Spinning out of control
A subjective guide to the season's new releases.

By Kimberly Chun and Sarah Han

Sept. 7

Corey Hart, Fields of Fire (Aquarius Music reissue) His first offense was "Sunglasses at Night," but the Canadian pop rocker persevered and put out 1986's Fields of Fire, his third and last commercially successful album.

Sarah Hudson, Naked Truth (S-Curve) Nepotism just might work for Kate's cuz. Steven Tyler rallies on "Girl on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown."

Kurupt, Death Row Presents Kurupt – Against the Grain (Death Row) The dude takes a break from dissing Snoop Dogg.

Medeski Martin and Wood, End of the World Party (Just in Case) (Blue Note) Lofty matters – the trio delve into "groove-driven minimalism" after months of practicing in a Brooklyn waterfront abode.

Radio 4, Stealing of a Nation (Astralwerks) These party people promise to steal some thunder from New York kin like !!! and the Rapture.

Silkk the Shocker, Based on a True Story (In the Paint/Koch) He likes them girls. For real.

Matthew Sweet, Living Things (Superdeformed/RCAM) He peels off the Thorns and records with Van Dyke Parks.

Paul Westerberg, Folker (Vagrant) Punny guy!

Sept. 13

Slowdive, Catch the Breeze (Castle) Although there was talk on Mojave 3's message board that the British shoegazers weren't aware of this release, Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead reportedly chose tracks for the compilation.

Sept. 14

Datsuns, Outta Sight/Outta Mind (V2) Led Zep bassist John Paul Jones thumps the Aussie rockers into shape.

Dizzee Rascal, Showtime (XL/Matador) The boy in da corner promises some fireworks.

Ex, Turn (Touch and Go) The Dutch anarchists are as fired up as ever.

Giant Sand, Is All Over ... the Map (Thrill Jockey) Howe Gelb dusts off his first album of new G.S. material since 2000.

Nelly, Sweat and Suit (Reel/Universe) The two-disk release is inspired by the mullet: party in the front, business in the back. The bird-themed single, "Flap Your Wings," continues where "Shake Your Tailfeather" left off.

Tegan and Sara, So Jealous (Vapor/Sanctuary) Folk waifs writhe with envy.

Thrills, Let's Bottle Bohemia (Virgin) OK, but who'd want to drink it? Maybe guests like REM's Peter Buck and Van Dyke Parks.

Zombies, As Far as I Can See (Rhino) Original members Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent wake the dead on this CD, released in Europe earlier this year. A fall tour with Arthur Lee and Love follows.

Sept. 21

Elvis Costello, The Delivery Man (Lost Highway) and Il sogno (Deutsche Grammophon) Declan McManus bunks down in Faulkner territory: Oxford, Miss. But don't expect sound and fury – instead The Delivery Man, with the Imposters, promises a down-home variant on Almost Blue. The same day also brings Costello's first full-length orchestral score, Il sogno.

Sept. 28

Johnny Cash, American V (American/Lost Highway) This work by the late great was recorded following the passing of soulmate June Carter.

Leonard Cohen, Dear Heather (Columbia) He's 70 and swoon-able – expect a dozen new songs and a live version of "Tennessee Waltz."

De La Soul, The Grind Date (AOI/Sanctuary) It takes a village to revive a legend: producers include Jay Dee and Madlib; guests, Sean Paul, MF Doom, and Spike ("She hate your movie!") Lee.

Hilary Duff, Hilary Duff (Buena Visa/Hollywood) Find out if Duff's got enuff stuff to keep flying high on Top 40 charts, or if she's so yesterday. Our lips are sealed.

Frausdots, Couture, Couture, Couture (Sub Pop) Ex-Beachwood Sparks bassist Brent Rademaker dons some new synth-pop duds.

Interpol, Antics (Matador) Will Ian Curtis stop twirling in his grave?

Krayzie Bone, Gemini (Good vs. Evil) (Ball'R) The third solo album tails the Lil John-produced "Getchu Twisted."

