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Album overload: New work by the Killers, Bob Dylan, Pink, No Doubt, Taylor Swift and more

 
Gwen Stefani of No Doubt 
Gwen Stefani of No Doubt 
Published Aug. 22, 2012

A dizzying amount of pop heavyweights — many of whom have been dormant for years — are releasing albums in the next few months. But will the oncoming onslaught be that much of a boost for the struggling music biz?

First of all, it's hard for even me to keep up with all this stuff, and it's my job. Plus, in this uncertain economy, could there be too much pull on your rock dollar? Couldn't they have spread these suckers out a bit?

Time will tell, I guess. In the meantime, here are 10 mondo fall albums — not counting fresh material from Carly Rae Jepsen, Big Boi, Ke$ha, Mumford & Sons, Matchbox Twenty, the Script, Kiss, Cat Power, Pet Shop Boys, Grizzly Bear, Dave Matthews Band, Animal Collective, the Avett Brothers, ZZ Top, Aerosmith and John Fogerty.

AUGUST

Alanis Morisette, Havoc and Bright Lights (Collective Sounds) Long before Taylor Swift was slagging exes for profit, Alanis was telling bawdy tales about what went down in that theater. This is the 38-year-old's first new material in four years. Welcome back, heartbreaker. Release date: Tuesday

SEPTEMBER

Bob Dylan, Tempest (Columbia) Mr. Zimmerman originally wanted this to be a religious endeavour, but his 35th studio release turned into a far stranger beast, including a buzzed-about 14-minute fever dream about the sinking of the Titanic. Release date: Sept. 10

Pink, The Truth About Love (RCA) You already know Top 10 hit Blow Me (One Last Kiss), but soon enough all the talk will be about Here Comes the Weekend, the 32-year-old mom's Bonnie-and-Clyde duet with Eminem. Release date: Sept. 18

The Killers, Battle Born (Island) We loved Brandon Flowers' 2010 solo album, Flamingo. But we're also glad the hunky emo singer has returned to his Vegas mates. First single Runaways, about breakneck teenage love, is a windows-down blast. Release date: Sept. 18

Green Day, Uno! (Reprise) Pace yourself, kids: This is merely part one of the Uno! Dos! Tre! trilogy. Don't fret more concept albums a la American Idiot. Singer Billie Joe Armstrong told Rolling Stone to expect something "between AC/DC and the Beatles." We like the sound of that. Release date: Sept. 25

Deadmau5, Album Title Goes Here (Ultra) My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way and Insane in the Brain rappers Cypress Hill show up to help everyone's favorite mouse-headed DJ bake the beats. Release date: Sept. 25

No Doubt, Push and Shove (Interscope) It's been 11 years since No Doubt's last album, Rock Steady. It's been six years since Gwen Stefani's last solo LP, The Sweet Escape. But if you think the Orange County ska pretties lost a step along the way, watch the vid for new song Settle Down: Gwennie and ND are ageless. Release date: Sept. 25

OCTOBER

Muse, The 2nd Law (Helium 3) Muse is sort of like Pink Floyd for Dummies. Or maybe Coldplay for shut-ins. The massive success of the sci-fi-loving Brit trio led by Matthew Bellamy defies logic. Nonetheless, this followup to 2009's The Resistance is poised to be one of the year's top sellers. Release date: Oct. 2

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The Wallflowers, Glad All Over (Columbia) After going solo for the past seven years, Jakob Dylan got the boys back together, which hopefully means a return to One Headlight territory. The Clash's Mick Jones cameos. Release date: Oct. 2

Taylor Swift, Red (Big Machine) Bank on this: Red will be the biggest-selling album of 2012. Hit single We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together doesn't have a lick of country in it, but the overt genre snub won't matter at all: Swift rules. Release date: Oct. 22

Sean Daly can be reached at sdaly@tampabay.com. Follow @seandalypoplife on Twitter.