Entertainment

When is Grimes' New Album Coming Out? 

The reluctant indie pop star is incredibly hard to predict.

Astrid Stawiarz, Getty Images 

The indie producer and singer Claire Boucher, stage name Grimes, has not put out a new album since 2012. That might not sound like a long time (Remember Frank Ocean?) but the Canadian singer talked so much about her upcoming project that it has felt like it could drop any second since 2013.

Her 2012 album, Visions, garnered critical attention from publications like Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and NME. Then Grimes signed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation company in late 2013, which looked like a sign that she might be aiming for mainstream popularity. But when the song she originally wrote for Rihanna, “Go”, leaked there was an intense fan backlash against. “Too pop!” cried the masses.

She pushed back against that reaction but also revealed later that the album she had been working on was scrapped. That revelation came a year ago, so it’s been a while since there was any new music from the singer. She has done nothing to clarify her intentions.

Now it’s October 2015 — nearly four year since the release of Visions. Despite the fact that she’s hinted about an October released date on Twitter and posted this only a week ago on Instagram, we still don’t have an album or assurances that there will be an album.

This could be a long month for Grimes fans. And though the Instagram hints are nice to see, they don’t necessarily augur much. When, earlier this year, Frank Ocean said his new album was dropping in July everyone got happy. Then July came and went without his fans having anything to show for it. Will Grimes follow that lead? It’s unclear. We know she listens to her fans and we know her fans still listen to her, but trust seems at low ebb.