Talib Kweli, The Beautiful Struggle (Geffen) The resistance continues, with a little high-powered help from guests like Mary J. Blige and über-producers such as Kanye West.

Luna, Rendezvous (Jetset) Lovey-dovey.

Mario, Here I Go Again (J) More than "Just a Friend," circa 2002?

Mayonnaise, Mayonnaise (LunaticWorks/BMG) London DJ-producer Howie B. slides from his associations with Massive Attack and Soul II Soul into his own special sauce.

Jesse McCarthy, Beautiful Soul (Buena Vista/Hollywood) The ex-Dream Street kid, Radio Disney fave, All My Children child actor, and now WB star makes designs on the tween soul.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Damage (Sanctuary) Boom! There go guests like James Chance, Chuck D, and the late Elliott Smith. Producers like DJ Shadow, Dan "the Automator" Nakamura, and Steve Jordan pick up the pieces.

Trevor Morrison, Travistan (Barsuk) The former Dismemberment Plan frontperson hops a ride with Death Cab for Cutie members.

Mos Def, The New Danger (Geffen) More dangerous than hot chocolate?

Nas, Street's Disciple (Columbia) Two disks and more than a few guests at this party – Nas fiancée Kelis and Redman, among them.

New Edition, One Love (Bad Boy/Universal) Bobby Brown's not in this latest edition, but P. Diddy, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis come through.

Nancy Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra (Attack/Sanctuary) Morrissey, half of U2, Elvis Costello, Steven Van Zandt, and Jarvis Cocker line up to show their love.

Joss Stone, Mind, Body and Soul (S-Curve) The blond baby Aretha works her pen – and her vocal chords: she wrote or cowrote 12 of the 14 songs.

Brian Wilson, Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE (Nonesuch) The Beach Boy performs the lost '66-'67 Beach Boys album just the way he wants to, with the Stockholm Strings and Horns ensemble.

Wolf Eyes, Burned Mind (Sub Pop) The fire this time.

Wu-Tang Clan, Disciples of the 36 Chambers (Sanctuary) Their kung-fu is superior to your kung-fu. The clan's July 17 reunion is captured in this live CD; the DVD emerges Oct. 5. The power of Wu also comes home Oct. 26 with Legend of the Wu-Tang: Wu-Tang Clan's Greatest Hits (BMG), a best-of comp including previously unreleased remixes and insider liner notes by RZA.

Oct. 5

Cake, Pressure Chief (Columbia) The pressure's on for the Sacto chefs.

Nikki Costa, Can't Never Did Nothin' (Virgin) Prince did something on this.

Minnie Driver, Everything I've Got in My Pocket (Zoe/Rounder) Get thee to a Lilith Fair.

Earth, Wind and Fire, Elevated (Sanctuary Urban) Get 'em up. Producers Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and Raphael Saadiq resuscitate the '70s hitmakers, with help from Musiq and Floetry.

Fatboy Slim, Palookaville (Astralwerks) This slouch covers Steve Miller Band's "The Joker" and assembles pals like Blackalicious's Lateef.

Good Charlotte, The Chronicles of Life and Death (Epic) The first single is "Predictable." Enough said.

Robyn Hitchcock, Spooked (Yep Roc) Soft Boy submits to producers-least-likely Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

REM, Around the Sun (Warner Bros.) The band looks for life in the swing states. Next stop: the fiery orb and a Berkeley show Oct. 15.

William Shatner, Has Been (Shout! Factory) Producer Ben Folds wrangles guests like Henry Rollins and Aimee Mann in honor of Mr. Tambourine Man.

Utada, Exodus (Island) The cross-cultural prodigy flexes her alt-dance-pop muscles stateside, backed by producer Timbaland and Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore.

Tom Waits, Real Gone (Anti-) The North Bay's boho celeb proves he never quite left, never quite forgot to experiment. Here he dabbles in funk and rocksteady and retires his trusty piano.

