Unannounced and Unforgettable: A Look Into Some Of The Best Surprise Albums Of The Past Decade
Whether or not you enjoyed Todd Phillips’ Joaquin Phoenix-led Joker sequel Folie à Deux, one good or at least fun thing that we got out of it was Lady Gaga’s companion concept album Harlequin. Named of course after the iconic DC villainess whom she portrayed in the film, Harley Quinn, the album was announced just a few days before it hit digital shelves, with it hitting physical shelves yesterday (at the time of writing). Expanding her ventures into jazz with covers of US jazz standard, the album isn’t much of a creative departure from her two albums with the legendary Tony Bennet, but serves as a nice expansion of her creative library.
Gaga isn’t the only one to drop a surprise album though, plenty of artists throughout the years have opted to release new music with very little or no prior announcement window. Surprise albums have transformed how artists connect with their audiences and with the ever-growing rise of streaming platforms being most listeners’ first go-to for new tunes, music is now more accessible than ever. The thrill of discovering new music or indeed a surprise album at your fingertips adds another element to that excitement. Then when you throw in social media’s crucial role in the marketing to create instant worldwide buzz and foster a sense of community among fans, surprise albums are an effective and clever way for artists to take the figurative (and literal) spotlight.
To really understand what that means, let’s take a look at some of those surprise albums that took the world by storm:
Beyoncé – Lemonade (2016)
Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade consists of an album as well as a film that incorporates its songs. A teaser was released just days before the premiere on HBO, and whilst there was some anticipation of new music prior, nobody could be sure when that would be. Lemonade dealt with personal and social themes, particularly pertaining to her husband’s infidelity and put these in a generational and racial context, and producing it as a visual album allowed Beyoncé to deeper explore her vision of those themes. The surprise element made it all feel just that much more intimate and personal, leading to its impact as one of the most highly-regarded albums of all time.
Taylor Swift – Folklore (2020)
Ah, the pandemic! If anything good would come from being stuck in your house for a year, it’s probably the ability to really hone in your thoughts and creativity. Whether or not that’s true for Taylor Swift, what is true is that the Covid-19 lockdowns provided an influx of creative projects by musicians, filmmakers, authors and anybody else who had a lot of ideas and the time on their hands to produce them. One of those was of course Taylor Swift, whose eighth studio album Folklore was conceived during quarantine and announced just a day before its release. It explores themes such as escapism, nostalgia, and romanticism with fictional characters and story arcs around them. It was an obvious departure from her previous works of personal stories and experiences and was a fantastical musical illustration of the state of much of the world at the time, resonating with audiences everywhere.
Charli XCX – How I’m Feeling Now (2020)
Another pandemic album, Charli XCX released How I’m Feeling Now just eight months after her previous LP Charli, and its production was rather unique. The album wasn’t a total surprise with it being announced a few weeks prior to release, but the reason for that was because it involved the fans. How I’m Feeling Now was produced in just six weeks and entirely from her home, with fans submitting beats and Charli XCX sharing demos asking for fan input and assistance with other parts of the project. One of the great things about surprise albums is that they allow artists to be truly creative and unbound by traditional promotional cycles. It was a very authentic way to go about the production of an album at the time and not only gave fans a welcome distraction from the world’s events but strengthened the bond that they have with the artist and created a strong sense of community. To paraphrase Linkin Park’s Emptiness Machine, we all want to be part of something, especially in times like those.
Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts V: Together/Ghosts VI: Locusts (2020)
One more for the pandemic, Nine Inch Nails have always found innovative ways to release music and create maximum buzz by way of unique packaging, digital-only releases, interactive experiences and even allowing fans to download some of their albums for free. Their tenth and eleventh studio albums, Ghosts V: Together/Ghosts VI: Locusts were announced on March 26th 2020 and were released simultaneously just hours later. Released as a free download as a show of solidarity with the band's fans during the then ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they said: “As the news seems to turn ever more grim by the hour […], this situation has really made us appreciate the power and need for CONNECTION.”
Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)
Radiohead has been a staple of the music scene since their emergence during the UK’s Britpop scene in the 80s, their ninth studio album A Moon Shaped Pool had no official prior announcement until a mere week before the album’s release. In the run-up to that announcement, the band shared a series of cryptic posts across their social media channels, leading to much speculation of what was to come. Whilst the album came quickly to us outsiders, Radiohead has been working on some of its material since the 90s, with the tracks “True Love Awaits” and “Burn the Witch” both being originally conceived in 1995 and 2000, respectively, and both seeing their first official releases as part of A Moon Shaped Pool.
Poppy – Eat (EP, 2021)
Not a full-length album but an EP comprising of 5 tracks, Poppy’s Eat EP is subtitled NXT Soundtrack because its music was used and heavily promoted on WWE’s show NXT. Poppy is such a unique artist who can’t be tied to any one particular genre. From her start as an uncanny valley-esque android figure in surreal YouTube commentary videos to her art pop debut and then her venture into industrial rock and metal. Eat is among her heaviest and set the tone for the professional wrestling show that it accompanied. It was no secret that Poppy was working on new music, but what was a surprise was when Poppy appeared and released the album on live TV during an episode of NXT. Revolver selected Eat as one of the 25 best albums of 2021.
Eminem – Music to Be Murdered By (2020)
Eminem is no stranger to surprise releases, with Music to Be Murdered By being the second consecutive album by the “rap god” to be released without prior announcement. Music to Be Murdered By was announced just hours before its release, catching fans off guard and generating significant buzz. The album’s title and cover art are taken from the 1958 spoken word album Alfred Hitchcock Presents Music to Be Murdered By by Hitchcock and Jeff Alexander. Audio of Hitchcock’s voice is sampled in the interlude and outro tracks and with the album ending, just as the original did, with Hitchcock saying “If you haven't been murdered, I can only say better luck next time. If you have been, goodnight, wherever you are.” The Hitchcock influence is due to the violent themes of the album which include the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, framed by the auteur’s morbid storytelling. He would also release the deluxe version of the album, subtitled Side B, without any prior announcement.
Frank Ocean – Blonde (2016)
Frank Ocean’s Blonde followed on from his visual album Endless which doesn’t sound like anything out of the ordinary, but it might when you consider that it followed just a day after with no prior indication. It was known that Ocean was coming with a new album and that it would be a conceptual follow-up to his debut Channel Orange, but we didn’t know when or where that would be. Even the aforementioned Endless wasn’t subject to much marketing and anticipation, as it was announced just 18 days prior to its release as a streaming-only video on Apple Music. It also came following a four-year hiatus for Ocean- returning with two albums back to back definitely caught many off guard.
So, surprise albums have been growing in popularity in the last decade or so, suggesting a shift in how music is consumed and marketed in the digital age. From being able to bypass the constraints of traditional promotion and audience expectations, allowing for more creative freedom and engagement with their audience on a more authentic level. Speaking of fans, it allows them to have that sense of community as they all come together excitedly for new music.
What’s your favourite surprise album?
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