Five CDs for the month of June

This is going to be a big month for music buying:

5.) Hercules And Love Affair - Self-Titled (June 24): Having downloaded the single "Blind" from iTunes for free, I'm now a believer in the depressed voice from Antony and the Johnsons singing disco. This might be the hipster dance album of the year (unless LCD Soundsystem come out with another one).

4.) Lil Wayne - Carter III (June 10): I haven't been crazy about the radio singles, but some of the bootleg material that has been going around has been interesting, particularly "I Feel Like Dying". Plus, I'm looking forward to anything exciting happening in hip-hop or rap this year - it's been a slow year for both.

3.) Alejandro Escovado - Real Animal (June 24): I didn't become a fan of his until 2006s brilliant The Boxing Mirror, but that was enough to keep me wanting more. Early reviews say he's making this one faster and louder: he might be having the same mid-life crisis Nick Cave had - I hope so.

2.) My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges (June 10): As if they didn't create enough different sounds on their last record, now they are adding in funk and soul. This could be their masterpiece; even if it isn't, it will be the sex/drinking/party album of the summer.

1.) Coldplay - Viva la Vida (June 17): I know my indie hipster cred is gone because of how excited I am about this one, but given the decline of mainstream rock radio in the past 15 years, why shouldn't I be so excited about the biggest band in the world getting with Brian Eno and trying to make a universally loved masterpiece like Joshua Tree? The two new singles are brilliant and catchy, but most of all, they make me wonder what else this band is capable of. We'll see...