie & Lowell? Will there be maximalist electronic experimentations as on 2010’s The Age of Adz? The Ascension’s sprawling 12-minute lead single, “America,” is a quietly furious protest song, while the synth-poppy “Video Game” encourages listeners to follow their hearts. However it might turn out, The Ascension promises to be compelling, to say the least. –Quinn Moreland

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Sylvan Esso: Free Love

September 25

Sylvan Esso, the electronic pop duo of Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, notched a Grammy nod for their sophomore album, 2017’s What Now. Then, Meath reunited for an album with her folk trio, Mountain Man, and lent her voice to a Real Estate single. She and Sanborn have now returned to the (metaphorical) dance floor with Free Love’s first single, “Ferris Wheel,” which she also performed while dancing on the back of a moving pickup truck for Full Frontal With Samantha Bee. Follow-up “Rooftop Dancing,” meanwhile, is a comfy sweater of squeaks, bloops, and playground chants, befitting the Four Tet bricolage they recently told Pitchfork they’d been listening to in lockdown. –Marc Hogan

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Tim Heidecker: Fear of Death

September 25

Fear of Death, the latest collection of earnest songwriting from comedian Tim Heidecker, is the result of an all-star recording session featuring Weyes Blood, the Lemon Twigs, Jonathan Rado, and more. It finds Heidecker and Weyes Blood’s Natalie Mering duetting over laid back ’70s rock arrangements. The lyrics, however, frequently turn toward existential concerns. From the jammy title track to an upbeat, country revamp of the Beatles’ “Let It Be,” it makes for Heidecker’s most cohesive collection of music to date. (Check out an interview with Heidecker and Mering about the album here.) –Sam Sodomsky

Preorder: Apple Music | Rough Trade

Touché Amoré: Lament

October 9

After 2016’s harrowing Stage Four, Touché Amoré’s follow-up, Lament, is described as “the light at the end of the tunnel”—well-deserved after four albums of explosive, melancholic noise from the titans of post-hardcore. Even if Lament doesn’t pursue the same depressive heights, the anthemic single “Limelight,” featuring vocals from Manchester Orchestra frontperson Andy Hull, shows their ambition hasn’t dimmed. –Will Miller

Preorder: Apple Music

YG: MY LIFE 4HUNNID

October 2

YG released his fourth album, 4REAL 4REAL, just last year. He hasn’t slowed down since, teaming up with Kehlani on “Konclusions,” waxing introspective on “Laugh Now Kry Later!,” and decrying police brutality with “FTP” (Fuck the Police). (The accompanying “FTP” video was filmed at a Black Lives Matter protest in Hollywood, which YG co-organized.) He even dressed as Colin Kaepernick in the video for “Swag.” In late August, YG announced MY LIFE 4 HUNNID and shared the boisterous “Equinox,” which features 4REAL 4REAL’s late-album scene-stealer, fellow L.A. rapper Day Sulan. –Marc Hogan

Originally Appeared on Pitchfork