Spring Previews: Part II

Shakira -- She Wolf -- October 13th

LOWDOWN: Shakira put in 12-hour-a-day sessions with Santigold producer John Hill, Pharrell and other collaborators and jokes she spent so much time locked away without daylight, "that's probably why I turned into a she wolf." But the hard work helped transform her sound from the slithery Latin-tinged pop of "Hips Don't Lie" to something more glitchy, buzzing and fiercely danceable. "It's very electronic and dance-oriented, club-oriented," she says. "It's designed for people to have fun and enjoy themselves and forget about their troubles." You can check out the sizzling single "She Wolf" here.

The Flaming Lips -- Embyonic -- October 13th

LOWDOWN: "This is the grooviest and definitely the most drug-addled thing we've done in a while," Lips leader Wayne Coyne says of double-album Embryonic. Two tracks, "Watching The Planets" and "I Can Be A Frog," feature Karen O on guest vocals. She cut them on a phone from her hotel room. "There's a certain quality to her voice that works great over the telephone," says Coyne.

Tegan and Sara -- Sainthood -- October 27th

LOWDOWN: The Canadian Quin sisters once again turned to Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla to produce their sixth album, and the guitarist ended up sitting in on bass and bringing drummer Jason McGerr along, too. "It's a supergroup called Death Cab for Tegan and Sara," jokes Tegan. " I was listening to Kings of Leon and Ra Ra Riot," she adds, "I wanted it to feel like we were a band."

Weezer -- Raditude -- October 27th

LOWDOWN: On Weezer's "Pork and Beans" Rivers Cuomo sang about ignoring his label's pleas for him to work with Timbaland. His resistance to outside help has softened: Raditude features contributions from Butch Walker, Jermaine Dupri and the All-American Rejects. "These songs are fun, high-energy pop," says Cuomo." "Girl Got Hot," written with Walker, is built around the drum loop from Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2." Raditude — whose title was inspired by an offhand comment by The Office actor Rainn Wilson — comes a little over a year after Weezer's last disc. "I'm awake for 17 hours a day," says Cuomo. "I an accomplish a lot in that time if I really put my mind to it."

Wolfmother -- Cosmic Egg -- October 27th

LOWDOWN: Aussie rocker Andrew Stockdale is back with two new bandmates and a killer Black Sabbath-meets-Led Zeppelin first single, "New Moon Rising." "I bought a vintage Gretsch guitar in Boise, went back to the hotel and wrote a song," he says of "In the Morning." You can check out the first single "New Moon Rising" here.