Spring Music Preview: Fifty Must-Hear Albums

APRIL

Arctic Monkeys
Favourite Worst Nightmare
Out April 24th

Having scored the fastest-selling debut in U.K. history with 2006's Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, the Arctic Monkeys might have felt some serious pressure when it came time to record the follow-up. They didn't. "We found the process easy," says frontman Alex Turner. "We'd record at night, then we'd go to the pub." The result of their relaxed efforts is the bigger, heavier Favourite Worst Nightmare, which offers a darker sound but keeps up the debut's riff-fueled attack on cuts like the banging shout-along "D Is for Dangerous" and "Brianstorm." "This album is a step onward," says bassist Nick O'Malley. "It's better than the first one."

The Nightwatchman
One Man Revolution
Out April 24th
Key track: " The Road I Must Travel"

"I'm a one-man revolution," Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello sings on his first album as a solo singer-songwriter. While the lyrics are a return to Rage's left-wing agitprop, the music is a departure: He sings in a rich baritone and plays strummy acoustic guitar (with keyboards courtesy of producer Brendan O'Brien). "It's the vibe of Springsteen's Nebraska, Dylan's 'The Times They Are A-Changin'' and maybe a pinch of Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen," says Morello.
[ Click here for an expanded Q&A with Tom Morello]

MAY

Feist
The Reminder
Out May 1st
Key Track: " 1,2,3,4"

After spending two hectic years on the road playing songs from her jazzy, blissed-out major-label debut, Let It Die, Feist knew she wanted to record the next one somewhere peaceful. "We literally made The Reminder in our pajamas," says the erstwhile member of Canadian indie collective Broken Social Scene. "The flowers were just pushing through the frost, and the experience was all about being stationary." Even at their most kinetic, Feist's new tunes reflect this mellow approach, with songs such as "My Moon, My Man" settling into a deliciously laid-back groove or "The Water" finding its own way around a spooky melody while wind chimes tinkle in the background. Feist settled down with her three-piece band at La Frette, a centuries-old mansion in the countryside near Paris. "We recorded in the main house rather than the studio in the basement," she says, adding that the record includes lots of ambient sounds, from the clip-clop of her shoes to the sound of birds outside her window. "We put up a forest of microphones in the two parlors and throughout the bedrooms. The point was to not use headphones as much as possible. We had all these musicians together, and I thought it would be a shame if we couldn't hear each other." (JENNY ELISCU)

Ne-Yo
Because of You
Out May 1st
Key Track: " Because of You"

"If anybody wasn't paying attention, they're definitely paying attention now," says R&B star Ne-Yo, who co-wrote Beyoncé's smash "Irreplaceable." For his own album, Ne-Yo wasn't afraid to emulate his heroes: The first single, "Because of You," is all Michael Jackson, with falsetto vocals and a catchy "Billie Jean"-style hook. He does Stevie Wonder on "Do You" and Prince on "Addicted," in which he refutes rumors that he's a sex addict. "I'm rich, I'm decently cute, and I have a healthy sexual appetite," says Ne-Yo. "That's all." "Crazy," the likely next single, is a stripped-down cut featuring a cameo from label prez Jay-Z; "Leaving Tonight" is a duet with vocal powerhouse Jennifer Hudson. "The crazy thing is, I had to tell her to stop holding back," Ne-Yo says. "And she brought it out. It was real, real cool."
[ Click here for an expanded Q&A with Ne-Yo]

Tori Amos
American Doll Posse
Out May 1st

For Amos' ninth album, the singer came up with a new concept: She wrote and sang the songs from the perspective of five characters. "These women are symbolic of different personality traits and different beliefs," says Amos. "It's no different than Ziggy Stardust as an extension of David Bowie." She also gets explicitly political on the anti-Bush tunes "Yo George" and "Dark Side of the Sun" and fleshed out her classic piano-driven sound with some new influences: "I had myself open up to the Clash and the Doors," she says.

Dinosaur Jr.
Beyond
Out May 1st

After flaming out in 1989, Dinosaur Jr.'s original lineup -- guitarist J Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph -- got back together a couple of years ago to tour. And when they hit the studio this winter to record their first album since Bug, it still wasn't easy. "We were practicing and recording at the same time," says Mascis. "It seemed like we were never going to get anything done." But the eleven new songs (including the knockout opener) sound just like classic Dino, with Mascis' blistering Neil Young-ish solos bolstered by Barlow and Murph's heavy accompaniment. Barlow even contributed some quieter cuts. "It's always been a struggle," says Mascis. "He doesn't ever want to give us any songs, thinking we're going to ruin them."

Björk
Volta
Out May 8th

Volta is all about the beats, the brass and Björk's rediscovered desire to "go out into other people's universes and be innocent again." The Icelandic singer says that her previous two discs, Medúlla and Vespertine, were "introverted," but this time around Björk collaborated with Timbaland -- for three tracks, including the upbeat single "Earth Intruders" -- and enlisted virtuosic performers including Toumani Diabaté (African kora) and Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons (vocals). "I wanted this record to be more mature, more ethnic and not so clean," says Björk. "There's a better word for it: 'dirty.'"