AGAINST ME!, “Shape Shift With Me’’

Laura Jane Grace’s punk has always had aspirations toward pop crunch, but the seventh album by her band Against Me!, who play Royale on Sept. 19, swoons as often as it snarls, making it irresistible listening for even the most hardened anti-romantic. (Sept. 16)

USHER, “Hard II Love’’

That the eighth studio album from the R&B superstar Usher — his first since 2012’s “Looking 4 Myself’’ — is coming so quickly after its announcement in late August might be a sign that Big Music is finally being less control-freakish about releasing records by its biggest artists. (Fingers crossed.) The album’s singles so far, including the sparse Future collaboration “Rivals,’’ have embraced the genre’s recent mutations while putting Usher’s supple voice front and center. (Sept. 16)

FLOCK OF DIMES, “If You See Me, Say Yes’’

As part of the duo Wye Oak, Jenn Wasner made heady, fuzzed-out guitar rock. As Flock of Dimes, who play at Great Scott on Oct. 30, Wasner takes center stage, her full-bodied voice serving as the fulcrum for openhearted, musically detailed meditations on taking giant leaps of faith. (Sept. 23)

Danny Brown, “Atrocity Exhibition’’

Detroit-based MC Brown became a critically beloved festival darling for his surrealistic rhymes and outsized personality. Brown, who plays the Paradise Rock Club on Sept. 18, told Rolling Stone that his claustrophobic, sample-heavy third album, which includes all-star collaborators like Kendrick Lamar and Earl Sweatshirt, will represent “just my sound. This is Danny Brown.’’ (Sept. 30)

Pitbull, “Climate Change’’

Pitbull is already the pop interpolator of the year, flipping the Soup Dragons’ cover of the Rolling Stones’ “I’m Free’’ (on the pounding “Freedom’’) and REO Speedwagon’s wounded “Take It on the Run’’ (on the Enrique Iglesias collaboration “Messin’ Around’’) into pop gold. Mr. 305 never stops working, and his 10th studio album will likely be studded with more club-ready hits that have vaguely familiar hooks. (Oct. 7)

Blackberry Smoke, “Like an Arrow’’

The Atlanta-based Blackberry Smoke have been one of the better purveyors of shaggy Southern rock in recent years, with live shows that stretch just far enough to not seem indulgent and anthems-in-wait like the stormy “Arrow’’ track “Waiting for the Thunder.’’ Ideal listening for those who appreciate ZLX’s devotion to the riff, but crave some new licks in their musical mix. (Oct. 14)

Beck, title TBA

The shapeshifting singer-songwriter’s last full-length, the 2015 Album of the Year Grammy-winner “Morning Phase,’’ was a contemplative effort that built off the moody atmospherics of the critically beloved 2002 album “Sea Change.’’ Whether his loopy single “Wow,’’ which sounds like “Mellow Gold’’-era Beck thrown down a well, is an indicator of where he’s going with his 10th studio album remains to be seen. (Oct. 21)

Various Artists, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again’’

The star-studded reboot of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’’ which boasts Laverne Cox (’’Orange Is the New Black’’) as mad scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter, Victoria Justice (’’Victorious’’) as stranded ingénue Janet, and Adam Lambert (’’American Idol,’’ Queen) as the motorcycle-mounted Eddie, gets a rush-released soundtrack album right after its Oct. 20 airing on Fox. (Oct. 21)

Leonard Cohen, “You Want It Darker’’

Canada’s bummer bard follows up 2014’s “Popular Problems’’ with an album produced by his son, Adam. A snippet of the title track appeared on the British gangster drama “Peaky Blinders’’ earlier this year; Cohen’s weathered-leather voice, singing of redemption lost, is surrounded by sumptuous atmospherics. (Oct. 21)

Kenny Chesney, “Cosmic Hallelujah’’

He may fill stadiums with his sun-dappled take on country music, but Chesney’s 17th album might be his most obvious grab for a pop audience. “Setting the World on Fire’’ boasts soothing synths and a counterpoint vocal from P!NK, while the tense “Noise’’ is a gently urgent broadside against always-on culture. (Oct. 28)

Tkay Maidza, “Tkay’’

Australian MC Maidza’s “U-Huh’’ made a splash in 2014 thanks to her fleet rhymes and its singsong chorus. The 20-year-old’s first full-length contains the giddy, siren-studded “Carry On,’’ which is a collaboration with Run the Jewels’ similarly quick-tongued Killer Mike — who, after seeing her at a festival, stumped for her mike skills during a lecture at MIT. (Oct. 28)

Sad13, “Slugger’’

Speedy Ortiz singer-guitarist Sadie Dupuis strikes out on her own with a self-produced album of thoughtful pop that takes cues from Weezer’s bubblegrunge as often as it does the brooding newer wave of Charli XCX. (Nov. 11)

Metallica, “Hardwired . . . to Self-Destruct’’

As the biggest of thrash’s Big Four, Metallica have weathered a lot of storms since their founding 35 years ago. The band’s 10th album — a double CD clocking in at almost 80 minutes — is led by “Hardwired,’’ a doomy look at the present day with an unprintable yet utterly relatable chorus and riffs that sound powered by pistons. (Nov. 18)

Bruno Mars, title TBA

Pop-soul megaforce Mars was omnipresent in 2015 as the voice of Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk!,’’ but he hasn’t put out a full-length since 2012’s frothy, funky “Unorthodox Jukebox.’’ That’s going to change, apparently: This month, Mars’s bassist Jamareo Artis told Bass Player magazine that a new album, which is “very groove-oriented,’’ is on the way sometime this year, with a world tour to follow. (TBA)

Lady Gaga, title TBA

Her sprawling 2013 effort “Artpop’’ was one of those interesting failures that’ll be fodder for twist-filled oral histories when its 10th anniversary comes around; her 2014 duets album with Tony Bennett, “Cheek to Cheek,’’ shored up her belter bona fides, which she’s been showcasing on stages no smaller than the Oscars telecast. Where Lady Gaga’s fifth album will fall on this spectrum remains to be seen, but it’ll no doubt have a dazzling spectacle surrounding it. (TBA)

Maura Johnston

Maura Johnston can be reached at maura@maura.com.