This summer may as well be termed the “year of the reunion.” Sure, every summer has its share of re-formed groups hitting the festivals, but this year there are some heavy-hitters who’ve returned to the stage (if not the recording studio). Here are a few of the more notable ones coming along soon to a stage (or iTunes) near you:
Sunny Day Real Estate
This is cheating a little bit since they also reunited last summer, but we’re still happy the godfathers of emo are back together. The fact is, no one quite does soaring emotions like Jeremy Enigk when he’s with his bandmates.
Soundgarden
Remember Audioslave? And how they were terrible? Well, apparently Chris Cornell finally realized it too and went back to the band that made him famous. Hilariously, the reunion was announced by a tweet that included the line, “Knights of the Soundtable ride again!” It remains to be seen if this will be a reunion with some good music or if it’s just a terrible cash-in. Either way, “Black Hole Sun” is still awesome.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
These guys are as weird as the punctuation in their name, but they make epic, symphonic post-rock that is as inspiring and crushing as anything out there. It’s always good to have some thundering instrumental rock on the scene.
Sixpence None the Richer
In a summer notable for its reunions from the heyday of CCM, Sixpence None the Richer are re-forming and releasing a new album. While it’s up in the air if this will be “thoughtful and melancholy” Sixpence or “we’re the soundtrack to Dawson’s Creek” Sixpence, it’s nice to see them back.
The O.C. Supertones
Has it been long enough that ska can be cool again? Apparently so, as the O.C. Supertones are back, horns in hand. No word on new music, but the reunited band is set to play multiple festivals. Which is great—it’ll be good to reclaim the term “skanking.”
Belle & Sebastian
Finally, the sad-sack kings and queens of Scottish twee-pop are reuniting to claim their rightful place in indie-dom. While they technically never broke up (they were on “hiatus”), they’re due to make a record this year and are curating a festival in Britain in late 2010.
Pavement
Fiercely indie before indie was a thing, Pavement made a career out of sloppy guitar work and darkly funny lyrics by Stephen Malkmus. When they announced a comeback tour, aging hipsters everywhere let out a collective gasp—and bought every ticket they could get their hands on.