Wyclef Jean, Welcome to Haiti Creole 101 (Sak Pase/Koch) Ex-Fugees love the classroom.

Oct. 12

American Music Club, Love Songs for Patriots (Merge) Not flaggin', just flag wavin'. For lovers.

Blood Brothers, Crimes (V2) Splat goes the SoCal noise.

Carla Bruni, Quelqu'un m'a dit (Somebody Told Me) (V2) Somebody told us she dated Mick Jagger.

Camper Van Beethoven, New Roman Times (Pitch-a-Tent/Vanguard) A "font" of creativity – now on Vanguard.

Celine Dion, Miracles (Epic) The umpteenth coming. Please, Lord, let it end.

Duran Duran, Astronaut (Epic) Will it be a soft or hard landing for the original lineup?

Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Shaheedullah and Stereotypes (Penalty/Ryko) A Tribe Called Quest's beatmaker journeys out solo.

Strokes, Live in London (RCA) They want their strokes – not public dress-downs courtesy of movie-star girlfriends. Remember the love at this Dec. 5, 2003, concert.

Oct. 19

Vanessa Carlton, Harmonium (A&M/Interscope) Perhaps canoodle sessions with producer-squeeze Stephan Jenkins added to the harmony.

Jimmy Eat World, Futures (Interscope) Still the future of emo?

Le Tigre, This Island (Strummer/Universal) These girls are no island.

O'Ryan, O'Ryan (Tug Entertainment/Universal) The first single by 16-year-old O'Ryan Grandberry, kid bro of ex-B2K-er Omarion, is titled "Take It Slow." Aw, cute.

Elliott Smith, From a Basement on the Hill (Anti-) The last testament alternates between hard-rock crunch and acoustic introspection, though it's uniformly bleak and downbeat.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Shake the Sheets (Lookout!) Shake it, don't break it.

Train, Alive at Last (Aware/Columbia) Must miss? Or time to get on board?

Oct. 26

Beck, title TBA (DGC/Interscope) Working the two turntables and microphone again alongside the Dust Brothers and Jack White. Expect an East L.A. state of mind thanks to tracks like "Guero."

Da Beatminerz, Fully Loaded with Static (Copter) The New York City fivesome boom-bap again.

Dimitri from Paris and Joey Negro, Kings of Disco (Rapster) The duo compile classics like Derrick Harriott's "Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys."

Donnas, The Gold Medal (Atlantic) The Bay Area babes get Olympics fever.

Fabolous, title TBA (Elektra) Still "street-dreaming"?

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus (Anti-) "Nature boy" and the Seeds and coproducer Nick Launay nurture a double-CD set, the first sans Blixa Bargeld.

Unkle, Never, Never Land (Global Underground) The men from Unkle go Barrie one better with guests like Brian Eno and Josh Homme.

Nov. 2

Clay Aiken, title TBA (RCA) Twinkle, twinkle – it's a Christmas album from the longest lashes in the biz.

Neko Case, The Tigers Have Spoken (Anti-) Meow!

LeAnn Rimes, This Woman (Curb) Now that the pesky baby fat has been shed, here comes the studio album.

Nov. 9

Handsome Boy Modeling School, White People (Atlantic) Prince Paul and Dan "the Automator" Nakamura try out the concept once more; the mad, mad, mad single is "The World's Gone Mad" with Franz Ferdinand vocalist Alex Kapranos.

Nov. 16

Destiny's Child, title TBA (Columbia) We'll see who survives this reminder of the cutthroat late '90s.

Heather Headley, title TBA (RCA) The Tony Award-winning star of Aida is out to show she's a neo-neo-soul queen.

Snoop Dogg, R&G (Rhythm and Gangsta): The Masterpiece (Doggystyle/Star Trak/Geffen) Will it be the genius recording the Dogg claims it is? The Neptunes harness all-star forces.

Britney Spears, title TBA (Jive) To tide you over during the nuptials (and the possible assumption of the Newlyweds porcelain throne): all the hits with new numbers.